It is said creativity is about giving old things new uses. When it comes to magic, same principles applies. Many creative magic tricks are actually derived from old tricks or effects. Let’s take a look at the appearing handkerchief in decanter trick. The original effect is a handkerchief quickly appearing inside a decanter achieved by the pulling of an invisible thread. This can become totally different in appearance if milk bottle is used instead of decanter, or any other kind of bottles. Or you may try to use a tie instead of handkerchief. The possibilities are unlimited.

Sometimes a very little change made in an old magic effect can make a huge difference. The change may be even smaller than using a different container. We now compare another trick that look completely different from the decanter trick, but in fact utilizes the very same thread pulling principle.

The trick is called the Orrin’s Spider Web Trick. The trick effectively uses the same principle as the old decanter trick. This trick is to produce a card on a spider figure on a table also using the pulling thread principle. The table is painted with a spider web background which could help hiding the thread and the secret opening on the table. A card is used instead of a handkerchief and a spider figure is used instead of a decanter.

Another important change made to the tricks is the pulling method. Originally the thread is pulled by an assistant or a counter weight. But Orrin improved the pulling by incorporating the action into another flourish action which is turning the table. The turning of the table also helped in concealing the path of the card. So the effect becomes like this: the magician display a spider figure on a web. He then turns the web and the chosen card mysteriously appears at the mouth of the spider.

We are not saying that the magician Orrin created the effect by substituting the objects like that. We are just illustrating how this principle can be used to produce an innovative effect from an old trickery.

The steps to change the old decanter trick into the spider web trick may be as the following. First, we make a different object to appear. We use a card instead of a handkerchief. Second, we change the appearing location from a transparent decanter to a spider figure. Third, we change the pulling method from application of a direct straight line force to a turning torque force. Forth, the appearing location is moved instead of the appearing object. Fifth, a disguising background is used to conceal the thread which allow the trick to be performed more close up.

From the spectators’ point of view, the two magic performance maybe very different. But in fact, they use the very similar principle in substance.

This deceptively simple yet overwhelmingly powerful card trick is so easy to learn that by the time you finish reading this article you’ll have a trick up your sleeve that will never cease to amaze your lucky audience.

The first thing you’ll need is to get a deck of cards. It doesn’t even need to be a full deck, or a new deck. Any deck of cards is fine. Tell your audience that you will be performing some magic psychic mind reading, or anything else that sounds equally impressive. Start out by fanning the cards out, face down, and have one person pick a card.

Next, as they would expect you to, tell them to memorize the card, and show it to their friends. Here comes the tricky part. While they are showing it to your friends, you simply put the cards back in a stack, and then cut the deck, so they will put their card face down into your pre cut deck. You simply quickly look at the card that will be placed on top of theirs. This is easy to do, as they will be too busy memorizing the chosen card.

After they put their card in the deck, you know exactly what card comes after theirs, if you start searching from the bottom up. Or if you flip the deck over, and start thumbing through the cards starting from top, there card will be the one immediately after the one you peeked at.

There are plenty of ways that you can choose to “reveal” this trick. You can look through the cards slowly, pausing every so often to “read” their minds, until you get to their card.

Another way that is a particular favorite of mine is to quickly put their card on top of the deck when you get to it, without them looking. Once their card is on top of the deck, put it behind your back, (or under a table), and quickly take their card off the top, turn it over, and stick it anywhere randomly in the deck.

Then you can pretend that you couldn’t find their card, and ask them what it is. Then you start looking through the deck, with all the cards face up, except theirs. The only card face down will be theirs. They will be amazed, to say the least.

You can easily come up with many different ways for a powerful “reveal” that will always stun your audience. You can do this trick pretty much anywhere you have a deck of cards handy and a couple minutes to spare. Have fun.

If you want to learn magic tricks that will never fail to impress, come on over today.