[HOLIDAY PARTY!] OCTOBER 31ST 2020 – NATIONAL MAGIC DAY with Annie Saunders

HAPPY NATIONAL MAGIC DAY! Join us as we celebrate sleight of hand, illusion and fun mystical stuff on this day where there’s only one holiday happening (which is National Magic Day)! (NOTE: This episode is not about Magic: The Gathering, Magic Johnson, or Magic Mike.) Today we’re partying with magic fan, beloved DJ and jewelry artist Annie Saunders (Twitter: @anniemated / Instagram: @anniemated / Radio Show / Shop: League of Shadows)!! LET’S PARTY!!

Show Notes

Activities to Celebrate

Playlist

Sources

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Show Notes

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Definition, history of the topic

  • Just to clarify up top, this is not a day to commemorate Magic: the Gathering, the card game released in 1993, in which each game, played by two or more players, “represents a battle between wizards known as planeswalkers who cast spells, use artifacts, and summon creatures as depicted on individual cards in order to defeat their opponents, typically, but not always, by draining them of their 20 starting life points in the standard format.”
  • Nor is this a day specifically declared to celebrate Magic Johnson, an American retired professional basketball player and former president of basketball operations of the LA Lakers, who is also often considered the best point guard of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA history
  • Instead, we will discuss various aspects of magic as defined by Wikipedia, broken down into four sub-categories:
    • Supernatural
    • Illusion
    • Magical thinking
    • And magic in fiction
  • Let’s start with the two main definitions that people associate with “magic”, as these will provide the foundation to inform the rest of the discussion
    • First, supernatural magic, which refers to the practice of beliefs, rituals, and/or actions which are said to control and manipulate, either natural or supernatural, beings and forces
      • It’s typically categorized as independent from both religion and science, due to the variation of beliefs and practices, though of course there is occasionally some overlap
      • Practitioners within this category may be referred to as witches or magicians, and while historical connotations have varied greatly over time, supernatural magic continues to have an important religious and medicinal influences in many contemporary cultures 
      • According to Wikipedia, “Within Western culture,magic has been linked to ideas of the Other, foreignness,and primitivism;indicating that it is “a powerful marker of cultural difference”and likewise, a non-modern phenomenon. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Western intellectuals perceived the practice of magic to be a sign of a primitive mentality and also commonly attributed it to marginalised groups of people (see: Voodoo, paganism, etc.)
      • “In modern occultism and Neopagan religions, many self-described magicians and witches regularly practice ritual magic; defining magic as a technique for bringing about change in the physical world through the force of one’s will.”
    • “Supernatural magic” is often deconstructed into several components, depending on the belief system and practices
      • White, gray, and black magic
        • White magic has traditionally been understood as the use of magic for selfless or helpful purposes, while black magic was used for selfish, harmful or evil purposes.
        • With respect to the left-hand path and right-hand path dichotomy, black magic is the malicious, left hand counterpart of the benevolent white magic. There is no consensus as to what constitutes White, Gray or Black magic, as Phil Hine (British author and occultist) says, “like many other aspects of occultism, what is termed to be ‘black magic’ depends very much on who is doing the defining.”
        • Gray magic, also called neutral magic, is magic that is not performed for specifically beneficial reasons, but is also not focused towards completely hostile practices.
      • High and low magic
        • Historians and anthropologists have distinguished between practitioners who engage in high magic, and those who engage in low magic.
        • In this framework, high magic is seen as more complex, involving lengthy and detailed ceremonies as well as sophisticated, sometimes expensive, paraphernalia.
          • It’s most associated with drawing forces from heaven to achieve unity with divinity, and is usually performed indoors
        • Low magic is associated with peasants and folklore and with simpler rituals such as brief, spoken charms, and is more often performed outdoors
      • Evidence of the practice of supernatural magic has been found dating back to as early as Mesopotamia, early Judaism, ancient Egypt, and the Greco-Roman world
        • In all, magic was variably provoked in rituals, medical recipes, as defensive and to counteract evil omens, for purification, or to ensure survival in the afterlife, among other uses
      • I wish we could discuss the Salem Witch Trials and all of the cultural baggage and events that lead to them, but that would have to be an entire episode on its own. Suffice to say that there was a significant period of time where magic, especially among Christians, was feared to the point of persecution and execution, the result of false accusations and trials that were designed for the accused to be found guilty
      • Modern Western magic has challenged widely-held preconceptions about contemporary religion and spirituality. 
      • According to scholar of religion Henrik Bogdan, “arguably the best known emic definition” of the term magic was provided by Crowley.
      • Crowley was of the view that “Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will”.
        • Crowley’s definition influenced that of subsequent magicians. 
        • Dion Fortune of the Fraternity of the Inner Light for instance stated that “Magic is the art of changing consciousness according to Will”.
        • Gerald Gardner, the founder of Gardnerian Wicca, stated that magic was “attempting to cause the physically unusual”,while Anton LaVey, the founder of LaVeyan Satanism, described magic as “the change in situations or events in accordance with one’s will, which would, using normally acceptable methods, be unchangeable.”
      • In the present day, “among some countercultural subgroups the label is considered ‘cool'”
      • From summary.org, a list of the Top 10 Famous Wizards from History
        • Nicolas Flamel
        • Morgan Le Fay
        • Rasputin
        • Abe no Seimei
        • Michael Scot
        • John Domingo
        • Marie Laveau
        • John Dee
        • Aleister Crowley
        • Merlin
    • Illusion magic, refers to a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks or illusions of seemingly impossible feats using natural means
      • It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world
      • Historically, “to the general public, successful acts of illusion could be perceived as if it were similar to a feat of magic supposed to have been able to be performed by the ancient magoi.”
      • The reputed first known performance of a conjuring effect (the well known cup and balls) was by the Egyptian magician Dedi in 2700 BCE. 
      • The earliest known book to explain magic secrets, “The Discoverie of Witchcraft”, was written by Reginald Scot in 1584 in an effort to stop the killing of people accused of witchcraft.
      • Modern entertainment magic has become a popular art form. 
        • It was pioneered by 19th century magician Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin
        • During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several magicians, such as Maskelyne and Devant, Howard Thurston, Harry Kellar, and Harry Houdini went on to popularize magic to the extent that their era is known as “the Golden Age of Magic.”
          • This is where we saw magic proliferating the stages of Broadway, vaudeville, and music halls
        • Since then, contemporary magicians such as Paul Daniels, David Copperfield, Doug Henning, Penn & Teller, David Blaine, and Derren Brown have come to modernize the art form and maintain magic’s widespread popularity
      • There is a laundry list of the types of magic one can perform, though many magicians do combine various types into their performances
        • Stage illusions –a kind of large scale performance on a stage.
        • Parlor magic – a performance before a medium scale audience such as an auditorium. 
        • Micromagic– performed close up using coins, cards, and other small items. It’s also known as close-up or table magic. This type of performance occurs in an intimate setting.
        • Escapology – In this type of performance, the artist escapes from a dangerous situation such as being submerged underwater while handcuffed or dangling from a burning rope. 
        • Pickpocket magic – A distraction type of performance, the artist, makes watches, jewelry, wallets, and more disappear through misdirection. The audience witnesses the entire event. 
        • Mentalism – This type of performance stuns the audience with the artist’s powers of intuition, memory,  deduction, and other feats of the mind.
        • Seances — theatrical environments that simulate mediumistic phenomena, which has variably been misused by charlatans pretending to actually be in contact with spirits
        • Children’s magic–performed for children, such as bday parties, preschool/elementary/Sunday schools, or libraries
        • Online magic–these are tricks that are designed to function on a computer screen. Some recreate traditional card tricks and require user participation. Others may be based on mathematical, geometrical, and/or optical illusions
        • Mathemagic–a portmanteau that combines math and magic to suggest that mathematics is a kind of magic. A large amount of self-working mentalism tricks rely on mathematical principles.
        • Corporate magic or trade show magic — uses magic as a communication and sales tool rather than just entertainment
        • Gospel magic — magic is used to catechize and evangelize
        • Street magic — a form of busking that employs a hybrid of stage magic, micromagic, and platform, usually surrounded by the audience. It has also come to describe a “guerilla” performance during which magicians approach and perform for random people they encounter on the street
        • Bizarre magic–typically performed in a close-up venue, this combines mystical, horror, fantasy, and other similar themes
        • Shock magic–sometimes referred to as “geek magic”, it took its roots from circus sideshows. Common examples include eating razor blades, needle-through-body part, string through neck, or pen-through-tongue
        • Comedy magic–magic combined with stand-up
        • Quick change magic–magic combined with the very quick change of costumes
        • Camera magic–aimed at viewers watching broadcasts or recordings, this employs tricks from the restricted angles and clever editing
        • Classical magic–conveys feelings of elegance and skill akin to those pioneering magicians from the 19th and 20th centuries
        • Mechanical magic–the magician uses mechanical devices to perform acts which appear to be impossible. It requires a certain degree of sleight of hand and carefully functioning mechanisms to be convincing. 
      • There are also a variety of categories on how to produce a given effect.
        • Production: The magician produces something from nothing
        • Vanish: The magician makes something disappear
        • Transformation: The magician transforms something from one state into another
        • Restoration: The magician destroys an object, then restores it to its original state
        • Transposition: A transposition involves two or more objects. The magician will cause these objects to change places, as many times as he pleases, and in some cases, ends with a kicker by transforming the objects into something else.
        • Teleportation: The magician causes something to move from one place to another
        • Escape: The magician (or less often, an assistant) is placed in a restraining device or a death trap, and escapes to safety.
        • Levitation: The magician defies gravity, either by making something float in the air, or with the aid of another object
        • Penetration: The magician makes a solid object pass through another
        • Prediction: The magician accurately predicts the choice of a spectator or the outcome of an event
      • From hobblylark.com, a list of the Top 10 Magicians The World Has Ever Seen
        • Val Valentino, Masked Magician
        • James Randi
        • David Blaine
        • Lance Burton
        • Shin Lim, on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us
        • David Devant
        • Apollo Robbins
        • David Copperfield
        • Penn and Teller
        • Harry Houdini
    • Magical thinking, or superstitious thinking, is “the belief that unrelated events are causally connected despite the absence of any plausible causal link between them, particularly as a result of supernatural effects”
      • Includes the idea that personal thoughts can influence the external world without acting on them (although I’m inclined to believe that Facebook has bartered this power from some devil)
      • Or that objects must be causally connected if they resemble each other or came in contact with each other in the past
      • This is a kind of fallacious thinking, and does not require the events in question to actually be correlated at all
      • In anthropology, a common causality is between religious practices such as prayer or ritual, sacrifice, or taboo, and an expected benefit or consequence.
      • In psychology, this is the belief that one’s thoughts alone can bring about effects in the world or that thinking something is equivalent to or corresponds with actually doing it
        • This can lead to an irrational fear of doing certain things or having certain thoughts and threatening calamities
      • In psychiatry, magical thinking is a disorder of thought content, denoting the “belief that one’s thoughts, actions, or words will cause or prevent a specific consequence in some way that defies commonly understood laws or causality.”
      • Overall, this type of thinking can be used to restore a sense of control over the generally chaotic circumstance of life, or by creating a feeling of insecurity and proposing yourself as a precaution
    • Magic in fiction refers to the endowment of characters or objects in works of fiction with powers that do not naturally occur in the real world
      • It frequently serves as a plot device, and has been a component in much of fiction since at least the days of Homer, through the tales of the Holy Grail, and onward to today via contemporary authors such as JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, and She-Who-Must-Be-Named
        • For much of history (and even to today), characters such as witches and wizards were widely considered to be real, which explains their presence in older literature such as Macbeth. 
        • Present-day authors tend to treat magic as imaginary, and a helpful device to create a world where the typical laws of reality can be much more flexible
        • As I said before, the device is also used to advance the plot, typically by providing power to protagonists and/or their opponents.
          • “This use of magic frequently manifests itself in a transformation of a character, if not the transformation of the fictional world”
  • The etymology of the words magic, mage, and magician come from the Latin “magus”, through the Greek word μάγος, which is pronounced “magos” with a hard g, from the Old Persian maguš. 
    • The term came into ancient Greece in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BCE, with a primarily negative application to rites that were regarded as fraudulent, unconventional, and dangerous
    • In the first century BCE, Latin adopted the term and it became incorporated into Christian theology, where it was associated with demons and essentially blasphemous
      • Throughout the Middle Ages, Christian authors established a library of magic practices, including enchantment, witchcraft, incantations, divination, necromancy, and astrology
    • Following the division of the Protestant Church from the Catholic Church, Protestants would often claim that Roman Catholicism was magic rather than religion. 
      • Further, as Christian European colonialism began spreading across the globe, the Christians would label the non-Christian beliefs they encountered as magical
    • Conversely, during the same time period, Italian humanists chose to reinterpret the “term in a positive sense to express the idea of natural magic.”
    • As a result, both positive and negative connotations of the term have been proliferating in Western culture from thereon
    • The term has become contemporary contexts to convey, “a type of excitement, of wonder, or sudden delight”
    • Scientists have also adopted the term in application to various concepts, including magic acid, magic bullets, and magic angles
  • What about “woo-woo”?
    • As defined by merriam-webster, “woo-woo” is “dubiously mystical, supernatural, or unscientific”
    • Of relatively recent usage, the etymology appears unknown, though some attribute it to the spooky sounds and music heard in horror movies
    • Urbandictionary further expands by stating that woo-woo is the “descriptive of an event or person espousing New Age theories such as energy work, crystal magic, Reiki, bizarrely restrictive diets, or supernatural/paranormal/psychic occurrences; often has studied in an authentic religious tradition such as Hinduism or Zen Buddhism, but now practices an Eastern-influenced yet severely watered-down and Westernized pseudo-mysticism; can also be a synonym for sketchy, probably because Santa Fe, NM, and Sedona, AZ, self-proclaimed woo-woo capitals of the world, also have a large and skeptical rock climbing population”
    • Other activities that are typically associated with this term are astrology, tarot card and psychic readings, feng shui, fortune telling, and being really into homeopathy over western medicine, among others. 
    • Perhaps a more macro definition would be a person who “has mystical or new age beliefs”, while a skeptic may be more inclined to call some it “irrational or based on extremely flimsy evidence or that appeal to mysterious occult forces or powers.”
    • People who are more spiritually inclined consider the term to be derogatory, which is fair, since it generally is used in a way to cast a person under the shadow of being irrationality and silliness, thereby discrediting their beliefs as lunacy.

History/Fun facts about the holiday

  • According to magicsam.com, “The roots of National Magic Week date back over 90 years.  In the summer of 1927, less than one year after the death of Harry Houdini, a “Houdini Day” was established.  In 1938, Les Sholty, a Chicago member of the Society of American Magicians, sought official sanction for a “Houdini Day.”  A friend of the Houdini’s requested and obtained permission from Mrs. Houdini (nee Wilhelmina Beatrice “Bess” Rahner) to proclaim October 31st as National Magic Day in honor of Harry Houdini.  A plan was formulated to celebrate this day by having free magic performances for shut-ins and the handicapped, who would otherwise not be able to go out and enjoy a show.  The first radio broadcast about National Magic Day occurred on July 20, 1938 on Radio station KQW.  Mrs. Houdini participated in that broadcast.”
  • Houdini, born Erik Weisz in 1874, died at 1:26PM on October 31st, 1926, at the age of 52.
    • His stage name was inspired by Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin’s biography. He incorrectly believed that an i at the end of a name meant “like” in French
      • He later claimed that “Harry” was intended as an homage to Harry Kellar, another magician he admired, though it’s more likely that it was adapted from “Ehri” which is apparently a nickname for “Ehrich”
    • At the time of his death, Houdini was the most famous member of the Society of American Magicians. 
    • He died from peritonitis, caused by a ruptured appendix. Witnesses corroborated that on the night of one of Houdini’s performances in Montreal, a McGill University student, J. Gordon Whitehead, punched Houdini multiple times in the abdomen while speaking with him in his dressing room.
      • Gordon had reportedly asked Houdini “if he believed in the miracles of the Bible” and “ whether it was true that punches in the stomach did not hurt him.” Houdini replied that his stomach could endure a lot, at which point Whitehead quickly delivered “some very hammer-like blows below the belt” while Houdini was in a seated position with a broken ankle from a previous performance. 
      • He stopped Whitehead abruptly in the midst of a punch, and performed the rest of the night in great pain and was unable to sleep. When he finally saw a doctor two days later, he was found to have a fever of 102F and acute appendicitis. He ignored the advice to have immediate surgery, and left for Detroit to perform what would be his last show on October 24th, with a temperature of 104F
      • One theory suggests that he could have been previously suffering from appendicitis but unaware until he’d received the blows to the abdomen. However, upon speaking with the witnesses from the dressing room incident, his insurance company concluded that the death was due to the dressing-room incident and paid double indemnity
      • His last words were reported to have been, “I’m tired of fighting… I do not want to fight anymore…”
    • Houdini was best known for his escape artistry (or escapology), but he was also a renowned illusionist, stunt performer, and later on a debunker of spiritualists and psychics. This was news to me so we’re going to take a quick shallow side dive
      • Houdini was a member of a Scientific American committee that would offer a cash prize to any medium who could successfully demonstrate supernatural abilities. The prize was never collected, as none were able to do prove their abilities
      • His reputation and fame as essentially one of the first “ghostbusters” grew, he began attending seances in disguise, accompanied by a reporter and police officer
      • In one famous case, he busted Mina Crandon aka “Margery”, a well-known psychic at the time, popular enough that her prayers were being read by the US Army and her skills were touted by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 
        • He exposed the mechanics she used during the attendance of two seances in 1924, and demonstrated her inability to replicate a “skill” by introducing certain controls, which were as simple as having to perform the same stunt with the the lights on and off, or wearing an apparatus that would prevent the movement of her legs.
      • This proclivity for debunking fraudulent mediums was followed by latter-day stage magicians, including James Randi, who starred in “Exploring Psychic Powers…Live” on June 7,1989. The special was hosted by Bill Bixby of My Favorite Martian fame, and offered $100,000 (10K from Randi, and 90K from the show’s syndicator, LBS Communications, Inc) to anyone who could demonstrate genuine psychic powers. Randi examined the following:
        • An astrologer who claimed to be able to ascertain a person’s astrological sign after talking with them for a few minutes. He was presented with twelve people, one at a time, each with a different sign. The agreement was to get ten of the 12 correct. He got none
        • A psychic who claimed that she could read auras around people, claiming that auras were visible at least five inches above each person. She selected 10 people from a group of volunteers, who she said had clearly visible auras. The 10 then positioned themselves at random behind 10 screens, which were tall enough to see an aura, but not the person. The psychic needed to get 8 of 10 correct, and she said that she could see an aura above all of the screens. However, people were only behind four of the screens
        • A dowser (which is a type of diviner employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals, ores, gemstones, oil, gravesites, malign “earth vibrations”, etc. without the use of a scientific apparatus) who claimed he could detect water, even in a bottle inside a sealed cardboard box
          • He was shown 20 boxes and asked to indicate which boxes contained a water bottle. He selected 8 of them, but it turned out only 5 of the original 20 contained water. Of the 8 he chose, only 1 was revealed to contain water, and one contained sand
        • A psychometric psychic who claimed to be able to receive personal information about the owner of an object by handling the object itself. She agreed to be presented with both a watch and a key from each of 12 different people, and then match the key and watch to their correct owner. She had to match at least 9 of the 12, but succeeded in only 2
        • A professional crystal healer who attempted to use ESP to identify 250 Zener cards (which are used to conduct experiments for ESP or clairvoyance) by guessing which of five symbols was on each one. It was agreed that she had to be right on at least 82 cards in order to demonstrate an ability greater than chance. She was able to get 50 correct, which is no better than random guessing
  • Anyway, National Magic Day is the last day of National Magic Week, which is organized by the Society of American Magicians from October 25 to 31 as a way to celebrate and appreciate the art and science behind magic
    • It was not until 1963 that the week was somewhat accidentally adopted. Edward Schneider, who was President of the Society of American Magicians, issued the first official proclamation for Magic Day. In order to accommodate the many activities and requests for TV and other media, the day was celebrated for nearly a week. The week became official in 1966 after the Society was inundated with requests from various Assemblies.
    • Magicians are encouraged to participate by performing at orphanages, hospitals, and nursing homes for those whose health and recovery may be aided by the simple joy of a live performance
    • According to gone-ta-pott.com, “When Magic Week is over, each local Assembly of the Society of American Magicians is encouraged to compile their Magic Week activities in a book and submit it to the National Council of the Society of American Magicians where they are reviewed and receive recognition.

Activities to celebrate

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  • Use #NationalMagicDay and #MagicDay on social media
  • Timeanddate.com suggests that you
    • Learn a few magic tricks to entertain your family and friends 
    • Read about the science and art behind magic acts
    • Attend a magic show (virtually)
    • Watch movies that Harry Houdini acted in. Some of his more famous works include “The Master Mystery” and “The Man from Beyond”
    • Since it’s also Halloween, you could dress up as a magician, decorate your home with a magic theme, or entertain trick or treaters with magic acts (from 6 feet away)
  • Ignore all things Harry Potter, because JK Rowling is the devil
  • Watch “Exploring Psychic Powers…Live” as it is on YouTube
  • Go to the Houdini Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania
  • Play Magic: The Gathering
  • Give Magic Johnson an elbow bump
  • NATIONAL MAGIC DAY mixtape–a short one. Feel free to shuffle so that you’re always *surprised*

Playlist

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Sources

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