Why magicians do not reveal their secrets?

Over hundreds of years, magicians followed their oath which dictates that they should never reveal secret behind magic tricks to non-magicians.

Obviously it was developed to protect their profession. In ancient time it was very difficult to get hold of the magic secrets.

But in the internet age, the situation became very different. During late 90s, a TV show “Breaking Magicians Code – magic’s biggest secret finally revealed” was aired and a magician revealed many of the traditional magic’s secrets. This show was featured many times later with newer tricks revealed.

This has naturally raised concern among professional magicians. However, the presenter of the show, known as Masked Magician (whose real name is Val Valentino), argued that modern magicians are not inventing any new tricks and trying to cash on age old tricks. There will be always counter arguments on whether it was ethical or not, but lots of people (including myself) were glued to this TV show when they were aired.

Yes, this has revealed lots of magic secrets. However, magician’s presentation skill and stage setup have lots to do with the magic rather than just knowing the tricks. In magic, presentation is everything. So tricks require years to practice to achieve proficiency (even if you know the trick in theory).

It is true that in recent years, the craze for people to  watch live magic show has dwindled a lot. But this is not because secrets are revealed but more due to different socio-economic changes. People nowadays find entertainment in different events.

Tags: entertainment