What is Magic?
Magic means different things to different people. For believers in the paranormal, for example, it refers to the manipulation of events, people, and objects through supernatural means to create a desired outcome. This type of magic may involve spells, rituals, charms, and other tools to alter the practitioner’s environment. The word is also used to refer to tricks and sleight of hand which make it seem like things are appearing and disappearing, as though supernaturally. The concept of magic has been present in human culture for thousands of years. Many cultures had versions of witches, wizards, warlocks, sorcerers, witch doctors, shamans, and other people who could supposedly harness supernatural powers for various tasks. Some religions incorporate a belief in magic, while other religions reject magic as the work of the devil, perhaps because these religions arose in opposition to the traditional practice of magic. Most cultures assume that in order to practice magic in the supernatur
by: Donald Tyson Magic is an art. In common with other arts, it draws its power from a deep well in the center of the human soul. Within this well are the waters of the unconscious, and below the surface dwell all possibilities and potentials, awaiting their turn to be pulled up into the light and made real. So long as they remain under the surface, they do not exist, but the moment they are captured and brought forth they come to be. This act of pulling a possibility from the well of potential into being is an act of creation. Every creative act is magical. And every magical act is creative. The difference between magic and painting is that the painter creates the canvas, while the canvas of the Magus is the world. Magic is the art of affecting the manifest through the Unmanifest. The manifest is all that can be seen, touched, perceived, manipulated, imagined, or understood. The Unmanifest is none of these things. It is the place, or rather the non-place, from which everything issues.
When the magician saws the lady in half, we don’t REALLY believe it. If the magician is good, we FORGET we really don’t! This is called “suspension of disbelief”, and is a fundamental principle of magic. When we build a model, no one EVER believes it is the real thing, but if we do it right, they just might forget, for a moment, that it isn’t! As model railroaders, we have the same tools available to us as any other magician has. Our success in suspension of disbelief hinges on our deliberate application of illusion, theatrics, misdirection, slight-of-hand and the promise of surprise… and entertainment! With these tools and practice we can work magic. As a model railroader you know that if you can imagine it, you can make it happen! As a model railroader, you already know one answer to the question “What is magic?”… “Magic is fun!”. Magic does seem to happen all by itself, sometimes. But with the right conscious effort it can happen any time we wish it to… right on cue! Which bri
