Hi Everyone!

I've known about magic sqaures for a long time now but have never actually taken the 25 seconds it takes to do one. Well, after reading Harry's article in Genii, I finally put pen to paper and was pretty impressed. My question is this:

What patter do you use?

I'm sitting at restaurant with 4 people and they ask me to do some magic. I can borrow a pen and write on the napkin my magic square but will anyone care? I could ask someone what year they were born and add the numbers could add together to be their 'lucky number' but what would they use the number (21 e.g) for? How is it 'lucky?'

I think the efeect is a good one but I would like it to be more magical...I also would like to keep it completely free from any other devices-peeks, CT, anything. Just 1 pen, some lines, and some magical patter...

Thanx for your thoughts!

When I did the magic square at one of the resorts I was at...I made it look like it was done as rapid calculation.

Karl Fulves has a book called "self-working number magic". On page 68, effect # 42 called "The automatic magic square".

This is the item I used...I'd tell them that all I needed was to hear their choice of a number to start with and I would do the rapid math in my head and fill the square in seconds. And, after the square was finished the numbers would all equal to the chosen number, no matter how it was added and never use the same square twice.

Needless to say, it was a hit. My wife then came out to do her memory act, and used the Fulves method for that trick to repeat the numbers from the square as an encore to her 20 item list.

~Rick~

I was working a trade show for my not-so-magical job. There was an excellent magician who did a magic square routine. It was straight out of Harry Lorayne's Magic Book. He had two spectators pick single digit number. Then formed a two digit number from the digits (probably to keep the number somewhat small). He filled out the magic square very rapidly on a whiteboard.

He added one row together filled in the total in a circle on the whiteboard. He then proceeded to show that every row, column, diagnoal, etc. added to the same number drowing lines and arrows all leading to the circle. He did it at a very rapid pace and was very animated. This really made the routine - like he was using all his mental energies. Seeing all the writing on the whiteboard with arrows all going to the same total made for a very nice display.

Finished with "all paths lead to product xyz, blah, blah.." Very stunning and the audience was impressed.

If you want to risk a pyschological force you can try and force a number like 37 and then reveal a prepared magic square with it on there.

One way to make them care about is to do a birthday magic square. In Mark Farrar's version, the top row is their birthday (such as 3 5 19 73). David Berglas has a more elaborate version in his book. If you can do the "Day of the Week for any Date" effect along with it, so much the better.

I've often done the Flash Square version that uses the Stockholder, in which you create the square in under 10 seconds (on the back of your business card). Yes, I know you mentioned no devices, but the Stockholder works simply.

Two other impressive versions are Orville Meyer's "Magic Square and Master Memory Demonstration", in which you ask for an object to be written in each square, then you have people call out the objects, and you tell them which number goes in that square (with a chosen number to start, of course), and Craig Snader's "Mind Square", in which you create a magic square for any number called while blindfolded, occasionally repeating which squares have or haven't been done during the creation process.

If you are simply looking for good presentational concepts for the magic square, check here, here, here, here and here.

Chuck Hickok's presentation in his book "Mentalism Inc". is very nice... also James Bliss has a different way of performing it, check out his book "Messing with Minds".

Doug Dyment offers a great walkaround version in MindSights, available online at http://www.deceptionary.com/mindsights.html . Lots of other good stuff in the book as well.

I really like Bill Cushman's subliminal approach: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/searc......t=326432

I use this in conjunction with Doug Dyment's magic square method. I also employ a subtlety from Anthony Lindan's "Fortune and Fate" to make it even more convincing.

Photofinish,

Thanks so much for the compliment! This remains one of my favorite twists and is described, I believe, somewhere on another thread in more detail.

Doug Dyment was kind enough to allow me to use his method (as well contributing his superb editing skills)in a version to be published hopefully sometime this year. At present I use either Doug's set up, The Stockholder Wallet or a gimmickless version that I may or may not include when it is released.

I'm glad you've "made it your own" while still employing the basic premise.

Bill

I too have greatly overlooked to mystery of the magic square.

I'll second Doug Dyment's Mindsights book as a good source and practical application of the magic square.

Greg

Doug Dyment's Mindsights is an excellent source and it made me think about the Magic Square again. Doug is a creative thinker, a great writer and a very nice person to do business with. Highly recommended.