Magic wand

“ It may be examined by the spectators ad libitum. Not so the magic wand, which is hollow and filled with the contents of several eggs. One end of the wand has an opening which is stopped up with a piece of butter. When the pan is heated the butter melts and the beaten-up eggs run out of the wand and are speedily metamorphosed into an omelet. The stirring of the pan with the wand, supposed to be a part of the conjurer's performance, is really necessary to the trick. The wand is usually made of tin. It must be an exact imitation of the wooden wand used during the course of the entertainment. ”

“ But she would quickly banish such thoughts, and gliding round the room would touch every dull corner with her fairy wand till it shone and brightened with a magic charm, would cast a spell upon the smouldering fire, so that it burned and crackled cheerily, would lay her cool hand upon the sick girl's throbbing brow till the pain abated, and would cast a fairy haze before her languid eyes, so that they saw beautiful visions in the changeful sky. ”

“ In conclusion, let us repeat that, the Magic Wand is but the highly sensitive magical medium for transmitting and concentrating the force of the learned magician; that it is equally powerful under great excitement of mind, WHETHER USED CONSCIOUSLY OR NOT. The stream of mental fire will go in the direction the Wand happens to be pointed, and, therefore, should never be in the hands of the wicked or foolish, any more than firearms. It is potential or otherwise, in exact proportion to the artist's wisdom and dynamic mentality, and is useless in the hands of the idiotic or weak-minded. ”

“ Later on, by holding the wand in the hand, he effectually disguises the fact that he has some object, a card, a coin, or a watch concealed therein. If he has occasion to call attention directly to any object, the wand forms the most natural pointer. If he finds it necessary, for some reason connected with the trick in hand, to make a turn or half-turn away from the spectators, the fact that he has left his wand upon the table affords him the needful opportunity. ”

“ Another great aid to us is our wand. From time immemorial a wand has been the symbol of magic. Ordinarily it is but a stick, a bit of ebony or ivory, and of course with that it is not possible to do any tricks. ”

“ It is a fairy wand of great fear, stronger than those who use it—often frightful, often wicked to use. But whatever is touched with it is never again wholly common; whatever is touched with it takes a magic from outside the world. If I touch, with this fairy wand, the railways and the roads of Notting Hill, men will love them, and be afraid of them for ever. ”

“ Here is magic for you, indeed, of the kind that the parlor magician is wont to supply; frail and beautiful things grown{16} at a breath, almost, from obscure and trivial sources. Yet I seem to find a more potent if less spectacular witchery in what has been done to the willows that here and there grow in the thicket that borders the slender bog road. Some winged sprite has touched their branch tips with fairy wand and whispered a potent word to them, and the willows have obeyed and grown cones! These are an inch or more in length and as perfect with scales as those of the pines up in the wood. ”

“ Their first thought was to reward the frog, who had unconsciously been the means of curing them of their misfortunes. The first witch waved her magic wand over the frog, and changed her into the loveliest girl that had ever been seen. The second witch waved the wand over the tiny chariot and ponies, and they were turned into a beautiful large carriage with prancing horses, and a coachman on the seat. The third witch gave the girl a magic purse, filled with money. Having done this, the witches disappeared, and the youth with his lovely bride drove to his mother's home. ”

“ The rout is Folly's circle, which she draws
With magic wand. So potent is the spell,
That none, decoy'd into that fatal ring,
Unless by Heaven's peculiar grace, escape.
There we grow early grey, but never wise; ”

“ Success seems to come readily after a visit to the rooms of a rich, bored young man whom the wand transforms. But the uncertain days that follow, days during which Fairy-godmother tests and even doubts the magic of her wand, ripen her childish wisdom. ”

“ Wine and oil, salt and dates, and onions and saliva are the sort of things used. There is also evidence of the employment of a magic wand. [79] Gems and animal substances were used as well as herbs; all sorts of philters were concocted; and varied rites and ceremonies were employed such as ablutions and fumigations. In the account of the ark of the Babylonian Noah we are told of the magic significance of its various parts; thus the mast and cabin ceiling were made of cedar, a wood that counteracts sorceries. [80]
Greek culture not free from magic. ”

“ The proper time to manufacture a Magic Wand is whenever you can find the person who is able to do the work. But after it is constructed it must be thoroughly magnetized, with proper ceremony and aspiration, the first or the second full Moon after the Sun enters Capricorn, at midnight, when the Moon will be culminating in her own sign upon the mid-heaven. ”

“ We can only transmit through this Wand the degree of force we may happen to possess in the soul.
In a properly prepared Wand lies the most powerful weapon, to protect or destroy, that can be placed within a magician's hands. With his own spiritual force and knowledge, combined with the magic power attached to the instrument, nothing can withstand its power, when directed with a determined and powerful will. ”

“ Habitual use of the wand, with apparent seriousness, goes far to create the desired atmosphere.
A good effect may be produced by “electrifying” the wand now and then, by rubbing it with a handkerchief. The main uses of electricity are so widely known, and so little understood by the million, that they are quite ready to give it credit for still more marvellous possibilities.
My friend Mr. Holt Schooling, mentioned in connection with The Secret of the Pyramids, finds an additional use for the wand. ”

“ For each fresh trick the wand professedly appropriate to it is brought into action, the one last used being at the same time replaced on the stand. The spectators do not suspect that behind each top corner of the board is a small servante, enabling the performer, under cover of the change of wands, to change a pack of [206] cards, or to effect some other substitution necessary for the purpose of his next item. ”

“ The very ancient and widely-spread belief in the efficiency of magic wands probably came from an early faith in such implements as had been warranted to have magic virtues as weapons, or to aid a pedestrian in walking. ”

“ The "Anti-gravity wand," invented by that clever magician, Dr. Elliott, would prove useful in the above instance, (Fig. 58) . It consists of a piece of brass tubing made to correspond
Fig. 58.—Anti-Gravity Wand with the performer's ordinary wand but with square ends. In one end of this tubing is inserted a cylindrical lead weight made to fit nicely. At each end of the weight is glued a piece of felt, so as to prevent noise while the fake is working. With this trick wand you can apparently defy the law of gravity. ”

“ Give the pieces to the gentleman who is to assist you, but retain the slip. A judicious use of the wand will enable you to better conceal the palmed linen, and to effect the several changes in an indetectible manner. ”

“ The prestige of the illusion is heightened by the simplicity of the appliances used, consisting merely of three tin cups about three inches high, each in the form of a truncated cone, with a rim or shoulder round the base (see Fig. 118) , the ordinary wand, four little cork balls, three-quarters of an inch or a little less in diameter, and blackened in the flame of a candle, three larger balls of about an inch and a quarter in diameter, and four more of such a size as to just fill the goblet. ”

“ A mere nothing will suffice—a touch of the wand, the pronouncing of a magic formula, the pressure of a finger; but in some form or other the ceremony should never be omitted. Thus, to take a very simple example, we will suppose that by means of Pass 1 you have apparently placed in the left hand a coin, which really remains in the palm of the right. If you at once open the left hand, and show that the coin is not there, the spectators will naturally jump to the correct explanation, viz., that you did not, in reality, put the coin there at all. ”

“ To understand the use of this force, but never to be obsessed and never overcome thereby, is to trample on the serpent’s head, and it is this which we learn from the Magic of Light; in such secrets are contained all mysteries of magnetism, which name can indeed be applied to the whole practical part of antique Transcendental Magic. Magnetism is the wand of miracles, but it is this for initiates only ”

“ He simply gave orders and caused all things to appear and to be made,—sun, moon, stars, wind, mountains, animals.
In many of the primitive stories, magic is the means by which the most wonderful effects are produced. It was believed that a magician could bring [45] about any effect he desired by the mere use of his will, and often without any visible symbol of magic power. Sometimes, however, magic wands were used, and sometimes ceremonies were performed for the purpose of producing magical results. ”

“ There are magic wands for turning living or lifeless beings into what one wishes and not the least in order to injure one's enemies. There are means to look into the future and to attain one's wishes, apples of life and water of life for rejuvenation and the preservation of this otherwise all too short existence.
This enumeration is naturally quite incomplete; it contains only examples. A more detailed citation is probably superfluous as in every collection of fairy tales examples may be found without much difficulty and mythology contains numerous proofs. ”

“ Whenever required for the trick a piece is cut off with a knife. Care must be taken not to make the mistake of putting the wrong end of the tube in the mouth. When the paper bursts into flame it is crumpled into a ball and dropped on a plate. The thin glass tube is crushed into small bits by the above operation, and is not seen by the audience.
The Ring On The Wand.—A very pretty and graceful parlor trick is the ring on the wand. Suspend a plain gold ring to the centre of a handkerchief by means of a short piece of silk thread. ”

“ If he wants to hold a coin or any object concealed in his hand, without others observing the fact of his hand being closed, the wand in that hand is a blind for its concealment. He may require to pick up or lay down some object, and he can do so while openly fetching or laying down his wand. If he wants to gain time, for any illusion or process of change, he can obtain it while engaging the attention of the spectators by some fantastic movements of his wand. ”

“ The fairies put the kettle in the middle of the room, and the four magicians waved their wands over it, and moved slowly about it singing,—
“Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire, burn, and cauldron, bubble!”
When the spell was finished, the smoke died away, and the Witch stooped over and ladled something out, which she threw into the fireplace. “Now, come, everybody!” she cried in a cracked voice, “and dip pot-luck out of the magic kettle.” ”

“ The feat of the magician, who, by the touch of his wand, could cause the Great Pyramid to dissolve into the air and to vanish from the sight, would be as surprising as the achievement of him, who, by the same rod, could instantly raise a similar mass in any chosen spot. ”

“ The wand or staff of the Tarots represents the cards as they were originally used for divination, when a bundle of arrows, of rods, of straws or of sticks were gathered together and cast down before the images in the temple, so that their direction might be noted and inferences drawn as to the wishes of the gods.
Divination arrows with many mystic significances were common among all primitive nations. The “golden rod” given to Mercury was evidently the magician’s wand used when the plagues of Egypt were overwhelming the land. ”

“ If he’s a magician, he knows you need that Bag, and perhaps he’s afraid of your magic. So he’s probably taken the Bag with him, and you won’t see it again unless you find the Magician.”
“That sounds reasonable,” remarked the Lamb, which was Dorothy. “Those pink brains of yours seem to be working pretty well to-day.”
“If the Glass Cat is right,” said the Wizard in a solemn voice, “there’s more trouble ahead of us. That Magician is dangerous, and if we go near him he may transform us into shapes not as nice as these.” ”

“ Inclosed find wand as requested. Had to shoot bird. Sorry. Will have it stuffed. ⁠ Yours, Ahab
The magician opened the package, and there was the wand.
"You are a little behind the age," said the wizard. "I should think you would know better than to race with electricity!" ”

“ Therefore I can do any of the magic that's inside me, but nothing else. You, however, are a wizard, and a wizard should be able to do anything."
"Your Majesty forgets that my tools of magic have been stolen," said the Wizard sadly, "and a wizard without tools is as helpless as a carpenter without a hammer or saw." ”

“ When night came, she perceived near her a little light, which sufficed to show her her lover. "Here is my illuminated wand," said he: "place it before you, and go without fear wherever it will lead you. Where it stops you will perceive a great heap of dry leaves; set fire to it, enter the place; you will see and you will find the skin of a beast; burn it. The stars, our friends, will do the rest. Adieu!"
Fairer than a Fairy would have desired far more ample instructions; but seeing there was no remedy, she placed the wand before her, which showed her the way. ”