There's No Cheating in Magic

Karl Germain was an American magician who performed under the name Germain the Wizard. Germain is responsible for one of my favorite quotes that really highlights the charm of being a magician.

Given that Karl Germain was a magician and a lawyer, I feel he had more qualifications than anyone else to assess what is honest. But, his defense of deceit is not all that justifies the title of this essay. Follow me, and let me show you not only is there no cheating in conjuring – but that it is impossible to do so!

Now, why am I addressing this? Because I hear "cheating" used negatively by my own compeers! Some members of my own fraternity are uncomfortable using gimmicks and tricks over pure sleight-of-hand methods to create an illusion. They feel that the use of props, assistants, stooges, or even marked decks is cheating their audience. That is to say, they feel like their skill is coming from the prop and not themselves, the performer. Keep reading. I can show you how this is decidedly not the case.

What Do You Mean by Cheating?

But first, we need a working definition of cheating. We should first consult various dictionaries and encyclopedias. We see that cheating is to deceive or deprive through trickery. But there is one simpler, underlying concept in common with all the definitions I have read. Cheating is to defeat the purpose of.

Let’s look at an example of a sports game. A baseball is designed to see who the fastest runners and the fastest throwers are. The game will show which teams have the best strategies and the best overall teamwork. But the one who cheats is defeating the purpose of the match by gaining advantages not offered by their own skills and physical abilities.

The same can be said of a math test. The test is meant to demonstrate your recall and your ability to use mathematical concepts to solve problems. A cheater will defeat the purpose of that test by using outside information that is not allowed. They are providing correct answers without using their own knowledge.

We can even extend this concept to relationships such as marriage. Typically, the purpose of marriage is for two people to devote themselves to each other. They work to maintain intimacy between each other. But a partner can cheat that purpose of the marriage by seeking another companion.

I admit that I'm presenting a broad framework. But I find it surprisingly useful. So, let’s see how this framework applies to magic. First, we decide what our purpose is for performing magic. I cannot define your purpose for you; that's not my job. A goal is something personal that only you can decide. But we can start with my goal as an example.

Most people have never seen magic performed live. I use this as an opportunity to give that person an experience that they will not receive from anyone else. Yes, they may see magic performed by another magician. But they will not get the same experience as they had from me. So my goal is to give that person a truly impossible moment that they can keep in their memories for as long as possible. My purpose in magic is to give people a moment of astonishment that they can keep with them for the rest of their lives. If that sounds bold and brassy, it should be! Magic needs boldness. I’ve met people years after my performance that remembered a specific moment that I had created for them. How powerful is that?

Cheating Never Looked So Good

Now, what is in a magician’s repertoire that could defeat that purpose? As long as my magic achieves my stated goal, then there cannot be cheating. There is literally nothing in my arsenal that could defeat my purpose. I can use sleights, gimmicks, assistants, stooges, shills, fakes, duplicates, etc. I can use premises that I devised ten minutes ago or ideas that are as old as the hills. I’ve even performed coin magic using no coins at all! Artifice, deception, and trickery are all within my domain. Any and every tool is within my employ. Nothing is off-limits!

For the novice, this is excellent news! When I first began in magic, I felt…uncomfortable lying to my audiences. I really did! I’m an honest person at heart. Even showing my hand empty after making a coin vanish felt like a betrayal to my audience. For I alone knew the truth of my deception.

But today, I have a very defined purpose for my magic. And the deceits and deceptions that I employ are for the greater purpose of creating those astonishing moments people love to experience. Whatever hang-ups I held in the past, I was finally able to let them go.

So listen up, those of you who are currently in the same boat that I abandoned years ago. Feel free to jump overboard with both feet. Use whatever means in your employ! This usage of the word cheating has one interesting consequence. There is one way to cheat at magic. If your given purpose in magic is to create an impossible moment, if you want to produce astonishment in your audience, then revealing how the magic works will defeat that purpose.

Revealing your secrets is the only cheating – it truly defeats the purpose of magic!