How to learn the simplest tricks. Interesting tricks at home reviews

Who doesn't love magic tricks? Everyone loves magic tricks - both adults and children. Because a trick is a little magic that, if desired and skillful, you can do yourself. Of course, this matter is not as simple as it seems at first glance, so to begin with, the tricks should be as simple as possible. But that doesn’t make them any less effective! We have put together magic tricks that you can show to kids or help your child master them himself - especially for little magicians! The most important thing in this matter is to learn the magic spell: “hocus pocus alle op!” All! Now everything will definitely work out!

Piggy bank book

And this is not a simple piggy bank, but a magical one - there are more and more coins in it! We put five coins on the page of the book, close the book, and do not forget about the spell. We open the book - ten coins already fall out of it! Everything is elementary: five coins need to be hidden in advance in the spine of the book. Now the main thing is that the coins do not fall out ahead of time.

Obedient tie

Even kids can do this trick. A young magician appears before the audience. But something is wrong with his suit. Oh yes - he forgot to put on his bow tie! But this is a fixable matter, a wave of the magic wand - hello oops! - and the tie is already in its place! The secret is simple: we sew a thin elastic band to the tie, and hide the tie itself under the armpit. We thread the other end of the elastic through the buttonhole on the collar and pull it under the shirt to the waist, securing it. Now all that remains is to take the magic wand in your hand, wave it - the elastic band is released, and the butterfly “flies” to its place!

Magic spoon

Calmly stir sweet tea or compote with a teaspoon. And suddenly - hello oops! - the spoon is already hanging on our nose! Miracles! In fact, everything is simple: the spoon really sticks to the nose because of the sugar (after all, our tea was sweet, and even more so the compote!). Of course, you need to glue the spoon with the concave side. Plus a little sense of humor and acting skills - a funny trick is ready!

Magic lid

We hand out 3 plastic bottle caps to the audience. One of them should be different from the others in color. Let the audience, without our knowledge, hide the lids in a box with three compartments, each lid in its own (the box is made of 3 boxes glued together). We pick up the box and unmistakably determine where the lid of a different color is located! How? Very simple. In advance, you need to put a weighting agent in this lid - a circle of lead, equal in size to the bottom of the lid. At the moment of guessing, carefully take the box with the lids with your fingers by the middle - the heavy lid will outweigh it slightly. If the drawer remains in balance, then the desired lid is in the middle compartment. And, of course, the caps should be given to the spectators one at a time so that they do not have the opportunity to compare their weight.

I can read minds!

The child takes a book at random from the shelf and asks the audience to tell the page number. Then he leaves the room. The magician's assistant reads out the top line of the page chosen by the audience. A young magician enters and repeats it without hesitation! He really can read minds! In fact, everything is simpler: our magician and sorcerer simply knows how to read. Behind the door lies the same book as the one that the child took out “at random” from the shelf. And he himself read the required top line behind the door!

Lord of Rice

The magician is holding a plastic margarine box filled with rice. The child covers it from above with exactly the same box - bottom up. After magical manipulations and reading the spell, the box opens, and lo and behold, a miracle - there is much more rice! It doesn’t even fit in the box and spills out onto the table! The secret of the trick is in the specially prepared box with which we covered our rice. It has a “double bottom” - the lid from it needs to be cut off and carefully glued as a bottom approximately in the middle of the box. Now the most important thing is not to mix it up and at the end of the trick, pour the rice into the right box, the one with a false bottom.

Sleight of hand

For this trick we will need a bracelet, rope and a scarf. The assistant tightly ties the young magician's hands, after which he gives him a bracelet and wraps the magician's hands with a scarf, holding the ends of the scarf. After a couple of moments, the scarf is removed, the magician raises his hands - and the magician’s bracelet is put on a rope! The thing is that there are actually two bracelets: the second one is already put on the child’s hand and hidden under the sleeve of the jacket. All that remains is to quietly drop the bracelet onto the rope and hide the second bracelet!

Candy made from... confetti?

For this sweet trick you will need a wide bowl filled with confetti to the middle and steam paper cups, but not simple ones, but a secret. Here it is, this secret: one of the cups should have a lid, on which we glue confetti thickly and thickly. Then it's a matter of technique. We put candy in a glass with a lid and bury it in the bowl of confetti. The child shows the bowl to the audience. So that everyone can see that there is no deception here, he scoops up confetti with another glass and pours it back into the bowl from a fairly high height. Then he scoops up the confetti again (but in fact takes another glass, and hides the first one in the bowl), covers it with a handkerchief, reads a spell, removes the handkerchief - in front of us is a glass filled with delicious candies! The main thing is to carefully remove the lid along with the scarf - this is the second secret of our trick.

Non-bursting ball

Take the inflated one balloon and a long sharp knitting needle. A swing, a precise movement - and the knitting needle is inside the ball, but the ball is intact! This is possible with a little preparation and a series of training. You need to stick a piece of transparent tape on both sides of the ball, and the magician’s task is to learn to hit exactly the marked places. It's not that easy and requires some dexterity. But the effect produced by the trick is worth the time and effort!

Fruit transformation

There is an orange in the palm of the young magician. The magician covers it with a scarf, casts a magic spell - and now there is not an orange on his hand, but an apple! And here’s the solution: you need to peel the orange in advance. And put a small apple inside it. The peel is removed with a slight movement of the hand along with a scarf.

Coin - acrobat

Let's invite our viewers to pick up a coin from the table without touching it. It is unlikely that anyone will be able to do this. Meanwhile, it is enough to blow sharply on a coin from a distance of about 5 cm - it will jump, and you need to keep your hand very close in order to have time to pick up the coin. The trick is charming, but requires practice.

I know your date of birth!

This trick, of course, is beyond the power of children. But you can surprise children and adults with them at some holiday. The magician asks the spectator to multiply his date of birth (number) by 2, add 5 to the result, multiply the amount by 50. Then add the number of the month of birth and call the resulting number. The presenter accurately names the viewer's date of birth! And first in his mind he subtracts 250 from the number named by the viewer. The result is a three- or four-digit number. One or two first digits of which is the date, and the second two are the month of birth.

Slippers and rug

The magician brings a rug onto the stage and shows it to the audience from all sides. He covers his feet with it (and at this time he quietly removes the slippers from his feet). The rug is removed - the slippers are revealed! But that's not all: While the magician bows, the slippers go backstage on their own (they are pulled by assistants on a fishing line)! This is an embarrassment! Let's go get the slippers!

Endless thread

There is a white thread on the magician's jacket; the magician tries to brush it off, but he fails. He asks the audience to remove the thread. The kind spectator pulls the thread, pulls, pulls, but it never ends! Soon the viewer becomes entangled in threads. In fact, in the inner pocket of the jacket there is a pencil with a long thread wound around it, and the end of the thread was pulled out with a needle. And we need a pencil for secrecy - even if attentive spectators suspect something, a pencil in your pocket will not give away the secret - it’s not a reel!

Magic water

There is one optical illusion: if you put a glass on a coin, it will be visible through the walls of the glass, but if you pour water into the glass, the coin will no longer be visible, unless, of course, you look at it from the side, but if you look exactly from above, it will be visible. This can become the basis for a focus. For example, you can glue a coin to the bottom of a glass. The magician shows the audience a glass of water - nothing is visible. And now (after the magic words) we look at the glass from above - a coin has appeared in the glass!

Weightless glass

For the trick we need three glasses and a sheet of paper. We place two glasses on the table not far from each other. The magician informs the audience that a sheet of paper placed on the glasses can easily support the weight of the third glass and invites the audience to try to check this. Of course, no one believes. But in vain! This is possible if you fold a sheet of paper like an accordion. For greater effect, you can pour water into the top glass.

Trained button

Pour soda into a glass and put a small button in it. Now we turn to the button: “swim up!”, then: “swim down!” The button is obedient! And here there is no secret at all, the law of physics: gas bubbles, gathering around the button, lift it to the top, at the top they burst, and the button sinks again. All that remains is to calculate the time for your teams.

Unblown candle

Here again are amazing laws of physics and no magic. We try to blow out the candle through the funnel - we blow into its narrow end. If the candle is located exactly in the middle of the funnel, nothing happens, but if the flame is located at the edge of the funnel, the candle goes out immediately. The fact is that the air we blow out is scattered and distributed around the edges of the funnel. Therefore, no air flow remains in the middle, which is why the candle does not go out.

Video: tricks and their secrets

Simple trick with cards - video

(Visited 103 890 time, 14 visit today)

Amazing tricks sometimes don't even require props

Do you want to be able to surprise people? Do you dream of becoming a magician? But this requires props, considerable skills, and many devices. In fact, there are many tricks for which you will need absolutely nothing .

At the same time, they are very easy to learn, and you can only unravel their secrets if you are very attentive person, who himself deals with such things, and even then only if he rushes and begins to demonstrate his skill without properly training.

So, the most amazing tricks without props . Perhaps you have already seen some of it yourself. It's time to find out the secret.

Focus "Closed hands"

An incredibly interesting trick that requires absolutely nothing. It is done very simply, even children can learn.

More likely, the one performing the trick will ask you to repeat all the movements after him .

• Pull your arms forward, place them crosswise, right over left
• Turn your palms towards each other so that your little fingers are at the top and clasp your hands.
• The thumbs are extended downwards.
• And then, maintaining your grip, you turn your hands thumbs up.
• Have you tried it? Most likely, you didn't succeed. But the illusionist opposite you freely unfolded his clasped hands.

Surprised? How did he do it? Very easy.

The main trick of many, the thing on which the whole secret rests, is a red herring. And here it is too. The trick will work best on a large audience. This way you will be watched less closely.

So, you asked the audience to clasp their hands crosswise with their little fingers up:

• And then attention needs to be naturally diverted somehow. For example, you can turn to one of the audience, ask them to raise their hands a little higher, and advise another person to lower them a little.
• And at the same time, you yourself unclasp your hands, and then clasp them again, quickly, so that no one notices that your grip has become different.

The secret of the clasped hands trick is revealed in this video:

And you make the capture very simple:

• Interlock your fingers in advance so that your thumbs are at the top, and then turn your palms one hundred and eighty degrees.
• The big ones look down, you pretend to be witchcraft, and then turn the lock with your little fingers down.

You succeeded, but the audience did not. If you practice, stretch your arm muscles a little, no one will notice anything, no matter where they are: in front of you, to the side or slightly behind. This is one of the few tricks when performing which you don’t have to make sure that the entire audience is in front of your eyes.

Focus "Hands in the lock"

Another interesting trick when your hands are clasped together. It can also be shown on large audience standing around you and not worrying about being exposed.

The magician clasps his palms, one palm is on top, its fingers are clenched, the other is below, the fingers are extended.

He turns the lock one hundred and eighty degrees, and the hand that turned out to be the bottom unclenches, and the upper hand squeezes, covering the lower one.

And so again, and then again. Then the “magician” shakes the lock, and the upper hand suddenly disappears, and five more fingers appear below, grasping the clutch.

Learn hand tricks in this video:

How it's done?

1. Apply right palm to the left and grab it.
2. Turn it over, turn it back over.
3. And then you need to very sharply bend the fingers of the lower hand and straighten the upper ones.
4. The main thing is to do it sharply and very quickly. Then it will cause surprise.

But this trick is very easy. It's good to show it to children. Attentive adults will quickly expose you.

This is just a small example of how many different things you can show using only your hands. Learn and surprise, and in any company you will be admired.

It is also possible to become a wizard without leaving home. To do this, you just need to know a few beautiful and fun tricks, the implementation of which does not require any specific props. Many ordinary things and objects to which we do not attach much importance can become magical in the hands of a skilled wizard.

Let's look at several options for beautiful, spectacular and colorful tricks performed at home from handy materials that will appeal to both adults and children.

"Merry Rainbow"

To perform this trick you will need the following set of components:

• high fat milk (at least 3.5%);
• food colors of different shades;
• dishwashing liquid;
• cotton swab;
• not too deep, but not a flat plate either.

Effect: beautiful multi-colored waves will move in the plate, forming spectacular circles and semicircles of a rich palette.

Execution: pour a little milk into a plate and add a few grains of different dyes. Then dip cotton swab in dishwashing liquid and, saying the magic words, poke it into the middle of the mixture in the plate. Further transformations will go on their own, as they begin to occur chemical reactions between the protein of milk, the fat in it and the detergent with dyes.

Try a trick ahead of time to calculate the maximum effective amount of detergent on the stick.

"Volcanic Lava"

A volcanic eruption can also be done artificially, using ordinary foods and medicines. This trick will appeal to both children and adults for its effectiveness.

You will need the following ingredients:

• ordinary water;
• transparent vessel (vase, tall glass);
• vegetable oil;
• coloring, food grade, red or orange color to resemble a flame of fire and a red-hot substance;
• any effervescent tablets (Suprastin, vitamins, ACC and others).

Effect: the wizard demonstrates ordinary water in a vessel. Then, as a result of magical transformations and the addition of witchcraft substances, the water turns into lava erupting, as if from the crater of a volcano.

Execution: add dyes to the water and add oil. Wait for the phases of the liquids to separate and at this point add the pop into the mixture. Next, the chemical reaction will complete the trick.

Such tricks at home, which are based on chemistry, are always particularly successful and amaze the imagination. After all, no one expects miracles from ordinary things! An interesting trick with glowing liquid that you can do yourself, see here:

Fruit transformation

A very interesting trick that children will especially enjoy. For it you will need:

• small apple;
• an orange with a larger diameter than an apple;
• beautiful colored scarf.

Effect: in front of the audience, the magician turns an orange into an apple!

Execution: you should prepare the necessary details in advance, namely, carefully separate the orange from the peel. It is important that the peel retains its almost perfect shape. Then we place the apple inside the peel and get what appears to be an orange. In front of the audience we demonstrate the fruit and declare that we will turn it into an apple using a spell. We say magic phrases, cover with a scarf and at this time squeeze the apple out of the peel, and leave it in the scarf in the other hand. We show the audience an apple.

Be sure to select the correct diameters of the fruits so that the focus turns out smoothly.

Burning banknote trick

Everyone will love this trick. Its essence is that the wizard sets fire to any banknote and it burns with a bright, beautiful flame. But after combustion it remains completely intact and unharmed. It seems impossible, but everything is quite understandable.

The secret lies in a special solution that needs to be used to treat the bill before setting it on fire. It consists of alcohol, water and salt (liquid ratio 1/1). The alcohol will burn faster than it reaches the dried bill, and the fire will go out, leaving the money unharmed.

A very interesting trick with a flying lighter flame. It looks like this: you strike the flint, but the light does not appear at the base, but seems to float much higher. The secret of this trick can be seen here:

If you want the fire of a burning bill to be also beautiful, you can add any chemical salt to a mixture of alcohol and water (lithium, potassium or chromium salts).

Lord of Fire

A good trick that requires very little preparation. You announce to the guests that you know how to command the fire of a candle and can make it go out at your request. Light a candle and say a magic spell, after which the fire goes out.

The secret of this trick is that before putting the candle on display, you need to drop stationery glue (silicate) into the recess with the wick. As soon as the combustion reaches a drop of glue, the fire will immediately go out.

Practice beforehand so you know approximately how many spells you will need to cast. This way you can avoid the ridiculous delay of the trick.

Homemade water tricks

A very interesting trick with water disappearing from a mug will definitely interest viewers. The effect is as follows. The wizard takes a mug, a very ordinary one, pours the same ordinary water into it and begins to cast spells. After some time, he turns the mug over, and there is no more water in it!

The secret of this trick and its training can be found here:

The trick with bleaching ink water is also beautiful. For it you will need:

• water;
• Activated carbon;
• transparent glass;
• ink.

Effect: water colored with ink becomes discolored after the magic words and the addition of powder.

Execution: Crush the coal into powder in advance and pour into colored water. Then shake slightly and that's it, discoloration has occurred. The secret is that carbon is an adsorbent that absorbs ink.

Guessing the magic number. This is a simple trick in which the magician asks a person to perform simple mathematical calculations, which leads him to practically the same answer every time. Here's what you should tell the viewer:

• “Come up with any number from 2 to 10.”
• "Multiply it by 9."
• “Add the first digit of this number to the second.”
• “Subtract 4 from the result.”
• “Remember the new number - this is your secret number!”
• “Now guess the letter of the alphabet corresponding to this number. That is, if you get 1, then this is the letter A; 2 - letter B and so on."
• "Think about European country, which begins with this letter."
• “For the 3rd letter of this country, wish for a large animal.”
  • When the viewer has followed all your instructions, simply say, “I know what you're thinking... it's the number 5 and the rhinoceros in Denmark!” This should work every time.

From time to time, people appear on television screens doing amazing things. In their hands, an ordinary wooden stick passes through thick glass, and multi-colored tennis balls appear out of nowhere and just as suddenly disappear. A deck of cards in skillful hands turns into an endless series exciting puzzles, which you don’t have time to solve - so quickly one focus is replaced by another. Trying to unravel the secrets leaves no other option but to learn the tricks yourself. But remember that this exciting activity is not as simple as it seems at first glance.

Card tricks

The spread of popularity is explained, first of all, by the availability of the props necessary for the show. It’s not difficult to learn – just buy a playing deck and the fun begins.

Props: Card deck.

External effect. One of the spectators shuffles the cards and makes sure that the deck does not contain secrets. Having divided the deck of cards into 4 parts, ask three spectators to choose and remember one card each from three parts of the deck. Hold the fourth part in your hands. The deck is assembled again, and a randomly selected spectator deals cards one at a time into 3 equal piles, according to the number of cards guessed. The number of cards to be laid out is chosen arbitrarily, but their number in each pile must be the same. The cards chosen by the spectators are placed on top of each pile. The deck is then connected. Having invited the audience to remove the deck several times, the magician makes a circular layout and names the cards chosen by the audience.

The Secret of Focus in the fourth pile remaining in the hands of the performer during the selection of cards by 3 participants. Remember the first card from the part of the deck that remains in your hands. When assembling the deck, place the part with the card you know on top. When further laid out, it will be at the bottom. Then, when folding the deck, after the spectators have placed their cards on each pile, it will be located above the first of them. As you deal cards in a circle, wait for yours to appear. The next card, and every fourth after that, will be the one chosen by the audience.

Coin tricks

Before you learn how to perform magic tricks, determine the audience you are going to surprise. For home shows, tricks using familiar objects are suitable.

Props: coin and matchbox.

External effect. Show an empty matchbox, open it, close it, shake it to confirm that it is empty. Reopen and carefully remove the metal coin from the inner compartment. Hand the coin and box to the spectators for inspection.

The Secret of Focus consists in the fact that the coin is hidden in advance between the moving part and the top cover. Pushing forward inner part To inspect, discreetly hold the coin with your finger and press it against the upper fixed part of the box. When closing the box, release the coin and it will fall inside. After this, open the box and demonstrate the appearance of a metal coin appearing there.

Tabletop tricks

Creating a simple illusion is not difficult, you just need to know how. The simplest tricks help to learn magic tricks, using the example of which a novice magician learns the basics of working with improvised props.

Props: bowl of water and talcum powder.

External effect. The illusionist pours tap water into a bowl of water. Ask one of the spectators to do this procedure - this way the audience will have no doubt that the water and bowl do not contain secrets. Ask the audience if you can immerse your hand in the liquid without getting it wet. The answer is obvious, and anyone can try it. But the magician puts his hand in the water, and it remains completely dry.

The secret of the trick consists of colorless talc powder, which is used to treat the hand. Not a single drop of water will linger on the magician's hand immersed in liquid. It seems as if the illusionist literally I managed to get away with this word unscathed. Instead of talc, try using zinc stearic powder if desired. It has increased water-repellent properties.

Tricks with ropes

After you have managed to overcome the first steps in the art of illusion and learn, try making special props yourself.

Props: rope with a secret.

External effect. Magician demonstrates auditorium thick rope and wonders if it can be forced into a vertical position. For the experiment, a spectator is invited to check the rope and try to complete the task. Then the magician gets down to business. He ties a knot at one end and stretches the rope vertically. The top edge is released (with a knot), and the cord remains rigidly standing on the hand in a vertical position. A light blow to the center of the rope - it falls and becomes soft again.

The Secret of Focus consists of a specially prepared rope. The internal synthetic threads that serve as filler are removed from any thick cord. The vacated space is filled with wooden cylinders attached to a strong thread or fishing line. The size of the cylinders corresponds to the inner diameter of the rope. The length is 25-30 mm. For a thin curtain cord, cylinders made from a round pencil with a previously removed lead are suitable. The number of cylinders depends on the length of rope they fill. On one side, the fishing line with cylinders is attached to the edge of the rope, and on the other, a circle is attached to it, protecting the cylinders from slipping. The length of the fishing line and cylinders is slightly less than the length of the rope. Thanks to this, the cord remains soft and elastic when loose.

Having tied a knot on the side with the fishing line attached, the illusionist uses his other hand to force the cylinders inside the rope to move close to each other through the soft braid of the cord. On this basis, the outer braid of the rope will take a rigid vertical position. By striking the cord and relaxing his fingers, the magician releases the inner cylinders and the rope falls freely.

Tricks with scarves

Learning magic tricks at home is not difficult - the repertoire of an amateur magician includes tricks that do not require large boxes or complex mechanisms.

Props: handkerchief and matches.

External effect. The sorcerer shows a handkerchief. Viewers see that it is empty and does not hide any secrets. The handkerchief is spread on the table and a match is placed in the center, which is first inspected by the audience. The magician folds the handkerchief in such a way as to hide the match. Then he hands the rolled up fabric to the viewer, asks him to feel the match and break it in several places. He takes the handkerchief, puts it on the table and unfolds it. In the center, viewers see a match that remains intact.

The Secret of Focus consists of a second match, previously placed in the side seam of the scarf. When demonstrating the props, the magician holds the cloth at the corner in which the second match is hidden. By folding the scarf and hiding a real match, the illusionist places the corner of the scarf in the middle of the fabric, in which there is a “bookmark”. It is this that the viewer feels through the fabric and breaks. Naturally, when unrolling the scarf, a whole and undamaged match is found in it.

Complex tricks using special props

For the first illusion session, you will have to make some simple devices that will help you show exciting tricks. A novice performer will not only have to learn how to learn tricks, but get ready to become the designer of some of them.

Props. with a secret, notepad, pencil.

External effect. The performer shows a small black board in a wooden frame and says that this magic board can count. After that, he wraps it in newspaper, seals it with tape and gives it to the viewer for safekeeping. Then he takes a notepad and pencil and asks 4 spectators to write one five-digit number in a column. He tears out a piece of paper with numbers from the notebook and invites another viewer to count and write down the sum of the numbers below. He tears off half of the sheet with the result and leaves it with the audience. He cuts the tape along with the newspaper and shows the board with a number written in chalk on it. Spectators check the answer - the amount on the piece of paper and on the board match.

The Secret of Focus lies in two details.

1. The slate board consists of two parts. The board itself is in a frame and an insert that fits the internal size of the frame and covers the main part of the board. The outer part of the liner and the board are painted the same black color. The second side of the insert is painted to match the tablecloth of the table on which the magician puts the props.
2. The notebook should have a cover without a picture and be easy to open from either side.

On the first page of the notebook, the magician writes 4 numbers in advance, calculates their sum and writes them with chalk on a slate board. The answer is covered with a liner at the top and the board looks clean on the outside. Having demonstrated the board to the audience, the magician turns it away from the audience, places it on the table and wraps it in newspaper. At this point, he drops the insert onto the table and wraps the board, without showing the audience the front side with the written number. For reliability, the newspaper is secured with tape, and the props are handed over to the audience.

The magician asks 4 different spectators to write numbers in a column on the blank side of the notepad. Moving on to the fifth spectator to count the amount, he turns the notebook over and tears out a piece of paper with numbers written in advance, the sum of which he invites the spectator to calculate. To prevent the deception from being revealed, the performer tears off part of the sheet with the amount and leaves it with the viewer. The second half, with the numbers prepared in advance, is put in his pocket. After this, he takes the board from the audience, removes the tape with the newspaper and demonstrates the number written in advance on the board. Naturally, it coincides with the amount calculated by the viewer.

Applause! Astonishment! Mistrust! Delight! And endless questions about how to learn magic tricks at home are guaranteed to accompany a novice illusionist after such a spectacular final trick.

It is important not only to understand how to learn magic tricks. Follow the rules that will help you build a program and present your prepared tricks to the audience.

1. Carefully rehearse each trick in front of a mirror. Achieve precise gestures, confident work with props, and prepare for possible surprises that await you during a speech in front of an audience.
2. Don't talk about what you are going to do in advance. Knowing in advance what task you have set for yourself, the audience will closely follow you, and it will be difficult to divert their attention at the right moment.
3. Don't perform the same trick twice in the same performance. Upon repeated viewing, viewers who are aware of the final result of the trick will definitely try to uncover your secret.
4. Do not give in to persuasion and do not reveal the secrets of the tricks you demonstrate. A trick whose secret has been exposed ceases to be amazing and mysterious, and loses its aura of incomprehensible magic.