Welcome to the last Monthly Update for 2025. This one is going to be on the short side for once, owing to a festive mishap on Christmas Day. A surprisingly stubborn parsnip—clearly a vegetable with a deep-seated grudge against me—caused a sharp kitchen knife to slip, leaving me with a deep cut across the pad of my left thumb.
The wound did not require stitches, but I still had the pleasure of dragging the whole family to the A&E (Accident and Emergency) department—the ER for my friends in the States—on Christmas Day. The cut was deeper than I first thought, and the bleeding proved impossible to stop with a tea towel and the usual magical incantations at home. Nothing says happy holidays like the sterile glow of a hospital waiting room!
Needless to say, I have not been able to pick up a pack of cards or write much this past week. While typing is not strictly out of the question, it is very uncomfortable to do for any length of time.
Thankfully, it doesn’t appear that I’ve done any serious damage to my thumb, and I should be able to remove the dressing in a couple of days. Until then, my card handling is limited to looking at the deck and sighing heavily!
Soulmate Sorcery 👰🤵
Luckily, before I had my festive accident, I did manage to finish writing up thirteen new card routines with a romantic “soulmates” theme. These tricks are ideally suited for weddings and other romantic settings.
If you need some New Year reading material, look no further than this bumper edition of Tricks, Tricks & More Tricks.
(You can also access all the new tricks via links on my blog, Marty’s Bag of Tricks.)
‘Tis the Season to be Wrapping 🎁
Watching three daughters tear into their Christmas presents is one of the great joys of being a parent. The downside, of course, is that I must wrap almost every one of them (except those delivered by the “big man in red”, who can, unlike me, outsource wrapping responsibilities to his little helpers). To make matters worse, relatives often send unwrapped gifts via Amazon to avoid paying for delivery twice; understandable, but a little annoying nonetheless.
Despite our best efforts not to spoil the girls, the sheer volume of presents usually necessitates a mammoth festive wrap-a-thon, and this year was no different. As I was furiously cutting, folding, and sticking, it struck me: a magic trick is a great deal like a Christmas present.
You may spend hours meticulously wrapping a gift, only to watch it get ripped apart in seconds by an excitable child. In the same way, we magicians spend weeks, months, or even years scripting, practising, and rehearsing a piece of magic, only for it to be over in a matter of minutes (or, in some extreme cases, a few seconds).
Yet the effort remains worth it for that shared sense of anticipation. Whether it is a wrapped box or a conjuring trick, the joy lies in the fleeting moment of surprise and delight that follows the gift’s unwrapping or the effect’s magical revelation.
Three Videos Worth Watching
And finally, here are three more videos that I think are worth watching this month.
Blaine on a Plane ✈️
Duration: 2 minutes
This video of David Blaine performing his version of Eddie Fetcher’s “Be Honest, What Is It?” is an excellent lesson in adapting your sleight of hand to a challenging performance environment (he’s surrounded and being filmed by multiple people).
I also like the way he incorporated a psychological number force into the trick; something I might try in the future.
H2O by Juan Colas
Duration: 4 minutes
I recently bought this trick by Juan Colas and Ellusionist. It is his excellent handling of Anthony Owen’s “Ultimate Oil and Water”, a card plot I usually find quite boring!
Fan Fundamentals with Biz
Duration: 33 minutes
I’m a big fan of flourishes, and while they can sometimes distract from the magic, I think, when used judiciously, they can also enhance it. For this reason, I was excited to see that Biz and Big Blind Media are planning to release a series of YouTube videos to create a Cardistry Bootcamp.
Here’s the first video in the series, on fans. Of course, I’ll have to wait until next month to take advantage of this and practise my thumb fans!
My thumb is getting a little sore, so I think that’s enough typing for now. Wishing all my Ruseletter readers a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year! 🥳
Yours Magically,
Marty