🃏🌴 Packet Trick Paradise #6: Paradox of Love
A romantic packet trick perfect for couples, Valentine's Day or weddings. ❤
Welcome to the latest installment of Packet Trick Paradise, my regular column in which I share original packet tricks from my personal repertoire. If you enjoy this article, I encourage you to subscribe to Marty’s Magic Ruseletter for more monthly magic.
Are you ready to be enchanted by the power of love?! ❤ In this edition of Packet Trick Paradise, I’m sharing a new routine called “Paradox of Love”. I've only performed it once but it got a surprisingly good reaction. Consider it a work in progress—I'm sure it will evolve as I perform it more. However, I thought it would be fun to share it as soon as possible, to allow others to alter, adapt and possibly improve it.
Inspired by the profound words of Elbert Hubbard, the trick explores the counterintuitive concept that giving love away is the only way to truly keep it.
The plot of the trick is, in essence, a three-card handling of Wild Card. Three identical Jokers transform into three Aces of Hearts. One of these cards then changes into the Ten of Hearts before all three cards transform back into Jokers.
The trick requires three matching Jokers and uses the deck at the beginning and end of the routine. The method is relatively easy. It uses basic sleight of hand, including the Braue Addition, Flushtration Count and double turnover. However, the most exciting thing about this trick isn’t the method but its premise and unique presentation. I’m not suggesting that the plot and method I’ve developed are bad. Quite the opposite. However, the idea that you have to give something away to keep it could be applied to all kinds of magical effects and methods.
For example, this trick holds the potential to be adapted into a full-deck routine or even a coin trick. When I was young and at primary school, we sang a song called “Magic Penny”, written by Malvina Reynolds. Here are the first two verses of the song:
Love is something if you give it away,
Give it away, give it away.
Love is something if you give it away,
You end up having more.It’s just like a magic penny,
Hold it tight, and you won’t have any.
Lend it, spend it, and you’ll have so many
They’ll roll all over the floor.
The lyrics touch on the paradoxical nature of love, using the metaphor of a magic penny. The second verse, in fact, seems to be a description of a magic trick. Imagine a performance of the Miser’s Dream, where a penny disappears from your grasp, only to be replaced by several pennies seemingly plucked from thin air, and then dropped into a metal container with a loud clang.
“Paradox of Love” would work particularly well when performing for a husband and wife (or any couple who are romantically involved). It would be a suitable routine to perform at an engagement party or wedding. You could also easily adapt the patter to turn this into a piece of Gospel magic.
Are you ready to master this enchanting illusion? I have written a detailed explanation, complete with suggested patter and performance tips. In the write-up, I have also included a way to perform it as a stand-alone packet trick in which the cards start and end in your pocket. This makes it performable as a strolling piece of close-up magic. So, gather your cards, open your heart, and let's get started!