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Our Magic Through Our History

By Charles "The Bone Finder" Ravenstone (Charles Jeski)

Out in the land of Mundania, there is a magician of house hold name, he is David Copperfield. In his last performance, he performed a "Classic of magic", the cut and restored rope trick. But probably unknown to Mr. Copperfield, is how "classic" that routine is. For in the ruins of Ancient Egyptian temples, there are pictures of priests performing the same rope trick.

Of course David Copperfield nor ancient Egypt is our time period, but this should give you a feel of how old the magic we know and love really is. The great acts that we see today haven't changed in idea for three hundred years or more.

Ancient priests had to show that they had magical powers, gypsies had to show they could see all, and know all, and Alchemists had to turn lead into gold. Any they did! To the audience's point of view anyway. If you ever wish to see a small demonstration, just look for "Bone Finder" at your next big event (hmm is this a Plug ?)

Being a magician, I of course will not reveal any secret, but I will tell of what magic thrived in what places. Lets start with our gypsies. They worked with squared pieces of bone and small hand painted cards to tell the future. These of course are now your average poker cards and domino sets. The bones (Dominoes) were scattered around and out of this, the fortuneteller would make up anything they wanted. However the victim couldn't understand the significance of the bones and this fortunetelling was replaced by our Tarot Cards. I've played with the Tarot before and have some theories, but just like today's gambler, the teller could make a card come up anywhere with any fortune that person wanted. the cards were easier to understand and thus the victim could see his own fortune for himself.

Alchemy was more like trickery to save your life. Alchemy originally started when somebody took a red dust, poured sulfuric acid on it and poof! Mercury was left over. Seemingly something from nothing. Now all an avid alchemist had to do was find out how to make lead turn into gold. Of course no alchemist could do this, but a few sly ones were able to "switch" one for the other. So it was possible to turn lead into gold, just as long as the Alchemist had as much gold as lead.

Now the court jester not only knew how to sing and dance, he could also make chickens disappear, a table bounce, pick a pocket, and restore a rope (?). But one doesn't readily hear this. When one thinks of the jester one thinks of juggling. Which in my opinion, is just as prestigious as magic, for it takes just as much dedication and is just as entertaining. But unless you were trying to turn lead into gold, you were working with the Devil! So magic as we know it today took a back seat to living back then.

This is why when we think of gypsies, we think of old grandma's magic, and the jester as a clumsy oaf! But of course, they both were of the same rank of cunning, mischievous (for lack of a more fitting word) tricksters.

So the next time you're off to see your favorite performer, remember he learned it from someone before him., and that person probably learned it from somebody who came up with it in the twenties. However, that guy was inspires by some person who did something like it two hundred years ago. You aren't being entertained by Mr. Copperfield, but maybe by Edward the Fast who lived in FourteenFifty.

(Note: All performances conducted for the S.C.A. by: Charles the Bone Finder comply with the wishes of the S.C.A.)

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