Abracadabra: now you see it ... now you don’t
He danced around a room with a floating table, actually made a saxophone using playing cards connected only by his fingers, and with hand gestures flamed for several seconds a black leather wallet.
Through it all, however, 13-year-old Luke Mouton of Carthage remained mum when asked about the secrets behind his array of magic tricks performed Wednesday in front of Carthage Kiwanis Club members.
“You don’t want to do it,” Mouton said about magicians spilling the beans concerning their time honored (and jaw-dropping) illusions.
“It’s a very, very bad thing for magicians to do — it basically ruins them.”
Mouton, a seventh grade student at the Carthage Junior High, is probably the most experienced magician living in the Maple Leaf City. And he should be, considering he first picked up the traditional black/white magic wand at the age of 5. For nine years, he’s diligently plied his trade through the arts of magic and illusion — learning the details of the tricks perfected by the masters before him; performing them until he can do each one with his eyes closed; working up the strength in all 10 of his fingers, a must for any good magician; becoming a member of The Society of Young Magicians, probably the best place for youngsters who are serious about becoming professional magicians.
Like most magic-users, Mouton found his taste for magic with an unexpected visit inside a magic shop during a family vacation at Silver Dollar City. He was about 4 years old, and a magician performed a few little tricks for free.
That’s the moment Mouton became love struck with the so-called “magician’s mystique.”
“After that, (magic) just kinda stuck on me from there.”
Serving as a guest speaker during the Carthage Kiwanis weekly meeting, Mouton performed a number of neat tricks that had members hooting and applauding. Over the course of 20 minutes, he made a squished-up banana disappear; correctly guessed a randomly-selected card held in a Kiwanis member’s hands (it was the five of diamonds); “grabbed” silver dollar coins from nearby ears and hair, even a few invisible ones that “clinked” inside a black hat; waltzed with Kiwanis’ member Tony Wright holding onto a floating wooden table; and made red balls disappear beneath metal cups in “one of the oldest tricks there are today, more than 4,000 years old, originating out of Egypt,” Mouton said.
Sadly, magic “is a dying art,” he told Kiwanis members. Yet, seeing the grins on the faces and hearing delighted gasps from the audience makes all the years of sacrifice worthwhile. After all, the entire purpose behind a magic trick is to amuse and create a feeling of wonderment for both children and adults — particularly adults, like Wednesday’s Kiwanis Club members.
“It’s what I love to do,” Mouton said with a grin.
The Magician’s Oath
“As a magician I promise never to reveal the secret of any illusion to a non-magician, unless that one swears to uphold the Magician's Oath in turn. I promise never to perform any illusion for any non-magician without first practicing the effect until I can perform it well enough to maintain the illusion of magic.”
Once sworn to the Oath, one is considered a magician, and expected to live up to this promise. A magician who reveals secrets will be shunned. However, it’s permissible to reveal secrets to individuals who are determined to learn magic and become magicians themselves.
