“Seasonal Sorcery” from Lynn Miner
Dear Mystery School Students,
Can you help us help you?
We are excited to announce that we are currently accepting submissions for our upcoming book,
Seasonal Sorcery: A Mystery School Almanac.
This compendium will include a collection of magic routines and effects submitted by you–Mystery School students and faculty. It focuses exclusively on incorporating magic into the public and religious holidays and celebrations of the different seasons.
Here’s partial list of season-based magic events.
New Year’s Eve/Day———-Passover———-Juneteenth
Martin Luther King Day———-Easter———-Rosh Hashana
Lunar New Year———-Mother’s Day———-Yom Kippur
Super Bowl———-Memorial Day———-Halloween
Valentine’s Day———-Father’s Day———-Diwali
St. Patrick’s Day———-July 4th———-Thanksgiving
Arbor Day———-Labor Day———-Christmas
Ramadan———-Columbus Day———-Kwanza
We would love for you to be a part of this project and share your own unique and creative ideas for incorporating magic into these popular holidays.
What magic would you perform for your friends or clients on these holidays? Your submissions can be in the form of routines, rituals, or any other format that you feel best represents your ideas.
Here two examples to get you started. First, here is a New Year’s script for
Professor’s Nightmare
Happy New Year. It’s time to recycle your annual resolutions, right? I’m not handing you a line when I say I start out with a (long) list of resolutions|—-|While I hope to get a fresh start on my old habits, my serious list soon shrinks (medium) |—-|Eventually my list becomes very (short). I’m not (stretching) things when I say I hope my top three resolutions—weight loss, more fun, and help others |—-|equalize|—-|But alas, a month later, I remain (long) on hope|—-|but have limited (medium) aspirations|—-|and come up (short) on meeting my goals. |—-|While I always make my annual good resolutions, a month later I can begin paving hell with them, as usual.
Presentation Notes
Note the use of pauses in this script as symbolized as |—-|. They are intentionally placed to allow time to adjust the various rope positions. No need to rush this script. White ropes will work nicely in this presentation.
For a second example, consider this routine of coin effects adapted for the Lunar New Year. Open with your favorite one coin routine, but use a Chinese coin. The Charming Chinese Challenge can serve as you middle effect. Here are a few patter ideas. Weave in some Confucius sayings. Confucius was especially known for his famous sayings, many of which we still honor today.
• Do unto others as they would do unto you – the Golden Rule
• It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness
• A bird in hand makes hard to blow nose
From the days of Confucius, we fast forward 300 years to find another Chinese individual who not famous for his name but was – and still is – famous for what he did. I’m talking about Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. He was famous for his terracotta sculptures, over 8,000 chariots, horses, and soldiers, each one different.
Their money had holes in the middle, which allowed them to keep it together with ribbons since they didn’t have purses back them. They usually kept three coins on each ribbon because three was their magic number for good fortune, luck, and happiness.
One, two, and three. Or as they said it in Mandarin, their native language, Er, EE, Sun.
[Slide off palm] The coins have four Chinese characters on one side: two of them are the name of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang. And the other two represent their value. Here, I’ll show you one. The Emperor paid his workers the equivalent of $3 a week. [Pinch] The other side of the coin shows a dragon, a symbol of happiness, power, and strength. Legend has it that anytime you wanted happiness, power, and strength, all you had to do was pinch it here, like this….See the magic legend still works. Wrap up your Lunar New Year routine by closing with the Cross of India. However, instead of using six coins that are the same, use three of the Charming Chinese Challenge Coins and three half dollars.
See the FAQ below for additional information about the SeasonalSorcery
Once your submission is approved, we will reach out to you for specific graphic imaging needs, e.g., photo, graphics, and video. In many cases, the videos may be linked to QR codes in the book. Please submit your contributions by July 1, 2023. We can’t wait to see what our talented students come up with and look forward to showcasing the wide range of magical skills and perspectives within our community.
Warmly,
Jeff McBride, Lynn Miner, Franklin Williams
Seasonal Sorcery
Frequently Asked Questions
We can’t wait to share with you what our talented Mystery School students and faculty come up with to showcase the wide range of magical skills and perspectives within our community.
- Why publish a Seasonal Sorcery Book?
No reference magic book exists that is exclusively devoted to guiding magicians through the hundreds of options to perform holiday magic. This first-of-its-kind reference will be
made available to Magic & Mystery School members. - Who can contribute to the Seasonal Sorcery Book?
You can. Contributors will consist of Mystery School students and faculty. - What is the submission deadline?
July 1,2023. This “Christmas in July” deadline enables us to do final editing, layout, and design work necessary to have the final product ready for the seventh annual Magic &
Meaning Conference, September 22-24, 2023. - What should I submit?
The general answer is magic tips and tricks that have a holiday-related theme. This might include, but is not limited to, such things as customized patter for commonly used effects, original magic effects (complete with patter), holiday marketing tips, and digital links to magic (complete with your explanation of their value). - What submission guidelines should I follow?
a) Software: Please submit your article using Microsoft Word format, which is
editable. Avoid PDF files, which are not editable.
b) Length: 800-1000 words
c) Font Size: 12 point font preferred
d) Font Type: Recommend a sans serif like Arial
e) Spacing. Single space each paragraph and insert a blank line between
paragraphs
f) Margins. One inch margins with ragged right margin (not double justified).
g) Graphics. Include photographs, graphs, charts, and other visuals in a separate
file; however, indicate in the text in parentheses where the visuals should appear.
Photographs should be in high resolution for publication clarity purposes.
h) References. If your article cites references to other publications, format them
following the American Psychological Association Style Manual, which is online
through Purdue University. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/
i) Submission Frequency. You may submit as many articles for consideration as you wish. Since we receive many submissions, we generally publish only one article per year per author.
j) Credit. Include your given or stage name as well as your email address. It will be appended to each entry. - Will everything that is submitted be published?
Probably not. The Seasonal Sorcery Editorial Board will carefully review all submissions. One of three decisions will be made for each submission:
(1) accept as submitted,
(2) return for resubmission following editorial recommendations, and
(3) decline for not being a good match with the Seasonal Sorcery purpose. - How do I submit something?
Email your submissions to Santa@McBrideMagic.com. - Can I make more than one submission?
Absolutely! You may submit as many as you wish. - Will I get credit for my submissions, if published?
Absolutely! Your given or stage name as well as your email address will accompany each entry. - How can I get a copy of the Seasonal Sorcery Book?
The book will be available in the McBride Magic shop as a download with proceeds going to the scholarship fund.
Since the book is created by the students, faculty, and
friends of the Magic & Mystery School, it represents a gift magic book that is a fun –
raiser fundraiser for School scholarships.
