How Do Magicians Levitate? 3 top magicians secrets revealed

As a magician, you often get asked the question “how did you…?”. It’s usually followed with an extra bit. “How did you push that bottle through the table?” “How did you read my mind?” One of the most popular is “how do magicians levitate?”

Magicians have been levitating for years. It’s a very popular trick for many reasons. One, it’s the Superman effect. We’ve all seen that film and dreamed about how amazing it would be to fly. Also, unlike mind reading tricks, disappearing and vanishing tricks, it’s one magic trick that you can actually photograph the moment of magic. There are very few tricks you can actually photograph and see magic happening in the photo. You might think that there are loads, but you usually really only see magic before or after it’s taken place (for example, you can capture the Statue of Liberty there and then when it’s gone, but not actually vanishing).

So, how do magicians levitate?

Well, like most magic tricks, there isn’t just one method. There are lots of ways to achieve it. The way a magician will levitate will depend on lots of things – where it takes place, what they intend to levitate, how high they will levitate, will they levitate vertically or horizontally etc.

While it’s not possible to actually levitate without some kind of external support, it is possible to create the illusion of levitation through a variety of techniques. Whether you’re a magician looking to add a new trick to your repertoire or just want to impress your friends, learning how to create the illusion of levitation is a fun and rewarding challenge.

If you’re looking for a way you can levitate yourself or someone else, here are are a few methods you can try.

Firstly, this is an old clown gag. The idea is that you essentially put a couple of shoes on a broom handle, cover over with a cloth and put your head back as you lift the handles. It looks like this….

More Ways That Magicians Levitate

Here are 2 more ways that you can levitate. One way of seemingly being able to levitate is with a big mirror. It has to be big enough so you can get your leg over it. Then, if you angle it correctly you can raise one leg (whilst the other is really holding you up), but it will give the illusion that you are levitating. Really, people will see one leg but it will look like both legs (and you) are levitating.

Another method, again with a cloth is to it without the shoes. It’s quite hard to explain, so best just to show you a video. These guys have a funny routine that involved a comedy levitation that they performed on America’s Got Talent

Of course, if you are asking “how do magicians levitate?” because you want to appear to be levitating for social media, you can just use photoshop 🙂

The best levitations from magicians

Often when people ask “how do magicians levitate?” they don’t really want to know the answer. It’s more of a gut reaction to not knowing how the trick was done.

When I first saw David Copperfield fly, I thought I knew what was going on and then I was completely fooled. This has got to be one of the best levitations ever.

Another fantastic levitation is the one used by David Blaine on one of his TV specials. This is one that really captivated the world. It’s not done on a big stage with fancy sets and lighting. It was done on the street, it broad daylight. OK, he doesn’t fly has high as Copperfield. In fact, he actually only levitates a few inches above the ground. But this was actually the genius behind it. The fact that it was just a few inches, somehow made it more believable.

And if you are still asking, “how do magicians levitate?”, how about this… don’t try to find out. Just watch and enjoy the magic 🙂