“My main goal is to fascinate the audience into thinking they are dreaming, even if this is only for a few seconds.”
This classy yet eccentric Spanish maestro has wowed audiences for decades without ever losing his charm.
In this post, I’ll be revealing The Seven Veils of Mystery by Juan Tamariz so without further ado…
Let’s get started.
The Seven Veils of Mystery:
Regardless of Juan’s strong deep thinking of magic, he admits that not everything can be explained. Some things are just…a mystery. Take two magicians doing the exact same trick, exactly the same way. The reaction from the audience should be the same, right? Wrong. 99% of the time the audience will react completely differently. Why? Juan seems to think it’s to do with The Seven Veils of Mystery.
What’s amazing about these seven veils is that they can be applied to hobbies outside of magic. You can even relate it to your work life (which, fingers crossed, is hopefully magic.)
First a little background on the genius
Juan Tamariz was born in Madrid, in 1942. From a young age, he was interested in the world of magic and illusion, and it wasn’t long before his skills started developing. He was accepted into the Spanish Society of Illusionism at only 18, working alongside some of the best magicians of the time.
Despite academic forays into physical sciences and film, Tamariz will always be known best for his magic. In 1973, he won the World Prize of magic in Paris for a magnificent card trick that stunned everyone.
Since then, he has become a recognized expert in the field of misdirection, publishing multiple incredible books packed with magic theory.
Juan Tamariz, today, is a celebrated celebrity in Spain due to his numerous appearances on television and extremely likable personality.
He continues to perform magic.
Veil 1: The Mystery of Love
The first is the mystery of love. You cannot express yourself without love for your art.
If you do not love the art of magic, you cannot express yourself in your performances, and your audience will feel that. The more you love Magic the more it will reflect on your audience, they will feel your love.
Veil 2: The Mystery of Knowledge
The second is the mystery of knowledge. The deeper your understanding of your magic’s history and origins is, the deeper the audience’s experience will be.
The more background knowledge you have about the tricks you are performing, the better your show. If you know who invented the trick, what his inspiration was, how did he/she live, etc… This all adds to the depth of your knowledge. All of those years of study are somehow reflected in your show.
In this case, we’re studying a concept created by none other than Juan Tamariz.
If you want to add a greater depth to learning this concept then it would be helpful to know the person who invented it better.
A few years ago Benji wrote a blog on Juan Tamariz, naming him the greatest magician alive and his favorite magician. Click Here to read. As I said before, it will add more depth to your learning.
Veil 3: The Mystery Of Work
The third veil is the mystery of work. The more work you put in, the deeper the audience’s reaction will be.
If you play the piano, many years of effort will result in better playing and that will directly be experienced by your audience.
However for a magician, years of practice are required to ensure a method/trick remains undetected. For the audience a seemingly simple effect, can take months of daily practice. Tamariz states that somehow all the hidden effort you will put in a trick will be smelled by your audience and contribute to their reactions!
Which is a reassuring thing to know really.
Those hours have not been wasted.
Veil 4: The Mystery Of Energy
The fourth veil is the mystery of energy. Sometimes we perform with only a deck of cards for entertainment in a theatre of 1500 people. Every person in the theatre must feel the energy you bring. It’s not only physical but spiritual.
Although most of this is not visible, it is vital to how your show comes across.
Veil 5: The Mystery Of Truth
The fifth veil is the mystery of truth. Magic is fiction, lies, but you have to be true to what it is you are doing. The audience can feel it.
In magic especially you are lying all the time. Most magicians assume lying is an essential element of magic. You could hear a magician say: “Here I have a ‘normal’ deck of cards ‘, while in reality it may have been bewitched by all kinds of arcane witchcraft and devious trickery.
Tamariz states that even as a magician you should always avoid telling these lies. While the audience may not be able to point out the lies explicitly, it somehow is caught in their mind and discredits your performance.
Veil 6: The Mystery Of Your Internal World
The sixth veil is the mystery of your internal world. The more rich your interior world, the more people will like your magic.
If your interior world is not interesting your magic loses some sorely needed flavour. This comes down to having a wide interest in disciplines that are closely aligned with the art of magic. Lighting, music, drama/acting, writing, all adds to the depth of your performance. Enriching your magic to new heights.
Veil 7: The Mystery Of Love
The seventh veil is the mystery of love for your audience. If you love your audience, it will directly reflect in the magic you perform. If the audience ‘feels’ you like them, that in return will reflect on how they look at you.
When you go out and perform for an audience, how do you see them?
Is it a ‘me vs them’ game?
Are you there to ‘win’?
(and if so…does that mean they’re there to ‘lose’?)
If you can rethink the way you view your audience, you change everything.
Rather than being an ‘us vs them’ attitude, you’ll view them as equal contributors and friends.
Your magic will improve as you improve your relationship with them.
Does that make sense?
If so we’re glad because we’ve reached the end of the blog.
If you would like to gain a deeper understanding of this concept then I suggest you watch the short documentary below.
Thank you for reading (and watching) Juan Tamariz’s Seven Veils of Mystery.
Hope it was helpful.
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