Types of Illusions
Although there is much discussion among magicians as to how a given effect is to be categorised, and in fact, disagreements as to what categories actually exist -- for instance, some magicians consider "penetrations" to be a separate category, others consider penetrations a form of restoration -- it is generally agreed by all magicians that there are very few different types of illusions. Perhaps because it is considered a magic number, it has often been said that there are only seven types of illusion.
Production
The magician pulls a rabbit from an empty hat; a fan of cards from 'thin air'; a shower of coins from an empty bucket; or they may, on an empty stage, appear in a puff of smoke. All of these effects are productions, the magician produces "something from nothing".
Vanish
The magician snaps their fingers and a coin disappears; places a dove in a cage, claps his hands and the bird vanishes, including the cage; or waves a magic wand and the Statue of Liberty magically "goes away". A vanish, being the reverse of a production, may use a similar technique, in reverse.
Transformation
The magician has a volunteer "pick a card, any card" from a deck, and with a flourish, show the card: "Is this your card?" -- it is not the card, and the magician tells the volunteer, "here, hold it for a second", handing them the card and then picking card after card from the deck, none of which is the card the volunteer picked. The magician says, "will you look at that first card again?" -- whereupon the volunteer finds it has magically become his card. Or, a chicken is placed in a cage, the cage is covered with a cloth, which is immediately whisked from the cage, and the chicken has become an eagle. A bowl of fire may become a rabbit, a broom may be transformed into a beautiful woman. Transformations change one thing into another.
Restoration
The cut-and-restored rope is a restoration: a rope is cut into two pieces, the two pieces are tied together, the knot vanishes, leaving one piece of rope. A newspaper is torn to bits. The magician rubs the pieces together and the newspaper becomes whole. A woman is sawn into two separate parts, and then magically rejoined. Restorations put something back into the state it once was.
Teleportation
A teleportation transfers an object from one place to another. A coin is vanished, then later found inside a tightly bound bag, which is inside a box that is tied shut, inside another box, which is in a locked box... all of which were across the stage. The magician locks her burly assistant in a cage, then locks herself in another. Both cages are uncovered and the pair have magically exchanged places. This is a transposition, a simultaneous, double teleportation. The magician climbs on a motorcycle, rides it into a crate, the crate is hoisted aloft, and presto! The motorcycle instantly appears, engine roaring, in the middle of the audience, 60 feet away, with the magician astride it. In a teleportation, something magically moves from one place to another.
Levitation
The magician "puts his assistant into a trance" and then floats her up and into the air, passing a ring around her body to show that there are 'no wires' supporting her. A close-up artist wads up your dollar bill, and then floats it in the air. A penny on an open palm rises onto its edge on command. A scarf dances in a sealed bottle. Levitations are illusions where the conjurer magically raises something -- possibly including the magician herself -- into the air.
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