Citation

This paper presents some results of a qualitative interview study with contemporary magicians that was carried out in two phases in German speaking countries. The greater part of the data was collected in 2004–2005 and covered a broad range of topics. The topics presented here include (1) paranormal experiences of magicians, (2) evaluation of magical practice, and (3) magic in the laboratory. To deepen these aspects, material from the first phase of 11 interviews was supplemented with extended interview data from four additional interviews in 2023. The experienced phenomena can be categorized as ‘situation influencing,’ ‘weather influencing,’ ‘psychokinesis and RSPK,’‘ESP,’ and ‘synchronistic events.’ The evaluation of magic is a central problem. Similar to parapsychology, displacement effects or trickster effects are observed. Furthermore, the possibilities of evaluation largely depend on the goals of the magicians, making it difficult to assess the success of magical operations. The preconditions for successful magic are (1) motivation, (2) an empathic relationship with the goal, (3) no doubts about the effectiveness, and (4) not wanting or suffering too much. Dedicated magicians could interest parapsychologists because they are trained to focus their minds – which could be advantageous when searching for gifted participants. However, motivation could be a problem. In any case, magicians could provide valuable advice on the conditions for producing paranormal effects, working with altered states of consciousness, and having the ‘right mindset’ to perform successfully in parapsychological experiments.