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may be found no
less convenient and far less complicated than any chemical method.
Change of Color by Chemical Reaction is, properly speaking, and apart from
change
of substance, a principle seldom used in practical magic. It relates exclusively
to change of
color without change of form or substance; and must not be confused with
such incidental
color changes as occur in experiments that relate to the apparent changing of
one substance
to another. The general mode of application consists in treating a fabric or o-
ther material with
some chemical which, when acted upon by another and thus modified either
in chemical
composition or physical condition, changes its former hue completely. The
blue coloration of
litmus in the presence of an alkali, and its change to red when acted upon by
an acid, may be
quoted as an example of such effects in general. Again, the bleaching action
of sulphurous
acid, either in the form of vapor or in its nascent state, as liberated by chemi-
cal reaction is a
well-known means for destroying color. It is commonly used in experiments
with supposed
ink and water, the acid being liberated from sodium hyposulphite, as a rule.
In fact, many of
the reagents used in producing apparent change of substance or composition
are equally
applicable to change of color alone.
Invisible Writing is a principle almost as old as the hills. Ovid, for instance,
mentions
several devices by which messages can be written invisibly, even upon a ve-
hicle so
unsuspicious as the skin of a lady's serving-maid, and rendered legible by the
person for
whom they are intended. The ancient textbooks of magic contain numerous
recipes for secret
writing; a large proportion, however, being manipulative in character rather
than chemical,
come under the heading of preparation. Still the principle of invisible writing
by chemical
agency was perfectly familiar to the ancients, as the recipes for "Sympathetic
Inks" and so
forth clearly prove. In a general sense, it may be said that this present princi-
ple is but a
special application of that relating to color changes in general. Chemical re-
actions which are
applicable to change of color upon a larger scale, will often apply equally
well to the writing
of messages with colorless liquids, which may be colored by special treat-
ment.
Molecular principles, in so far as they relate to magic, are so nearly allied to
those of
chemistry that it is difficult to dissociate one from the other. We have an il-
lustration of this
general difficulty in the color changes produced in litmus by the action of a-
cids and alkalies,
respectively. Although the litmus becomes blue in the presence of an alkali
and red when
made acid, there is no reason to suppose that any definite chemical change
accompanies the
change in color. Again, when the mixture of two chemical solutions produces
a solid
compound, the physical difference is undoubtedly due to a change in chemi-
cal combination.
The change of color in litmus, and the change of state from liquid to solid in
the chemical
mixture, are both molecular in character. Yet the first cannot occur in the ab-
sence of
chemical reagents, while the second is absolutely dependent upon chemical
combination.
Therefore, it is advisable to limit the molecular group of magical processes to
those in which
chemistry has clearly no prominent part.
CHAPTER XII
Magical Inventions
T
HE IMPORTANCE of the subject dealt with in this chapter can admit of no
argument whatever. Both practically and theoretically, it is one of the most
vital
topics comprised in the whole range of magical studies. From a technical
standpoint, it represents the goal toward which the aims of every honorable
magician are
directed, when seeking to add to his repertoire-and, incidentally, to his repu-
tation.
Like all else in the world, magic cannot stand still. It must either advance
with the
times, or fall behind them. And, in this connection, the one quality which a-
bove all others is
essential to progress is novelty. Without novelty in some form or other, not-
hing can be
achieved in the way of progress. Every step forward is necessarily a new step.
It breaks new
ground, opens up new views, and involves a definite change of position. In
short, it
represents novelty in every sense of the word. In magic, as in all other forms
of applied
science, the terms novelty and invention are synonymous. Without invention
there can be no
novelty; and without novelty there can be no invention. In view of these facts,
it is evident
that any treatise upon magical technics, in which the subject of invention is
not dealt with,
must be incomplete and unsatisfactory.
In the present chapter, therefore, we shall discuss the nature of magical inven-
tions,
and the means by which such inventions may be evolved. Not, let it be un-
derstood, the means
whereby all the inventions in magic have been and are to be made. There are
constantly
being produced, in every branch of human activity, inventions which even
their own
inventors could not trace to a definite origin. It is quite possible, however, to
demonstrate
certain means, available to those who seek real advancement, by the aid of
which the work of
invention may be greatly facilitated, and in some instances actually brought
to completion. It
is in this connection that the value of theoretical study is most prominently
displayed.
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