What are the differences between magicians and mentalists?

Are you ready for a night of magic? Maybe you want an evening full of mystery and suspense, but you don’t know what to do with it. There are a few options. Wizards, mentalists, Harry Potter potions lessons? Well, maybe browsing through the differences will help you decide. Potions are actually cocktails, so that’s handled, but there’s a bit more to the differences in magic between magicians and mentalism. Read on to find out what.

All thumbs are fingers but not all fingers are thumbs

Something we should establish before we begin is that Magicians and Mentalists are not mutually exclusive, but neither are they the same. Magicians can perform many tricks that would be considered mentalism, whereas calling yourself a mentalist means you stick strictly to mentalism-themed tricks. You’re likely to steer clear of the accessory-heavy bunnies of hats or sawing women in half and focusing more on mind reading, idea planting, and the like. Another name for a magician is an illusionist, which pretty much demonstrates the difference. A magician focuses on the eyes while a mentalist focuses on the mind.

Types of tricks

This brings us to the most important difference between the two: the cheats. A magician has a long list of clichéd “tricks” that come to mind. Hat bunny is one, as is sawing a woman in half, but there are many attempts to fool an audience into thinking something is happening on their stage, which is actually not not the case. The Now you see me the movies feature magicians escaping from boxes, doing sleight of hand tricks, stopping the rain in the open air, doing bank robberies: you know, the usual stuff.

On the other hand, a mentalist’s range of tricks is very intimate. They’re not twins pretending to be one person, or using levers and body doubles to pull the wool over your eyes. Instead, they try to squeeze a thought out of your head without you offering it, connect with someone who isn’t of this world, insert a thought into your mind, or even hypnotize you. in many crazy stunts.

Performance style

The most noticeable difference for an audience might be the approach to these cheats. Magicians are tricksters for all ages and approach their tricks with a fun and carefree attitude, as if it shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Mentalists, on the other hand, need audiences to believe that they actually have the powers to perform their tricks as mind reader, so their brand image is one of mystery, seriousness, dark responsibility in the face of magic that we mere mortals could never comprehend. You wouldn’t see, for example, a mentalist sporting the top hat and cape.

The audience

And that brings us to the audience, who leave each show with a different experience. We know a lot of the tricks behind the magician’s job, like levers and hidden compartments, but mentalists are much better at keeping their tricks close to their chest, and so mostly kept the illusion alive. You see a magician and walk out wondering or guessing how he did it, but you see a mentalist just wondering.

Brian L. Hartfield