Search Google for 'magician Surrey' and a whole load of results pop up. The same goes wherever in the country you search. Magic is big business. In a country where fewer people follow organised religion than ever before, the role of magic is a fascinating one, and our love of it is apparently down to human beings being hard-wired for mystical thinking.
Ask any neuroscientist. Magical thinking has important implications for humanity's understanding of consciousness. It explains why so many of us believe in gods, spirits and ghosts, and why we are universally delighted with sleight of hand, keen to be convinced there really is such a thing as magic.
Take Dr Andrew Newberg, Director of Research at the Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine. He has long been interested by the profound significance of human faith, and its power, and has actually tried to measure it. Using a technique called single photon emission computed tomography, where a person is injected with a chemical that gives off gamma rays, he has created images of the way blood flows to various parts of the brain, and found that the more blood flows to a region, the more brain activity is going on.
When he observed Franciscan nuns praying, Tibetan monks meditating and Pentecostals speaking in tongues, Newberg discovered that religious feelings make the lobes of the brain work together to create a dramatic and potent emotional experience. People don't feel that they're making it happen, they feel strongly that they're being overcome by the experience, that it is being controlled by a greater power.
It looks like this happens because people automatically shut down large parts of the activity in their conscious brain to allow the experience of transcendence. Our brains actually change while we're engaged in this kind of powerful spiritual practice, and the way our brains are constructed seems to make it unusually easy for humans to have spiritual experiences.
Humans are seekers of knowledge. We search for reasons why things happen, and if there isn't an immediately apparent cause, we head straight for magical thinking. When there's a gap, we fill it. And if there's no rational explanation, we'll settle for an irrational one: the pattern burned into your piece of toast might look just like Buddha, for example.
Things like this never happen at random. There's always an evolutionary benefit to the things our brains do. So what might the benefits of spirituality, of believing in magic, be?
The theory goes like this: it's the repetition of a ritual, not its content, that gives it power. It doesn't matter whether a person thinks something, chants it or reads it. Either way we achieve a transcendent state by practising, by strengthening the brain's connections. And this means that simple rituals can actually improve your mental health, helping you cope with life, the universe and everything whether or not you believe in deities or follow a formal religion.
Reacting to weird and unexpected events is also a great survival strategy in a world where unusual sounds, sights and events could easily kill us. The people who took action when spotting something unusual – for example a leopard hidden in the grass - were more likely to survive and pass on their genes to the next generation, whereas people who ignored the signs or didn't notice them in the first place were more likely to get eaten. These vital instincts are now hard wired into our brains, and we still automatically think magically even though today's sophisticated, wealthy western world is safer than ever before.
Magical thinking doesn't hold us back. The fact that we think luck and supernatural forces are real, that objects have power, that symbols make things happen, is part of what makes us such a success as a species.
Believing in magic is good for us. So next time there's an occasion on the cards that you'd like to spice up with some magic, sleight of hand and mind-reading, get in touch and I'll make sure your guests, audience, family or colleagues have the most magical time possible. If you're looking for a magician in Surrey, hey presto, you've found one!
A wedding isn't just a wedding any more. These days more of us than ever are determined to create something extra, something different, an entire day's celebrations rich in the unusual, the eccentric, the unexpected.
Some say it all started with the infamous YouTube wedding dance, the original and best. Others feel it's because organised religion isn't always at the heart of weddings any more, leaving a vacuum to fill. Whatever the reasons behind the trend, as a London wedding magician I am in more demand than ever.
So how come magic in all its amazing guises is so popular? Why do people love magic tricks, illusions and mind reading so much? Here's why the skills of a talented wedding magician, London based and nicely convenient, will make your special day even more memorable.
You might think you're not keen on being 'fooled'. But most of us enjoy a well-performed magic trick, and the popularity of the Harry potter books and films says it all. We adore magic. And the first reason seems to be 'delight' – we love to be delighted.
When someone cuts a lady in half with a saw, we feel a lovely little thrill because our world view has just been compromised in the most shocking way. Our universe has been well and truly rocked. It's no longer quite as predictable as we thought... but it's still perfectly safe.
While we don’t think every magic trick is scary, they all mess with our ideas about how the world works. It's brilliant when the laws of nature are challenged but nobody gets hurt. And this powerful combination delivers bucket-loads of sheer delight, even when we consciously know very well it's just an illusion, a trick, sleight of hand, particularly insightful psychology.
A small part of us wants to believe magic is real. It's a childhood thing, going back to a time when the whole world felt magical, new and strange. It's a state that, once you've passed it, you can't return to, a compelling place rich in enjoyable innocence. And it is really powerful stuff.
You might think you're a fully-paid-up adult, a sensible person with a logical outlook on the world, but in fact that early sense of wonder is something we never really get over. We crave it. Life is so much more fun when that deep-seated sense of wonder is kept alive. And that's why scientists say humans are more or less hard-wired for religion and other kinds of magical thinking. We can't help it: while we try to be logical our irrational beliefs, which are often completely unconscious, are hard-wired into the human psyche.
Something unusual happens and people suddenly clump together, acting as one. Take the Blitz, which ushered in an unprecedented level of community spirit during World War Two, the exact opposite of what Hitler intended.
There's a powerful community aspect to magic. You are baffled. The person sitting next to you is just as puzzled. Hell, the whole audience is scratching their heads. How the heck did the magician do that? You're all in the same boat and it feels fantastic. People love to feel they're in line with their fellow humans, and a shared mystery is always a particularly potent experience.
If you want to delight your friends and family, bring everyone together into one joyous human love-fest and treat the people you love to an unforgettable sense of wonder, that's what I'll bring to your wedding.
Picture this. Your big day has arrived at last, and you're both super-excited about getting married. You've spent months organising everything to perfection, creating an event that your guests will never forget, studded with powerful emotions, full of passion and drama.
Every moment has been beautifully choreographed, everyone's having a wonderful time, and your wedding magician is about to take to the floor to deliver an awe-inspiring performance. An expectant hush falls on the room as Edward Crawford strides in, and a very different kind of magic begins...
Your guests can't believe their eyes. They huddle closer and closer in an effort to figure out how he does it. And they fail, of course, thanks to his extraordinary sleight of hand and the brilliant illusionist skills he's been perfecting for years. It's already starting to look a lot like real magic!
Wedding magician and mind reader Edward Crawford has been performing his remarkable close-up magic act at weddings for 15 years, delighting guests and amazing happy couples alike. Because magic and weddings go together like strawberries and cream, his performances strike a big hit every time.
Quiet times can be tricky, those times in between, say, the ceremony itself and the evening 'do'. They're a great time to slot in some entertainment to keep the momentum going. Other popular times include during the drinks reception, at the wedding breakfast and as part of the evening entertainment. Whatever you choose, Edward will tailor his act to suit your unique circumstances with a potent blend of magic and mind reading, sprinkled with wicked humour.
Obviously we don't want to give too much away, but a combination of contemporary magic and impressive mental skills makes Edward’s psychological illusions some of the most extraordinary you and your loved ones will ever experience.
There's no pulling bunnies out of hats, no boring card tricks, none of the traditional 'magic' you might expect. This is darker, more contemporary stuff. It's genuine, it's meaningful and it's totally mind blowing.
You and your guests will be stunned by Edward's mind reading feats, open-mouthed in wonder as he moves objects with nothing but his thoughts and carries out wickedly clever psychological deceptions designed to impress.
What could be better than leaving your guests with a genuine sense of awe, having experienced such a stunning performance that they can't quite believe their eyes? One that'll have them exclaiming “Do you remember when...” every time your wedding is mentioned?
Edward's performances are famously erudite and refined, ideal for such a special occasion. They resonate with emotion, leaving even the most cynical guests with a real sense of wonder. It's unforgettable.
No matter what your requirements, whatever type of wedding you're planning, Edward will tailor his act to create the perfect experience, something to suit the mood and style, something memorable. If you have any questions, he'll be delighted to oblige. If you're searching for a talented, award-winning wedding magician, in London and beyond, he'll be thrilled to hear from you.
The moment you walk through the door you know you're in for something a bit different... or very different indeed! If you're searching for a magician in Brentwood, look no further. You're fortunate that Edward Crawford is in your area, and he's one of the most extraordinary, breathtaking, magical magicians around, the star of many a corporate event and private party.
Modern magic has a long and fascinating history, reaching far back in time to pre-history. Over time the magician's bag of tricks was extended to include more and more skills. There's production, where the magician produces something from nothing. There's vanishing, the opposite of production. Transformation means changing an object into another and restoration involves destroying an object then resurrecting it. Transposition brings two or more objects into play, which magically change place. And transportation, sometimes called teleportation, magically moves an object from one place to another.
There's also escape, levitation and even penetration, where one solid object passes through another. And prediction, where the magician accurately predicts the outcome of an event, is often one of the most amazing of all, the reason brilliant performers like Derren Brown are so popular.
Mind reading is also called mindsight or empathic accuracy. It's the uncanny ability to read someone's mind through their words, emotions and body language. Modern mentalists like Edward Crawford enjoy highly developed mental and intuitive abilities thanks to years and years of practice, and these skills add a breathtaking extra dimension to his performance.
Many of the skills modern mentalists practice can be traced back to 19th century mediums, spiritualists and psychics, but it goes back a lot farther than that. Seers and oracles were common in ancient Greece and are mentioned in the bible's Old Testament. And one of the most famous ever mentalists, Girolamo Scotto, awed audience with his sleight-of-hand way back in 1572.
Edward Crawford combines the skills of world-renowned magicians and mentalists like David Copperfield, David Blaine, Dynamo, David Berglas, Derren Brown and Joseph Dunninger to create an act that your audience will remember forever. He'll blend traditional and contemporary magic tricks and mind reading in a performance that'll have people on the edge of their seats. All of this from a magician in Brentwood.
If you'd like to give your next event an edge, whether it's a wedding or business meeting, dinner party, team building event or conference, Christmas bash or birthday, contact Edward and he'll make it special... very special indeed. You won't believe your eyes!
If you're searching for a magician in Essex, look no further.
Roll back time to 1720 and the English magician Isaac Fawkes was about to retire. His performances had made him a wealthy man, the owner of a fortune of almost ten thousand pounds. He was famed for his card tricks, his 'dexterity of hand', as well as the impressionists and contortionists that joined him for his extraordinary shows.
Fawkes was far from being the first recorded magician. Apparently magic goes back to at least 2700BC, when the infamous Dedi – who could be either fact or fiction, nobody is 100% certain - was supposedly recorded as decapitating a bird before re-attaching the head and resurrecting it. For all we know magic goes back a lot farther than that, way back into the ancient, lost mists of time.
At various points in history magicians were frowned upon, even accused of witchcraft. During the Dark Ages and Middle Ages most magic was associated with the occult, making it a pretty dangerous career. In 1584 a man called Reginald Scot wrote one of the first ever books about magic, namely The Discoverie of Witchcraft. It explained how the so-called 'Decollation of John Baptist' decapitation illusion was performed.
1805 was the year the 'father of modern magic' Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin was born. He became a clockmaker before opening the first ever magic theatre in Paris during 1845, an instant hit with the city's fascinated public. And in 1874 Harry Houdini was born, a man who remains a legend, still the world's most famous escapologist.
These days magic has lost all of its threat. People don't believe in witchcraft any more and many magicians have become superstar celebrities, some with international reputations. But magic is still magical, whether it's close-up street magic or a performance on a huge stage in front of thousands of people. Audiences are still amazed, delighted, thrilled and baffled by magicians' tricks. People hire magicians to entertain at corporate functions, weddings, birthday parties, openings, you name it.
Amazing mind reading and eye-popping contemporary magic can be yours thanks to the remarkable Edward Crawford. Whether it's a corporate event or something more close-up and intimate like a special dinner party, he'll bring the atmosphere to vibrant life with a series of tricks that'll leave you and your audience breathless with excitement, enjoyably baffled. He'll bring anything from a Christmas dinner to a participatory stage show to sparkling life. And his clients include some of the UK’s biggest corporations as well as individuals and families.
If you'd like to bring a little magic into your next event or special occasion, Edward will be delighted to oblige. As an extremely popular magician in Essex he covers the entire county and beyond. His act is just as mystifying, captivating and bizarre as the magicians of old, and he'll leave you puzzling over how it was done for days, weeks, months afterwards.
Make your event unforgettable – contact Edward here to talk through the possibilities, get a quote or make your booking.
