How To Levitate

The ability to levitate is one of the most fascinating magic tricks, and in this video we'll cover a few of the many ways to accomplish this. First, we'll go over some easy ways you can do at home right now, followed by some more complex ones that will require some practice and planning.

Finally, we'll cover some more expensive versions that the professionals use that you've probably seen on some national television shows. So hit the like button and let's get started learning how to levitate! In this first method, the magician enters the room, covers the front of their body with a blanket or a towel, and then, magically, they appear to simply levitate off the floor. This illusion appears quite convincing, and it's very easy to pull off.

First, you'll attach a pair of shoes with a large rubber band or velcro on the sides so they stick together. The trick here is that when you move one shoe, the other moves with it. When the magician covers themselves with the blanket, they're actually taking their right foot out of the shoe and placing it directly behind their other foot. Next, under the blanket, the magician lifts their left foot off the ground and moves it around, creating the illusion that they are levitating. This method is very cheap to make and can be done at home right now.

To achieve this, you'll need a baggy pair of pants—I like to use jeans—and then cut a slit from top to bottom on the right leg. From inside the pants, glue or tape the pants to the bottom of the shoe. It looks messy from the front, but it works well. The magician then places their foot back in the other shoe and removes the blanket. In this method, the magician walks up to a step stool and seems to levitate right up to the top of it.

The next step is to attach velcro to the inside edges of both shoes—I'm wearing sandals in this instance, but keep in mind that they'll never see this side and that they can see everything from the back. Similar to what I did earlier with the rubber bands, the velcro is utilized so that when you push the two shoes or sandals together, they stick to each other and when you lift one, the other one lifts as well. Your right foot will now step up onto the stool as you step into position, holding your two feet together so the velcro sticks.

This will enable you to take off your shoe and slide your leg out of the slit in your pants and you'll raise your body, but the two legs will remain linked from the rear, giving the impression that you're [Music] drifting [music] This next technique is highly popular among street performers because it looks amazing from every angle. You may have even seen it on a well-known television program, or you may have witnessed two performers performing this act simultaneously. Regardless, the technique is always the same.

You'll notice that in every scenario, there is some kind of floor covering, such as a blanket, rug, or, as I previously mentioned, beach sand. This is done to deceivingly conceal the steel support that is holding the magician in place. The following levitation is typically performed as a stage effect because of the awkward setup and the importance of angles. The assistant is lying comfortably on the small support bed, and the magician is standing directly in front of the audience, covering the vertical beam with his body to hide it from view. You might be wondering how the magician moves a hoop over the body without hitting the support beam because there are no holes or gaps in the hoop.

It all comes down to the motion the magician uses when performing this levitation. He begins at one end and crosses the full support beam. However, notice how he spins the hoop in the opposite direction, never really going over the beam's location from the front. This creates the illusion that the hoop has crossed the complete body, which is how magicians levitate people.