Magpie Syndrome
Why do mentalists keep buying shiny new tricks?
Magpie Syndrome: An inexplicable condition where a magician sees a new trick, hears it involves no setup and blows minds they then instantly throw money at it even though they haven’t used the last 10 tricks they bought!
It’s late at night and there you are, scrolling away, hunched up like a digital gremlin.
Eyes glazed from too many hours of watching online (Ahem) videos.
Suddenly a hyperactive magician is on your screen whizzing his nips off and between gurns he’s banging on about a new release, instant, invisible, uses borrowed objects and here’s the best part:
IT DESTROYS MINDS!
(So does whizz!)
Pupils dilated, you immediately click BUY IT NOW. You didn’t even finish the trailer. You’ve just been mugged by your own brain!
Welcome to Magpie Syndrome, a shiny, sparkly condition plaguing mentalists and magicians worldwide.
If you’ve got drawers full of dusty decks and gimmicks that now serve as altar offerings to the gods of wasted potential.
You my friend, are afflicted.
Let’s treat this shiny curse before it eats your whole bank balance.
The shiny object reflex
A.K.A. The Glitter Trigger. Mentalists are supposed to be masters of psychology, yet we fall for the oldest psychological trick in the book:
Novelty = Dopamine.
New trick, new book or a new routine that:
Takes billet work into another dimension!
That dopamine spike makes us feel alive.
Hopefully this is the one trick you’ve been searching for.
The one that makes you famous and respected in your local ‘Spoons.
We’re like raving squirrels in a room full of glow sticks, we can’t tell substance from sparkle and oh boy, that sparkle sells!
The forgotten graveyard of tricks past
Open your drawer. No, not the one full of dillys, the one full of tricks.
See that ESP trick from 1993?
The neon wallet that required you to dance during a full equinox?
That book you bought after some twit on YouTube
said the author is an ancient Germanic demi god who invented every mentalism effect in the world ever!
You haven’t touched them since the day you bought them.
Why? Because the moment we acquire the trick, the desire fades.
It’s like a magic antidote, the rush of disco biscuits that died and the stuff just sits there, growing every payday.
Comparison gremlins in your brain
You think you’re not enough. You saw a clip of someone doing a propless miracle on Instagram and now you’re convinced your entire act is trash.
You read a forum post where someone mentioned they only perform original effects and now you hate yourself for using the best book test ever:
(Frankie)
So what do you do? You buy more things… New routines, new eBooks,
new weird tarot systems you’ll probably never practice.
If you can just get one more thing, maybe you’ll feel like a real mentalist.
It’s not logic, it’s anxiety dressed in a magician’s cape.
The cult of the creator
Look, some creators are geniuses. They release a trick where the words ‘peek’ and ‘no electronics’ are used in the same sentence and we throw them our bank cards. We want them to baptise us into the church of mental miracles.
You don’t even care what the trick is. You just want to own it because you don’t want to miss out on the next underground masterpiece.
You want to be part of the chosen few.
The problem is you never use what you buy.
You just stack it on the shrine of intellectual clout
next to your collectors edition of marked playing cards
and that weird cross eyed Russian doll.
The illusion of progress
Buying tricks feels productive. You can convince yourself that you’re working on your act, even if you haven’t rehearsed anything in months.
You can justify your spending as ‘research’ but let’s be honest:
Consuming is not the same as creating.
Buying is not the same as rehearsing.
Owning is not the same as knowing.
Every trick you buy that you don’t use is just another reminder
that you’re putting off the real work.
How to break the spell
If you’ve got Magpie Syndrome, don’t panic. You’re not alone and no,
you don’t need to burn your Tarbells or cancel your VanishingInc account.
Here’s how to detox:
Create a waiting list ritual
Before buying anything, make yourself wait seven days.
If you still want it after the novelty fades, you’re probably serious about wanting it.
The one in, one out rule
For every new trick or book you buy, you must master and perform one you already own. No exceptions and yes it hurts but that’s the point.
Perform before you purchase
Every time you feel the urge to buy something new, perform something old. Rediscover how powerful the classics are.
More often than not they hit harder than the shiny stuff anyway.
Turn hoarding into honouring
Set a monthly time slot to perform ancient rituals.
Go into your dusty drawer, pick one forgotten effect and resurrect it.
Perform it, honour your past self who believed in it.
Fragmented Thoughts
If you made it to the end without opening a magic shop tab, congratulations. You’ve taken your first step toward Magpie Recovery.
I’m proud of you but if you did buy something while reading this…
Well, let me know how it is. I might want it too!
Stay weird
ЯYΛП MΣПƬIƧ
International Man of Mischief
Founder of The Temple of Mentis
Summoner of The Oddsock Oracle™