Invisible thread is a staple tool used by magicians to create the illusion of objects moving on their own or defying gravity. This extremely thin and nearly transparent thread allows magicians to perform a variety of mind-boggling tricks that defy logic and captivate audiences. The invisible thread is typically made of a strong nylon material that is almost impossible to see with the naked eye. This fine thread is used in various ways during a magic performance, such as pulling objects, levitating items, or even making objects appear to move on their own. One common trick involving invisible thread is the floating dollar bill trick. In this trick, a magician borrows a dollar bill from an audience member and attaches one end of the invisible thread to the bill.
In this trick, a magician borrows a dollar bill from an audience member and attaches one end of the invisible thread to the bill. By carefully manipulating the thread, the magician is able to make the dollar bill float and move in mid-air, seemingly defying gravity. Another popular use of invisible thread is for the floating card trick.
Did the Romans Invent Christmas?
Did the first Christian Roman emperor appropriate the pagan festival of Saturnalia to celebrate the birth of Christ? Matt Salusbury weighs the evidence.
Matt Salusbury | Published in History Today Volume 59 Issue 12 December 2009It was a public holiday celebrated around December 25th in the family home. A time for feasting, goodwill, generosity to the poor, the exchange of gifts and the decoration of trees. But it wasn’t Christmas. This was Saturnalia, the pagan Roman winter solstice festival. But was Christmas, Western Christianity’s most popular festival, derived from the pagan Saturnalia?
The first-century AD poet Gaius Valerius Catullus described Saturnalia as ‘the best of times’: dress codes were relaxed, small gifts such as dolls, candles and caged birds were exchanged.
Saturnalia saw the inversion of social roles. The wealthy were expected to pay the month’s rent for those who couldn’t afford it, masters and slaves to swap clothes. Family households threw dice to determine who would become the temporary Saturnalian monarch. The poet Lucian of Samosata (AD 120-180) has the god Cronos (Saturn) say in his poem, Saturnalia:
‘During my week the serious is barred: no business allowed. Drinking and being drunk, noise and games of dice, appointing of kings and feasting of slaves, singing naked, clapping … an occasional ducking of corked faces in icy water – such are the functions over which I preside.’
Saturnalia originated as a farmer’s festival to mark the end of the autumn planting season in honour of Saturn (satus means sowing). Numerous archaeological sites from the Roman coastal province of Constantine, now in Algeria, demonstrate that the cult of Saturn survived there until the early third century AD.
Saturnalia grew in duration and moved to progressively later dates under the Roman period. During the reign of the Emperor Augustus (63 BC-AD 14), it was a two-day affair starting on December 17th. By the time Lucian described the festivities, it was a seven-day event. Changes to the Roman calendar moved the climax of Saturnalia to December 25th, around the time of the date of the winter solstice.
From as early as 217 BC there were public Saturnalia banquets. The Roman state cancelled executions and refrained from declaring war during the festival. Pagan Roman authorities tried to curtail Saturnalia; Emperor Caligula (AD 12-41) sought to restrict it to five days, with little success.
Emperor Domitian (AD 51-96) may have changed Saturnalia’s date to December 25th in an attempt to assert his authority. He curbed Saturnalia’s subversive tendencies by marking it with public events under his control. The poet Statius (AD 45- 95), in his poem Silvae, describes the lavish banquet and entertainments Domitian presided over, including games which opened with sweets, fruit and nuts showered on the crowd and featuring flights of flamingos released over Rome. Shows with fighting dwarves and female gladiators were illuminated, for the first time, into the night.
The conversion of Emperor Constantine to Christianity in AD 312 ended Roman persecution of Christians and began imperial patronage of the Christian churches. But Christianity did not become the Roman Empire’s official religion overnight. Dr David Gwynn, lecturer in ancient and late antique history at Royal Holloway, University of London, says that, alongside Christian and other pagan festivals, ‘the Saturnalia continued to be celebrated in the century afterward’.
The poet Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius wrote another Saturnalia, describing a banquet of pagan literary celebrities in Rome during the festival. Classicists date the work to between AD 383 and 430, so it describes a Saturnalia alive and well under Christian emperors. The Christian calendar of Polemius Silvus, written around AD 449, mentions Saturnalia, recording that ‘it used to honour the god Saturn’. This suggests it had by then become just another popular carnival.
Christmas apparently started – like Saturnalia – in Rome, and spread to the eastern Mediterranean. The earliest known reference to it commemorating the birth of Christ on December 25th is in the Roman Philocalian calendar of AD 354. Provincial schisms soon resulted in different Christian calendars. The Orthodox Church in the Eastern (Byzantine) half of the Roman Empire fixed the date of Christmas at January 6th, commemorating simultaneously Christ’s birth, baptism and first miracle.
Saturnalia has a rival contender as the forerunner of Christmas: the festival of dies natalis solis invicti, ‘birthday of the unconquered sun’. The Philocalian calendar also states that December 25th was a Roman civil holiday honouring the cult of sol invicta. With its origins in Syria and the monotheistic cult of Mithras, sol invicta certainly has similarities to the worship of Jesus. The cult was introduced into the empire in AD 274 by Emperor Aurelian (214-275), who effectively made it a state religion, putting its emblem on Roman coins.
Sol invicta succeeded because of its ability to assimilate aspects of Jupiter and other deities into its figure of the Sun King, reflecting the absolute power of ‘divine’emperors. But despite efforts by later pagan emperors to control Saturnalia and absorb the festival into the official cult, the sol invicta ended up looking very much like the old Saturnalia. Constantine, the first Christian emperor, was brought up in the sol invicta cult, in what was by then already a predominantly monotheist empire: ‘It is therefore possible,’ says Dr Gwynn, ‘that Christmas was intended to replace this festival rather than Saturnalia.’
Gwynn concludes: ‘The majority of modern scholars would be reluctant to accept any close connection between the Saturnalia and the emergence of the Christian Christmas.’
Devout Christians will be reassured to learn that the date of Christmas may derive from concepts in Judaism that link the time of the deaths of prophets being linked to their conception or birth. From this, early ecclesiastical number-crunchers extrapolated that the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy following the Annunciation on March 25th would produce a December 25th date for the birth of Christ.
Saturnalia grew in duration and moved to progressively later dates under the Roman period. During the reign of the Emperor Augustus (63 BC-AD 14), it was a two-day affair starting on December 17th. By the time Lucian described the festivities, it was a seven-day event. Changes to the Roman calendar moved the climax of Saturnalia to December 25th, around the time of the date of the winter solstice.
In this trick, a magician selects a card from a deck and holds it with one hand. By attaching the other end of the invisible thread to the card, the magician can make the card appear to float and spin in the air, much to the amazement of the audience. Invisible thread can also be used to create the illusion of objects moving on their own. For example, a magician may attach a small object, such as a ring or a levitating ball, to the invisible thread and make it appear to travel from one hand to another without any visible means of support. To ensure the success of these tricks, magicians must be skilled in handling and manipulating the invisible thread. They must practice carefully controlling the tension and movement of the thread to create the desired illusion without being detected by the audience. While invisible thread is a powerful tool for magicians, it also poses its own challenges. The thread can be easily tangled or broken, requiring careful handling and preparation before each performance. Additionally, the thread may be sensitive to certain lighting conditions, requiring magicians to carefully consider the environment in which they perform. In conclusion, invisible thread is an essential tool for magicians to create the illusion of objects moving on their own or defying gravity. With careful manipulation and practice, magicians are able to perform mind-boggling tricks that captivate and astonish audiences..
Reviews for "The Invisible Weavers: Unraveling the Secrets of Magical Threads"
1. Alice - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with "Invisible Thread for Magic". I had heard so many great things about it, but it just didn't capture my attention. The plot felt contrived and the characters were not well-developed. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen, but it never did. Overall, I found the book to be dull and unengaging. I wouldn't recommend it.
2. John - 1 star - This book was a waste of my time. The story was convoluted and confusing, making it difficult to follow along. The writing was also subpar, lacking depth and creativity. I struggled to find any redeeming qualities in "Invisible Thread for Magic", and I regret even picking it up. Save yourself the disappointment and skip this one.
3. Emily - 2 stars - I had high hopes for this book, but it fell short of my expectations. The premise seemed intriguing, but the execution was lacking. The pacing was inconsistent, with long stretches of boredom followed by rushed and unsatisfying resolutions. The characters felt one-dimensional and unrelatable. Unfortunately, "Invisible Thread for Magic" was a letdown for me.