The Indian Rope trick is one of the most famous stage magic illusions in the world and many people have heard of it. Some have even seen variations of it at magic shows, on the television, or in films (movies). The basic illusion is performed by a conjurer and his assistant dressed in generic outfits suggestive of the Indian Subcontinent. They walk out onto the stage carrying large basket and a coil of rope, although sometimes the rope is inside the basket. Reaching the middle of the stage they stop, and the conjurer gives a short speech about the trick, usually that it’s from “Mystic India” and has been practiced there for thousands of years. What he neglects to tell them is that in India the trick is done in the open air within a proscribed area, which is important as we will see further on in the article.

At the finish of the talk the illusion begins in one of two ways, either by playing a repetitive short tune on a flute or recorder, or by quickly throwing the rope into the air. In the first case the rope slowly rises until the top disappears into the rafters of the theatre, and in the second the rope tip shoots straight up and also ends up out of sight. Then there’s usually a bit of byplay as the conjurer encourages the assistant to climb the rope to show how solid it is although it is apparently unsupported. The assistant, traditionally a young boy, refuses and a comical repartee ensues ending by the conjurer producing a prop sword from the basket and the assistant quickly climbs the rope and disappears.

Then the conjurer tells the assistant to come back down. More comic repartee as the assistant refuses saying “It’s nicer up here”, or “Why?”, and perhaps describes some exotic place that he’s now in that’s better than how he claims he’s been living. Eventually the conjurer appears to lose his temper and issues the ultimatum “Climb back down here now in one piece, or fall down here in several”. The assistant usually cheekily replies “How are you going to do that? You’re too fat to climb up after me, and have a fear of heights, that’s why you need me”. Angrily the conjurer waves his prop sword around and suddenly the limbs, torso, and head, of the assistant appear to drop from the rafters either straight into the basket or just behind it and are placed in the basket. Then the conjurer asks the audience “Is it worth bringing him back whole” If it’s a slow night he might provide both sides of the dialogue but eventually it’s decided that it is. Then he makes magic gestures over the basket and the assistant jumps out of it unharmed and happy. The rope drops to the ground and is retrieved, both performers bow and leave the stage.

It’s a good trick, but outside India needs a theatre and some special arrangements and gadgets to make it work. The original Indian Rope Trick was carried out in the open air and no illusionist I know of has been able to make it work in its original form as it needs both magick and suggestion to carry out. When this was a popular sideshow either on its own or in one of the acts in a travelling circus in the early part of the 20th Century people did try to photograph the act only to find while they’d seen a performance similar to the one described above, only with the assistant vanishing into open air rather than theatre rafters . All the photographs showed was the conjurer and assistant standing by the basket with the rope either coiled at their feet with the conjurer holding an end at head or waist height, or just draped over his arm. This is because the original trick involves trance induction, bioplasmic (personal) energy, and suggestion.

Firstly in the traditional method the audience takes a much bigger part which enables the conjurer to prime them and make them susceptible to suggestion, both verbal and pantomime. Before the performance begins the conjurer marks out a circle on the ground and charges it with their own energy. According to Indian magick each particle of matter also has an energy component that can be empowered and programmed to cause several different effects, this component is called “Chitta”.

in the case of the Indian Rope trick, programming the Chitta via visualisation and projection has the effect of causing a sympathetic vibration in the personal Chitta of the audience members, enhancing the chances of them seeing what the conjurer wants them to see. Depending on the skill of the conjurer, the energy available to him at the time, and even the climate/weather as the more humid the day the bigger charge the Chitta can hold, this can take anywhere from 15 minutes to a full hour. The circle is then cordoned off, and perhaps even guarded, until the time for the show to begin. When the time arrives the crowd are told “Anyone who wants to see the famous Rope Trick please enter the circle”. This helps select people who actively want to see the illusion which is important for what follows.

Once the audience is inside the circle the conjurer begins the inner and outer process to cause the illusion. The audience is encouraged to chant, sing, or call upon a Deity. This starts to entrain the disparate individuals into a harmonised group which is much easier to influence. At the same time the conjurer concentrates on releasing the programmed energy in the Chitta to sway the group at a subconscious level. When he feels the group is sufficiently in tune and suggestible he begins to build expectation by asking them leading questions such as “Are you ready to see the trick?” and similarly phrased ones to build what is called a “Yes set” to enhance the suggestions to come. As they start to give of signs of going into a highly suggestible state- trance in effect- the props of rope and basket containing the sword are brought out by the assistant.

Then, if the conjurer has done the preparation correctly he says something along the lines of “See the rope, watch it rise, watch it rise, see it go. Is it fast or is it slow?” using a particular cadence and voice tone. As he does this he slowly raises the rope end, watching the crowd as he does so. If his suggestions, combined with the pantomime are effective positive hallucination takes over and the audience ‘sees’ what the conjurer and his assistant suggest verbally and through pantomime. This is why the photographs show the conjurer and his assistant standing with their props while the audience is hallucinating the performance.

The principles of the traditional Indian Rope Trick underpin a number of other magickal rituals and techniques throughout the world. Awareness of how this technique works is useful for modern Pagans if they attend rituals and gatherings where similar phenomena might be seen. If people attending these rites start to notice things are proceeding along the lines of the trick outlined above then they can see what is really going on rather than what the person leading the event wants them to hallucinate.