Broken wand ceremony

A broken wand ceremony is a ritual performed at or shortly before the funeral of a magician,[1] in which a wand — either the wand which the magician used in performances, or a ceremonial one — is broken, indicating that with the magician's death,[2] the wand has lost its magic.

The first broken wand ceremony was held in 1926, after the death of Harry Houdini.[3] The Society of American Magicians continues to hold an annual ceremony at Houdini's grave.[4]

References

Magic Auction from Cincinnati Magazine, January 1980, page 17
Stone, Alex (2012). Fooling Houdini. Bond Street Books. ISBN 978-0-307-36821-8.
COPING; Yet Another Black Wand Has Lost Its Powers, by Anemona Hartocollis, at The New York Times, published January 22, 2005.
S.A.M. News: Houdini Remembered, at the Society of American Magicians (via archive.org); published 2006; retrieved July 5, 2014; "As done each year the Parent Assembly #1 performs a broken wand ceremony for Harry Houdini on the anniversary of his death based on the Jewish Calendar."

External links

Guidelines for a Broken Wand Ceremony at the International Brotherhood of Magicians

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[1] Magic Auction from Cincinnati Magazine, January 1980, page 17

[2] Stone, Alex (2012). Fooling Houdini. Bond Street Books. ISBN 978-0-307-36821-8.

[3] COPING; Yet Another Black Wand Has Lost Its Powers, by Anemona Hartocollis, at The New York Times, published January 22, 2005.

[4] S.A.M. News: Houdini Remembered, at the Society of American Magicians (via archive.org); published 2006; retrieved July 5, 2014; "As done each year the Parent Assembly #1 performs a broken wand ceremony for Harry Houdini on the anniversary of his death based on the Jewish Calendar."