xii

Working with my good friend Stephen Minch has always been an enrich-
ing experience. I cannot imagine a better editor with whom to collaborate.
In this case, we faced a major challenge together. It is also a mammoth
project made possible by the commitment of Penguin Magic, to whose
support and confidence in the project we should all be grateful.
Stephen has spared no effort in pointing out anything that is unclear
or ambiguous, and we have exchanged many hundreds of questions, in
both directions. Some ambiguities were instantly resolved by my acquain-
tance with Juan's thinking and my many conversations with him through
the years. I have occasionally needed to consult with my friend Camilo
Vazquez, who has known Juan much longer than I have. Camilo is a
co-founder with Juan of the Escuela Magica de Madrid and has provided
invaluable insight. We then ran even the slightest doubts that remained by
Juan to get his input and blessing. FOREWORD
With our editorial decisions, maybe Stephen and I are also sharing
something of our inner worlds, in a quest for keeping Juan's voice-collo- J WAS seven years old. The sun ofEgyptilluminatedmypath. The Phoenicians
quial, engaging, humorous-as we have on previous occasions. carried me toward the confluence of the two seas, from the sea within the
A good portion of this material was originally written for the limited earth to the mythical ocean, land of the Atlanteans. It rained all the way
membership of the Escuela Magica de Madrid and published using a simple through the journey, and the sun and the rain formed their exciting Rainbow.
method of distribution. For this group, there was little need for referencing After dark, the beautiful moon, protected (as was magic) by Isis, mag-
each trick or article mentioned. Stephen has, when needed, checked and netized the gazes of all sailors and formed-oh, miracle!-a mysterious
researched references; and during the process, I asked Juan some questions and exciting night rainbow.
about his sources. In certain cases, he supplied additional information, The newly founded city of Gades (now Cadiz) was dedicated to Isis
which we have added to the text, (now Astarte), goddess of the moon and of magic (only 3000 years ago).
Now that the work is over, the relief is fading away and I am beginning And that's where, on that night, at the age of seven, I stayed awake and
'>
to miss the exchanges with these men I am proud to call my friends. followed the hypnotic phases of the moon, and I traveled The Magic Way
under the night rainbow to find the wonderful palace-castle, castle-palace
of magic.
I sneaked through the slit under the back door-Father Ciur6 offered
his books to show me the way-and I discovered the fabulous world
of parlors and drawing rooms in the castle, which was looked after by
Mnemosyne (four clubs and nine diamonds embroidered into her man-
tle) and her nine daughters, the nine Muses. And there on the floor, other
 :xv

children-in groups of seven, fifty-two and a hundred-played with cards,
balls, white doves and their pretty, lacquered, wooden boxes.
The three fathers (Robert-Houdin, Hofzinser and Frakson) were in
charge of, and inspired, the games that the oldest son (Dai Vernon) orga-
The moon of Isis blinded me and guided me. The sun of Gades warmed
me and' made me drunk with passion. T_he rain that descended from the
sky and ascended from the sea refreshed me. The night-and-day Rainbow,
that was formed among all this, made me marvel.
I

nized, while nephew Ascanio walked the parlors and analyzed their rules
with passion.
I often came out, with some of the other children in the enchanted pal-
ace, to invite along children and adults of nearby fields and distant towns.
With some of the group made up by the playful and curious, we dis-
It makes me marvel and will still make me marvel in the s~venty-times-
seven coming years; and I hope to find you, dear reader who is holding me
in your hands, in our palace-castle-house of magic.
In our home.
THE MAGIC RAINBOW.

covered doors and spaces, some empty, others full of signals waiting to
be deciphered for the enjoyment of new and beautiful ways to play with
cards, balls and little boxes.
It was Paradise.

I have spent my whole life visiting this castle-palace. I live in it.

~

Here I tell you what I saw there and felt and feel and will feel, and what
the beauties of the parlors that "lazy chance or the precise laws that rule
this dream, the Universe" (Borges dixit) made me discover, with which I
was able to begin a playful exploration and passionate journey.
The castle-palace palace-castle still possesses unknown comers,
secret doors and hidden passages that lead to new and fantastic halls and
gardens strewn with minerals of wonderful colors (the seven colors of the
rainbow). In it, the charming Muses guide us and, while two sing and play
their harps, the other seven dance and extend their translucent veils that
cover, or allow, a faint glimpse of hidden spaces and gardens with their
beautiful and delicate decorations.
At times, during these last forty years (the number of cards in the
Spanish deck) I have taken a break and written on papyrus with my sweet
diabetic blood what I gradually saw, enjoyed and felt in the castle, and
what my little and maybe (but only maybe) interesting discoveries told me
and taught me how to feel and enjoy. Here you have them at this moment
in your hands in the shape of a magical book (what a redundancy!).