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Ian Rowland Lecture
The Order of The Magi
19th June 2026
Reported by Jonathan Royle
A
Night of Real Magic – Ian Rowland at The Order of the Magi
Lecture = The Best Secret’s I’ve Learned in almost 50 Years of Magic & Mentalism
On Tuesday 9th June 2026, The Order of the Magi, Manchester’s Magic Club &
Magical Society for Magician’s and England’s third oldest magic club, had the
immense pleasure of welcoming one of the most respected names in modern
mentalism and magical entertainment, Ian Rowland, for a lecture that will
undoubtedly be remembered by all who were fortunate enough to attend.
Such was the anticipation surrounding Ian’s visit that the meeting room at The
Irish World Heritage Centre on Queens Road began filling up over half an hour
before our usual start time.
We welcomed many visitors to the club that evening, with some being so impressed
by the atmosphere and quality of what they experienced that they became members
before the night was over.
Indeed, it continues a hugely encouraging recent trend for The Order of the
Magi, with every meeting since March’s AGM – when I took on the roles of Public
Relations Officer and Entertainments Officer – seeing new members join,
alongside a noticeable increase in attendance from existing members and a
growing number of guest visitors.
With so many people arriving early, Ian did not wait for the official lecture
start time to begin sharing his knowledge. Instead, he gathered informally with
those present and spent time discussing all manner of topics related to magic,
mentalism, performance, and the professional world of entertainment.
During these conversations, subjects such as David Berglas, the legendary Any
Card At Any Number (ACAAN) effect, and the controversy and fame surrounding Uri
Geller naturally arose.
The insights Ian shared during this informal session alone were worth the price
of admission.
Then something happened that I genuinely believe nobody among the early arrivals
will ever forget.
Ian created a moment that felt like real magic.
A lady was selected entirely at random and asked to simply name any playing card
she wished.
After a brief moment of thought, she announced the Six of Hearts.
Ian then casually asked for assistance moving a table to a different part of the
room and requested that somebody retrieve a broom from the downstairs bar.
The conversation continued as normal while we all wondered what possible
relevance a broom could have to anything that was taking place.
Moments later, Ian climbed onto the table and used the broom to dislodge a
partially deflated foil helium balloon that had been stuck to the ceiling of the
room for at least two weeks. We all knew the balloon well; we had seen it in
exactly the same position during our previous meeting (photo).
Once the balloon was retrieved, Ian made a small tear in it and handed it to the
lady who had named the Six of Hearts, asking her to tear it open herself.
What happened next was one of those moments that reminds every magician why they
fell in love with the art in the first place.
Inside the balloon was a giant Jumbo Card Six of Hearts.
The very card she had freely named.
The room fell into a mixture of stunned silence and then thunderous applause.
Naturally, the immediate question was “How on earth was that possible?”
Ian’s response was as frustrating as it was brilliant:
“I’m not going to tell you how that is done. However, all of the secrets that
made it possible are contained within various parts of tonight’s lecture. If you
pay attention and think seriously about it, you should be able to work it out.”
As I write this the following day, I can honestly say I am still none the wiser.
I questioned the lady involved and completely ruled out any possibility of
stooging or pre-show work.
I spoke with the staff at The Irish World Heritage Centre, who confirmed they
had never met Ian before his arrival that evening.
I personally welcomed him when he arrived approximately an hour before the
lecture and was with him throughout.
So the mystery remains:
How did the Six of Hearts get inside that balloon?
And perhaps that is exactly how a truly great magical moment should remain.
The remarkable thing was that the official lecture had not even begun.
I genuinely wondered how Ian could possibly follow what we had just witnessed.
The answer was simple:
By being Ian Rowland.
The lecture itself was a masterclass in practical, powerful mentalism and
professional performance.
Ian shared techniques developed and refined over almost five decades of
experience, providing effects that were not merely clever puzzles but fully
formed, audience-tested routines capable of becoming reputation-making pieces
for the working performer.
Throughout the evening, we witnessed demonstrations that appeared utterly
impossible: revealing a person’s star sign, identifying names merely thought of,
demonstrations involving body language, and moments of apparent pure mind
reading.
One particular miracle was the book test that was especially astonishing. Using
two completely ordinary, ungimmicked books, Ian created an experience that
genuinely felt paranormal.
A participant was somehow able to reveal the nature of subjects and words
contained on a freely chosen page in a freely chosen book.
It was one of those effects where the method was beautifully simple, yet the
impact was so strong that even experienced magicians and mentalists were left
completely baffled.
The evening was not solely about tricks and techniques. Ian also gave a
fascinating insight into his hugely successful career outside traditional
performance, explaining how magicians can enter the often overlooked but
extremely lucrative world of corporate speaking and training.
The practical advice, strategies, and real-world lessons contained in this
section alone had the potential to be worth many thousands of pounds to those
willing to apply them.
The final major section focused on one of Ian’s most famous areas of expertise:
cold reading.
Through demonstrations of a tarot reading and a stage medium apparently
communicating with the deceased, Ian carefully dissected the techniques behind
these compelling performances.
This became an interactive workshop, with members of the audience learning and
applying the principles themselves with remarkable success.
It was educational, fascinating, and at times genuinely eye-opening.
Just when it seemed the evening could not possibly offer anything more, Ian
finished with his celebrated Las Vegas Card Routine, formerly known as Thetalia.
What followed was a display of apparent impossible skill as Ian dealt requested
cards, matching pairs, flushes, the four aces, and numerous other combinations
from a deck that had been thoroughly shuffled by an audience member.
The explanation was perhaps the most surprising part of all.
Like so much of the material presented during the lecture, the secret embodied
the timeless principle of KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
The method was elegant in its simplicity, yet the performance looked like the
work of a world-class card mechanic.
Rather than simply explaining the routine, Ian transformed this section into a
practical workshop, personally guiding attendees through the process and showing
how a deceptively straightforward technique could be presented as a truly
astonishing demonstration of card mastery.
Throughout the entire evening, Ian continually shared the sort of insights that
cannot be learned from books or videos alone — lessons gained through decades of
real-world performing experience in front of countless audiences.
The lecture promised to reveal some of the strongest magical and mentalism
techniques Ian has discovered and developed over nearly fifty years in the world
of Magic & Mentalism…
It more than delivered on that promise & then some to say the least!
The spontaneous standing ovation at the end of the evening spoke louder than any
review ever could.
The applause throughout the lecture, the gasps of disbelief, and the countless
moments where experienced magicians looked at one another with expressions of
genuine astonishment were testimony to the quality of what we had witnessed.
This was not simply one of the most useful, informative, and content-rich
lectures I have ever attended.
It was a truly memorable magical experience.
It was an evening filled with moments that felt like real miracles; moments that
made even seasoned magicians and mentalists feel like wide-eyed children again,
asking the same wonderful question:
“How on earth is that possible?”
There is a reason why Ian Rowland is considered one of the very best in his
field.
Quite simply, he is.
On behalf of everyone at The Order of the Magi, I would like to offer our
sincere thanks to Ian for travelling to Manchester and sharing his incredible
knowledge, experience, and passion with us.
It was a lecture we will be talking about for a very long time to come with many
moments that those present will I am sure remember for the rest of their life.
© Jonathan Royle - The Order of The Magi. June 2026
www.orderofthemagi.co.uk