There are various categories of magic tricks. The illusions fall into the following areas:

1. Penetration. Includes passing of a foam ball through a cup, joining of two steel rings that appear to have no gap in the link, etc.

2. Restoration. Includes a person sawn in half and then rejoined, the newspaper torn to bits and then reformed, a line cut in half and reunited, etc.

3. Transformation. Includes mainly card tricks. Many variations, but usually when an audience member picks a card and the magician guesses the card or does some amazing misdirection to include "changing" the card, "placing" the card in a different location, etc.

4.Teleportation. These tricks are very popular and involve an object is transferred from one place to another with no obvious link between the two. Disappearing magician to appear in the crowd, vanishing large equipment, moving a coin from one box to another, etc.

5. Production. Think: pulling a rabbit out of a hat. This category involves anything where the magician pulls something out of thin air. About the oldest trick in the book.

6. Levitation. Involves the mysterious lift of objects vertically off surfaces. Raising the assistant into the air, raising cards, raising coins, etc.