A broken wand ceremony is a ritual performed at or shortly before the

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

of a

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

ian, in which a

wand A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal or plastic. Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, which c ...

— either the wand which the magician used in performances, or a ceremonial one — is broken, indicating that with the magician's death, the wand has lost its magic. The first broken wand ceremony was held in 1926, after the death of

Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

. The

Society of American Magicians The Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) is the oldest fraternal magic organization in the world. Its purpose is "to advance, elevate, and preserve magic as a performing art, to promote harmonious fellowship throughout the world of magic, and t ...

continues to hold an annual ceremony at Houdini's grave.S.A.M. News: Houdini Remembered
at the

(via

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

); 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."

References

{{reflist

External links

Guidelines for a Broken Wand Ceremony
at the

International Brotherhood of Magicians International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) is an organization for both professional and amateur close-up and stage magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St. Charles, Missouri. There are over 300 lo ...

Acknowledgements of death Magic (illusion) Wands