For every action...

Every great magic trick consists of three acts. The first act is called "The Pledge"; the magician shows you something ordinary, but of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn"; the magician makes his ordinary some thing do something extraordinary. Now if you're looking for the secret... you won't find it, that's why there's a third act called, "The Prestige"; this is the part with the twists and turns, where lives hang in the balance, and you see something shocking you've never seen before.

As some of you may tell, I just watched the movie "The Prestige". It was a pretty cool movie, at that...but what caught my attention....wasn't the twists and turns, nor the different magic tricks that the two magicians did...however, what caught my attention was the term sacrifice.

Both magicians, Rupert Angier and Alfred Borden both lost almost everything in their quest for the best illusion. *SPOILER WARNING* They both lost loved ones, friends, family...and even themselves. They lived lives of obsession, of deceit, and of treachery, for the sake of coming out on top.

I've done a lot of reading...I've read books, comics, and for some reason...people who dwell in magic, both real and not always loose something in the process. Take for example, Merlin...teacher of King Arthur who in turn lost his life because of Magic. However, that may be obscure in a sense. Two more...closer to heart characters come to mind. First of is John Constantine, who most of you know was played by Keanu Reeves in the movie "Constantine" or to those, bigger fans...the main character in the Vertigo Comics Series "Hellblazer". John Constantine has also lost a lot due to magic. girlfriends, family, friends, co-workers all died. John blames himself for their deaths...because he knows that with Magic, comes a price...a price that he believes he pays for over and over and over again. Take for example in the movie. John Constantine looses the only 2 friends he has in the world Chas and Beeman (no...I’m not that big of a fan of the movie..I checked it at IMDB here) because of Magic. In the comics version, he looses his whole gang of friends, a lot of girlfriends (ex or not) and even his remaining family (his sister). And this is one lesson he learned the hard way; magic always comes at a price. This lesson was then in turn what he taught a young Timothy Hunter.

Timothy Hunter is another character in the Vertigo Comics Universe. He's the main character of another series entitled "The Books of Magic" initially created by Neil Gaiman. Here's a bit of back story. Tim was a young boy…who was approached by 4 men, all dressed in Trench coats. He was told that he was the most promising magician of his generation, and probably the greatest magician ever...basically Merlin reborn. For him to better understand the world of Magic, these 4 (The Phantom Stranger, Dr. Occult, John Constantine and Mister E) toured young Tim Hunter through the world of Magic. The Phantom Stranger toured Tim through Magic's past; Dr. Occult toured Tim of the different worlds of Magic; John Constantine toured Tim through Magic's present and finally; Mister E toured Tim through Magic's future and inevitably Magic's end. One thing, highly emphasized by John Constantine was that Magic always has a price. And to be able to do magic, one should be willing to pay the cost. Again, being a stubborn young man, Tim did not heed John's words and still played around with magic. And thus, learned that magic has a terrible price.

Tim lost his father (mother, died prior to the series) because of magic. He lost his first love, due to the fact that the girl kept on getting in over her head with regards to the different trials that Tim had to face. He also lost his friends, who were killed by his enemies, he practically lost everything. To escape the feeling of loosing anyone else, he then enters seclusion...and makes a world for himself to stay in (he's the greatest magician ever...he can do whatever he wants) and makes sure that his loved ones never die...but this was all a false utopia. In the end, he also lost that world...and realized that there was nothing else he could do, but live with the burden that he has...which is magic.

Okay, I bet you're lost now. You're probably thinking to yourself..."What the hell has this have to do with anything?!" Trust me, have I ever lead you a stray from whatever it is I'm talking about? I don't think so. But then again, you ask "But I don't do magic...what does this have to do with me?" My answer to that question: "Everything".

People seldom realize the consequences of their actions. Everything you do...has a consequence, an end result; either good or bad, you know about it or you don't. Not all results appear to us immediately. Some reveal themselves to us after days, weeks, months, even years. One thing you may have done during grade school, may probably affect something that's happening to you now. Everything we do, has a consequence. Everything we do is a result of something that happened prior, and will result in another thing happening in the future. There is a saying that says: "Men are defined by events that happened in their lives…” which in some cases may be true. Think back to one of your most vivid memories. Try imagining what would happen if that never occured. Maybe, you wouldn't meet your current loved one, maybe you wouldn't be who you are today. Who we are, can be defined by what happened to us in the past...which is logically sound because if there was no past, then there could be no present...and in turn bear no future.

We all pay the prices of our sins. We all pay the price for things that we've done in the past...both good and bad. Another term that comes to mind is Karma or the saying "What goes around, comes around." Or...for those of you who are religious...the afterlife Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso...where you end up, depends on your actions when you were alive.

Magic isn't the only thing that has a price. Everything has a price. From the internet you're using to read this entry...to the cellphone you use to check the time...or what you have up here (points to head). Everything has a price...depending on the object of discussion.

We all pay the price of living...both material, and not. We all have undergone trials...lost quite a number of things. We've all made sacrifices...

And as the title of this entry says...

"For every action...there is an equal and opposite reaction." - Newton's Third Law of Motion