Medieval witch talismans were believed to hold magical powers and protect the user from harm. These talismans were often made from various materials, including metals, stones, herbs, and animal parts. They were created with specific symbols and inscriptions to enhance their magical properties. One of the most commonly used talismans during the medieval period was the pentacle, a five-pointed star enclosed in a circle. This symbol was believed to represent protection and was often inscribed onto an object or worn as jewelry. Other symbols commonly used in talismans included crosses, crescent moons, and various runes.

Tag Archives: Bob Little

Sometimes to get inspiration for a topic I look at old photos. I randomly picked up the year 1989, but I had lost those programs. Denise Tesher was kind enough to find me a copy but there was no cover, so I wasn’t sure of the year. Which was which? I went through the 2 years and thought what a gold mine we had then. These were not guys that sat in their basement and invented a trick and put it on the internet. These guys were performers and entertainers. We knew them personally. Unfortunately, many have since died, some much to early, but at least we have memories and somehow they must in some way have influenced out lives. There was Hank Moorehouse for Abbott’s Magic, Al Cohen for Al’s Magic Shop, Bob Little for Guaranteed Magic, Hank Lee for Hank Lee’s Magic Factory, Al Goshman for Magic By Gosh, Paul Diamond for Paul Diamond Magic, Pavel for Pavel’s Top Magic, and Marilyn for Hans Zahn Videonics…and of course there was also Perfect Magic…so take a look.

Al Cohen – Washington DC Paul Diamond – Ft. Lauderdale Florida Al Goshman – Los Angeles, California
Pavel – Geneva Switzerland Henry “Hank” Moorehouse – White Pigeon, Michigan Fantasio – Coral Gables, Florida
Bob “The Wiz” Little – Hatboro, Pennsylvania Marilyn Zahn, Videonics – St. Johns, Newfoundland Hank Lee – Boston, Massachusetts

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Other symbols commonly used in talismans included crosses, crescent moons, and various runes. In addition to their protective properties, medieval witch talismans were also used for divination and casting spells. For example, some talismans were used in love spells to attract a desired partner or enhance a current relationship.

Observations from my Son

The following blog was written by our son Brian, who has his own blog which is usually hilarious, called Panning For Gold. This particular blog is his take on the parties we used to have after the Magie Montreal conventions and his accidental meeting with Bob Little many years later in Pennsylvania. Enjoy!

The Olden Days, The Golden Days

Back in the day (1979 – 1998) my father hosted an annual magic convention with Wim Vermeys. One of the features that we always looked forward to was the after party. This party was always at our house and it was a time when the dealers, performers and lecturers could sit back and enjoy each other’s company without the magic monkey looming over our shoulders

The only rule was there was absolutely no magic at these parties. I remember one time when my father and Dick Zimmerman of magic and Ragtime fame sat at the piano while a few of the magicians and their wives sang along. The parties always amazed me, so many egos, so many personalities all crammed into such a small place and everyone had a great time. To me, these parties seemed to be reminiscent of scenes played out in movies based around the 1920’s. Our house was the speakeasy only with no gangsters, flappers, illegal liquor, cigarettes, prostitution, the only contraband was magic. Okay not exactly a party like the roaring 20’s but you gets the idea.

There was one magician, Bob Little from Hat borough Pa who attended all 19 conventions in the Magie Montreal series. Bob was a magic dealer, a lecturer, and a performer.

Jump ahead many years.

When I first arrived in Pennsylvania I got together with a few of the local magicians and started a magic club. As the club took root my wife and I decided to throw a party and invite the magicians along with some other more civilized guests.

The party which was a BBQ at our house quickly snowballed out of control. My wife and I learned that not only were the local magicians attending, so were the Penn State Performers which included magicians, jugglers and clowns.

I used to work at a bank downtown, I happen to be sitting in the lunchroom of the bank looking down the street and much to my disbelief I saw Bob Little walking down the road. I had not seen him since the last convention, a good 5 years earlier. I ran out of the bank and caught up with Bob.

Me: “Bob, remember me?”

He looked at me for a moment and said;

“Yes, how are you doing?”

“Aren’t you in the music business in Montreal?”

“No, I’m the other son”

“Don’t you have a magic shop in British Columbia?”

“I did, but I don’t anymore. I live here now.”

“Here? As in Pennsylvania?”

“Yup, I met a woman who attended Penn State and works for the university. We got married and now I live up in the mountains.”

Bob at this point looked very confused but we chatted for a bit. I found out he was in State College because as an alumni of Penn State he was being given some sort of an award and was asked to make a speech. Also there was some party the next night that the magicians were taking him too.

“Ahh, that would probably be my party” Again he looked a little confused. I shrugged and went back to work.

Saturday afternoon guests began to arrive. There were jugglers juggling, magicians showing each other tricks, people were talking eating and being very noisy. At one point I slipped inside to take a breather, and there was Bob all alone sitting on the couch. He looked at me a little confused by my presence. I knew he was still trying to process me being here and not in Canada.

Bob; “This is a really nice place”

“No really it is so nice up here. I went for a walk in the woods the path is covered in moss and is shaded by trees you should really check it out. I was told the owners have 11 acres. Do you know who the owners are? “

“Bob, remember yesterday when I said I lived in the mountains and that the party you were invited to was mine? Well here we are my party, my house.”

We sat for a moment, looking through the window two of the jugglers were juggling torches, magicians were in little groups showing one another card tricks, a fire was going in the fire pit, the grill was fired up and spewing hamburgers and hotdogs.

“You know” Bob said, “The last time I was at a party that was anything close to this was at your father’s convention I miss those days”

As I sit back during this holiday season and think about all the twists and turns my life has taken me I find myself wondering where it all went, when did I do all that stuff? Where has the time gone? How can my friends have grown children? How can my little sister have two kids? Where did it go? When did it all happen? I don’t understand the difference between a 3G and a 4G network! Did an inner city Jewish Canadian really go get a live Christmas tree from a tree farm in Central PA? Was it really 25 years ago that my best friend and I were riding our bikes through the town of Hampstead? Do I seriously get out the blow torch to fix the copper pipes in my own home? Did my wife seriously buy me the greatest winter boots and gloves so I could be comfortable while I am out SNOWBLOWING my driveway? Are there not other people who are supposed to do that sort of work?

Bob, I too miss those days. But I love my days now. I love my wife, my family, my life. I hope in another 25yrs I’ll be sitting with my wife missing the ‘old’ days and still loving the current ones.

Magic Tricks

Today, when you order "Bob Little's Mental Choice", you'll instantly be emailed a Penguin Magic gift certificate. You can spend it on anything you like at Penguin, just like cash. Just complete your order as normal, and within seconds you'll get an email with your gift certificate.

Bob Little's Mental Choice

This classic effect is straightforward and simple:

The magician reaches into his pocket and removes a brown pay envelope. He removes three cards which are printed with large circles on them -- one red, one blue, and one yellow. The cards are placed face-up on the table. The magician asks one of the spectators to mentally select one of the colored dots. The spectator reveals their selection, and the magician reveals he was right!

Featured Magic Tricks

I've been doing this since the mid 1980s.

I wish they would bring this back because I fear the day I lose mine or it gets ruined for some reason. I have the version with the wooden nickel used as the marker, three solid color circles on three cards and an envelope that contains all of that.

I tried to replace it and the knockoff had three strange looking cards and a pencil as the marker (which wouldn't fit neatly in the envelope like the wooden nickel).

It's only a simple prediction with a one out of three guess, but you are always right and the trick creates a great response. You can't repeat it, however.

Tenyo Magic Forum

I was wondering about this too, did a little investigation.

Found out that he's in prison for 10 years because he is a pedophile and had child porn on his computer.

Re: Whatever happened to Bob a.k.a. 444rr?

Post by VictorS » Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:11 pm

Richard W Global Moderator Posts: 1529 Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2013 12:43 am Location: Phoenix Arizona U.S.A. Planet Earth

Re: Whatever happened to Bob a.k.a. 444rr?

Post by Richard W » Fri Aug 11, 2017 11:11 pm

Re: Whatever happened to Bob a.k.a. 444rr?

Post by EvanS » Fri Aug 11, 2017 11:13 pm

Re: Whatever happened to Bob a.k.a. 444rr?

Post by SimonC » Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:59 am

David DeTenyo Global Moderator Posts: 3040 Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2013 6:51 am Location: Belgium Contact:

Re: Whatever happened to Bob a.k.a. 444rr?

Post by David DeTenyo » Sat Aug 12, 2017 6:07 am

Rob, I sincerely hope you did throrough research about this?! If that is indeed true his life is over . as it should.

By the way, I didn't know him . he wasn't part of this forum was he?

Richard W Global Moderator Posts: 1529 Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2013 12:43 am Location: Phoenix Arizona U.S.A. Planet Earth

Re: Whatever happened to Bob a.k.a. 444rr?

Post by Richard W » Sat Aug 12, 2017 6:49 am

David DeTenyo Global Moderator Posts: 3040 Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2013 6:51 am Location: Belgium Contact:

Re: Whatever happened to Bob a.k.a. 444rr?

Post by David DeTenyo » Sat Aug 12, 2017 8:21 am

Rob Rand Charter Member Posts: 3386 Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 6:00 pm Location: The Netherlands Contact:

Re: Whatever happened to Bob a.k.a. 444rr?

Post by Rob Rand » Sat Aug 12, 2017 8:48 am

David DeTenyo wrote: Rob, I sincerely hope you did throrough research about this?! If that is indeed true his life is over . as it should.

By the way, I didn't know him . he wasn't part of this forum was he?

Simon Layland Full Member Posts: 429 Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2015 11:31 pm Location: Melbourne , Australia

Re: Whatever happened to Bob a.k.a. 444rr?

Post by Simon Layland » Sat Aug 12, 2017 9:56 am

Re: Whatever happened to Bob a.k.a. 444rr?

Post by Richard Kaufman » Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:21 pm

He's far from the only pedophile in magic.
Jim Pace, who created the "Web" has been in jail for years.
Children's magician Bob Markwood was in prison for years, but is now out and doing kid shows again!
And they are certainly not the only ones.

Re: Whatever happened to Bob a.k.a. 444rr?

Post by VictorS » Sat Aug 12, 2017 9:33 pm

Jim Pace . It's sad and shocking to hear it Richard. Wow. it's unbeliveable to see the number of this kind of predators grow nowadays. We have also several cases here in schools, done by teachers and cleaning service officers. Fortunately not in my kids school. CRAZY .

Others were used for healing purposes, with specific symbols and herbs being incorporated to address different ailments. Talismans were often worn as pendants or carried in bags or pouches, allowing the user to have constant access to their powers. They were typically worn close to the body, as it was believed that this increased their effectiveness. The talismans could also be used during rituals or ceremonies, where they were placed on altars or incorporated into spellcasting tools. However, the use of witch talismans was not without controversy. During the medieval period, witchcraft was highly stigmatized and often associated with evil and devil worship. Therefore, owning or using talismans could be deemed as practicing witchcraft, potentially leading to accusations of sorcery and persecution. Despite the risks, many people in medieval times still used witch talismans to protect themselves and enhance their mystical abilities. They believed in the power of these objects and the spells they contained. Today, the use of talismans and other magical objects continues to be a part of modern witchcraft and paganism, though the beliefs and practices have evolved over time..

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Exploring the Origins of Medieval Witch Talismans