All magicians are simply trying to entertain you, to reawaken your sense of awe and wonder.

They do this by playing games with you. They make you think one thing is happeneing and something else is. They use science, psychology, acting, sheer bluff, special gadgets or machines, etc.

When a big name magician puts on a show, it can take several 18-wheelers full of machinery and stuff to make the show work. Some of these illusions can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to research, develop, and perform- but generally, the magi will make that back pretty easily showing a great illusion.

The ashes trick is a simple one you can find in most library books on magic if you want... but most of the time, if you know how the trick worked, you feel slightly cheated by it. Most of them are pretty simple in principle- but they take a lot of work to make look convincing.

It is all 'real' magic- in the sense of illusions and trickery. There are no 'magickal' forces at work.