Wash a shallow pie pan. Make sure it is completely rinsed out with no soap residue left in it.
Dip a plain wooden toothpick in liquid dish soap before your audience arrives.
Fill the pan about half full with plain water, and set it on a hard, flat surface where the magic takes place. Sprinkle pepper on top of the water making sure it's spread around the pan.
Tell the audience you're going to make the pepper come alive and make a circle inside the outer edge of the pie pan.
Touch the soap-dipped toothpick to the center of the pie plate. The pepper scatters quickly to the outer edges.
Ask an audience member to do the trick. Give them the soap dipped toothpick and tell them to put it in the water when they think they have connected with their "magic powers."