The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word ARIEL
A
R
I
E
L
More clues leading to the result ARIEL
- A bit of Marie, Lisa, Sharon?
- Odds cut on fairy, I feel, spirit creating storm?
- A college not displaying its old spirit
- Sylvia’s work gathered a dramatic spirit
- Marie Lloyd is full of spirit on the stage
- Mountain gazelle seen in safari — elegant
- Poor Lear, interrupted by one from another play
- Marie Lloyd, only partly an angelic creature
- Sharon as a little mermaid?
- Moon and endless stars over lake
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Magician’s assistant" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case magician’s assistant = ariel.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does ARIEL mean?
ARIEL noun- A kind of mountain gazelle, native to Arabia.