An Essay: The Numbers of Magic · 7:37pm Jun 21st, 2015
Magic, in Equestria, is a science. It can be studied. Like Earth physics, certain numbers become critically important. For Physics, numbers like 3.00*10^8 and 9.81 are important in physics calculations. In my Equestria, the two most important numbers for magic are 6 and 9.
6: The number of magic, spells that incorporate six are more stable, less likely to blow up in the caster's face, and more likely to work as intended. For example, Starswirl's incomplete spell was not related to six, but when Twilight added her part to it, the number of syllables increased to a multiple of six.
From one to another, 6
another to one. 5
A mark of one's destiny 7
singled out alone, fulfilled. +7 = 25
From all of us together, 7
together we're friends. 5
With the marks of our destinies made one, 10
there is magic without end! +7 +25 = 54 54/6=9
My evidence to support six as Magic is that the sixth element is the Element of Magic, which takes the form of a six-pointed star.
9: The number of power. While physics says that there are over 100 chemical elements, the energy of magic is broken up into nine components on a two axis chart. The Nine components are:
Materiel
|| Metal || Earth || Plant ||
Order || Water || Fire || Air || Chaos
|| Light || Shadow || Spirit ||
Immaterial
The more materiel an element is, the easier it is to use in shaping physical reality. The more immaterial an element is, the easier it is to use shaping the spirit plane/dream world/Aether/less-physics-based-planes-of-reality.
The more orderly an element is, the easier it is to use systems and patterns in the magic. The more chaotic an element is, the more using it is like an art. Another way to put it is that order spells are written down as math formulas while chaos magic is more likely to be shaped through pure emotion and artistic mediums. Shining Armor uses order magic, and his shields are described using geometry. Almost all of his spells look like something out of a geometry or physics text book. Cadence influences emotions with a branch of chaos magic, and her spells are written as musical notation. Every time Cadence casts a spell, she is mentally preforming and/or writing a musical composition.
Theoretically, any element can cast any spell, each one simply uses a different line of thought. Levitating an object using metal magic involves some math formula's and physics. achieving the same effect using dream magic is substantially more difficult and requires first turning the object from a physical piece of matter, into a piece of spirit energy/ectoplasim and then making it move in non-Newtonian space.
In that case what would make the least stable spells, number wise. If six and nine are the most stable you can have, what numbers are the opposite to it?
Also, how would this work with pure chaos magic such as Discord, would he need the same kind of stability, or does it not matter to that type of magic? Until next time,
-Sphinx
3173426 Six is stable, nine is powerful. Six and nine together, aka 54 is stable and powerful.
1- neither stable, nor unstable. One is a fairly safe number. Basic telekinesis is based around 1. While it is theoretically unstable, its low power renders it easily controllable. Very simple to use.
2- As a prime factor of 6, it is decently stable. Very useful in simple spells
3- as both a prime factor of 6 and 9, it is fairly stable and powerful. in everyday casting, this number is optimal as it achieves a balance of power and stability that makes it useful to a unicorn of normal power and skill
4- "Want it, Need it"-4 highly unstable. It can be used, but it is likely to explode or go wrong. Sometimes it is too powerful, sometimes barely powerful enough.
5- Highly unstable, not substantially powerful.
7- Culturally, the number of royalty (four hooves, two wings, one horn). Magically, it offers no substantial benefits for its instability.
8- effectively four twice, it gains a small amount of stability, but is still avoided.
54- 6*9 has the stability of 6, the power of 9. extremely useful. Most unicorns lack the mental discipline to use spells involving this number
46,656- 6^6, a largely theoretical number in applied magic. This number is, theoretically, so magically stable that it can be used to render reality down into its component parts safely. Otherwise, reality warping tends to be highly hazardous. Only once in recorded history has any creature harnessed the power of this number. That example is Twilight Sparkle, the sixth daughter of a sixth daughter of a sixth daughter of a... Twilight's ancestors, on her mother's side, have each had six daughters until they reached her. She is the sixth to the sixth.
10,077,696- 6^9 also largely theoretical. It is believed that this is the minimum threshold for how powerful an alicorn or draconequus would be. As both sets of creatures overload any measuring equipment, this has never been confirmed
387,420,489- 9^9 Power raised to power, this number is theoretically powerful enough that it could create a viral spell, a self casting spell. It is also believed to be the maximum ammount of magic a single spell can have, similar to the speed of light. No creature is powerful enough to actually apply this number to their spells. It could also theoretically make a magic singularity that could permanently break reality, it is to magic as a black hole is to space-time
The difference between order and chaos is more to do with methodology of the spell than the stability. Stability is the probability that the spell will blow up in your face; order and chaos are methods for bringing the spell into existence, as different as making art based on math fractals compared to clay sculpting.
Order spells, while slower to cast, are tightly controlled. They are precise measures of power and vectors and typically involve calculating the forces involved in creating the effect. Chaos magic is more emotion and intent. Shining Armor mentally calculates his magic expenditure for every spell while Cadence simply wills the magic to manifest. Discord, as the master of Chaos, is extremely capable of willing an effect into being multiple times in the same moment. With stable chaos, the spell is effectively cast six times, layering the spell on itself to correct the imbalances, similar to applying several coats of paint to a room. Discord frequently abandons stability for the shock value, but he is perfectly capable of using stable chaos.
3173918 Fair enough, rather hard for someone with little mathematical knowledge to follow, but I believe I get the overall idea of it. However, I notice the examples you use are multiplication/ exponential. Would it be fair to assume that different equations would be used for different types of spells?
Also, this time about the table of magical energies. Since 'fire' seems to be the neutral component, being an equal distance from any side, does this mean it can be used in any type of spell? Until next time,
-Sphinx
3175187 Different spells require different spell notation. Some are math, some are poems, some are music, some are pure emotion. The math in the list of magical numbers is based purely on how the numbers relate to each other, not how they are used in spells.
Any element can be used in any spell; the difficulty of the spell changes. Every spell can be written in nine different ways, one for each element. Selecting the right element makes a spell substantially easier.
Fire is equally difficult to use on any task that is not midway between order and chaos, matter and spirit.
All the other elements have a scale of difficulty where the spell gets more difficult as the desired goal gets closer to the domain of the opposite element.
Metal can change the physical world easily and in a tightly controlled fashion. Impacting minds, emotions, spiritual effects is brutally difficult.
Spirit can change the Aether easily using only willpower. it can barely interact with physical matter and is tough to quantify and precisely measure.
Compare kicking a soccer ball vs programming a computer
Example: 9 forms of basic Levitation
Metal: looks like a physics formula. It is using magic to subtly mess with gravity. Effectively a gravity spell
Earth: Mentally repeating a word like lift, rise, up. Earth magic translates the desired word into magic effect
Plant: humming/imagining a single note of music. The magic takes it from there
Water: precisely make a mental diagram of the desired path of motion, including force vector arrows.
Fire: mentally command it to move to a specific point.
Air: Makes the air exert force. done with basic thoughts.
Light: create a mental pattern where regular physics is overlapped with the desired set of hypothetical physics, changing how light interacts with matter to allow the light to exert a macroscopic force in the desired direction
Shadow: reach through parallel dimensions to select a dimension where the levitation is actually the object sitting on a surface that is the desired altitude and orientation. link the native object to its parallel reality version and make it mirror the desired location.
Spirit: Imagine the object floating. The magic proceeds to transform the surrounding area into a 'soft zone' between the physical world and the spirit world. In the spirit world selected, pure will then lifts the object.