Magic!! · 5:37am Oct 13th, 2017
For those that are reading this note, you may have noticed that I'm a fan of world building, so to help my readers that are also fans of world building I decided to post my notes on magic here. This are my thoughts on magic and also how I use it on my stories. I just thought it was a good idea to post this just for reference. It seemed a bit extensive so I used different color for different sections.Obs: Note that this explanation applies to magic and functional magic as well. Also more often then not magic systems will occupy more than one category.
Blue is a classification based on how some systems work.
Orange is a classification based on the source of energy or energies used on those systems.
Purple is a classification based on the means and/or results of said systems.
In this case functional magic is anything that seems and works like magic but it's either something different or is not magic(in it's respective franchise), however it still is more or less magic without being called magic. They can be divided into many types/branches/categories/paths, here is the explanation on some of them:
Inherent Gift: in which characters are born with abilities that are defined or considered superhuman, they are more often than not hereditary. It's also possible to be a unique ability of the individual, but he was born with that ability or potential ability unique to him/her.
Acquired Gift: in which characters acquired his/her abilities that are defined or considered a superhuman through non-natural means like training, artefacts, modifications, deals or anything similar. It may or may not become a inherent gift in the future, it's also possible to be a evolved inherent gift.
Rule Magic: where some underlying magical rule system is applied, as in manipulation by "True Name" or sympathetic symbolism, or elaborate ritual. Most "study spells and say words of power" or use a piece of the target to affect it from afar since it's still part of a "whole" no matter the distance. However this is usually just one rule in a larger system and is heavily dependent on The Laws of Magic established by the author as well as any additional custom-made limitations.
———Sympathetic Magic: you need to (or will have a much easier time if you) have a part of them. This may be a physical piece (hair, nail clippings), a possession, photograph, or just a unique description of the subject, or just use that particular item as a ingredients on some other form of magic that requires such a connection.
——————Hermetic Magic: a rare form of Sympathetic Magic but more abstract that depends heavily on symbols, no matter if they were visual, material or spoken. This form of magic allows to connect one's self with something greater, in the real world it's the root of Astrology, Alchemy and Theurgy.
Advanced Rule Magic: its a standardized system that's developed to allow precision construction of complex spells akin to computer programs. They can use numbers, forms and letter/words to channel and use energy, this can result in:
———Geometric Magic: a form that borrow many elements of Hermetic Magic and that rely on the power of traced shapes and diagrams to function. Almost always a circular design, with additional shapes of varying complexity inside the circle. Sometimes only required for a special ceremony, sometimes necessary for anything and everything remotely magical, very rarely will the mechanism for how the symbols affect the magic be explained.
———Formulaic Magic: a form of magic based on calculations of the metaphysical instead of numbers themselves. The result is that merely knowing or making said calculations can affect the physical world.
———Rune Magic: a form that borrow many elements of Hermetic Magic, it uses a normally occult alphabet or language that can affect the real world directly by using specific letters/symbols/ideograms/hieroglyphs/logographs that represents a idea, concept or phrase and apply it to reality.
——————Instant Magic: is a form of magic that allows the user to conjure magic diagrams just by recalling them in his/her mind. It normally appears as a geometrical shape made of energy with the necessary formulas and/or runes, sometimes the spellcaster actually draws them in midair, at other times these designs are prepared by the mage beforehand and manifest from some sort of device or whatever force the mage contracts or serves does it for them, however in most modern media they just appear mid air around or near the spellcaster.
———Language Magic: a form that borrow many elements of Hermetic Magic and it uses a normally occult alphabet or language that can affect the real world directly, however unlike Rune Magic it normally requires to knowledge the language itself to fully use it.
Alchemy: effectively a variety of Rule Magic, but it is limited to (re)creating magical substances rather than the direct application of power/energy by force of will and it my more often than not employ only the magic inherent in the materials used, however some times it uses the energy from another source such as the caster or another catalyst. It's dependent on the setting and practitioners of alchemy may or may not have (or be required to have) magical ability and or knowledge of their own.
Magic Music or Song Magic: a rare variety of Rule Magic that uses frequencies and vibrations to work with the energy available.
Force Magic: a form that taps into and controls or weaves together one or more magical forces. Often invokes Background/Environmental Magic, which may or may not waxes and wanes depending on how the manipulator uses it.
Device Magic: in this case the spells are performed with some form of mystical device or relic. This is the magic packaged for use by non-casters, as are alchemical potions. Making new devices is sometimes a trade in magic-heavy worlds as is finding long forgotten relics that may or may not be Lost/Ancient Technology.
Theurgy/Thaumaturgy: where the magic is done entirely by channeling some kind of energy given to the caster by another being and it may or may not be after a negotiation on how to use it in the first place. When Magic itself is a kind of entity with which casters make bargains and cut deals, this becomes a variety of Wild Magic (see below). This is often the results of:
———Religious Magic: its when the collective worshippers, prayers, practitioners can affect reality or empower individual entities and more often than not everything associated with it like symbols and relics. If the entity created the religion, the religion created the entity, they paradoxically created each other or they both can exist independent of each other is often up to debate or specified by the author.
———Belief/Faith Magic: is when the belief and faith, normally of an entire population, affects reality in one way or another and more often than not can create magic or creatures based on how it's perceived by said population, also it almost always overlaps with Religious Magic. It may also used the "mind over matter" principle, extreme and individual examples of this are reality warpers, their beliefs shape their reality. Obs. This is essentially a colective version of Mind Magic.
———Contract Magic: you make a contract on about how and when you can use the magic given to you by another more powerful being, in most cases a demon or god. It can also be done between to people two make sure both parties hold their ends of a bargain, this is more often called Oath or Geas
Ritual Magic: a method of casting spells based on the performance of specific words, gestures, actions and offerings at specific places and times. This form of magic isn't a question of talent, spiritual enlightenment, or a power you're born with. In this case it's something that anyone can learn and use, it may have elements of many of the forms of magic mentioned above.
Magic Gesture: a form of magic that requires some form of physical activity to be activated, such as snapping your fingers or moving your hands in a certain way, note that any gesture counts it really depends on the setting:
———Full Body Magic: a variation of Magic Gesture that requires the whole body, often combined with Martial Arts and/or Dances, in the latter case it might borrow some elements of Song Magic.
Mind/Emotion Magic: a form of magic that has control over the minds and emotions of others. Quite often involves abilities that mimic Psychic Powers in a magical context, it may or may not influence the real world. In some cases this Magic is a product of the mind, not the body. This Magic requires study and concentration to use. The best mages are smart, wise, perceptive and are all around great minds. It's even in the word "Wizard", which used to mean "Philosopher" and came from the word "Wise". The word magic itself descends frommagos, meaning "one of the members of the learned and priestly class" from ancient Persia. It's not accidental wordplay that forces you to learn basic spelling before you can study spellcasting.
Illusions: any way to use magic to fool the senses of another being.
Vancian Magic: a form of magic that is part of a rigid system in which the purpose and intensity of the spells can't be changed/ajusted, the same applies to spells that need to be prepared in advance through the use of many substances and experiments, worst still not only they can all only be used once but magic is limited.
Wild Magic: No one has any control over what happens or when it happens, although sometimes these can be influenced. The magic is basically alive and has its own will, its own agenda and/or more often its own set of rapidly changing whims no sane person could hope to predict and it will only help you if it feels like it, alternatively it may have too many rules and conditions for any sane person to remember or quantify.
Magic can essentially be boiled down to one simple power, energy manipulation. The difference is really on the system that is used to manipulate that energy as well as the energy itself. I particularly like the Marvel Comics approach. According to Doctor Strange magic has defined rules, it's just that we don't know all of them and almost everything about magic is a “give and take” but the taking part it's often hidden and/or delayed. Because of that magic is divided in three main categories depending on its source. However these classifications can be a little muddled when it comes to Magic Items because it depends on “how” and “why” they work and are used in the first place and all that also applies to Magical Languages. It's also possible to use the same spell but it might show different results depending on the energy used. Here are the types/branches/categories/paths:
Egocentric or Arcanum Ego: the type of magic that focused on the manipulation of one's own internal energy or energies.
Ecocentric or Arcanum Eco: the type of magic that focused on the manipulation of the energy present on one’s own environment.
Exocentric or Arcanum Exo: the type of magic that focused on the manipulation of the energy that comes from an external source.
Also besides the types/categories from above you have different “schools” of magic that helps differentiate them even more. The “school” is normally dependant on which energy is being used and/or to what end, this then defines a Magic System and vice versa. Obs: note that because of the nature of many Magic Systems some of them may even fall into more than one category from above, maybe even the three of them. Here are a few examples of "schools" of magic:
Divination: Seeing the future or the immediately relevant. These are the people who produce the prophecies, though they may also be able to see things far away.
Elemental Magic: The magic users typically work with only one element, which reflects their personality. They might be able to create fire with a snap of their fingers but not levitate a single pebble, or vice versa. It's also possible to use multiple elements depending on the circumstances or the system itself and it can be any element not just the basic ones. It may also fall into the sub-groups of Destruction Magic or Creation Magic.
———Soul Magic: This is the power over spirits, or spiritual energy. People using this power are likely to be able to manipulate this energy, which may or may not equate to magic, depending on the setting and its more often than not a very especialized form of Elemental Magic normally focusing on the Spirit or Ether type elements.
Necromancy: Power over the dead and the undead. Mediums, who can only talk to the dead, get classed with diviners, but those who raise the dead are almost always villains. Still, even then, this is not always Black Magic.
Transmutation: Transforming something into something else. Likely to involve Equivalent Exchange, as noted below (you can't turn nothing into something). Most forms of alchemy involve transmutation, as seen in the classical 'turning lead into gold' trick. At its most extreme, this form of magic may also involve Shapeshifting (either of the caster or of someone else), when it's not an innate ability of the caster's race. A extreme example of this is when it starts to deal with energy-matter conversion, which may fall into the territory of Destruction Magic and Creation Magic. A even more extreme case is when you reach the point on those two sub-groups where is no longer considered transmutation.
Nature Magic: Power over all things living, quite often includes turning themselves into animals or controlling plants in some way. Best example of this is Druidism and sometimes Shamanism, although the latter might take aspects of Necromancy or Elemental Magic.
Summon Magic: allows the user to call upon spirits, or at least animals, to provide assistance. May overlap with nature magic, but not always. It my also be a group effort to summon some form of god or demon, in that case it might overlap with Religious Magic or Contract Magic.
White Magic: Blessing, healing, protecting, all of the most benevolent of effects. Half of the time includes ways to inflict major pain on deserving targets because it has a adverse effect on those affiliated with the dark, or at least supposedly deserving targets. Often the power used by a White Mage, Paladin or High Priest(ess) of a benevolent god(s) often drawn upon especially for healing.
Black Magic: Cursing, killing, tormenting, all of the nastiest sorts of stuff, often includes Necromancy. Normally used by cults of evil gods or demons, Death Knights, warlocks or something similar.
Order Magic: it is capable of warping, manipulating and/or reconstruct reality and the very fabric of existence, it is normally used to create and reinforce the foundations of reality.
Chaos Magic: it is capable of warping, manipulating and/or reconstruct reality and the very fabric of existence, it is normally used to destroy and recreate the foundations of reality.
Eldritch Magic: a form of magic that is more often then not completely outside of normal understanding, as are its uses and consequences.
Blood Magic: Usually stereotyped as the blackest of Black Magic, this is magic fueled directly by the shedding or spilling of blood, usually in the form of human or animal sacrifices. The blood mage draws on the energies of death and dying, or gains access to whatever magical energies the sacrifice possessed, or both, and uses them either to cast spells (which are almost always themselves rather unpleasant) or increase his personal power level. Blood Magic can also have a White side though, where voluntary or personal sacrifice produces powerful effects out of proportion to the apparent magical cost involved, or which are impossible to overcome with darker forms of magic.
Eclectic Magic System: this system is of special note because it's a high personalize form of magic that uses multiple systems in at the same time to compensate for one another's limitation and disadvantages, essentially a hybrid system. However, that requires that multiple systems and, more often than not, cultures to already be established but never tried to combine their powers and knowledge for whatever reason, normally religious or cultural, or such a combination is so difficult to accomplish in the first place that it is considered a lost cause in the first place.
As for how magic relates to science. Well, for that I prefer the Doctor Who(Classical) approach, in the comics and other materials of the Doctor Who EU Magic and Science were compared to two different languages used as framework for interpreting, understanding and altering reality, the Doctor also compared them to two different Operational Systems for a computer, so there are many places where they intersect. As stated in Arthur C Clarke’s Third Law “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”, but the Doctor –as well as many works that aim for the deconstruction of the fantasy aspect of magic– also added that “Any sufficiently advanced/analyzed form of magic was indistinguishable from technology”. This means that they have different principles and starting points but at some point will inevitably intersect, it's also possible to used the other to compensate for one’s shortcomings and create magitek or magitech in the process.
Also, try to place any magic system you know based on what you read and comment what was your opinion.
Hmm..where would Fairy Tail 'Dragon Slayer' magic fit on this...?
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Acquired Gift
Rule Magic
Instant Magic(if you count the magic circle)
Full Body Magic
Emotion Magic(very losely)
Egocentric or Arcanum Ego
Elemental Magic(obviously)
When i think of types of magic, usually 7 come to mind. Illusion, Conjuration, Evocation, Divination, Transmutation, Enchantment and Abjuration. Handily memorized by the acronym ICED TEA.
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Refreshing and elegant.
4714108 The acronym or the drink?
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Both.
MAGIC!!!!
This is a nice list of the different types of magic. Thank you for sharing it. :)