So, been wondering about magic in general, particularly that of the MLP universe. Such as the meaning of spell color, intensity of the "thaumeo-plasmic" layers visible around one's horn when a piece of magic is in progress, the number of layers present with regards to the amount of effort put into said spell, and other things like sparks, balls of light with "lens flares," arcs of electricity/magic, etc. present during a bit of magic.

Also presented here for your consideration, is the issue of the subtle difference in meaning and connotation between magic-related words, such as: spells, charms, jinxes, hexes, curses, bewitchments, enchantments, ensorcellments, etc. (They seemed to be used with specific meanings in the Harry Potter movies, so... the idea was born!)

What ive got so far, as far as definitions go. (Some of this is based on stuff I found on the interwebs, so credit due there...);

•Spell(s): the basic kind of magical casting. Manipulating energy and sending towards a goal with a semi-specific intent.

•Charm(s): a bit of magic that can add or alter some qualities of a given object, though not on a fundamental level. (IE, making something hover, glow, or begin singing death metal.) Can also be a physical object that bears magical properties, such as attracting good things or warding off bad ones, though there are other options...

•Jinx(es): usually affiliated with "dark" magic (less so than hexes or curses,) these tend to be bits of magic designed to be irritating,yet amusing. They usually involve inhibiting one's luck/fortune or ability to do something.

•Hex(es): of a "darker" bent than jinxes, these tend to be more along the lines of bewitchments, intended to cause displeasure, discomfort, or even minor harm to the caster's "victim," vis-a-vis Ginny's infamous "Bat-Bogey Hex."

•Curse(s): almost always the worst kind of magic, these are designed to cause harm to the subject, usually being physical, emotional, or psychological in nature. Some, if not most, result in death at some point. (Avada Kedavra, anyone?)

•Enchantment(s): something akin to charms, but with one or more minor difference(s) that I've yet to decide on.

•Bewitchments: undecided, most likely negative in nature, due to the negative connotations of the word "witch."

•Ensorcellments: usually having to do with sorcery/"sourcery," slight negative connotation through association with sorcerers. Usually more powerful than standard magic, but... not good or bad?

Then there are colors... (info here is presented from a story I found on this website called "Divine Entertainment," go check it out!)

•Red: combat

•Orange: energy

•Green: life

•Blue: illusion/trickery

•Purple: magic itself; general-purpose, but very, very powerful (*cough cough* Twilight *cough cough*)

•Pink: manipulation

As we all know, there are other colors out there, like Celestia's, Luna's, and Sombra's, but that's up for discussion. Especially things like Sombra's, which is multicolored and has particle effects... plus it affects the user's eyes...

When it comes to the meaning of the physical aspects of magic that is being cast, (including sound effects, and what might cause them!) please use evidence from the show as much as possible, though outside evidence will be acceptable if it jives with in-universe stuff.

Definitions of types of magic (spells vs hexes, etc,) are open to evidence from all sources, since that aspect is more widespread than color and such.

This topic is now open for discussion. Have at it!

I know, trying to use science and logic to understand magic and instinct seems counterintuitive, but...

"Any science sufficiently advanced enough is indistinguishable from magic."

So, next time someone says "a wizard did it," you can ask "What did the magic look like? Was it a charm or a hex? And what did he/she cast it with?"

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I always thought magic to be fantasy version of programming, where spells are programs for magic particles/waves/fields to follow. Even magic must have logic and consistency.

The magic field(or whatever it is) is generally called Aether. The magic itself is a form of energy that can be converted to any other kind of energy(kinetic, heat etc) and mass following E=m*c2. Energy conversion is never perfect so spells may require more magic. This way laws of energy and mass conservation somewhat apply.

The color of magic seems to be a superficial thing unless the spell relies on visible electro magnetic waves which seems oddly specific as there are a lot of other wavelengths. Maybe magic is visible just for convenience or maybe visible light is the result of magic leaking into the world, but then again, why not ultraviolet, x-ray, or gamma radiation?

Jinxes, hexes, charms seem to be either the same as spell or different classifications of spells. Anyways, these are my thoughts maybe I'm wrong maybe not, who knows?

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Interesting thoughts. As to the color of spells and such... I pictured it as being a byproduct of the mental "shape" of the spell being used, like how chakra is shaped in Naruto, causing different results... But that's just me.

So, wait, are we talking magic proper here, or thaumophysics relabeled "magic"? Because there is (or should be) a very big distinction between the two.

Magic, properly speaking in the historical context of the term, is usually understood to be by definition supernatural and therefore not subject to the scientific method of hypothesizing, empirical testing, independent verification, and the formation of strong theories.

Thaumophysics is what most people are really talking about when they attempt to empirically test and explain "magic" in a scientific, testable, evidence-based way in order to establish rules.

I think it's important to separate the two, because that's often overlooked.

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This is the MLP 'verse we're talking about, here. It's all lumped together for simplicity in the show proper, so I'm roughly doing the same thing. Any type of magic is welcome for discussion, including (but not limited to,) thaumaturgy, technomancy, botamancy, sanguimancy, auramancy, etc.

CannedCream did a video or two on YouTube on this subject (I'd provide links, but my phone's being a douche today ).