Types of Magic
Sep. 4th, 2009 02:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kerravonsenPrompted by this post, I'd like to ruminate a bit about types of magic in fantasy novels.
In my many years reading of fantasy, I'd divide magic in fantasy universes into two broad groups: rule-based and wondrous. Rule-based magic is fairly straightforward: a given action gives an expected outcome; there are laws and limitations. That isn't to say that rule-based magic is always reliable, but it is still more predictable and consistent than wondrous magic. Wondrous magic is more mysterious, mystical, once-off, unscientific, though that doesn't mean that it is random. I guess one might say that rule-based magic is more logical, and wondrous magic is more emotional. That isn't to say that rule-based magic doesn't use emotions, not at all, but even the emotional parts of rule-based magic are part of the rule-system. It's also a reasonable hint that one is dealing with a rule-based system when the magic there is divided into different domains of magic, such as affinities for the different Elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water). Also, another hint that one is dealing with a rule-based system is if the magic can be learned from books. Rule-based magic also tends to have more limitations than wondrous magic, while wondrous magic may have huge effects that are not repeatable. Another thing about wondrous magic is that it tends not to be pre-meditated.
Of course, there are some fantasy novels which have very little magic in them, so it's harder to figure out what kind of magic it is. And when one is dealing with magical creatures, rather than magic performed by humans, that can be difficult to categorize.
Rule-Based Magic Universes
Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
The magic is predictable, and can be learned from books; unpredictable results occur when a given spell or potion is done incorrectly or interacts with another spell/potion, not because the magic itself is unpredictable.
"The Incompleat Enchanter" by L. Sprague DeCamp and Fletcher Pratt
The premise of this book (and series) is that myth (and fiction) are actually reflections of other universes out there, and these universes can be reached. The magical worlds have laws of magic which can be deduced by someone of sufficient scientific rigour. So here it's explicitly stated that magic has rules (different magical universes have different rules, though they may have similar principles).
"So You Want To Be A Wizard" Diane Duane
I tend to put this under rule-based magic because it can be taught out of books.
"Master of the Five Magics" by Lyndon Hardy
This universe has a very orderly magic system spelled out, with different disciplines of magic; one could almost suspect the author of thinking up a nifty magic system and then inventing a plot to display the magic system...
The Spellsong series by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
Magic is done simply by singing songs; Our Heroine was an opera singer in our world, and when she is zapped into that world, she is a very powerful sorceress because she can sing so well. The magic uses up energy from the magic-wielder, they become hungry (and even faint) after doing magic.
"Wizard's Bane" by Rick Cook
Spells vary in difficulty and reliability; some spells can be done by anyone, others are too intricate. But the simple spells are reliable enough that when a programmer gets zapped into that world, he invents spell-programming.
Wondrous-Magic Universes
"Cart and Cwidder" (one of the Dalemark quartet) by Diana Wynne Jones
The magic in Dalemark, while it has a logic of its own, is an emotional kind of logic. There are those who have more or less magic in their blood, but it may or may not be triggered by events and/or magical artefacts (which tend to be things that were used a lot by powerful magic-users of ages past, not that they were specifically made to be magical artefacts). In this case, we have a cwidder (a kind of lute) which belonged to a musician-magician; for some people it gives no magic, for others it causes people to dance, and for our boy-protagonist, at one point in the story, when he is emotionally overwhelmed and playing with all his heart, it causes a huge magical event (not saying what - spoilers!)
"Tigana" by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Emperor has put a curse on the land of Tigana: no one shall remember its name, save those who were born there before he conquered it. That's not rule-based magic, that's huge and emotional and once-off magic.
"War For The Oaks" by Emma Bull
While the Faerie magic here does have rules, it is very much the realm of the Other... and I guess I also put this in the "wondrous" category because one of the "battles" in this story is all about capturing an audience with music, and that's not something that can be calibrated or quantified.
"The Alphabet of Thorn" by Patricia McKillip
(or anything else by her, for that matter)
This author writes things that are 200% atmosphere; her magic follows dream-logic; wonder and emotion and emotional balance are the things that get the emphasis.
"The Blue Sword" by Robin McKinley
There isn't a huge amount of magic in this, but what there is is either subtle (unconscious glamours to hide someone) or momentous one-off events.
The Hound and the Falcon trilogy by Judith Tarr
When you have a magic-user who can weave a temporary emergency robe out of shadows and moonlight without thinking about it, that's wondrous magic, not rule-based magic.
"Smith of Wooton Major" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Why am I not giving The Lord of the Rings as an example? Because this small story is a better example of wondrous magic. The protagonist visits the realm of Faerie, and it is full of wonder and terror and things beyond understanding.
In my many years reading of fantasy, I'd divide magic in fantasy universes into two broad groups: rule-based and wondrous. Rule-based magic is fairly straightforward: a given action gives an expected outcome; there are laws and limitations. That isn't to say that rule-based magic is always reliable, but it is still more predictable and consistent than wondrous magic. Wondrous magic is more mysterious, mystical, once-off, unscientific, though that doesn't mean that it is random. I guess one might say that rule-based magic is more logical, and wondrous magic is more emotional. That isn't to say that rule-based magic doesn't use emotions, not at all, but even the emotional parts of rule-based magic are part of the rule-system. It's also a reasonable hint that one is dealing with a rule-based system when the magic there is divided into different domains of magic, such as affinities for the different Elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water). Also, another hint that one is dealing with a rule-based system is if the magic can be learned from books. Rule-based magic also tends to have more limitations than wondrous magic, while wondrous magic may have huge effects that are not repeatable. Another thing about wondrous magic is that it tends not to be pre-meditated.
Of course, there are some fantasy novels which have very little magic in them, so it's harder to figure out what kind of magic it is. And when one is dealing with magical creatures, rather than magic performed by humans, that can be difficult to categorize.
Examples
Rule-Based Magic Universes
Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
The magic is predictable, and can be learned from books; unpredictable results occur when a given spell or potion is done incorrectly or interacts with another spell/potion, not because the magic itself is unpredictable.
"The Incompleat Enchanter" by L. Sprague DeCamp and Fletcher Pratt
The premise of this book (and series) is that myth (and fiction) are actually reflections of other universes out there, and these universes can be reached. The magical worlds have laws of magic which can be deduced by someone of sufficient scientific rigour. So here it's explicitly stated that magic has rules (different magical universes have different rules, though they may have similar principles).
"So You Want To Be A Wizard" Diane Duane
I tend to put this under rule-based magic because it can be taught out of books.
"Master of the Five Magics" by Lyndon Hardy
This universe has a very orderly magic system spelled out, with different disciplines of magic; one could almost suspect the author of thinking up a nifty magic system and then inventing a plot to display the magic system...
The Spellsong series by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
Magic is done simply by singing songs; Our Heroine was an opera singer in our world, and when she is zapped into that world, she is a very powerful sorceress because she can sing so well. The magic uses up energy from the magic-wielder, they become hungry (and even faint) after doing magic.
"Wizard's Bane" by Rick Cook
Spells vary in difficulty and reliability; some spells can be done by anyone, others are too intricate. But the simple spells are reliable enough that when a programmer gets zapped into that world, he invents spell-programming.
Wondrous-Magic Universes
"Cart and Cwidder" (one of the Dalemark quartet) by Diana Wynne Jones
The magic in Dalemark, while it has a logic of its own, is an emotional kind of logic. There are those who have more or less magic in their blood, but it may or may not be triggered by events and/or magical artefacts (which tend to be things that were used a lot by powerful magic-users of ages past, not that they were specifically made to be magical artefacts). In this case, we have a cwidder (a kind of lute) which belonged to a musician-magician; for some people it gives no magic, for others it causes people to dance, and for our boy-protagonist, at one point in the story, when he is emotionally overwhelmed and playing with all his heart, it causes a huge magical event (not saying what - spoilers!)
"Tigana" by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Emperor has put a curse on the land of Tigana: no one shall remember its name, save those who were born there before he conquered it. That's not rule-based magic, that's huge and emotional and once-off magic.
"War For The Oaks" by Emma Bull
While the Faerie magic here does have rules, it is very much the realm of the Other... and I guess I also put this in the "wondrous" category because one of the "battles" in this story is all about capturing an audience with music, and that's not something that can be calibrated or quantified.
"The Alphabet of Thorn" by Patricia McKillip
(or anything else by her, for that matter)
This author writes things that are 200% atmosphere; her magic follows dream-logic; wonder and emotion and emotional balance are the things that get the emphasis.
"The Blue Sword" by Robin McKinley
There isn't a huge amount of magic in this, but what there is is either subtle (unconscious glamours to hide someone) or momentous one-off events.
The Hound and the Falcon trilogy by Judith Tarr
When you have a magic-user who can weave a temporary emergency robe out of shadows and moonlight without thinking about it, that's wondrous magic, not rule-based magic.
"Smith of Wooton Major" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Why am I not giving The Lord of the Rings as an example? Because this small story is a better example of wondrous magic. The protagonist visits the realm of Faerie, and it is full of wonder and terror and things beyond understanding.
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no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 05:35 am (UTC)Uh...we would use some smallest magic too...if only to brighten our day :-)
no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 05:52 am (UTC)I tend to put this under rule-based magic because it can be taught out of books.
I'd go even farther and say this is extremely rule-based magic (except for the very few instances when it's not quite, such as "talking" to cars/trees/the air *g*), since the composition of most spells seems like a cross between very structured poetry and extremely complex mathematical computation.
Very interesting post. If I have anything else to add I shall come back and do so.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 07:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 06:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 12:32 pm (UTC)You are right that "Smith of Wooton Major" is a good example of wondrous magic. In LotR, magic is so subtle that to all practical purposes the "good guys" almost never use it, and it's implied that the "bad guys" make a habit of it. The few exceptions, such as Gandalf or Galadriel or Elrond have inherent magic due to their natures-- yet even they seem reluctant to use it frequently. The Silm has a lot more magic in it than LotR does, but once again it's implied that manipulative magic is somehow, well, if not "bad" at least "not good". The Hobbit seems to fall somewhere in between.
But JRRT had a great fondness for "wondrous magic". I've been re-reading "Roverandom" lately, and the magic in that tale is utterly charming. But he still shows a certain amount of disdain for "magicians" in it.
One of my favorite "rules-based magic" universes is Randall Garrett's Lord D'arcy series. Magic has basically taken the place of science in that AU, and they have "forensic sorcerors" who help with criminal investigations, and "theoretical sorcerors" who don't practice magic but research it and present papers on new spells. Magicians have to be licensed by the church, and they have conventions.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 07:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-05 02:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-05 03:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-05 02:21 am (UTC)Where would you class psionics / science masquerading as magic.
Andre Norton's Crystal Gryphon for example?
Diane Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci series is another "rule based" magic system but also borders on wondrous at times.
Harry Dresden's Magic follows rules too.
The rule of thumb for me tends to be there are magic systems that rely on a mnemonic that key the practitioner's magic. Whether it is words, gestures or both.
Then there is the magic system where the "thought is the deed" and the magic happens after an effort of will.
It also helps to consider where the "power" comes from, is it from within or without? That is where does the energy stem from?
Is the spellcaster exhausted because they draw all the energy from their own resources? A lot of psionic based systems tend to do this.
Or does the magus draw the energy from the world around, ie does it go cold etc.
Do they drain it from living things? - Damn can't remember which author had magicians and their "sources" people who provide the energy for the spell/ magic.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-05 03:12 am (UTC)That often applies with wondrous magic too, so I don't think that's a distinguishing characteristic.
Where would you class psionics / science masquerading as magic.
As something that isn't magic...?
Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series falls into that category: it's psionics.
It also helps to consider where the "power" comes from, is it from within or without? That is where does the energy stem from?
Not necessarily; there are rule-based systems where the power comes from within, and other rule-based systems where the power comes from without.
I think "wondrous" systems simply don't care where the power comes from: it's magic, it doesn't have to obey conservation-of-energy laws.