Schools of Magic
Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:19 am
Magic is, for all intents and purposes, the same no matter how it is performed. At the same time, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of methods, practices, and traditions for working magic, and each has it’s own dozens of variations, evolutions, and breakaway practices. There is no way to tell how many schools of magic have existed and been lost in the sands of time.
Some have equated the schools of magic to the various martial arts. Whether a fighter uses kickboxing, Ju-jitsu, or Greco-Roman wrestling, ultimately they are all using their bodies and a weapon or a defense. Certain schools have advantages over others, some are easier to learn and practice, and some have simply been around longer and have the experience and knowledge of such longevity.
A definite advantage of learning from a school, or several, is the so-called “imprint” effect that individual spells develop over time. Once a spell has been cast, effecting a change in the natural order of things in a non-standard fashion, it leaves an imprint on reality, a groove on the surface. Over time, with more casting of the spell, reality becomes more receptive to the spell. While a single nail scratch on a slab of concrete might not leave much of a mark, a million of them will carve a trench into it, and it will be that much easier to make the trench deeper. Students of the various schools have been casting these spells for years, decades, even centuries and millennia, and they are extremely easy and relatively risk-free for even a novice magician.
The catch is that these spells must be cast in precisely the same manner in which they were done the first time, using the same motions, words, rituals, symbols, etc. This is why many spells are conducted using dead languages (such as Ancient Hebrew for most Kabbalist spells) or outdated slang (such as Cockney rhyming, for English gutter magic), and involve prayer to religions and societies that few, if any, are still members of. Most particularly powerful spells involve a seemingly needless amount of ritual and tools to conduct. This is, in many cases, a precautionary measure taken by elder magicians to keep their great works from being easily copied - either out of jealousy, or out of concern for the safety of those who might discover the spell. Extremely ancient spells, though theoretically very easy to cast because they’ve been around so long, are rarely used because of the complex and often enshrouded means of casting the spell.
There are two alternatives to magic taught by the schools, sometimes referred to as “codified magic.” The first is “free” magic, and followers of this practice are widely considered to be extremely powerful magicians, because the spells they use have never been, and will never again be, cast. While codified magic might be easier and safer, the exact effects leave little room for interpretation or customization. Such libertarian magicians prefer to cast spells “on the fly,” with little or no preparation, using only their will and pure magical expertise. It may take much more effort, and it might not be safe, but it guarantees that a magician will always have the right spell for the situation, provided he or she can develop and cast it in time.
The second alternative is referred to as “wild” magic, and while it may sound similar to free magic, there are not at all the same. Wild magic involves almost no input from the magician itself, and is a wholly natural occurrence, as much as any magic can be said to be wholly natural. Wild magicians are surrounded and attracted by stray strands of magical energy, which buzz about their person and are apt to congeal into wild spells, barely under the control of the person or place they swirl around. Often, they are attracted to insane or disturbed individuals, or people not in possession of their full mental faculties. Certain animals are also attractive to these magical energies, and have formed a kind of symbiotic (or perhaps parasitic) relationship. Wild magic can be “called” to an individual through a variety of means, and while the magician will have little if any say in how the magic is done, they will quickly become very formidable persons, a walking natural disaster that should not be trifled with. Willful use of wild magic is considered illegal in most industrial nations, because it is often far more destructive than most codified magic.
Some of the older, more popular, and most recent schools of magic are listed below, including those used by non-mortal beings such as Fae and Demons.
Some have equated the schools of magic to the various martial arts. Whether a fighter uses kickboxing, Ju-jitsu, or Greco-Roman wrestling, ultimately they are all using their bodies and a weapon or a defense. Certain schools have advantages over others, some are easier to learn and practice, and some have simply been around longer and have the experience and knowledge of such longevity.
A definite advantage of learning from a school, or several, is the so-called “imprint” effect that individual spells develop over time. Once a spell has been cast, effecting a change in the natural order of things in a non-standard fashion, it leaves an imprint on reality, a groove on the surface. Over time, with more casting of the spell, reality becomes more receptive to the spell. While a single nail scratch on a slab of concrete might not leave much of a mark, a million of them will carve a trench into it, and it will be that much easier to make the trench deeper. Students of the various schools have been casting these spells for years, decades, even centuries and millennia, and they are extremely easy and relatively risk-free for even a novice magician.
The catch is that these spells must be cast in precisely the same manner in which they were done the first time, using the same motions, words, rituals, symbols, etc. This is why many spells are conducted using dead languages (such as Ancient Hebrew for most Kabbalist spells) or outdated slang (such as Cockney rhyming, for English gutter magic), and involve prayer to religions and societies that few, if any, are still members of. Most particularly powerful spells involve a seemingly needless amount of ritual and tools to conduct. This is, in many cases, a precautionary measure taken by elder magicians to keep their great works from being easily copied - either out of jealousy, or out of concern for the safety of those who might discover the spell. Extremely ancient spells, though theoretically very easy to cast because they’ve been around so long, are rarely used because of the complex and often enshrouded means of casting the spell.
There are two alternatives to magic taught by the schools, sometimes referred to as “codified magic.” The first is “free” magic, and followers of this practice are widely considered to be extremely powerful magicians, because the spells they use have never been, and will never again be, cast. While codified magic might be easier and safer, the exact effects leave little room for interpretation or customization. Such libertarian magicians prefer to cast spells “on the fly,” with little or no preparation, using only their will and pure magical expertise. It may take much more effort, and it might not be safe, but it guarantees that a magician will always have the right spell for the situation, provided he or she can develop and cast it in time.
The second alternative is referred to as “wild” magic, and while it may sound similar to free magic, there are not at all the same. Wild magic involves almost no input from the magician itself, and is a wholly natural occurrence, as much as any magic can be said to be wholly natural. Wild magicians are surrounded and attracted by stray strands of magical energy, which buzz about their person and are apt to congeal into wild spells, barely under the control of the person or place they swirl around. Often, they are attracted to insane or disturbed individuals, or people not in possession of their full mental faculties. Certain animals are also attractive to these magical energies, and have formed a kind of symbiotic (or perhaps parasitic) relationship. Wild magic can be “called” to an individual through a variety of means, and while the magician will have little if any say in how the magic is done, they will quickly become very formidable persons, a walking natural disaster that should not be trifled with. Willful use of wild magic is considered illegal in most industrial nations, because it is often far more destructive than most codified magic.
Some of the older, more popular, and most recent schools of magic are listed below, including those used by non-mortal beings such as Fae and Demons.