[HPforGrownups] Spells & Charms; the nature of magic

Sat Jun 9 00:25:43 UTC 2001

No: HPFGUIDX 20430

First, hats off to Amy for the splendiferous "Nature of Magic" post!

> I urge those who have observed interesting differences between the
> rules and nature of magic in the Potterverse and others to take this
> discussion in that direction, by all means.

I'll try my best! <grin> What I'm gonna do is list the unique things
that I've seen JKR do with magic in her books. And a warning; I most
certainly haven't read all the books in the world. If someone disagrees
with my observations, please say so! I can only go off of what I've
read.

1)Wands - The most obvious thing that I've noticed is that
wizards/witches need wands in order to perform their magic. I haven't
read *any* other fantasy books that required the use of wands in magic.
And I must say that I can clearly see why. Wands are easily broken,
easily taken, easily lost, easily forgotten. From what I've observed,
other magical worlds only require their witches/wizards to have the
Talent to perform magic. In fact, they don't even need to move one iota
to accurately do magic. Although, it must be noted that wands aren't
need all the time to do magic.

2)Shields - Something curious that I've realized is that there doesn't
seem to be the equivalent of a personal shield in JKR's world. There's
no way to protect yourself from having a spell cast on your when you're
sleeping, when you're unaware, when you're dueling another
wizard/witch. The wizard/witch must be faster than their opponent to
avoid being hit by a spell or else they're out of luck. 

3)Duels - Duels in JKR's world seem to be *much* shorter. I mean, if
you're a wizard/witch and you want to end the duel as quickly as
possible, all you have to do is cast "Avada Kedavra" successfully. In
fact, with most formal duels I can't see more than four or five spells
being cast before the end. I think part of this has to do with the
absence of shields. In other magical worlds, the drill seems to be the
opponents throw as many spells at each other trying to wear down the
other's shields. Someone's shield eventually fall and WHAM! A simple
lightning bolt polishes them off. But in JKR's world, wizards/witches
don't have the luxury of time.

4)Potions - Not often do I see potions used in other magical worlds.
And if there are potions, they're almost always healing potions or
poisons.

5)Odd Powerful Magic - The time turner for example. One almost never
sees time travel in traditional magical worlds; it's way too
complicated. Apparation is another. In many series', moving someone
from one place to another is difficult magic, yet wizards/witches are
able to do it easily in JKR's world. There aren't many equivalents of
Animagi. If a person can shapeshift, it's normally because it's part of
their heritage (Jennifer Roberson's Cheysuli series, Huff's Wizard of
the Grove series).

Just as an aside, I found Dumbledore's quote "Ah music...a magic beyond
all we do here" very amusing. There are magical universes in which
music is a way to do magic. For example in Tanya Huff's Quarters
series, magic can only be done by Bards (capital B). Bards have the
unique talent to sing to the five elements of the world: earth, air,
fire, water, soul. They are able to manipulate those elements through
music. Another author who uses music as magic is Mercedes Lackey in her
Bardic Voices series. In that world, Bards are only able to manipulate
the feelings, thoughts of their listeners. They can't do anything else
(although that is enough!) L.E. Modesitt Jr's Spellsong Cycle series
deals with magic similar to JKR's world. Intention, character, internal
will are very important. However, instead of learning the correct words
and waving wands, the Bard must work out the correct
harmonies/melodies. 

I wonder if Magical Bards exist in JKR's world. You'd think that some
musician would implant their wand in their instrument. Like making a
violin with their wand in the bow like Hagrid's wand in his umbrella.
Hmmm...

> There are other magical universes in which a school for 
> witchcraft and wizardry would be an odd concept.

Now that I think about it, that's quite true. One exception is Mercedes
Lakcey's Valdemar series. There is a Collegium which teaches students
in both magic (the conventional kind) and mind-magic (telepathy,
telekinesis, farsight, foresight, fire-starting). And there is a White
Winds school which teaches magic as well. In the Quarters series by
Huff, students go to school to learn how to accurately use magic to
manipulate the elements. In Laurell K. Hamilton's "Nightseer",
magickers of all kinds come together at Zeln's school to learn, both
positive magic and negative magic. 

However in other magical worlds, wizards/witches seem to be solitary,
unwilling to work with each other. And they tend to take on
"apprentices" once in a blue moon.

>    -The world is full of naturally-occurring magic aside from that 
> created by humans.  

Ooo, something else that JKR does differently. Most other magical
worlds that I know of don't develop a magical creature menagerie. The
only example I can think of is C.S. Lewis' Narnia series.

>    -It is not possible to bring the dead back to life  (GF 36)

This is a law that I see consistent in almost every magical world I
read about. As the genie in Aladdin said, "It's not a pretty sight! I
don't like doing it!" One instance that I can think of that deviates
from this rule is in Joel Rosenburg's Guardians of the Flame series. In
it, there are specific types of people: wizards, theieves, warriors,
elves, dwarves, and clerics. Within this world, if a cleric becomes
strong enough, they are able to bring the dead back to life. Granted,
it takes tons and tons of time and energy and sacrifices, but it is
possible.

>    -Less definitively, it is not possible to re-ensoul victims of a 
> Dementor's Kiss (PA 12) 

Souls are tricky things. There are other authors that have the
equivalent of the Dementor's in their worlds. In Mercedes Lackey's
Diana Tregard series, there is a nasty known as a Soul Gaki (a actual
Japanese myth, I think). Like Dementors, they devour the soul and there
is no getting it back. And there are Psivamps which feed off a person's
emotions until the person is a dry husk, not able to do anything.
However, in other magical worlds the subject of the soul as being
"devourable" is not explored often. Souls aren't often stolen like in
JKR's world.

> A spell can be "deflected" and "rebound," as Voldemort's 
> attempted Avada Kedavra against Harry in 1981 did (GF 33).  Two
> spells can collide like billiard balls

Interesting thought here...I wonder if spells can be absorbed, changed,
and then fired back at the caster. Somehow I think not in JKR's world,
but it would be interesting to see...

> Making magic uses energy as well.  

It has too! However, it seems to be less extreme in JKR's world than
other magical worlds. And it seems that only certain spells actively
"pull" on the wizards/witches energy, like the Patronus spell. Perhaps
it's because the Patronus is a manifestation of something inside. It
seems strange that we haven't seen a wizard/witch exhausted from
casting too many spells.

> In others it is a personal quality such as the independence and will
> power that enable Harry to resist the Imperius Curse appears to stem
> from his independence and will power.  Less nobly, Harry is stubborn,
> which also stands him in good stead.  His inner voice balks at doing
> something as pointless as jumping onto the desk just on Moody's say-
> so:  "Stupid thing to do, really . . . . I don't think I will,
> thanks" (GF 15).  

Hrm, if Harry can resist the Imperius spell, I wonder if he could
develop his magical talent to resist other spells. Like the Cheering
Charm. Could Harry ignore it like he does the Imperius? What if someone
did an "Accio" on him? Could he resist the pull?

I hope nobody is too upset that I talked largely of other author's
worlds. I just find the differences and similarities fascinating. And
if anyone is interested in the series' that I mentioned, email me and
I'll let you know which books to start with.

<sigh> I think this is my longest post ever. And the sick thing is that
I could go on. But I'll cut myself off here before everyone thinks I've
gone absolutely batty...

~Amber

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" 'I think it was a bit of an overreaction,' said the serpent. 'I mean, first offense and everything. I can't see what's so bad about knowing the difference between good and evil, anyway.' "
 - N. Gaiman and T. Prachett, "Good Omens"

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