What is magical power and other ethereal thoughts.

[saraquel_omphale]

No: HPFGUIDX 139703

Saraquel:
Ok, time to try and really get a grip on bodies, souls, powers, 
emotions and thoughts.  Just what resides where, and in JKRs world, 
what are they made of, and how do they relate to one another?  It 
seems it is important, for me anyway, to see if we can understand 
this, as it is so important when thinking about horcruxes and how 
Harry will be able to destroy Voldemort. 

Yesterday, I posted an answer to Valky 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/139647 which 
skirted round the edges, and also in a different thread, Kemper was 
also speculating on the nature of the soul. 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/139685 So maybe 
the time is ripe to delve into this tangled mass, grab a handful and 
see what we come up with.

So, this is just a starting point.  What cannon evidence do we have?

Magical powers
It would appear that one is born with them, but they are not 
necessarily inherited.  Although I remember a post some while back 
about gene pools explaining how it could be an inherited trait if it 
was a recessive gene, which would mean it wouldn't always appear.  
JKR has said (correct me if I'm wrong) that someone would *discover* 
magical abilities late in life – indicating that they are latent in 
that person.

The expression of magical power is connected at a fairly primitive 
level with,  perhaps has it's seat in, the emotions.  Hence, when 
Harry gets really angry with Marge, he blows her up.  Also, we know 
in order to cast the cruciatus curse effectively, you have to mean 
it, and to produce a patronus you need to have a happy memory. 

It appears that magical power is *controlled* through the mind and 
specifically words – incantations. It appears that you channel the 
energy this way, to serve a specific purpose.  Although magic can 
happen without a wand, the process of directing it appears to 
require (in most cases) a wand, which itself has magical properties.

In the cave, DD, however used his *hands* to detect magic. Also, we 
know that after DD lost the use of his wand hand destroying the 
horcrux, his magical powers were diminished, although, putting on my 
philosophy of science hat, I admit, correlation is not causation!

We also know that Vapormort lost his body but still had his magical 
powers intact, even if he couldn't use most of them because he had 
lost his body and therefore use of his wand.  Plus, Vapomort still 
had thought and emotion.

When Riddle!Horcrux emerged, he was able to perform magic once he 
had a wand, indicating that magical power goes with a soul fragment.

Then there is the protection of Lily's blood, which runs in Harry's 
veins.  I t appears that a magical power resides in the blood.

There is also the fact that magical powers diminish when there is 
depression – Tonks and Merope.  


All in all, magical power seems to be all pervading.  But because of 
Vapormort, we know it can exist without the body.  The question is, 
is it an add-on to the soul-emotions-mind, or is it an integral 
part?  Do muggles and wizards have the same soul-emotion-mind type, 
or are there innate differences? 

DDs comment in the cave about magic leaving traces however, seems to 
indicate that it can also reside in inanimate objects, which could 
lead to the conclusion that it is possibly a separate entity 
altogether.  Although this would depend on exactly what DD meant 
by `traces'.

So let's speculate that magical power is a completely separate 
entity floating in the ether – or perhaps it is the ether :-)  Then 
being a witch/wizard would imply an ability to harness this power, 
rather than magic actually being a power source built into you.  
That you had an affinity for it, and could connect with it, allowing 
it to flow through you – perhaps comparable to psychic ability. This 
would still account for the differences in magical ability and 
magical inclinations.  Hermione has a very powerful mind and her 
ability is to channel the energy very effectively through spells.  
Whereas Harry connects at a more fundamental level, using his 
emotions to direct the energy into the world.

The power itself may not be good or bad, just power.  It is what 
each individual does with it that creates good and bad, hence the 
emphasis on the choices you make.

Now I'm wondering about the room of love in the MOM being a 
powerhouse, and perhaps the/a source of pure magical energy for the 
world.

If magical energy is a separate entity, would it be possible for 
Harry to damage Voldemort's ability to access it, thus vanquishing 
him?  

After all that speculation, even if magical power itself were a 
separate entity, we still have the problem of identifying what part 
of individual accesses it.

Saraquel:
Who is wondering if she is fighting her way through thicket and 
bramble only to find herself at a dead end with a sheer cliff in 
front of her, and everyone else looking up at her from the path 
below, thinking, Why?