What are the mods and readers view on what magic is? I have heard that it is harnessing the energy object have. How is it determined what objects/plants ect do what? Basically school me on magical theory
Okay, mind you can check the magic tags in the tag list.
But, since I find this question a tad interesting, in my practice, magic is the exchange of energy or materials for a certain outcome. Note this is MY practice and therefore we come to the first crux of your question; magic means many things to many people. There is no one unified âMagical theory,â in existence because no two people practice the same.
For me, again, any living thing contains energy, which includes trees, grass, etc. and the earth, people and animals, and sometimes rocks if theyâre mineral-specific.Â
To answer your question simply, you decide what you can harness energy from. Try things out, see what you can pull from. I center on magic work so itâs easy for me to pull energy out of things, but some people canât get energy out of, for example, stones, because theyâre not living things.Â
Hereâs the âmagical theoryâ tag in particular.
A lot of associations (in European folk magic, that is) come from the idea of sympathetic magic. Location, appearance, and medicinal uses often inform somethingâs magical energy. Sometimes it comes from a mythological reference. Ultimately it comes down to a magic practitionerâs trial and error.Â
Thereâs some disagreement as to what extent the energy of a spell comes from the practitioner versus the object itself. Is the power so innate in an object that even the most unlearned of people can cast a spell? Or is primarily the personâs will and experience? I think most agree that itâs somewhere between the two extremes. Thereâs also something to be said about an objectâs association being strengthened under the weight of history, e.g. rosemary has been associated with protection for so long that the association has become more innate to rosemaryâs magical and spiritual presence than it might have otherwise.
I personally define magic as the use of personal and/or external energies in manifesting change in the shared, physical world through the manipulation of chance and probability. However, magical theory changes between traditions and schools, so really, definitions and methodologies of magic all depend on who you ask.