#magic defined

What stands out to me... (not really in a surprising sense, but more of a "so they want to phrase it this way" sense)... is the concept of Magic restrictions.

I've stated it before, but powerful Magic can cause Information Flares and disrupt the world's stability... that much is very well known.  And of course the 666 Arcanum is a system that regulates what types of Magic most people can do.

But something that gets lost in translation (in Japanese that is) is the fact that Houriki doesn't just mean "Magic Energy", it also means "Magic LAW", as in it is an established RULE.

Hi-deigokutsuipo... (Forbidden Magic) is also known as a "Forbidden Binding Law".

But when they mean "Law", it's not just something like saying "It's against the law to cast this spell".... it's more like: "This Magic command is limited to this function"... in other words it's a Code system.

Just as webpages have XHTML scripts... the world "runs" on these scripts and that script is the "law" that allows certain actions to function properly.

Does that make sense to you?  I hope I conveyed that properly.

Magic and the very energy it is made of are built from a "script" that defines what it does and also "limits" what it does... pre-written so to speak.  The 12-Steps standard (as Sol once stated).

But the Backyard *has* no limits... bypassing that law was an easy task for someone like Valentine or even the Universal Will... even Izuna had no problem getting past that "script".

I discussed this more specifically in the Magic+Defined tag and Magic tag, but it might still be hard to visualize and process if you can’t fully picture it.

In simple terms it’s like a code language with functions that “tell things” to happen. A lot of the middle-work needed for most common spells is pre-written on objects like Instroments, even Zeal is its own kind of key function command, though it appears as liquid fuel.

On an even more basic level, it’s energy itself. Fire, Lightning, Water, Wind, Ki (Qi or Life Energy), Kinetics, Physics, etc. Even Sound is a kind of mixture of elements.

Most fundamental of all is Ki energy, which is what sustains life in the world, though beings like Gears and Demihumans (and Valentines) have a much higher capacity for Magic than most untrained Humans do. But it can also be said that a trained Sorcerer (Magic Arts user) is superhuman in and of themselves.

The key difference is how individuals tap in to their own Magic, increase it, and manifest it. Just like how Meditation can calm the mind and spirit, Breathing techniques and internal energy control can bring out the true potential, even of Humans.

It may be hard to visualize, but most active Gears have a sustained connection with the Backyard as an energy source, through their core, almost like a living rechargeable battery cell.

While Humans don’t have that constant connection, we have the ability to tap in to and harmonize with surrounding energy, and sometimes make it our own on an elemental level.

But even that surrounding energy comes from the Backyard space, it’s all part of what defines this world AND us as living beings.

It does, however, require a great deal of concentration, focus, and the capacity to visualize it. Just like Demihumans are born from Human Folklore and Fictional Tales, our Imagination is vital to establishing that link.

And it’s not something you can absolutely physically visualize, either. Often it comes in the form of sensing a change in the flow of things like circulation, pulse, or even just a warm or cool pressure when in proximity to things around you.

It’s also easier to visualize an element you most commonly associate yourself with. Your natural predisposition, habits, and environment in other words.

Water, for example, is an everyday necessity for living, even if we don’t always think about it, it’s also partially in the air we breathe to an extent. If we are in regular contact with it, it becomes much easier to visualize.

Of course, more energy-intensive elements are harder to establish a link with, particularly Fire and Lightning. But, with some safe preparation and prevention, we can also experiment with those elements too. Often users of those elements use Instroments as a medium or trigger for their Magic. Just like a Zippo Lighter can produce a spark and small flame.

For users of the Ki element, it is quite literally a mastery of the body they have to focus on. Not just strength, but senses and awareness, reflexive speed, and familiarity with various techniques and stance forms to bring out and optimize that power. Often a sword or various other weapons and tools are needed to bring out that potential.

Even things like Dreams and Strong Emotions can influence our internal state. That may sound obvious, but it has a stronger effect on the Backyard than even we are often aware of. It even has the power to harmonize with people around us we come in contact with or show concern for!

Sympathy, Empathy, “Reading the Air in the Room”, Love, Piety, are all very much a part of that. It’s also part of our instincts and senses.

More Notes from: The Modern Witch’s Masterclass with Phyllis Curott, “How to Cast a Spell,” via Hay House

I’ve been enjoying this free series on Wiccan Witchcraft by Phyllis Curott via Hay House. Here is the link to this lesson so can watch it yourself. These are my notes and I’ve tried to catch her words as closely as possible, but much of the following is paraphrased. ❤

HOW TO CAST A SPELL

What is your definition of magic? Do you think witches cast spells to control the world? That simply…

Well, Magic is...in so many words an 'inexplicably limitless' (at least in terms of current knowledge of it) energy source.

Energy can take many forms and be used for a variety of things.

Obviously the most basic of these is to serve as a "power source".

So you can bet that Magic in the height of it's development and discovery was instantly substituted for Fossil Fuels (Automobiles/Planes), Electricity (Appliances/Public Works), Solar Power, Nuclear Power, Wind Power...and so on.

Maybe it did have it's objectionist groups who questioned the reliability of Magic (as is currently being done with mixed Hybrid Fuels in these times), but it didn't take long before those groups were likely silenced by the progression and development of Magic Particle Physics.

The basic structure of Magic casting...or the "Magic Arts" (Houjutsu/法術) requires "Mana" (Houriki/法力).

This is very similar to "MP" that Mages/Sorcerer-types use in Role-playing games.

"Houriki" in its base definition means "Magic Ki" or Magic Energy.

In case you didn't know, "Ki" flows throughout all of the world and is a primary component of life. You might say "Ki" is the founding element.

Of the elements we have Ki (of course), Lightning, Wind, Water, and Fire.

This is known as the "Five Element Configuration", or "Five Context".

According to this basic belief, all energy takes these 5 forms, Ki being the most internalized and basic.

"Houriki" or "Mana" is a little different from Ki energy in and of itself because you are utilizing your own energy to borrow energy from another source.

In other words, you are using your own energy to draw "energy" from the Backyard (バックヤード).

Obviously, using the human body as a conductor to produce Magic has its limits, so they turned to using both Machines and other bio-technologies (read: Gears) as a means of tapping this seemingly unlimited resource.

Of course, there's more to it than that...

When casting specific Elemental spells, one must be naturally "attuned" to that element...so, for example Sin, who is naturally "attuned" to the Lightning Element, cannot cast Fire spells very well...so logically he can't borrow Sol's Firesealed Sword.

The Magic Arts also have another requirement besides "Mana" and being "Attuned"...in order to be controlled properly, they adhere to something known as the "12 Steps".

This of course is a format and technique that was developed over time throughout the history of Magic's use.

The 12 Steps are a codex of patterns and methods that were regulated to cast specific types of spells...a "Chromatic Scale" if you will.

Much like how Music is composed, Magic must be well-composed in order for it to have logical structure and be properly utilized without raging out of control.

It's said (and rightfully so) that Lightning and Fire are the most difficult elements to control, and potentially the most unpredictable and dangerous.

HOWEVER, spell-casting of that nature is not the only means or method of casting Magic.

First, as you pointed out, Healing Magic does exist. The exact structure of Healing Magic is most likely linked to basic Ki as an internal self-enhancing element. Speeding up a body's natural healing capabilities for example.

Second, you have what are known as "Magic Seals". Sometimes they are called Barriers or Dimensional Seals...these can be laid out using any number of ritualistic setups...but in the case of Guilty Gear it is more common for "Blood Seals" to exist...so in other words, blood is used as a conduit for the barriers (or in rare cases, Dimensional Gates). These barriers are sometimes known as a 4th or Quatrad (for their 12 Step composition), also called Nth Mapping, Space Curve, or Ouroboros Loop. 

Barriers were also used during the Crusades by the "Houshien" Squad or "Magic Support" squads. Aside from Healing Magic, this group was the first and last members of the Sacred Order to leave the battlefield and it was their job to protect the other squads and support them as much as possible by deflecting Magic and reducing the damage.

Third, there are some spells that exist outside the normal range of the "12 Steps" standard. More commonly known are the 6 Forbidden Dark Bondage Laws (Hi-Deigokutsuipo/卑・泥獄墜法) which sacrifice one of a human being's natural sensory abilities in exchange for a Forbidden Beast (Kinjuu/禁獣) Parasite. Aside from those spells...there is a less common method known as "Soul Sinker", that splits a living being's 'soul' into an inter-spacial object that can summon 'servants' for it's 'Master' from a structure known as a "Master Ghost".

Lastly, and perhaps more obscure, is Alchemy. Though it's not completely understood in the realm of Guilty Gear, it is clear it is a very powerful technique. It's unclear how Alchemy relates to the Magic Arts, or even IF they are in fact related at all...but it has produced War Relics and Homunculi in the past, so it should be understood as a valid power in and of itself.

Even less understood, however, is the nature of the Five Context as it relates to the Backyard.

Currently there is only a slim group of individuals who fully understand the nature and structure of Gears (Biological Weapons/生体兵器) and Youkai (妖怪) and how they relate to the Backyard. But because these species (either manufactured or born) are related to the Five Context of Elements, it means that they are (as stated earlier) "attuned" to certain Magic structures.

Being "attuned" to Magic, or "tied" to a certain element can also have an impact on how powerful a being can be.

For example, because Sol is "well-attuned" to "Fire Magic" he can cast extremely destructive spells (not simply because he wields the Fireseal, but also because his Gear body is linked to the Fire Element).

So, logically, you can say that there are "High-Class" elemental beings within a caste of a certain element...in folklore and mythology, we call these beings "Elemental Deities".

It's speculated that these "Deities" or "Sealed Gods" are the power-source for the 8 Sacred Treasures, otherwise known as the "OutRage".

According to Frederick, the reason these 8 "Sacred Treasures" (Jinki/神武) were split up in to eight fragments was because the Magical Power potential had no controllable limit.

Outside of the eight OutRage, there are Gears (Dizzy) and War Relics (such as Sealed Dragon Arm Fenrir and its host Tyr) that are linked to these powerful "Deities".

Then of course, there is the mystery behind the "Isolated Space" structure within the Backyard known as the Cube that was created by "That Man" (The Gearmaker).

The complexity and variance of the Magic and Mana used for the OutRage and the Cube (not to mention Gears) are probably not currently fully known, and may not be known for some time to come.

On a more basic level, though...Magic is utilization of Energy Molecules (similar to basic Particle Physics). Things like Teleportation (i.e. Faust), Summoning (i.e. Testament), Sublimation (Defragmenting a physical object, i.e. Valentine), Temporal Change (i.e. I-No), and more are very possible.

The Mana requirements vary of course (and might even be off the scale!), but something as simple as making food appear MIGHT be possible, but again, as said earlier, it requires Magic Energy to cast something of that nature (which could potentially be dangerous).