On Magic

"So you're the one who wanted to know about magic? Oh, don't look so disappointed. I know you tried to get an appointment with my master, but did you really think that Alistair Hamilton would waste his time answer that kind of question? You're lucky you didn't get cursed with hives or something. My master actually does have that kind of a temper.

"But we're not here to talk about the archmage of New York. If you wanted that, you'd just pick a biography. No, you're here because you want to learn about magic. And I can answer that question. Rachel Katz, current apprentice of Alistair Hamilton, granddaughter of Ruth Klauser--the one and only witch of Staten Island--and a descendant of the Witch of Endor. Yes, the one from the Bible. I think I've got your attention now.

"So, magic. Magic is a complicated subject. It's not science. Get any notions of that out of your head. Science is how the universe works when magic's not involved. It's the base state, the level, operating on a system of rules and laws that can be studied and understood. Magic is about taking those laws and telling them to shut up and sit down. That's why it's called supernatural. Because it goes above and beyond the laws of the Lord and nature. Conservation of energy? Gone. Gravity. Who needs it? Probability? Probabsmility. Personally, my family's got a long history of breaking the rules of death. Necromancy. It's less evil megalomaniacs in black robes standing in a graveyard summoning legions of zombies and skeletons and more burning incense over the body of the dead to call back their shade and consult its knowledge and wisdom. I know, I'm just full of disappointments today!

"So where does magic come from? Life. It's a glib answer, sure, but life is magical. It's actually something of a miracle. And everything alive has a spark of magic in them. My grandmother explained it to me it as 'nephesh,' the spark of life HaShem placed into all of us. But it's known by many different names, across many different peoples: ki, qa, mana, prana, pneuma, nafs, elan vital, vril, the Odin force... a lot of evocative names. Most nowadays call it anima, the animating principal, that which differentiates the living from the... not.

"Anima contains the energy for the magic, and it is the ruach--or the psyche, the soul, the human spirit--that gives us the ability to shape that energy, to change the world around us, to place our fingers on the metaphysical scale and tilt the universe this way or that. This is why only humans and other sapient beings can use magic. All the various animals and plants and fungi and bacteria... they have anima, but they're missing that special thing that gives us free will, and the ability to shape our own destinies.

"But just because you've got a soul, and you've got anima doesn't mean you're ready to start using magic. Because humans, we're natural beings. Governed by science, like I said. Which means that we've only got enough anima within us to keep ourselves alive. If you want to use that anima for a spell, well, you'll probably end up killing yourself before the spell's complete. Which I would strongly recommend against. So you've got to get anima from somewhere else... and thankfully the world is just full of anima. It's in the rays of the sun, it's ground beneath your feet, it's the grass and the trees and the wind. Just out there, waiting for living beings to make use of it. You just have to harness it, and shape it towards your desires.

"And that's where spells come in. Magic. Magic is easy... it's spellcraft which is hard. But spells are how you ensure that you'll live to cast more than one spell. Every mage, wizard, shaman, witch, conjurer, alchemist, artificer, or sorceress in the world uses the same kind of magic. It's the spellcraft where we all differ. My grandmother? She's trained in the old ways, which she passed on to my older sisters, of divination, of necromancy, and of healing. My master? He learned obeah from his mother, magic descended from the old traditions of Africa, of hexes and curses and the binding of spirits. Me? I've got a knack for technomancy. I can see spells as codes, hacking the universe. I drop the right lines into my phone, execute an app, and boom. I've got me a fireball. Or control over every security camera in the area. Or a doorway through the wall. Or a window into your thoughts. It doesn't always work, but technomancy's a new tradition, and we're still working out a lot of the kinks.

"But yeah, when you think magic, you're usually actually thinking spellcraft. That's where all the iconic parts come in. That's where you see the wizards in their robes and pointy hats, chanting and waving their arms and throwing magic powder or pointing with a wand. That's all little tricks we use to gather anima. I mean, I could stand still and silent and just focus on drawing the anima to me and shaping it, but that could take hours, depending on what I want to do. Or, I could say a few words, burn the right incense, invoke the right spirit, or tap the right app on my phone, and it's over in a few seconds. And like I said, everybody's got a different way of doing it. Some people like to use runes. Others use songs. Really popular now--thanks to Alister Crowley--is hermetic magic, which uses seals to channel the anima. Wands, potions, herbs, magic rings, scrolls... you name it. Some even bind spirits or other supernatural beings such as fey or jinn or horrors, and use them as familiars--personal anima batteries. I'm not fond of it though, too close to demonology.

"And yes, demons can offer you a short cut and trade you their anima in exchange for your soul. It's not worth it. It's never worth it. I've seen too much suffering caused by people too eager for power to understand what exactly they're doing. Demons don't offer you magic out of pity or sympathy. They do it because they want to see you cause suffering. They think you're primed to go off the deep end, to become just like them. And sadly, they're often right. If you're going to learn to use magic, you've got to learn responsibility along the way. The power is tempting, and it can be intoxicating at times. Which is why most apprenticeships last a decade or so, because the master has to be absolutely certain their apprentice isn't going to become a risk to themselves or society.

"So if you do chose to pick up the mantle of a mage, be aware that it comes with great responsibility. We have powers that no other human has access to. And we are charged with using that power in a way that benefits everyone, even those who never know about magic, never see the spells you craft, the wonders you work. Magic is not a calling for the faint of heart, and if you're not interested in changing the world, then you're probably going to fail somewhere along the way.

"But if that excites you, well, nothing I could ever say would change you mind, or stop you from heading down this path. You won't ever be able to put it out of your head. It's the curse of a mage, after all."

-- Rachel Katz, technomancer