Is Wizardry Real?

[Reader]

Believe me or not, but I read the Oath aloud and now I am trying to figure out what a 'beam-me-up-Scotty' spell is.

[Reen]

I have always believed in magic as real, but not in the sense that we can use it. Not yet anyways. I have a feeling that we could, perhaps tap into that one day. In fact, maybe our dependency upon technology is hindering that connection with what ever force. However, I think when ever we see something that was so miracle-esque that you think it couldn't have been blind luck, then that's when we sorta, tap into the little bit of magic that we have available to us. Nothing too crazy mind you. Like something as silly as playing volleyball and noticing the wind picking up in the most peculiar way, allowing you to get the winning point in the game. You obviously don't think you made it happen, but perhaps, in your frustration you coaxed the world in to helping you.

*shrugs and smiles*

[running_alone]

One of the things that I LOVE about my favorite books is that it leaves you wondering, "what if?" What if wizardry is real? What if I found a manual? Would I take the oath? Would I be able to survive my ordeal? Would I be good enough? Would I be able to make a difference? And honestly, sometimes I will sit outside and talk to trees, and sometimes I wish that they would talk back. Sometimes I wish I could visit other worlds, talk to the stars, or just generally make things right.

But you know what I've realized? I CAN make a difference. I CAN help make things right. I CAN help slow down entropy. As the manual said in SYWTBAW, "A wizard's business is to conserve energy--to keep it from being wasted. On the simplest level this includes such unmagical-looking actions as paying one's bills on time, turning off the lights when you go out, and supporting the people around you in getting their lives to work." So although I may not be a wizard in the sense that Nita, Kit, Dairine, and all the others are, I can still help and find the magic in the world around me. And who knows? Maybe one of these days a tree WILL talk to me.

[D'fr]

Reality and Belief

We want to fix the world. We know, that, realistically, we can't. I mean, not alone, and not all at once. But we believe that there is something more. We believe in Guardian Spririts, we believe in higher entities, gods, I try to believe in magic or wizardry, and the rest of us do. We've always hesitated in saying the Oath, because we're not sure that we could do good with it, not sure that it's what we would be able to fix the world with. We really, really want to believe, and we Dream things, and we've dreamp't a sign from higher up, and seem to have been clairyvoyant once or twice. I speak to semi-inanimates, and non-humanspeaking animates. We, who talk to the air. I believe that other 'verses exist, in which there are other us's. I'm writing some of those worlds now. I believe that all religions and spiritual whatsits are real in one way or another, and may sum up to both one and many things.

I manage to contradict myself on these topics, and this rambling set of sentances isn't really an accurate way to say, but it's as close as I can get without babbling for an hour. We think we've sen magick, once and will and do, but our memory fades and atrophies (ha ha, atrphies, real funny, hmph) quickly. But, I think, we do believe.

(ignore gratuitous[sp?] use of plurals; it's a personal thing that I won't explain)

Edit: Because a not-to-be-named parental unit said so once, I tried to close all that stuff off. Stop speaking to myself, don't use my mind to listen to the world in all it's Technicolor existance, be 'normal', because I'm outwardly not. I tried as hard as I could. It lasted about five hours, and it didn't work so well. Trust me on this, if nothing else; On these subjects, don't compromise yourself or your beliefs. It leads to more psychological instability, not less.

[Dragon Writer]

It's my firm belief that somewhere in the multiverse there is an energy source which can be channeled and controlled by human beings in order to create feats that many would find miraculous. Whether it is in this world... who knows? :P


((Sorry for going technical, but it's something i say from time to time to make it sound utterly and totally logical beyond the point of being able to argue. :P ))

[Wiccangixie]

One thing I've noticed is that nearly every religion summons energy in some way, whether it's in prayer, spellwork, or even... dare I say it, life. If energy is constantly able to be manipulated, changed, and transformed into parts of us that we need to function and work, then yes, isn't that wizardry? Isn't that real? The answer to this question is simple... you simply need to look at your life, and analyze it if you'd like. See what miracles have happened to you; what changes did you see in yourself or in your family? What does your family see in you, in the world each day?

[Dragon Writer]

It all comes down to what you view as magic, i suppose - there are theoretical things like telekinesis, and such, using the brains power - yes, it's science... but isn't it also magic, in a way? Isn't it still the manipulation of energy through ones own mind?
can't the same be said of those who manages to focus so much they can alter their own heart beat? Or maybe even those who just focus their desire so much, they find a way to make it happen against the odds?

Okay, so that last one's pushing it - i needed another example to make it flow well. But still, you get the point - it's an interesting line of thought.

[estar9821]

Y'know, I've been thinking this question over in my mind too. The other day I was at the grocery store, and I was listening closely to the robotic voice of the automatic checkout. I kept wondering how they can make something inanimate have a voice? These days, fewer and fewer people seem to understand whythese things work, and fewer still can explain it. Certainly I've never been one of those people. I know it sounds kinda lame, and it's disappointing, but I think technology is magic. Think about it: We can make pictures move, in fact, even making pictures was magic at one time; we can fly; we can send messages across the globe almost instantaneously; we can do all that and more. To people a thousand years ago, even a few hundred years ago, all this was impossible, just magic and legends. Stuff people will be able to do a thousand years from now will be what we consider "magic". DD incorporates a lot of science into the YW series. Maybe she's saying that technoloy ismagic. Something to think about...

[Suizu5123]

The difference between all the Harry Potter books and YW, of course, is that Harry Potter is "swoosh!" and poof! there it is; YW requires the energy from yourself (although I think you could carry around a battery or some sort of charged energy container to draw for your spells.) YW magic makes sense. Actually, we could do magic, especially on things we're familiar with. We would need the proper amount of energy, but that's easy. The tough part is the instructions (the Speech) to tell the object and energy what to do.

[Uniasus]

I recently came across the word 'automagically' and it made my day. I've heard it a lot of places that magic is simply not understood science. Anyone transported to this time from 200 years ago would agree with that, and it's not uncommon for 3rd world peoples to view technology superstitiously. (omg, I spelled that correctly! you guys have no idea how rare that is for me.)

That being said, I think the YW view of magic is completely plausible. DD obviously does science research for her books, and using yourself to power magic is a very realistic thing. Even in Wicca, spellcasters are wiped out after doing large spells. Some expel so much energy they collapse to the floor.

Any of you know the anime Fullmetal Alchemist? Alchemy there also functions somewhat scientifically, with it's most prominent rule being equivalent exchange. You can't make something out of nothing; giving walls doors is possible, but not making a house out of ten bricks and a 2x4.

As Wiccangixie said, energy seems to be a big part of all things spiritual/magical. I mean, even in video games you need MP. But there is also a sense of the personal involved. The whole mind over matter thing. If you can convince yourself something will happen, it will. And isn't that what the Speech is mainly used for? And why younger wizards have more power because they believe more in 'anything is possible'? It the power of language, used not only on others but oneself.

So yes, magic and wizardry are real. Maybe not quite like how it's portrayed in our favorite stories and thus is escapes our notice, but it's out there.

[SpacePen]

I've heard it a lot of places that magic is simply not understood science.

that's a little awkward syntax there! But of course it is true: Any technology transplanted into a culture where it is neither commonplace nor sufficiently understood will be classified as magical or miraculous.

What should perhaps be said also is that different areas of study which today we would classify as either in the "scientific" category OR as in the "supernature/magica/miraculous" were at one time considered to be the same subject. For example, while most people in the Western world today would consider Astronomy to fall within the scientific arena, and would consider Astrology to be a supernatural discipline, they were once thought to be one and the same area of expertise. To study the stars and planets meant to study their "influences" on the earth and it's people ("astrology"); to study the influences of stars and planets on the earth meant to observe and measure and chart and map and name predict their movements as precisely as possible ("astronomy").

In fact, people in other cultures (whether ancient or contemporary) did not often divide things into categories in the way that we do. For example, Boethius wrote that there were three areas of Music: the "silent" music of the spheres (which we might consider a branch of astronomy - the study of the numbers that described the movements of the planets), the music of humanity (which we might consider something akin to Therapeutic studies or perhaps to physician's studies mixed with religious studies - the numerical relationships that governed the health and well being of the body and soul), and the music of instruments (which is generally all that anyone means by "music" today! - the study of the numerical relationships between different sounds and harmonies).

All these things were considered within the study of one subject, not three (or more!). Further, music was classified among the "numerical" - in other words it was considered a kind of mathematics, NOT a kind of "Art" (which is where most people classify it today).

All this to say that we happen to live in a culture that has inherited a great deal of specialization, but we might do well to remember that it was not always so, and that the supernatural was not always seen quite so separate from the physical as our basic education in scientific areas may lead us to think.

[Ronan]

I suppose it's all what you believe, kla? Or rather, your "understanding." A child believes he can fly...so he jumps off the top of the slide. So, it's a kind of believing that utilises science and the world around you. But it definitely takes a level of belief, much akin to religion...except with a fanaticism that is purely good, not condemning.

I often think of the Matrix. If there is doubt, you won't see the appropriate end result. Proper good, eh?

[anotherBob]

I like a quote from the book "Flight to the Lonesome Place" by Alexander Key. A character named Marlowe was talking to his friend Anna Maria Rosalita: "What's magic? Nothing but the ability to do what everybody knows is impossible.
...Only my dear little witch, just remember that nothing is impossible"

Whether that magic is from unknown technology or something else, it is the same.

Now what can be debated is the scope of the seemingly impossible event. When the event takes place in the context of religion, it can be seen as a miracle. Prayer is the same thing. This was brilliantly touched on in WD.

I love the idea of a scientific aspect of wizardry. You have to understand the world to be able to control it. We were afraid of lightning before we could figure out how to make it strike objects we wanted it to strike. Then the fascination began to replace some of the fear. Is it possible that we are really heading into the direction of wizardry with more knowledge? I guess that is why some stories fall perfectly into both sci-fi ad fantasy genres. Once science explains something, it is no longer magic.

Bob