Some notes on magic + culture in my setting. (Am I doing this right??)

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toxique
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Some notes on magic + culture in my setting. (Am I doing this right??)

Post by toxique »

The basic definition of Magic is "the power to influence reality using supernatural forces". Furthermore, "supernatural forces" are occult, esoteric, spiritual and/or mystic "energies" able to be interacted with and manipulated by a sentient being, typically a human.

Magic is never free, and takes work. Whilst some people more sensitive to the supernatural may do small things without much effort, one must be devoted to this profession to do anything worthwhile with it.

In most cultures, magic is often discovered by accident, typically through religious, spiritual and ritual practices established previous to the knowledge of magic, as such things stimulate ones spiritual side and are conductive to all things mystical.

More specifically, a supernaturally sensitive person may discover their potential via familiar, repetitive activities they are familiar with. The state of absorption and familiarity gradually easing out their magic as they subconsciously infuse it into the task.

Finally, every magic user's magical "signature" is different, leading down different potential paths that allow them to garner unique knowledge throughout their lifetime to add to the forever in progress body of supernatural information.

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Just some things on magic in my setting i wanted to share, setting out the broad generalities. I'm assuming it is OK to share snippets like this? thank you for reading anyway. [<3] [<3] [<3]
[<3] [<3] [<3] [<3] [<3] [<3] [<3]
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Pāṇini
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Re: Some notes on magic + culture in my setting. (Am I doing this right??)

Post by Pāṇini »

I love it! The lightly anthropological take on magic reminds me a bit of Bret Devereaux's non-fiction Practical Polytheism series (see his blog at https://acoup.blog/resources-for-world-builders/). What are the rituals/practices associated with magic in your setting?

Snippets are pretty much the standard format for CBB posts as far as I can tell—though I'm hardly a frequent poster here myself.
天含青海道。城頭月千里。
/tʰiæn ɣɑm tsʰieŋ.hɑ́i dʱɑ́u ‖ ʑʱeŋ dʱəu ᵑgyæɾ tsʰiæn lí/
The sky swallows the road to Kokonor. On the Great Wall, a thousand miles of moonlight.
—/lí ɣɑ̀/ (李賀), tr. A. C. Graham
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Re: Some notes on magic + culture in my setting. (Am I doing this right??)

Post by Salmoneus »

toxique wrote: 14 Mar 2023 21:14 The basic definition of Magic is "the power to influence reality using supernatural forces". Furthermore, "supernatural forces" are occult, esoteric, spiritual and/or mystic "energies" able to be interacted with and manipulated by a sentient being, typically a human.

Magic is never free, and takes work. Whilst some people more sensitive to the supernatural may do small things without much effort, one must be devoted to this profession to do anything worthwhile with it.

In most cultures, magic is often discovered by accident, typically through religious, spiritual and ritual practices established previous to the knowledge of magic, as such things stimulate ones spiritual side and are conductive to all things mystical.

More specifically, a supernaturally sensitive person may discover their potential via familiar, repetitive activities they are familiar with. The state of absorption and familiarity gradually easing out their magic as they subconsciously infuse it into the task.

Finally, every magic user's magical "signature" is different, leading down different potential paths that allow them to garner unique knowledge throughout their lifetime to add to the forever in progress body of supernatural information.

---
Just some things on magic in my setting i wanted to share, setting out the broad generalities. I'm assuming it is OK to share snippets like this? thank you for reading anyway. [<3] [<3] [<3]
This all seems perfectly fine as a first step, but also near-universal in magic systems (other than the 'being in the zone' = 'magic' thing, which could be interesting).

I think if you want to think about the role of magic in your setting, you need to think more precisely about what sort of 'work' and 'effort' are required, and how energies are 'interacted with'. This affects both what magic "looks like" to a reader (/viewer/etc), and what actual impact it has on society. Because a lot of different magic systems - almost all that I've heard of - will fit broadly into what you've descibed!
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Torco
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Re: Some notes on magic + culture in my setting. (Am I doing this right??)

Post by Torco »

Sal's right, but it could be that this is like a framework for a bunch of magic systems? such that specific systems of magic can instantiate the vague things in specificity so that, say, system A requires work in the sense of emotional work, the caster faces their own fears and, if successful, effects the magic, while system B, from the guys across the ocean or whatever, requires work in the sense of physical labour, as in you have to shape a stone into a specific shape in one sitting to effects the magic.

also, yes, snippets are authorized [:P] .
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