If you were around /tg/ in the last weeks, you probably came across a very neuroatypical post about how "mana" and "scientific magic" are ruining everything. I claim authorship of that post. Someone made a post against the Eberron setting apparently using very similar arguments; that wasn't me, but chances are we can probably agree on many points. As you'd expect, it was quite divisive since most people at /tg/, although they tend to dislike wokeism, can't think outside of their modernist, rationalist, naturalist 21st century worldview.
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Here are my main points:
Magic should not a physical phenomenonMost modern settings simply assume that magic is a force of nature; some sort of energy that works in a mechanistic, physical way that can be harnessed by humans and even machines. Compare it electricity, if you will. It is simply magic because it is not known. But what is real life, "authentic" magic like? To illustrate my point, let's analyze a few examples, starting with an actual spell from the Picatrix, the medieval grimoire of astrological
magick.
For example, the book advises one to create a ring for Saturn using turquoise and lead, and to inscribe into it an image of a man riding a dragon, wielding a sickle or a scythe. If you wear the ring, then:
The spirits that dwell in the dark and obscure places will be well-disposed to the wearer; bulls will assist the wearer. Even profound secrets, humans, scorpions, serpents, mice, all the reptiles upon the earth, and all the operations of Saturn will be revealed to the wearer.
Source:
https://www.medievalists.net/2019/06/how-to-become-an-evil-wizard-medieval-magic-from-picatrix/Here is another example:
‘Curse tablets’ are small sheets of lead, inscribed with messages from individuals seeking to make gods and spirits act on their behalf and influence the behaviour of others against their will. The motives are usually malign and their expression violent, for example to wreck an opponent’s chariot in the circus, to compel a person to submit to sex or to take revenge on a thief. Letters and lines written back to front, magical ‘gibberish’ and arcane words and symbols often lend the texts additional power to persuade. In places where supernatural agents could be contacted, thrown into sacred pools at temples, interred with the dead or hidden by the turning post at the circus, these tablets have survived to be found by archaeologists.
Source: curses.csad.ox.ac.uk/beginners/
Or how about superstitions in general?
Opinion is divided as to which way up the horseshoe ought to be nailed. Some say the ends should point up, so that the horseshoe catches the luck, and that the ends pointing down allow the good luck to be lost; others say they should point down, so that the luck is poured upon those entering the home. Superstitious sailors believe that nailing a horseshoe to the mast will help their vessel avoid storms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe#SuperstitionIn the ritual of today, Bloody Mary allegedly appears to individuals or groups who ritualistically invoke her name in an act of catoptromancy. This is done by repeatedly chanting her name into a mirror placed in a dimly-lit or candle-lit room. The name must be uttered thirteen times (or some other specified number of times). The Bloody Mary apparition allegedly appears as a corpse, witch, or ghost that can be friendly or evil, and is sometimes seen covered in blood (hence the name). The lore surrounding the ritual states that participants may endure the apparition screaming at them, cursing them, strangling them, stealing their soul, drinking their blood, or scratching their eyes out.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Mary_(folklore)
And finally observations from the Lemegeton or Lesser Key of Solomon, arguably the most famous grimoire
FIRST, thou shalt know and observe the Moon’s Age for thy working. The best days be when the Moon Luna is 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, or 14 days old, as Solomon saith; and no other days be profitable. The Seals of the 72 Kings are to be made in Metals.
The Chief Kings’ in Sol (Gold); Marquises’ in Luna (Silver); Dukes’ in Venus (Copper); Prelacies’ in Jupiter (Tin); Knights’ in Saturn (Lead); Presidents’ in Mercury (Mercury); Earls’ in Venus (Copper), and Luna (Silver), alike equal, etc. THESE 72 Kings be under the Power of AMAYMON, CORSON, ZIMIMAY or ZIMINAIR, and GAAP, who are the Four Great Kings ruling in the Four Quarters, or Cardinal Points,27 viz.: East, West, North, and South, and are not to be called forth except it be upon Great Occasions; but are to be Invocated and Commanded to send such or such a Spirit that is under their Power and Rule, as is shown in the following Invocations or Conjurations. And the Chief Kings may be bound from 9 till 12 o’clock at Noon, and from 3 till Sunset; Marquises may be bound from 3 in the afternoon till 9 at Night, and from 9 at Night till Sunrise; Dukes may be bound from Sunrise till Noonday in Clear Weather; Prelates may be bound any hour of the Day; Knights may from Dawning of Day till Sunrise, or from 4 o’clock till Sunset;
Presidents may be bound any time, excepting Twilight, at Night, unless the King whom they are under be Invocated; and Counties or Earls any hour of the Day, so itbe in Woods, or in any other places whither men resort not, or where no noise is, etc.
So, my questions are:
What kind of impersonal force of nature cares about how many times you say a word in a particular language, what direction you're facing, the phase of the moon, what day of the week it is, how you hang a fucking horseshoe on your door and requires you to draw a man holding a scythe riding a dragon?
How can the people who believe magic is a natural force explain how "sports rituals" work?
How does a fucking planet, a star (a literal ball of plasma million lightyears away, possibly already gone), a number, a plant, a metal, a rock, etc. have a personality or meaning of its own?
What sort of natural phenomenon cares about arbitrary and subjective steps to follow?
Evidently, magic as a practice can only be explained in terms of anthropology, semiotics, culture and society. It reveals more about us than about magic itself; the value we give to numbers, the meaning we give to natural phenomena, the superstitious, irrational and ritualistic behaviors we resort to to control the world in which we live, how we relate to others, etc.
"
But how does magic work, then?" you might ask.
And my answer would be: "
Who cares?! Leave some things to the imagination. Whatever explanation people (players, readers, audience) come up with will satisfy them more than any particular explanation. Let them fill the gaps. Not knowing is part of the fun."
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How "scientific magic" actually destroys fantasy.If magic is a "force of nature", there can be no fantasy. Everything (LOTR, D&D, Harry Potter, etc.) is a sci fi setting in which people aren't informed enough. With this 21st century mindset, fantasy can only be understood in terms of scientific knowledge. There can be no supernatural, only natural.
With this mindset, all magical beings become mere species. Dwarves, Elves, Goblins, Hobbits, Orcs; you name it. You end up having them together at an inn because why not? Why can't different species crowd the cities and live just like any person? Their only differences are physiological; there is nothing supernatural about any of them. The next step is adding furryfolk, elementals, genasi, aasimar, etc. because why not? After all, all magical creatures are allowed. Freakshitting is the result of this.
This is supply and demand all over again. If elves can sit next to you at the pub and drink ale alongside orcs, dwarves, and have normal lives, if there are hundreds of wizards per city with floating books and shiny crystals, schools of magic, priests casting divine spells (i.e. miracles), magic bards playing at courts, angelfolk flying around... then magic loses its appeal. It just becomes commonplace. There is no mystery and the special becomes mundane.
If there is only one magic sword, one big evil wizard, one fairy pond, an occassional miracle, etc. every instance becomes special.