The Seven Magical Arts of Altearth

[skip.knox]

I'd appreciate opinions about adding more or combining existing. I realize sorcery and wizardry are synonymous, but I hate to give up either word entirely, so I have more or less invented some distinctions. Anyway, herewith:

Augury
Divination
Alchemy
Herbalism
Sorcery
Wizardry
Enchantment
There is an eighth, but it is rogue. It is Wild Magic and includes things like shape changing, vampirism and beasts with magical powers (e.g., basilisk).

Augury is reading signs to see the future. The signs can reside in anything from a crystal ball to animal entrails to the flight of birds, and some of these variations are peculiar to this or that species.

Divination is reading signs to see the present or the distant. Again, the sign can be anything from dice to stars to cards. Pretty much all species have a form of this. (by "species" here I mean human, elf, orc, gnome, etc.)

Alchemy is a scholarly art practiced mainly by humans and dwarves. It goes far beyond transmutation of metals to include manipulation of substances more generally. I could be called chemistry but for the fact that some of the substances themselves are magical.

Herbalism is mainly the art of healing and cursing. And love potions, of course. Here again, it could be little more than pharmacy except some substances are magical. Plus, many practitioners include some sort of ritual surrounding the preparation or the administering. Here again, most races practice this.

Sorcery
Most people think of this as the wicked side of wizardry, but evil is in the eye of the beholder. Sorcery does tend to include a physical component, but not always. Sorcerers are common in the Wild races, including orcs and trolls. They are unknown among dwarven kind and rare among elvish races.

Wizardry
Often thought of as the purest practitioners, especially by themselves, wizards can cause things to happen by sheer concentration of will, by casting spells, or by wielding magical objects. Most common among humans.

Enchantment
Enchanters practice magic upon some specific person or object. They are very popular for the latter and are valued by kings for beefing up armor and weapons and castles. Most common among dwarves and elves, rare among humans. An enchanter always needs an artefact or representation of the target in order to work.


These are not rigorous divisions. Each has its own history and changes over the centuries. Modern scholars posit the existence of 'ur-magick' from which all other magics have evolved, but I try not to get involved in academic quarrels. Indeed, what does magic even mean to a race such as pixies?

At any rate, I welcome comments on this.

 

[ThinkerX]

Augury is reading signs to see the future. The signs can reside in anything from a crystal ball to animal entrails to the flight of birds, and some of these variations are peculiar to this or that species.

More or less consistent with 'real world magic'.

Divination is reading signs to see the present or the distant. Again, the sign can be anything from dice to stars to cards. Pretty much all species have a form of this. (by "species" here I mean human, elf, orc, gnome, etc.)

Given the described abilities, 'Scrying' might be a better name. Again, something common in 'real world magic'.

Alchemy is a scholarly art practiced mainly by humans and dwarves. It goes far beyond transmutation of metals to include manipulation of substances more generally. I could be called chemistry but for the fact that some of the substances themselves are magical.

Good enough.

Herbalism is mainly the art of healing and cursing. And love potions, of course. Here again, it could be little more than pharmacy except some substances are magical. Plus, many practitioners include some sort of ritual surrounding the preparation or the administering. Here again, most races practice this.

Might want to consider calling it just plain 'Healing', or at least have that as a common alternate name.

Sorcery
Most people think of this as the wicked side of wizardry, but evil is in the eye of the beholder. Sorcery does tend to include a physical component, but not always. Sorcerers are common in the Wild races, including orcs and trolls. They are unknown among dwarven kind and rare among elvish races.

'Dark side of wizardry' isn't really enough to make a judgment call here.

Wizardry
Often thought of as the purest practitioners, especially by themselves, wizards can cause things to happen by sheer concentration of will, by casting spells, or by wielding magical objects. Most common among humans.

'cause things to happen by sheer force of will,' sounds like PSI, something I use in my world(s).

Enchantment
Enchanters practice magic upon some specific person or object. They are very popular for the latter and are valued by kings for beefing up armor and weapons and castles. Most common among dwarves and elves, rare among humans. An enchanter always needs an artefact or representation of the target in order to work.

'practice magic upon some specific person'...overlap with wizardry and sorcery?

The need for an artifact or representation sounds like 'sympathetic magic', again something common in real world magical systems.

Now...are these exclusive, or can a single person be say, an Diviner, Wizard, and Enchanter at the same time?

 

[skip.knox]

Thanks much for the comments. Hearing other perspectives is really helpful.

Not sure if they're mutually exclusive. Probably no in one century or for a particular race, but yes for another. I try to keep it all organic and flexible, building a framework rather than a system.

I hear what you say about healing over herbalism, but the herbalist can also concoct poisons and curses. The nice herbalist does nice things, the wicked one does wicked things.

Yes, there's overlap between sorcery, wizardry and enchantment. Problem is, I like the words, so I try to invent distinctions. It's not working all that well yet. I also consider whether practitioners work in colleges or guilds, as freebooters, on contract, or in the employ of kings. Each has different implications. I've thought maybe sorcery is the word for what elves do while wizardry is what humans do, but that doesn't quite fit either.

Work in progress.

 

[ThinkerX]

Yes, there's overlap between sorcery, wizardry and enchantment. Problem is, I like the words, so I try to invent distinctions. It's not working all that well yet. I also consider whether practitioners work in colleges or guilds, as freebooters, on contract, or in the employ of kings. Each has different implications. I've thought maybe sorcery is the word for what elves do while wizardry is what humans do, but that doesn't quite fit either.

I'd suggest the use of differing names in different regions, or among different peoples. In one nation, the guy foretelling the future is an Auger. Two kingdoms over, that same guy using the same type of magic would be called a 'Diviner'. Name and world building advanced a bit at the same time. Actually, you might want to think about combining the two types of magic anyhow. In olden times, both were the province of priests more than freelance wizards.

Is your tale dependent on these being separate types of magic?

Otherwise, I'd suggest...

Combining Augury and Divination, maybe making them a priestly prerogative. Think shaman or priest reading the omens for the coming year, or getting visions of distant places.

Combining the negative aspects of Herbalism with Sorcery to make a 'Warlock' or 'Sorcerer' type of less than positive repute;

Combining the positive aspects of Herbalism with Wizardry to make for a Wizard or Healer Mage or good repute;

Have enchantment or rune magic be applicable only to physical objects, possibly related to Alchemy. (Enchanters in some lands dabble in Alchemy, and a learned enough Alchemist picks up the principles of enchantment.)

 

[Hainted]

When I read your Herbalist description, my first thought was Witch. Not the modern Wiccan, but the fairy tale type with her potions and poisoned apples. Sorcerers don't have as much of a difference between them and Wizards. Sorcery's dark reputation may come from how it's practitioners gained their abilities.

In my world Wizardry is a strict, difficult path that takes years to master, while Sorcery is someone who has gained power through a bargain with a magical entity. It's the difference between a martial artist, and a teenager with a gun. One has the discipline instilled in him from years of training and the other has been given the power and told "have fun". Not to say Sorcerers can't develop the discipline of Wizards or that Wizards don't occasionally go bad, but Sorcerers aren't thought of too highly in my world.

Since it's mainly the Wild races that have this maybe have something similar about their magic. Maybe it comes from forgotten artifacts or some kind of stone?

 

[skip.knox]

I hear your suggestions, ThinkerX. I confess I'm partial to the Seven Arts, just because of the medieval background. I'm open to combinations, but I'd sort of like to wind up with seven categories.

That said, I might use the Seven Arts in a completely different way. The categories of magic might be there simply as world-building background, as a way for me to think through how magic gets manifested in different centuries among different species. I could restrict the Seven Arts to the Conlegium of Wizards (human).

Does anyone have additions to make? One reason why I posted this was to see if I had covered all the magical bases.

 

[ThinkerX]

I hear your suggestions, ThinkerX. I confess I'm partial to the Seven Arts, just because of the medieval background. I'm open to combinations, but I'd sort of like to wind up with seven categories.

Hmmm...

You might want to take a peek at LeGuin's 'Earthsea'. She had nine Masters at Roke, each specializing in a different type of magic, though wizards learned from all of them. Lessee if I can do this from memory...

1) Hand (Illusion)
2) Windkey (Weather/Sea Magic)
3) Changer (Shape changing)
4) Summoner (very dangerous)
5) Herbal (Healing)
6) Patterner (Mystic tie together)
7) Naming (True name magic, another biggie from the old manuscripts)
8) Doorkeeper (Literally the guy at the door to the Roke School)
9) Chanter (Singer, Librarian, maybe Seer of sorts)

Kurtz, in her Dernyi series went with (if I remember right)...

1) Wards
2) Healing
3) Telekinesis
4) Illusion
5) Divination/Scrying
6) Charm/Persuasion
with teleport gates being an advanced branch of Telekinesis

For myself...though I seldom go into much detail...

1) Mental Magic (ESP, Remote Viewing, 'Charm', Divination, fundamental to everything else magical)
2) Metabolic (Healing, adding/subtracting strength/speed and the like, and if very powerful, shape alteration)
3) Telekinesis (manipulation or movement of inanimate objects at a distance, 'fire magic', and Teleport as an advanced sub-catagory)
4) Illusions, closely linked to Mental Magic
5) Summoning - very dangerous
6) Wards
7) Rune Magic (making magical items)

I also have assorted rituals that sometimes work and sometimes don't scattered amongst the lot.

In theory, apart from Godborn and Darkborn, any of my wizards with sufficient talent and dedication can learn any of these types of magic. In practice, Summoning is considered 'evil' (with reason) and is flat out banned, and even the most powerful wizards don't pick up much in the way of Rune Magic.

Godborn (White or Good wizards), born on the Spring Equinox, tend to have powerful natural knacks for positive mental magic's, metabolic spells, and wards, but are a bit weak with telekinesis and find Rune Magic just short of impossible. Most are drafted into church service.

Darkborn (Black or Evil Wizards), born on the Fall Equinox, are naturally talented at the nastier types of mental and metabolic magic's, and have a knack for summoning as well. Like Godborn, they are weak in regards to telekinetic and Rune magic's.

Alchemy isn't a separate art in and of itself, but something learned as needed.

 

[HUnewearl Shiro]

I feel like Augury and Divination could be combined into a larger overall art. Basically magic based on vision. Past, present, future, near or far. That said, Divination feels like it would be more suited to religion, whilst Augury feels the opposite. Though that's mostly because my mind is working on the idea that augury = augment = science/technology, which is usually the antithesis to religion in fiction.

Herbalism could be turned into a form of "nature" magic? Since a lot of the physical components would I assume come from nature, such as plants or in some cases animals. I feel nature is... somehow a softer description than herbalism, I can't quite place why I feel that way though.

Wizardry and sorcery do, to a point, have an air of good vs evil to them, in my opinion. Sorcerers are often used as antagonists, whilst wizards are usually the kind, impossibly-aged aid to the valiant hero and such.

The description for enchantment could stand to change slightly. I don't really like the idea of enchanters casting their spells upon people, but that comes from being so used to enchanters being purely item-focused.

 

[S.T. Ockenner]

Given the described abilities, 'Scrying' might be a better name. Again, something common in 'real world magic'.

Scrying falls under Divination...also Scrying is more about seeing other things in reflective surfaces, whereas Divination is more broad.
"
verb
gerund or present participle: scrying

1. foretell the future using a crystal ball or other reflective object or surface.
   "a mirror used for scrying""

 

[S.T. Ockenner]

nchanters being purely item-focused.

Actually, enchanters were both item and people focused back in the day.