Magic Theory​

I am trying to make a theory to explain ‘Magic’; how does it function, how spell casting is possible, what are the limits and rules. Basically, I’m making a more realistic fictional world. This will be a kind of ‘platform’ I will use to write fanfictions.

Though, this isn’t an easy task so I will need your help to complete this. It's like the post 'DLP Spell List', only here I'm trying to make the theory behind those spells.

J.K. Rowling’s world has some flaws, isn’t really ‘serious’ and wouldn’t be at all the way it is if it really existed. She made a fantasy and ‘magical’ world mainly for children, without taking account of demographic evolutions of a ‘secret’ society, interactions between people, psychological development, politics, things that obviously should exist yet they don’t, etc.


Basical things to know:

- Equivalent Exchange
You can’t create or destroy matter. There is a price for everything, and all that kind of stuffs. (Similar to Full Metal Alchemist)
- Magic is partly sentient
There are some kind of fictional particles (like neutrinos) that surround us and form a huge neuron-like network which makes it sentient, yet only to a certain extent.
- Magical Cores and Wizard’s Brain
The magical core is a concentration of those particles in a different state and in a different dimension (we aren’t in a four dimension universe), which is linked to the brain of the Wizard (the brain of a Wizard is made in a such way it offers him another cognitive function called Projection which allows him to visualize things much more clearly than an ordinary human; Transfiguration is mainly based on this cognitive function).

Spell Casting

Casting spells can be split into different steps; some are essential to cast successfully the spell, others are optional.

1.The energy. It is required to make the spell function and is composed of these particles (neutrinos for example). Required for everyspell.

2.The trigger. It is composed by trigger words and wand movement. With a compatible wand and with training, wand movement can be avoided and the incantation doesn’t need to be said aloud.

3.The effect. It is similar to a computer program. During spell creation, the ‘program’ is processed by the sentient magic and stored. Triggering a spell is basically like running an application on a computer.

4.The parameters. Some spells don’t require it, others do require. It could be various things; values to the variables of the program, the projection of an object you with to transfigure something into it, or levitate for example. The parameters are all the information needed to make it function. Some of these parameters are already given by a variation of the wand movements to alter slightly the spell (depends on the program). Some parameters are optional, other are essential to cast a successful spell.

5. The shaping. Once all the steps above are complete, the spell can be mentally slightly altered; how wide the spell is, making it travel faster, modify the area of effect, etc. Optional.

6. The casting. You release the spell.


So this is what I've written for now. Can you help me complete this? There's not only spell casting; explanations could be given to how shield are working, how occlumency and legilimency are working, etc.

lnky

 

wow! you just added theories from full metal alchemist and star wars (I think) and incorporated to harry potter's magic system.

 

Full Metal Alchemist (Equivalent Exchange is just another name for whatever it is I learned in Chemistry where you can't create or destroy matter).

Though, Star Wars? I don't see how it's related to Star Wars at all. Could you elaborate?

 

If you plan to include "foolish wand-waving and silly incantations" you have to stick to magic being at least partially sentient, so that casting a spell by saying an incantation and the right wand movements trigger the magic to run in a well known "path" and receiving the desired results.
Creating new spells or using magic without these "triggers" would then be much more tedious and energy-consuming, because you have to force the magic into an entirely new path. If you include new wand movements and a new incantation others can use the spell after that and after a few dozen (or hundred) spells, you can cast it nearly as efficiently as every other spell.
So you could change the incantation of spells while keeping the same results. Avada Kedavra could become Incendio and the other way around with much, much effort.

You have to decide if magic can create mass/energy or just changes it from one form to another (basically forcing chemical reactions which are naturally impossible, but the sum of mass/energy remains the same.)

Personally I would prefer the first, because: It. Is. Magic.
Otherwise you have to check constantly if this or that spell is possible or not... (For example: You conjure a table... then you would probably explain that the magic gathers all air particles in the vicinity and changes their structure... bla bla... and you have your table. Conjuration would then be permanent, because you can't explain why it should only be temporarily.)

Maybe I'll write something about other topics later.

 

"Foolish wand waving and silly incantations"? It could all come down to subliminal expectations. If they tell you that that is how it's done, and it gets stuck in your subconscious, then, if you do something wrong, even if your conscious self doesn't recognize it, your subconscious self will 'sabotage' the spell and make it come out wrong. "Foolosh wand waving and silly incantations" are simply the medium developed to control magic, not necessarily the easiest means available. Children who grow up in magic environments see that this is the way it is done, so from a very young age they have this expectation. Likewise, those raised in muggle culture have been exposed to the 'stereotypical' wizard, with thinks like 'Abracadabra!' and BAM! you're a moose.

On the other hand, if it were simply based on a person's will, then skills regarding discipline would not be developed. Suddenly you have a bunch of children who, as soon as they discover their powers, will use them--think children of the corn.

It's probably for the best that no one believes that it's possible to only use your will. The necessity for a wand is questionable. To channel through a wand may be what is necessary to release controlled magic and to give it an outlet during key pubescent stages of growth. Before being introduced to wizarding educations, children tend to bits of 'accidental magic', which are tightly driven by a child's emotions. Then, suddenly, when given a wand and an avenue for release of pent-up magical energy, even emotionally distraught and chaotic teenagers rarely have any incidents of magic trigered by emotions. I cite Harry's response to Sirius' death--no hint of it anywhere there. It could be that asking hormonal teenagers to learn to control their powers without such a focus could have disasterous results.

EDIT: I felt a more in-depth response was necessary.

 

It works.

You're system makes sense. But that could be an issue. Right now, you're trying to break down magic into component particles in other dimensions. This kind of breaks the whole mystical aspect to magic, and instead makes it a cold science. This isn't essentially a bad thing.

But does the magic as a whole, meaning all the magic in the world or universe store these paths, or is it merely the magic in your body. For instance, after incendio was created, did it become easier for a wizard to cast because the world was using it, thus shaping the magic of the world, or does it become easier as the wizard himself casts it - the spell shaping the magic within him?

The latter option sounds like the sorcerer variant from the Complete Book of Eldritch Might: the sorcerer learns to use magic intrinsically, shaping the magic within him to facilitate the spells he or she developes. Unlike wizards, who can cast spells after hours of study and calculations, the sorcerer learns how to form magic within their bodies, then channel it out. This may sound confusing, but the book describes it far better than I can, and I don't feel like typing out a few paragraphs devoted solely to the sorcerer, just look it up.

Here's the real question: why can wizards use magic? Do they have something like mDNA: a magical set of DNA that is transposed with their own DNA. The mDNA describes how powerful a wizard is, and also what abilities they possess. So when a wizard wants to cast a spell, his magical subconscious causes the mDNA to phase in, allowing him to access his magic.

The mDNA could also describe how an animagus works: once they realize the form inscribed within their mDNA, they are able to make the animagus part of the mDNA phase in and provide the necessary data for the animal's body. Then the magic moves in and forces the body to quickly "regenerate": forcing the cells to reproduce according to the mDNA. The old human cells are then consumed as fuel, thus little magic is used in the process.

The idea of mDNA goes with your whole scientific approach to magic, which would be good to see since the only one I know of right now is "Prodigy", and that story is honestly starting to suck.

 

I have also some ‘theories’ about how some humans can wield Magic; there is the brain part, but also some genes, proteins and enzymes.

How did the first Wizards yielded Magic, before even creating Magical Wands or Staffs?

To explain this, I’ll have to explain how spell creation works and how a Wand works. As I explained earlier, I regard Wands not as just pieces of wood with some organic parts in it, but more like a remote control for the TV, or rather a computer’s mouse.

The movement and the trigger word selects 'which' program to run. Then you have to input some necessary informations in this program if you want to see the desired result. The program is located not in a hard drive but in the Magic itself. This is interesting as 'Spell Creation' becomes something more realistic. You have to write thousands of lines of code. Well, probably runes. Once finished, the Wizards need to compile the code (runes) and then 'upload' it to the sentient Magic.

So, here’s an example of a basic magical ‘program code’. This could be a C# (computer programming language; pronounced C sharp) translation of the Lumos spell 'magical code'. Everything after // means it’s a comment, not part of the code.

Code:

[COLOR="White"]using [B]Magic[/B];

class LumosApp 
{
    public static void Main(string[] args) 
    {
          t_word Incantation = “Lumos”;             [COLOR="PaleGreen"]// This is the incantation[/COLOR]
          t_movement  = 0;                          [COLOR="PaleGreen"]// No wand movement for this spell[/COLOR]
          magic.createlight  ( {0}{20}{10}, arg );  [COLOR="PaleGreen"]// RGB color for a greenish light[/COLOR]
    }
}[/COLOR]

The color would be a parameter (step during spell casting) --> ARGS

Of course, here I showed only the function magic.createlight, but there are a dozen others basic functions.

Wandless magic would be then limited to 'direct' manipulation (you execute directly the function, i.e. there magic.createlight).

It’s basically doing magic without running a already compiled program (You can only launch the 'program' with a Wand). Wandless magic would then be limited to basic Magic operations such as telekinesis, creating light or even create a little fire with more experience.

Telekinesis (can't find a better name) is the principal base of more complex forms magic. Telekinesis doesn't mean to just move objects. You can tear objects in two. You can 'dissolve' objects into the tiniest particles and reassemble them. That would be Trasfiguration; just a more complexe form of Telekinesis. In fact, it’s so complex (there’s billions of atoms to move) that it requires a program to process all these informations. Transfiguration would be impossible to be done Wandlessly due to the low brain capabilities of processing billions of billions of coordinates.

Wandless magic has to be much more trained than 'normal' magic to reach a higher level of control; so people tend to stick with the sticks. Dumbledore's only uses of Wandless magic is for little trivial things like summoning something to him or these kind of things. All I said about Wandless magic and Telekinesis is direct extrapolation from my first post. That's what I mean by helping me complete my theory. Putting some solid bases to Magic so we can explain (mostly) everything.

So, back to the question:

How did the first Wizards yielded Magic, before even creating Magical Wands or Staffs?

Wizards used Wandless magic. They trained all their life and managed to do fire, moves stuffs, etc. They couldn’t do much. It’s only the spell development and the arrival of the staves, wands or other devices capable of running the compiled spell code.

PS: Well, if there was someone who knows a little of coding (php, c, etc.) to explain a little more clearly what I meant...

 

I don't like the theory about wands/incantations being just a placebo and only necessary because people think they are important.
The magical world existed for thousands of years with thousands of wizards in every generation... I just can't believe that none of these ever thought of that before - and now suddenly Harry comes along and teaches it to his children (well, that's the usual cliché).

Wands are probably necessary at least for potent spells, because they make it easier to channel magic in one point and release it at once.

Programming spells? I think thats a bit stupid... why would the magic "understand" the runes anyway?
Spell creation has to be more like creating a new path for magic to follow:
- ever so slightly altering old spells more and more by over/underpowering them with magic or though sheer willpower
- emulating the abilities of magical plants or animals
- ... you get the idea

Why can a person use magic? Well, I can't really decide on an explanation; the best would be to just let it be... magic.

Edit: I don't like the programming thing... in my opinion magic has to obey the mind. You just have to force the "magical mind" to think along the same lines yours does - and that is much easier if these connections/paths are already made and uses regulary.
That also explains why most wizards do household magic silently or even wandless: These are the spells most often used and the magic just needs a tiny nudge anymore in the right direction to run along its well used path.

 

Yeah, the cliche doesn't work. This I understand. The wand may be important; however, the incantations and the waving may not be. They may be simple methods that a society that frowns on non-traditional means has engraved in their very existence. Cite: Dumbledore and Vodlemort dueling in Book 5.

Consider also the animagus transformation and aparation. Wandless magic. And yet, both incredibly complex--one a multi-faceted internal and external transfiguration on the very bases of sentient existence, and the other a complete relocation over long distances.

If magic is sentient, then perhaps it has simply 'gotten used' to being used in this means and now only responds in certain ways. However, I doubt it.

 

Remember, Magic is sentient to a certain extent. And why runes? Because bloody wizards couldn't evolve and use english words. They would ask Bill Gates to make them a .magicNET SDK. Well, I'm a little of a computer geek, so I have to compare everything to computers, though in that case I can't find a better way to make it more logical.

If I asked to write ten pages as how you would create a spell through those "paths" I doubt you could write much. Well, much that's realistic and logical.

I'm not saying your idea is bad; if what you think of magic is that magic isn't 'logical' and that's a more JKRowlingish approach of it, and that's good it's closer to canon. I only wish to create a more scientific approach where more things makes senses, and those who doesn't is because people haven't discovered the physics behind it.

 

EDIT: I don't try to make magic logical into every detail, because you just can't. You have to alter reality slightly at some point and I prefer it to be at a higher level of complexity than you do.

Well... using magic:
If we conclude that magic is partially sentient... maybe like a shared subconsciousness of all living beings - or like the remaining mind of god that can't think independently anymore, but still has some sense of order in it... I would propose the concept of a synchronization ratio with it: You have to reach a certain degree to be able to "communicate" with it, theres a hard limit that divides between wizards and muggles and a soft limit that dictates the ability of a witch/wizard to enforce their will on it.
So most people who have such a sync ratio are slightly mentally disarranged. (We have a reason why wizards are acting so strange! Seriously... nearly everyone has some issues in the wizarding world.)

These are all just ideas - decide for yourself which you like best.
(But you just can't really explain why incantations are so important. It has to be a rather unusual concept or it doesn't work )

 

I'm confused over where apparation fits in here. It is physical translocation that MUST require a large degree of magical energy and yet, almost anyone can do it. Over large distances. To places that people don't even have frames of reference as to where they are--you can apparate to somewhere you've been, even if you don't know where that is in relation to the world. So what dictates where exactly a wizard or witch goes?

 

While Apparating, you run a 'magical program'* that transform your Projection of the place you want to apparate into coordinates; then the program crates a kind of folding into space-time, dematerialize you (so you won't be killed by the strong gravitational tearing while going through the 'wormhole'), and you end up in the other side of the space-time folding.

 

Not to rain on your parade or anything, but if this is Magical Theory for JKR's World, then it is entirely fanon. JKR has said simply that one either "is magical, or not", there's no core, no programming (I can understand your attempt to rationalize magic, but even in that it's a full WTF concept to me), and magic is definately not quantitative. It does not follow any physical laws, nor any scientific one - in JKR's world they are exactly the opposite, with electrical devices not being able to function in the "presence" of magic.

 

If the 'presence' of magic disrupt electronic devices, it's because Magic is connected to physics. The Hogwards wards (shields) are probably the cause, as shields need a huge amount of power and it has to generate... maybe EM fields which disrupt anything electronic.

Maybe it's entirely fanon, but I never claimed to make a theory FOR J.K.Rowling's books, but for fanfictions.

J.K. Rowling made the books for little kids. And little kids don't wonder why the psychological development of Harry is quite normal and has no difficulties making friends, etc. Little kids don't wonder why Death Eaters follow Voldemort while the Dark Lord does nothing but torture them.

 

"Presence" is not a PHYSICAL presence, never has it been mentioned that Magic can be felt around Hogwarts, and if Magic is in fact connected to Physics, it would be as an opposite and disrupting force; seperate from the Laws of Physics. Nowhere in the books does it mention "Wards" or "Shields" of great power surrounding Hogwarts in such a Star Trekian fashion, we know there are protective spells and charms, including one to prevent Apparation and Disapparation. Even these spells are easily circumvented as seen in HBP.

I'm just trying to point out that there are opposing points of view, your theories are very rationalized and engineered, some (including myself) feel that this completely undermines the ideas and "Laws" of magic. I for one, would like to see how your theory explains ghosts, Poltergeists, and even Horcruxes, because all three have no basis in any rational Laws of Physics.

JKR may have written a children's novel, but it is just that, a NOVEL, not a book about magic, nor a guidebook for it. They aren't even good books when you do consider the psychological and emotional characterization presented, what they are though, is good entertainment.

 

I've made my views on this clear plenty of times (I'm with Avitus), so most of what I'll say will look familiar, as I'm copy and pasting a lot from other threads.

Anyway, here's what I think:


Magic is infinite, it has no volume, reserves, pools, cannot increase or run out. Differences in Power are due to differences in the quality/strength/intensity/concentration of the magic, not due to the amount of magic, as magic is unquantifiable and infinite.

The quality of someones magic can change, such as Neville's transformation form a near squib to an OK wizard, and Tonk's loss of her metamorph powers. These changes in magical quality seem to stem form emotional changes.

Long term magical exhaustion/fatigue is not a running out of magic, but when the quality/strength of someones magic falls due to an emotional even (e.g. depression) and becomes so weak that they cannot cast even the weakest spells, even though they are still imbued with this infinite magic.

Short term magical exhaustion is not in fact magical in nature but mental. You cannot run out of magic, so cannot become exhausted in this way, but magic takes mental focus - the more advanced the magic, the more focus needed. Using magic for a prolonged period of time will put a strain on the mind and the caster's concentration will begin to slip, which will effect their spell casting ability, the result being magical exhaustion.

Proof:

1.Neville never seems exhausted from using magic, but instead simply cannot cast spells that are above his quality of magic. Later in the books, his quality of magic rises due to a change in confidence, and he is able to master spells requiring a greater quality of magic.

2. Harry's patronus training sessions. Harry clealy does not "run out" of magic as he is able to get up and cast the spell again. But he is also feeling exhausted. This exhaustion is caused by the emotonal impact of the Dementors and temporarily weakens the quality of his magic, but when he is cheered up by Lupin, the quality of his magic is restored and he is able to cast the spell again.

3. No one in canon has ever run out of magic.

There is probably more proof, such as Tonk's loss of her metamorph ability, and neither Dumbledore or Voldemort being exhausted once their duel is over, but I won't go into detail on those.

But what is magic?

As I said, I do not accept the idea that magic is a substance or a type of matter or energy that people happen to posses in some type of storage facility (the "core").

Magic (generally speaking), in my mind, is a force of nature, like the strong force, or gravity, or the electromagnetic force, only that it is far superior to the laws of physics - able to overpower them, defy them, circumvent them. Not only this but the magical force can only be sensed and touched by particular species.

In this way the force of magic is not bound or limited by any of the laws of physics, but like any other force has rules of its own that it must follow (e.g. no raising the dead). So, conservation of energy does not apply to magic, nor does the idea that an equal and opposite force is required to repel another force.

As far as a wizard's magic is concerned, as opposed to magic in general, I take a wizards magic as the authority to tell this magical force what do do, and how to change the world.

The "quality of magic" I spoke of above would be translated as "level of authority". Some wizards have a greater authority over magic than others, though this can change. Just as an emotional breakdown would give you less charisma, or authority, in the real world, so it would with magic.

The reason why a wizard would need a wand is as a key. If a wizard tries to use his authority to order magic around without a wand, magic will not hear him. To get magic to hear the wizards authority, he must use a wand, which has a connection to magic via the core, and so his order is translated onto the plane in which the force of magic works through this core.

Wandless magic is achieved when a wizard either gains a great enough understanding of the way magic works and can artificially connect to magic, or theoretically if his authority was great enough, perhaps in times of great emotional distress or need.

Edit: As to whether magic is sentient or not, I would say that it is not. I certainly think that magic is intelligent, in that it can interpret a wizards intentions for a spell (for example, the Impervious Hermione used on Harry at that Quidditch game - it repelled water in the shape of rain, but did not repel all water). However, to say that magic is self-aware is going a bit too far in my view.

 

And then O'Neill comes along with his weapon and kills all the bad guys.

Stargate much? If you're going to use SG wormhole theory at least give it some credits.

I'm a big fan of mystical magic, magic that cannot be explained by Laws of Physics, that is not to use it's infinite, Magic is limited but not by the Law Of Physics which it breaks daily but by Laws of Magic like Taure said.

I'm not sure I completely agree with Taure's take on Magic, I'm more inclined to think that there would be such a thing as a 'magical core', but I agree with his take on magical exhaustion. Personally I think exhaustion comes from the person's ability to channel the magic, as such wandless magic is much more exhausting because you dont have a wand to focus your magic and you use more magic to get the same effect. A person's ability to channel magic can change, when you're young it's small and it grow's with age, also emotional state plays a role here also.

Wand movements help the caster focus on the spell(which started all the casting without movement cliche in fanfiction), but it also helps magic understand your intent, exactly what spell you want to cast.

Words are used as focus and as a trigger for the magic and as such when you gain enough understanding of magic you dont need to say it out loud to help you focus, but you still need to think it to trigger the spell.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, I think that besides the magical core that witches and wizards have there is also such a thing called 'ambient magic' which is everywhere and some spells use ambient magic to get the desired effect.

 

Magic would actually be pretty easy to understand if you view it the way Neo does in the Matrix: he sees protocols, he bends/breaks protocols according to his will, then he does what he does.
You could think of magic as bending/breaking the confines of reality, creating something out of nothing. The extent of a wizard's capability to do magic, however, is somehow related to his level of awareness to the flow of magic. The way Neo is aware of the protocols governing the Matrix, the more is he able to break them.
Though you might argue that this kind of reasoning might be skewed and would fall right into the cliche where magic is possible as long as you can imagine doing magic, it does not. Like the Matrix, there should be a control/limit to what wizards can do. There are a lot of free/liberated minds who can bend the rules but not all of them can bend/break the rules like Neo does. In the Matrix there is only one anomaly who has almost unlimited power. The same should go for the magic governing the wizarding world. There are only a few people with high enough levels of awareness to actually be considered powerful. Examples of these wizards are Voldemort and Dumbledore. The rest of the wizards can bend/break the rules of reality but only to an extent.
There goes my two cents.

 

A small illustration of why I dislike thinking of magic as quantitive, either as a type of matter or energy:

It was an early morning charms class, and Harry was feeling rather tired from a late night levelling up in Hogwarts’ dungeons. Professor Flitwick sat them all down at their desks and began to teach.

“Now class, I want you to pick up Level 1 Spell book and read page 93”

Harry did so.

Harry was very happy about learning his new spell, and could not wait to use it.

However, when he tried to cast it, nothing happened. Professor Flitwick noticed Harry looking confused.

“Now, Harry, we aren’t trying to use the spell already are we? You know that your Magic Point levels are too low at the moment to perform such a feet. Here, have a Magical Elixir +1 to restore your mana levels.

Professor Flitwick gave Harry the bright blue potion and Harry drank it, feeling his mana reserves refilling immediately. Feeling better, Harry tried again.

You cast the spell Sleep, costing you 20 M.P. and doing 400 damage to Professor Flitwick, also casting a status effect on him.

Harry smiled: he was now well on his way to becoming a Dark Lord, just like Merlin told him in his dream. He picked up his Staff of Ultimate Power (+5!), and his Trunk-Of-Never-Endingness, and went off to find Fawkes, from whom he would gain the Phoenix summon.

The End