History Main / RitualMagic

* In the ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' due to its nature this is usually ''heavily'' averted (and even more discouraged while writing articles), since they are usually very resourceful in using technology and scientific experimentation to contain all types of anomalies ranging from just plain weird to downright terrifying and godlike, even if sometimes the lines between science and paranormal are blurred, by the time an article is written the containment procedures are clear, easily understood and clearly still scientific in nature. However, this hasn't stopped the trope from happening sometimes:

* ''[[Series/Charmed1998 Charmed]]'' is more rooted in the TrainingTheGiftOfMagic trope, but still plays with this one with Witch Practitioners. While this aspect is more explored in the non-canonical novels, it's not contraddicted in the show itself (in fact, it's strongly hinted to be the case). Witch Practitioner have an affinity for magic, but possess no internal source of power and have to rely on the BackgroundMagicField. They can access it in a PlaceOfPower and have to use rituals to do so. Even magical Witches, with an inner source of magic, need complex rituals to perform certain feats, and the Charmed Ones themselves, when they are BroughtDownToNormal by travelling to the past, need to perform rituals at an altar on All Hallow's Eve to access magic.

** [[http://www.scpwiki.com/scp-2845 SCP-2848]], known as "The Deer", a being so powerful and dangerous that it was downright a PhysicalGod. Even after an alliance with the GOC where they were able to limit its activity to one place, they still had such difficulty with containment that they had to call external consultants, something they'd [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness never ever had to before]] as they usually operate independently even from goverments; said consultants helped them came up with a containment procedure with several steps (some of which are pretty {{Squick}} inducing), all of them without any apparent rhyme or reason and so complex that it's clearly meant to be a magical ritual; even if these words are never used in the article itself; when Foundation personnel were clearly dissatisfied with the amount of work and resources put into it,some thinking it was pretty ridiculous, the consultant had a lot to say, particularly about the "ridiculous" complain:

** However, this is averted in the case of outright [[{{Muggle}} muggles]]: you still have to possess th magic spark or affinity for rituals and spells to work. When Phoebe's muggle friends cast a correct incantation with the right symbols and at the right time, it does not work; it only does when they play a recording of Phoebe saying the incantation.

* ''Literature/SplitHeirs'': Hydrangean magic involves love complicated incantations and gestures, which by the time of the book has made it largely useless. Clootie however learns how to make effective spells along with Wulfrith for use against the Gorgarians.

One of the oldest conceptions of magic is Ritual Magic, a method of casting spells based on the performance of [[MagicalIncantation specific words]], [[MagicalGesture gestures, actions]] and [[EyeOfNewt offerings]] at [[MagicPrerequisite specific places and times]]. Magic isn't a question of [[TrainingTheGiftOfMagic talent]], [[EnlightenmentSuperpowers spiritual enlightenment]], or [[MagicAndPowers a power]] you're [[WitchSpecies born with]]. It's something that anyone can learn, even (perhaps dangerously) a {{Muggle}}. This puts Ritual Magic closer to technology than other forms of FunctionalMagic; it works because of knowledge that has been collected about the natural world and used in a certain way, and witches and wizards are essentially "engineers" of magic. This concept of magic is OlderThanDirt, going back to the earliest prehistoric forms of religion.

If the setting also has magicians who get their magic from innate powers, you can expect both natural magicians and ritualists to engage in [[SmugSuper smug]] FantasticRacism over their UnequalRites. Of course, if someone with innate magic [[TheRedMage were to learn ritual magic]], the results would be... ''[[YinYangBomb interesting]].'' In settings with multiple coexisting forms of FunctionalMagic, it could be considered a kind of "leveler" for the playing field, giving even the non-magical a chance to "wield" comparable forces to those born into a WitchSpecies. Even if their powers [[PVPBalanced aren't quite up to par]], it keeps everyone on their toes.

* ''Literature/TheBible'' occasionally has a section where God (or a prophet) instructs someone to do a specific action. Examples include Moses striking the rock for water,[[note]]wherein God became angry because he had told Moses to ''speak'' to the rock, not hit it,[[/note]] and Joash shooting arrows to strike the ground to ensure defeat of Syria. [[note]]2 Kings 13:14-19 - Elisha chastised the King for only shooting three times, where shooting 5 or 6 times would have resulted in defeating Syria.[[/note]] Probably the most famous example is how the walls of Jericho were knocked down by following God's instructions to march around the walls for seven days and then [[MakeMeWannaShout shout]].

* ''Literature/TheBible'' occasionally has a section where God (or a prophet) instructs someone to do a specific action. Examples include Moses striking the rock for water,[[note]]wherein God became angry because he had told Moses to ''speak'' to the rock, not hit it,[[/note]] and Joash shooting arrows to strike the ground to ensure defeat of Syria. [[note]]2 Kings 13:14-19 - Elisha chastised the King for only shooting three times, where shooting 5 or 6 times would have resulted in defeating Syria.[[/note]]

* In the ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' due to its nature this is usually ''heavily'' averted (and even more discouraged while writing articles), since they are usually very resourceful in using technology and scientific experimentation to contain all types of anomalies ranging from just plain weird to downright terrifying and godlike, even if sometimes the lines between science and paranormal are blurred, by the time an article is written the containment procedures are clear, easily understood and clearly still scientific in nature. But there is a notable example in [[http://www.scpwiki.com/scp-2845 SCP-2848]] known as "The Deer", a being so powerful and dangerous that it was downright a PhysicalGod. Even after an alliance with the GOC where they were able to limit its activity to one place, they still had such difficulty with containment that they had to call external consultants, something they'd [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness never ever had to before]] as they usually operate independently even from goverments; said consultants helped them came up with a containment procedure with several steps (some of which are pretty {{Squick}} inducing), all of them without any apparent rhyme or reason and so complex that it's clearly meant to be a magical ritual; even if these words are never used in the article itself; when Foundation personnel were clearly dissatisfied with the amount of work and resources put into it,some thinking it was pretty ridiculous, the consultant had a lot to say, particularly about the "ridiculous" complain:

** 3.5 Edition at least has Sorcerers, who are gifted with {{Puberty Superpower}}s, allegedly due to having highly diluted [[InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons draconic blood]], and Wizards, who memorize their spells from books. It should be noted, however, that Sorcerers and Wizards have access to the same spells, even those named for a specific person (and, you would expect, were discovered by that person at some point after the dawn of magic), and that Sorcerers learn new spells as they advance in power.

See TrainingTheGiftOfMagic for situations where characters with innate magic still need some kind of special education, and maybe have to use some minor rituals to focus it. In such settings, complex rituals may be one way that people lacking the gift of innate magic can still gain some degree of magical power.

[[folder:Comics Books]]

* In the ''Website/SCPFoundation'' due to its nature this is usually ''heavily'' averted (and even more discouraged while writing articles), since they are usually very resourceful in using technology and scientific experimentation to contain all types of anomalies ranging from just plain weird to downright terrifying and godlike, even if sometimes the lines between science and paranormal are blurred, by the time an article is written the containment procedures are clear, easily understood and clearly still scientific in nature. But there is a notable example in [[http://www.scpwiki.com/scp-2845 SCP-2848]] known as "The Deer", a being so powerful and dangerous that it was downright a PhysicalGod. Even after an alliance with the GOC where they were able to limit its activity to one place, they still had such difficulty with containment that they had to call external consultants, something they'd [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness never ever had to before]] as they usually operate independently even from goverments; said consultants helped them came up with a containment procedure with several steps (some of which are pretty {{Squick}} inducing), all of them without any apparent rhyme or reason and so complex that it's clearly meant to be a magical ritual; even if these words are never used in the article itself; when Foundation personnel were clearly dissatisfied with the amount of work and resources put into it,some thinking it was pretty ridiculous, the consultant had a lot to say, particularly about the "ridiculous" complain:

* In the ''Website/SCPFoundation'' due to its nature this is usually ''heavily'' averted (and even more discouraged while writing articles), since they are usually very resourceful in using technology and scientific experimentation to contain all types of anomalies ranging from just plain weird to downright terrifying and godlike, even if sometimes the lines between science and paranormal are blurred, by the time an article is written the containment procedures are clear, easily understood and clearly still scientific in nature. But there is a notable example in [[http://www.scpwiki.com/scp-2845 SCP-2848]] known as "The Deer", a being so powerful and dangerous that it was downright a PhysicalGod. Even after an alliance with the GOC where they were able to limit its activity to one place, they still had such difficulty with containment that they had to call external consultants, something they'd [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness never ever had to before]] as they usually operate independently even from goverments; said consultants helped them came up with a containment procedure with several steps, all of them without any apparent rhyme or reason and so complex (some of which are pretty {{Squick}} inducing) that it's clearly meant to be a magical ritual; even if these words are never used in the article itself; when Foundation personnel were clearly dissatisfied with the amount of work and resources put into it,some thinking it was pretty ridiculous, the consultant had a lot to say, particularly about the "ridiculous" complain:

* In the ''Website/SCPFoundation'' due to its nature this is usually ''heavily'' averted (and even more discouraged while writing articles), since they are usually very resourceful in using technology and scientific experimentation to contain all types of anomalies ranging from just plain weird to downright terrifying and godlike, even if sometimes the lines between science and paranormal are blurred, by the time an article is written the containment procedures are clear, easily understood and clearly still scientific in nature.

But there is a notable example in [[http://www.scpwiki.com/scp-2845 SCP-2848]] known as "The Deer", a being so powerful and dangerous that is was downright a PhysicalGod, that even after an alliance with the GOC they were able to limit its activity to one place, they still had to call external consultants to containt the entity, something they '''never''' had to before, who helped them came up with a containment procedures with several steps and so complex that is clearly meant to be a ritual, even if the actual word is never used, when Foundation personnel were clearly dissatisfied with the amount of work and resources put into it, thinking it was pretty ridiculous, the consultant had a lot to say, particularly about the "ridiculous" complain:
--> Rituals do not work because of some underlying laws, such as those that science operates on. Rituals work because they are rituals. They work because an arbitrary set of criteria has been met with exacting care. Belief that meeting these arbitrary criteria achieves a certain end assigns power to the ritual. The actions that were once meaningless now have been assigned Meaning through their repetition and application.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'': Prior to ComicBook/DCRebirth Barbara Ann Minerva had to undergo a dark ritual involving human sacrifice each time she wanted to become the ComicBook/{{Cheetah}} until Circe made the transformation permanent.

* In ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'' Jardis says of Uncle Andrew "You are a little, peddling magician who works by rules and books" as opposed to someone like herself who has magic in her blood.

* Wizard magic on the Literature/{{Discworld}} is ritual magic. In theory, anyone can do it, but this is not widely known, partly because wizards keep it quiet, and partly because people who attempt it without a true magic user's ability to see what they're doing tend to end up dead. The dragon-summoning spell in ''Literature/GuardsGuards'' is a good example.

* In ''Literature/AWizardOfEarthsea'' it appears to be mixed, with some people having natural ability, but still having to study and learn many names of things in true speak in order to be able to control them.[[/folder]]

** ''D&D'''s 4th edition distinguishes between class-specific powers, which for the more magical classes are defined as spells and can be used quickly and particularly in combat, and rituals that anyone with the right feat and appropriate skill(s) can use as long as they can pay for the components and have the time. Wizards and clerics get the requisite feat for free right from the start, allowing them full access to both their particular flavors of 'instant' ''and'' to ritual magic... but nothing inherently prevents, say, an otherwise nonmagical fighter from choosing the same feat and then making use of a few handy rituals him- or herself.