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alt title(s): Inherent Gift; Magic
Garden flowering in winter? That's magic, all right.
"You can't ask questions, it's magic. It doesn't explain anything, it's magic. You don't know where it comes from, it's magic! That's what I don't like about magic, it does everything by magic!"
Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science!
Any magical system that allows standardized spells that do the same thing every time you cast them. This style of phlebotinum is sometimes subject to its own flavor of technobabble.
Some (but not all) possible flavors of Functional Magic:
- Inherent Gift: along the lines of Piers Anthony's Xanth books, in which characters are born with abilities that are quite specifically defined, in addition to their superhuman ability to survive puns. This also can happen in Magic Realism.
- Theurgy: where the magic is done entirely by spirits and gods with whom the caster makes deals; the "caster" in this case knows nothing more than a glorified phone number. Wiccan magic — both as practiced in the "real" world and as depicted in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and, to a lesser extent, Charmed — is mostly Theurgy. When Magic itself is a kind of entity with which casters make bargains and cut deals, this becomes a variety of Wild Magic (below).
- Rule Magic: where some underlaying magical rule system is applied, as in manipulation by "True Name" or sympathetic symbolism. Most "study spells and say words of power" magic seen in fantasy literature, films and TV shows are Rule Magic. Real world examples would be Hermeticism, Kabbalah
 , and Onmyodo. Vancian Magic is a completely fictional example. A strong contender for both categories is the Law of Contagion — ie, if you have a piece of the target, you can affect it from afar (since it's still part of a "whole", even if it's miles or kilometers distant). This is, however, usually just one rule in a larger system.
- Alchemy: Magical chemistry. Effectively a variety of Rule Magic, but it is limited to creating magical substances rather than the direct application of power/energy by force of will.
- Magic Music: Another form of rule magic where music is the key to activating it. Used in settings where bards have magical abilities. As one might guess, it is rarely used to be outright offensive and tends to focus more on healing friends and befuddling or beguiling enemies.
- Force Magic: Practitioners of magic tap into and control or weave together one or more magical forces. Often invokes a Background Magic Field. Magic which waxes and wanes according to how close the manipulator is to a "Ley Line" falls into this category. See also The Force, Minovsky Particle, Mana, Magic A Is Magic A.
- Device Magic: Magic performed with some form of mystical device or relic. This is the magic packaged for use by non-casters, as are alchemical potions. Making new devices is sometimes a trade in magic-heavy worlds. Some settings reveal pre-existing artifacts to be Imported Alien Phlebotinum or Lost Technology. See also Magic Wand, Magitek, Green Rocks, Green Lantern Ring, Magic From Technology.
- Wild Magic: No one has any control over what happens and when, although sometimes it can be influenced. The magic is basically alive. It has its own will and its own agenda and will only help you if it feels like it. Finagles Law often applies. Usually Magic Realism permits only this and Inherent Gift.
While some magical systems allow it to do practically anything, restricted only by the user's power and imagination, in other systems the magic user is restricted to variations on a theme. Classic styles are:
- Divination: Seeing the future or the immediately relevant. These are the people who produce the prophecies, though they may also be able to see things far away.
- Elemental Magic: The magic users typically work with only one element, which reflects their personality. They might be able to create a volcano with a snap of their fingers but not to levitate a single pebble, or vice versa.
- Necromancy: Power over the dead and The Undead. Mediums, who can only talk to the dead, get classed with diviners, but those who raise the dead are almost always villains. Still, even then, this is not always Black Magic.
- Transmutation: Transforming something into something else. Likely to involve Equivalent Exchange, as noted below (you can't turn nothing into something). Most forms of alchemy involve transmutation, as seen in the classical 'turning lead into gold' trick. At its most extreme, this form of magic may also involve Shape Shifting (either of the caster or of someone else), when it's not an innate ability of the caster's race.
- Mentalism: Power over the minds and emotions of others. Quite often involves Mind Control and abilities that mimic Psychic Powers in a magical context.
- Nature magic: Power over all things living. Quite often includes turning themselves into animals or a Green Thumb.
- Summon Magic: Summoning spirits, or at least animals, to provide assistance. May overlap with nature magic, but not always.
- White Magic: "Holiness." Blessing, healing, protecting... all of the most benevolent of effects. Half of the time includes ways to inflict major pain on deserving targets because Revive Kills Zombie... or at least supposedly deserving targets. Often the power used by a Staff Chick, Paladin or High Priest(ess) of a benevolent god.
- Black Magic: "Unholiness." Cursing, killing, tormenting... all of the nastiest sorts of stuff. Often includes Necromancy as a matter of course.
- Equivalent Exchange: Not usually a type of magic, unless the series has "Wish Magic" of a sort. This is when a spell or magical effect requires a sacrifice of equal value to work. This is often a feature of theurgic or wild magic systems, where the books must be balanced for every magical effect performed.
These styles of magic crosscut the list of ways of doing magic above. While divining is often an inherent gift, there are also examples of pure diviners, unable to do any other style of magic, who see the future through theurgy, rule magic, device magic, or wild magic (or a combination). Whatevermancy is a common naming convention for fantasy magical styles. See Magic A Is Magic A. With all this wonderful diversity, you can expect some snobbish magicians to consider there are Un Equal Rites.
Examples
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- Alchemy, naturally, is the Functional Magic of Full Metal Alchemist. Exceptionally talented alchemists are close to, but not quite, Rule Magic users, the only hard-and-fast rule being Equivalent Exchange.
- Still, "Equivalent Exchange" is only used partially, as alchemists seem to need to worry about balance only when matter is involved, but there's a considerable amount of energy that seems to come from nowhere (even if one were to use matter as the energy source, you'd still need a lot of energy to make fission alone, and a lot more energy just to convert the resulting energy into the into the adequate form of energy).
- In the 1st anime the needed energy comes from human souls, those of people who die in an alternate timeline.
- In the manga the energy can either come from "geothermal energy" or human souls in the form of philosopher stones.
- Kido (Demon arts) in Bleach are a form of Rule Magic; anyone can use them if they have spirit power (though some of the incantations sound like Theurgy). All the incantations do is focus it, though you need to be skilled to do a spell without the incantation, and the more powerful the spell the more skill you need. Other races like Hollows use parallel systems that have similar effects of use their special abilities to focus their energy in unique ways.
- The Slayers uses all of the above listed types at some point. Most humans are restricted to Theurgy and Rule Magic with a bit of Alchemy thrown in for good measure. The Mazoku and Dragons use a combination of Inherent Gifts and Rule Magic. A lot of the Theurgy in this setting calls upon the really powerful Mazoku. Wild Magic shows up when Lina finds out that Giga Slave has the capability of actually summoning the Lord of Nightmares, Chaos herself, into the world, and if the casting is performed incorrectly, allows Chaos free rein to do anything she likes.
- Fortunately for us, Chaos is just as likely to remake existence as it is to leave it alone. Y'know, what with it being Chaos and all.
- In keeping with its origins in Dungeons And Dragons, various forms of Functional Magic appear in Record Of Lodoss War. Sorcerers use Rule Magic, priests use Theurgy, and elves use both Theurgy and Inherent Gifts. Device Magic in the form of magic swords, wands, and artifacts abounds.
- Scrapped Princess appears to use a form of theurgy, except the gods that are invoked are unthinking machines that follow commands without judgment.
- It is later revealed that it's all Magic From Technology, left in place after humans were stripped of their gadgets when they were dumped on Dustvin thousands of years prior to the events in the series. Those with magical ability have simply learned how to (possibly telepathically) communicate with the systems. One of the main characters even describes magic in terms reminiscent of computer programming, making it fit squarely under Rule Magic.
- Getter Robo's "Getter Rays" are initially thought to be a new and versatile form of radiation, but this is only partially true. Later on in the continuity, they are revealed to be alive, intelligent, inscrutable, and by most definitions supernatural. Therefore using them could be considered a kind of theurgy or wild magic, the rays will only let you do stuff that it agrees with. As this show is a classic Super Robot series, this gives a justification for The Power Of Friendship and raw idealism being used to win battles. In later iterations of the series, the rays shift from rewarding friendship and hope to responding to (and sometimes creating) sheer berserk rage.
- Naruto is a mix of Theurgy, Rule Magic, and Inherent Gift. While most of the techniques fall under Rule Magic (as they have to be studied, learned, and stated to perform them), the Inherent Gifts (the various Bloodline Limits such as Byakugan and Sharingan) play a part too. The Theurgy comes into play in that the Summoning technique requires the summoner to sign a contract with the creature they're summoning.
- There are also the recently introduced sage arts, which combine Force Magic with Rule Magic.
- Beyblade is an odd combo of Theurgy, Device Magic, and Wild Magic. OK, it's mainly Device Magic, as most of their power comes from odd creatures inhabiting their...magic tops. But they have some sort of deal with these creatures (Theurgy). Also, if you're not battling with your whole heart, or if you tick off your creature, it can up and leave you (Wild Magic).
- Similarly, when real magic is used in Yu-Gi-Oh and Yu-Gi-Oh GX, it's a mixure of Theurgy, Device Magic, and Wild Magic. The Millennium Items of the first show and Shadow Charms of the second show are perfect examples of Device Magic (with a bit of Theurgy thrown in, in the form of ritual sacrifices and pact with whatever spirit is trapped in them), while the Duel Monsters themselves are the embodiment of Wild Magic (with the same Theurgy requirement to use their powers for real as the Items/Charms).
- Nen powers in Hunter X Hunter seem to be a mix of Inherent Gifts and Rule Magic: there are specific ways of using Nen, but each Nen user tends to specialize in and develop a specific ability based on one of the six forms of hatsu (specialized Nen usage): enhancement, emission, manipulation, conjuration, transmutation, and specialization. Furthermore, one can impose limits on their own powers in order to enhance them.
- While Belldandy of Oh My Goddess does have her own supernatural abilities, most of her magic is Theurgy bordering on animism — she casts spells by speaking to the spirits inhabiting objects. She actually describes herself as being like a telephone line at one point, and was originally summoned though a mis-dialed (or deifically redirected) telephone call.
- Mahou Sensei Negima uses nearly every single magic style listed here, most likely because Ken Akamatsu is such an RPG fan. The largest magical source is Force Magic, as was once explained as magic being an ingrained part of all things, and that mages learn to harness this in creating or chanting spells, tying in with Rule Magic — mages usually use spells by chanting a magic release key and an often string of words, in Latin or some other ancient tongue. They sometimes use a catalyst for their spells. The abilities of the user can grow depending on the proximity to certain Places Of Power. They also used this with the Inherent Gift variety in that magic is also ingrained in the people who use it, meaning that at least half of all magic spells are based on the spell-caster's abilities. Theurgy is also used, in that the more sentient effects of magic (such as spells remaining active while the mage takes his mind off of it, or projectile spells continuing to fly after use) are explained as the work of ancient spirits watching over or advising the actions of living mages (making the series premise seem like less of a Contrived Coincidence). Finally, a mage's power can also be strengthened by holding or using certain powerful Devices, or some powerful spells can be represented by certain objects, such as the Pactio cards. Surpisingly, Akamatsu hasn't used elemental-style magic as strongly as most other magic series.
- On that note: while various characters are specialized in the use of a particular "element" in their magic, given the inclusion of a gravity-user, it's safe to say that no particular classical system is being followed.
- Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha uses Inherent Rule Magic with Devices. A person has to be born with the ability to use magic, but to be an effective mage, one needs to study up on the mathematical formulas that makes up the various spells (Nanoha and Fate, two of the strongest mages in the series, are both math geniuses as well). And of course, there are the various Intelligent, Armed, and Storage Devices in the series that helps a mage process said spells.
- Considering that there have been at least two apocalypses already, and given the way it works, it's not just possible but downright probable that it's all a case of Magic From Technology, even the parts that appear to work without technology. Genetic engineering, you know.
- Although that could be possible through a misunderstanding or Lost Technology, but it is highly unlikely. The characters in Nanoha explicitly state it is the opposite, technology was abandonded because magic is more powerful and more stable, resulting in that universe's MagiTek ships and the like. Plus, why would the sand monsters in A's have been genetically engineered to have Linker Cores?
- The Grid isn't the only place-as-device in device magic. The Speed Force (a Force Magic) powers all DC Comics speedsters, regardless of their individual origins (which are deemed, in current continuity, to have given them not speed itself, but access to the Speed Force.)
- A device that is both place and item is the Marvel Universe's M'Kraan crystal, though failed attempts to harness it can have extremely disastrous results for all of reality (perhaps making it a form of Rule Magic, which can become unpredictable when the 'rules' aren't followed.)
- Most comic book universes are a Fantasy Kitchen Sink with all kinds of magic, but a mix of Force Magic and incantation-based Theurgy ("By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!") are common for comic book magic users. Device Magic, in the form of an Artifact Of Doom Mac Guffin, are frequent plot devices.
- The Force in the Star Wars universe is, of course, an example of Force Magic.
- Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn uses entirely wild magic. Magic only seems to work correctly when it advances the plot. Schmendrick even frequently gets important things to happen by repeating "Magic, do as you will."
- Although it's worth noting that having the power but no real control over it is precisely Schmendrick's personal bugbear, to the point where his former mentor gave him a form of immortality just so he might live long enough to finally get a grip on his magic. The actual form of magic he tries to use seems to be primarily Rule Magic, while magical creatures like the titular unicorn have their Inherent Gifts.
- Averted in Terry Brooks' Shannara series — the books go out of their way to describe how magic resists being nailed down like this, and the magic of the series is constantly evolving.
- Steven Brust's Dragaera series has four different kinds of Force Magic:
- Sorcery, where the force comes from raw chaos filtered through the Imperial Orb.
- Pre-empire sorcery, where the force comes directly from raw chaos.
- Witchcraft, where the force is the caster's own psychic energy manipulated by rituals.
- Psychics, where the force is the caster's own psychic energy manipulated directly by the mind.
- The Dresden Files magic includes most types:
- Inherent Gift: You need to be born with magic to use magic. (Though the talent can fade.)
- Slightly but not entirely inverted in Backup. Thomas is Harry's brother, after all (though he does mention in the story that anybody can learn some magic).
- Theurgy: Various demons, faeries, and other things have been summoned. This is generally a bad idea because they are rarely happy about it. There are also rites, described as a magical vending machine. Mess up a rite and the sponsor being gets upset.
- Rule Magic/Force Magic: Most spells are a weird combination of all three. Magic is described as more of a power source that wizards tap into, magic words are just to help them control it. Use words that are too familiar to you, use magic without proper concentration, or just plain screw up and it can go bonkers. Meaning it does everything from not working, to random explosions, to giving you a seizure.
- Alchemy: All potions are made with 7 ingredients (one for each sense, one for the mind, and one for the soul) plus a liquid base. What the ingredients are varies between potions and wizards, and are mostly symbolic.
- Device Magic: Wizards can enchant items, using one of two methods. Either cheap, short term enchantments that need recharging or more expensive permanent enchantments. Apparently misuse or improper enchanting can lead to anyone using the object getting seriously surprised.
- Divination: Future sight does happen, but it's generally too vague to help before it's immediately useful.
- Elemental Magic: Most wizards specialize in a certain area of magic. Harry prefers fire and force spells for example.
- Harry actually uses wind magic almost as often as fire magic, since as he explained in the first book, "Any amateur sorcerer can do fire!" Also probably because he's accidentally burned down a couple buildings every time he's used fire magic.
- Necromancy: Generally frowned upon, but not inherently evil. Using human corpses is illegal in the magical community, but they are still preferred. There are also Ectomancers, people capable of speaking to ghosts.
- White Magic: What all "normal" magic is called. Also means legal magic.
- Black Magic: Pure evil power from an unspecified source. Used mostly by Vampires.
- Equivalent Exchange: Basis of a spell's power. A wizard can either use their own energy, stored energy in an enchanted object, or the ambient energy around them (Harry once froze water by sucking the energy from it).
- Trudi Canavan's Age of Five trilogy uses force magic powered by a Background Magic Field, which can be temporarily depleted. Whether one can wield this magic, and to what degree, appears to be a totally random inherent gift. There's also an odd kind of wild magic, in that the gods are effectively beings of magic.
- Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series is set in an alternate America full of Functional Magic, where whites have Inherent Gifts, Africans have Device Magic and Native Americans have Force Magic.
- A subtle form of device magic appears in Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus. Sophie's foster mother Lizzie is a witch who can control the flow of time with the help of an antique clock. The clock is eventually destroyed in a train accident, and time slips out of her control.
- Jack L. Chalker's Dancing Gods series combines Theurgy with ludicrously elaborate Rule Magic and takes them to their humorous extreme, resulting in a universe entirely governed by fantasy tropes.
- Rick Cook's Wiz Biz series of novels have the magical races (elves, dragons) possess Inherent Magic, while the humans use Rule Magic with a dash of Theurgy. Wiz further codifies the Rule Magic: where previously a human must study for years the exact words and actions to perform a spell, Wiz uses the inherent rules behind the Rule Magic to create a programming compiler for such.
- The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson uses a combination of Rule Magic, Force Magic, Device Magic, and Alchemy. At least, until the titular Thomas Covenant comes along, with his white magic ring — by which he can liberate the Wild Magic. Now, if only he could control it and use it...
- In Diane Duane's Young Wizards series, magic is a combination of Rule Magic and plain old cajoling. Essentially magic is a way to talk to things (whether alive or not) and convince them to change the way they are or the way they act, using a special Speech. However, actual spells require intensely specific magic circles and incantations to work properly, to the point where magic and magical research begins to highly resemble writing computer programs.
- The wizards in question are quite literally the tech support staff of the universe, which is a deliberately created artifact, so this is to be expected. Still, as one character puts it, "The powers knew how it worked when it was fresh from the factory. We know how to handle all the little quirks it's developed since." A sufficiently complex system will develop quirks that seem like wild magic to the uninitiated. This is true today, it would be a thousand times truer for a full universe.
- David Eddings' The Belgariad uses several different types. The primary one is sorcery, which tends to defy description (Inherent Gift comes close, though), since the practitioner can basically do nearly anything (subject to personal power). Other examples include Theurgy (witchcraft and magic, which involve summoning and cajoling/controlling nature spirits and demons, respectively) and apparently Rule Magic (wizardry).
- Teresa Edgerton's Celydonn contains different types. Even people who are considered learning disabled in-story (see The Castle of the Silver Wheel) are expected to know the difference between witchcraft and wizardry, so it is never explained by any Mr Exposition.
- Witchcraft is explicitly stated to be the result of an inherent gift for harnessing Wild Magic, which also appears to be Force Magic. In all three volumes of the Celydonn trilogy, it is stated (in varying degrees of detail) that both men and women can possess a talent for witchcraft. In women, the inherent gift usually manifests in early childhood, and in places like Mochdreff, where witchcraft is accepted, it is then subjected to training. In men, the inherent gift is usually latent unless some shock sets it off, when it manifests full-blown (and is often associated with mental instability).
- The science of wizardry is Rule Magic. From the conversation between Lord Cado and Gwenlliant in The Castle of the Silver Wheel, it appears that anyone can study it without necessarily possessing an inherent gift.
- Note that one may be both a witch (or warlock) and a wizard. All Adepts are both.
- Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Cycle uses almost every variety of magic above, but most of it qualifies as Rule Magic. Even then, there's an Inherent Gift needed, which leads down either the so-called Lesser Path (Device Magic and Alchemy) or Greater Path (Force Magic). It's extremely rare for any magician to be capable, let alone skilled, in both. Beyond that, magicians usually have a talent for one application in particular, such as Pug's mastery of rifts and Miranda being able to effortlessly teleport anywhere she's ever been. Priests also perform a combination of Rule and Theurgy magic, but it hasn't been explored yet whether any talent is needed, or if it's entirely the blessing of the gods. Then there are characters like Nakor and his seemingly random assortment of "tricks," and William's unheard-of natural ability to communicate with animals that fall outside the system altogether.
- The Spellsinger series by Alan Dean Foster has the titular superpowered bards as the most powerful magic-workers. It's a combination of Inherent Gift, Magic Music and rule magic (training to know what you're doing). There's also an element of Wild Magic — any good song played by a Spellsinger will have an effect, but without years of training, the caster doesn't know what that effect will be, although it's implied that the genre and subject of the song always have something to do with it.
- There are other magic-users in that series too. Wizards like Clothahump use Rule Magic: Transmutation and Alchemy primarily, with a little Summoning, healing effects, and Divination thrown in. Rune-casters use Divination to locate things or determine the best course of action; Colin could also predict the future, but is possibly unique in that ability. Finally, extreme mental states such as insanity or dying can let magic-users achieve feats far beyond their usual limits.
- Most spellsingers aren't nearly as powerful as Jon-Tom. Certainly, wizards aren't usually all that impressed when they first hear he is one.
- Esther Friesner's Majyk By Accident series differentiates Magic (stage illusion) from Majyk (a pseudo-living force that puts the spunk into spells, the kick into cantrips, etc). Magique is a third tool but it's just Majyk from concentrate with lots of preservatives and has a tendency to make with the boomcrashtinkletinkle. The series also differentiates the Majyk used by humans (or cats) as opposed to the Majyk ingrained in species like fairies, Welfies (this 'verse's version of elves), or gods.
- Magic in Terry Goodkind's Sword Of Truth can be used to do anything and thus falls into the category of Force Magic... at least in theory. In reality, most of the magic users stick to established uses for their abilities (light webs, wizard's fire, etc). Everybody except Richard uses Additive Magic although Subtractive Magic is not unheard of. Device Magic is also fairly common.
- In Barbara Hambly's Darwath books, and her Ferryth books, mages possess an inherent gift, which must then be developed with training in Rule Magic.
- Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time books use Force Magic interlaced with Rule Magic, where channelers tap into and draw power from the "True Source" that drives the titular wheel. Channelers are limited in capability to their own personal strength and sex (men and women use different halves of the Source). The series also contains Device Magic ("ter'angreal," which can occasionally be used by non-channelers) and Theurgy (the True Power, which involves drawing power from the Dark One).
- Mercedes Lackey uses a variety of magic systems in different series. Although most of her magic characters in any of her series have an inherent gift for magic, there are notable exceptions, e.g. Madame Arachne and her son Reginald of the Elemental Masters book The Gates of Sleep and the villain in the Diana Tregarde book Jinx High.
- The Velgarth series (which includes the Heralds Of Valdemar series), shows instances of Inherent (in the 'mind-magic' Gifts of the Heralds, and the Mage Gift of her mages), Theurgy (both with the Shin'a'in Shamans and the Karsite Priests, as well as her northern 'barbarian' tribes), Rule Magic (traces show up in most of the magic sytems shown), Music Magic (in the Valdemar Bards, as well as the use of drums and flutes by the Hawkbrothers), Force Magic (the 'high' or 'true' magic used by the mages), and White and Black Magic (the Vkandis Priests and any of the magical Big Bads respectively, especially the Blood-path mages.) The idea of treating magic as a scientific endeavor, with predictable rules and outcomes, caused serious distress on the part of one of the mages...especially when it turned out to work.
- In her Elemental Masters series, we see Elemental Magic, combined with aspects of Nature Magic (particularly for Earth mages), Force Magic, and Theurgy.
- In her 500 Kingdoms series, Champions tend to make use of Device Magic, Witches and Hedgewizards are mostly Nature/White magic, while Wizards and Sorcerers (and their female counterparts) are more Rule/Theurgy magic. In the Five Hundred Kingdoms series, humans get magic when their lives start to resemble stories.
- Magic in George R.R. Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire seems largely to be powered by theurgy (the two most flashily powerful sorcerers both seem to get their powers from the Lord of Light, and the warg abilities and green dreams of the North seem to be related to the weirwoods, known as the Old Gods) and force magic (magic went out of the world when dragons did. Now that dragons are back, magic is coming back in force.) Equivalent exchange is also made explicit, in the repeated line that "Only death may pay for life", and in the power of king's blood.
- In Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series, there are a few types of magic. "Charter Magic" is strict Rule Magic. "Necromancy", with the bells, is Device Magic paired with Inherent Gift. "Free Magic" is less-strict Rule Magic, with an element of Wild Magic.
- The "warrens" and "wards" in the Malazan Book Of The Fallen are examples of Force Magic.
- As stated above, Force Magic, when explained in detail, can sometimes shade into Science Fiction. If, for instance, a space traveler from a high-tech culture lands on a planet with "magic" that turns out to have a scientific justification (or more commonly a Hollywood Science justification), then it's usually revealed to be either Magic From Technology or Psychic Powers. The Warlock In Spite Of Himself and The Cyborg and the Sorcerers both use this premise.
- All of the above styles have been shown in the Whateley Universe. Different wizards and mages and magical practitioners use different styles. The main character Fey has innate magical gifts, as well as the ability to tap into Ley Lines, plus she's in training to learn lots more (she's a high schooler). This is due to her being the magic of an ancient Sidhe Queen who has 'combined' with her. As a result, she now looks like said Sidhe too.
- The witches and wizards of Terry Pratchett's Discworld typically avoid using magic, since it's ultimately all wild magic, so there's no guarantee exactly what will happen when you use it. When they do use it there tends to be a certain amount of rule magic to it, and the rules are often made more complicated by the wizards themselves, who invented most of them so that laypeople wouldn't get the idea that magic was easy and start trying it themselves — that, and all the spectacle and paraphernalia of magic really impresses the non-wizards.
- JK Rowling's Harry Potter books use Inherent Rule Magic plus Alchemy, plus a number of magic devices, though it has been hinted that this sort of magic is just the beginning. The Unforgivable Curses would be Black Magic achieved through Rule Magic, Force Magic, or some combination thereof. There are also traces of Wild Magic in instances such as the Ford Anglia spontaneously gaining sentience.
- Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series brings us Allomancy. Here, there are a collection of effects, but one must possess two things to perform them: a genetic knack and a corresponding metal sitting in your stomach. Typically, an Allomancer can produce only one effect by burning only one metal. Mistborn, on the other hand, can burn all the common metals, producing all the effects, with more besides, including the Combat Clairvoyance power provided by burning the metal atium.
- The book also features Feruchemy, as system wherein someone can store up their own traits and abilities in "metalminds" and draw on them later as needed, and Hemalurgy, which allows abilities to be stolen from one person and added to another. Precise applications of this art can even be used to create entirely new species.
- Sanderson likes playing around with inventive magic systems in all his work — in his debut novel Elantris, all magic is Force Magic powered by an energy called the Dor. There are several ways to access this energy, though — the Elantrians draw complex runic structures in the air, the art of ChayShan can provide temporary bursts of strength and speed, and the Monks of Dakhor use a combination of runes and blood sacrifice.
- In Warbreaker the main form of magic is called Bio Chroma — it draws on an energy called Breath (which all people possess and can be given away at little cost) and colors in the environment to bring inanimate objects to life. Generally speaking they can be given only one specific command to follow, but sentient objects with permanent powers can be created with great difficulty, and animated corpses called Lifeless have intelligence similar to a robot or computer and can be "programmed" with more complex commands.
- The "Klatha" of James Schmitz's Witches of Karres would qualify as "Force Magic" though the Witches themselves have made up strict rules regarding its use.
- In The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud, magic is based entirely on Theurgy, although the practice of summoning and bargaining with djinn and other entities is governed by numerous Rule Magic-style elements (incantations, pentagrams, runes, etc.). Magical Devices, including several of great plot significance, get their power from having potent magical beings imprisoned inside them. Interestingly, magicians have conspired to conceal the theurgical source of their power from "commoners", playing up the Rule Magic aspects and heavily implying Inherent Gift (an outright lie). Among the titular djinni's greatest complains about magicians (and, by extension, all humans) is that they take credit for everything that the summoned spirits (not demons, whatever the magicians say) do.
- Additionally, the spirits summoned have their own powers, like Detonations. They can also shapeshift, and both would be considered to be Inherent Gifts. All spirits can do these to some degree.
- Sheri Tepper's True Game series has a detailed and structured system of magic.
- Harry Turtledove's Darkness series, which depicts an alternate, magic version of the Second World War, uses Rule Magic (spells are weakened by proximity to water, while they are powered up when close to "Ley Lines") and Device Magic ("sticks" and "eggs", magical equivalents of guns and bombs, respectively), as well as some forms of Alchemy.
- The Ethshar novels by Lawrence Watt-Evans have numerous different types of magic practised by different disciplines: Wizardry is rule magic (but with utterly unpredictable results if you bungle it), sorcery is device magic, Theurgy (used by priests) and Demonology are naturally inverses of each other, witchcraft and warlockry are two distinct flavours of Psychic Powers (the latter being slightly less flexible, far more powerful, addictive and invariably fatal in the long term), and then we have the less common magicians like the Ritual Dancers, Herbalists, Scientists, Necromancers, Prestidigitators... Several don't really count as magic to us, but do to most Ethsharites. According to the author, different authorities in the world claim the number of "distinct" magical types to be anything from 3 to 12, and the author usually claims "only" seven types. Magic in Ethshar is complicated.
- The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C Wrede uses:
- Rule Magic — Telemain the magician constantly spouts magical technobabble, although most magic users get by on instinct without paying any attention to the rules he's so fascinated with.
- Wild Magic — the Enchanted Forest itself fits the description of Wild Magic, as does Mendanbar's semi-sentient sword.
- Device Magic — magic mirrors, which play a large part. Also, witches and magicians are said to get their power from magical objects and ceremonies.
- Inherent Gift — certain sorts of magic users, such as dragons, are born "generating" their own magic.
- Force Magic — mostly Mendanbar and Daystar, who are able to sense the "shape" of magic and manipulate it at will. Also, their powers stem directly from the "ambient magic" of the Enchanted Forest, making it much more difficult for them to cast spells while outside of it.
- The Illumination trilogy by Terry Mc Garry is unusual in that it's one of the few works that contains multiple types of magic but has neither theurgy nor wild magic. Magelight could be described as a combination of inherent gift, rule magic, force magic, and device magic, and in practice functions as black magic with Dark Is Not Evil employed. Heartlight is force magic and white magic, and can be learned by anyone. Mindlight is an inherent gift, mostly used for divination, and tends to drive the user insane. Interestingly, the three are best divided by the three most common presentations of magic, respectively magic as pseudoscience (complete with Magi Babble), magic as a connection to nature, and magic of an unexplained nature with deliberately vague capabilities and limitations.
- Magic in Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy uses the True Name system, practiced by wizards who have an Inherant Gift, but still have to spend years learning all the Names. (Although no human can live long enough to learn literally all...) One nice touch is that names change from place to place, and a powerful spell from one end of the world will fizzle and die at the other.
- A lot of the flavor in The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump comes from its ubiquitous use of Theurgy, as it name-drops various gods, faeries and spirits constantly. Depending on the being invoked, a given spell may also constitute Rule Magic, Summoning, Alchemy, Transmutation, Equivalent Exchange, or White or Black Magic. When bound to objects, such as flying carpets or elevator shafts, spirits become catalysts for Device Magic.
- The A Wizard in Rhyme series at first seems to be straight Theurgy, with wizards getting power from Heaven and Sorcerers from Hell (complete with literal deals with the devil), fitting well in a world where saints and demons occasionally interfere directly. Then later the heroes discover that some elements work like a standing electronic field, so it's also partly rule magic. Later still it turns out that pagans unaffiliated with either side can use it, and even the characters lose track of how it actually works.
- Talent from the Night Angel trilogy is an example of Inherent Gifts
- In David Weber's Bahzell series, magic is done by manipulating the energy contained within just about everything, á la Force magic. The catch is that energy in inanimate things like rocks is harder to manipulate than in animate things like people. There's also something called "wild magic" that just lets the wild mage use all kinds of energy effortlessly.
- Trainee (child) magicians in Diana Wynne Jones's Chrestomanci books learn rule-based, force, and device magic at school. Mistakes can lead to wild results (and punishment). It is implied that anyone can manage the simplest device magics, although Cat fails miserably probably because Enchanter's magic is demonstrably quite different. Even Janet who is from a related non-magical universe can grasp the basics.
- Patrick Rothfuss's The Name Of The Wind features an interesting form of Rule Magic. It's based on the concept that you cannot create or destroy energy, and all of the force in your magic has to come from somewhere, ranging from a fire to your own body.
Live Action TV
- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and Angel have shown all of these. Alchemy and theurgy were the most popular, as most spells required some kind of plant or animal part. Spells that didn't generally required dealing with gods or demons. There were a few that used Rule Magic. Also, while one could train in magic, and those people usually got telekinesis, there was one girl in Angel who naturally had telekinesis as an Inherent Gift and another who generated electricity the same way. Witches seem to combine Theurgy and Inherent Gift. Plus, there're the natural abilities that every demons has. There were even a few cases of Wild Magic, such a girl who felt she was invisible turned literally invisible, plus all those ghost hauntings.
- Charmed uses Theurgy and Alchemy for all wiccans. Most true witches also get Inherent Gifts.
- Out Of This World uses Rule Magic for gleeping and Inherent Gifts for Evie's other powers.
- Power Rangers Mystic Force is technically Rule Magic mixed with a magic-users-only version of Device Magic (the Ranger's Morpher-wand-phones), though "spell codes" outside the core ten spell words sometimes had effects that were, to be charitable, not quite what might have been expected (the one-word code "finishio" was particularly guilty of this) and Inherent Gift magic (their elemental attacks, activated simply by believing in them.)
- Furthermore, many Power Rangers are powered by Device Magic, (eg., magical coins in their transformation devices, a magical crystal powering all of their technology.) and it turns out that all Rangers, regardless of whether they use magic or technology or both, are powered by the Morphin' Grid.
Tabletop Games
- Speaking of Dungeons And Dragons:
- Divine magic users (Clerics and Paladins) mainly use Theurgy.
- Wizards use Rule Magic, and in the earlier editions, this was Vancian.
- Sorcerer magic was Inherent Gift magic with the same kind of Vancian system.
- Warlocks use Theurgy in a different fashion than the Divine guys. In Third Edition, this was Inherent Gift magic similar to the sorcerer's, but with a more demonic flavor.
- And of course, there's Device Magic in the form of more magic items than you can count.
- Psionics, while called something other than magic, is essentially a Force Magic that uses the same energies and principles as magic, doesn't work in an Anti Magic field, etc.
- As of the new World Of Darkness:
- Vampires use Inherent Gifts, with some covenants (and one bloodline) practicing a strange form of Theurgy based around blood magic.
- Mages use Force Magic laced with Rule Magic (and by a different set of rules than the mages of the old World of Darkness).
- Prometheans (think Frankensteins Monster) use an odd version of Inherent Gifts derived from Alchemy.
- Changelings practice a mixture of Theurgy and Nature Magic based on deals their masters made with primal forces.
- Werewolves straddle the line between Inherent Gift, Rule Magic, and Theurgy — their powers are supposedly inherent to their nature, but with only a few exceptions they must be learned from spirits.
- Hunters... well, it depends on the Conspiracy. The Lucifuge use Inherent Gifts based on the fact that they're the children of Hell. The Cheiron Group uses Device Magic based on cutting parts out of supernatural entities and grafting them on to themselves, whereas the Aegis Kai Doru's Device Magic is centered around the retrieval of ancient relics. The Ascended Ones use Alchemy to concoct elixirs that bestow them with unnatural talents. The Malleus Maleficarum use a form of Theurgy involving rituals associated with saints. The Vanguard Serial Crimes Unit uses Psychic Powers that aid interrogation and detective work. And so on.
- Sin-Eaters appear to use Force Magic; they draw upon forces present in the Underworld and filter them through certain Manifestations to produce effects. They also practice Necromantic rituals that allow them to interact with, bind, and repel ghosts.
- Magic in Shadowrun blends Wild Magic with several of the other systems, most notably Force Magic; magic is an unstable, quasi-living force that can sometimes simply cause things to happen (as with The Awakening), but it can be controlled either through complex formulas (as practiced by mages, the setting's Rule Magic users) or by interacting with one of the aspects of magic (as shamans do; they practice Theurgy). As well, there's a certain level of Inherent Gift involved, as only certain people are able to become mages or shamans, those with a particular affinity for the astral plane. Later supplements imply that the only reason any of this works is because the magic user believes it works, and that people who are particularly attuned to magic are capable of creating entire magic systems of their own (which makes it more Clap Your Hands If You Believe mixed with Inherent Gift).
- The equivalent to magic in Warhammer 40000 can loosely be described as a combination of Wild Magic and Theurgy. Only replace "Wild" with "Cosmic Horror".
- Warhammer has an interesting combination of these. The Negative Space Wedgie at the north pole causes the entire Arctic to essentially be overrun with Wild Magic. This is spread through the world by the "winds of magic" which can be tapped into by wizards as a power source (Force Magic), to power learned spells (Rule Magic) or enchant items (Device Magic).
- Mage:The Awakening of the World Of Darkness TRPG combines most of these in the form of the ten Arcana. Basically, given enough mana and enough skill in the necessary Arcanum or Arcana, you can do pretty much whatever you want. That is, unless there's a human around, in which case you have to worry about Paradox...
- In Deadlands, almost all magic is some form of Theurgy, powered by either deities and nature spirits (good spirits), or manitous (evil spirits). The most peculiar one is the hucksters' magic, which is perfomed by engaging the demons in a test of wills disguised as a psychic game of skill and chance (99% of hucksters prefer poker). If the magician wins the card game and the demon loses, it must do something at his bequest, and if the manitou wins, it wreaks havoc. Non-Theurgy examples often use Theurgic elements:
- Tempests, greenies, and sykers are all Inherently Gifted, with sykers incorporating elements of Force Magic.
- "Enlightened" Martial Artists (read: Chop Sockey fighters) believe they're using their Life Energy to brutal effect, but it's actually a type of Force Magic.
- In the After The End setting of Deadlands: Hell on Earth, there are witches...who aren't a species, but instead use a blend of Alchemy and Rule Magic. Contrast certain Mad Scientists in The Weird West, who were exclusively alchemists (with less-than-pure Theurgic inspiration).
- Most of the "technomagic" in any of the game's three settings uses Device Magic mixed with one or more other types; there are also relics, which are made magical through a variety of means, but typically remain so forever (and can be used by anyone).
Video Games
- Drakengard does not use Force Magic or Wild Magic. It has a form of Theurgy (pacts), Rule Magic (casting curses and seals), Alchemy (magic potions are sold everywhere), Device Magic (all equippable weapons can cast a certain spell imbued in them), and some people seem to be better sorcerers for no other reason than they happen to have an Inherent Gift, though it doesn't rule out others becoming sorcerers.
- Magic in The Elder Scrolls is a mix of Rule, Force, and to some extent (with all the magical artefacts) Device magic. Gameplay-wise, it is simply Rule magic, but taking the "lore" in account, the different magic schools become nothing but labels the Mage's Guild puts on the different effects the use of magic has. Apart from Alchemy there is no limit at all to magic, and many cultures have created their own kind of magic "styles" which don't fit in with the Imperial Schools at all.
- Eternal Darkness uses a combination of Rule Magic and Theurgy; spells are set up almost grammatically, but require one of four Eldritch Abominations to lend their power alignment to the spell. Some characters occasionally have prepackaged Device Magic that lets them cast various spells a limited number of times, at least until they gain access to the Tome Of Eldritch Lore that lets them cast spells on their own.
- In the Exile and Avernum'' cRPG series, magic is... pretty much everything but Wild Magic. Both arcane and divine magic is present, but the energy required to cast spells is the same for both — mana. There don't appear to be any Ley Lines or somesuch, so the source of mana is somewhat unclear. Just about anyone can learn magic, but learning is not cheap, and likely also heavily restricted via legal means. Both divine and arcane casters can summon creatures to do their bidding, divists mostly spirits, and arcanists just about anything but spirits. Alchemy certainly exists, and so does Device Magic. Magical creatures are plentiful (sort of) and possess Inherent Gifts.
- Final Fantasy VII has Device Magic in the form of Materia (sort of like processed life force), as well as Inherent Gifts, though other forms of magic seen in the game are markedly less Functional.
- If you believe the theory that most of the Final Fantasy games are connected to eachother in at least some small way, all magic in the series seems to originate from the Elemental Crystals and Summon Spirits (both forms of sentient Earth Spirits), who like to essentially download information on how to do magic directly into people's brains, which makes nearly all of it a combination of Rule Magic and Theurgy.
- Final Fantasy VIII uses a combination of Theurgy in the form of Guardian Forces and Force Magic in the form of para-magic, the ability to do such sometimes being granted by Guardian Forces. Sorceresses use magic that resembles the Inherent Gift, but the methodology in which they use this magic is what para-magic is based on. Though Guardian Forces are used to allow SeeDs to use para-magic, they are not required, as most Galbadian and Estharian soldiers can use it without GF assistance.
- Final Fantasy XII uses Force Magic, the Mist is the source of all magic, and when concentrated into nethicite, it starts to act like plutonium gone beyond the critical mass.
- The Myst universe uses Rule Magic. Write in the right language with the right ink in books made with the right sort of paper and the book will become a portal to the universe described in the book. Opinions differ as to whether this creates the universe or merely links to a pre-existing one, and whether "be of the right bloodline" is also in the conditions.
- Typically only the insane believe the Art actually creates worlds, and Anna/Ti'ana and Katran/Catherine disprove the latter. Also, the Bahro have the ability to Link as an innate gift, and Yeesha can break the rules and do pretty much whatever the hell she wants in her ages.
- Anna and Catherine disproved the former as well, being from Earth and Riven respectively as opposed to D'ni descent. Catherine also displayed a talent for bending the rules to their breaking point; it's possible Yeesha's gift is merely an extension of this explaining why her belief that she was the Messiah ultimately doomed her attempt to free the Bahro in Myst V: End of Ages.
- The Magecraft in Nasuverse contains:
- (limited) Inherent Gift — Humans need at least the Magic Circuit to use magecraft, and individuals born with a higher number of (or better) Circuits will have an inherent advantage.
- Theurgy — Epic Spirits, Elementals, et al.
- Rule Magic — The "theory engraved onto the World".
- Alchemy — The folks at Atlas, although it's a bit more complicated than mixing potions or making magic items. They "create the future, using the ingredients of the present." Basically an organization of chessmasters who use XanatosRoulettes to do everything. They can do this because they organize their brains into supercomputers.
- Force Magic — Powered by Ley Lines or similar mana pools, which are natural places to manipulate Mana.
- (limited) Device Magic — Mystic Codes (the "wands", so to speak), Conceptual Armaments, Knight Arms...
- (limited) Wild Magic — The Counter Force.
- Of course, then you have the thing called Magic, which is defined as "the impossible" (Operation of parallel worlds, denial of nothingness, etc...)
- An expansion pack for The Sims 2 introduced this. It's mostly Rule Magic, all spells require items called reagents that can either be bought, or made in a cauldron for free, albeit time consuming. Benevolent spells typically have reagents described to be from a good source, such as crystallized moonbeams, and dragon scales willingly given up by an elder dragon. Malevolent spells require reagents described to be gotten from causing harm, such as snake venom paninfully taken from a snake, and literal Eye Of Newt. Also you have to be a member of the Witch Species, which you can convert to.
- Tales Of Vesperia uses a bit of Force Magic and Device Magic together: to perform magic, one must use a Blastia to weave the Aer around them into a spell to use.
- The Ultima series uses Rule Magic except for Ultima 8 which shoehorns in every single style, and forces your character to learn all of them in order to complete the plot.
- The Warcraft series uses pretty much all of the variants.
- Mages use Arcane Magic, a combination of Rule magic and Force magic. It relies on drawing power from the Twisting Nether, and magic energy tends to flow along ley lines.
- Warlocks use a combination of Arcane magic and Theurgy (dealing with demons).
- Paladins use a different type of Theurgy, drawing their powers from the "Holy Light" and/or giant space windchimes called Naaru.
- Shamans use a third type of Theurgy, drawing their power from communion with the elemental spirits — this is much more pronounced in the novels, where they have to go so far as to ask the spirits for each individual favor.
- Druids use Wild Magic from the Emerald Dream, the living blueprint of a wild world to which Azeroth would revert without civilization.
- Priests are sort of glorified psychiatrists, redirecting the forces within the collective consciousness of their species for healing, enhancement, protection, and blowing up people's minds and/or melting their faces.
- Death Knights' powers seem to come from within their own altered natures.
- There's also a wide variety of magic items for Device Magic.
- Any piece of gear that increases your stats can essentially be considered Device Magic (apparently your character's Strength/Intelligence/Agility/whatever is augmented simply by equipping the item), and these can be disenchanted into reagents used for enchanting other pieces of gear.
- The Ar tonelico games use Magic from Technology which in practical terms functions through a combination of Rule Magic and Inherent Gift. Magic power derives from a series of towers built by an ancient civilization and can only be accessed by so-called Reyvateils, who are the beings that administer the towers or those descended from them. Spells are cast through songs, sung in a language called "Hymnos", which function like computer programs that interface with the tower with which the caster is affliated to summon forth magic.
- Doom III managed to have one Device Magic weapon in a world where teleportation into hell had become a possibility through technology. The Soul Cube could not be analysed due to its immunity to radiological scans (making it impossible to determine its atomic makeup), was sentient, had a constant body temperature and levitated (making it impossible to calculate its density). Its creation involved sacrificing the Martian race.
Web Comics
- Most magic in Gunnerkrigg Court is the Inherent Gift type: Antimony's and Surma's talent as mediums, as well as Zimmy and Gamma's various telepathic abilities. There are some borderline cases, as well: The Blinker Stones are magic devices which focus the user's latent Psychic Powers. Ysengrin's "terrifying skills of gardening" border on Theurgy, as they were a gift given to him by Coyote (but they otherwise function like an Inherent Gift). The Donlans' abilities seem to be a hybrid of Rules Magic and Magic From Technology. And various symbols from Alchemy appear frequently, but their significance is unclear.
- Most of the magic in Order Of The Stick falls into three categories; Durkon uses Theurgy by praying to Thor, Vaarsuvius uses Rule Magic and the Gates are based on Relic Magic. However, since the webcomic's universe is specifically based on Dungeons And Dragons, all of the magical types shown in its entry above will likely apply at some point to a supporting character.
- Don't forget Xykon's Inherent Gift magic, which is a large part of how he ended up the way he is.
- Fey Winds has Force Magic and literal Rule Magic: fey and other creatures of nature tap into "the Song," the force of magic, directly; while humans, elves, and other mortal races must employ "the Rule," a system of formulas and spells. Most of the main cast are also chasing after artifacts (Device Magic) left behind by a strange fey/war golem called Sylphe when she rebelled against those who wanted to use her in a war.
- Theurgy seems to be the main magic in the world of The Challenges Of Zona with Tula getting her power from the Goddesses of the Moon and Earth while Gruach gets his from Shuach, th evil Fire God. However Mentl uses Magic Music and Vito seems to use Rules Magic, but neither of them is from that world but ours. Shamans have been mentioned but not shown as yet and seem to user a lesser form of Theurgy, than Priests and Preistesses, calling on their tribal totems.
Web Original
Western Animation
- Almost all the magic used on Kim Possible is device-based, mostly in the form of monkey-themed ancient relics discovered by archaeologist/freak Monkey Fist. However, at least one character has been seen using magic powers without the aid of a device.
- Avatar The Last Airbender makes copious use of Inherent Gifts in the form of Elemental Magic, though it appears to not be genetic and anyone is born with the chance of becoming a bender. Aang, the Avatar, is the only one that can do this for more than one element, as well as having Force Magic and functionality as a medium from the Avatar Spirit.
- Each element requires a different, and largely incompatible, approach to control. While Uncle Iroh is shown to use a Firebending technique inspired by the principles of Waterbending to deflect a Lightning strike from Azula., it is said that even this takes a lot of spiritual flexibility. Actually bending two different elements would be unthinkable.
- It's worth noting that although actually pulling off Iroh's particular stunt is hard, he does preface the lesson by explaining some cultural differences between the four nations and that understanding all four and how they can and do fit together is important, if only because keeping a strictly Fire Nation perspective will cause Zuko to stagnate, and perpetuate the less than ideal world brought about by his ancestors.
- Also, bending itself is said to be originated from people copying the moves of either Badgermoles (Earthbending), Dragons (Firebending), the Sky Bisons (Airbending), or the moon (Waterbending). It was shown that waterbending and firebending can change depending on the visibility of the moon or sun respectively. That and statements by the creators suggest that the abilities are effected by nature, which is likely the source of their powers, also making all bending a form of Force Magic (the connection of the moon and ocean spirits to their elements may make it technically Theurgy).
- Bending isn't the only form of 'magic' implied in the show, though. One episode revolves around a gifted, very accurate fortune teller, whose abilities are not explained.
- Nearly every one of the above categories showed up in Gargoyles at one point or another, except possibly Wild Magic.
- Even Wild Magic. "Avalon doesn't send ye where ye want to go-it sends ye where ye need ta be."
- Jackie Chan Adventures features combinations of rule magic, alchemy, device magic, and force magic. Most of the time the magic is done by Uncle who is the Witch Doctor, but other characters played around with it as well. There's also the talismans, one for every animal in the Chinese zodiac, which classified as Device Magic.
- Though the talismans were made by stealing a demon's Inherent Gifts (the demons can also provide power for Theurgy, but not used seriously apart from Summon Magic past the first two thirds of season one). Pretty much every kind of magic was used at one time or another by the nonrecurring characters in filler episodes.
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