I guess I took a break from writing because of this Covid-19 quarantine thing. Huh.
Well, that’s enough about that.
I have always been a fan of fantasy and science fiction literature. In fact, I’m delighted to hear that these genres are now legitimately considered literature; it’s something I always assumed was true! The earliest books and writers I can remember reading and enjoying include Dune, The Dragonriders of Pern, A Wizard of Earthsea, Katherine Kurtz’s “Deryni” series, Mary Stewart’s The Crystal Cave, anything by Piers Anthony and Andre Norton—these works shaped the way I think, the way I read, and the way I see the world.
For many years in the middle of my life I did not do a lot of reading for pleasure. And when I started again, I read a lot of real literature: Gore Vidal, James Clavell, James Joyce, Salman Rushdie, Jane Austen. Then I got back into mysteries. And finally back to my first love, scifi/fantasy. (And I do see them that way, as two sides of the same coin.)
I have recently been reading a lot of fantasy books that are new to me (Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, Anthony Ryan’s Raven’s Shadow series, James A. Moore’s Seven Forges books) as well as revisiting some old favorites (Lord of the Rings, Earthsea, Mercedes Lackey’s “Last Herald Mage” trilogy)—and I have a few things to say about magic.
In general, there seem to be two ways in which writers approach the performance of magic by their characters: in this essay I name them “spellcasting” and “psionics.” Spellcasting requires the use of something external—a book, some herbs, dice, words or ritual—to accomplish a magical feat. Psionics requires only the use of the mind.
In my opinion, psionic magic is by far the superior. In fact, when you think about it, spellcasting is kind of ridiculous.
I simply cannot accept the notion, for example, that “knowing the true name of a thing gives you power over that thing.” The notion that there is a true language that predates history and whose words exert power over the universe that we see. They’re just words, for God’s sake. Anyone who knows anything about linguistics sees how ridiculous this notion is.
I also cannot accept the notion that a series of elaborate hand gestures (Lev Grossman’s The Magicians) are necessary to perform magical feats. Even in that fictional universe, the fairies don’t need those ridiculous trappings. So why does anyone else?
In Buffy, the witch Willow starts out by reading (Latin and Sumerian, often) spells out of books and conducting rituals, but reaches a point where she addresses the magic forces of the Universe directly with her mind and her will (and in English). This is an implicit acknowledgement that spellcasting is a mere trapping, and the real work of magic is psionics. I can accept the idea that that ritual and sacred objects can be used as tools to focus the mind, but that’s the critical part: they help focus the mind, which does the actual work of magic.
In fact, the more I think about it, the madder I get. Which is weird. Magic isn’t real, right? So why does the idea of spellcasting exasperate me like this? Spellcasting implies that anyone can perform magic, while psionics implies that only certain people have the power. As a liberal democrat with socialist leanings, you would think that I would be cheerleading the idea of spellcasting over psionics. But I’m not.
Maybe I don’t want everyone to have the power. Maybe I like the idea that only certain people have the mental acuity to perform magic, and the courage and will to actually do it. Maybe I secretly spend a little time each week trying to find that little door in my mind (I know it must be there) that, once opened, will allow me to exercise that power.
For the record, I haven’t found it yet. But believe me, I keep trying.
If I had the power… well, that’s a story for another day!