Magical Moments

I’ve been dragging my feet about including magic in my stories. The temptation to use it as a fix-all is too great.

And if I use it, I have to be able to explain how it comes into being, how it’s wielded, who can use it, and at what cost?

Is it equal parts weird talent and will, like a vampire’s god-plague? Or does it rely on powerful artifacts, such as the protection spell Zelda casts in The Dog House? And can a mundane human perform spell-casting?

Yes, yes, and…no?

I’m struggling with the equation.

Funny how I’m on-board with vampires, werewolves, angels, and demons, but magic makes my head hurt. A hundred-pound person can turn into a carnivore the size of a grizzly? Sure. Can a mundane with a grimoire alter matter and dictate to supernatural forces? Not so much.

The more I try to pinpoint my aversion to magic, the more I think I’m just being stubborn. Like, no one tries to convince me that werewolves exist. People are more willing to allow for angels, maybe. But so many people seem to believe in magic in one way or another. It’s the God-of-the-gap epoxy we use to seal cracks in our knowledge, and I’m generally resistant to that idea.

Since magic does exist–in my worlds–I’m going to stick with this formula:

Magic can be performed:

• if someone has innate magical/miraculous talent
• if someone has good ingredients and talent
• on the extremely rare occasion that ingredients are overwhelmingly powerful and capable of channeling magic on their own

Which really doesn’t significantly narrow the scope of magic usage, except that I’m limiting the number of magic users in my worlds. Witches are mostly Wiccan (worshipers not magicians), most vampires don’t have significant god-plagues (especially the most numerous class, Lazarites), and powerful objects are hard to find and harder to use.

Therefore, when Lilith needs access to the magic inside her powerful amulet, she’ll have to resort to drastic measures…