Magic, Faerie, and Essential Nature: An Elaboration on Supernatural Realms -------------------------------------------------------------------- In Ars Magica, there are four supernatural powers: Divine, Infernal, Magic, and Faerie. Clearly the Infernal and Divine are diametrically opposed, but Magic and Faerie seem to be somehow related. Faerie forests are a common source of vis; faerie auras have a slight positive effect on magic; and the sourcebooks speak of pagan mysticism as being associated with alternately the Magic and Faerie realms, depending on the source. The Distinction between Magic and Faerie ---------------------------------------- At first glance, it seems that faerie power has less connection to reality than does magic. Faeries themselves have difficulty making lasting change in the world. For example, they often need mortal assistance in order to procreate or raise their offspring. Much faerie "magic" takes the form of glamour, or affects only the faerie's own shape and appearance. It might seem, then, that faeries have little actual power over the physical world. Yet magic is equally limited: without raw vis, magic cannot anything permanent, either. Certain faeries, such as faeries of the fields, have considerable powers of fertility and creation. While the nature of faerie and magical power may well be different, their scope is not dissimilar. Folklore draws little distinction between faerie and magic. In the oral tradition, a particular theme or story can evolve into many divergent versions. In some accounts, an event or creature is associated with faeries; in others, with ghosts; in others still, with the Devil. For example, the black dogs or "padfoots" described as faeries in the Ars Magica supplement, "Faeries" (2nd Ed., p. 119), have also been described in books of folklore as ghosts or even the hounds of Hell. The babban sith, an evil spirit of the Scottish Highlands, is considered a faerie in the supplement, "Lion of the North" (p. 60), but some books call it a ghost. It is difficult for the layman or hobbyist to determine which version of a story dates to the correct period. Supernatural beings of legend are rarely given a clear affiliation in the original sources: the classification of a particular creature as magical or faerie seems somewhat arbitrary. The distinction between the magical and faerie Realms appears likewise arbitrary. Yet the distinction exists for a clear, game-dynamical reason: faeries present a mystery to magi. Faeries in folk tales are enigmatic; separating magic from faerie preserves that enigma. The wealth of faerie stories can be tapped for adversaries, allies, and storylines in the game; the enigma of Faerie is important for dramatic purposes. Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein-Hagen created the distinction between magic and faerie as far back as the First Edition of Ars Magica (1988). The distinction, while ambiguous, is intrinsic to Mythic Europe. A hint about what that distinction might be is found in the Fourth Edition rules. On Page 65, under the description of the Technique Creo, the rules state "When casting a Creo spell, you enter a momentary state of transcendent meditation and contact the realm of Forms..." The realm of Forms is reference to the metaphysics of ancient Greek philsophers: among them, Plato. Plato draws a distinction between the surface appearance and substance of a thing and its essential nature. All things, including physical objects but also principles such as justice, have a metaphysical Form of which they are imperfect representations. The physical or practical manifestation of an object or idea is part of its nature, but a comparatively insignifcant part. Size, shape, and appearance are mere "accidents" arising from circumstance. Magic can manipulate the accidents of an object, but not its Form: hence the Hermetic limit of Essential Nature. In contrast, the faerie realm seems to have no connection at all to the realm of Forms. Faerie "magic" is almost always transient and affects only the accidents of nature. An important exception is the faerie power over fertility and abundance. On the other hand, the Faerie realm has its own supernatural dimension, Arcadia, which seems to have no equivalent in magic. The closest parallel is Wizard's Twilight: in Final Twilight, a magus can literally fade out of existence, perhaps disappearing into another realm. Perhaps the magic "realm," the Realm of Twilight, is the realm of Forms. Perhaps it is something even larger and more enigmatic that includes and encompasses the realm of Forms. If this is the case, magic works by controlling the weak connection between an object and its Form- changing the shadow cast on the cave wall, to borrow from Plato's allegory. The shadow, the accident, is the physical manifestation. Note that magic doesn't affect the shadow directly. To extend the metaphor, magic lets the wizard move the figure- rotate it, move it toward or away from the light- to make the shadow longer, shorter, or show a different profile of the same figure. Magic has no power to change the figure itself (that power is reserved to God). Nor can magic always create the desired effect exactly: it is limited to what is possible within the essential nature of the subject. Faeries, on the other hand, affect the shadows or accidents directly. Yet they are unable to draw upon the Forms themselves. In short, faeries can't create. Vis is primal matter. It is the stuff accidents are made of (anyone who has botched in the lab can confirm this). Acknowledgements --------------- Thanks to Ian Barkley-Young, Alan JM Fleisch, Alon Lischinsky, Helen Steele, K.P. Troels, Matt Ryan, and the Ars Magica Mailing List for valuable discussions. Legal Information ----------------- (C) Copyright 1999 by Andrew Gronosky. Distribution in any medium is permitted provided no content, including this notice, is altered. All other rights reserved. Ars Magica is a trademark of Trident, Inc.