How Magic Works.

In many fantasy worlds the power is magic is not to be denied, and AD&D worlds a
re no exception. But from whence does this vast power come?
It seems incredible such power may be generated from a single person, particular
ly to those who have more than an inkling of the laws of physics in regards to t
he conservation of energy, the laws of thermodynamics, or even a slight understa
nding of the fantastically tiny amounts of electrochemical energies that actuall
y run the human body. After all, the transformations of matter, the raw energies
flung about apparently without much effort, and the movement of large masses ov
er vast distances in a blink of an eye, should take staggering amounts of energy
- far more than could ever be justified by the energy from the food intake of a
normal individual. So from whence does all that energy come?
Of course, by now, more than a few readers are scoffing at the very idea anyone
should be so "concerned" about the whys and whatfors of the behind-the-scene det
ails of a fantasy game. "It doesn't have to make sense - it's just a game, after
all," they frequently lament.
Yet, well, let's face it, it really ought to make sense on some level - if at al
l possible - and even if it's not your cup of tea to ponder such matters, and on
e is forever glossing over such details - for one's ignorance is bliss, don't yo
u know - it still never hurts for some few to look into these details. After all
, even if YOU don't care, you don't have to worry about it or read such articles
, so their very existence won't hurt you at all, but if you do care, it's always
nice to have some place to go read about these things. For the former, I think
you've read enough of this article already, and I apologize for wasting your tim
e, but for the latter individuals, you might find a few thoughts herein that int
erest you.
Besides, truth be told, the devil is in the details for most any good work of fi
ction. Bad fiction is full of holes - "inconsistencies," you understand - and go
od writers will often ponder the details of some behind-the-scene part of their
story to ensure these holes are absent, even if they know only the barest portio
n of such reasoning will ever see the light of day or ever be revealed to the "a
udience." The very fact it "makes sense" or there are reasons "why" things happe
n, or happened, will make their work of fiction that much more believable, and t
hus more engrossing and more enjoyable. So it's not at all uncommon for a writer
to write things like entire "histories" for minor characters, even if such char
acters only briefly appear in the narrative, or to write any other kind of "whys
" or "whatfors," since these will ultimately weed out holes or inconsistencies,
not to mention they might even suggest deeper motives, reasons, or far more inte
resting coincidences than one might otherwise hit upon, and by doing so open new
possible avenues for the story line. Be that as it may, it's good to have backg
round, reasons, and a firm foundation upon which to write.
NOTE: Realistic details are also important for roleplaying games so the players,
via their characters, may intelligently navigate the fictional terrain. That is
, if things don't have to make a lick of sense, how can anyone hope to figure th
ings out? They can't, so the more realism included, the more likely clever playe
rs may ascertain the truth, which will help them determine the course their char
acters will take. Otherwise it's just a series of meaningless or random actions
as the GM toys with the characters and the players have little choice but to end
ure it, or seek a better run game or more deftly written setting.
I don't know about you, but it's hard for me to enjoy anything - like a book or
a movie - if they do some things so contrary to known facts or common sense, tha
t it's like finding a turd in the punch bowl. One can't help but be distracted a
nd annoyed by such mistakes, and lose the ability to remain immersed in "the mom
ent" of the story, even if only for a little while. And as such I find it imposs
ible to get "caught up" in the story since I'm constantly being reminded it's ob
viously ill conceived and badly written, or they simply don't know what the hell
they are talking about. I realize not everybody is like that, but many are, and
I think it's safe to say even if somebody enjoys such a badly written story, it
'll probably never win much acclaim as a "great" piece of fiction if such mistak
es run rampant throughout its entirety, particularly if such mistakes are the ve
ry foundation upon which the entire story is built.
Magic is no different. It ought to make sense on some level. This is not to say
it must be 100% correct - so correct, in fact, one wonders why magic isn't "real
," or doesn't "really" work in the "real" world - but it should make sense, unde
r certain given and stated premises. Therefore, anything contrary to known laws
of physics - in science fiction, or in fantasy, as well - should be explained, a
t least in passing, even if one is a bit vague on sufficient details to actually
make it real. Failure to do this, and the whole of the story might crumble. Suc
h is the folly of building upon sand.
Magical power - and how it works in AD&D - is the main topic of this piece, so l
et's get to it. Only one more aside, though, before we do. It should be noted no
thing I say here is "official," and certainly it shouldn't be considered the "on
ly" possible way one might explain such details. These thoughts are just one man
's take on the subject - albeit they have the virtue of having been tossed aroun
d and play tested for decades by many individuals, and to date they have proven
adequate for most of our purposes, so perhaps they will work for you, as well.
To start, we ponder the brain; it's a weak, 3-pound lump of wet matter with a mu
ltitude of convoluted interconnections within which minute electrochemical signa
ls run about. Though these signals and impulses number in the millions upon mill
ions, their total energy is quite tiny in comparison to something like a 25-watt
light bulb. In short, it's not really a lot of potential energy for doing actua
l "work," in the scientific sense of the word. Thus, any justification for the b
rain being the actual source of a spell's power - for magic, or even psionics -
is faulty on its face. The human brain simply doesn't contain that kind of energ
y.
However, like a tiny pebble falling upon other rocks and starting a cascading ef
fect that grows into an avalanche, we see it's possible that from tiny things, h
uge consequences may follow. Still, simply tossing a pebble on a pile of rocks w
ill, more often than not, hardly cause an avalanche. That is, unless, of course,
one "knows" exactly where to toss it. This doesn't take more energy, you unders
tand - just more knowledge and precision.
The arcane spell caster studies the multiverse - this universe (the PMP, or Prim
e Material Plane) and all other known planes of existence. The very existence of
these planes is axiomatic to AD&D - that is, a given, basic premise of our fant
asy universe - and as such, we may use this and build upon it.
For our purposes, then, we may define technology and science as things confined
to the prime material plane - the PMP being what we are aware of in the real wor
ld - i.e. the planets, stars and solar systems, and galaxies. The useful flow of
energy while confined to the PMP is a good way to define such "mundane" things.
Even better, bridging over to other planes of existence is an excellent way to
define what we will call "magic." Most anything that exhibits a "multiplanar" na
ture will be defined as magic.
NOTE: It's of particular interest to note that, once one escapes the confines of
the prime material plane, the "normal" laws of physics do not necessarily have
to hold. For example, while confined to the PMP, it's a given nothing may travel
 faster than the speed of light, but on other planes of existence - particularly
the astral and ethereal planes - this is not true. The limiting speed there may
be much higher, or perhaps there is no limiting speed at all. Also, most of phy
sics deals with "closed" systems in time and/or space, and if allowed to bridge
over to other planes of existence, these systems no longer remain closed, and it
's not uncommon to see things like a mass gain or loss, an energy gain or loss,
and the like. The very nature of the multidimensional AD&D universe allows us th
is freedom. And, of course, naturally enough, when things seem to break the laws
of the normal world, this is almost the very definition of magic. But I digress
.
Now this next part isn't particularly necessary to explain magic, but I enjoy us
ing it since it has the advantage of explaining why some worlds are very magical
, while Earth, for example, is not - and we assume Earth is not by virtue of the
fact we don't see real wizards casting real spells with real demonstrable effec
ts under scientifically reproducible conditions - i.e. there is no actual eviden
ce for real magic.
NOTE: If you're one of those sorts who actually believe magic is real - in the s
ame sense an AD&D character would think that magic is real and demonstrable - th
en, IMHO, you have issues you should address, but for our purposes here, since I
've never been witness to any real magic, myself, my assumption is that magic is
not real in much the same way Monopoly money is not legal U.S. tender, and anyo
ne who thinks it is, is probably delusional. Most so-called magic that people do
believe in is probably nothing more than slight-of-hand, or drugged induced eff
ects, or the simple power of suggestion, though the lattermost, in and of itself
, may be quite powerful - but it's not really magic in the AD&D sense of the wor
d. Anyway . . .
One explanation as to why the Earth is not so magical, while many fantasy worlds
are magical, is that the fabric of space is thinner, or weaker, on those worlds
than it is here on Earth. I liken this to a cracked mirror or window, but only
in three dimensions, the spidery filaments, or cracks, or tendrils, radiating ou
tward from the center of each galaxy. These cracks cannot be seen by the naked e
ye, but they may be discerned in other ways.
As a rough rule of thumb, we assume 99% of all solar systems lie outside these c
racks and in normal space, but perhaps a full 1% of all solar systems reside ins
ide these cracks, or "tendril space," where the fabric of space is much thinner
- that is, the barrier between planes of existence is easier to bridge. It's kin
d of like the difference between going through a concrete wall or a paper wall.
On worlds in tendril space, if you know how - i.e. you know where to toss the pe
bble, OR might happen upon it by accident - one can bridge the barrier between t
his plane (the PMP) and another. It takes far less energy on a magical world to
do this than it would, for example, on Earth, which is one possible explanation
for why some worlds are rich in magic, while others are not.
Of course, if one wanted to think of Earth as a magical world, one could assume
it was within tendril space, but the knowledge of how to bridge the planes has b
een lost to antiquity. Even worlds in tendril space may not boast magically adva
nced civilizations. The mere potential for this discovery doesn't necessitate it
s discovery, after all. I dislike thinking of Earth as magical, however, since i
t's also possible to happen upon these bridges by accident - even frequently eno
ugh that animals may do it, and thus magical factors may become an evolutionary
consideration for a species' development. That is, worlds inside tendril space w
ould likely have lots of magical creatures on them, too, and not just mundane on
es, like whales, bears, elephants, etc. that employ no discernible magic at all.
If Earth were within tendril space and the arcane arts had just been forgotten
or not yet discovered, we'd still likely see many magical creatures, like dragon
s, beholders, griffons, pegasi, etc. Yet we don't. Hence, Earth is most probably
outside tendril space. Of course it may have only recently drifted outside of t
endril space, which also might account for some legendary tales or mythical and
magical folklore, which still resides within our collective memories as a race,
though we no longer see these magical races since they have all left or died out
since Earth has left tendril space. But I now seriously digress.
In any event, a brain well schooled in the arcane arts, through dint of clever m
anipulation and understanding, may use tiny amounts of energy it clearly does po
sses to set into motion certain effects - pretty much like knowing where to toss
that pebble.
Over the centuries, the arcane arts have been refined to the point where, upon m
ost magical worlds in tendril space, spell casters have many routines down to a
fine art, and can conjure actual effects, however minor, with the power of their
minds. But make no mistake, for the power it takes to bring a desired effect to
fruition does not come entirely from the brain, but from elsewhere. Similarly,
the power of an avalanche does not come from the brain, but from gravity and the
gravitational potential energy locked up in those rocks or all that snow. You o
nly tossed a tiny pebble or a small snowball in just the right spot to get thing
s going, after all.
Still, it's not quite that simple, either. It often takes more than a single peb
ble to move mountains, normally, even if you know where to toss it. Luckily, thr
ough various discoveries, arcane spell casters have hit upon a few decent tricks
. I'm not talking about actual spells, whole and complete, but what I call trigg
ers, or routines, or even subroutines, or operators, or functions. They, by them
selves, do not even rise to the level of what we'd call "cantrips." These trigge
rs are not spells, but components of spells - not to be confused with a spell's
material, verbal, or somatic components. It is through the use of several trigge
rs, in the proper order, and at the proper time, and shaped by the use of the pr
oper verbal, somatic, or material components, that the whole of the effort may b
e called a spell.
There are a variety of triggers, or means, to "get the ball rolling," and these
different basic approaches often constitute entirely different approaches to mag
ic (or even psionics) - so a wizard is not a sorcerer is not a bard is not a psi
onicist - despite them all being arcane spell casters, more or less. Similarly,
an elven mage is not a human mage is not a dwarven mage is not a spellcasting dr
agon, and you might sometimes note there are slight differences between races in
how they use magic, or what they may accomplish with it. Regardless of how simi
lar a lot of their spells may appear, they are not always identical, nor interch
angeable, and, if written upon scrolls, for example, can rarely be read by one o
f a different class than the class of the person who actually penned them. For e
xample, a wizard cannot read the Cure Light Wounds spell a bard has written upon
a scroll. The disciplines of bard and wizard, though both are primarily arcane
in nature, are not always entirely arcane - there are a few divine aspects to th
e bardic approach, you see, such that their Cure Light Wounds spell is not truly
an arcane one, but a divine one. In fact, this is just one of the best examples
of differences between class spells, though in truth most bard spells are suffi
ciently different from most wizard spells and most sorcerer spells, and vice ver
sa, that they cannot share each other scrolls, spellbooks (if they use them), or
even spells or spell research - i.e. a bard can't teach a wizard a spell, even
if both share that spell on their respective spell lists at the same level, sinc
e they have fundamentally different approaches to how it works.
No matter the approach, the actual mechanics are surprisingly similar, even if n
ot interchangeable amongst classes. Thus, using such a trigger mechanism, the "p
ebble" is tossed - or perhaps two, or three, or more, and in the proper sequence
, and at the proper time.
NOTE: Also, though the difference in triggers are great enough that different cl
asses cannot share spells, subsequent steps are sufficiently identical that one
might use their version of a spell to "counter-spell" a similar spell of a diffe
rent class.
Now, once tossed, the pebbles do begin to cause a sort of chain reaction - like
you tell two friends, they tell two friends each, they each tell two friends, an
d so on, and so on, until in very short order, theoretically, millions of people
may know. This "energy" is not coming from one's brain or body or even the soul
or spirit, but from the universe at large - it is potential planar energy that
is unlocked by a trigger. But that's just the beginning. Another trigger may be
used on top of the first, though the second one is not set in motion by the ener
gy of the mind, but instead set in motion by the energy the mind has already har
nessed from the first trigger. And then another step, and another - each, perhap
s, bridging a gap between a different plane of existence, many of which have uni
que properties - like various elemental planes, quasi-elemental planes, or posit
ive or negative material planes, for example. Through the use of a spell's verba
l, material, and/or somatic components, these minor triggers of energy may be sh
aped and used to open bigger gaps, start more cascades, subsequently bridge hard
er to obtain states of energy in other planes or achieve greater threshold energ
ies necessary to reach deeper and deeper planes, or just open the gaps wider and
wider, thus allowing more energy to flow through, and finally, perhaps, open a
door to the ultimate desired type or form of energy (like the elemental plane of
fire for a Fireball, or ice for an Ice Storm, or water for a Create Water spell
, or air for a Gust of Wind, for example).
So, to reiterate, a little brain power and knowledge starts a cascading effects,
which releases potential planar energy, which in turn may be used to release mo
re (dislodge even bigger rocks), which in turn may be used to release more (disl
odge boulders), etc. until one has enough energy at their command that, if prope
rly shaped and directed, can, hopefully, produce desirable effects.
Over the years, the arcane practitioner has learned the hard way that they must
use some of this energy to shield their own brain - lest their mental manipulati
ons of such quantities of raw energy fry their synapses. Even with such protecti
ons, however, they cannot escape the inevitable consequences of touching upon th
at kind of power with their mind, and like an epileptic's brain that misfires el
ectrical impulses throughout the brain - often causing them to not remember the
event even took place - the spell caster's brain is similarly tossed into electr
ical chaos - or, that is, it would be, if they had not taken the precaution of s
etting up partitions of their brain using some of the very energy they harnessed
to partially protect themselves. Still, for the active portion of the brain whe
re they prepared the particular spell in question, once used, the mind there is
scrambled. Not necessarily harmed, but wiped clean, its memory of the event, a h
azy recollection at best. This is why, after casting a spell, a wizard "forgets"
the spell, and has to prepare it anew - but only after sufficient time for the
brain to rest has passed. And though bards and sorcerers with spontaneous castin
g also suffer similar effects, their approach is different enough such that they
may use that spell again, though from a different part of the brain. So you see
, each "spell slot" gets scrambled upon its use, and only proper rest or meditat
ion may calm that area of the brain before it can be used for spell casting agai
n.
And so we see, gentle readers, that the amounts of sheer energy required to move
mountains, freeze water, melt steel, or transport hundreds of pounds of matter,
does not, in fact, come from the brain itself. That would be silly. No, it come
s from a careful, knowledgeable, manipulation of the universe and the potential
energies locked up therein.
NOTE: Real world "science" is a tool, a method, or an approach to discovery. Sci
ence is a way to learn about the nature of most anything and not delude oneself
since it has safeguards built in, like testability, falsifiability, repeatabilit
y, etc. and other scientific criteria upon which science insist so it may separa
te fact from fiction or delusion. Yet, given the axiomatic nature of a AD&D univ
erse, it would be wrong to think that upon such worlds science was somehow incon
sistent with or different from magic. In fact, magic users would essentially be
scientists - i.e. people who study the universe and its laws. My point is, thoug
h much more could be said about this distinction, it is sufficient to know that
thinking of magic and science as somehow "inconsistent" would be a mistake. They
are not incompatible.
Knowing all this won't, of course, help you a great deal, and you sure won't be
able to capitalize on this information to make real spells work in the real worl
d, but with it, you have, perhaps, a greater appreciation for what magic users a
re doing, and the kind of intelligence, knowledge, and training necessary to man
ipulate the universe at large, and the sorts of time and training it takes to pl
y this craft. Perhaps it will put arcane magic users in a new light and spark a
few new ideas for your game. Perhaps not. If not, oh well, you aren't out much f
or having read this.
To be complete, now, I'll say a few words about divine magic (different from arc
ane) and then about magical creatures.
Divine magic is different from arcane magic inasmuch as clerics and other practi
tioners of divine magic do not come by their spells through an understanding of
the universe at large, but from their covenant with their God. Their God underst
ands the universe, to an extent, and His/Her/Its magic has a similar basis as ar
cane magic, though decidedly different triggers, a different approach, and acces
s to, we assume, an entirely different form of energy - that borne of the life e
nergy of living worshipers. The more worshipers on a particular planet, the more
powerful that God is on that planet - or at least, the more powerful Their pres
ence or avatars.
The divine spell caster understands their God, Their philosophy and teachings, T
heir desires, wants, and needs, and through this communion with their God, the D
eity grants spells unto those who have proven themselves worthy to wield such po
wer in Their name - i.e. the higher the cleric's level, the more they have prove
n themselves, the more spells God entrusts to them. God does not make the spells
work or fail on a case-by-case basis, but trusts the clerics to use them proper
ly and gives them freely, upon request - assuming the mind is properly rested an
d prepared to accept the spells. The spells are like little packages, waiting to
be opened by the cleric when and where the cleric sees fit. Of course, if it co
mes to light a cleric is using such spells in a manner inconsistent with that Go
d's teachings, the cleric may incur the wrath of that God, and quickly find them
selves denied further use of certain spells, or worse - unless or until proper a
tonement is achieved.
The point is, unlike an arcane spell caster, a divine spell caster doesn't reall
y understand the inner workings of the spells they employ. They understand their
effects, but not how they work, much the same way most people understand a T.V.
set and know what will happen if you plug it in and turn it on, but have insuff
icient knowledge to repair one, let alone build one.
Unlike most PC spell casters, magical creatures and animals rarely understand th
e magic they employ (intelligent magical creatures are, naturally, often an exce
ption). Most often, through some mutation in their physiognomy or racial make-up
, they accidentally hit upon a means to tap into the energy of the planes, bridg
e that barrier, and produce some effect. If it's a survival trait, they may pass
it along to their offspring, just like one might for more mundane, but advantag
eous mutations.
For example, the pegasus doesn't really fly by use of its undersized wings, so m
uch as it magically levitates. Its wings, at best, don't produce enough lift to
get that much mass airborne, let alone provide sufficient lift for a rider and t
heir equipment, as well, but the wings are strong enough to allow it to "swim" t
hough the sky, once the levitation ability has nullified the worst effects of gr
avity. Note, also, the pegasus must continue to flap its wings in order to susta
in the levitation ability, which explains why they cannot simply hover in the ai
r like a balloon without moving. Oddly enough, the ability of many magical creat
ures are deceptive in this manner, and frequently not what they appear to be at
first glance. Only a careful study of the creature might reveal such facts, howe
ver, so it's not too surprising that many people erroneously think they know how
something works, when, in fact, they don't.
Similarly, many magical creatures have hit upon a means to produce other magical
effects. A dragon's fire breath, an elf's infravision, a blink dog's blinking a
bility, etc. are just a few examples of multiplanar - or magical - effects, and
these abilities have become second nature to them, and their use instinctual to
such creatures.
It should be noted, however, that most often such magical abilities, while they
may enhance a creature's abilities, are rarely necessary for a creature's actual
survival. Why? It just so happens that magical connections are often naturally
interrupted. Dispel Magic, or Anti Magic Shell, spells are examples of artificia
l interruptions, but such things also occur naturally from time to time. If a cr
eature's very life depended upon continued functioning of such an effect, and it
quit, even temporarily, they would die. So you see, if an elf temporarily loses
their infravision for a few minutes, this is no big deal, but if a giant lost t
he ability to keep his giant heart pounding, he'd die, so most such magical abil
ities are what we call of secondary concern, and not of primary concern.
It might also, finally, be noted that certain areas on a planet may be richer in
certain, magical, planar effects, and this might tend to effectively make invis
ible "fences" that would keep magical animals on their home grounds. They might
die if they left those grounds and lost their magical abilities for too long. I
only mention this as it helps explain why animals sometimes refuse to move or be
chased away, even when confronted with deadly force, for they know that to leav
e would result in their death anyway. But this isn't actually all that common an
occurrence amongst magical beasts - it's just a consideration.
NOTE: It may even be the case, if the game master so wishes, that some races may
have an extra ability or advantage, but only as long as they reside within thei
r native grounds, or upon their home fields. Just as a suggestion, it may be sai
d the race of elves have "infravision", but only while on their native islands -
or mountains, or woods, or whatever seems plausible - and if an individual of t
hat race should venture from these lands, they would temporarily lose such an ab
ility. Such ideas might help explain why, for example, the majority of such a ra
ce "prefers" to stay at home and not dwell in other areas, or it might help expl
ain why a race is so powerful and many fear to tread uninvited upon their lands.
After all, imagine the disadvantage normal humans would have to elves in the wo
ods at night if the elves had infravision and could see virtually everything - n
ot only as good as in daylight, but better - as "targets" stood out like beacons
in the night.
One advantage to this notion is that a PC from such race might not always have s
uch an advantage as they adventure around the world, and this sort of helps game
balance since they only have that power while at home. Finally, this idea might
also help explain why clerics or wizards could be more powerful - than normal -
while at home, where it would be assumed they built their temple/keep upon an a
rea wherein they have a magical boost. It makes taking people on while they resi
de on their home stomping grounds a much more difficult proposition, while not f
orcing the GM to hand out extra magic items (that might normally explain such po
wer boosts). However you slice it, just keep it in mind that certain areas may h
ave advantages (or even weaknesses) for certain individuals. Walking into such a
reas can have unusual and interesting effects, particularly if one isn't aware o
f the area and its effects before it's too late.
NOTE: As an aside to the notion of magical areas or geographical considerations
to the relative strength of magical effects, stationary magic - i.e. magic items
or magical effects that do not move - are often easier and cheaper to make than
mobile magic, or magic that can be initiated anywhere one happens to be. Thus,
through a careful and often necessarily lengthy study of a particular and unique
area, magical effects could be managed for less money, or take a lesser spell c
aster to achieve them. In this way, fixed fortifications or magical or magically
enhanced social infrastructures - that normally would require incredibly high-l
evel magic users to initiate, or have prohibitive costs associated with them - m
ight be accomplished more easily and more frequently, and thus many wonderfully
interesting additions to the game world become more plausible and probable, and
therefore more realistic, as long as they are stationary. For example, a spell t
o bring water from the elemental plane of water to the PMP would normally be qui
te limited, but if fixed at a particular location, it could bring in greater qua
ntities of water than a spell caster could normally achieve for their level. Sim
ilarly, the long-held stronghold of a spell caster might seem to have greater po
wer defending it than a spell caster of their level might warrant, but this is b
ecause they have taken the time to study the area at length, researched speciali
zed spells for that area - which won't work in other areas, mind you - and set u
p a few extra, albeit stationary defenses. So, for example, one might wonder why
a wizard's keep was defended with a few 10 dice Fireball spell traps, even thou
gh that wizard wasn't capable of casting 10 dice Fireballs. These, and many othe
r similar effects, could be achieved by relatively lower-level spell casters - a
nd used in numerous and clever ways by GMs - thus making a society more magical,
yet still more plausible and realistic, than one heavily populated with incredi
bly high-level magical users almost seemingly on every other street corner. But
I digress. Yet, if you like this particular digression, you may enjoy the follow
ing link.
Stationary Magic (Stationary Magic Adds Interesting Realism And Flavor To One's
Game World.)
Divine spell casters and magical creatures aside, I think it's important to know
a little bit more about what arcane magic is and why and how it works, so I hop
e you've gotten a few ideas from reading this article, and I hope you may find u
se for them in your game - even if they are nothing more than a "reason" why som
ething happens on your world, and the characters never really understand why (th
ough you might, after a time, enjoy telling your players why, if they're so incl
ined to listen).
Happy Gaming ;-)
© December of 2005
by
James L.R. Beach
Waterville, MN 56096

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Scientists are figuring out how magicians fool our brains in research that also
helps uncover how our mind actually works.
A great deal of what scientists now understand about how the human visual system
works stems from research into our susceptibility to optical illusions.
"It made sense to look at magicians to advance knowledge of human cognition, sin
ce magicians have been working on figuring out how certain principles of psychol
ogy work for hundreds of years," said researcher Gustav Kuhn at the University o
f Durham in England, a cognitive psychologist who has also performed magic the p
ast couple decades.
"Magicians really have this ability to distort your perceptions, to get people t
o perceive things that never happened, just like a visual illusion," he added.
The researchers looked into a magic trick called the "vanishing ball," in which
a ball apparently disappears in midair. It's done by faking a throw while keepin
g the ball secretly palmed in the magician's hand.
Kuhn videotaped himself performing two versions of the illusion. In the "pro-ill
usion" version, on the fake throw, his gaze and head followed an imaginary ball
moving upwards. In the "anti-illusion" version, Kuhn's eyes stayed on the hand c
oncealing the ball [video].
Videos

Disappearing Ball
Roughly two-thirds of volunteers watching the pro-illusion version on television
had a vivid recollection of the ball leaving the top of the screen. "Often they
claimed someone at the top of the screen caught the ball," Kuhn told LiveScienc
e. In comparison, only a third of the people viewing the anti-illusion version e
xperienced that illusion.
Kuhn and his colleagues measured the eye movements of volunteers during the expe
riment. Surprisingly, they found that when people believed they saw the ball van
ish, most claimed they spent their entire time looking at the ball, yet most act
ually glanced at the magician's face prior to following the ball to help them pe
rceive the ball's location.
"Even though people claimed they were looking at the ball, what you find is that
they spend a lot of time looking at the face. While their eye movements weren't
fooled by where the ball was, their perception was. It reveals how important so
cial cues are in influencing perception," Kuhn said.
"As we are looking at the world, we have this impression that what we see is the
real world. What this tells us is the way we see the world is more strongly dom
inated by how we perceive it to be rather than what it actually is," Kuhn added.
"Even though the ball never left the hand, the reason people saw it leave is be
cause they expected the ball to leave the hand. It's the beliefs about what shou
ld happen that override the actual visual input."
In the future, the researchers plan to investigate how other magic tricks fool t
he brain. Kuhn and his colleagues will report their findings in the Nov. 21 issu
e of the journal Current Biology.
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Question: How Does Magic Work?
You keep talking about magic and spells. I don't get it, and I'm pretty smart. H
ow do they actually work?
Answer:
That's a really good question, and one that may have a number of different answe
rs, depending on which people you ask. First, there are many different types of
magic -- natural magic, practical magic, high magic, ceremonial magic -- and eac
h is a little bit varied from the others. Even when it comes to spell work, you'
ll find a number of opinions on the Hows and Whys of the process.
In natural magic, there is a theory that many natural objects -- rocks, roots, p
lants, animal bones, etc. -- have a connection within them to some part of the h
uman experience. For example, a rose quartz is linked with love and matters of t
he heart, a piece of oak would take on the attributes of strength and sturdiness
, and a sprig of sage is connected to wisdom and purification. In this form of m
agic, also called sympathetic magic, the link between items and their magical sy
mbolism is referred to as the Doctrine of Signatures. Spellwork in natural magic
is often carried out with no prayer or invocation to deities or gods. It is sim
ply the natural attributes of the items involved in the spell that make the magi
c happen.
In some traditions of Wicca and Paganism, magic is the realm of the Divine. A pr
actitioner may call upon his or her gods for intervention and assistance. For ex
ample, someone doing a spell working to repair their damaged love life might cal
l upon Aphrodite for aid. A person moving into a new home could invoke Brighid o
r Freyja, goddesses of hearth and home, as part of a ritual.
There is also a school of thought that believes magic occurs only in accordance
with one's will -- in other words, intent is everything. Some people in these tr
aditions believe that the physical trappings of spell work -- candles, herbs, et
c. -- are unimportant, because all that really matters is the strength of will t
o bring about results. If one focuses one's intent precisely enough, and manipul
ates the necessary energy, change will come about.
Regardless of how you believe magic actually works and whatever tradition you ch
oose to embrace, understand that magic is a skill set that can be used in tandem
with the mundane. While magic will not solve all of your problems (and probably
shouldn t be turned to as some sort of cure-all) it is certainly a useful tool wh
en used sensibly.