The Laws of Magic

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Ripped wholly from this site. When people go around using magic at random in fiction, certain laws are employed to explain how such magic works. This is particularly true of Functional Magic. It is not however true, of Psychic Powers, and Ley Line magic, Theurgy, Force Magic, Alchemy, and Wild Magic may operate on different rules. Some constants, such as the law of Association, may still be true though (a person with Psychic Powers may be able to sense someone due to common traits).

These aren't the laws of the real universe; those are covered by science. Rather, these are quirks of human psychology. Magic that works by these laws will seem plausible enough (to a human audience) in a fictional work, and real-world human superstitions tend to take one of these forms.

This is not totally confined to fiction however, as some forensic rules also use these. For example, the Law of Association come under Locard's Theory, and anyone with a phone book prior to the age of cellphones would be using the Law of Names to look up someone's name and number.

Related to Magic A Is Magic A. And Functional Magic.

Not to be confused with the book series The Laws Of Magic, despite the story using many of the below.

The Laws
  • The Law Of Knowledge: With understanding comes control and power. (This law is responsible for things like Awesome By Analysis).
    • Law of Self-Knowledge: One who does not know himself, having never tested himself or his limitations does not know what he can do. And the reverse is also true. (This law is responsible for things like Literal Split Personality, where other sides of self that are previously unknown come to light dramatically)
  • The Law of Names: Related to both the Law of Knowledge and the Law of Association. The law simply states that by knowing the true and complete name of an phenomena or entity gives you complete control over it (This law is responsible for things like I Know Your True Name).
    • Law of Words of Power: Knowing the name of a phenomenon allows you to summon it (This law is responsible for things like Calling Your Attacks).
  • Law of Association: This law is the most commonly and frequently used of all the laws of magic. This states things react upon each other by their connection with each other (see Locard's Theory above).
    • Law of Similarity: Like things produce like things, or that an effect resembles its cause (in other words, the Butterfly of Doom and numerous other cause-and-effect tropes).
    • Law of Contagion: This law states that things which have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance even after physical contact has been severed (Machine Empathy and The Empath are two examples, but there are many, many examples of this law).
      • Law of Identification (Imitation): Where one entity assumes the characteristics of another. The more the first entity knows about the second the better the imitation. Seen as a combination of Contagion and Similarity. (From which we get the Doppelganger trope)
  • Law of Opposites: The synthesis on two opposing or conflicting ideas or pieces of data will produce a new, third idea that will not be a compromise of the original two (Yin-Yang Bomb and Fusion Dance are examples).
    • Law of Polarity: anything can be separated into two opposite parts with each part having its own essence (Black and White Morality from Grey and Gray Morality for instance).
    • Law of Balance: One's energy or power level must be kept on an even keel, too much or too little will kill oneself (Heroic RROD is a good example).
  • Law of Infinite Data: There always new information for one to learn. The sources of knowledge are limitless if one wishes to tap them. (The Library of Babel or Cyberspace is a good source of infinite data)
  • Law of Finite Senses: One's senses are finite. They are limited to the amount of information which one can absorb and process at any given time (This trope is responsible for You Cannot Grasp the True Form).
  • Law of Infinite Universes: Each person sees his universe or world a different way; therefore, no two people have identical views of the world. (Alternate Universe is the most obvious trope example, though this is from a universal rather than personal perspective).
    • Law of Pragmatism: If it works, it's true (From this we get things like Combat Pragmatist).
    • Law of True Falsehoods: If it's a paradox, the paradox is probably true (Logic Bomb, is the most obvious one of these).
Examples of The Laws of Magic include:
  • The Bible of all places. According to Jewish tradition, the Name of God (which is commonly YHWH, but there's supposedly a much longer version of this name only used by the Jewish high priest) is forbidden to be said. This is definitely part of the Law of Names, and is likely due to fear of misuse or simply turning the name of God into a mundane word.
    • There's also points in the Bible where the Law of Words Of Power is used. When Jesus heals a deaf man, he uses the word Ephphatha (meaning "be opened") to unstop his ears.
  • Dresden Files: The title character uses the Law of Contagion, as a basic crime-solving technique.
    • He used the Law Of Infinite Data to send Ivy a message, on one occasion, and also frequently uses the Law of Names.
  • Ironically, these laws in regard to Functional Magic are largely averted in fantasy due to a combination of the fact that the full list of laws is somewhat obscure, and simply They Just Didn't Care, with the exception of The Law Of Knowledge (basically in order to use magic someone has to know enough to use it), The Law of Names (in works where I Know Your True Name is in play), Law of Words of Power, and the Law of Balance (mainly just used because otherwise people cast spells one right after another with no fatigue or anything).
  • Terry Brooks' Shannara series frequently uses Law of Balance. Basically, the idea is that magic used up takes its toll on the body, and using more than the body has (well, it produces Shadowen).
  • Every fantasy setting created by Harry Turtledove uses two fundamental laws of magic, the Law of Similarity (two similar-looking things have a magical link) and the Law of Contagion (two things that have touched have a magical link). Examples include Videssos and the Darkness Series—in the latter, research mages discover a new fundamental connection between the two laws, which allows them to create a Fantastic Nuke.
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