Magic was the control of magical and mystical powers,[1] defying the known laws of physics. It was practiced by witches, sorcerers, shamans, deities and even mortals. Chaos Magic and Voodoo were specific types of magic.
History[]
There were several sources of magic, the most powerful being the Lords of Order[2] and Chaos,[3] extranormal entities, and deities. They were all connected somehow, and had to be in balance for magic to properly function.[4][5] Chaos magic was more powerful than normal magic; it had no outer limit and was accumulative.[6] Beings from the Fifth Dimension had a type of magic that defied all others; it could do anything imaginable.[7]
The main methods of magic were use of talismans and spell casting. Practitioners were often versed in related crafts like occultism and alchemy as well.
Talismans[]
Talismans were objects imbued with mystical properties, that could generate either a specific type of magic, or grant its wearer access to all magic. Some talismans also radiated power, allowing its wearer to absorb it and use its properties whilst not in possession of the talisman.[8]
Talismans could be stone tablets, amulets,[3] gems,[9] charms,[8] staffs,[10] or gris-gris.[2] Examples include the Amulet of First Magic, the Helmet of Fate, the Philosopher's Stone, the Branding iron and the Shaman Staff.
Spell casting[]
The casting of spells and incantations could be done by either speaking a spell or use combinations of potions and magical objects in unison with a spoken word.[11] This last method could also be used by people who had no magical properties of their own, or connections to the Lords of Order and Chaos. Alan managed to summon a dark spirit after purchasing a book of magic, but had no earlier experience with Chaos Magic.[6]
The duration of spells varied. It could either be permanent or for a short time. It could last for as long as the caster willed it,[12] could be nullified if the practitioner was incapacitated,[13] or broken if any of the elements required for the spell was disturbed.[2][6] Recasting a spell that was broken earlier was less likely to succeed.[2]
Spells could either be in plain English, backwards English,[11] Latin[12] or Thanagarian.[2] Sometimes, a deity or demon's name had to be invoked.[4][6][9]
Powers of Magic[]
Especially the powers of Chaos Magic and the Fifth Dimension were without limits, but known powers granted by magic of any sort include:
- Animation: granting some form of life to inanimate objects.[8][14][13] The power to reanimate corpses was a feat of Chaos Magic.[6]
- Atmokinesis: Morgaine Le Fay created a thunderstorm in anger.[14]
- Banishment: The ability to banish one or more persons from a specific place.[5]
- Binding: Binding creatures to each other, or to an inanimate object. Karkull, who was bound to the Artifact of Lorta for a century, merged several Daily Planet staff members to demons,[3] and Merlin bound Jason Blood to the demon Etrigan as a punishment for his betrayal of Camelot.[9] Mordru managed to merge Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman into one.[13]
- Chlorokinesis: Controlling plant life.[15]
- Cryokinesis: Etrigan could call upon the cold heart of Hela to grant him the ability to shoot ice from his hands.[9] Mordred encompassed the Justice League with ice.[8]
- Cursing: Gangsters cursed Cyrus Gold with a gris-gris that removed his soul.[2]
- Enchantment: The craft to enchant objects, making talismans, like Morgaine Le Fey's branding iron.[15]
- Energy absorption: Morgaine Le Fay absorbed the youth of others to maintain a young appearance.[9]
- Energy blasts: Many magicians had the ability to create beams of energy, or use spells that generated them.[3][12][15]
- Enthrallment: The wielder of Morgaine's Branding iron could enthrall any who were branded by it.[15]
- Geokinesis: Felix Faust managed to tear open the floor of the Temple of Athena.[12] Doctor Fate managed to create a golem out of stone.[2]
- Healing: There were several ways of healing those who were wounded by magic. It could be simple healing spell, a balm,[3] or a potion or powder in combination with a spell.[15]
- Illusion casting: Doctor Fate created duplicates of himself in order to confuse Hawkgirl.[2] The African hero Anansi could create illusions with his spider amulet given to him by Kwaku Anansi.[17]
- Interdimensional travel: With the help of portals, it was possible to travel between dimensions.[2]
- Location: Morgaine Le Fay had a gem that alerted her when Etrigan was present.[9] Zatanna used a locator spell, in combination with artifacts, to locate Circe.[11]
- Longevity: Several magic wielders had expanded lifespans, though the source of this longevity is mysterious.[3][9]
- Magic absorption: King Poseidon gathered all the ambient magic in the world to create the Trident.[18]
- Magic deflection: Inza gave Superman a talisman that allowed him to pass Karkull's spells.[3] Lex Luthor also acquired an amulet that negated the effects of magic.[19] There were also spells to undo magic.[15]
- Magic detection: Jason Blood possessed the power to detect trace magic.[9]
- Mental projection: Morgaine Le Fay planted images directly into J'onn J'onzz' mind when she caught him using his telepathic powers on her.[9]
- Portal creation: A preferred method of travel of Doctor Fate, who created Ankh-formed portals that allowed for transport between locations on multiple planes of reality.[2][3] The witch Tala also used portals to move members of the Legion of Doom around.[5] Felix Faust was able to create a small portal with Tartarus through which he could communicate with Hades.[12]
- Possession: Rama Kushna granted Deadman the ability to possess other people, to control their speech and actions.[5] Demons could also possess mortals, completely taking over their bodies, also in appearance.[3] Felix Faust, when robbed of his mortal form, transferred his spirit into the Annihilator.[4]
- Pyrokinesis: Etrigan could create fire with his hands.[14]
- Reality Alteration: The power to alter reality itself. A favorite of Mr. Mxyzptlk.[7]
- Rejuvenation: Morgaine Le Fay used a spell on Mordred to keep him young. She also reverted several Justice League members to children.[8]
- Revelation: With a spell of revelation, Doctor Fate managed to extract memories from Solomon Grundy's mind.[2]
- Size Alteration: Mordred made himself grow larger.[8]
- Summoning: The power to summon creatures.[6]
- Telepathy: Morgaine Le Fay was able to recognize if anyone used telepathy on her, though she did not have the power herself.[9]
- Teleportation: Moving from one place or another. A popular method of escape, used by Felix Faust[12] and Morgaine Le Fay.[9]
- Transformation: the craft of changing one object into another. This could include creating animate and inanimate objects from thin air,[15] though actual magical objects were impossible to conjure up.[11] Felix Faust used a talismanic amulet to turn people into stone,[12] and J'onn J'onzz transformed himself into metal with the Philosopher's Stone.[14] Zatanna and Circe knew spells to change people into animals.[11][20][21]
Sightings[]
See also[]
References[]
|