George
03-08-2005, 10:00
Okay,
In Harry Potter, we see a great variety of magic and spells. Yet, other than classify Dark Magic, and talk about Occlumency for a bit, JKR has not shown us much explanation as to the various branches of magic, that are described in the myths upon which she bases Harry Potter. So, here I am, trying to make sense of it all, so as to gain a deeper understanding of the types of magic we encounter in Harry Potter. The thought that prompted this thread was a simple one: Inferi. They are, basically, bodies that are reanimated and raised, in order to do a Dark wizard's bidding. I was slightly surprised at the fact that it was classified as pure dark magic. Read on and one will understand:
MAGIC, in myths, is split into four schools:
1) School of Light (teaches with defensive spells, to counter damage inflicted by Dark Magic)
2) School of Dark (teaches powerful offensive spells, as well as very potent work on other bodies)
3) Elementary School (teaches four major branches of magic: Air, Fire, Water and Earth)
4) Spiritual School (teaches three major branches of magic: Spirit, Mind and Body)
These four schools make, the magic known to a particular world.
Before I delve into more complex details, I would like to talk about Inferi for a bit: they are not PURELY Dark Magic. The act of reanimating a dead body is part of a branch of magic called Necromancy. This is very Dark stuff indeed. However, it is only 50% of an Inferius. The other half, which is the doing a wizard's bidding is purely Spirit and Mind magic... the Spiritual School in other words. So, though the Inferi are of a Dark nature, one must not consider them as being nothing but evil. I am sure that Dumbledore could have used Inferi, too, not necessarily making him an evil man.
Now, a little bit on the Unforgivable Curses... again, generally, they are synonymous with Dark Magic... at least I was told so by several Harry Potter buddies. However, let us take each of them separately:
1) Imperius Curse: This controls someone else's mind. To me, it is all Mind Magic- the Spiritual School in other words.
2) Cruciatus Curse: Inflicts terrible pain: Although of a Dark nature, again, it contains traces of Body Magic- the Spiritual School once more, but this time, in a bit of a mix with Dark School.
3) Avada Kedavra: Kills a wizard, without a trace; believe me, Dark Magic doesn't care about leaving marks... as we can see in the Sectumsempra. No, the Avada Kedavra is Spirit Magic, as it seems to simply take the life out of a wizard. It can be compared quite successfully to a Dementor's Kiss, which also sucks the soul out. The fact that it is generally used for Dark purposes does not make the Killing Curse a Dark Magic Spell- studied on an academic level, it contains no Dark Magic.
The spell that we see Dumbledore perform, in order to get the Inferi away from him and Harry: that is a Fire spell. The Spirit/Dark Magic within the Inferi went bezerk at the sign of Fire Magic: this brings us to another theme of great importance: Resistance to Other Magic: we can deduce that the Inferi have weak Fire resistance. As a result, one can see that every wizard has their own kinds of weaknesses- nobody can possess an infinite resistance to all branches of magic, and can hence be destroyed with a relatively simple spell of a branch of magic that they are not resistant to: Voldemort, we see, has a low resistance to LOVE- an important factor of Spirit Magic. Hence, we can, once again, deduce, that Voldemort's downfall will come as a result of strength of Spirit, as opposed to a great, collective, magical power working against him.
I would also like to point out that Voldemort has great Mind powers- he is the very good at Legilimency, and can use Occlumency against Harry. It is highly ironic that Voldemort downfall will be from the same branch of magic as the one in which he excells! It is also funny that Harry, who is so good at Spirit Magic (with all his "love" and "nobility"), is useless at Occlumency, and very bad at Mind Magic in general. Snape is also excellent at Mind Magic... his thoughts are buried deep inside him every time, and he rarely shows emotion- a very important skill for a good Occlumens.
In conclusion, I would like to state that, even though JKR has not placed any direct emphasis on various branches of magic, it is worth noting that they do play a part in the world of Harry Potter, and, if careful, one can spot them in various parts. They may hold importance in relation to the ultimate end of the series. Also, I would like to say that I know the reason Voldemort HAS to be defeated- his favourite branch of magic is a lethal one, but, as a branch in itself, is incomplete. As you have seen, every Dark spell also employs some other kind of skill- even stuff like the Sectumsempra uses Body Magic. The fact that Dark Magic can never be used on its own, except in Necromancy, makes it very impotent when fighting more kinds of magic, that are united against you... ultimately, the Dark Wizard will always be defeated, as it concentrates on offense too much and forgets defense... this is seen when Voldemort first attempts to kill Harry, and it will, undoubtedly, be seen again in Book 7.
In Harry Potter, we see a great variety of magic and spells. Yet, other than classify Dark Magic, and talk about Occlumency for a bit, JKR has not shown us much explanation as to the various branches of magic, that are described in the myths upon which she bases Harry Potter. So, here I am, trying to make sense of it all, so as to gain a deeper understanding of the types of magic we encounter in Harry Potter. The thought that prompted this thread was a simple one: Inferi. They are, basically, bodies that are reanimated and raised, in order to do a Dark wizard's bidding. I was slightly surprised at the fact that it was classified as pure dark magic. Read on and one will understand:
MAGIC, in myths, is split into four schools:
1) School of Light (teaches with defensive spells, to counter damage inflicted by Dark Magic)
2) School of Dark (teaches powerful offensive spells, as well as very potent work on other bodies)
3) Elementary School (teaches four major branches of magic: Air, Fire, Water and Earth)
4) Spiritual School (teaches three major branches of magic: Spirit, Mind and Body)
These four schools make, the magic known to a particular world.
Before I delve into more complex details, I would like to talk about Inferi for a bit: they are not PURELY Dark Magic. The act of reanimating a dead body is part of a branch of magic called Necromancy. This is very Dark stuff indeed. However, it is only 50% of an Inferius. The other half, which is the doing a wizard's bidding is purely Spirit and Mind magic... the Spiritual School in other words. So, though the Inferi are of a Dark nature, one must not consider them as being nothing but evil. I am sure that Dumbledore could have used Inferi, too, not necessarily making him an evil man.
Now, a little bit on the Unforgivable Curses... again, generally, they are synonymous with Dark Magic... at least I was told so by several Harry Potter buddies. However, let us take each of them separately:
1) Imperius Curse: This controls someone else's mind. To me, it is all Mind Magic- the Spiritual School in other words.
2) Cruciatus Curse: Inflicts terrible pain: Although of a Dark nature, again, it contains traces of Body Magic- the Spiritual School once more, but this time, in a bit of a mix with Dark School.
3) Avada Kedavra: Kills a wizard, without a trace; believe me, Dark Magic doesn't care about leaving marks... as we can see in the Sectumsempra. No, the Avada Kedavra is Spirit Magic, as it seems to simply take the life out of a wizard. It can be compared quite successfully to a Dementor's Kiss, which also sucks the soul out. The fact that it is generally used for Dark purposes does not make the Killing Curse a Dark Magic Spell- studied on an academic level, it contains no Dark Magic.
The spell that we see Dumbledore perform, in order to get the Inferi away from him and Harry: that is a Fire spell. The Spirit/Dark Magic within the Inferi went bezerk at the sign of Fire Magic: this brings us to another theme of great importance: Resistance to Other Magic: we can deduce that the Inferi have weak Fire resistance. As a result, one can see that every wizard has their own kinds of weaknesses- nobody can possess an infinite resistance to all branches of magic, and can hence be destroyed with a relatively simple spell of a branch of magic that they are not resistant to: Voldemort, we see, has a low resistance to LOVE- an important factor of Spirit Magic. Hence, we can, once again, deduce, that Voldemort's downfall will come as a result of strength of Spirit, as opposed to a great, collective, magical power working against him.
I would also like to point out that Voldemort has great Mind powers- he is the very good at Legilimency, and can use Occlumency against Harry. It is highly ironic that Voldemort downfall will be from the same branch of magic as the one in which he excells! It is also funny that Harry, who is so good at Spirit Magic (with all his "love" and "nobility"), is useless at Occlumency, and very bad at Mind Magic in general. Snape is also excellent at Mind Magic... his thoughts are buried deep inside him every time, and he rarely shows emotion- a very important skill for a good Occlumens.
In conclusion, I would like to state that, even though JKR has not placed any direct emphasis on various branches of magic, it is worth noting that they do play a part in the world of Harry Potter, and, if careful, one can spot them in various parts. They may hold importance in relation to the ultimate end of the series. Also, I would like to say that I know the reason Voldemort HAS to be defeated- his favourite branch of magic is a lethal one, but, as a branch in itself, is incomplete. As you have seen, every Dark spell also employs some other kind of skill- even stuff like the Sectumsempra uses Body Magic. The fact that Dark Magic can never be used on its own, except in Necromancy, makes it very impotent when fighting more kinds of magic, that are united against you... ultimately, the Dark Wizard will always be defeated, as it concentrates on offense too much and forgets defense... this is seen when Voldemort first attempts to kill Harry, and it will, undoubtedly, be seen again in Book 7.