Laws of Magic
This article is about principles of the fictional magic system. For the laws of the Order of Hermes, see Hermetic Law.
The Laws of Magic are basic principles of the fictional system of Hermetic Magic. They are a small but important part of the somewhat vaguely-defined magic theory that all magi of the Order of Hermes use.
Summary of the Laws
The most thorough discussion of the laws of magic occurs in the Third Edition rule book.
- The Law of Contagion
- Simply, "once together, always together."[1] Items which were once part of a whole remain mystically connected to the original. This is the principle by which most arcane connections are obtained.
- The Law of Sympathy
- "That which looks alike, is alike."[1] For example, an image of a person gives some power over the person, or a vial of water helps affect a lake. This was commonly used in spell foci in ArM3 and ArM4, which boosted a magus's Casting Total.
- The Law of Names
- "Names have power."[2] Knowing the name of a demon, for example, helps to summon or banish it.
Laws of Magic in Fourth Edition
ArM4 mentions four Laws of Magic:
- Law of Arcane Connections[3]
- Law of Sympathy[4]
- Law of Contagion[5]
- Law of Names[6]
Laws of Magic in Fifth Edition
Two of the Laws of magic are mentioned, but not defined or explained, in the text of spell descriptions in the Fifth Edition rule book. These are the Law of Names[7] and the Law of Sympathy.[8] Since there are only two references to these laws in ArM5, they may be editorial mistakes that occurred when the text of the spell descriptions was copied from ArM4.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ars Magica Third Edition, p. 195, "Spell Laws"
- ↑ Ars Magica Third Edition, page 233, Demon's Eternal Oblivion
- ↑ Ars Magica Fourth Edition, p. 72, "Arcane Connections"
- ↑ Ars Magica Fourth Edition, p. 105, "Spell Foci"
- ↑ Ars Magica Fourth Edition, p. 114, Voice of the Lake
- ↑ Ars Magica Fourth Edition, p. 158, Demon's Eternal Oblivion
- ↑ Ars Magica Fifth Edition, p. 152, Incantation of Summoning the Dead
- ↑ Ars Magica Fifth Edition, p. 161, Aegis of the Hearth