Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today we’re going to be discussing MAGIC- specifically, what it is, where it comes from,
and why only some people can channel it.
Expanding on that, we’re going to be looking at the physiological differences between wizardkind
and mugglekind- attempting to identify biological characteristics that may differentiate the
two.
Magic is defined as ‘the power of apparently influencing the course of events by using
mysterious or supernatural forces’, which on paper seems like a fairly fitting description.
However, the part of the definition I take issue with is the ‘supernatural’ component-
as this implies that magic is beyond scientific comprehension.
Supernatural means just that- a force that transcends the laws of nature.
But is magic really SUPERNATURAL?
Is it a force that relies on religious influence?
Or can it be biologically explained?
From what I can tell, this aspect of magic seems to have been interpreted very differently
across a broad spectrum of Harry Potter fans.
Some fans view / have viewed magic in the Harry Potter series as being based on science-
a natural force that can be studied and understood through the study of magical theory and the
practice of magic.
Reinforcing this is the fact that the use of magic in the series often involves scientific
principles such as the conservation of energy.
However, many others view / have viewed magic in the series as being based on religion-
a mysterious and unknownable force that is beyond the understanding of mere mortals.
In fact, this religious correlation is one of the main reasons that the Harry Potter
books became (temporarily) one of the most BANNED books to have ever hit shelves.
Under the assumption that the magic in the books was religious in nature, many Christian
groups strongly opposed it, the reason for this being that witchcraft is ‘directly
denounced’ in the bible.
But I’m here to set the record straight: Magic is SCIENCE based- a fact that has been
confirmed by JK Rowling herself.
Though many interpreted the magical world of Harry Potter to be driven by Wiccanism-
a modern pagan, witchcraft religion- JK Rowling has since insisted that the magic in Harry
Potter is entirely secular- a product of science and not religion.
It does not depend on active intervention by a god or gods.
This is consistent with her condemnation of WICCA- which believes magic to be spiritual
in nature.
“It's a different concept of magic to the one laid out in the books, so I don't really
see how they can co-exist.”
Okay- so we’ve confirmed that MAGIC is indeed science-based.
But, what does that mean exactly?
In essence, ‘magic’ is an inherent part of the fabric of the universe and exists as
a kind of energy that can be harnessed and manipulated by those with the ability to do
so (those possessing the appropriate genetic makeup).
This theory is supported by the fact that magic is present in various forms in the natural
world, such as in the plants and animals that inhabit the wizarding world.
Furthermore, it appears that magic is somehow linked to the human psyche - presenting itself
as a manifestation of the power of the mind.
This theory is supported by the fact that many magical spells and incantations in the
series involve the use of intention and visualization, as well as the power of belief.
Witches, wizards, and other creatures who possess magical abilities bear a gene that
allows them to exploit the ‘natural’ forces of magic.
This is reinforced by JK Rowling:
“Magic is a supernatural force that changes aspects of the world at fundamental levels.
The ability for humans to use magic is a hereditary trait passed down from a person's ancestors,
which allows witches and wizards to practise it.
Rather than being a mystical or unnatural pursuit that defied the laws of nature, however,
magic simply allowed those who could wield it to exploit them in very specific and creative
ways that Muggle sciences were unable to replicate.”
In essence, witches/wizards are essentially ‘advanced’ or ‘mutated’ human beings
that have either inherited the ability to exploit magic through their ancestry OR (in
rarer occasions) independently developed the ability to exploit magic through a genetic
mutation.
They have advanced physiologies, heightened perception, and if trained enough, have the
ability to control the world’s elements to some extent.
It would also appear that, besides possessing the magical gene, witches and wizards have
some other notable physiological benefits that could classify them as ‘advanced humans’.
These traits include longer life spans (though not to a SIGNIFICANT extent), and a resistance
to most common illnesses.
Basically- witches and wizards are just enhanced humans- which means that their existence (pre-magic)
is the same as the original ancestors of humans who were thought to have first existed about
6 million years ago.
Over millions of years humans developed and evolved, and so it shouldn’t be surprising
to anyone that eventually, humans started showing- supernatural capabilities- the ability
to perform magic.
Though the origins of wizardkind in Harry Potter are undefined, we DO have some information
about the first DOCUMENTED magical being.
The first known wizard, across all continents, was a wizard by the name of Jajamanekh who
hailed from Egypt as far back as 2600 BC.
There is little to no information available of Jajamanekh, other than where he was from
and the period in which he lived, but I do wonder if wizardkind went back further than
that, or if he was truly the first.
Though we’ve been able to narrow down magic to some sort of SCIENTIFIC origin- the exact
origins of magic are still unclear to this day.
No one knows whether the inception of wizardkind was born from humans randomly discovering
their magical abilities- inadvertently exploiting the magical gene- or whether some sort of
breadcrumb was discovered and subsequently pursued.
Nevertheless, at some point in time the ‘innate’ ability to perform magic was uncovered in
humans- introducing the beginnings of ‘wizardkind’ and the start of a new chapter where the natural
force of magic could begin to be harnessed.
However, I’d also like to add that I very much doubt ‘humans’ were the first to
exploit magic.
There are a variety of species in the magical world which I imagine far-preceded wizardkind,
creatures like Goblins and Elves, and based on Rowling’s definition of magic it can
be inferred that there are no apparent differences in the type of magic that they perform.
All ‘magical’ forms of life in Harry Potter simply possess the ability to ‘wield’
magic, and it’s not necessarily that they themselves are ‘magical’- only that they
are able to take advantage of the magic around them.
And while the ability to perform magic is a genetic variation in and of itself, it’s
also worth mentioning that some witches and wizards have undergone what appears to be
even FURTHER mutation.
These groups are able to tap in to magic on an even DEEPER level and possess abilities
that are seemingly unachievable by witches and wizards WITHOUT these subsequent mutations.
These sub-species include (but are not limited to):
Metamorphmagi: Those born with the ability to dramatically change their physical appearance
at will.
Seers: Those born with the ability to see or predict future events.
and
Parselmouths: Those born with the ability to speak Parseltongue, allowing them to communicate
with Snakes.
And while these examples paint a picture of the types of witches/wizards that can exist
as a result of hereditary, born-traits, it’s also worth mentioning that there are also
many witches/wizards that have been able to achieve similar abilities through LEARNED-traits.
And while magic is ‘scientific’ in nature and not the religious-based force presumed
by many, it certainly doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s a mysterious, enigmatic
force of nature with seemingly endless possibilities.
If we consider that the first glimpses of magic became known as late as 2600 BC, then
I think we can reasonably infer that magic will continue to be exploited on an exponentially
growing scale.
In 10,000 or even 100,000 years- who knows what might be achievable via the magical gene.
And that’s it for this video!
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Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live