nailsandglass: (13)
Matilda Wormwood ([personal profile] nailsandglass) wrote in [community profile] dressrobes2012-10-09 04:10 pm

IC Prospective: Matilda Wormwood

Character: Matilda Wormwood
Mun: Emely
Plot related: N

What is it about words that gives them so much weight when it comes to magic? I've been doing some reading and perhaps I am simply looking in the wrong places but I have yet to find anything that directly addresses this in any of the theory books I've picked up from the library.

Wordless magic is something we're all capable of, yet assigning a phrase to each spell makes it significantly easier. Why is that? What was it that came first, the word or the spell itself, and if the latter who thought up that saying something might make it easier? The more I think about it the more I can't help but feel it's a trick of the mind. By concentrating on a word that expounds the effect we desire, the more focused we become on said desire and isn't that what really brings about the magic?

If that is the case it really brings into question the necessity of even wands.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

((ooc; pardon the icons, I mostly only have ones of her when she is 6 but I am slowly gathering more))
mysterytwin: (uhhhh)

[personal profile] mysterytwin 2012-10-09 08:40 pm (UTC)(link)
You know, I think technically spells might have come first if magic goes back as far as it does. Magic might've been harnessed by the words and wands when they were first made but to start with it was probably totally different from how we learn magic today.

I've read that wordless magic is more advanced than anything we'd learn in school or in our lifetime but it's possible. I mean Mabel used to cause things to happen all the time before we got our letters. It might depend on the person though.
Edited 2012-10-09 20:41 (UTC)
doctorkishitani: (Sad Contemplation)

[personal profile] doctorkishitani 2012-10-09 08:42 pm (UTC)(link)
That is a very good question and I'm not sure I have an answer for you. In fact, I have spent a fair bit of time thinking about this, but none of my hypotheses are any good, but I do hope you find the answers you're looking for.

This is probably why potions are so much easier than incantations. Potion brewing transcends language, when you think about it.
mysterytwin: (le shrug)

[personal profile] mysterytwin 2012-10-09 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Well they do say the pen is mightier than the sword, so words might have been a way of harnessing the magic and making it stronger, rather than letting it run wild. It probably made it easier to deal with Muggles in that regard, since untamed magic was most likely sporadic.

There's a theory that we build walls around our inhibitions as we grow older and as we become more logical we're less likely to believe in things like faeries and the like, which would definitely make it more difficult to draw on our latent magical abilities if that's the case.

I've still got my notes on the source material. Did you want to borrow it?
Edited 2012-10-09 21:05 (UTC)
flings: (Your desire)

[personal profile] flings 2012-10-09 09:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Y♀u are a delightfully th♀ughtful y♀ung w♀man. I can't really answer y♀ur questi♀ns without s♀me research, but they c♀uld lead to s♀mething interesting, indeed.
flings: (Yeah baby she's got it)

[personal profile] flings 2012-10-09 09:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Y♀u're welc♀me.

♀h, I remember that feeling. Are y♀u muggleb♀rn, perhaps? N♀t that I'd put a l♀t ♀f stake in bl♀♀d status.
flings: (Default)

[personal profile] flings 2012-10-09 09:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm glad y♀u've enj♀yed it.

It d♀es get less confusing, I assure y♀u.
flings: (Yeah baby she's got it)

[personal profile] flings 2012-10-09 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)
I quite admire y♀ur thirst f♀r kn♀wledge. D♀n't let any♀ne tell y♀u that y♀u sh♀uldn't have that. And yes, that can c♀me as quite a comf♀rt!

♀f c♀urse. I am P♀rrim.
flings: (Black as the dark night she was)

[personal profile] flings 2012-10-09 11:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Likewise, Matlida.

I can't help w♀ndering if y♀ur parents are disc♀uraging y♀u fr♀m learning due t♀ the gender r♀les they're used t♀.
Edited 2012-10-09 23:55 (UTC)
flings: (She's got it yeah)

[personal profile] flings 2012-10-10 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
Thought so. It sounds like your parents have it particularly bad.

That just means you'll have to be stronger and smarter than them.
Edited 2012-10-10 10:55 (UTC)
camebackhome: (0A0)

[personal profile] camebackhome 2012-10-11 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
I think it works because using words helps focus your intent. Magic can be done without it, but it can be really unpredictable. A lot of kids do wordless magic, but it manifests in different ways, normally latching onto a subconscious desire or whim.

But with a spell, it focuses your intent and you get the result you want relatively consistently.