“A Magic Circle” by J. W. Waterhouse
When we get into the realm of historical fantasy, and especially Arthurian legend, magic can mean many different things. So, without spoiling the plot, I wanted to give you a little insight on how I’ve chosen to use magic in my series of books.
I’ve never been a big fan of the really high fantasy sword and sorcery stuff where people conjure blue flame out of thin air and play magical dodgeball, so you won’t be seeing that in my work. I decided to go with a more natural approach, one that felt true to the beliefs of the Celts. We don’t know exactly what magic they used, but we know they believed in it from Roman accounts of the battle of Mona where the priestesses were said to keen and cast spells upon the wind as the Roman army advanced and slaughtered them. We also know that they were very in tune with nature. So, I chose to combine the two and make their magic very elemental.
What you will see (mainly from the Druids and priestesses of Avalon):
- Use of the Sight and divination to see into the past, present and future
- Invocation of the goddesses/gods and prophecy
- Weather magic (calling the rain, fog, clouds, etc.)
- Rituals based in Celtic religious belief
- Herbalism and healing/poisonous potions
- Mentions of nature spirits
- Use of geasa (taboos) to place restrictions on someone
What you won’t see:
- Smiting with lightning bolts or fireballs
- Spell casting
- Mythical creatures as characters (sorry, no dragons or faeries)
- Shape-shifting
You’ll notice that I don’t use magic as a form of control (spell casting). That’s because I find it far more intriguing to explore the very human ways we manipulate one another through power (political, familial, religious, etc.), emotion (love, lust, hatred, fear) and our own personal beliefs/biases/bigotry.
Royal Mail’s Magical Realm Stamps
My characters have certain natural talents, just like you or I, but none of them could perform their magic without serious training. It’s not something they take lightly or do for fun. For them, magic is a gift to be respected and honored, not abused. And if one does abuse it, the consequences are high.
How do you feel about magic in historical fantasy? Do you prefer more or less? What are some books/movies/etc. that you think handled magic well? Which ones didn’t you like? Do you believe in magic?
I, too, write historical based fantasy based on the Celtic tradition; however, my novel is much earlier in time than yours. I found myself struggling with the same issue regarding magic. My first novel, I put the high fantasy, magic out of nothing fight scenes and it drove me crazy. I shelfed that one and a year later, I am now working on the “re-write”, if one can call it that as it is so very different. This novel has its focus in elemental magic as well. I very much look forward to read your work! The more I hear about it, the more anxious I become.
Hi again, Lora!
I’ll be heading farther back in time for a future novel (non-Arthurian) so I’m sure this will be an ongoing area of struggle for me, too. Magic is a very subjective thing, but what I’ve found from reading other people’s writing is that as long as you establish the rules of how it works in your world and don’t violate them, readers are willing to accept a lot without much question.
Thank you for your kind words about my work. I’m looking forward to being able to share it. The first book is being line edited by a professional editor now and I just took a break from writing the second one, so hopefully within a year or two you’ll be able to read some of it!
I can’t wait to read yours as well!
Thank you. I am still honing out the first draft. Not even close to being ready for a line edit as of yet. But it is coming along! 🙂
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