Is there such a thing as good and bad “magic”? Here are 4 different types to consider

In mid-2019, there was a string of Christian schools that removed the Harry Potter books from their school libraries due to the books’ depiction of spells. The concern is not confined to that series; conservative Catholics and Evangelicals often express unease about fictional depictions of magic, either as problematic themselves, or as risking enticing readers into an actual practice of magic. After all, numerous Biblical passages condemn sorcery or witchcraft, including Deuteronomy 18, Galatians 5, and Revelation 21.

However, the terms for magic have complicated meanings. The word translated as sorcery or witchcraft in Galatians 5 is pharmakeia, which is a root to our words pharmacy and pharmaceuticals. We need context to know that Saint Paul is not condemning medicine, but potions and charms. In the Lord of the Rings, the elven character Galadriel addresses the equivocal nature of “magic,” saying about her own power, “For this is what your folk would call magic. I believe; though I do not understand clearly what they mean; and they seem also to use the same word of the deceits of the Enemy.”

The word “magic” can refer to four different phenomena:

• Illusional magic – where an effect is produced by sleight of hand, technology, or other purely human means, but where the method is intentionally kept hidden and mysterious. Generally, this is for entertainment, where the audience knows that nothing paranormal is really occurring.
• Incantational magic – where a particular word or sequence of words carries supernatural or preternatural power, and merely pronouncing the words causes an effect.
• Inherent magic – where beings have abilities that are beyond, or appear beyond, ordinary physical causality, but the ability is natural to them.
• Invocatory magic – where an outside entity is invoked to produce an effect that could not be obtained by human means.

In illusional magic, the “magician” is not attempting to use any power beyond ordinary human means. If the practitioner is trying to cause someone to believe that these effects are actually caused by preternatural powers, then he is engaging in deception. If treated with moral seriousness, an author might choose to explore the moral angles of that choice in the actions of their characters.

Most things that appear to be incantational practices are not; nearly any spell, mantra, or sigil is either a method to call upon an outside power (an invocation), or else an attempt to focus one’s own energy (inherent), rather than the word or symbol itself having the power. However, an author could construct a fictional world where certain words have intrinsic power. In C.S. Lewis’ novel The Magician’s Nephew, one of the worlds has the Deplorable Word. Merely speaking it would cause global effects. These incantations are more like technology, somewhat morally neutral, and what matters ethically is how they are used- for what purposes and with what likely effects.

Inherent power, as Galadriel suggested, is not exactly magic. Certain Catholic scholars have speculated that, just as there are rare occasions where a human can perceive a spiritual truth without an input through the senses, perhaps there are rare occasions where a human soul can influence something without ordinary physical causality. Whether or not that is true in our world, it is a popular feature in stories from Star Wars to Doctor Strange. The moral considerations are those that apply to any ability a person naturally possesses; just as it would be immoral to use natural gifts of athleticism or intellectual ability to steal or to harm others, it would be sinful to use, say, telekinesis to do so. In these stories, there may also be non-human sentient beings that have different abilities from humans, and these might be described as magic, but could also be thought of as “superpowers.” Galadriel has abilities based on who she is, just as a Kryptonian in the DC Universe has a natural ability to turn sunlight into super-strength and flight. In one of Tolkien’s letters, he maintained that all magic in his stories is this kind of inherent power.

The majority of the moral issues related to magic are concerning invocational magic. In our world, some people do engage in practices of calling on supernatural entities to help them, and many fictional depictions of magic fall into this category as well. To assess the ethics of these, we can start with Saint Thomas Aquinas’ explanation of the virtue of justice, which is the habit of rendering to everyone what he is due, or is his right.

The first component of justice is the virtue of religion: rendering to God the unique degree of honor and thankfulness that is due to Him. Inherently, “He infinitely surpasses all things.” He is the source of every good, including our being. The level of honor that only God deserves is called latria in Latin, is generally translated as “worship,” and includes offering sacrifices.

Aquinas goes on to distinguish between latria and the lesser forms of honor that are due to parents, kings, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the saints, and the angels. The gestures of honor shown to saints and angels are called “veneration” to distinguish them from worship.

It is contrary to justice to worship anyone other than God, or to venerate any beings that we do not know to be worthy; either is giving honor that is not deserved.

From this understanding, Aquinas argues that these three things are part of the vice of superstition:

• Idolatry, “when divine worship is given to whom it should not be given”
• Divination, “when he usurps to himself, in an undue manner, the foretelling of future events”
• Practices where humans attempt to cause physical effects by “compact with the demons”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church echoes these concerns in paragraphs 2110 through 2117. First, worshipping any creature is a perversion of ourselves and is incompatible with communion with God. Second, while God can reveal the future, attempting to learn it by divination contradicts the “honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.” Third, any attempt to “have a supernatural power over others,” whether to help or harm them, is “gravely contrary to the virtue of religion.”

So, the Christian tradition condemns giving worship or veneration to any entity that does not deserve it, trying to learn the future via mystical or unnatural methods, or trying to acquire power by means that are not natural to us, especially interaction with spirits. We may ask for the presence and assistance of God, His angels, and approved saints. As to any other supernatural entities, we should not summon them, ask them for information, or ask them to do anything for us. The one exception that the Christian tradition endorses is that we can insist that they leave. While an exorcism requires permission of a bishop, we can pray other traditional deliverance prayers for ourselves and those for whom we have responsibility. An example is the Saint Anthony prayer, which beings with “Behold the Cross of the Lord, be gone all evil powers.”

Finally, when speaking to God, or the angels or saints, we should be in an attitude of politely requesting, as we would a friend. Any attempt to control or manipulate them is not in accordance with the honor they deserve, and so would be contrary to justice. For example, there is a practice of placing or burying a small statute of Saint Joseph on land you want to sell. Some people suggest burying the Saint upside-down to get him to help you faster, because he does not like that. This intentional disrespect turns the practice from prayer into superstition; you would then be trying to coerce heavenly help instead of asking for it.

Invocational magic in our world would involve worship or veneration of, or asking for information or help from, entities other than God or His angels or saints. It is consequently illicit. It is also dangerous, because if anything does respond to the invocation, it is impossible to tell who it really is or what its intentions are. In any fictional world that is too similar to our own, it would be irresponsible for an author to depict the protagonists engaging in these practices without consequences.

In fictional worlds that are more separated from our reality, it is arguably possible to construct different versions of invocational magic that are morally neutral. Invoking supernatural entities should still always be depicted as having a cost and a risk. Finally, in stories for younger audiences, the lines between the good and evil should be clear, both in the methods they are using and in the goals being pursued.

In “On Fairy Stories,” Tolkien argued for the value of stories that provide recovery, escape, and consolation by resetting our perspective, opening our imagination, and giving joy. By drawing careful distinctions, we can enjoy appropriate uses of magic in stories, and use discernment regarding whether to watch or read stories with more problematic uses.