magics

Magics is the plural form of magic and can refer to the diverse practices and systems that claim to produce effects through supernatural or extraordinary means. The term encompasses belief-based practices in cultures around the world as well as forms of real or fictional entertainment that rely on illusion. In scholarly contexts, magics are examined as culturally embedded symbolic systems that vary across time and place, and are often discussed alongside religion and science rather than as a single field.

Historically, magics are commonly categorized by purpose and method. Ritual or ceremonial magic seeks to influence events through prescribed rites, invocations, and correspondences. Folk or traditional magic relies on accessible practices, objects, and local knowledge. Anthropologists have described theories such as sympathetic or imitative magic—the idea that like influences like—and contagious magic—the belief that power can be transferred through contact. These distinctions are not universal and have shifted with cultural context.

Stage magic, or illusionism, represents a separate strand where tricks and deception are used for entertainment. It does not claim supernatural effects and is distinguished from belief-based practices by its explicitly performative and demonstrable nature. The boundary between magic as belief and magic as performance has varied historically and culturally, affecting how magics are understood in different societies.

In contemporary usage, magics also appears in fiction, fantasy literature, and gaming to denote distinct systems of magical rules and powers. The term remains contextual, with some communities preferring more specific descriptors to avoid conflating belief-based practices with entertainment or scientific explanations.