Young Writers Society

In my novel, The Broken Seal, magic flows through two channels:

1. through the earth, a la Ley and
2. through the bdoy, a la chakra.

Originally, the idea was to have the energy beneath the earth a quiet thing, hence sealed, but once the plot began to move and lore needed names and devices, it became apparent that Ley was needed to drive forward some pieces--and so the lifeblood of the planet was introduced.

What I want to discuss is the way I incorporate planetary lifeblood magic into something that is holy in our own world--even to me--the chakra. All reiki positionals are considered before healing sessions are undertaken, all points of energy are pinpointed in novelesque description--and yet it's not until the second volume that you begin to see Ley in powerful forms through the chakra due to loss of control (and ley manipulation, which I think is a sweet deal.)

How would you go about incorporating the two systems? Do you prefer your holy to remain holy and your magic magic? Let's talk about that.

Ty

I am the type where the holy stays holy, and if you want to go mucking around with real life concepts then you'd better 1- know exactly what you're talking about and 2- respect the original purpose.

Like, chakra is one of those things that I find gets tossed around a lot. It's used fairly wonderfully in A:tLA, because A:tLA was Asian based and using recognizable forms of healing/blocking that remind me of the basis of Qigong I know.

But if you don't have that basic cultural groundwork then you start to get into dicy territory, and growing up with a new age and appropriation-happy mother I am very wary of chakra being used in fiction. Unless you really know what it is, then I wouldn't try changing it.

I'm in agreement 100%. And I'm not too proud to admit that I'm retconning most of volume 1's content to reflect a more accurate representation of the chakra because most of Volume 1 was written before my study of Tibetan Reiki.

There are even some things from A:TLoK that give me eye-rolls because they're on the mythical side of chakra mythos.

And the ley really takes over when it takes over. Ideally in the retcon, chakra will be for the healer characters only--maybe for assassins (you know the ones) and higher scholars.

How do you manage your magic channels?

Magic in my own novels tends to be built on what I feel the story needs and what I'm fascinated by at the time— Cat Steps was based along the principle of connection and communication and keeps getting refined over the years as my concept of both becomes more refined, born out of my interest of psychology, talent, and learning styles in my early teens. One of my would-be magic systems is based around bartending and mixology, with a side helping of quantum physics and Fate Said So (mundane vs "divine" magic). I have another concept based upon ghosts and Islam, because sometimes you want to write a ghost story that isn't Christian.

I keep trying to find a way to play with prophecy, corrupted divine magic, and condemned-but-not-evil creatures, but the answer has remained exceptionally illusive. If a group of people have magic powers to protect the world, what, exactly, are they protecting the world from? I'm trying to establish a duality between groups, neither of which is evil, neither of which is good, but I'm struggling to figure out how the purpose of those individuals can be corrupted over generations.

There are some types of magic I don't touch, because they rest somewhere between "overdone to death" and "any uniqueness I could bring to them is likely overdone as well." Wand magic, dragon magic, spoken magic. Anything that has too much ritual, too much pomp and circumstance.

I'm not the type to think complex makes for powerful. A single-focused desire to survive is more powerful than a spell you spend months setting up, because a spell is only as powerful as your intent and sometimes that strong will to do something will only dull the more you reach for grandness. There's a reason my concept of "corruption" in the magic system I'm trying to wrestle is synonymous with "flashy shows that makes people think magic is at hand."