What is magic in fantasy books?
There are three main means of presenting magic in Fantasy: good magic, evil magic, and neutral magic. Examples of the first usually follow the hedges of magic that Steven Greydanus has outlined. Although good magic may not be overtly attributed to God, generally its practitioners are saintly (elves, fairies, aging wizards, stars, etc.). Evil magic is almost always represented as something demonic in origin. Neutral magic is that inherent magic to an object, person, animal, etc. A unicorn’s horn is morally neutral magical in the same way that a fish’s ability to exist underwater is morally neutral. Unsurprisingly, the majority of magic found in fantasy books falls into this third category – a fact that should not be overlooked. (In some senses, one might say that a morally neutral magic is essentially good since God creates all things to be good and then man uses those things either in a moral or immoral fashion. This is true. However, for the sake of practicality, it is simpler to poin
