- "It's not the Force, it's magic!"
- ―Adler Roty
Magic was a catch-all term referring to any of a number of supernatural techniques or occult teachings outside of conventional Force powers. It was thought that magic allowed to manipulate aspects of the reality in order to influence events.
Overview
The exact nature of magic remains in dispute among philosophers, as does its relationship to the Force proper. It is possible that all "magic" traditions were simply different methods of accessing the same Force, or were emanations of different aspects of it. More so than the Force, magic potency could be trapped in artifacts or locations—but again, this may be just due to different methods of accessing and using the Force.
The term was also sometimes mistakenly used by primitives or less-informed people to refer to the Force powers of mainstream Jedi and Sith, who were likely to be called "wizards" and their abilities attributed to "magic." The Rakata for example referred to Revan's powers as magic, much to the dismay of Revan, who tried to explain the difference to them. Han Solo also referred to Obi-Wan Kenobi's powers as "magic."
Derivatives of the word "magic" and words such as "witch" are terms describing dark side users or powers (Witches of Dathomir, Sith magic, Sith alchemy, Morag identified as "Witch," Emperor's Mage) which had almost exclusively negative connotations.
Finally, it referred to the non-supernatural stage trickery of entertainers like Wim Magwit.
Behind the scenes
The exclusive use of real-life occult terms (witch, mage, prophet, warlock, alchemy, cult) to refer to Sith organizations or entities creates a parallel between an orthodox religion (the Jedi) and a cult (the dark side).
In Star Wars roleplaying games, Force powers have the role of magic spells of traditional fantasy RPGs. The Force repository is also comparable to the "mana pool" of fantasy games.
A connection of fantasy magic and the Force has been "attempted" during an April Fools' joke which wanted the midi-chlorians originate from the "planet Andowyne," the fantasy world of Willow.
See also
Appearances
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Mentioned only)
- Darth Plagueis (Mentioned only) (as Nightsisters' Magicks)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Academy" (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Nightsisters"
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Monster"
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Witches of the Mist"
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Shadow Warrior"
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Massacre"
- Star Wars 3: Death Star! (First mentioned)
- Template:SWG
- Ewoks — "The Cries of the Trees" (First appearance)
- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi novel (First mentioned)
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi junior novel (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars 92: The Dream (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron: Requiem for a Rogue
- The Courtship of Princess Leia
- Boba Fett: Bounty on Bar-Kooda (stage illusions)
- The Tale of the Aiwha Pod (Indirect mention only) (as mystical, powers beyond comprehension)
Non-canon appearances
Sources
- Droids\Ewoks
- Cracken's Threat Dossier
- Creatures of the Galaxy
- C-3PO: Tales of the Golden Droid
- HoloNet News advertisement
- The Shadow War Chronicles in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link) (Non-canonical appearance)
- Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side
- Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded
- "Authors of the Expanded Universe: L. Neil Smith" — Star Wars Insider 145
- Nightsisters in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)