Various Genres
In science fiction plots (especially the "hard" variety), while magic tends to be avoided, often extraordinary facts are portrayed that do not have a scientific basis and are not explained in that fashion. In these cases the reader might find it useful to remember Arthur C. Clarke's "Third Law": Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Psionics is often used to endow science fiction characters with abilities, which, if they were called "magic", would make the story fantasy. Many stories deliberately or inadvertently equate magic with psychic ability; others, such as Mary Stewart's Merlin novels or the Valdemar series of Mercedes Lackey, distinguish between the two. Lackey carefully delineates the differences between "mages", who use magic, and "heralds", who have paranormal powers, and the types of training required.
Magic has been portrayed in numerous games, in which magic is a characteristic available to players in certain circumstances.
Sorcerers and sorcery are a staple of Chinese wuxia fiction and are dramatically featured in many martial arts movies (for example the Jutsu has supernatural effects, but with some scientific properties).
It is possible to say that The Force from Star Wars canon is a type of magic, with Jedi and Sith being seen as wizards and sorcerers. Obi-wan Kenobi is referred to at least once, in Episode IV: A New Hope, as a "wizard", and later in that movie, an Imperial officer refers to Darth Vader's "sorcerer's ways". Interestingly, the Sith have their own ability, called Sith magic, that they conjure in the form of spells. This is sometimes used in conjunction with their own brand of alchemy. It is similar to real life maleficium.
In the fantasy comic books series Dark and Light Elemental Ages from Warlords, good and evil wizards and witches practice many types of magic. Huckleberry Yiucko the sorcerer and Hayden Yiucko the sorceress are good mages in the medieval United Kingdom, who practice their magic with their magic words. They do magic tricks, cast good spells and help the brave knights to save the worlds of modern times and Middle Ages. Marvenok and Lidak the warlocks and Lafety Le Fei the witch are evil mages and practice dark magic to create, change, murder and destroy everyone, so they're casting bad spells.
In the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise, alchemy adopts the role magic traditionally takes in fantasy fiction. Just as certain laws govern the practice of magic, the same applies to the practice of alchemy. In order to carry out its function, alchemy requires a payment of equal value. This limiting factor of alchemy is known as the "Law of Equivalent Exchange". The Philosopher's Stone is believed to allow an alchemist the power to bypass this law and is comparable to powerful magical items prevalent in other works of fantasy fiction.
Read more about this topic: Magic In Fiction