Magic
As portrayed in Buffy and Angel, becoming a witch involves a great deal of practice and work. Even those gifted with an unusually high ability (Willow Rosenberg, for example) can take several years to perfect their powers.
Spells can be performed by anyone by use of magical items while saying particular incantations (often in Latin). However witches have greater knowledge and power over the use of magic.
While most every being seen on the show, from demon to human, is capable of performing magic, there are natural witches with whom the talent for the harnessing and manipulation of mystical forces appears to be a genetic trait. This talent is inherited from mother to daughter. Examples:
- Catherine Madison and Amy Madison
- Tara Maclay and her mother
While these witches do tend to be extremely powerful, ordinary people without the genetic boost, such as Willow, demonstrate that they can be surpassed.
Read more about this topic: Witch (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
Famous quotes containing the word magic:
“Theories of child development and guidelines for parents are not cast in stone. They are constantly changing and adapting to new information and new pressures. There is no “right” way, just as there are no magic incantations that will always painlessly resolve a child’s problems.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)
“Oh, what a catastrophe for man when he cut himself off from the rhythm of the year, from his unison with the sun and the earth. Oh, what a catastrophe, what a maiming of love when it was a personal, merely personal feeling, taken away from the rising and the setting of the sun, and cut off from the magic connection of the solstice and the equinox!”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“The magic of procedure: do this after that and thus before so; then your wish will be granted.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)