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General Definition

A skilled or clever person, with the implication of knowledge less commonly known.

This is often in regards to knowledge of the internal workings of a black box system. Such a person may be noted as being wise to the knowledge, and utilization of such knowledge is often called magic by those not likewise informed.

During the 15th century, the term "wizard" referred to a philosopher or sage.

Semantically, the distinction between having knowledge and the active use of that knowledge is the difference between a sage and a magician (literally: a user of magic).

Anyone who is especially adept or talented in such utilization may be referred to as a wizard (such as a "computer wizard", or in reference to the eponymous character in The Who's song Pinball Wizard), and its utilization called wizardry.

Etymology

Middle English wisard : wise, wise. see wise1; + -ard, pejorative suffix; Indo-European root: weid-

Wizard claimants

Throughout history, there have been many who have claimed that to have such secret knowledge, meant having great, often supernatural, power.

The first example of this is the knowledge of the making and tending of fire.

See also:

Alchemists, Shamen, Witches, and Warlocks.

Wise old man

The archetypical wizard is the wise old man.

The wise old man (or "Senex") is an archetype as described by Carl Jung.

It is also a classic literary figure, and may be seen as a stock character.

In works of fiction, this kind of character is typically represented by a kind and wise, older father-type figure who uses personal knowledge of people and the world, to help tell stories and offer guidance, that in a mystical way illuminate to his audience a sense of who they are and who they might become.

The wise old man is often in some way "foreign", that is, from a different culture, nation, or occasionally, even a different time, than those he advises.

Wizards in Fiction

In modern usage, a wizard is considered a practitioner of supernatural magic, often found in mythology, folklore, fantasy-themed works of fiction, and role-playing games.

Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends

• Merlin - the famous wizard from Arthurian legends and their modern retellings.
• The Telchines - four wizards of ancient Greek myths.
• Thoth - Egyptian god of magic.
• Faust - an alchemist, but in some versions of the tale also a magician.
• The wizard in fairy tale of The Wizard King.
• Zhang Jiao - the leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
• Väinämöinen - the grand wizard of Kalevala
• Jehoshua Ben-Pandira - An Egyptian wizard suggested by scholar Gerald Massey to be the original Jesus.

Wizards in works of fiction

• Prospero - the famous wizard in Shakespeare's The Tempest.
• The eponymous character of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a stage magician pretending to be a genuine wizard; in the 1939 movie version the wizard was also a fake. However, in later Oz stories, he studies magic with Glinda and becomes a genuine wizard. See Wizard (Oz).
• Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Alatar and Pallando - from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings - are called Wizards, but are really supernatural entities. In the Middle-earth legendarium, "wizard" is a term applied only to the five members of the Order of the Istari. While other practitioners of magic exist in Middle-earth (good and evil), they are never referred to as wizards.
• All male magic-users from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and its sequels are called wizards. (Note that female practicioners of magic are called witches.)
• In the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, wizards are numerous, and can normally be found in the Unseen University. One of the predominant wizards in the series is Rincewind.
• Diane Duane describes wizards as emmissaries of "the One" (see God), who take an oath to use powers beyond the comprehension of a non-wizard in the service of life, to keep entropy, personified as a Lone Power, under control and therefore delay the demise of the universe. They are said to still exist in the present day, but due to negative public perception, work undercover.
• The Wizards of Skyhall Trilogy is a three book series, about twelve-year-old antihero turned hero, Arianna Kelt, a reformed thief and wizard seer. It is set in J. R. King's imaginary land of Skyhall.

Wizards in Role Playing

Dungeons and Dragons

In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the wizard is one of the base character classes. A wizard is an arcane magic user, and weak in mêlée combat. Wizards spend several years studying magic.

The magic system--where wizards memorize spells which they then forget when they cast them--was heavily influenced by the The Dying Earth stories and novels of Jack Vance.

Derived Uses and Related terms

• In the writings of Deepak Chopra, a Wizard is simply a Self-Realized person (see Non-duality), who recognizes itself (and consequently its ability) as limitless.

• In some MUD games, a wizard is a member of the world-building staff.

References

1. Wizard in the Jargon File, and its Wiki version
2. Wizard - The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
3. http://www.highbeam.com/ref/doc3.asp?docid=1E1:fire and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3670017.stm

• Fictional magicians
• Magic