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Wizard (fantasy)

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Merlin, from the British mythology surrounding King Arthur, is an example of a well-known, traditional literary wizard.

A wizard is a practitioner of magic, especially in folklore, fantasy fiction, and fantasy role-playing games. In popular use during 16th century England, "wizard' was used to denote a helpful male folk magican, a cunning man as they were usually called. The word does not generally apply to Neopagans, or to stage magicians (or illusionists).

Etymology

During the 15th century, the term "wizard" referred to "philosopher, sage", from Middle English wysard (from wys "wise" and the -ard suffix also in drunkard etc.) The semantic restriction to "sorcerer, magician" occurred in the 16th century. They have historical roots in the Shamans and the Magi.

Derived Uses

Colloquially, anyone who is especially adept at some obscure or difficult endeavor may be referred to as a wizard. For instance, someone who is particularly skilled with computers might be referred to as a "computer wizard". Wizard is also a slang term for an expert pinball player (cf. The Who's song Pinball Wizard). (However, normal usage applies more specialized superlatives to specific fields of endeavor, thus a musician is more likely to be called a "maestro" than a "wizard").

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

Related terms

During the Christianization of Norway, King Olaf Trygvasson had wizards (seidmen) tied up and left on a skerry at ebb.

In most cases there is little to differentiate a wizard from similar fictional and folkloric practitioners of magic such as an enchanter, a magician, a sorcerer, a necromancer, or a thaumaturgist, but specific authors and works use the names with narrower meanings. When such distinctions are made, sorcerers are more often practitioners of evocations or black magic, and there may be variations on level and type of power associated with each name.

The ever-shifting chaos of fantasy writing has, of course, muddled the meaning of each term, but they should never be stuck with a single meaning, for they change depending upon where they're found.

Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition, for example, distinguishes between the sorcerer and wizard character classes as follows:

  • "Sorcerers create magic the way poets create poems, with inborn talent honed by practice."
  • "Wizards depend on intensive study to create their magic... For a wizard, magic is not a talent but a deliberate rewarding art."

Steve Pemberton's The Times & Life of Lucifer Jones describes the distinction thus: "The difference between a wizard and a sorcerer is comparable to that between, say, a lion and a tiger, but wizards are acutely status-conscious, and to them, it's more like the difference between a lion and a dead kitten."

In Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, "wizard" has essentially the common usage meaning. The eighth son of an eighth son has more magical powers and will normally become a wizard, while a Sourcerer is a wizard squared (an eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son) and is a "source of magic" who can create new spells and is immensely more powerful. During the series only one sourcerer has appeared (in Sourcery) and in due course nearly brought about the end of the world. Pratchett also comically refers to the word's etymology, claiming in one of his footnotes that the word "wizard" originated from the ancient "wyz-ars", meaning "someone who, at bottom, is very smart." A pun, of course, on "wise-arse".

Tom Cross describes a Wizard as one who understands and seeks to protect Nature; both his or her own Nature, and the Nature of the whole Universe. The abilities of a Wizard come from the rhythms of Nature, centered around the axis mundi.

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.

Diane Duane makes Wizards out to be 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, personnified as the Lone Power, under control.

Myths and Legends

Wizards found in old fairy tales and myths include:

Wizards in Fiction

Famous wizards in folklore and fiction include:

Real-Life Wizards

In history, there have been several real people who are or were believed to be wizards, sorcerers, etc. Examples include:

Have all been referred to as Wizards because of their state of mind, known as Self-Realization.

References

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