Those who dabble in magic are like scientists, mixing and twisting the things that most of us take for granted. What will your character need to call forth their power?
Magical Materials Menu
Okay, this is a long list because almost anything can be a magic component. Have a look through and grab a few ideas that have cool connotations or feelings to use for the magic in your narrative.
- fire,
- blazing, ferocious, gentle, calming,
- embers, coals,
- orange flame, blue, white, green, red,
- in a brazier, censer, burner, oven, furnace, forge,
- candle (tallow, beeswax, palm, bayberry, whale oil, nut oil)
- ashes, ash, soot, smoke, coals (cooled),
- animal (or monster, or human, or humanoid) parts:
- skulls, spine, brain stem,
- bones
- femur, fibula, knuckle, pelvis,
- skin, fur, flesh, muscle, moulted skin, scales, hide, quills, hair, fur, down, feathers, fluff
- slime, bile, stomach acid, venom, spit, semen, secretions, feces, urine,
- tail, tentacle, arm, foot, fin, paw, pad,
- reproductive parts: testicles, ovaries, pubic hair, nipples,
- eyeball, eye juice, retina, optic nerve
- sinew, strands, tendons, ligaments, connective tissue, veins, artery
- organs: heart, pancreas, liver, gall bladder, stomach, intestines, colon, rectum, bladder, appendix,
- brain
- brain stem, frontal lobe, left or right hemisphere,
- any 3 ounce chunk
- brain fluid
- dried & powdered, liquified, pickled, fresh,
- removed from a lycanthrope during a full moon
- blood: fresh, cold, dried, mixture of snake and chickadee blood (1:1 ratio, 3:2 ratio, or 10:1 ratio for particularly evil spells)
- antennae, proboscis,
- animals
- plants
- herbs: Betel Nut, Calendula, Eyebright, Adder’s Tongue, Aloe, Cowslip, Amaranth, Bamboo, Basil, Myrtle, Belladona, Sunflower, Endive, Fennel, Verbena, Yarrow, Rosemary, Mugwort, Sage, Sweetgrass, Mistletoe, Mint, Chamomile, Lavender, Bay,
- beans, peas, lentils, pulses, jelly beans,
- coniferous trees
- pine needles, fur twig,
- cones,
- deciduous trees
- leaves, bark, inner bark,
- the inner three rings of an ash tree turned to charcoal
- stones and gems: peridot, amethyst, crystals, diamond, jade, quartz, granite, mica, shale, river rock, sandstone, soapstone, ironstone, amber,
- sand, dust, scree, gravel, pebbles, silt, mud, clay, chalk, silicate, carbon,
- minerals
- gold, silver. platinum, aluminum,
- alloys, tin, bronze, brass, alpha bronze, steel,
- mercutonium (I just made this up)
- toys
- dolls, puppet, figurine, moppet, marionette,
- bowling ball (ten pin), cue ball from a tournament billiard table,
- humans
- children, mutants, virgins, the elderly,
- trinkets
- supernatural stuff
- tools
- pins, needles, tacks,
- hammer, ball pean hammer, mallet, warhammer that has seen death,
Some Stuff to do with Magic Materials
- put stuff in a pot and boil it,
- wave it, brandish it,
- throw it, toss it, fling it,
- consume it, eat it, insert it,
- immerse it, drown it, drench it,
- sing while holding it,
- time conditions:
- during a full moon, half moon, crone moon, gibbous moon, third moon, blue moon, noon moon,
- solstice, equinox, November,
- morning, dawn, on a misty daybreak,
- twilight, sundown, day’s end,
- during the apocalypse,
- when angry, joyous, melancholic,
- during battle,
- after a death, after a birth, during a birth, during a final breath,
External Links
Navigation Note: All of these links open in new tabs.
Here are some places to read more about magical materials:
- Great breakdown of magical properties of stuff: http://www.ancient-wisdom.com/herbsaz.htm
- List of magical properties of plants: http://www.themagickalcat.com/Articles.asp?ID=242
- Another awesome list: http://www.earthwitchery.com/herbsa-g.html
- This site has a bunch of periodic tables if you want the names of some of the world’s great elements: http://sciencenotes.org/printable-periodic-table/
- Here’s another list of herbs with some great details and descriptions. It will also make you want to cook: https://happydiyhome.com/list-of-herbs/