Seven Questions to Ask When Considering Magic in Books

I’m not here to judge what is best for your family; God made you the parent of your child for a reason! But the question remains: At what point does magic go bad? Why do some books with magic seem fine (e.g. Narnia), while others are a hard “no” (e.g., The Golden Compass)? And how do parents figure out what is ok for their family?

To be clear: the magic I’m talking about isn’t the “magic tricks” of illusionists. I’m not addressing the pulled-a-rabbit-out-of-a-hat, pick-a-card-any-card entertainment. I’m talking about harnessing supernatural, often occult, powers distinct from Godly miracles and supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit.

What does the Bible say about Magic?

Revelation 21:8 lumps “those who practice magic arts” with murderers who will be thrown in the fiery sulfur in end times. In Ezekiel 13:20, God declares judgement on women who make charms that lead people astray. Pharaoh and other kings (Daniel 2:2) looked to magicians instead of God. Deuteronomy 18:10 forbids sorcery, along with practicing divination, telling fortunes or interpreting omens. In all of these cases, magic offers an alternative to the Holy One. On the other hand, let us remember that young Jesus was visited by wise men, often called Magi, who worshipped him.

On Two Extremes Regarding Magic

Some families choose a “no magic” rule. I respect this avoidance approach; it seems like the most zealous way to deter a reader from becoming interested in practicing the magic arts forbidden by God’s law. However, I’d like to challenge that approach, because there is another danger at work.

Another danger is that readers come to believe that what we see in this world is all that there is. To ignore the spiritual battle is to miss our part in fighting it (at best), or to become an apathetic or unaware agent of the enemy (at worst). Fantasy helps us imagine things which we cannot see with our earthly eyes. J.R.R. Tolkien addresses this in the context of a happy ending: “The peculiar quality of the ‘joy’ in successful Fantasy can thus be explained as a sudden glimpse of the underlying reality or truth. It is not only a ‘consolation’ for the sorrow of this world, but a satisfaction, and an answer to that question [that children ask], ‘Is it true?’” Fantasy stories may actually match our lived “reality” more than stories without magic.

Yet, where is the line? Certainly stories where the heroes engage in occult practices has gone too far, but how can faithful parents best steward their short time with their children? How can parents discern when magic is ok, or better yet, when it is healthy for their readers?

Question #1: Is the magic in a completely separate world, or does it occur on earth as we know it?

Less dangerous: The magic of the Lord of the Rings is completely contained in Middle Earth, which is a fantastical land completely separate from our earth. Likewise, the magic in the Landon Snow series generally happens only in the mysterious Button Up Library (or enroute to the library). The Unwanteds is another example where the story takes place on a series of islands separated somehow from the world as we know it. The Wingfeather Saga is contained in a completely different world.

More dangerous: Harry Potter rides magical busses that are zipping through the streets of London. In later books, wizards and witches engage in wars riding on broomsticks over European rooftops. Similarly, Percy Jackson experiences magic all over the globe, including road trips to California and other real places. Bringing magic into our world takes it a step farther than when it is contained in a fantasy land.

Summary: For the family who is hesitant to bring magic into their home, but still wants to encourage imagination of unseen powers and forces, then a good step and boundary for your family might be to limit to books where the magic is completely contained in another world. Magic in our own world likely makes it more familiar. On the other hand, even The Magician’s Nephew in the Narnia series brings an evil magical empress into the streets of London, so for most families, Question #1 isn’t the only question to ask…

Question #2: Do the heroes use magic, or are they simply in a world with magic?

Lower Risk: In the Mistmantle Chronicles, the heroes generally rely on the Heart (God) to provide. The strongest protagonist factors are providence, courage, teamwork, wisdom, and guidance from the prophets of God. The heroes don’t seek the use of magic for themselves, even though they live on a magical island and there are fantastical artifacts (e.g., the Heartstone, the Mists). The villains of Mistmantle, on the other hand, use sorcery.

Higher Risk: In The Marvelers, both the heroes and the villains use magic, develop it, and cultivate their use of it. The hero students learn to use spells in their magic school. This puts these books on the more risky side for me than others where the main heroes don’t seek after magic, but just happen to find themselves in a magical world. The question of who uses magic might help your family find the right boundary.

Question #3: If the heroes use magic, in what form?

Lower Risk: In the Princess and the Goblin, the ball of string comes from the mysterious grandmother, a personification of Biblical Wisdom. Likewise, Curdie’s power to discern character based on a comes from the same wise grandmother. In the Chronicles of Narnia, Lucy uses a magic cordial that was given to her by a member of “team Aslan.” She doesn’t conjure the magic herself or seek after it; it is a gift given to her to help others. In The Chronicles of Prydain, Princess Eilonwy has a magic bauble, but Team Prydain team seeks to destroy a black cauldron, not harness its powers. Landon snow does perform a chant to break a curse in The Island of Arcanum, but he does so while surrendered to the authority and guidance of the Auctor.

Higher risk: The Rainbow Magic series sometimes has the young girls intentionally chanting to break a curse. It is a major red flag for me when the heroes do fortune telling, chanting, speaking with the dead, or other occult activities, such as in the Juniper Nettle series or The Little Goddess Girls.

Question #4: If the heroes use magic, how central to the story is their seeking of it?

Lower Risk: In The Prince Warriors, the heroes are given magical armor with special powers. However, the point of the story is *not* to develop these tools; rather, they use the tools to rescue others from the dominion of the evil oppressor. The focus is not the magic; the goal is to follow the instructions of the authority in His rescue plans.

Higher Risk: Books like The Sisters of Luna Island (often targeted to middle-grade or teen girls) offer a main premise around a person’s accepting their identity as a witch. In these books, the hero holds inherent magical power, and a central theme involves accepting it, developing it, and harnessing that power through mutterings, herbal mixtures, and self-control.

Question #5: Where does authority come from in this magical world? Who decides what is right and wrong?

Biblical: The Wingfeather Saga, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Landon Snow all involve magic but also ultimately see power as coming from God. God has different names in each of these books (e.g., The Maker, Aslan, The Auctor.) Regardless of the name, the ultimate power and help comes from Him.

Unbiblical: One of the most dangerous things I see in the Eragon books (The Inheritance Cycle) is when Eragon decides that his own heart will guide his use of magic. As a dragon rider, the community depends on him to keep peace. Yet he rejects any authority other than his own conscience (& that of his pet dragon, with whom he has a magical bond). This is in sharp contrast to Narnia, where even Aslan submits to his own laws when Lucy reads the spell to make invisible things visible (Book 5).

These are two very different messages: “I have been given this magic by someone else’s power.” versus “I am a witch/wizard/magician; this is part of my inherrent identity that I need to embrace and cultivate.”

Question #6: Are there fantastical creatures or other features that make the story fun, but unbelievable for real life?

Better: Perhaps paradoxically, I think it is better when fantasy stories go all-in on the fantastic creatures. Beyond Mulberry Glen has pixie fairies. The Lord of the Rings has orcs, trees that talk, elves, and Gandalf. The Wingfeather Saga has lizard-like human-ish creaters called Fangs. The Dreamkeeper Saga has talking dragons, unicorns, spontaneous tornadoes, and other features. Therefore, even though parts of the Dreamkeeper Saga occur in our world with magic, the fantastic creatures make it more unbelievable.

This is in contrast to, for example, The Sisters of Luna Island. In this book, the premise (all too common for books targeted toward teenaged girl) is “You thought you were a normal person, but you are a witch. Life will just go better if you embrace it; don’t try to hide it anymore.” This book involves a lot of everyday teenager experiences: wearing jeans, checking your cell phone, sitting in the cafeteria at school. There is not enough fantasy to make it seem like they’re outside of this world, and that presents a larger danger for encouraging kids at risk of pursuing the occult in their everyday lives.

On a personal note, I have a harder time with books where the family lives in earth as we know it, conjuring spells and concocting herbal potions. The Marvelers hero family lives in New Orleans, and does magic under the radar of non-magical people. I think these stories feel the darkest to me; the reader seems closer to trying it for themselves, wondering whether they, too, might have magical powers that they just need to cultivate.

Question #7: Is the presence of magic and the overall purpose of the book to reveal to us aspects of God and His kingdom?

This is the most important quesiton. The Inkwell Chronicles, for example, “fails” many of the questions above. The heroes use magic in many locations familiar to our world. However, the author’s agenda is to uplift Christian themes, and members of the church clergy are heroes who promote liberty and creativity and freedom. I’d call this series a win, even if it fails from above.

In contrast, consider The Golden Compass. The author stated his goal is to portray Christianity less positively (in response to Narnia). Divine authority and the church are oppressive & harmful, and moral authority comes from oneself, not God. The fall into sin is viewed as liberating, and innocence is something to be outgrown. So in this case, the overall purpose is quite the opposite of pointing to the King and His Kingdom, so even if this book passes some of the questions I’ve offered in this post, you should still take a pass.

Although not as overtly opposed to Christianity, in Mrs. Rapscott’s Girls, Mrs. Rapscott gets her hope by wishing on a wishbone. In Mary Poppins, Mary is the source of her own magic. Although the Disney movie is less pagan, in one scene of the books even the constellations bow down to Mary. The purpose is not to point to God, but rather to honor and uplift an exceptionally gifted human.

Overall, each family needs to prayerfully decide where they land. I hope these questions can help you identify characteristics of books that are or are not a good fit for your home. Let me encourage you to listen to the Lord, to walk in faith, and to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Here are some parting verses taken from the book of Romans:

One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables… Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?… I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean… Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.