Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-24674051-20160216053257/@comment-25926288-20160216181111

CoolDudeAl wrote: I get where people are coming from with taught, but I still think you need to have the potential to do magic in you, even before you are taught. And I don't think everyone naturally has that potential. Obviously, anyone can get powers from an extrenal source, but that falls under blessed/cursed. So really to me it boils down to internal magic (so what people are counting as born and taught) or external magic (so what people are counting as cursed and blessed) as the two catigories. And I would disagree and agree. The show has introduced two different ideas, so I would have to take the most recent one above all else.

Season 2: Regina was willing to teach Henry magic.

Season 4: Regina says Henry is normal and has no magic.

So, either he and everyone else has the capacity or it's not. They make it abundantly clear that those born with magic show their powers in duress, whereas Cora, Regina, Jafar, and Ana had never shown any magic prior to being taught.