Magic

"Magic always comes with a price. I read the book, you know."

- Henry to David Nolan

Magic is a metaphysical and supernatural force featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. It first appears in the first episode of the first season of Once Upon a Time.

Use of Magic
Use of Magic is the ability to harness magic to cast spells, however, using dark magic corrupts the user. Powerful magical practitioners like Cora, Regina and Rumplestiltskin become corrupted by their powers and in turn, their magic turned tainted as well. Not all magical practitioners are corrupted, however, such as fairies, but they are exceptions because they cannot use magic in negative ways, instead of choosing to not do so.

Magic can be used to override the usual laws of nature, physics, and reality, but it always comes with a price. It is inherently neutral and cannot itself be split into Good or Evil, but can be used for either purpose. Since magic use is powered by emotion, the strength of the spell depends on the feelings of the caster focuses into the output of magic. Negative emotions are generally used to power spells while positive emotions are used to maintain control of spells.

However magic can be split into Light and Dark, forms of magic that are powered by positive or negative emotions, thus a manifestation of the wielder's will. However positive emotions do not equal goodness as a mage's attempt to protect one's loved one can result in a person's death- after all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Laws of Magic
The Laws of Magic define the limits of magical abilities. There are three restrictions even the most powerful magic is said to be unable to break: bring back the dead, force someone to fall in love and change the past. However, these laws can and have been broken and changed by powerful spells. One of them is the combined power of three genies who have themselves overridden fate. This spell even makes the caster immune to the price of magic. Another case of law-breaking magic is the Time Travel Spell that was, in one case, enacted by gathering symbols of wisdom, courage, love and innocence.

Dr. Frankenstein attempted to use science to override the laws of magic and bring back his brother with a heart that had been strengthened against lightning surges by magic. Unfortunately, the end result was a violent, amnesiac former shell of the person Gerhardt had been. In one instance of a proper resurrection, Maleficent is revived after combining the blood of those who greatly wronged her with her ashes. In this case however, Maleficent was undead, allowing for a restoration to human form that did not break the laws. However, Maleficent later explains that she would turn back to ashes if she left Storybrooke, since there was no magic beyond the town border.

Price of Magic
The Price of Magic is the inevitable expense for using or casting magic. Often stated as a warning that "magic always comes with a price", but sometimes, the price is not foreseeable. Rumplestiltskin's curse has the heaviest penalty for gaining his Dark One powers. While the magic allows him to accumulate masses of power, it corrupts and injures him both physically and emotionally.

Other prices include the Evil Queen's sacrifice of her father to unleash the Dark Curse upon the Enchanted Forest. In doing so, she creates a void in her soul that can never be filled. At another time, Regina's attempt to outsmart and get rid of Emma by putting her under a Sleeping Curse backfires, as Mr. Gold predicted, when Henry is afflicted with the curse instead. Even Mr. Gold himself, who knows all too well there's always a price to pay, brought magic to Storybrooke, which returned his powers, but the cost forces a barrier around town to form, preventing him from leaving to find his son with his old memories intact. When Gerda asked for a powerful potion to erase the memories of her sisters from the citizens of Arendelle, the price may have factored in causing her daughter Elsa to inherit her sister's ice powers.

Physical Description
Magic itself often manifests as a puff of smoke or sparkling dust, which can vary in colors, depending on the practitioner. Purple seems to be the most common color for the smoke manifestation of magic in general. The color varies according to the wielder and/or the form of magic: for instance, most of the time a person sticks to one color no matter their location (although there are certain instances where, due to unknown reason, their magic color is different). Furthermore, the Dark Curse manifests as a very large black cloudy storm in shades of black and green.

Smoke Color

 * Amara: pinkish purple
 * Anastasia: crimson
 * Cora: dark violet
 * Cyrus: dark orange (as Genie)
 * The Dragon: blood orange
 * Elsa: icy blue
 * Glinda: grayish white
 * Genie of Agrabah: bluish black
 * Ingrid: bluish white
 * Jafar: gray (dark orange as Genie)
 * Lily Page: purple
 * Maleficent: dark gray & purple
 * Regina: dark violet
 * Rumplestiltskin: dark red
 * Zelena: emerald green

Color of Other Manifestations

 * Blue Fairy: light blue
 * Cruella: lime green
 * Emma Swan: pure white
 * Fairy Godmother: gold
 * Nova: pink
 * Silvermist: silvery blue
 * Tinkerbell: green

Types of Magic

 * Belief
 * Blood Magic
 * Fairy Magic
 * Foresight
 * Genie Magic
 * Ice Magic


 * Persuasion
 * Potioncraft
 * Rock Troll Memory Magic
 * True Love
 * Witchcraft

Magical Abilities

 * Shapeshifting
 * World-crossing

Known Practitioners

 * Belief


 * Emma Swan
 * Henry Mills
 * Malcolm/Peter Pan
 * Rumplestiltskin
 * Blood Magic


 * Evil Queen/Regina Mills
 * Rumplestiltskin
 * ​Fairy Magic


 * Belle/Belle
 * Blue Fairy/Mother Superior
 * Emma Swan
 * Fairy Godmother †
 * Henry Mills
 * Nova
 * Peter Pan †
 * Robin Hood
 * Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold
 * Silvermist
 * Snow White
 * Tinker Bell
 * Foresight


 * Merlin
 * Rumplestiltskin
 * Seer †
 * Genie Magic


 * Cyrus (formerly)
 * The Genie of Agrabah (formerly)
 * Jafar
 * Rafi (formerly)
 * Taj (formerly)
 * Will Scarlet (formerly)


 * Ice Magic


 * Elsa
 * Ingrid †
 * Persuasion


 * Cruella De Vil †
 * Potioncraft


 * Belle
 * Cora †
 * Grand Pabbie
 * Jafar
 * Mother Superior
 * Regina Mills/Evil Queen
 * Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold
 * Sisters of Saint Meissa
 * Wicked Witch of the West
 * Rock Troll Memory Magic


 * Grand Pabbie
 * Ingrid †
 * True Love


 * Belle
 * Emma Swan
 * Mary Margaret Blanchard
 * Prince Charming
 * Prince Phillip
 * Red Queen
 * Regina Mills
 * Will Scarlet


 * Witchcraft


 * Amara †
 * The Apprentice
 * Belle
 * Blind Witch †
 * Cora †
 * The Dragon †
 * Emma Swan
 * Evil Queen/Regina Mills
 * Glinda
 * Ingrid †
 * Jafar
 * Ursula
 * Maleficent
 * Merlin
 * Peter Pan †
 * Poseidon
 * Red Queen
 * Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold
 * Snow White
 * Trish †
 * Witch of the East
 * Witch of the North
 * Wicked Witch of the West/Zelena
 * Zoso †

Trivia

 * -|Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * According to visual effects supervisor Andrew Orloff, magic on Once Upon a Time is an elemental force that can be harnessed. This is the reason why magic involves smoke, fire, dirt, wind and water. For example, when Cora pulls Regina off the horse in "We Are Both", she doesn't telecinetically lift Regina off the horse, but instead makes the trees reach out with their branches. Another example is when the Evil Queen throws a fireball in "The Thing You Love Most", she actually pulls the fire out of the fireplace and shapes it in her hand.
 * However, as seen in episodes like "The Outsider", "Welcome to Storybrooke", "Lost Girl" and "Ariel", it is also possible to conjure fire out of thin air. Traditional telekinesis has also been featured in several episodes of the show, like "The Thing You Love Most", "The Crocodile" and "Lost Girl".

Appearances
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.


 * Magic appears in Henry's storybook in "The New Neverland", "Snow Drifts" and "The Snow Queen".