Let’s talk about all the different ways to cast magic on the Boiling Isles (I found five).
In ‘The intruder’ (s01e04) Eda tells Luz that magic comes from a sac of magic bile attached to a witch’s heart. In the same episode, Luz figures out that it is possible to cast magic through glyphs. Luz learns this because of the frame of the video in which Eda casts a light spell. Later in ‘Wing it like witches’ (s01e17) Luz gets the fire glyph from Boscha setting the grudgby ball on fire.
For completeness, she finds the ice glyph in a snowflake in ‘Adventures in the elements’ (s01e12) (as well as noticing the light spell in the stars). The plant glyph she gets from looking at a plant in ‘Enchanting grom fight’ (s01e16). It is unsure where that plant came from, but since the plant is in a pot, I assume it was grown from a seed rather than made with magic.
In the second season Eda says that “bile sacs have different spell phlegm slushing around together” and King says that glyphs “are symbols from the isles”. Now for at least two of the glyphs (light and fire), we have proof that casting from the bile sacs means you draw the glyph in the air rather than on paper.
However, that doesn’t mean both versions of casting get their magic from the isles. This is apparent when Lillith and Luz are in the human world in ‘Young blood, old souls’(s01e19). Lillith can still cast magic but Luz’s glyphs don’t work (though they are still able to crumble the paper).
So far, we have talked about casting magic from bile and from glyphs, but there is a third way we see used two times in season 1: the twins opening the library door in ‘Lost in language’ (s01e07), and Lilith cursing Eda in ‘Young blood, old souls’ (s01e19).
Although is seems to work similar to glyph casting (using paper that crumbles when the magic is activated), this version doesn’t use glyphs. We know Lillith got the curse on the night market and I wouldn’t be surprised if that is where the twins got their scroll from. I do wonder who on the night marker is selling cursed scrolls to underage kids, but that is besides the point.
In the coven system that Belos created there isn’t a coven that would fit making these scrolls. Perhaps this way of casting is a wild way. Since original magic was/is more potent, it would explain why Eda can’t get rid of her curse. However, she is able to keep it at bay with potions, which leads us to the fourth way of casting magic: potions.
Potions are another way of casting magic because the definition of a potion is being ‘a liquid with healing, magical or poisonous properties’ of which an elixir is the medicinal version. This way of casting doesn’t get much explanation in the show and thus is the one that intrigues me the most.
We know both Eda and Lillith chose the potion track at Hexside and are both powerful witches. Eda even has a side business in selling potions, but ends up having to buy her elixir from those two dinguses Morton and Tibbles.
Seeing how much trouble both Eda and Lillith go through to get ingredients for their potions (in ‘Separate Tides’ (s02e01)), I doubt it’s the lack of ingredients that prevents them from brewing the potions themselves. Also, the fact that Luz can’t make potions work lets me to believe it’s not activated with glyphs (either by drawing on paper or by twirling fingers).
In the episode ‘The first day’ (s01e13), we see Barcus create a potion, though be it combined with oracle magic, but it doesn’t work until the teacher gazes into it. Same with Eda gazing in Lillith’s potion in ‘Separate tides’ (s0201). My theory is that potions are more connected to emotions, both from the user as well as the creator. This could explain why Eda and Lillith can’t make an owl beast elixir. They are too emotionally invested to properly create it. Morton and Tibbles couldn’t care less and thus are able to create it despite being far less powerful witches.
Just as a wild thought: We know one other powerful potion track student who isn’t emotionally invested that could help the sisters containing their curse.
Also, while we are on the subject on wild thoughts: who gave Eda the elixir the first time she became the owl beast? And is it like a general elixir because why would Tibbles sell it if only Eda can use it and she is buying from Morton?
Back to subject with the fifth and final way to use magic and for this we look at the Emporer’s coven castle ‘Agony of a witch’ (s01e18).
Do those pipes look they knew about it when building the castle? Those pipes lead to the beating (Titan’s ?) heart above Belos in the throne room along with some gears. It almost seems as if Belos is doing to the Boiling Isles, what the First ones did to Etheria in She-ra. He is tapping magic from the isles/titan and the haphazardly way of adding pipes to the castle looks as if he is tapping magic (or keeping the heart alive?) quicker than he has time to hide the pipes.
Although we see Belos occasionally cast magic by drawing tiny circles he also uses his weird tech staff as well as using tech to (re)build the portal. With that being said, Belos isn’t the only one who uses tech to cast magic.
(Is that a Snorlax behind Eda by the way?)
If tech is a way to cast magic, and the only way that can create a portal, perhaps we can see Amity’s parents helping out with building a new portal for Luz to get back to the human world. Just imagine Amity watching her parents working on a way to get Luz away from her. No better not imagine that.
Tldr; The different ways of casting magic are:
Tech which includes whatever the hell Belos is doing and the portal key.
Is there a point to this post? Not really. Did it take way too much time to make anyway? Absolutely.
