Sorcerers: Magic blood line or other innate gift of birth. Basically magic aristocracy.
Wizards: Usually anyone can be a wizard, its the magic equivelent of studying hard in college.
Warlocks: Anyone can be a warlock if they’re willing to make a deal with the devil; the magic equivelent of dropping out to become a stripper.
Pretty much every fantasy has the magical aristocracy but the latter two are available to regular people in a lot of fantasies too, though wizardry is often gatekept and magical pacts tend to be for villains only.
Sorcerers and Witches, those who practice magic without a license from the religious establishment, often consulted by the poor and underprivileged since the undesirables can’t simply walk into Oz without the right fancy dress.
Thieves, shunned by all since stealing is a greater sin than murder or human sacrifice (mostly because it’s a lower-class crime), but are clever enough to activate wands, identity herbs and potions and use practical household magic, just from ad-hoc experience and fiddling around.
While it’s definitely PRESENT in Lord of the Rings, one could argue Frodo himself is a subversion of it. Giving the ring to someone powerful would almost inevitably result in corrupting them and (depending on just how powerful they were) would just make a new big bad. Hobbits work as ring bearers explicitly because they’re not “special”.
I’ve been listening to the Andy Serkis reading it lately. First experience since I was a kid. It’s surprisingly nuanced for something so old and so baked into the popular culture. It’s kind of amazing how flattened my memory of it from childhood is.
Is there fantasy that isn’t like this
The basic options for magic are:
Pretty much every fantasy has the magical aristocracy but the latter two are available to regular people in a lot of fantasies too, though wizardry is often gatekept and magical pacts tend to be for villains only.
Sorcerers and Witches, those who practice magic without a license from the religious establishment, often consulted by the poor and underprivileged since the undesirables can’t simply walk into Oz without the right fancy dress.
Thieves, shunned by all since stealing is a greater sin than murder or human sacrifice (mostly because it’s a lower-class crime), but are clever enough to activate wands, identity herbs and potions and use practical household magic, just from ad-hoc experience and fiddling around.
I love comparing becoming a warlock to becoming a stripper
While it’s definitely PRESENT in Lord of the Rings, one could argue Frodo himself is a subversion of it. Giving the ring to someone powerful would almost inevitably result in corrupting them and (depending on just how powerful they were) would just make a new big bad. Hobbits work as ring bearers explicitly because they’re not “special”.
I’ve been listening to the Andy Serkis reading it lately. First experience since I was a kid. It’s surprisingly nuanced for something so old and so baked into the popular culture. It’s kind of amazing how flattened my memory of it from childhood is.
Dune as well. And Snowcrash too
Snow Crash is satire, though. And not exactly high fantasy.