Magic is a free-for-all used in countless creative outlets; some beautiful, useful, indulgent, immoral, reprehensible, or downright weird. Magic is a set of tools, limited by only energy capacity and one's mind. There are very few things a magic user cannot do if enough time, skill, effort, and energy is put into it. All magic involves the power of thought. Therefore, not all spells are cast intentionally. Some manifest from intense emotions, devoid of direct intent. Though the resulting spells aren't powerful, it is shockingly common.
Energy comes in three forms: offensive, replenishing/exhausting, and passive. Offensive energy harms to whoever contacts with it. Replenishing/exhausting energy is the transfer of energy from one being to another—whether it be healing, leeching, converting meals into energy, or exhausting energy through usage and exercise. Passive energy neither harms nor benefits whatever it touches.
Virtually any magical action could be considered a spell. The most common spells for operatives are physical materialization and spells under the broad umbrella of battle magic. There also exist divination, low practice, high practice, ens tampering, healing arts, blood arts, alchemy, demon arts, and many more.
There are no limits to how many practices one can participate in.
Any use of the word "practice" can be replaced with "arts".
Divination involves usage of any medium to predict the future, ascertain information that is unclear or unknown, or otherwise gain insight to a question the user may have. Mediums of divination include scrying, tarot, horoscopes, pendulums, objects found in nature, natural phenomena, and countless others. There is typically a more ritualistic approach than in stereotypical fortune telling. In all cases, the user's interpretation of the results is equally (if not more) important as the methodology.
Related practices: High practice, clairvoyance
Low practice is an umbrella of magic associated with everyday life, physical objects, and mundanity. It is rooted in the direct, the "real", the visible, the earth, and the living and nonliving creatures on it. This type of magic priorities a connection to the world, as well as natural objects. One can draw energy or create energy from what the earth gives them. Low practice is great for those who live moment-to-moment.
Despite its name, low practice is not lesser than high practice, but different.
Related practices: blood magic, elemental magic, parts of demonic practice, herbalism, alchemy
High practice is an umbrella of magic associated with ceremony, ritual, and specificity. This practice requires a user to align themself with the universe. It is rooted in the impossible, in the celestial, in the unseeable. One can draw energy or create energy from the multiverse using symbology, sigils, etc. High practice is geared towards individuals who love to plan for every contingency. Its practitioners seek higher power and awareness, and view their life's purpose as beyond the world. High practice is not a rejection of what low practitioners call "the real", but taking perceptions and mixing them with concepts outside the physical reality.
Related practices: time arts, divination, ens tampering, healing practice, parts of demon practice
Ens tampering involves altering one's mind/body or the mind/body of another. Psychological spells include altering perceptions, and changing emotions. As for physical changes, this can include glamour spells, shape-shifting, voice mimicking, and demon-implanting.
Related practices: parts of demonic practice, healing practice
Healing practice involves the mending of physical and emotional wounds. This magic, if honed, can mend an amputated limb, heal a headache, and aid in relieving anxiety. A requirement of any operative group's medic is to master healing practice.
Related practices: ens tampering, high practice
Blood practice, involves the usage of blood in ritual, battle, or any situation fit for a spell. Fresh blood contains potent energy that can boost the power of practice. Any attempting blood practice should brace for pain, and have lots of food and water on hand to replenish lost energy. Or, take the blood from a third party. Either way, things are going to be messy.
Related practices: demonic practice, low practice
Alchemy involves the practice of using various materials, combining/altering them, and creating something new. This includes potions, cooking magic, and cauldron magic. These concoctions can be used for good or for ill, depending on the purpose of its creation. Spells made with alchemy trigger when they are ingested, seen, smelled, rubbed on the body, etc..
Related practice: low practice, ens tampering
Perhaps the most broad and most debated category, demonic practice is what some call taboos, demon-play, demon arts, or the scourge arts. These are magical practices reminiscent of a demon's innate magical abilities, including manipulating bodies, manipulating minds, practicing blood magic, etc. All practices have a part considered demonic or related to demons.
In an OP group, demon practice are either frowned upon or strictly forbidden, depending on how egregious the practice is. Every OP has their own opinion on what they consider to be part of the demon practice and what they don't. Regardless, there are some universal agreements. Anyone seen using another person's blood for magic, controlling the body of another, occupying the body of another, or feasting on flesh is executed.
When the possibilities are endless, it would be impossible to list every single magic practice. Many practices exist outside the others mentioned before. Magic is a sandbox of concepts, encapsulating the many whims and desires of humanity.
Because it is so closely tied to the emotions and mental state of those who wield it, energy is a volatile source of power by nature. As such, anomalies often suffer adverse effects from being so defined by energy, and energy sickness is among those.
Energy sickness can refer to any symptoms that happen as a result of low energy. These symptoms include but are not limited to lethargy, fatigue, loss of appetite, loss of focus, headaches, and hallucinations. Energy drains faster than normal. Energy is already expended in everyday activities, emotionally intense experiences, and using magic and spells, but energy sickness will speed this process. Stress compounds these symptoms.
There is a variety of causes for energy sickness, but being cursed is one of the most common culprits. Energy sickness, like other spells, can be cast without fully intending to.
While some spells happen instantaneously, some unravel over a protracted amount of time.
Two or more people can "collaborate" their abilities together for twice the impact, but this requires compatibility and mutual comprehension of goals.
The concept of physical manifestation has its own article here. Spells can be designed and customized for a situation, or they can be reused by others if documented. Magic is flexible, and practices overlap!