as small as a world and as large as alone, Could a person who is self-destructive become a...

7:40pm May 7, 2014

thesuperiorb asked: Could a person who is self-destructive become a wizard? Maybe that's not the right way to ask that question. Could someone who was really angry become a wizard? Someone who understands protecting and valuing other life, who wouldn't hurt other life, but whose anger would manifest in self-destructive habits. Surprisingly, I was prompted to this because of your answering the spider question. They're both questions I've wanted an answer to.

dduane:

Short answer: Chronic anger by itself is no reason that someone couldn’t be a wizard.

Backing up a little for the wider view — Wizards in the YW universe are not “chosen ones” except in the very general sense that the Powers see them as a way to get certain specific things done (while assisting in having things done for themselves as well: the bargain goes both ways). That they should be perfect isn’t required, or indeed expected. Which is just as well, as human wizards are just like nonwizardly humans in being, for the most part, a very mixed package of strengths, flaws, and largely uninvestigated territories.

The beginning of the solution to a wizard’s anger — if it’s judged to need a solution — would be the same as the answer to the spiders (if they need one): concentrated investigation and study. The more closely you get to grips with something by learning the details about its origins, construction and function, the better you understand it, and the less likely you are to react to it by reflex. But this would just be seen as part of the job description — as past its very earliest stages, wizardry requires significant introspection if the wizard’s to do his/her/their job as well as possible. Which is normally a significant issue. Most of the time, anger — like other human reactions to stimulus — is susceptible to analysis and management from the person who’s really determined to learn to deal with it. It may take a long time, but that’s seen as an individual developmental issue and not a wizardly one (unless it starts to interfere with the exercise of the Art).

But also it should be pointed out that there’ve been times in the canonical material so far (and doubtless will be again) where characters have specifically used anger as fuel for wizardry: partly as a way of managing it and keeping it from getting out of control. This may initially seem counterintuitive, but those who are continually practicing the business of keeping control of anger on a day by day basis will understand that having something useful to do with anger besides kick the furniture around — literally or figuratively — is surprisingly empowering.

Anger that expresses itself in self-destructive ways is the individual wizard’s business to investigate, understand, and learn how to manage. Generally speaking there’s an understanding that the wizard’s own wellbeing is of very great importance, because sooner or later the wizardry suffers if the wizard isn’t in good shape. But the Powers are not going to say (to just pick an example out of the air) “No, you can’t be a wizard because you’re cutting.” Nor will there necessarily be any kind of understanding that once somebody’s a wizard they’ll automatically simply stop that behavior. That may eventually come about, sure, but the personal road may need to be longer and a lot of work may be required

There will, however, be an expectation that the wizard in question will at the very least be looking into the situation, for others’ sake as well as their own. The practitioners of the Art understand that they have responsibilities to it, to the Powers and to each other that both include and supersede their own.

Hope that clarifies things.