Do You Believe in Magic?

 

 

The other day I took a quiz on Facebook. “Which Once Upon a Time Character Are You?” seemed sort of fun and timely, given that the season premiere was coming up. The quiz took me through a series of seemingly random questions (as they all do), and a few that seemed more relevant to one’s possible fairy tale identity. Which weapon would you choose, which of the seven dwarves, etc. Rapidly, I clicked through (as we tend to do), and after the whole thing was done, I kept thinking about one question and how I’d answered it. “Do you believe in magic?” it asked. And I’d clicked, without hesitation or thought, Yes.

 

I wondered what I meant by that. Do I believe in the type of magic they have on the television show? Potions and magic swords, spells and inherited powers? Well, maybe not, although I’d hate to say a definitive no. I do, however, believe in all sorts of things that don’t fall within the realm of the five senses. What you choose to call them is up to you, but “magic” seems to fit in there somewhere, at least to me.

 

I believe in premonitions, intuition and trusting your gut. I'm convinced that moments of déjà vu are trying to tell us something, and that luck is life’s barometer. I believe in destiny and fate and yet, I also believe that we have the magical power to alter either one. I think love at first sight happens all the time. I listen to vibes. I’m most definitely attentive to negative energy and positive energy and believe each brings more of the same. I beware of karma. I trust in some unseen life force that strives for balance in all things and encourages us to do the same. And just between you and me, I believe in ghosts, who most certainly travel in breezes and with particular scents and probably can traverse dreams. Also, I don’t think UFOs are out of the realm of possibility. Anyway...

 

My favorite author as a kid was Ruth Chew, who wrote about witches and magic and all sorts of spooky things. (Sidenote: Random House started rereleasing her books last year! See here.) When I was young, I spent a brief period trying to harness my mind power. Bending spoons, reading thoughts, willing things to happen. I can’t say I ever had much luck in that regard but even now, I think maybe I wasn’t doing it right. Of course, the writer in me would say that imagination is one of the most magical powers we all have, and maybe when it comes right down to it, that’s all magic is.

 

As for that quiz…I asked my family which Once Upon a Time character they thought I’d been assigned. My husband said immediately: Hook. Which I thought was really weird. The show is full of queens and princesses. Why a male? Why a self-serving egoist with questionable moral character? But then I thought about Hook’s courage, his great leather wardrobe and let’s face it—his irresistibleness. And guess what? The husband was right, and it probably should have come as no surprise when he took the quiz and got Emma. He does not believe in magic, or vibes, or pirate ships that can go through portals. And yet, we all know what’s happening with Hook and Emma this year. The attraction of opposites—another of life’s little magics.