Asset ID: 114458704 / Jon Schulte / A fantasy wizard making magic with wand.

A magician , mage , sorcerer , sorceress , wizard , enchanter , enchantress , thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources. Magicians are common figures in works of fantasy , such as fantasy literature and role-playing games ; they draw on a history of such people in mythology , legends , and folklore (see Magician (paranormal) ). Although occasional practitioners of sleight-of-hand appear in modern fantasy, they are usually simulating the magic that others perform — or sometimes concealing their actual magic .
Fantasy magicians have powers arising from either study, innate talent, or by having them granted by another source. (Other fantasy characters can use magic or be magical, but they have generally not acquired their powers by study or innate talent). Still, most fantasy wizards are depicted as having a special gift which sets them apart from the vast majority of characters in fantasy worlds who are unable to learn magic.
Magicians, sorcerers, wizards, and practitioners of magic by other titles have appeared in myths, folktales and literature throughout recorded history, and fantasy draws on this background. They commonly appear in fantasy as mentors and villains, as they did in older works, and more recently as heroes themselves. Although they are often portrayed as wielding great powers, their role in shaping the fantasy world they inhabit varies; much of fantasy literature writes of medieval worlds with wizards in a fairly limited role as guardians or advisors.

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