Schools of magic

The wheel of magic, which depicts the eight schools of magic as colored rings around the wheel's four magical traditions and essences.

This article refers to the concept in magic theory. For institutions of arcane learning, see Category:Arcane colleges.

Prior to the prominence of magical traditions, instructors and practitioners categorized the effects and properties of spells across all types of magic into eight schools of magic. Though magic has been practised since the dawn of history, it was in the time of Azlant and Thassilon that seven of the eight schools were first defined, in accordance with the seven Azlanti virtues of rule (with divination being defined as its own school later in history).

These eight schools of magic, as defined in the work The Eight Arches of Incantation, are:

• Abjuration
• Conjuration
• Divination
• Enchantment
• Evocation
• Illusion
• Necromancy
• Transmutation

Classical scholars categorized some spells as not bound to any specific school but as universal spells, and wizards who did not specialize in any school were known as universalists. This form of study is similar in nature to some wizards' pursuit of a Unified Magical Theory in lieu of formal instruction at an arcane college or academy.

References

With the removal of the eight schools of magic as part of the Pathfinder Second Edition Remaster Project, Player Core instead emphasized four magical traditions, as well as the Unified Magical Theory with equivalent mechanics as the universal practice of all eight schools.