The Alchemy of Love

When I was a kid, we went trick or treating after dark.  Darkness was the realm of the impossible, where creatures that were invisible during the day made their presence known. I was frightened in that wonderful way, when you feel as if, at any moment, something could happen that might change your life forever. That after this walk in the dark, nothing would ever be the same.

For me, change is frightening most of the time, and in precisely this walk-in-the-dark kind of way. I am a creature of habit; I like my routine. My best days are planned so well that  nothing unexpected happens. 

Sounds boring, right? Maybe a little! But that’s probably why I liked trick-or-treating after dark: I could plan on it happening only once a year! Those few hours of excitement sustained me all year long.

Not this year, though. I have been in a rut lately. Especially over the last few months, I’ve felt overwhelmed by the world and by challenges in my family. I’ve been distracted and anxious. Hearing this from me, my dear friends and adopted nephews Jeff and Joe McLean invited me to visit them in Los Angeles. I surprised even myself when I said yes! We had a wonderful time, and Jeff even gave me a Tarot reading. I wasn’t sure what to expect — but the reading helped release me from my fear of change. Just what I needed!

I’ve been thinking more and more about the role magic plays in Wicked, and in our lives this side of the rainbow. My friend Jim Warren is a magician who performs “close-up magic,” the kind that involves a deck of cards and impossible results! I asked him what he thought of how magic shows up in Wicked, and we had a wonderful conversation. 

Jim identified three different types of magicians which show up in the movie: the Trickster, the Magician, and the Alchemist. The Wonderful Wizard is a Trickster. His tricks don’t require much skill to perform; basically anyone can master them without much effort. Think of the tricks you can buy in a magic shop like the disappearing coin or the scarf that changes color. A typical Trickster, the Wizard operates a mechanical head that anyone can use but, as Elphaba discovers, he has no real power. He survives by tricking people into being so afraid of him that they never look behind the curtain to see he is intentionally scapegoating the Animals.

Magicians are slightly different from Tricksters. The magic they perform requires skill and training. One needs dedication and years of practice to perfect these tricks, but often the Magician is also motivated by selfish desires. Jim thinks that Madame Morrible fits this type very well. She may be a skilled sorceress, but her greatest skill is in manipulating others for personal gain. Morrible cares only about gaining favor with the Wizard, and doesn’t care who she uses or abuses along the way —  including her trusting student Elphaba.

Many of us have probably met Tricksters and Magicians in our life. Not necessarily amateur or professional magicians, they are nonetheless people who are self-centered and willing to cross lines to make their dreams come true. We may sense they are less interested in who we are than in what we can do for them. We see this pattern in the clique surrounding Galinda: they don’t like Galinda as much as they like being popular by association with her. (Maybe we’ve caught ourselves treating others this way, too. It happens.)

If we are fortunate, we may meet someone who has achieved the level of the Alchemist. In Jim’s taxonomy, this is the stage in a magician’s spiritual growth when magic has taken on a very different purpose: to serve the needs of others. In other words, the Alchemist is someone who is motivated by love. All magic creates the illusion of alchemy: that objects have been transformed, that the laws of the natural world have been defied. But the real magic, Jim told me, is personal transformation. Only love can accomplish that.

During this spooky time of year, when the dark beckons us, I hope you’ll be released from your fears and encounter the alchemy of love. Till next time, remember to always mourn the wicked. It’s what good people do.