Light is a fundamental force of nature, and can be
manipulated by magic in a plethora of ways to yield different effects. Chapters
Four until Six present spells that deal with the basic properties of light and
its absence, darkness. While there are more complicated application spells
which harness lights effects for invisibility, colours, and apparitions, they
will only be covered in later chapters. However, the contents of these chapters serves as a
good foundation for mastering magic pertaining to light and dark, which will
greatly help your learning when learning the applicative forms of light magic.

Before delving into the full diversity of light and darkness
charms, here is a quick revisit of the two major spells under this theme, Lumos and Nox. Again, the importance of knowing the counterspell can never be
understated: it is vital for you to be familiar with both the basic
Wand-Lighting Charm and its counterspell before proceeding to the complex variants.

Spell 4.1 – Lumos, Wand-Lighting Charm

Wand gesture: A
clockwise loop

Spell symbol: A crescent moon

Difficulty: I

Effects: The wand tip is lit with a
bright ball of yellow light.

Persistence, termination: Effects
persist until the use of the counterspell Nox
(4.2) or its more powerful variant, Noctotem (6.1).

Spell 4.2 – Nox,
Light-Extinguishing
Charm

Wand gesture:
Rotate wrist clockwise, then counter-clockwise

Spell symbol: A broken crescent or
wave, similar to the wand gesture

Difficulty: I

Relationship: Counterspell for Lumos (4.1), its variants (4.3-4.7)
and several light-related charms (5.1-5.2)

Effects: The effects of Lumos and
the light-related charms indicated above cease.

Spell Variants of Lumos

Over the long course of spell-invention history, many
variants of Lumos were developed to
suit it to specific situations. The same goes for many other spells in
existence. A particular spell variant usually has advantages over the others,
which makes worthwhile to learn these derivative spells and their
distinguishing characteristics. Not all are useful however, and you therefore
need not devote equal amount of attention to them all.

Spell 4.3 – Lumos Maxima, Maximal Lighting Charm

Wand gesture:
Same as Lumos (4.1), a clockwise loop

Spell symbol: A crescent and a star

Difficulty: II

Relationship: Variant of Lumos

Effects:  Creates a bright ball of yellow light
hovering mid-air ahead of the wand. The light has a much greater intensity than
that of Lumos, and thus illuminates a
large region. The position of the hovering ball of light follows the movement
of the wand.

Persistence, termination: Effects
persist until termination by Nox (4.2) or Noctotem (6.1).

Spell 4.4 – Lumos Solem, Sunlight Charm

Wand gesture:
Same as Lumos (4.1), a clockwise loop

Spell symbol: A crescent merged with
a circumpunct (circle with a centre dot)

Difficulty: II

Relationship: Variant of Lumos

Effects: The wand tip emits a bright
burst of sunlight with a much greater intensity than Lumos.

Persistence, termination: Effects
persist until termination by Nox (4.2) or Noctotem (6.1).

Spell 4.5 – Lumos Numerosa, Myriad Light Charm

Wand gesture: Same
as Lumos (4.1), a clockwise loop

Spell symbol: A crescent preceded by
three dots

Difficulty: II

Relationship: Variant of Lumos

Effects: Not much is known at this moment. It
is fully described in Charms by Professor Alexander Quilmane, Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Persistence, termination: Effects
persist until termination by Nox (4.2) or Noctotem (6.1).

Theory Trivia: Modifiers and Conjugations From Lumos to Lumos Maxima Upon learning Lumos Maxima and other Lumos variants, it becomes more obvious that variations more or less require a modification of the root spell it is derived from. Knowledge of this makes it easier to learn new spells. You can import your knowledge of Lumos to learn Lumos Maxima or Lumos Solem, and you are able intuitively grasp the magic behind the related spells. On a magilinguistic level (incantations), this is a site of experimentation. In creating new spells, this is where is important to reflect differences of the spell. Incantation not only tells you what a spell can do; quite contrarily, you direct the spell via its incantation how to vary its effect. Learning magical language helps you direct magical forces. Experimentation and practice will then tell you what works and what does not, as the rules are more than often tricky, if not incomprehensible. It is worth noting however that one conjugation for one spell may not apply to another. Taking the modifier Maxima for instance, Lumos Maxima is a valid spell while “Nox Maxima” is not.

Spell 4.6 – Azulumos, Azurean Light Charm

Wand gesture:
Same as Lumos (4.1), a clockwise loop

Spell symbol: A crescent merged with
a zigzag

Difficulty: II

Relationship: Variant of Lumos

Effects: Casts a blue or violet
light (depending on the caster’s control) from the wand tip. Colour difference
from Lumos has no particular use
except for novelty and entertainment.

Persistence, termination: Effects
persist until the use of Nox (4.2) or Noctotem (6.1).

Lesser derivatives: 4.6.1 Viridilumos (green light), 4.6.2 Ceruleaux (light-blue light), 4.6.3
Vermilumos (red, orange light)

Spell 4.7 – Violumos, Ultraviolet Light Charm

Wand gesture: Same
as Lumos (4.1), a clockwise loop

Spell symbol: A crescent merged with
a dotted “V”

Difficulty: II

Relationship: Variant of Lumos

Effects: Casts a beam of ultraviolet light
from the wand tip. Due to its nature, it is invisible to the naked eye, but has
useful magical properties of revealing concealed items or writing.

Persistence, termination: Effects
persist until the use of Nox (4.2) or Noctotem (6.1).

Precautions, side-effects: Extreme
prolonged use may be harmful to the eye and skin, due to the mildly damaging
properties of ultraviolet light.

[This is an incomplete chapter. Research and
writing in progress. Do check back soon!]