What dictates who can use what magic in Fairy Tail?

Question

I know we have met a few people with a few types, but they tend to relate and many mages stick to one kind.

I mean I know Dragon Slayers have their own set of rules going, but Mashima has never dictated that if other magic is a straight up a hereditary thing or not.

So could Lucy learn how to use Cana's cards since they are both object mages? Or is these something that prevents her from that? But on the other hand she was able to use Urano Metria, a caster spell, which was unusual.

Why don't mages learn a bit of healing magic or something similarly useful; even if they can only use these spells at a limited low level they would help a little bit.

So what exactly is keeping one mage from learning other magic? Is it just plot? Easier to study just one?

Answer 1

First to dispell some misconceptions:

• I don't think that dragon slayers have any rules. Anyone can become a dragon slayer provided that he has a dragon to teach him, or he has dragon slayer lacrima to put in his body. Both are rare, thus there are not that many dragon slayers.
• I speculate that Lucy could learn to use Cana's cards. (Personally I think that a monkey could use them, but that's just my opinion.) But not because card magic and celestial spirit magic is both "object magic". Celestial spirit magic is a summoning type of magic.
• In my opinion (sorry for the speculation again) Urano Metria is not a caster spell. When Lucy used it she actually summoned the power of the stars themselves. (Note that some stellar objects actually appeared.)

And now to actually answer the question:

We saw people using different types of magic. Like mentioned before Makarov uses titan, but we also saw him to cast fire. But he also used Fairy Law and other energy type attacks against Jose of the Phantom Lord. We also saw Luxus using Fairy Law while he usually uses dragon slayer magic. Hades used various kinds of dark magic, while in his old days as Purehito he probably had a less dark repertoire. We know that Zeref can use at least two kinds of magic: living magic that created the demons and that black thing that brings instant death. Mirajane has both transformation magic and Satan Soul. But my favourites are Ultear and Jellal. Ultear used both time magic and ice make. And Jellal basically learned Mistogan's magic to add to his repertoire on the tournament.

With all of that in mind, no, nothing dictates what magic people learn. Actually a lot of them learn different types of magic. It's probably just that they are better in one field so they don't really use the other most of the time (Like Luxus.) Or they have personal reasons to not use the other type (Like Ultear.) Or they are so good with one type that they don't even bother learning others. (Like Natsu.) Other than that only the competence of a mage defines if they can use a magic or not.

Answer 2

I think magic has to be learned. It is like studying I guess. When Erza was still a child, she was able to learn magic without actually practicing it. If you have knowledge of how to use a certain magic, you can use it. I guess it may depend on the user's willpower, or it may actually be inside them all along. By the way, there are a few characters who can use more than one type of magic like Ultear, Jellal, Zero/Brain, and Hades.

Answer 3

I think to be able to use a type of magic, one has to learn it. There are no requirements as to who can learn which magic.

In one particular episode, Mirajane teaches Natsu, Lucy and Happy the transformation magic and Natsu was able to transform into Lucy (even though that was not perfect, but that shows that you need to practice a particular type of magic).

And as have been mentioned in other answers that many characters are able to use more than one kind of magic.

Answer 4

All mages choose their magic out of pure personal preference. For example; Juvia is a water wizard, the rain always followed her as a child, so she choose to use water magic, eventually becoming so good at it her body became water itself. But, if she wanted, she could have chosen and learned any other type of magic she wanted. It is simply a matter of personal strengths, and LOTS OF STUDY AND PRACTICE. Any Mage can learn any form of magic, you just need to dedicate yourself to study and practice until u get it right. Also, having someone to yeah you helps. (Like Grey and Leone.) Perfecting one magic skill takes years. For example; Cana began to learn card magic as a child. It took her a VERY long time to build up her skill to where it is now. While one wizard COULD learn another form. They most likely won't so they can focus on the magic they know. Learning magic is like learning anything else. Study and practice till u know it. If u begin to study another form, u may baton to forget the one you just perfected. So you would have to study and practice BOTH on a regular basis. It's easier for most mages to just become amazing in one rather then okay in two.

Answer 5

its simply preference. a mage focuses on a specific form of magic and once they get good they could choose to learn any form. for example when natsu found out about romeo learning different types of fire magic he wanted to go learn as well. it also comes down to how much magic you have. a mage who is good in telepathy but doesn't have alot of magic wouldn't want to focus on other forms until he or she has atleast gained a good deal of magical volume. if a mage developed magic on a volume comparable to Erza he or she might decide to learn multiple forms of magic the very act of learning new forms would also increase magical volume because of rapid use of magic IE like when lucy meditated to increase magic practicing magic would be the equivalent of practical meditation

Answer 6

Wizards may learn a magic that compliments their personality, for instance Elfman and his obsession with physical strength and what it takes to be a "man" is shown in a literal sense when he transforms into a physically powerful beast. Because of this, the type of magic learned is most likely chosen. Also, Healing Magic is considered a Lost Magic (as stated in episode 54 by the red-headed "love" girl), so not many people would know it, if anyone knew it at all. Wendy is a special case because of her Dragon Slayer Magic, which is also a Lost Magic.

Answer 7

I don't believe anyone can use any kind of magic. In episode 19 several people swap bodies and according to the Master they also "switched magics" if anyone could do all kinds of magic at any level then this wouldn't be a problem since they could just use their own magic no matter what body they were in. I also don't think that everyone has just one kind of magic that they can use because otherwise it would be really random for people to just find a master of that kind of magic to train them since there are so many different kinds of magic. For these reasons I believe that anyone who has potential for magic (according to the wiki only around 10% of people in the fairy tail world can use magic) starts out being able to use any or almost any kind of magic but then once they get more advanced in their kind of magic it physically changes them (like dragon slayers being able eat their element) which can prevent them from using other advanced magic that would also cause a physical change. Despite being able to use any kind of magic everyone has some kind of magic that they have an affinity for example in Fairy Tail Zero Warrod is trying to learn one kind of magic and Zeref tells him that this kind of magic doesn't suit him and that the nature/support magic he try's afterword matches the color of his soul and learns it quickly. This special affinity is probably hereditary considering how many relatives use the same kind of magic as each other(Lucy and her mom, the Strauss siblings, Gray and his dad, Ur and Ultear) but this isn't specified so it could just be that they just wanted to use the same thing as each other.