Mage

In the world of Earthsea, a Mage is the highest rank a wizard can attain, a master of the deep arts of magic who carries a staff as the symbol of his power and responsibility. The term distinguishes those who have undergone the full training of the School for Wizards on Roke and have been granted a staff from lesser practitioners such as sorcerers or village witches. The path to becoming a Mage is the central journey of A Wizard of Earthsea, and the novel traces the education and moral development of its protagonist, Ged, as he learns what it truly means to hold such power.

Identity and the Path to Mastery

A Mage is not merely a practitioner of spells but one who understands the fundamental nature of magic. As the Master Namer Kurremkarmerruk teaches, "magic consists in this, the true naming of a thing." This knowledge is the foundation of a Mage's power, which is rooted in the Old Speech, the language of dragons and of Segoy who raised the islands of Earthsea. The training to become a Mage is long and arduous, beginning with the learning of the Six Hundred Runes of Hardic and progressing through the study of the Lore-Books, the arts of weatherworking, illusion, and the perilous Spells of Shaping and Summoning. The greatest Mages, such as Ogion the Silent, embody the principle that "Manhood is patience. Mastery is nine times patience." Ogion, who tamed an earthquake and saved the city of Gont, is a model of the quiet, balanced Mage who uses power only when necessary.

The Role of the Staff and the School on Roke

The staff is the defining emblem of a Mage. It is typically made of a wood such as yew or oak, shod with bronze or iron, and is carved to the height of its owner. The staff is not merely a tool but a focus of the Mage's power, capable of blazing with white magefire to drive away darkness, as Ogion's staff did when he dispelled the shadow from Ged's room. The School for Wizards on Roke, under the governance of the Archmage and the Nine Masters, is the primary institution where wizards are trained to become Mages. The school's curriculum includes study with the Master Windkey, the Master Hand, the Master Herbal, the Master Chanter, the Master Changer, the Master Summoner, the Master Namer, and the Master Patterner. The final test for a student is to learn the name of the Master Doorkeeper, a feat that requires not force but wisdom and humility. Upon passing this test, the student is granted a staff and sent forth as a full wizard, a Mage.

The Burden of Power and the Law of Equilibrium

A Mage's power is not for personal glory or display. The Master Hand teaches Ged that "to change this rock into a jewel, you must change its true name. And to do that, my son, even to so small a scrap of the world, is to change the world." This act can shake the balance of the world, and a wizard must know what good and evil will follow before acting. The Master Summoner warns that "Rain on Roke may be drouth in Osskil, and a calm in the East Reach may be storm and ruin in the West, unless you know what you are about." The ultimate responsibility of a Mage is to serve the Equilibrium, the balance of light and dark, life and death, good and evil. Ged's greatest failure comes when he ignores this law, driven by pride and rivalry with Jasper, and attempts to summon the spirit of the dead Elfarran. This act tears open the fabric of the world and releases a nameless shadow, a creature of unlife, which nearly destroys him and costs the Archmage Nemmerle his life.

The True Name and the Integration of the Self

The central lesson of Ged's journey to becoming a Mage is the understanding of the true name, both of things and of oneself. The shadow he loosed has no name, and therefore he cannot master it. The dragon Yevaud offers to trade the shadow's name for his own, but Ged refuses, knowing the dragon's motives are not trustworthy. Ogion teaches Ged that "all things have a name," and that the shadow must be faced, not fled. In the final confrontation on the Open Sea, Ged pursues the shadow to the dry land, the realm of death. There, the shadow takes on Ged's own form, and when they meet, both speak the same word: "Ged." By naming the shadow with his own name, Ged acknowledges it as a part of himself—the shadow of his pride, his ignorance, and his fear. He reaches out and takes hold of it, and light and darkness meet and are joined. This act of integration makes him whole, a true Mage who knows his whole self and cannot be possessed by any external power. As the song says, "Only in silence the word, only in dark the light, only in dying life: bright the hawk's flight on the empty sky." Ged's journey from a boy who sought power for its own sake to a man who understands that true mastery lies in balance and self-knowledge is the essence of what it means to become a Mage in Earthsea.