Laws of Magic (The Dresden Files)

The Laws of Magic are a set of rules governing wizards in the fictional world of wizard Harry Dresden. Developed and enforced by the White Council, a group of ruling wizards of the world, the Laws of Magic are primarily intended to guard against the misuse of magic by wizards against humans.

Wizards deemed to have violated any of the Seven Laws are termed warlocks. There is little differentiation between the usage of wizard or warlock other than warlocks have violated one (or more) of the Laws of Magic and wizards have not. All of the Laws carry a death penalty, to be carried out by a Warden of the White Council. Wardens are the police force formed by the White Council to patrol and protect the wizard world. In some instances a form of probation, the Doom of Damocles is rendered instead. Under the Doom, a wizard is openly under the suspicion and scrutiny of the White Council and any further infractions will automatically warrant execution. Furthermore, the White Council has one of its members, not to be known openly, appointed to the position of Blackstaff. The Blackstaff has the distinction of being able to break the Laws on a discretionary basis in order to prevent the Laws from becoming a liability against the White Council.

The Laws are:

• Thou shalt not kill by use of magic. A plea of self-defense is allowed in mitigation, though it seems to work only rarely. Wardens often wield swords when detaining and executing warlocks to avoid a technical infraction of this Law. At several points in the series, however, Wardens have used lethal magic against human wizards; it is possible that Wardens are allowed some latitude in the heat of combat, as obviously in battle they are employed with the consent of the Council, or rather this is an extension of the latitude of self-defense. The use of magic to kill non-human beings, on the other hand, is lawful; a wizard may, for example, use magic to kill a vampire, a ghoul or any being of the Nevernever without breaking this Law.

• Thou shalt not transform others. See also shapechangers.

• Thou shalt not invade the mind of another. During an attempt on his mind, Harry makes the comment that because of its outlaw status, research into mind magic is remarkably limited and as a result, training to resist such invasions is very basic. Molly Carpenter broke this Law.

• Thou shalt not enthrall another. Enthrallment is the term for magically dominating another through binding their will to one's own. It is not the same as compelling non-human beings through arrangements or exchanges; if the wizard does not actually control the being's mind through magic, the Law is not broken. It is implied that this is one of the Laws which extends to wizards acting upon denizens of the Nevernever. Justin DuMorne broke this Law, having enthralled Elaine with intent to enthrall Harry, and Molly Carpenter was tried for breaking this Law.

• Thou shalt not reach beyond the Borders of Life. This Law prohibits both research into and the practice of necromancy, described as the summoning, binding and exploitation of the unwilling dead. The Law applies specifically to human necromancy, though it is implied that the distinction for use upon animals is all the same frowned upon. It is unknown if this rule would apply to dead non-human sentients, as most inhabitants of the Nevernever are ectoplasmic and not of flesh. Harry Dresden notes that Black Court vampires are vulnerable to necromancy in an unspecified fashion, and it is unknown if such use would constitute a breaking of the Law. Communicating with spirits of the dead who are willing to do so is not a violation of this law.

• Thou shalt not swim against the Currents of Time. This prohibits any attempt to change the past through temporal manipulation for fear of paradoxes. Even magical prediction is frowned upon except in the vaguest, most general forms. It is stated, however, that some beings in the Dresdenverse exist in the past, present, and future at once, and that such beings can be dangerous for this reason.

• Thou shalt not seek beyond the Outer Gates. What the "Outer Gates" are is unknown, but the implication is that they mark the furthest boundaries of Dresden's multiverse. Beings from beyond the Gates are known as Outsiders, and are among the deadliest known threats to humanity – their existence itself is antithetical to the universe. May or may not be related to the Gatekeeper, a mysterious member of the Senior Council. The Dresden Files RPG has expanded upon this law in its publications, establishing that is illegal to attempt to even learn anything about what lies beyond the Outer Gates, though it acknowledges that there is obviously some grey area here or the Wardens wouldn't know what to look for.

As a corollary to this last law, Harry's brother Thomas is involved with an organization whose entire purpose is to bury the knowledge forever of a great many powerful entities from ancient times. The purpose of the Venatori and this law are remarkably similar.