Allegories of Material Spell Components

[paranoid]

I always wondered why certain spells had these strange material spell components. I know, it's magic, but if you want, you can see some "logic" behind most spell components. The designers apparently wanted to create some sort of allegory. For example, fireball needs sulphur and bat guano, which in itself can be explosive. alarm needs a bell and wire, which is self-explanatory. Lightning Bolt needs fur and a glass rod, which creates static electricity. Fear requires a hen's heart, which symbolizes cowardice. Passwall needs sesame seeds - Ali Baba's spoke the words "Open Sesame" to get into the cave. Tongues requires the shattering of a ziggurat, which probably symbolizes the Babylonian Tower and the scattering of languages.
But some spell components simply stump me and and I have no idea about the designers' intention. For example, the summon monster spells: why do you need a candle and a bag? I would have understood a cylinder and a rabbit...
Or take haste. "A shaving of licorice root". Is something known about physiological acceleration effects of licorice that I don't know of?

These are the jokes I don't get:
Acid / Solid Fog - A pinch of dried, powdered peas combined with powdered animal hoof
Antimagic Field - A pinch of powdered iron or iron filings
Antipathy - A lump of alum soaked in vinegar
Arcane Eye - A bit of bat fur
Comprehend Languages - A pinch of soot and a few grains of salt
Darkvision - Either a pinch of dried carrot [Vitamin A?] or an agate
Daze - A pinch of wool or similar substance
Detect Thoughts - A copper piece ["a penny for your thoughts?"]
Disintegrate - A lodestone and a pinch of dust
Displacement - A small strip of leather twisted into a loop
Enlarge / Reduce Person - A pinch of powdered iron
False Life - A small amount of alcohol or distilled spirits, which you use to trace certain sigils on your body during casting
Floating Disk - A drop of mercury
Foresight - A hummingbird’s feather
Freedom of Movement - A leather thong, bound around the arm or a similar appendage
Ghost Sound - A bit of wool or a small lump of wax
Haste - A shaving of licorice root
Hold Person [H. Monster is similar] - A small, straight piece of iron
Illusory Script - A lead-based ink
Invisibility - An eyelash encased in a bit of gum arabic
Legend Lore - Four strips of ivory (worth 50 gp each) formed into a rectangle
Levitate - Either a small leather loop or a piece of golden wire bent into a cup shape with a long shank on one end
Magic Mouth - A small bit of honeycomb and jade dust worth 10 gp
Magic Weapon, Greater - Powdered lime and carbon
Mnemonic Enhancer - An ivory plaque of at least 50 gp value
Persistent Image (and other Image spells) - A bit of fleece and several grains of sand
Polymorph Any Object - Mercury, gum arabic, and smoke
Repulsion - A pair of small iron bars attached to two small canine statuettes, one black and one white
Rope Trick - Powdered corn extract and a twisted loop of parchment
Secret Page - Powdered herring scales and will-o’-wisp essence
See Invisibility - A pinch of talc and a small sprinkling of powdered silver
Summon Monster - A tiny bag and a small (not necessarily lit) candle

Can somebody clear me up on these?

-p.

 

[diaglo]

Acid / Solid Fog - A pinch of dried, powdered peas combined with powdered animal hoof

peas cause flatu....gas.

Antimagic Field - A pinch of powdered iron or iron filings

iron has always been part of antimagic lore


Daze - A pinch of wool or similar substance


"pull the wool over your eyes"


Detect Thoughts - A copper piece ["a penny for your thoughts?"]

how's that for a start.

 

[rushlight]

These are the jokes I don't get:
Acid / Solid Fog - A pinch of dried, powdered peas combined with powdered animal hoof

Ever heard fog refered to as "Thick as pea soup"? That a common expression around here, and probably in other places.

Darkvision - Either a pinch of dried carrot [Vitamin A?] or an agate

Carrots are usually said to improve vision. I don't know if there's any actual proof of this, but it's a common belief.

Detect Thoughts - A copper piece ["a penny for your thoughts?"]

The penny is probably right on the mark!

Hold Person [H. Monster is similar] - A small, straight piece of iron

Probably the straight iron bar symbolizes non-movement. Iron bars don't bend, and neither does someone who is held.

 

[diaglo]

Probably the straight iron bar symbolizes non-movement. Iron bars don't bend, and neither does someone who is held.

sometimes people say you have a rod shoved in the wrong place.

 

[Fanog]

I think the iron bar for Hold Person might refer to the bars as seen in a jail cell.

Some others:

- Displacement: the loop might be a Moebius ring, where there's a twist in the loop.
- Secret Page: the herring part probably refers to a Red Herring. Will-O-Wisp for something that's really hard to find, in general.
- See Invisibility: Talc, or any powder is usually thrown onto invisible persons to locate them, or to see their footprints. The silver dust might make it appear to be more 'magical'.

Fanog

 

[paranoid]

Antimagic Field - A pinch of powdered iron or iron filings
iron has always been part of antimagic lore

yeah, that's probably it.

Daze - A pinch of wool or similar substance
"pull the wool over your eyes"

Didn't know that expression (I come from Germany), but it sounds right!

Ever heard fog refered to as "Thick as pea soup"? That a common expression around here, and probably in other places.

You're right, we know that expression here, too. That's probably what they intended. But why the powdered animal hoof?

Carrots are usually said to improve vision. I don't know if there's any actual proof of this, but it's a common belief.

They do. They contain a lot of Vitamin A, which is needed for proper vision. I mostly wondered about the agate.

Probably the straight iron bar symbolizes non-movement. Iron bars don't bend, and neither does someone who is held.

Hm, perhaps. First I thought they meant a nail, for nailing somebody to the floor or something like that.

More ideas?

 

[paranoid]

I think the iron bar for Hold Person might refer to the bars as seen in a jail cell.

Great idea!

- Displacement: the loop might be a Moebius ring, where there's a twist in the loop.

I think they used the Moebius thing for rope trick, where you need a twisted parchment. That said, perhaps that explains the corn extract: starch as a kind of glue to hold the parchment ends together.

- Secret Page: the herring part probably refers to a Red Herring. Will-O-Wisp for something that's really hard to find, in general.

Never heard of a Red Herring before, but after looking it up it sounds alright!

- See Invisibility: Talc, or any powder is usually thrown onto invisible persons to locate them, or to see their footprints. The silver dust might make it appear to be more 'magical'.

Sounds good!

keep 'em coming!

 

[Zappo]

Fun exercise!

Antipathy - A lump of alum soaked in vinegar

Ah, I see. That's no spell. The smell from that thing would keep anyone away from the target.

Arcane Eye - A bit of bat fur

Bats see what others can't see. Same can be said for you, after you cast the spell.

Comprehend Languages - A pinch of soot and a few grains of salt

No clue. Uhm, it's something black and something white, maybe it relates to understanding what is different.

Disintegrate - A lodestone and a pinch of dust

If the dust was ferromagnetic, the lodestone could disrupt it.

Enlarge / Reduce Person - A pinch of powdered iron

No idea at all!

False Life - A small amount of alcohol or distilled spirits, which you use to trace certain sigils on your body during casting

Drinking alcohol is a good way to resist pain for a while.

Floating Disk - A drop of mercury

Things float on mercurey easily, because it's a very heavy fluid.

Foresight - A hummingbird’s feather

I seem to remember something related to prophecy and hummingbirds... some old african legend maybe... I dunno, I'm probably misremembering something.

Freedom of Movement - A leather thong, bound around the arm or a similar appendage

The leather thong symbolizes bondage. This is a freedom spell, so this is an example of magic by opposites, fairly common in magical literature.

Ghost Sound - A bit of wool or a small lump of wax

Both of which dull senses. They are generically appropriate for illusions.

Haste - A shaving of licorice root

No clue.

Illusory Script - A lead-based ink

I don't know, is there something special about leaded inks? If not, I could see the lead as symbolizing the mental compulsion. It's in the ink, so the mental compulsion is in the writing.

Invisibility - An eyelash encased in a bit of gum arabic

Easy. If you had something sticky in your eyelashes, you couldn't see very well.

Legend Lore - Four strips of ivory (worth 50 gp each) formed into a rectangle

Ivory is traditionally associated with knowledge. The rectangle is a window to the truth. Or something.

Levitate - Either a small leather loop or a piece of golden wire bent into a cup shape with a long shank on one end

They are harnesses, holding you up.

Magic Mouth - A small bit of honeycomb and jade dust worth 10 gp

No idea at all!

Magic Weapon, Greater - Powdered lime and carbon

It's something that can be applied to the weapon. What the specific materials symbolize, I don't know.

Mnemonic Enhancer - An ivory plaque of at least 50 gp value

Ivory is knowledge, and the plaque is something you can write on.

Persistent Image (and other Image spells) - A bit of fleece and several grains of sand

Fleece is probably for visual illusions for the same reason that wool is for obscuring sight. Sand symbolizes dreams.

Polymorph Any Object - Mercury, gum arabic, and smoke

All materials well known for their lack of a precise shape.

Repulsion - A pair of small iron bars attached to two small canine statuettes, one black and one white

The iron bar is for magical obstacle to movement, like hold person. The statuettes represent "you" and "other creatures", I think.

Rope Trick - Powdered corn extract and a twisted loop of parchment

The twisted loop is clearly a Moebius loop, good for symbolizing extradimensional spaces. The powdered corn extract, I don't know. Could you even use it as glue? Though pop corns do have a convoluted shape.

Secret Page - Powdered herring scales and will-o’-wisp essence

Herring (red one maybe) and will-o'-wisp are practically synonimous with misleading.

Summon Monster - A tiny bag and a small (not necessarily lit) candle

Uh... the candle symbolizes life, I'm pretty sure of that. You pull it out of the bag, symbolizing the creation of life out of thin air. Nevermind that it is actually summoned from somewhere else.

As for the animal hoof for the fog, I have no idea. Agate, though, is traditionally an amulet for clear vision.

 

[Psion]

They do. They contain a lot of Vitamin A, which is needed for proper vision. I mostly wondered about the agate.

Agates are gemstones that have layers that when cut, often appear concentric like an eye, like a cat's eye or bull's eye agate.

Example:
http://www.luckygemstones.com/bulls-eye-agate-jewelry-black-agates-eye.htm

 

[heirodule]

These are the jokes I don't get:
Acid / Solid Fog - A pinch of dried, powdered peas combined with powdered
animal hoof
"Thick as pea soup", plus animal hoof is used to make gelatin.

Antipathy - A lump of alum soaked in vinegar
a very sour taste you woduln't like

Darkvision - Either a pinch of dried carrot [Vitamin A?] or an agate
Carrots are good night vision.
Daze - A pinch of wool or similar substance
"wool over your eyes"
Detect Thoughts - A copper piece ["a penny for your thoughts?"]
yep: penny for thoughts.
Disintegrate - A lodestone and a pinch of dust
Displacement - A small strip of leather twisted into a loop
A Moebius strip.

Hold Person [H. Monster is similar] - A small, straight piece of iron
A rigid object like the held subject
Invisibility - An eyelash encased in a bit of gum arabic
glueing the eyes shut.

Persistent Image (and other Image spells) - A bit of fleece and several grains of sand
fleece: "getting fleeced"
Repulsion - A pair of small iron bars attached to two small canine statuettes, one black and one white
Little toy magnetic dogs that jump apart.
Rope Trick - Powdered corn extract and a twisted loop of parchment
a starched moebius stip.
Secret Page - Powdered herring scales and will-o’-wisp essence
Red herring?
See Invisibility - A pinch of talc and a small sprinkling of powdered silver
Spreading powder ove the invisible subject?
Summon Monster - A tiny bag and a small (not necessarily lit) candle
The camp game of "snipe hunting", which is to make kids look ridiculous trying to make non-existent snipes jump into their bags by wiggling their flashlights on the groud and whooping.