Soul restoration spell

[nightshade]

Was Willow doing the soul spell what led her to being able the resurrect Buffy.

Giles: (very concerned) W-Willow... channeling... such potent magicks
through yourself, it could open a door that you may not be able to
close.

If she hadn't done that spell, would she had still been able to channel the magicks?

 

[Selfless705]

It was defintitely the first real use of magic that could open those doors, but I think Willow always had the magicks and she built up from this point to season 6, letting the magick take over her bit by bit.

If she didnt do the restoration spell, I dont think she would have realized how quickly that she was so powerful, and I think it led to the more powerful spells such as the spell at the end of Season 4, the Season 5 "fighting Glory" spells, the ressurection spell, her going over the edge, and ultimately the release of the scythe spell

So yh, I agree that if she didnt do all these big spells before the ressurection she wouldnt have been able to do it. Unfortunately all these big spells are also the reason for her going over the edge at the end of season 6 :/

 

[VisionGirl]

It was defintitely the first real use of magic that could open those doors, but I think Willow always had the magicks and she built up from this point to season 6, letting the magick take over her bit by bit.

This is something that I was never clear on with regards to witches in the Buffyverse (or mythology surrounding witches to begin with). There is clearly a "learn & train" aspect of being a witch, but there is also something innate- you either are or aren't a witch, it's something you were born with maybe. Jenny dabbled in technopaganism and spells as such, but I'm not sure she can be called a witch. And Giles did spells & such too, so what's the difference between him & a male witch/wizard? Clearly Willow, Amy, and Tara were those "born to be" witches. I agree that the magicks were in them from the beginning, they were predisposed to it I guess you could say. Anybody else have any thoughts on this?

 

[Selfless705]

I think that that witchcraft, just like any other skill, you can go two different ways about it.

Either you are born with it like Amy, or Willow, and Tara and you just enhance through training and spells

Or you really have to work and work to get the magicks like Jenny, Giles and Anya

I think the difference is the time it takes to be able to do the big spells, I think we can call Giles a wizard or male witch, however, he obviously had to put a LOT of work into it

 

[Abby27]

In "I Robot, You Jane" when Giles asks Jenny if she was a witch, she replied, "No, I don't have that kind of power. Technopagan is the term." So based on that statement, I would say that the origin of magickal power is still a bit ambiguous: she could mean she wasn't born with that kind of power or that she hadn't yet acquired that much power.

I think magick is something that is both learned and that you can have an innate ability for - just like for most skills (music, sports, etc...) Knowing Jenny grew up in a culture where magick must have been around a lot and that as an adult she still said she hadn't that much power, on top of the fact that even Giles who raised a demon for fun was weary about performing the ritual again shows how much natural affinity Willow had for magick. She obviously channeled something when performing the ritual: a spirit, Jenny, or it could have just been her own natural ability awakening.

So in general, I agree with everyone here that magick is something that you can have a natural talent for, but it is also a skill you can build. So to answer the OP, I think the restoration spell was the moment where Willow's power and potential was first tapped and it is significant that it occurred with a spell that even Giles was hesitant to perform. But I think any spell that was Willow's first would have relieved her natural affinity for magick.

 

[VisionGirl]

So in general, I agree with everyone here that magick is something that you can have a natural talent for, but it is also a skill you can build. So to answer the OP, I think the restoration spell was the moment where Willow's power and potential was first tapped and it is significant that it occurred with a spell that even Giles was hesitant to perform.

Add to that the fact that she was weak from being injured- she still was able to successfully perform the spell! That is a lot of power.

 

[KellGreen]

I agree that i view witchcraft here as something both can learn and have an innate ability for. I think Willow innately had a very strong ability, like she made a very good conduit for the force that powers magic, but she still had to learn how to focus/harness it. I think most everyone else, could study and try for years, but never reach the level Willow was capable of reaching.