Modern Magic
There are two ways to divide magic schools, first is a division between schools 'black' and 'white'. While in Menorian Empire division between spells and hexes was very bright and clear, in Imperium the situation is noticable different and can be compared to near complete chaos.
Many magical professions combines black and white (not to mention 'gray') magic together. There are even spells groups that include some hex subschool. Most of the subschools (especially this that doesn't fit their school type) have something called 'secondary attunement', meaning certain magics from other categories that are connected to it, making it easier to learn it if one of them is already known to some point. It was further complicated by a growing tide of magic schools that are 'regional' in character and can be learned only in a certain magical anomalies.
Second way is dividing it into several thematically connected groups, in most cases similar enough for many magicians to learn them simultaneously, without noticable delays in their growth in power. Of course, there is no real problem with for example elemental magician learning some black magic spells, but it tends to be time consuming and generally not offering enough advantages to do it.
There are differences though, for example Black Magic was put together by assembling a category for all things considered 'unnatural' or wrong, but not exactly on the level that would warrant banning it or even prosecuting it in any way. Biomagic and Life Magic have little in common.
To be honest, this 'specializations' are in large part artificial and are caused by the existence of defined 'profiles' in imperial system of mage educations - they are profiles for example for elemental magicians, that are focusing on elemental magicks, or for black magicians that focus on black magic and so on. Specializations are officially called primary magic schools, their subschools are called secondary magic schools, and their subschools are tertiary magic schools.
In this description, white schools will be marked with [SP] - meaning 'Spells', while black with [HX] - meaning 'Hexes'. Those considered extinct or eradicated will have [E] added, while those with either significant part on entirety of them proscribed will have [P] added. Proscribed magic means that Imperium Karadia considers them too dangerous or problematic to let it run in the wild, with some parts of them either purged or allowed to existing only with a very limited ammount of magicians that practice it with imperial licences and under strict watch of Imperial Inquisition.
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