Typically it is the males of the species that wield the magic in their communities. They are quite easily marked as they have colorful, complexly patterned hides. Usually strength can be measured first, by brightness of scale color (someone royal blue primary tone versus someone neon blue primary) and second by pattern complexity (someone with a mottled hide versus one with a dimondbacked hide). It is quite unlikely to find a male of a dark, mottled hue performing any of the "high" magics. Sometimes their patterning is so complex it forms knotwork, like as found in Celtic art, that they call "nodos". Nodos are commonly found on their ceremonial acoutrements and are used as meditation tools.