Inspiration from Fiction

In various magic and energy working circles one will sometimes encounter people drawing inspiration from a work of fiction.  A symbol from an anime, a spell from a novel, etc.  The opinions on this are most likely varied, but I am of the opinion that it's not necessarily a bad practice.

Many fictional concepts can be developed to work in the real-world, such as being used in an actual spell or energy working technique.  I think that this would be most obvious in Chaos Magic where users are prone to incorporate anything and everything into their practice.  Energy working is another "anything goes" type of practice in which anything that can be imagined can be utilized.

It's important to recognize that you are borrowing or taking inspiration from something fictional though, rather than trying to pass it off as a real tradition.  Drawing symbols to invoke changes in matter is not how real-world alchemy is done, but if you can find something to help you in a fictional representation of alchemy then I see no problem in using it.  It is, however, important to make sure you aren't incorporating detrimental things into your practice.

Then we have the converse of the above:  People mistake real-world concepts for the inventions of fiction.  Examples that come to mind are ki and chakras.  Just as we may take ideas and inspiration from fiction, so do the creators of fiction take ideas and inspiration from real-world occult traditions and practices.  I usually only see this brought up when ignorant people try to deride someone else's practice for being "made-up" or "fake."

You may not be in favor of taking ideas from fiction because of the confusion or derision it can draw.  I happen to be a fan of "If it works, use it," but I most often draw the line at incorporating fiction into serious practice, mostly because of the issues it can cause.  If you do intend to adopt fictional concepts or ideas into your practice, be aware that this won't always be met with a warm reception.