Quote 7
PUCK
I'll follow you. I'll lead you about a round,
Through bog, through bush, through brake,
through brier; Sometime a horse I'll be, sometime a hound,
A hog, a headless bear, sometime a fire,
And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn,
Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every turn. (3.1.107-113)
Puck lists off a group of truly fearsome things, but you'll note that none of them are magic. They are all little terrors that abound in nature. Nature itself, without the aid of magic, can be terrifying to humans.
Quote 8
PUCK
And the country proverb known,
That every man should take his own,
In your waking shall be shown.
Jack shall have Jill;
Nought shall go ill;
The man shall have his mare again, and all shall be
well. (3.2.487-493)
Puck quips that he is setting matters back to their natural state. However, there is a hint of inequality about the natural states here. Men "take" their "own" women, and men shall have their "mares" to ride. The natural state here is not just one of love, but also of masculine ownership of women. It is about the nature of the pastoral too—when women are in the wood, they gain a certain amount of freedom that they would not have at court. Once the young women go back to Athens—though they will return with their respective loves—they will leave behind some of their freedom and equality. In Shakespeare's day, this ownership was part of a woman's "natural state."
Quote 9
PUCK
How now, spirit! whither wander you?FAIRY
Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire;
I do wander every where,
Swifter than the moon's sphere.
And I serve the Fairy Queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favors;
In those freckles live their savors. (2.1.1-13)
It is important to note that the fairy is not talking about magic here, but about the natural world. The magic is not about what the fairies do to nature, but about the beauty they see in it instead. In this way, the wood makes for the perfect pastoral, as it's magical and beautiful by the very nature of its setting.