MtA Magical Traditions
MtA Magical Traditions
MtA Magical Traditions
She awoke in a tunnel, or in what seemed like a tunnel. All she knew at first was that it was very dark.
“No, not just dark,” she muttered. “It’s friggin’ cold, too.”
Her eyes stung as they tried to adjust to the lack of light, but her long, straight hair was plastered to her face, stray wisps irritat-
ing her eyes. She tried to lift a hand to brush her hair back from her face and then remembered they were bound behind her.
“Oh, yeah,” she told the darkness. “Well, at least they didn’t gag me.” She tested her legs by trying to stand, but felt tape
wrapped tightly around her ankles.
“You’re not making this easy, if you’re watching,” she said. The absolute silence that surrounded her made her think that
maybe they weren’t watching. Maybe they had done exactly what they said they would do.
• • •
“Why do you want to study with me, anyway, girl?” Old Man Pardee glared at her, his bushy eyebrows forming a glowering
line above his dark brown eyes. “Aren’t your fancy teachers in the city good enough for you? Have you learned everything
they can teach you? Or do you think you can come back here with your big city airs and show us pore ol’ mountain folk how
to work real magic?”
Whatever Aralathienne was expecting when she left Raleigh — where she’d gone off to college, where she’d Awakened and
where she’d been recruited by the Mysterium — to return home to the Blue Ridge Mountains in search of the magic of the
hills and hollers, she never thought she’d have to plead her case to such a hard man.
“I want to learn the magic of my home,” she had told him honestly, “and I want to learn it from the best.” She waited to see if the
old conjure man would cut her off. When he didn’t, she took a deep breath and added, “And you’re the best, is what I hear.”
• • •
She shivered suddenly and her surroundings rushed to the fore. It was more than dark and cold, it was damp, and she felt
that it was growing damper — but not as if it were raining.
“The water level’s rising,” she thought and felt a wave of panic rush through her body, settling in just above her gut which
had somehow risen up to surround her heart.
“First things first,” she told herself as she started working her wrists back and forth within the ropes that bound them. At
first, she had trouble, for her fingertips were numb and stiff. After what seemed like eons, she felt the ropes loosen and give.
She shook them from her wrists and swiftly turned to use her newly freed hands to remove the tape from her legs, which had
also gone to sleep from lack of movement.
She stood up, intending to stretch her legs and restore some flexibility to them, but a sharp crack to the top of her head
stopped her before she could fully straighten her body.
“Ahhh—shit!”
It was a tunnel after all. Her first instincts were right. And not a very tall tunnel either. After experimenting, she found that her
best course of action was to travel on hands and knees, although the rough stones and dirt of the tunnel floor — no, the rough wet
stones and ever moistening mud of the tunnel floor — would wreak havoc on her knees as well as on the palms of her hands.
Again, she strained to see through the darkness, but her eyes wouldn’t adjust.
Damn it!
She suddenly remembered the salve Old Man Pardee had put on and around her eyes when she complained of a burning
sensation she passed off as eyestrain. Almost immediately, she had grown very sleepy and had sunk into the worn but com-
fortable sofa in the front room of the old man’s cabin, pulling a quilted coverlet over herself. She must have drifted off to
sleep listening to the crackling of the fire in the hearth.
She’d woken up in the tunnel, and now the damn salve was keeping her from focusing properly, keeping her in the dark.
“Great, I can’t use my eyes. I’ve got four senses left.” A picture rose in her mind of a bloodhound sniffing its way out of the
tunnel. She shook her head, trying to clear the image from her mind. “I’m not going to smell my way out of this.”
A sound that she had been hearing all along suddenly clarified itself, revealing its nature to her as a steady trickle of water
running into the tunnel from somewhere above.
“I’m under water,” she whispered aloud, more to hear herself voice the words and crystallize her fear. “Underground and
under water, and the water is breaking through.” Again she fought a war with the panic inside her, pushing it aside with her
(Thanks and acknowledgements to Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians, second edition, as sung by Jean Ritchie (University Press
of Kentucky, 1997), for the ballads quoted in this story.)
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INTRODUCTION 9
The world as we know it is a lie; mages have understood shaping and being shaped by the beliefs and practices of
this for millennia. The world as it is meant to be exists countless cultures, moving down through the ages, and
beyond the vast and shadowy nightmare of the Abyss, awaiting those souls perceptive enough to glimpse such
forever severed from the damaged, lesser cosmos in which truths and know them for what they are.
the majority of humanity is condemned to dwell. There
are those among the Awakened who believe that there is
no way home, that there never was and never could be Just to be Clear
after the calamity of the Fall; that, save for a journey of This chapter, and indeed every chapter in this
spirit by which some small shard of the Supernal’s mag- book, is not intended to encompass literal truths
nificence accompanies a soul back to this plane, there are about Atlantis or the Realms Supernal. Rather,
no ties left that connect this world to the higher realms. it illustrates the symbolic and metaphorical
Nothing could be further from the truth, however. realities of these times and places, echoing
down through time, place and the barriers
The fact of the matter is that aspects of the Supernal
between worlds. Even when something here is
Realms are still present in the Fallen World, though
stated in what seems to be a plain, forthright,
their influence is felt in much subtler and more rarified
indisputable manner, understand that it’s not a
ways than most people, Sleeper or Awakened, can readily
mandate, but instead a suggestion.
identify. Perhaps the medium most abundantly blessed
with Supernal wisdom — the occult beliefs of a thousand Further, nothing in this book is meant to
cultures throughout history, even unto modern times undermine or invalidate the beliefs that it
— allow all human souls to glimpse the higher worlds explores. Its purpose is neither to show that
in some small way and to connect to those worlds in a the Atlantean myth is absolutely true or that
meaningful fashion. These traditions, concealing within the beliefs held by Sleeper cultures are abso-
them as they do a measure of fundamental truth, often lutely false. Rather, the reality is to be found
become the core tenets of cultures, religions and the like, in some nebulous middle ground that can be
as the practice of them makes people feel that they are, freely adjusted, one way or the other to suit
in some small way, doing something right, something the needs of your game.
important. Cut off from the Supernal in almost every
The history of the Awakened and the leg-
way that matters, humans reach for the barest fragments
ends surrounding the realms are full of “may-
of otherworldly lore and hold onto them tightly, their
bes” and are very rarely adequately served
spirits aware on some instinctual level that these ideals
by “yes” or “no.” The wisdom of the Supernal
bring them closer to the world as it is meant to be.
isn’t easily confined within something so
These shreds of genuine, higher reality are small and narrow as fact, which, by definition, denies
often difficult to find, even for practiced seekers, but possibility. Each idea given in this book is an
they are not rare. The Realms Supernal still hold a deep opportunity, rather than a framework de-
sympathy with the Fallen World, a tie that has not yet signed to tie you down and limit your options.
been severed by the machinations of the Exarchs or the Use what you like and discard the rest. If you
terrible properties of the Abyss. Those determined to happen to decide that a given occult tradi-
uncover the secrets of the higher worlds hidden within the tion encapsulates an objective Supernal truth,
recesses of mundane lore need only look so far as those then that’s entirely appropriate. Conversely, if
beliefs that still encompass the possibility of magic and you opt to use this book as a source of false
miracles; that which does not deny what others consider paths and bunk intended to lead the Awak-
to be impossible but, rather, embraces such knowledge. It ened astray, that’s just fine, too.
is in these places that the wisdom of the Supernal collects,
12
14
16
18
which they have also often ascribed a higher order of transmitted. While the Awakened often make the tacit
understanding of the essential nature of reality or, at assumption that the lore of the higher realms is specifi-
least, a different – and often more powerful and compel- cally intended to benefit humanity, this is not truly the
ling – view of the cosmos. Ancient Celtic peoples, for case. The Supernal World is what should be, irrespective
example, believed in the Fair Folk, creatures both willing of the benefits or drawbacks of such for humanity; it is
and able to inflict terrible torments upon mortal men, the embodiment of a comprehensive view of the universe,
using powers beyond human ken, often due to ideals which is, at times, actively harmful to the life of the Fallen
and an understanding of reality which was simply alien World, human or otherwise.
to the human experience. Those that pursued the lore
of the fae in a manner that such beings considered to Superstitions
be appropriately respectful, however, could occasionally In some cases, the root causes for certain mystical
benefit by their teachings, and grow wise in ways that perspectives on the world become lost to time, cultural
allowed for greater control over the world. assimilation and other factors. When this happens, such
When cast through the Atlantean prism, such entities beliefs are usually wholly subsumed into other cultures
can often be seen as reflections of one Supernal Realm and are assigned new causes or else vanish entirely. In
or another, but this need not always be the case. There some cases, however, these beliefs persist, often devoid
are certainly many entities native to the Fallen World, of any understanding why they continue to exist. These
which might be possessed of magics of their own; taken beliefs, cut off from their respective points of origin, carry
in large enough numbers, they constitute cultures. Such on as superstitions. In the World of Darkness, however,
beings might unwittingly be the vessels of Supernal even superstitions can carry grains of Supernal truth;
wisdom, in whom it is stored and through whom it is indeed, some such beliefs may persist solely because of
20
22
24
26
28
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 31
KABBALAH
Ten sephiroth of nothingness: Their measure is ten which have no end. A depth of
beginning, a depth of end.
— The Sefer Yetzirah
It has been called the “Yoga of the West,” and has the history of Kabbalah. Sefer Yetzirah describes how
informed nearly every European occult tradition since God made the universe through the power of Hebrew
the Renaissance. From its humble beginnings as a branch numbers and letters, and implies that a wise and pious
of esoteric Judaism, it has gone from being a hidden and man can use the same knowledge to achieve magical
rigorously restricted mystical practice to an integral part ends. Awakened scholars have often referred to this work
of the Jewish faith to a historical curiosity and, recently, in treatises on the High Speech, and to a lesser extent
back to a vital, thriving practice. Atlantean runes, and some have even credited its author
with Awakened influence.
History
The precise history of the practice of Kabbalah, at least The Medieval Era
as it is understood today, is difficult to trace back to its Around 1200 A.D., the famous Jewish mystic Isaac the
beginnings, owing to the longstanding oral tradition of Blind wrote the Bahir (“Illumination”), which introduced
Judaism. The word “Kabbalah” itself means “to receive” Kabbalah in the essence of its modern form. The text
or “to accept,” in the sense of a received tradition, and in is largely comprised of a series of parables illustrating
its earliest use was to refer to the vast body of oral tradi- Kabbalistic concepts and philosophy heavily couched in
tion in Jewish teachings. Over time, as the oral traditions metaphor. It was in this text that the first conception of
were written down, the term came to apply specifically the sephiroth as emanations of the Divine was recorded,
to the mystical and esoteric knowledge which remained in a form that seems to bear a good deal in common
an oral tradition until comparatively recently. with the Supernal Realms familiar to mages.
At the end of the 13th century, Moses de Leon, a
Early Recorded History Spanish Jew and Kabbalist, wrote the Zohar (“Splendor”),
The oldest extant texts related to Kabbalistic mysticism considered to be the core text of Kabbalah today. Indeed,
date from the later Roman Empire, from approximately Kabbalistic thought was so prevalent in Medieval Juda-
100 A.D. and onward. These documents describe the ism that, for a time, the Zohar was even incorporated
practices of the Hekhalot mystics, a group which used into the Oral Torah and considered part of mainstream
shamanic practices to ascend through the seven Heavens Jewish law.
and achieve the throne-chariot of God. In each Heaven, In 1569, Isaac Luria, a now-legendary Jewish mystic,
the mystic would have to pass terrible seals and wrathful settled in Palestine, where he began to teach a new school
guardian angels who would only let the most worthy pass of Kabbalah with an emphasis on ritual and on bringing
into the presence of the Most High. the consciousness of God through oneself and into the
After the Hekhalot, the book Sefer Yetzirah (“Book world. Whether Luria was Awakened, a Sleepwalker,
of Formation”) was written sometime before the sixth or merely a mortal who pieced together many smaller
century, and formed the next major building block in clues into a startlingly accurate parallel to Atlantean
32
Modern History
Kabbalah reached its peak
as an occult praxis in the late
1800s with the founding
of the Hermetic Order
of the Golden Dawn
in London. Within the
Golden Dawn's teachings,
Kabbalah was largely folded
into a larger, syncretic view
of Eastern and Western re-
ligious and magical thought,
with the ten sephiroth gaining as-
sociations with Greek and Egyptian
deities and the Enochian philoso-
phy of John Dee, among others.
Some Hermetics, notably Aleister
Crowley, wrote deliberately id-
iosyncratic or blasphemous
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 33
34
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 35
36
Kabbalists counter with an alternative theory of Paradox: Paradox is not the result of the Lie
of the Fallen World conflicting with the Supernal Truths, but rather the product of the qlippothic
entities of the Abyss. All the energy of creation must cross the Abyss in order to reach its ulti-
mate destination, and this gives the Abyssal entities a taste for that power. When a mage casts
a vulgar spell, the energy flares and shifts out of the pattern of the Lightning Flash, drawing the
attention of qlippothic monstrosities that surge through the hole in creation, desperate in their
hunger to be made manifest and truly real by the power of creation. Their attempts to seize the
energy is what causes Paradox. Kabbalists are less clear on the mechanism whereby the Abys-
sal entities can detect improbable spells, but postulate that it may have to do with the “knowl-
edge” garnered from the hole called Daat.
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 37
38
40
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 41
42
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 43
44
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 45
46
TAOIST SORCERY
The utmost man is daemonic. When the wide woodlands blaze, they cannot sear him.
When the Yellow River and the Han freeze, they cannot chill him. When swift thunderbolts
smash the mountains and whirlwinds shake the seas, they cannot startle him. A man like
that yokes the clouds to his chariot, rides the sun and moon and roams beyond the four
seas. Death and life alter nothing in himself.
— Chuang-Tzu
In the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese Communist Easter parade and a group of Holy Rollers. In recent
Party tried to suppress the ancient, mystical tradition decades, however, scholars have finally studied ancient,
of Taoism, along with every other doctrine that might little-circulated scriptures and persuaded actual Taoist mas-
compete with its own. It failed. Taoism remains deeply ters to reveal mysteries and practices long kept secret.
woven into Chinese culture. Its influence reaches from Taoism remains difficult to define, though. Perhaps
medicine to organized crime. that is appropriate. Its foundation scripture, the Tao Te
Until recently, other people knew little about Taoism. Ching of the legendary sage Lao-Tzu, warns, “The Tao
Western scholars had read a few cryptic, mystical-philo- that can be named is not the true Tao.” A Taoist does not
sophical treatises. They knew about community religious believe in a tidy, well-defined set of dogmas labeled “Tao-
festivals, popular fortune-telling methods, miscellaneous ism”; he seeks experiences beyond description. Supernal
folk charms and wonder-tales. It was like trying to under- experiences, you might say. Taoism isn’t something you
stand Christianity based on one gospel, a community believe; it’s something you do. Any brief discussion can
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 47
48
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 49
50
52
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 53
Merit: Lu (• to •••••)
Prerequisites: Taoist Skill package (see “Be-
coming a Taoist,” p. 51), Taoist Status •,
Mentor •••
Effects: A character with this Merit can call
upon a roster of minor spirits. Unlike Famil-
iars, each spirit in a lu performs only one feat,
and only when specifically invoked through the
proper ritual. A lu might be seen as a sort of
collective Familiar — both in the sense of powers
spread among a collection of spirits, and in the
sense that all the Taoists of a particular school might
call upon the same lu. The size of a school’s register
of spirits may vary. A very large lu, however, is a sign
that a school lost Awakened leadership long ago,
never had it in the first place, or just pads out the
register with multiple names for the same spirits to
sound more impressive. The number of spirits in
a lu (or the number of applications, if one spirit
can be invoked for multiple functions) is actually
of spirits; Taoists quite modest — no lu exceeds the 24 magical feats
who attain higher grades of offered by the register of Chang Dao-Ling.
mastery receive a greater selection of spirit • One spirit, for one magical service
minions. Orthodox Taoists generally rely on the spirits •• Three services
of their lu rather than seeking to forge new spirit pacts ••• Six services
of their own — and indeed, an un-Awakened Taoist has •••• Twelve services
no choice. Even an Awakened Taoist might prefer to ••••• Twenty-four services
work through a lu for the sake of reliable results. Each The Storyteller decides what services a Taoist can obtain
spirit in a lu is bound to perform one specific feat when from a lu. At one or two dots of lu, a Taoist can obtain only
invoked through the proper talisman. As such, a mage minor services, from spirits of rank 1. For three to four
with a lu has a source of power that may extend beyond dots of lu, a Taoist can invoke spirits of rank 2 and obtain
his own Arcana. somewhat greater services. Only at five dots of lu can a
The great Chang Dao-Ling drew up the first lu. Other Taoist direct rank 3 spirits to perform feats of considerable
Taoist masters issued their own lu. A mage could institute power. Typical feats for the spirits of a lu include luck,
his own lu and place it at the disposal of disciples: This protection from various hazards or curing disease.
would involve forming his own spirit court and possibly To invoke the spirits in a lu, a Taoist writes the proper talis-
creating or reshaping spirits to order (all of which a master man for that spirit at an hour whose eight defining numbers
of the Spirit Arcanum can do; see Mage: The Awakening, (a pair for the hour, day, month and year) harmonize with
p. 255). Such a program necessarily involves a mage in the the spirit’s nature and function. The Taoist also burns an
politics of the Asian spirit courts that form the Celestial offering of incense and makes particular mudras while he
Bureaucracy. The complex etiquette and intrigue of this imagines elementally-charged qi flowing from the proper part
great court of courts surpasses anything ever found in of his body into the talisman. The whole process takes an
the mortal imperial court of China. Fortunately, Taoist hour. Once he completes the talisman, the Taoist may burn
masters have a reputation for inappropriate behavior it, bury it or otherwise treat it like any other talisman.
54
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 55
56
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 57
58
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 59
60
Five-Cycle Counterspell (Suitable Arcanum at ••) Every spirit also has an elemental association, so a spirit’s
A five-cycle counterspell uses the same rules as regu- powers also leave an elemental trace.
lar counterspells, as described on p. 123 of Mage: The The table of elemental correspondences (see p. 55) sup-
Awakening, with two exceptions. Instead of using the plies novel ways a mage could perceive Taoist resonance.
same Arcanum as one found in the target spell, the mage While Arcana might be perceived as colored auras, a mage
uses one of the Arcana associated with the contrary or could also perceive a mystical trace as a taste, a direction
controlling element. The mage also must be at least an or a feeling in parts of her body associated with particular
apprentice of the Arcanum she chooses. Each success elements. For instance, Life magic corresponds to Water:
rolled reduces the target spell’s Potency by one. a mage might perceive its trace as wetness, a salty taste, a
tugging toward the north, or a twinge in her kidneys.
Five-Cycle Spell Theft
(Suitable Arcanum ••••) Sample Character
A Taoist adept of an Arcanum can use it to steal the power
from another mage’s spell and add it to his own — coaxing Master Elvis Quan
his opponent’s power into a new pattern. The mage matches Quote: Very good car! Good match for you, very lucky! But…
the target spell’s Arcanum with its element, and then invokes You didn’t come here for a car, did you. Come into my office,
an Arcanum associated with the Element that comes next in sir, and tell me your problem.
the productive cycle. Each success rolled reduces the target Background: Elvis Quan’s parents fled to Hong Kong
spell’s Potency by one… and adds that as a spell factor (either after the Communist takeover of China. They thought it
Potency, Target, or Duration, chosen by the Taoist spellcaster) auspicious to name their son after a famous person. Young
to another spell of the same Arcanum, cast as a combined Elvis became interested in Taoism and apprenticed himself
spell with the spell theft. As usual with combined spells, to a priest of Shen-Hsiao, or popular Taoism. Elvis soon
the required Arcanum rating for the concurrent spell rises surpassed his master — not difficult, the man was a complete
by one dot, and both the spell theft and combined spell fraud — and found a true mentor who initiated him into
lose two dice from the spellcasting dice pool. Mao Shan Taoism. After more than a decade of training,
including a walking tour of China that took Elvis to Mao
Resonance Shan itself and several other sacred mountains, Elvis received
The correlation between Paths and the five elements his ordination from the Heavenly Master in Taiwan. He
also suggest distinctive forms of resonance for Taoist returned to Hong Kong to become a professional Taoist.
magic. Any spell or enchantment carries the resonance When Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule, however,
of the elements that correspond to the relevant Arcana. Elvis packed up his family and left. His late parents had
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 61
62
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CHAPTER TWO: TRADITIONAL TRADITIONS 63
,
of Eastern and Western esoteric traditions. Just because that’s for individual mages to discover for themselves.
SANTERIA
LA REGLA DE OCHA
Pleasing the gods requires knowledge of their individual tastes and histories. All the
orichas have a particular four-legged animal that they must eat in the asiento, and with
these animals they eat their favorite birds.
— Michael Atwood Mason,
Living Santería: Rituals and Experiences in an Afro-Cuban Religion
66
noting, too, that unlike in Haiti, where Catholic tradi- educate the slaves on Catholicism, combined with a high
tions combined with African ones to a much greater rate of arrival from Africa (and thus a continually fresh
degree (leading eventually to the advent of the religion supply of practitioners of the native religion), the belief
known as Vodoun or Voodoo), in Cuba the slave-owners system known as Santería or Lucumí arose.
didn’t make the same effort to Christianize the slaves.
This might have been due to previous slave rebellions in
Haiti, or to the aforementioned high mortality rate (no
Creation: Olodumare and Atlantis
In the beginning, say the patakis, was ashé. The uni-
point in converting the slaves, after all, if they were just verse was pure, formed from this sublime energy, the
going to die in a few months anyway). But the end result lifeblood of the cosmos. And the name for this energy
was the same: Without anything but a token attempt to was Olodumare, the Prime Mover, the Supreme Being.
68
The Orishas
The number of orishas varies depending on who
one asks. The orishas listed below are the most widely
recognized, but local orishas and familial guardians
are not uncommon. Names for such orishas might be
Spanish or Yoruba, or even English, depend on where
they first appeared. Orishas have different aspects and
even different names, especially for the broader and
more powerful deities such as Obatalá. A santero might
speak of a “path to Obatalá,” referring to, for instance,
Yemmu (the feminine aspect of the god) or Airanike (a
warrior on horseback).
Aganyú: A powerful but lesser-known orisha, Aganyú is
the ruler of volcanoes and molten lava and the protector
of travelers. Some legends claim he is Changó’s father
— he traded passage on his boat for the sexual favors of
Yemmu (a female aspect of Obatalá) and the result was
the young god.
Babalú-Ayé: This orisha is the lord of disease. Often
pictured as a lame old man leaning on a staff, Babalú-
Ayé is capable of inflicting and curing any illness (and so
in modern times is sometimes seen as the patron spirit
of AIDS victims). It is said that he started a smallpox
epidemic long ago in the nation of Benin, and that the
survivors of the plague thanked him for his mercy in
letting them live. Thus, he is “the king who kills and is
thanked for it.”
Changó: Changó is the lord of thunder and lightning,
and is in many ways the most human of the major orishas.
He is the only orisha, for instance, to have died. One
legend says that, as the fourth king of Yoruba, he ordered
his two brothers to fight a duel (these “brothers” must
have been mortal, not orisha). One died, and overcome
with grief, Changó hanged himself but ascended to the
heavens rather than simply dying. Changó is the patron
of vengeance, justice and sexual prowess (he is said to
have had forty-four wives and kept them all satisfied).
70
72
74
76
Magic Items
Santería is a religion that grew across continents and statue with certain protective spells. It’s not unknown, for
centuries. It doesn’t have a Holy Grail or an Excalibur, instance, for a mage to use Prime 3 and another Arcanum
but it does have many charms and items that might be of his choice to infuse the statue with an armor spell. If
useful and powerful on a day-to-day basis. Mages within someone attacks him in his home, he has only to call out
the faith, however, look at the legends of the orishas and to Elegguá for assistance and the armor spell suddenly
wonder how much is pure fiction and how much has a takes hold (he must be in the same room as the statue,
historical basis, especially with antecedent events before of course, or else weave Space 2 into the spell).
the fall of Atlantis. Sometimes, research turns up refer-
ences to something like Ochosi’s Arrow, below, which is Ochosi’s Arrow
assuredly a powerful and unique item…if it exists. The tragic legend of the hunter god Ochosi is related
earlier in this chapter (p. 70). Some mages look at this
Image of Elegguá story with keen interest, for they believe that the story
Most santeros create a representation of the trickster has a literal antecedent in Atlantis. The story, taken from
god Elegguá as part of their initiation. The materials fragments found in a temple discovered in modern-day
out of which this statue is created, revealed during a Benin, tell of a man renowned as a great hunter who ac-
divination for the iyawó, say much about him. In the cidentally killed his mother (translation uncertain; some
case of a mage (or a mage-to-be), it’s not unknown for Mysterium linguists argue that the word might actually
the materials traditionally associated with a Path to translate as “wife,” but given the incestuous natures of the
appear as the components for that mage’s Elegguá. A Yoruba pantheon it might not matter) while attempting
Mastigos might fashion his Elegguá out of brass, while to slay a thief. The “arrow” that he used to do this (which
a Thyrsus carves hers from stone. In any case, once it is might not have been a literal arrow, but possibly an African
constructed, that statue is Elegguá, at least as far as the throwing blade) was never retrieved, because the hunter
santero is concerned. decreed that it would bring tragedy to whoever wielded it
The point of the statue is protection, both from intrud- with anything less than perfect faith in his abilities.
ers in the home and enemies outside. Some mages use Since discovering the fragment, the Mysterium has
this statue as part of casting the Elegguá’s Notice spell searched for the “arrow” itself, not necessarily with the
(see p. 75). Others use the Prime Arcanum to imbue the intent of letting anyone use it as a weapon (because whose
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sources are similar. What the Templars do focuses upon To represent the single-Arcanum adaptation of Su-
the glory of God and the grandeur of heaven. Templar pernal magic to the Templar tradition, an option the
“magic” (and many hesitate to call it that, for fear of the Storyteller may wish to exercise in the use of Templar
very argument we posit here) is the art of conversation magic is to negate the increase in the relevant Arcana and
with angels, exalting the Kingdom of God, and bearing heightened Gnosis that normally applies to combined
witness to miracles on Earth. It has no place for time spells, as described on pp. 128-129 of Mage: The Awak-
dilations, tricks of probability, or mind-control. While ening. Because Awakened Templar magic is designed to
it doesn’t deny those things, it considers them on a level intermingle the effects of the Prime and Spirit Arcana,
other than that of working miracles. Templar understanding of them is conjunctive. Thus, the
94
THEOSOPHY AND
ITS INHERITORS
A little judicious theosophy seems on the whole a most excellent thing.
— Aldous Huxley, Letters
A culture used to meaning, used to the certainty of rian era, and the result was theosophy, the practice of
human significance, faces the realization that the universe “spiritual science”.
is vast and uncaring. Suddenly, the great scientists of Surviving cranky beginnings, bitter schisms and bizarre
the age turn everything upside-down. The hand of the scandals, the theosophical movement went on to become
creator is withdrawn; suddenly, man is no more than the touchstone of the New Age. The practice of channeling,
another animal, part of a system with no meaning beyond the occult history of Atlantis and Lemuria, the investiga-
its own adherence to the laws of nature. This cannot be, tion of auras, the belief in a brotherhood of adepts and
thinks the savant. The savant has faith in science, but masters, the attempt to syncretize Eastern and Western
he knows there is something more. It's only waiting for religions, all these things really began with the brainchild of
science to explain it. Mme. Helena Blavatsky. Hundreds of esoteric movements
This attempt to provide empirical proof of metaphysical exist today, all because of a strange lady from Russia who
and religious meaning reached its height in the Victo- brought with her news from nowhere.
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Transmission of Brilliance and Energy (Mind ••) Precipitation (Space •• + Matter ••)
Spell: “Opening the Lidless Eye” (see Mage: The Spell: “Apportation” (see Mage: The Awakening, p. 234)
Awakening, p. 209) Dice Pool: Dexterity + Occult + Space (extended)
Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion +Mind (extended) Madame Blavatsky used to receive letters from the
When Annie Besant first met Madame Blavatsky, HPB Mahatmas. Sometimes the Masters would have letters
didn't say a word to her about anything occult at all. They for her friends, too, which used to appear in thin air
spoke for half an hour, and when it was time for Mrs Besant and drop into the laps of HPB's bewildered pupils. She
to leave, the older woman fixed Mrs Besant's gaze and said was good at making other things appear, too: small china
only this: “Oh my dear Mrs Besant, if only you would come saucers, little trinket and the like. It's not incredibly hard
among us.” At that moment, Mrs Besant's perceptions were to cause little things to drop out of thin air. All it needs
altered. This was the moment of her conversion. is a bit of time spent visualizing the object in the third
By talking to the subject about anything at all, the mage eye. A clever mage can even hold a conversation while
can implant a tiny suggestion. A single trigger phrase, visualizing the object's form, although he can't do much
right at the end of the conversation, instantly expands else, allowing the effect to appear much more sudden
the subject's perceptions. Suddenly, everything looks than it really is.
new and strange.
Spirit Guide (Spirit •••)
Thought Forms (Mind •••) Spell: “Greater Spirit Summons” (see Mage: The
Spell: “Universal Language” (see Mage: The Awaken- Awakening, p. 249)
ing, p. 213) Dice Pool: Presence + Expression + Spirit vs. Resis-
Dice Pool: Wits + Expression + Mind (instant) tance (extended)
Annie Besant and CW Leadbeater pioneered the use When Madame Blavatsky was completely alone, she
of thought-forms: pictorial representations of shapes was able to call upon the Mahatmas Koot Hoomi and
and emotions, encoded in any music, language or work El Morya. Her relationship with them was cordial. She
of art. The mage holds his pen tightly and meditates on could, apparently, call up other things, devic forces of
the thing he wishes to translate for a moment. Then various kinds that did her bidding. A theosophical mage
sketches the shape of the thoughts he sees in his mind's can do much the same. Meditating in absolute solitude,
eye on a piece of paper. The resulting series of abstract chanting, perhaps using a crystal or a book as a focus,
shapes can be understood by anyone who sees them, at the mage can call a spirit to her. It might be a Mahatma,
least for a little while. or one of the Masters' servant beings. It might be a be-
ing that resembles a “fairy” or an “angel”. It could be a
Call Augoeides (Mind ••••) spirit from Atlantis (some of the Awakened say that a
Spell: “Supreme Augmentation” (see Mage: The few Rmoahals retreated into the Shadow, for example). It
Awakening, p. 216) might even be one of the Manus, the archetypes of each
Dice Pool: Resolve + Occult + Mind (extended) of the Root Races, still extant in the company of the Lord
The mage can bring his own Augoiedes to the sur- of All Creation and ready to answer questions.
face, becoming able to access skills and potential locked
within it, at least for a while. It takes a long time to do
Overshadowing (Spirit ••••)
(it's always a ritual casting). The mage needs to meditate Spell: “Spirit Possession” (see Mage: The Awakening,
in his sanctum and needs to avoid all other contact. He p. 253)
adopts a comfortable position and trains his third eye Dice Pool: Manipulation + Persuasion + Spirit vs.
on the center of his being, before thrusting his percep- Resistance (extended)
tion outwards towards the God-principle at the center of To be overshadowed is to be controlled, worn like a
everything, linking himself with the whole. If successful, glove. In séance conditions, the theosophical mage can
he becomes aware of his own Augoeides as a shining make a spirit enter her (or someone else) and for a time,
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APPALACHIAN
HOODOO
All ye things and spirits of evil, I forbid you this house and home; I forbid you, in the
three holy names, our blood and flesh, our bodies and souls; I forbid you all the nail
holes in this house and home, until you have traveled over every hillock, waded through
every water, till you have counted all the leaflets of the trees and counted all the starlets
in the sky, until that beloved day arrives when heaven comes upon this earth.
—Manly Wade Wellman, The Old Gods Waken
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Drugs and Magic hone the mind, sharpen reflexes and purify the spirit.
At a cult’s core lies a simple truth: mystical power is While some cults rely on the use of only one particular
within reach for those willing to consume psychoactive substance (something DMT-based, for instance), others
substances. Entheogenic drugs open the doors to percep- open the field and accept that the varied effects of different
tion, and once those are open, theoretically anything is entheogens grant access to unique magic abilities. (The
possible. Some term it “magic,” others think it as evolu- following sidebar will help provide some varying mechani-
tion, psychic ability, or powers granted by entities from cal effects for different psychoactive substances.)
beyond this reality. The thing to remember is that every
psychoactive substance is different, providing effects at
Revelations of the Entheogen
least slightly different from one another. As such, some Different cults advocate different mystical paths to
cults adopt a tack that assumes certain rituals (or spells) enlightenment. When designing an entheogenic cult,
can only be completed with certain reagents (meaning pick as many of these as you feel are suitable for the
particular entheogens). A rote to commune with nature group’s habits and traditions.
spirits may involve consuming natural mushrooms Evolution: A number of entheogenic proponents come
– psilocybin or fly agaric. One that demands speaking to believe that the enlightenment brought on by the
with ghosts or summoning internal power equivalent to consumption of psychoactive substances pushes mankind
that of a panther might necessitate the consumption of to mental, spiritual, social, and even physical evolution.
a tea brewed from ayahuasca (also known as the “Vine Terrence McKenna, for instance, purported the “Stoned
of the Dead”). Ibogaine alkaloids may figure into a rote Ape” theory, in which apes came down from the trees
that completely and utterly changes the self, meant to to pursue the ingestion of hallucinogenic mushrooms.
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Entheogenic Resonance
As noted earlier in the book, a magical tradition con-
tains enough glimmers and sparks of Supernal wisdom
to shift Resonance both subtly and not-so-subtly. Below
are brief descriptions as to how they might happen
from both mortal and mage action.
Sleeper Resonance
Not everybody who takes a psychedelic
drug believes in the entheogenic tradi-
tion. Few truly do. But those who are
given over to the experience, embracing
the spiritual and religious aspect of it, can
alter Resonance. The Resonance takes on mild
effects of a hallucination – a mage might see trails,
vibrations, or experience synesthesia. Some things
might become anthropomorphized for a moment,
and seem to be alive when they are not. A mage might
feel watched. Or she might see lights in the sky, ala UFOs
or hyperdimensional travelers.
Mage Resonance
When a mage performs magic under the Supernal
wisdom of the entheogenic tradition, the magical stamp
Merits is quite apparent (even if one does not know what it
Below are Merits potentially possessed by members of
the entheogenic tradition.
Hallucinogen Persisting
Entheogenic Synesthesia (•) Perception Disorder (mild)
Effect: While under the effects of a psychoactive drug,
This derangement causes the character to
the character experiences synesthesia, where her senses
suffer lingering visual effects – trails, halos,
blur together (she can “taste” music, perhaps, or “hear”
floating spots in the eye, mixed-up colors.
colors). This grants her an added level of awareness, as
(The severe version of this derangement is
her perceptions are bolstered by more than one sense.
Schizophrenia, found on p. 99 of the World
While on the drug, she not only experiences no dice
of Darkness Rulebook.)
penalties to her Perception rolls, but also gains +1 to
any Perception rolls. Effect: If a character’s roll fails, she is
overwhelmed by subtle but persistent vi-
Trip Sitter (•••) sual hallucinations. For the remainder of the
Prerequisite: Composure ••• scene, she suffers -1 to all Mental rolls except
Effect: Your character has some skill when it comes Perception, which suffer a -3 dice penalty.
to guiding others through intense psychoactive head
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taking the substances the cult holds dear? Definitely, and reality,” the Earth Temple members have grown more and
probably in sometimes troublesome quantities. But it’s more isolated since its inception over a decade before. The
more than that. It’s about a willingness to show change, reality is, however, that they condone peace only in the
to have one’s mind and spirit shift, to have those internal broader sense, and until it can be achieved, they believe
(and mystical) doorways open. that violence is a solution to enduring peace. The Earth
It’ll be difficult for some mages. Mages are children Temple stockpiles weapons. Its members engage in fraud,
of hubris, by and large, and may not easily admit that violent protests, and have plotted (but not yet performed)
these humans possess wisdom that the mages themselves a handful of assassinations. Oh, and then there’s all that
do not. peyote going around. While some churches have managed
to make peyote consumption legal for themselves, the
Sample Cults Earth Temple hasn’t provided a cogent enough defense
of its drug use to earn itself the right. The Earth Temple
The following example cults can be fleshed-out and
dropped into any Mage: The Awakening game using the is a profoundly conspiracy-minded organization that also
entheogenic tradition in its story. believes that it communes regularly with Mother Earth and
Great Spirit. Both of whom encourage them to take back
Sacrament of the Earth Temple this world – violently, if necessary. (What’s more frighten-
On the surface, the Earth Temple seems to be a peace-lov- ing to some is that occasionally the evidence mounts that
ing community in the deserts of the American Southwest, suggests the people of the Earth Temple are at least partially
committed to its universalist “church” where peyote pro- right about their conspiratorial suspicions.)
vides the primary sacrament. Composed predominantly Of particular interest to mages is what the Temple calls
of white, once-middle class citizens who have come to the “Natal Tipi,” a conical dwelling found somewhere
desire a “liberation” of flesh and mind from “preconceived out in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. Missives from over 200
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Mage Sight
Entheogens open the senses, both physically and
spiritually. Assume that any human who partakes of an
entheogen is sometimes able to view Resonance, similar
to the effects of one random Arcanum’s Mage Sight spell
(a list can be found on p. 110 of Mage: The Awakening).
The mortal rolls a standard Intelligence + Occult roll (as
per “Unveiling Resonance”) to access this, but generally
doesn’t understand the results. He can describe them, to
a point, but has little reference as to what it all means.
However, psychedelic drugs can also enhance a mage’s
own Mage Sight spells when seeking to scrutinize reso-
nance. The mage gains a +2 bonus to the Intelligence +
Occult roll used to unveil resonance (pp.277-280, Mage:
The Awakening).
Sample Character
Tabernanthe
Quote: This is going to be tough, mon capitán. But if you
want to hang with me, we’ve got to first kill that little ego of
yours. I’ll give you ten minutes to say goodbye.
Background: Tabernanthe – once Stuart Smith
– was a heroin addict with a shattered life. His family
was in ruins in the wake of his addiction. He ended
up broke and homeless, living on the streets, doing
whatever ugly act was necessary to earn him the
next fix. Upon overdosing and nearly dying, Smith
found himself in the hospital with no family will-
ing to visit him. Only an old college professor of his
from NYU, Carl Grunberg, dared to visit. Grunberg,
an anthropology professor, set Smith on a journey that
would change his life and end his addiction. He put
Smith on a plane, and accompanied him to the Bwiti
people of Africa. There, the Bwiti dosed him with a tea
brewed from extracts from the root of the Iboga tree.
The dose was massive.
Ibogaine, an alkaloid found in the root of the tree,
is a powerful and long-acting psychoactive. The Bwiti
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