Thaumaturgy (AOS)

Thaumaturgy, sometimes (inaccurately) referred to as mortal sorcery, is the practice of magic used by the mortals of Creation. It is far more limited in scope than the forms of magic available to the Exalts and other magical beings of Creation. In many cases, thaumaturgy requires the expenditure of Essence &mdash; and as mortals do not have the ability to generate or store Essence themselves, they must acquire that Essence from another source.

The practices of thaumaturgy are divided into three forms: Arts, Sciences, and rituals. Arts are Sciences are divided into dot-based paths of magic, while rituals are each learned individually, not unlike sorcery spells. The Arts represent the most fundamental aspects of mortal magic, and can be learned by any thaumaturge with sufficient investment in Occult. The Sciences are more rigid (but not inflexible) practices, such as alchemy, enchantment, geomancy and weather working. Rituals follow similar structures as sorcery spells, albeit in a vastly more limited function and with a much lower cost to enact; like spells, they are learned one at a time, rather than in a grouped linear fashion.