Forma

Forma

Overview
Each Pillar of the Order of Hermes is a Forma. Each Forma embodies a fundamental aspect of Creation, a pillar that shores up the world itself. These four ancient Forma are: Anima (the "Breath of Life" that flows through every living being), Corona (the "Crown" which grants control over the working of the mind), Primus ( the raw power of magic itself) and Vires ("Forces", mastery over the energies of the Universe). Although the four Formas encompass a great many potential powers, in no case can current Hermetic theory violate certain precepts set forth by the Church (precepts which Bonisagus himself subscribed to and set forth in the founding doctrine of the Order): The resurrection of the dead, the creation of true life and travel beyond the Lunar Sphere. Further, though many scholars of the Order have truck with various spiritual entities, both benign and malefic, their control of those being hinges mostly upon mastery of the energies that sustain those beings, rather than power over ephemeral matter.

Sample Foci: Conjunctions or other astrological phenomena, Enochian language (chants, recitation or text), numerology

Anima (Command Of Life)
Life is a breath. The ancients knew that breath is the only thing that separates the living from the lifeless. Just as the soul escapes with a gasp at the moment of death, so too did God make Adam live by inspiration (literally, breathing into). Thus, it is unsurprising that the Order's Forma of life derive its name from this sacred breath. This is the power to heal, the strength of the ox, and the speed of the wolf, it is mastery of sickness and health and control over all flesh, from the smallest ant to the mightiest oliphant of Araby. When first setting our upon this path, the mage must content herself with curing or bestowing fever and dispelling the need for sleep and sustenance. As her experience grows, she can summon and unmake plagues, restore lost limbs as a salamander does and quell heartbeats with a word. Sample Foci: Cup or chalice, mandrake or other mystic plant, mercury, pentacles of Venus, stave wands of green wood

Specialties: Creating Life, Healing, Human Form, Hybridization, Lesser Creatures

Corona (Command Of The Mind)
Hnrking back to the wisdom of Solomon himself, the greate t crown a ruler might don is that of a puissant mind. Building upon that precept, Corona enables the llcrmetic mage to enhance rhe quali ty, the quantity and the forcefulness of his thoughts. At its most basic levels, the C rown of Kings helps the mage to hone his intellect and to pe1form subtle manipulations of perceptions and the intellect. When wielded by a Master fluent in its ways, this power can be used to extingui h or create entiencc, eradicate free will, forge genius from id iocy or set consciousness free from the shackle of the flesh. Sample Foci: Circler or crown, dagger, diamond, mirror, silver

Specialties: Creating Consciousness, Subtle Intrusion, Subverting Wills, Telepathy

Primus (Command Of Quintessence)
A Form perfected becomes an Ideal. It is this perfection to which the student of Hermes' arts aspires, this elevation to the status of the Ideal. Magic itself, its cause, it effect, its very substance, exists in this exalted state. Composed fundamentally of the unblemished Fifth Essence, magic itself may well be the greatest power a mage can control. It is the Prime or foremost element of the Universe. By mastering this Forma, the mage finds herself able to sculpt and manipulate the elusive threads of mystic force itself. Whereas apprentices are capable of altering the flow of Quintessence and sending gentle ripples through the arcane channels of the Tapestry, those who are truly adept in this art can give life to new places of power, destroy the Gift in another or set in motion enchantments that stand for a thousand years. Sample Foci: Books and scrolls, gold, fragrant oils, rings, sunlight or sun-imagery, the number 1

Specialties: Creating Ideals, Dispelling Magic, Drawing From Unusual Sources, Enchanting Items

Vires (Command Of Elemental Forces)
A wizaid's wrath is a conflagration and his laughter warm and p lca~anl unlight. Certainly the most fantastic and vistually stunning of the Forms commonly taught to mages of the Order, the way of Forces summons the storm, masters light and darkness, bends the tides and grants the mage flight without wings. Though it is considered the least subtle of the Hermetic arts, Vires is as well suited to the spy, the courtier, and the assassin as it is to the blustering mage. After all, this Forma is as capable of conveying whispered words across leagues or gathering a mantle of shadows as it is of raining lightning down on the heads of those who displease. At first, disciples of this art flicker candle flames and send chills through the air and, later, transform moonlight into flame and tear castles from the Earth to set them atop the clouds. Sample Foci: Electricity, Fine Manipulation, Fire, Flight, Physical Contact

Specialties: Candles, fire, iron, pentacles of Mars, swords