Mind is one of the ten Arcana of Mage: The Awakening. It is the Subtle Arcanum of the Mind/Space pair which rules Pandemonium. Through the Universal Unconscious, this Arcanum connects with the minds of all thinking beings, including humans, animals, spirits and even ghosts or other supernatural creatures.
Its associated summoning is the Wraith and the Exarch that supervises it is the Unity. Within the Astral Space, the Aeon Dahhak incorporates the Mind Arcanum.
Influences
Communication, hallucinations, mental projection, mind control, empathy, aura reading, and telepathy.
Nature and Power
The Arcanum of Mind is the Subtle Arcanum of the Supernal Realm of Pandemonium, a realm from which the Arcanum of Space also stems. The realm of Pandemonium is a place governed by the content of one's head. It is a realm of penitence and scourging for crimes committed whilst the person was alive. The deepest, darkest desires of the soul's mind are yanked out, and then converted into an orgy of poetic and true justices so bad they could turn the stomach of any except the most insane tyrant. This terrible ordeal exists to purify the mind, to cleanse it of its past crimes before the realm passes it on to another. The mind holds almost no impact over the Fallen World’s landscape and features, but it is still a potent force.
As with its fellow Subtle Arcana, the influence of the Mind has suffered greatly from the influence of the Abyss. Whatever the ancient masters of the Mind could accomplish, turning their formidable powers to the shaping of the Fallen World has been lost to the ocean of Paradox. Mind can no longer rule over Matter, but as ever, the Arcanum has survived. Though the power of an Awakened knowledgeable in Mind no longer holds sway over the physical nature of the world, a skilled mage still has much use for the manipulation of the Universal Consciousness (what mental health professionals theorize about the minds of others Mind Mages know), telepathy, mind wiping, thought control, using people like puppets; are just some of the powers available to a mage proficient in the Mind Arcanum. Mind Mages can raise the power of theirs or someone else’s mind, create hallucinations, trick people into thinking that they, another person, or even the original target is another person or thing, or simply batter at an enemy’s body with sheer force of will. The Mind Arcanum wields even more power when put to work in Astral Space, a dimension formed entirely from the dreaming and thinking minds of humans, entities and other creatures of the Fallen and Shadow Realms. It can be used here to enter the various realms of Astral Space, penetrate the Oneiros and another, stabilize dream spaces or objects, jump directly between Oneiroi, or even imprison others within the treacherous confines of the human subconscious. On lesser, more worldly scales, the Arcanum is very useful in day-to-day life. A mage can read thoughts, detect emotions, and implant suggestions in the minds of others. This set of tools can be very useful when dealing with people especially Sleepers. As with Life's ascending scale of complexity, a mage must learn greater mastery of this Arcanum to affect more complex minds. Base Minds belong to the simplest conscious lifeforms - insects, fish, and reptiles. Median Minds include birds and all but the most sophisticated mammals. High Minds are found among the primates (including humans), cetaceans, cephalopods and supernatural creatures, though the latter (including mages) are harder to control. Though they are not specifically categorised, it is presumed that ghosts which possess consciousness at all are considered High Mind, while spirits may fit into any of the categories depending on their nature. Particularly powerful spirits may be immune, as their minds function on a higher plane even than those of humans. A mage with at least Initiate knowledge of Mind may detect emotional or mental manipulation via his Unseen Senses.[1]
Levels of Mastery
Initiate (●)
An Initiate of Mind gains the ability to read Auras, discerning the emotional state, but not the nature of a subject. One may use Mage Sight to detect the use of extraordinary mental powers, such as telepathy or ESP, or detect the presence of minds or mental projections around them. Lastly, one may split one’s mind in half, allowing her to hold two different lines of thought within her head.
Apprentice (●●)
An Apprentice of Mind may gain the ability to alter the nature of one’s own aura, making one seem to be in a different emotional state than one really is (though one cannot make oneself appear as something other than a mage). One may erect a mental barrier to protect oneself from attempts to influence one’s mind, alter the perceptions of others to avoid their attacks, or make one unremarkable or more known to observers. One can alter one’s memory one does not remember specific thoughts, allowing one to fool a polygraph or magical scan. The mage can control simple minds, like insects, fish, or amphibians; create emotions within other people, or make one seem trustworthy to people one doesn’t know. One may also send simple messages directly into people’s minds, and confer one’s perceptions of unusual mental powers upon others.
Disciple (●●●)
A Disciple of Mind may gain control of the actions of most creatures, though mammals, cetaceans, and cephalopods are still beyond one’s control. One may alter the aura of another, speak directly into people’s minds, and speaks any language one encounters. One may regulate one’s own sleep patterns (controlling one’s own dreams in the process) and raise one’s Mental or Social Attributes. The minds of other’s may be manipulated to allow the mage to appear as someone one isn’t. One gains the ability to perform multiple mental tasks at once (but not spell casting) and even creates impulses that overload a target’s neurons, causing bodily harm as muscles spasm and nerves fray. Though it takes no mastery of Mind to enter Astral Space, a mage at this level gains several useful powers with which to influence these realms. One may call allies in the Astral Realms into one’s Oneiros, pay the Mana cost required to enter the realms for another, or seal one’s Oneiros off from intruders. One’s powers may also be used to gather scattered groups within Astral Space, or disrupt the concentration of others, making actions requiring focus more difficult. At this level, a mage can learn the beginning of goetic magic, allowing one to attempt overcoming one’s Vice and gaining the additional conviction normally acquired by indulging it.
Adept (●●●●)
An Adept of Mind using the fourth level of mastery can raise or lower the Mental or Social Attributes of others or raise more than one of one’s own such attributes in a single casting. One’s ability to rend the bodies of others within mental power waxes, and one also increases one’s ability to control others to the point where one can command even the highest of minds. One may read memories and deep thoughts, rather than mere surface thoughts, and can even alter, add to or erase the memories of another. The mage may induce hallucinations, enter another person’s dreams (note that this is different from their Oneiros), or project one’s mind into Twilight. One may sever another person from Astral Space for a brief time, seal off the Oneiroi of others from intrusion, throw all non-native creatures in a given Oneiros back into the real world, pierce through into one Oneiros, and enter Oneiroi of others directly from the real world.
Master (●●●●●)
A Master of Mind receives the power to completely dominate the mind of another, without regard for their survival instincts or morals. One may possess a target, acting through that person’s body or completely reprogram another’s mind. One may psychically project one’s mind directly into the Shadow Realm, without needing to pass through the Gauntlet or create an abode where one’s mind will be safe from harm. The mage’s powers allow one to network minds together, allowing many people to telepathically communicate at once, or even create other consciousnesses, though they don’t last forever. One may imprison other people within Astral Space for a short time or link multiple Oneiroi together, allowing easy travel between them.
Archmaster and Above (●●●●●●+)
Archmasters are rare but not unheard of. They don’t follow the same rules as the other ranks. Archmasters become Avatars of the Arcanum they studied, living embodiments of the Watchtower their power comes from. They become conduits for power and are no longer barred from their power by the Abyss and so aren't subject to Paradox. They take on the physical characteristics of their Arcanum. They should be addressed as seekers or Arcs (i.e. an Arc of Death). Archmasters can cast all the spells from Initiate to Master, without using any Mana, and in any preferred duration. They effectively gain the powers of a God, including limited immortality (e.g. they stop getting older, and become immune to all diseases), but they’re still human beings and as such can be killed just like anybody else should they become careless. They still suffer penalties of their Inferior Arcanum; a mage can’t over come that until he/she has become an Arc of that inferior Arcanum. Archmasters no longer belong solely to the planet of their birth; they become citizens of the cosmos, so their concerns must move beyond their home planet to the wider Universe.
An Arc of Mind need never be distracted, and has perfect control of their emotions. They can create viral memes that alter personalities and spread from one target to another, changing an entire nation's outlook in a matter of hours or days. Spells become capable of reacting to conscious thought, or can even remove another mage's ability to form an Imago.
Archmasters of Mind can also trap people in the Astral Realms indefinitely. They can replicate the mind of any creature that exists in the Fallen World; potentially even move one’s entire form physically into the Astral Realms, cutting oneself off from the material world. One can utterly destroy any mind born from the Fallen World, make radical changes to one’s own Oneiros. They can create a chantry rooted within the Astral Realms, and even create a permanent psychic shell to withstand the weathering effect of the Dreamtime. Indeed, they can walk the world of dreams as one would walk down the street.
In Conjunction With Other Arcana
Space
An Adept of both Mind and Space can, whilst in Astral Space, weave a pattern of silver threads between various travelers. These threads aid in finding one's allies in Astral Space, and allowing travelers to transport themselves to one another's side instantaneously.
Spirit
An Adept of both Mind and Spirit can perform a goetic rite that calls forth a spiritual representation of one’s flaws under one’s command. This avatar may be used to weaken these flaws, corrupt other mages or to satiate the mage’s own dark desires.
References
- ^ MTAw: Mage: The Awakening Rulebook, p. 208
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Subtle Arcana: Prime · Fate · Mind · Spirit · Death |