Spirit is one of nine Spheres of magic in Mage: The Ascension. The Dreamspeakers have occupied the Seat of Spirit in the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions since its founding. The Shard Realm of Spirit maps physically to Uranus.
It is associated with Entropy in the Metaphysical Trinity.[1]
Overview
Spirit is the Sphere of the ephemeral stuff that is the building block of the three Umbrae, the realms between the pureness of unbridled Prime and the Patterned World of flesh. Spirit is a homogenous whole, a sort of conceptual energy given a special form that can mirror or mimic themore mundane Patterns of elements. However, Spirit is much more. It's also the results of emotion, hope, and thought -- the intangible end product of the Mind's musing and shaping. The mage skilled in Spirit can touch the wall that separates potential from material to see beyond.
Spirit is also needed to communicate or suborn Spirits, the inhabitants of these strange realms. These entities are bound by strange rules and customs mage would do very well to learn, and they can be powerful allies or relentless foes.
To utilize the Archspheres of Spirit, the mage has to actually become Ephemera (through Disembodiment or rituals) and manage to return to the world of flesh on his own (although he can be guided by spirits).[2]
Marks
Mages with a focus in Spirit have an otherwordly sense, a tendency to murmur to the air, focus on things that aren't there, and hold to unusual taboos. They often indulge in unusual behaviors and sometimes talk to spiritual allies or enemies that nobody else can see.
Limits
The Spirit Sphere cannot directly interact with the material world except in conjunction with one of the Pattern Spheres.
Paradigmatic Interpretations
Traditions
- Akashic Brotherhood: The Akashics call Spirit "Shen" and are divided on its position in the Ten Thousand Things. One school of thought believes that Spirits are the reflection of sentient beings upon the All, therefore no different than different states of thought. As a result, every mage carries the spirit realms within himself. The opposing school believes in a Celestial Bureaucracy that has a position for every spirit, which are very much separate beings from the inhabitants of the material world, but are bound by the duties they have within the Bureaucracy. The Akashic Brotherhood acknowledges six realms: Tian (the High Umbra), Maya (the Dreaming), the Yang World, the Material World, the Yin World and Yomi Wan.[3]
- Celestial Chorus: The Chorus understands that spirits are as much children of the One as humans are. They use this connection to bring both together, ensuring cooperation. Some Choristers organize spirits into an angelic (and demonic) hierarchy, cataloguing their powers, duties and preferred ways to be called.[4]
- Cult of Ecstasy:
- Dreamspeakers:
- Euthanatoi:
- Order of Hermes:
- Sons of Ether:
- Verbena:
- Virtual Adepts: The Virtual Adepts have difficulties understanding Spirit as a separate Sphere, instead of an extension of Forces (energy) or Prime (Quintessence). Most of their spirit apllications are used to strengthen their Avatar, while some who have tapped into the more esoteric depths of Spirit have turned to urban primitivism, practicing basically techno-shamanism.[5]
Crafts
- Ahl-i-Batin: The Ahl-i-Batin see Spirit connected to Hesed. The Ahl-i-Batin place a great deal on self-sufficience and tend to look down on asking spirits for help. Those who do tend to invoke the highly complex denizens of the Astral Reaches, spirits of higher mathematics, kabbalistic theorems and spirits representing alchemical formulas, in order to gain information that cannot be obtained in any other way.[6]
- Hem-Ka Sobk: The Hem-Ka Sobk see Spirit as connected to the nine-parted soul of egyptian mythology. In their eyes, supernatural beings are creatures whose nine-folded soul has become imbalanced (with the exception of Mummies) and the Hem-Ka Sobk seek to correct these imbalanced beings, even through radical methods like assassination.[7]
- Kopa Loei: The Kopa Loei call Spirit Kahea Noho-loa, the art of "Calling the Eternal". The Kopa Loei have a taboo against forcing a spirit to do something, instead reminding it of obligations and striking mutual beneficial deals.[8]
- Taftâni: The Taftâni mainly utilize Spirit through the lens of the Solomonic Code, using it to summon and bind their Djinn servants. They almost never use the other applications of Spirit, like entering the world of spirits themselves, since the techniques of the Code do only work in the material world.[9]
- Wu Lung: The Wu Lung call Spirit "Ching Shen" and it is the purview of the Dragon School. Through Spirit, the Wu Lung communicate with the Celestial Bureaucracy, with their own Avatar and the spirits in the Dark Kingdom of Jade. Members of the Dragon School act as judges within the Middle Kingdom, bringing the verdicts of the August Personage in Jade to the mortal world and enforcing virtue.[10]
Technocratic Union
The Technocracy speaks of Spirit as Dimensional Science, the study of different dimensions that coexist with our own according to the model provided by Tychoidian Cosmology. Most Conventions shy away from it (first among them Iteration X), leaving the Void Engineers as the ones that work most closely with Dimensional Science.[11]
Standard Powers
- [1]
-
- Touch Spirit: The mage can affect small things on the other side of the Gauntlet while remaining in the physical world.
- Manipulate Gauntlet: The mage can minorly thicken or thin the local Gauntlet.
-
- Pierce Gauntlet: The mage can create a temporary rift within the Gauntlet.
- Step Sideways: The mage can step through smaller rifts within the Gauntlet and enter the Spirit World.
- Rouse And Lull Spirit: The mage can influence spirits, either rousing them to action or lulling them to sleep. It is also possible to harm Spirits with this level.
-
- Rend and Repair Gauntlet: The mage can rend or repair the Gauntlet, allowing multiple persons to enter it.
- Bind Spirits: The mage can summon or otherwise compel Spirits to fulfill his orders.
-
- Forge Ephemera : The mage can shape ephemera as he sees fit, creating new Realms or healing or transforming the Pattern of a Spirit.
- Outward Journeys: The mage can leave the Outer Horizon, entering the Deep Umbra.
- Gilgul: The mage can attack a targets Avatar.
Archspheres
- [2]
- Awaken Ephemera: The mage can cause the creation and the awakening of a new spirit.
- [3]
- Create Realm: By creating an artificial Gauntlet (a pericarp), the mage can wall off parts of the Umbra to create his own pocket dimensions within the Spirit World.
- [4]
- Remember the One: The mage can dissolve the Gauntlet between two overlapping Realms.
- [5]
References
^ Level 1
Spirit Senses | MTAs: Mage: The Ascension Revised Edition | Pg. 186 |
Spirit Senses | Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition | Pg. 521 |
^ Level 2
Touch Spirit | MTAs: Mage: The Ascension Revised Edition | Pg. 186 |
Touch Spirit | Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition | Pg. 521 |
Manipulate Gauntlet | Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition | Pg. 521 |
^ Level 3
Pierce Gauntlet | MTAs: Mage: The Ascension Revised Edition | Pg. 186 |
Pierce Gauntlet | Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition | Pg. 521 |
Ste Sideways | Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition | Pg. 521 |
Rouse And Lull Spirit | Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition | Pg. 521 |
^ Level 4
Rend and Repair Gauntlet | MTAs: Mage: The Ascension Revised Edition | Pg. 186 |
Rend Gauntlet/Seal Breach | Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition | Pg. 522 |
Bind Spirits | MTAs: Mage: The Ascension Revised Edition | Pg. 186 |
Bind Spirit | Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition | Pg. 522 |
^ Level 4
Forge Ephemera | MTAs: Mage: The Ascension Revised Edition | Pg. 187 |
Forge Ephemera | Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition | Pg. 522 |
Outward Journey | MTAs: Mage: The Ascension Revised Edition | Pg. 187 |
Break the Dreamshell | Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition | Pg. 522 |
Gilgul | Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition | Pg. 522 |
^ Level 6
Awaken Ephemera | Masters of the Art | Pg. 73 |
^ Level 7
Create Realm | Masters of the Art | Pg. 73 |
^ Level 8
Remember the One | Masters of the Art | Pg. 73 |
^ Level 9
Awaken the Avatar | Masters of the Art | Pg. 73 |
- ↑ Masters of the Art Pg. 75
- ↑ Masters of the Art Pg. 73
- ↑ MTAs: Tradition Book: Akashic Brotherhood , p.56
- ↑ MTAs: Tradition Book: Celestial Chorus , p.56
- ↑ MTAs: Tradition Book: Virtual Adepts , p.61
- ↑ MTAs: Lost Paths: Ahl-i-Batin & Taftâni , p.38
- ↑ MTAs: Book of Crafts , p.54
- ↑ MTAs: Book of Crafts , p.70
- ↑ MTAs: Lost Paths: Ahl-i-Batin & Taftâni , p.76
- ↑ MTAs: Book of Crafts , p.130
- ↑ MTAs: Guide to the Technocracy , p.49
Mage: The Ascension Spheres | |
---|---|
Traditional: | Correspondence · Entropy · Forces · Life · Matter · Mind · Prime · Spirit · Time |
Variations: | Data · Dimensional Science · Primal Utility · Void Correspondence · Qlippothic Spheres |