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codynaomiswire · 3 years

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TTS/RTA Egyptian Mythology AU

Also known as the Uraeus AU!

Several months ago, I made a post about a developing idea for an Egyptian mythology AU for TTS/RTA. The idea was prompted in large part by the snake-hair Varian (“Snakian”) scene from the series’ finale, and the concept of the uraeus in Egyptian mythology. Since first posting about this AU, Xiel and I have really been developing the idea further on the Discord, and here’s what we’ve come up with so far. Hope you all enjoy it!

Note: As a fan AU, this is of course subject to change and variations, so things may change or develop differently as time goes on and more new ideas spring up. This is just what we have in mind so far! :D

Champions and Friends:

Varian - The kingdom’s seer and champion of Wadjet (aka “the Uraeus”). In this AU, Varian was born to Quirin and Ulla with his “twin brother” Ka - a living uraeus bestowed upon him by the snake goddess Wadjet. (More on Ka and Wadjet down below.) Having grown up with Ka, Varian is not (usually) bothered with having a snake attached to his head, and sees Ka as being like a brother to him. Varian also grew up being told by Quirin and Ulla to keep Ka a secret, as the family was worried Varian and Ka would be taken away from them if anyone knew about them. So for many years, whenever Varian would go outside, he would wear a head covering so Ka would remain hidden from the world. Once he did try to show Ka to some of the kids in his village, but they all ran away screaming, and he got in trouble with the parents for “pulling a mean prank with a snake.” So he and Ka never tried that again. However, things start to get trickier as Varian enters his early teens, and he starts to get visions about events to come, and has a couple episodes of sleepwalking in the middle of the night. Despite Quirin’s best efforts to keep the two safe, things finally come to a head when some kidnappers (led by Andrew) are hired by Set’s cult to capture Varian and Ka, and bring them back to be dealt with. Out of self-defense, Ka ends up landing a venomous bite on Andrew, who nearly dies from the poison. However, Varian has also taken an interest in alchemy by this time in his life, and learned how to create an antivenom for Ka’s bites. (While Varian himself is immune to snake venom due to his connection with Ka and Wadjet, he learned how to make it in case there was ever an accident involving someone else.) Varian manages to make the antivenom in time and save Andrew’s life, but this incident ended up taking place out in the open, and thus Varian and Ka have their cover blown. Quirin tries to prevent Varian and Ka from being taken away, but the next day the pharaoh’s soldiers come and take Varian and Ka to live in the palace, as the priests of Wadjet are certain that the time has come for the seer to step into his duties for the kingdom. Varian is at first very unhappy with being forced to live at the palace, but is befriended my Rapunzel quite quickly. And when his visions start coming on with even greater intensity, Varian must do what he can to help protect the people from Set’s plans and Apep’s impending return.

Ka - A living uraeus and Wadjet’s other champion. (Note: In this AU, “the Uraeus” refers to Ka, Varian, or the two taken together. The term applies to all three.) His character is inspired by the snake-hair character in the RTA series finale (though Ka has the added feature of a cobra hood), and his name is inspired in large part by the “ka” aspect of the soul in ancient Egyptian philosophy (meaning “double” and known as the protective aspect of the soul). His name is also reminiscent of Kaa from The Jungle Book, though it’s spelled differently. Given to Varian by Wadjet upon his birth, Ka has been with Varian since the beginning. While he and Varian are the same age, Ka grows up faster than Varian mentally, so he tends to be the more mature of the two. However, he isn’t adverse to causing some mischief from time to time. Growing up, Ka was pretty readily accepted by Ulla, but Quirin...was more leery of him. Especially given Quirin’s own past (more on that below), he first saw Ka as an interloper on what was supposed to be a peaceful family life. Despite this attitude, Quirin and Ka did have their moments of reliability from time to time, and Ka grew up seeing Quirin and Ulla as his parents (calling them “Father” and “Mother” respectively). For years Ka had to hide his existence from the outside world, and thus could get very lonely. It seemed that he would have to resign himself to a life of obscurity...until Varian started getting weird visions of things to come, and Ka started getting his own premonitions of things to come in the short term (i.e. waking visions of things close at hand). Ka also learned through his premonitions how to hypnotize people, which he would use mostly for therapeutic purposes, or to compel people to tell the truth if need be (though this function especially can take a lot out of him, so he’s not OP with this ability). Things take the most drastic turn for Ka when he lashes out at would-be kidnappers (as told in Varian’s description above), he becomes known to the wider world, and is then thrust into the champions’ efforts to save the kingdom from ruin. Ka also does that snake thing of prolonging his ‘s’ sounds when he talks, and when he first has the experience of talking to new people he takes to referring to himself in the third person. Just to be fancy I guess. xP

Quirin - Varian and Ka’s father, member of the Brotherhood, and champion of Khonsu. Quirin spent a good portion of his adult life as a member of the Brotherhood in Karnak who - in this AU - are a warrior guild with allegiance to Khonsu, Egyptian god of the moon and time. While serving under Khonsu, Quirin acquired the ability to manipulate time in certain small ways - i.e. stopping time within a certain radius (usually a few yards), or around a certain person or object. This ability is very risky though, as if it’s used too often or too intensely it can have the side affect of “taking time” from the one wielding it (hence why Quirin appears a bit older than Adira and Hector, who are only a few years younger than he). After a good many years of service in the Brotherhood, Quirin decides to leave his service and settles down with his wife Ulla to start a family. However, upon the birth of their son Varian, Quirin is shocked to find that Varian was born with a living uraeus attached to his head (whom Ulla names Ka). After his dealings with the gods while serving Khonsu, Quirin is afraid of what Ka’s presence means for Varian, and does all he can to keep Ka a secret from the wider world. At first, Quirin is very leery of Ka, which does not go unnoticed by the rest of the family. Quirin is never cruel to Ka, never ignores him, nor dotes upon Varian while leaving Ka out of it, but it is clear that he sees Ka differently from Varian. Things become especially hard when Ulla dies when Varian and Ka are about ten years old, and Quirin has to raise the two on his own. Eventually, Quirin and Ka begin to grow closer, and Quirin does all he can to make sure he and Varian don’t get taken away from him. But after their cover is blown, Quirin is left worrying about his sons after they are taken away to live in the palace. As Quirin prays to Khonsu one night asking what can be done, he is informed that his duty as the Uraeus’s protector is not over, and that he will also be called upon to join in the effort to stop Set and Apep in the days to come.

Rapunzel - The princess of Egypt and the champion of Ra. Rapunzel was kidnapped by Mother Gothel as a baby, and was raised learning how to use her sun powers. However, when the champion of Horus comes to save her, Mother Gothel is defeated by her own evil designs, and Rapunzel loses connection with her healing powers in the ensuing struggle. After returning home, life is happy for the princess, and she quickly befriends many in her kingdom. However, when news comes to the palace that Wadjet’s seer has appeared in the land, Rapunzel begins her real journey to find her destiny, and must use her powers to save the land from its deadliest threat yet.

Eugene - The prince of one of Egypt’s major cities, and the champion of Horus. (Naturally, this was inspired by Eugene’s birth name being Horace in the canon series. xD) The son of King Edmund of Karnak, Eugene actually grew up in his family’s palace in this AU. When he was born, Eugene bore a birthmark on his shoulder blades that resembled wings. After consulting with the local priests, Edmund learned that the birthmark was a sign of the blessing of Horus, and that Eugene would come to wield great powers. Afraid for his son, however, Edmund has a hieroglyph painted onto Eugene’s back every few weeks or so to keep the power of the mark at bay. Eventually though, when Eugene is in his early teens, Horus’s blessing breaks through the barrier induced by the hieroglyph, and after a painful first transformation, Eugene has found that he has sprouted giant hawk’s wings from his back. After the initial shock, Eugene learns how to use and control this ability, and after some of Horus’s guidance, he manages to find the lost princess of Egypt and rescues her (while also falling in love of course ^^). After rescuing Rapunzel, Eugene decides to remain living in the capitol at the palace, though he keeps in contact with his family and home city.

Cassandra - Mother Gothel’s daughter, Rapunzel’s best friend and champion of Sekhmet. After being born to Mother Gothel, Cassandra grew up as a child servant in the cult of Set, and was left entirely on her own after Mother Gothel left her to horde Rapunzel’s sun powers for herself. Being miserable in her life situation, Cassandra eventually called out to the other gods asking for their help (she was probably about six or seven years old at this stage). Sekhmet heard her, and gave Cassandra some of her powers so she could don a lioness form and bust her way out. (Although, this blessing also left its mark on Cassandra, as she now permanently sports cat-like eyes, even when not in her lioness form.) After fleeing the cult of Set, Cassandra wanders around for a while until she is found by the Captain of the Guard, who came after he heard reports of a dangerous feral child wandering the desert near the outer villages. The Captain takes pity on Cassandra when he finds her, and takes her in as his own and teaches her how to fight and how to have discipline so she can control her powers. In addition to transforming into a human-lioness hybrid, Cass can also talk to felines and request favors from them, like spying on enemies and scouting and stuff. After gaining the trust of everyone in the capitol, Cass also came to be known by the revered title, The Lioness.

Lance - Eugene’s best friend and fellow resident of Karnak. While Lance is not a chosen champion, he is still a gifted member of the group, and is invaluable as a supportive friend and skilled wordsmith. When Kiera and Catalina travel to the capitol after Catalina becomes a champion, it’s Lance who is the first in the group to befriend the girls. Lance also has a background in being a treasure hunter, which comes in handy when the group needs to locate legendary artifacts, ancient temples and other things that will be vital to the success of their mission.

Catalina - Sister to Kiera/Angry, and Champion of Anubis. (A quick thank you to the Anon who prompted us to consider Catalina as a fellow champion!) Like Cassandra, Catalina’s blessing from Anubis allows her to don a feral form (this time in the form of a werewolf/werejackal) to help fight against the agents of Set and Apep. However, Catalina was chosen to wield Anubis’s blessing specifically because her heart was the only one judged by the scales of Anubis to be able to balance the powers contained within his blessing. As the son of Set and a god of death, Anubis’s blessing is extremely powerful and volatile, and only a certain kind of heart can learn how to balance it and avoid being destroyed by it. While Catalina still struggles with her power (especially during the first few transformations), she is able to gain great control over it with time. While she is considered an outcast from most of the rest of society, Kiera stays by Catalina’s side, and together they travel to the capitol to join the other champions in their mission to stop Set and Apep from destroying the world.

Kiera/Angry - Catalina’s sister. While Kiera/Angry is not a chosen champion, she is still skilled and is a beloved member of the group. After her sister Catalina receives the blessing of Anubis, Kiera stays by her side and travels with her to the capitol to join the rest of the group to help save Egypt and the world from impending doom.

Adira and Hector - Members of the Brotherhood, Quirin’s honorary siblings, and Varian’s “aunt” and “uncle”. While Hector and Adira were also servants of Khonsu like Quirin, neither were given special powers by the deity. Nevertheless, their work as members of the Brotherhood proves invaluable for the group, and they are more than ready to help with their skills and knowledge for whatever may come their way. When Hector isn’t serving at Khonsu’s temple in Karnak, he is the more adventurous of the two, and spends a good chunk of his time being a sellsword for the caravans traveling across the desert. He also has an affinity for animals, and thus relates to Ka very well upon meeting him for the first time.

King Edmund - Ruler of Karnak, head of the Brotherhood, and father of Eugene. A lot of his role was already laid out in Eugene’s description.

Frederic and Arianna - The pharaoh and queen of Egypt in this AU.

Egyptian Deities:

Wadjet - A snake goddess of protection and healing, Wadjet is the deity who chooses Varian and Ka for the mission to stop Set and Apep. In this AU, Wadjet is also a goddess of farsight, and thus allows Varian and Ka to be her seers on earth. While a powerful and graceful deity, Wadjet also has a “soccer mom” kind of personality to her as well. In this AU she has the form of a naga - i.e. human upper body with her lower body being a long snake’s tail.

Khonsu - The god of the moon and time, and the deity served by the Brotherhood. Khonsu is a rather mysterious figure, and while he can see through time and its various possible outcomes, he does not have direct control over how events play out. However, he does impart the ability to manipulate time in small ways to Quirin, though the ability does comes with a price if used to excessively. Khonsu’s personality is quiet, stern, yet also with a touch of levity here and there.

Ra - The god of the sun, and giver of Rapunzel’s powers. Unlike the other deities in this AU, Ra seems strangely absent, despite his sun constantly moving through the sky overhead, and Rapunzel serving as his emissary. He only speaks to her very sparingly throughout their adventure, but when he does it’s always at key moments.

Horus - The son of Ra, protector of the sun, and arch nemesis of Set. Horus chose Eugene to be his champion on earth, and gifted the prince with his wings and ability to fly. (Haven’t really ironed out more of his personality yet to be honest. More may come later!)

Sekhmet - A lion goddess and protector of Egypt. Like Ra, Sekhmet doesn’t make too many appearances in this AU, but she does give Cassandra her incredible lioness warrior powers.

Anubis - A god of death, judgment and the son of Set. Despite commanding a lot of respect, Anubis is a deity that many Egyptians fear and don’t like to talk about. He has a very serious personality (given his job that only seems natural), and really doesn’t like the idea of Set and Apep wreaking havoc on the world and making his job as psychopomp all the harder. (Basically, one of his motivations for wanting to stop the end of the world is so he doesn’t have a ton of more work to do with all the death and destruction that would result. ...Yeah, not the most altruistic reasoning, but guess the guy’s just being practical. xP) When choosing his champion, he weighed the hearts of all in the kingdom to determine which one could balance his powers best, and the scales determined that it would be Catalina, hence him bestowing her with his blessing.

Villains:

Mother Gothel - A former priestess of Set. After learning about the princess’s sun powers, Mother Gothel kidnaps the princess in order to use her powers so that she may remain young forever and never die. However, her evil plans collapse in on her when the champion of Horus comes to save Rapunzel, and Mother Gothel is destroyed in the process. (This is pretty much the extent of Mother Gothel’s role in the story.)

Zhan Tiri - High priestess of Set, and one of the main antagonists of this AU. For many years, Zhan Tiri ran the cult of Set from the underground, and kept her identity as high priestess hidden while posing as an advisor to the pharaoh’s court. However, after her attempt to eliminate the Uraeus fails, Varian and Ka see through her disguise, and she is forced to flee from the capitol and run the cult of Set from the underground in the temples and caves in the Egyptian wilderness. She’s pretty much a generic villain like in the series, where she just kinda craves revenge and destruction because...evil.

Set - The “big bad” of the AU alongside Apep. Where Apep is the brawn of the evil duo, Set is the brains. Set plans on using his cult to help release him and Apep onto the mortal plane, basically wreak as much havoc as possible, and take over the world.

Apep - The “big bad” of the AU alongside Set. Where Set is the brains of the evil duo, Apep is the brawn. As the giant serpent of chaos, Apep’s one goal in life is to destroy the world and all living things. He’s kind of the antithesis of Ka in this AU. His voice sounds a lot like Smaug from The Hobbit movies, and while big, strong and scary, he isn’t super clever.

Aaaaaand I think I’ll leave this post at that for now. Whew! I’ll probably make another post a bit later concerning a general outline of events, and maybe also some other posts with some dialogue snippets that Xiel and I have come up with if there’s enough interest.

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wearesorcerer · 4 years

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Bloodline Power: Telekinetic Stones (Sp) - Commentary on RAI vs. RAW

At 15th level, you may use bonded ioun stones as telekinetic foci. You may select up to one bonded stone per three caster levels orbiting around your head and hurl those stones at a target as the spell telekinesis, with each stone dealing damage as if thrown using your bloodline arcana. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. By expending three uses of this ability, the ioun stones selected whirl around you for one round, striking any adjacent creature attempting a melee attack against you. A struck creature takes damage as if targeted by a hurled stone.

Chiro, rhetorically:

This was the “yet” from the Empowered Stones post, but I cannot be sure it works with that - such is the quality of the wording. It’s not much good besides that. F.

Pop Quiz!

What is this rule trying to do/how does this rule work?

It’s trying to employ telekinesis through your ioun stones, as seems appropriate for the Bloodline and ioun stones in general.

It gives your ioun stones long range.

It stacks with Empowered Stones.

I have no idea due to the poor wording.

Your answer really depends on how you look at rules.

This is where we get into RAI vs. RAW.

RAW: Rules as Written. What appears on the page.

RAI: Rules as Intended - or, alternatively and appropriately, Rules as Interpreted.

The fight over RAW and RAI is a long one which I have no intention of dignifying on this blog. My presentation will be RAW for the most part for two reasons:

I am not your DM. To be a useful resource to you, my readers, whether you are average players or DMs, I need to provide rules commentary of as close to a universal nature as possible. DMing styles vary tremendously and RAI is inherently subjective (see next point), so I cannot say how a DM will rule.

Rules should be usable out of the box.¹ The point of playing an RPG over free-form make-believe (which has its own merits) is to have the use of an agreed-upon set of boundaries; anything within those boundaries should be fair game. RAI circumvents that by off-loading the responsibility of the published rules working onto the whims of the DM (referee), who has to make a faulty and perilous judgment of what the game designers were thinking when they designed a rule. (People are notoriously bad at this; even us mind-readers. ;P)

With that in mind, here are the answers to the pop quiz:

This is the RAI answer. It is plausible insofar as any RAI rationale is plausible, but that doesn’t make it meaningful.

This is the RAW answer. There are further possibilities here, but they don’t do much that’s worthwhile.

This is what you want out of this ability.

This is the correct answer.

By RAW, none of what the ability provides requires a reference to telekinesis and nothing telekinesis can do requires an ioun stone, nor should it. Time to unpack!

First, here’s what the ability does:

Telekinesis is a 5th-level spell, meaning you get access to it at 10th level. This ability comes five levels later.

You get 3 + Cha uses of this ability per day. This is just like being a 10th-level Sorcerer (one 5th-level spell known, three 5th-level spell slots), save that you can’t use these “spell slots” for anything besides casting telekinesis and you don’t need to have a minimum Charisma to do so. (For the record, the only way to get this without being a Sorcerer is with a Greater Eldritch Bloodline, which has a prerequisite of Cha 17, so the second benefit is entirely hypothetical.) That’s the minimum use you get out of any of these spell-like ability Bloodline Powers.

Telekinesis has three options: sustained force, combat maneuver, and violent thrust. Of these, the only which would ordinarily would apply to an ioun stone is sustained force, as it normally isn’t a weapon and otherwise is too light for violent thrust to deal damage with it.

The primary benefits of the sustained force version over mage hand are long vs. close range, you can move the object 20 ft. per round instead of 15, and you can affect your bonded ioun stones at all (mage hand can’t target attended or magical objects). It’s not worth waiting 15 levels to get that benefit.

Because of your Bloodline Arcana, you don’t need an ability specifically saying you can use the violent thrust option of telekinesis with your bonded ioun stones: they are now weapons, at least somewhat. Still, this ability has two advantages over your Bloodline Arcana: long range and iterative attacks going off of caster level instead of base attack. No, they didn’t need to invoke telekinesis to give you either or both of those abilities; they could (and should) have spelled it out instead. No, it’s not worth waiting 15 levels to get that.

Theoretically, this version has no maximum cap on how many ioun stones you can fling, so if you were caster level 48, you could bypass the hard cap that the telekinesis spell has.

You can instead expend all of your base uses to hit all creatures around you with your stones. This is something telekinesis cannot strictly do: it doesn’t state that you can use the violent thrust option against more than one target. (A Master of the Unseen Hand can come close with Full Attack Telekinesis, but cannot actually use Whirlwind Attack with telekinesis [stupidly, I might add].) However, the only thing which would benefit you from this over a spell (say fireball with some shaping to protect you) would be if Empowered Stones applies. We’ll get to that.

It does not indicate that you need to hit a target with your ioun stone to use either the combat maneuver or the sustained force versions of telekinesis upon that target. Indeed, it doesn’t indicate what you’re doing with your ioun stones at all when using either of these effects. Even if it did require such a thing, you wouldn’t want that over just having telekinesis, as it puts your ioun stones in danger.

First off, the RAI: “You may select up to one bonded stone per three caster levels orbiting around your head and hurl those stones at a target, as the spell telekinesis” sounds like it means “you are employing the violent thrust version of telekinesis, but only with your bonded ioun stones.” The trouble with that is that it doesn’t say that; at most, it implies that.

Is that a useful power to have at 15th level? No. It is by no means a good ability. Why? You have spells.

Take Melf’s acid arrow. It’s a 2nd-level spell, meaning you have access to it at 4th level. It has a Long range and deals 2d4 points of acid damage plus another 2d4 each subsequent round per three caster levels. The metamagic feat Enlarge Spell doubles the range on spells at the cost of a spell slot one level higher than normal. In this instance, 3rd-level spell slots become available at 6th level, but your DoT is still affected by your caster level. Together, this already outdoes your 15th-level Bloodline Power nine levels early:

At 15th-level, you can have five (5) ioun stones shot at enemies for 5d4 damage. At 6th level, your acid arrow will deal a total of 6d4 damage over the course of three rounds. At 15th level, that’s 12d4 damage.

The damage acid arrow deals is magical, so automatically bypasses DR. Damage reduction is far and away more common than energy resistance (regardless of thoughts on acid damage), so you’re already better off.

At 6th level, your enlarged acid arrow will go 800 + (80 x 6) ft., or 1280 ft. That’s farther than what your telekinetic stones can do pre-Epic. At 15th level, that’s 1200 ft. (what your telekinetic stones would have at maximum pre-Epic) from caster level alone.

Thus, by RAW, we have two things your telekinetic stones do: shoot to long range and hit everyone in melee around you. Telekinetic volley (your 2nd-level bonus spell) doesn’t do either of these things, but it sets up for something similar: it lets you attack with multiple objects (granted, over several turns) and gives you special range.

There’s one major, glaring question about this ability: can you use it in conjunction with Empowered Stones?

I don’t know.

Empowered Stones requires you to make a ranged touch attack with an ioun stone. Telekinesis says that you must succeed at attack rolls with weapons to hit with them, but that doesn’t say anything about whether or not you can make ranged touch attacks. Ordinarily, it shouldn’t: ranged touch attacks are usually part of spellcasting, which requires its own action (a standard action). Most of the time, they’re for rays. There are exceptions.

Since Empowered Stones is a Supernatural Ability and it doesn’t specify an action, one would think that that means the ranged touch attack is a standard action - and could interpret the wording of this ability as a way of preventing the two from working together, since it doesn’t simply give your ioun stones added range. That’s a good argument for interpreting how this works.

However, an “attack action” is not the same sort of action type as a standard action - it can be a standard action, but it’s really a sub-variety of some other action, be it the normal standard action or the spellcasting action of a standard action or even an aspect of a full-round action as part of something else altogether. Not only is there nothing in the spell description that says anything about an action, just a roll, but there’s other precedent: spectral hand. Spectral hand happens to be, besides the variations on spell storing I talked about before, the effect most similar to Empowered Stones.

It’s just as reasonable to say that telekinetic stones applies to Empowered Stones as it does to say that it does not.

That’s the problem with RAI. This also happens to be a case where one shouldn’t have to have recourse to RAI, as the problem lies solely on the designers for not wording the ability well.

In short, you have an ability that is in most ways worse than telekinesis and in all ways worse than comparable spells, gives you attack options far too late for them to be useful, and doesn’t even address the elephant in the room which might make the ability worthwhile. F.

¹ This is not an invective against house rules; change what you want to change so long as your group agrees with your decision.

That said, if you’re changing a lot of rules, might I suggest trying a different system? This is not meant as an insult to you for picking D&D/Pathfinder/whatever, but rather an appeal to the gaming community: when people house rule more than experiment with other systems, it’s a detriment to the community and the industry. The more you house rule, the less likely you are to experiment with any of the other game systems out there (and there are gajillions), which in turn makes it more difficult to get campaigns for those games going. (I should know: it’s why I have focused on the d20 System/3.5/Pathfinder 1e over the last 20 years, as I’ve found people rarely want to try other systems. I’m fortunate that I have had the opportunity to do so outside of White Wolf at all, let alone as much as I have.) That helps certain game companies take up more market share than they should, thus encouraging monopolization of the industry.

Use your house rules, but please, look into other systems.

#ioun #bloodline powers #game mechanics

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thesilverwitch · 6 years

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HOW TO: BOOK OF SHADOWS

WHAT IT IS

Your Book of Shadows (BOS), is a very sacred, personal tool used to store valuable information you'll need in your tradition, whatever it may be. You will come across a lot of knowledge on your journey and so it’s a great idea to start a journal of sorts to keep it all organized for reference in ritual, spellwork, and any other spiritual work. In this post you will find a basic method to help you get started in making your own BOS. Don't let anyone tell you there's only one way to make your BOS - use what works best for you!

SOME HISTORY

Gerald Gardner claimed to have produced the first Book of Shadows and is believed to have coined the term. Of course, many belief systems and individuals have been recording magical and spiritual experience far before his time.

His first draft was initially known as “Ye Bok of ye Art Magical” (renamed The Book of Shadows in 1949) It was believed that there existed a Sanskrit book of divination which explained how to foretell things based upon the length of a person's shadow. This is believed to be where Gerald Gardner came up with the name “Book of Shadows”.

Gardner told his early students in the Brickett Wood coven that the Book of Shadows was a personal cookbook of spells that have worked for him personally, and that they were welcome to copy from it, and to add or remove material as they saw fit.

Traditionally, the Book of Shadows was always hand-written by the individual, and a common custom for new initiates into a coven was to hand-copy the teacher’s Book of Shadows exactly as it appeared, and then later to add their own material as they progressed in the craft. Some Wiccans keep two Books of Shadows: one book of core rituals which does not change, and from which new initiates copy; and another coven book for ritual use, which is different from group to group and may contain much added material, some of it traded between covens. Today, however, with the advantages of technology, they are often typed and photocopied, or even computerized onto discs or websites.

In modern Eclectic Wiccan terminology, a Book of Shadows is more of a personal magical journal rather than a traditional text, and it exists to record rituals, spells and their results, and other magical information of an individual or coven, and is not normally passed from teacher to student.

METHODS OF CREATION

1. TRADITIONAL: To make your Book of Shadows, begin with a blank notebook. A popular method is to use a three-ring binder so items can be added and rearranged as needed. If you use this style of BOS, you can use sheet protectors as well, which is great for preventing candle wax and other ritual drippings from getting on the pages! You can also utilize the sheet protectors by leaving page numbers blank on your paper pages and using a dry erase marker on the sheet protector to write down the page numbers on both content and the table of contents to easily keep things organized and rearrangeable.

2. DIGITAL: Keep in mind that as our technology is constantly changing, the way we use it does too - there are people who keep their BOS completely digitally on a flash drive, their laptop, or even stored virtually to be accessed by their favorite mobile device. A BOS pulled up on a smartphone is no less valid than one copied by by hand in ink onto parchment. We're all on the go pretty much constantly, and if you're someone who prefers to have your BOS immediately accessible - and editable - at any time, you might want to consider a digital BOS. If you choose to go this route, there are a number of different apps you can use that will make organization easier. If you've got access to a tablet, laptop, or phone, you can absolutely make a digital Book of Shadows!

3. DIGITAL + TRADITIONAL: You can also design your pages digitally, print them off, and organize them in a handbound journal or three-ring binder. This is my preferred method because it’s quick and pretty. If you aren’t artistically inclined, there are premade BOS pages available for print-off on Pinterest.

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR BOOK OF SHADOWS

When it comes to the contents of your personal BOS, there are a few sections that are nearly universally included.

1. Your Title Page

Your title page should include your name (or magical name, if you see fit). Make it fancy or simple, depending on your preference, but remember that the BOS is a magical object and should be treated accordingly. Many witches simply write, “The Book of Shadows of [your name]” on the front page.

2. Laws of Your Coven or Tradition (Beliefs)

Believe it or not, magic has rules. While they may vary from group to group, it’s a really good idea to keep them at the front of your BOS as a reminder of what constitutes acceptable behavior and what doesn’t. If you’re part of an eclectic tradition that doesn’t have written rules, or if you’re a solitary witch, this is a good place to write down what you think are acceptable rules of magic. After all, if you don’t set yourself some guidelines, how will you know when you’ve crossed over them?

This may include a variation on the Wiccan Rede, or some similar concept.

3. A Dedication

If you’ve been initiated into a coven, you may want to include a copy of your initiation ceremony here. However, many Wiccans dedicate themselves to a God or Goddess long before they become part of a coven. This is a good place to write out who you are dedicating yourself to, and why. This can be a lengthy essay, or it can be as simple as saying, “I, [your name], dedicate myself to [insert deity] today, [insert date].”

4. Gods and Goddesses

Depending on what pantheon or tradition you follow, you may have a single God and Goddess, or a number of them. Your BOS is a good place to keep legends and myths and even artwork concerning your Deity. If your practice is an eclectic blend of different spiritual paths, it’s a good idea to include that here.

5. Correspondence Tables

When it comes to spellcasting, correspondence tables are some of your most important tools. Phases of the moon, herbs, stones and crystals, colors – all have different meanings and purposes. Keeping a chart of some sort in your BOS guarantees that this information will be at the ready when you really need it. If you have access to a good almanac, it’s not a bad idea to record a year's’ worth of moon phases by date in your BOS.

6. Sabbats, Esbats, and Other Rituals

The Wheel of the Year includes eight holidays for most Wiccans and Pagans, although some traditions do not celebrate all of them. Your BOS can include rituals for each of the Sabbats. For example, for Samhain you may wish to create a rite that honors your ancestors and celebrates the end of the harvest, while for Yule you may want to write down a celebration of the winter Solstice. A Sabbat celebration can be as simple or complex as you wish.

If you’ll be celebrating each full moon, you’ll want to include an Esbat rite in your BOS. You can use the same one each month, or create several different ones tailored to the time of year. You may also wish to include sections on how to cast a circle and Drawing Down the Moon, a rite that celebrates the invoking of the Goddess at the time of the full moon. If you’ll be doing any rites for healing, prosperity, protection, or other purposes, be sure to include them here.

7. Divination

If you’re learning about Tarot, scrying, astrology, or any other form of divination, keep information in here. When you experiment with new methods of divination, keep a record of what you do and results you see in your Book of Shadows.

8. Sacred Texts

While it’s fun to have a bunch of new shiny books on Wicca and Paganism to read, sometimes it’s just as nice to have information that’s a little more established. If there is a certain text that appeals to you, such as The Charge of the Goddess, an old prayer in an archaic language, or a particular chant that moves you, include it in your Book of Shadows.

9. Magical Recipes

There’s a lot to be said for “kitchen witchery,” because for many people, the kitchen is the center of hearth and home. As you collect recipes for oils, incense, or herb blends, keep them in your BOS. You may even want to include a section of food recipes for Sabbat celebrations.

10. Spell Crafting

Some people prefer to keep their spells in a separate book called a grimoire, but you can also keep them in your Book of Shadows. It’s easier to keep spells organized if you divide them up by purpose: prosperity, protection, healing, etc. With each spell you include - particularly if you write your own rather than using someone else's ideas - make sure you also leave room to include information on when the working was performed and what the outcome was.

11. Other Ideas

Check this link for other ideas on the subject matter to incorporate into your BOS (or a premade one you can purchase.)

OTHER HELPFUL TIPS

Many Pagans feel a BOS should be handwritten, but as technology progresses, some use their computer to store information as well. Don't let anyone tell you there's only one way to make your BOS - use what works best for you!

Bear in mind that a BOS is considered a sacred tool, which means it is an item of power that should be consecrated with all of your other magical tools.

If you’re going the traditional route, make sure you write legibly enough that you’ll be able to read your notes during a ritual!

Please keep in mind that one does not have to practice magic or even be Pagan in order to create a BOS. One can simply record their spiritual journey and experiences.

You can also call it something else if the ‘Book of Shadows’ term makes you uncomfortable.

What format should you use? Some witches are known to create elaborate Books of Shadows in secret, magical alphabets. Unless you’re fluent enough in one of these systems that you can read it without having to check notes or a chart, stick with your native language.

The biggest dilemma with any Book of Shadows is how to keep it organized. You can use tabbed dividers, create an index at the back, or if you’re really super-organized, a table of contents in the front. As you study and learn more, you’ll have more information to include – this is why the three-ring binder is such a practical idea. Some people choose instead to use a simple bound notebook, and just add to the back of it as they discover new items.

If you find a rite, spell or piece of information somewhere else, be sure to note down the source. It will help you keep organized, and you'll start to recognize patterns in authors' works. You may also want to add a section that includes books you've read, as well as what you thought of them. This way, when you get a chance to share information with others, you'll remember what you've read.

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Does Your Partner Make You Truly Happy?

In the past, the suggestion from an amazing youngsters' special day gathering in Cairo would invariably cause a browse through to McDonalds - as well as they would certainly be much more than delighted. Actually, I will state that a few of these love quotes have a lot of energy that they can also rejuvenate a dead connection if you utter these quotes to your affection. To earn this that bit extra special, make some notes in that, pointers and also birthdays. By being positive as well as focused on delighted thought and feelings, your positive overview oftens draw in people to you. These could feature some wonderful publications to review as well as bags that she can make good use of. Enable me to offer to you my favored 10 fantastic Cute Lifestyle quotes and also clatter your time up. Throughout the United States there end 65 million households offering food for crazy birds. Kareena Kapoor has actually determined that she will perform films and duties that make her happy; she has chosen that she is at a phase in her occupation where she could afford to become a lot choosier. If you loved this post and you wish to receive more details relating to yellow pages uk residential addresses (the original source) please visit the web-page. She will undoubtedly love the thought that you think about her as well as the important things that make her delighted everyday. If you wish to make your hubby delighted, you should ensure that you more than happy to start with.

When I had every thing that I assumed was essential in life, that was a real struggle for me to understand why I had not been satisfied. I tell you ... whenever you make an attempt to strengthen the high quality your being and life, whether this is cleaning up your house, assisting your parents, looking after a sick buddy, failing on examinations and attempting again, life offers you equal aspects for that. At that point they informed me that they must direct an incantation on him that will certainly create him return to me and the little ones, they casted the incantation and after 1 full week my partner contacted me and he informed me that i must eliminate him, he began to apologize on phone as well as stated that he still live me that he carried out not know what occur to him that he left me. this was the spell that he traditionalspellhospital directed on him that create him comeback to me today, me and my family are actually right now pleased once again today. 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