Name for a school / style of magic...

[Kristopher]

I need a name for a school of magic that attempts to tap into the power of the divine (setting has many gods, but the details aren't important), but not through prayer. The mage is attempting to draw on that power through will and ritual, not by asking nicely. The mage may even seek to gain enough secret knowledge and power to himself become a god.

Theurgy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theurgy) is close, but term seems to have far more benign implications than what I'm thinking of, at least according to the references I can find.

[Frenchman]

Channelling - they are a conduit for the gods power
Klepturgy - they are stealing the power of a greater being
Hubriugy - the way they use magic makes them think/act like they are gods
Celestiology/Celestination - esp. if the divine have a connection to the stars
Deiurgy - god-magic
Divine-ation - if you want to be punny

[Lord Liaden]

Nice selection, Frenchman. I particularly like "Klepturgy," although I might suggest a variant, "Kleptomancy."

How about "Parasiturgy?" Derived from Parisitism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitism).

[Dale A. Ward]

My suggestion would be either Theomancy or Deomancy.

[Curufea]

What about Theosophy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy)?

[Dale A. Ward]

What about Theosophy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy)?
It's definitely a prettier word, but the etymology doesn't imply any spellcasting abilities.

[Frenchman]

Ooh, Kleptomancy is better.
This type of magic could also have a Proper Name, instead of a 'scientific' one. You could name it after one of the gods or a pantheon, or you can choose a nifty-sounding word from another language.
Vox is one of my favorites from Latin, if I recall correctly, it means Voice or the power of speaking.
Edit: Oh, and Happy Merry Pagan-Tree-Burning/Worshipping Day, everyone!

[Manic Typist]

What about Tithing?

[The Monster]

You could go with something pseudo-religious sounding, like Order of the Higher Will.

I'd suggest Humanism, as in human will over divine entities, but that would be misunderstood.

Invocation?



(trivia note: I've heard that this is a primary reason God in the Bible gave such a funny answer when Moses asked him whose name to use when demanding that Pharoah let the Hebrews free; so that he couldn't invoke "I AM" in a typical magical ritual)

[Kristopher]

Are there any established names for magic based on knowing the names of things?

IIRC (big if) the Hermetic school of mysticism was based partially on knowing the names of various powers.

[Supreme Serpent]

Blasphemancy

blasphemy:

1.

a. A contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing concerning God or a sacred entity.

b. The act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God.

I'd say stealing the power of a god is contemptuous, and stealing their power is certaintly "claiming for oneself the attributes and rights".

I do wonder though how long these guys would last. The gods are sure to notice, and this is something they could all agree on as being bad. Every priest and holy warrior in the universe is going to be after these guys, with all the divine help possible.

[Kristopher]

Blasphemancy

blasphemy:

1.

a. A contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing concerning God or a sacred entity.

b. The act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God.

I'd say stealing the power of a god is contemptuous, and stealing their power is certaintly "claiming for oneself the attributes and rights".

I do wonder though how long these guys would last. The gods are sure to notice, and this is something they could all agree on as being bad. Every priest and holy warrior in the universe is going to be after these guys, with all the divine help possible.

And yet, there was a time in the course of human thinking on such things that it was believed that mortals could invoke the powers of their gods through various methods, and that these weren't always in the form of asking or praying, but rather in the form of rituals and will.

[Dale A. Ward]

Are there any established names for magic based on knowing the names of things?
Not according to my sources... so I coined one.

Cognomenomancy

I think it's a perfectly cromnulent word... :p

[katal3]

Turakain Age has a school of magic just like that... 'Theurgy' or High Magic. Though it also includes aspects of astrologically based magics.

[CraterMaker]

I like the Blasphomy angle..

Blasphomancy?

-CraterMaker

[LoresLost]

I found no formal name but I did find this quote from The Golden Bough http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3623 that I thought would be helpful.

from Chapter 22 Section 5:
From this story it appears that the real name of the god, with which his power was inextricably bound up, was supposed to be lodged, in an almost physical sense, somewhere in his breast, from which Isis extracted it by a sort of surgical operation and transferred it with all its supernatural powers to herself. In Egypt attempts like that of Isis to appropriate the power of a high god by possessing herself of his name were not mere legends told of the mythical beings of a remote past; every Egyptian magician aspired to wield like powers by similar means. For it was believed that he who possessed the true name possessed the very being of god or man, and could force even a deity to obey him as a slave obeys his master. Thus the art of the magician consisted in obtaining from the gods a revelation of their sacred names, and he left no stone unturned to accomplish his end. When once a god in a moment of weakness or forgetfulness had imparted to the wizard the wondrous lore, the deity had no choice but to submit humbly to the man or pay the penalty of his contumacy.


This seems to indicate that this was the purpose of early organized magics.

[Kristopher]

I found no formal name but I did find this quote from The Golden Bough http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3623 that I thought would be helpful.

This seems to indicate that this was the purpose of early organized magics.

Thanks.

That's exactly the kind of magic I was thinking of.