Kristopher Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 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 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchman Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... Nice selection, Frenchman. I particularly like "Klepturgy," although I might suggest a variant, "Kleptomancy." How about "Parasiturgy?" Derived from Parisitism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale A. Ward Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... My suggestion would be either Theomancy or Deomancy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... What about Theosophy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale A. Ward Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... What about Theosophy? It's definitely a prettier word, but the etymology doesn't imply any spellcasting abilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchman Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... What about Tithing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Monster Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... 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) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted December 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Serpent Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted December 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale A. Ward Posted December 27, 2006 Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cantriped Posted December 27, 2006 Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... Turakain Age has a school of magic just like that... 'Theurgy' or High Magic. Though it also includes aspects of astrologically based magics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraterMaker Posted December 27, 2006 Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... I like the Blasphomy angle.. Blasphomancy? -CraterMaker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoresLost Posted December 27, 2006 Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted December 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 Re: Name for a school / style of magic... 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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