Which Mage faction do you fit in with? And why?

[Penelope]

It's hard to say for sure, but I would likely be a Hollow One or an Orphan who practices Chaos Magick; Everything is Chaos, with some Gods and Monsters. Perhaps a Techgnosi? What I like about Chaos Magick is that it's a mystical Paradigm that nonetheless focuses on tapping into or harnessing powers around or within us in a way that anyone can practice if they are willing to make the time and the effort, and without making any further assumptions about the One Truth of Everything.

There are some Traditions that I do like; I might fit in decently with the Sahajiya/CoE in particular. But all of the Traditions involve a relatively strong commitment to some kind of fundamental Truth or Teleology that I'm just not willing to buy into 100%. Similarly, one thing I do like about the more idealistic side of the Technocracy/OoR, and idea that getting into MtA really brought to my attention, is the notion that the benefits of science/technology tend to be more available to "the masses," whereas most mystical Paradigms tend to be more elitist and exclusive. Which does parallel to some extent with the real-life history of priesthoods and mystical societies. But their outright authoritarianism turns me off even more that the hierarchical tendencies of the Traditions.

Honestly though, to the extent that Awakening is often associated with REALLY believing that YOU are RIGHT, I kinda suspect that my existential and skeptical tendencies would make it less like that I would be a Mage, and more likely that I would be a Sorcerer

But don’t mages have a much more flexible paradigm than sorcerers?

[Kharnov]

But don’t mages have a much more flexible paradigm than sorcerers?

Comparing the "paradigms" of Mages and Sorcerers in that way is a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison.

Perhaps it's a reflection of not having read enough Mage source material, but it has often seemed as though becoming one of the Awakened is largely based in the determination, conviction, faith, etc., of the prospective Mage. To make your Will into Reality and overcome the Consensus, you need to REALLY believe that it's possible. To use of an example that's possibly overused but very accessible, in The Matrix when Morpheus is taking Neo through those training simulations, he tells Neo that he can jump the gap between the buildings, and then he even shows Neo that it can be done. And then Neo still fails, because there is believing and then there is BELIEVING. Perhaps I am wrong, but it seems like that capacity for BELIEVING, instead of just believing, is potentially one of the likely conditions for Awakening. And while there are many things that I am passionate about and believe in, there are probably very few things which I BELIEVE in, especially regarding Truth instead of just the perception of Reality.

Now, to contrast, a Sorcerer does not need to Awaken, they simply need to uncover the secrets of Sorcery. Unlike the Dynamic Magic of Mages, Static Magic works because of some connection to Reality, the Consensus, etc. It is about as much an objective fact of the World of Darkness as gravity. My statement is essentially that, lacking the powerful BELIEF necessary to become a Mage, my interests in the occult and magic could still lead me to uncover the secrets of Sorcery in a more skeptical empiricist fashion.

That being said, the fact that Paradigms like "Everything is Chaos" are supported, in M20 at least, does lend credence to the idea that fence-sitters who won't commit too much to any one cosmological model may still have their place among the Awakened, so there's always hope

[Penelope]

Comparing the "paradigms" of Mages and Sorcerers in that way is a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison.

Perhaps it's a reflection of not having read enough Mage source material, but it has often seemed as though becoming one of the Awakened is largely based in the determination, conviction, faith, etc., of the prospective Mage. To make your Will into Reality and overcome the Consensus, you need to REALLY believe that it's possible. To use of an example that's possibly overused but very accessible, in The Matrix when Morpheus is taking Neo through those training simulations, he tells Neo that he can jump the gap between the buildings, and then he even shows Neo that it can be done. And then Neo still fails, because there is believing and then there is BELIEVING. Perhaps I am wrong, but it seems like that capacity for BELIEVING, instead of just believing, is potentially one of the likely conditions for Awakening. And while there are many things that I am passionate about and believe in, there are probably very few things which I BELIEVE in, especially regarding Truth instead of just the perception of Reality.

Now, to contrast, a Sorcerer does not need to Awaken, they simply need to uncover the secrets of Sorcery. Unlike the Dynamic Magic of Mages, Static Magic works because of some connection to Reality, the Consensus, etc. It is about as much an objective fact of the World of Darkness as gravity. My statement is essentially that, lacking the powerful BELIEF necessary to become a Mage, my interests in the occult and magic could still lead me to uncover the secrets of Sorcery in a more skeptical empiricist fashion.

That being said, the fact that Paradigms like "Everything is Chaos" are supported, in M20 at least, does lend credence to the idea that fence-sitters who won't commit too much to any one cosmological model may still have their place among the Awakened, so there's always hope

Hmmm. Very good point.

[Dataweaver]

Me? Virtual Adepts all the way, with Everything is Data and Reality Hacking. I have leanings toward and sympathy with the Celestial Chorus; but I wouldn't actually be one. Likewise with the Sons of Ether.

[Up-to-Eleven]

Vaelderman, Old Faith or Spirit-talker. If I had to pick a Modern Tradition then either a Dreamspeaker or very weird Verbena.

[Penelope]

Vaelderman, Old Faith or Spirit-talker. If I had to pick a Modern Tradition then either a Dreamspeaker or very weird Verbena.

Awesome 😊. I would be Old Faith.

[Enginseer-42]

If we're talking dark ages. Definitely Vaeldermen. I'm already a Norse Polytheist IRL so that's halfway there.

[Dataweaver]

If we're talking Dark Ages, it's a toss-up between Messianic Voices and Craftmasons. But neither is a particularly good fit, because I wasn't raised in the dark ages.

[The Nilbog]

Ideally Sons of Ether or Void Engineer, but who has that kind of energy and motivation, y'know? So more likely Orphan or possibly even Marauder.

[Pleiades]

Ideally Sons of Ether or Void Engineer, but who has that kind of energy and motivation, y'know? So more likely Orphan or possibly even Marauder.

so true,

I'd give a shot at euthanatos or cyberpunk,
but frankly, I'd rather there was some faction for lazy people...maybe hollow ones?

[Chris24601]

Catholic Mysticism is my jam... so, don’t laugh, but the closest actual tradition/craft to that is actually Euthanatos.

Specifically the magick they work via using meditation and ritual to seek union with god forms... only Catholic Mysticism would mean you only seek spiritual union and to align your will with God instead of different gods depending on what magic you wished to manifest. To be fair though, God being omnipotent means you don’t need union with Zeus for lightning or Hermes for speed.

The main limitation of that paradigm though is that God only grants gifts for His purposes and to bring about the good. Normal Euthanatos could seek union with a god of time to stop time and allow you to rob a bank unseen for any reason... the Catholic Mystic Euthanatos could probably only use the same effect to, say, save someone from an oncoming truck and robbing a bank would be right out barring something like a stolen object residing in a lockbox that is needed by its true owner.

My starting spheres would probably be Life 2-3, Mind 2-3 and perhaps Spirit 1-2.

ETA: and my patron saint would certainly be Saint Michael the Archangel; leader of God’s armies and the Angel of Death (he comes at the hour of death to offer one last chance at salvation thereby consternating the plans of the Devil and lead the righteous to Heaven).

[DeadCanDance13]

Order of Hermes: language, meaning, hermeneutics, history, writing, music analysis.

[Mister_Dunpeal]

Dark Ages Order of Hermes, Akashic Brotherhood, or maybe Orphans. Alot of it depends on my mood or aesthetic I'm going for. Sometimes some mixture (although I do have more affinity for Dark Ages approach to magic than the sphere system as a matter of taste.)

[Enginseer-42]

If we're talking Dark Ages, it's a toss-up between Messianic Voices and Craftmasons. But neither is a particularly good fit, because I wasn't raised in the dark ages.

That is of course a difficulty. One thing to believe in a similar faith, another to adapt it to the realities of the past well enough to work magic with it.

[CTPhipps]

Hollow One.