Magical domains are named by the source of their life force and this has some implications for the utility and application of the magic. However, true artisains see the perfection of art beyond the mere science of the forces and creatively use the forces in unique ways here-for-to unrecognized.
There are several ways to think of the use of energy. The first tier of differentiation can be constructive or destructive. A constructive example would be earth force being channeled to create a rock hard barrier to prevent damage from outside sources. In comparison, channeling fire to burn people, animals, or crops would be destructive. Sometimes, the force from the same domain is capable of both constructive and destructive aspects. For example, divine energy can be channeled constructively to result in healing of wounds, whereas it can also be channeled destructively to inflict wounds. Some types of forces are more susceptible to contra-differentiation forces from another domain. For example, a constructive, protective barrier from fire force is more easily eliminated by water force destructive attacks. Further, destructive attacks from the air force would in fact fan the flames to even stronger strength rather than eliminating it.
The second tier of differentiation is energy transfer differentiation. Is the force transferred directly as force, or as the incarnation of the force, for example, a so called magic missile shoots a bolt of pure undifferentiated elemental force at a target to damage it, whereas a fireball shoots elemental fire force literally as a ball of fire itself. Similarly, infernal force sent in a pure undifferentiated force is called a curse and a divine force a blessing–blessings and curses individually can be very different but are all direct pure undifferentiated energy transfer. In addition, some forces are hybrids, such as elemental forces of lightning and ice are mixtures of air and water.
The third tier of differentiation is range and continuity. The first issue is the range of the focus of the force. For example, a contact focus of destructive fire force will burn things only when touched, compared to the area-of-effect damage at some distance from the caster, of a thrown fireball. A cone of water or a lightning bolt is a continuous force, where everything in the path from start to finish receives effects of the force, in contradistinction to the thrown fireball that has a skip zone from the point of release to the area of impact where the explosive effect is. Continuous forces can bounce and ricochet for both good and bad.
Elemental Magic–Wild Magic–Elvin Magic
Elemental Magic, the so-called Wild Magic, as most nascent users accidentally set off a wild incident, not knowing they possess the power or how to control it. The life force holding inanimate objects provides the driving force. Elvin and Half-Elvin races have some innate ability giving greater control or less difficulty with the wildness of the paradoxically inanimate life force. Practitioners of elemental magic make up the largest group of members of the formal Magic Guilds in the three nation states of the continent. In addition, most practitioners need ritual tools and components to get the most malleability out of the force modulations. One rule of thumb for the individual elemental sub domains is that the left-hand element can defeat it and its cross creates hybrids.
Earth (North)
Earth elemental force is a somewhat passive force providing many defensive spells. Touch, feel, grounding and the left sided motions are important aspects in modulation of earth force. Feminine, mothers and making are preferential aspects of this force. Air is the left hand and fire the cross–some very creative spells can come from adding water to earth, whereas adding earth to water can be catastrophically bad.
Air (East)
The Air elemental force is an active force providing many neutral spells. Thinking, insight, ritual knives and right sided motions are important aspects in modulation of earth force. Masculine, fathers and creation are preferential aspects of this force. Fire is the left hand force–adding fire to air will collapse the force on itself, resulting in failure–which in certain instances can have great utility; however, adding air to fire can create huge flames. Water is the cross–air mixed with water creates ice and lightening hybrids.
Fire (South)
Fire elemental force was the first magical force found in a wild and accidental incident. It is an active force providing many offensive spells. Intuition, passion, wands, phalluses and right sided motions are important aspects in the modulation of fire force. Masculine, sons and emanation are preferential aspects of this force. Water is the left hand force and earth the cross–fire and earth can create golems and homunculi, some of the most complex elemental creations.
Water (West)
The Water elemental force is a passive force providing many healing spells. Feeling, love, yoni, chalices, and left sided motions are important aspects in modulation of water force. Feminine, daughters and formation are preferential aspects of this force. Earth is the left-hand force and air its cross. Water force was once felt to be feminist shamanism however, it was determined to be an elemental force. Of all the elemental sub domains, human women have a clear natural ability to use water elemental force. Crones and witches of the past likely did not use divine or infernal magic as most thought, but used water elemental force, given their natural affinity.
Divine Magic–White Magic–Light Magic
Divine magic force is life force in the Divinity’s pool or reservoir. Prayers, praise, offerings, and other reverent acts and rituals fill the divine reservoir. Divinities with larger followings, such as the Great Goddess of the Moon and Earth, have larger reservoirs of life force to lend or channel to their followers for the incantation. However, each entity has its own preferences, values and personality that can impact the likelihood of the prayer being answered, in what relative strength or volume the force is channeled, and the complexity of the action or ritual required for enticing the divinity to act. As already noted, the relative importance of the caster within the following of the divinity can impact the ritual needed or the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the divinity’s response. While some divinities follow very well explained and consistent paradigms of cause and effect, some can be capricious, self-centered and disinterested in human concerns. Students of the divine are instructed to consult Lasair’s Airde Diagacht (Highest Theology) for a superlative discourse of the inner workings of white magic.
Infernal Magic–Black Magic–Dark Magic
Infernal magic force is life force in the reservoir of the infernal entity. Similar to divine magic’s, enticements, contracts and treaties are used to commit the entity to act under the will of magi. Further, characteristics of the infernal entity can determine the complexity of the interaction and the likelihood of a positive or negative outcome. Compared to divinities, infernal entities exist in various strengths or grades categorized from 9 to 1, weak to strong, with a Grade 1 entity close to the power of a divinity. Higher grade or higher order entities are capable of more powerful force transfers. However, the relative risk and cost of bartering with them escalates proportionately with the increase in power.
Compared to other types of magic, infernal magic is a two-step process, where the first step requires the induction of force of will and psychic energy via ritual to create a containment into which the internal entity is summoned, whereupon the dark magi uses the force of the will which they ritually built to compel compliance. With higher order entities, it is more of a bargain, barter, or contractual agreement than true coercion, unless the dark magi is truly gifted and possesses vast reservoirs of will force. Many ritual activities can create the containment force of will or the force for other simple dark incantations, the most common, and the other source of this domain’s dark history are sacrifice, including animal and human and ritual sexual activities whether solo, couple or group.
Additional differences with the other magical domains occur in the potential negative outcomes aspect, as terribly cast elemental spells can injure or kill the caster and bystanders, so can infernal magic, however, while elemental spells are self-limited, an infernal entity that breaches the barriers of a ritual containment is loosed upon our world to wreak havoc until they leave, are killed, or de-summoned. While the most publicized cases of infernal magic are catastrophic failure, such as the case of Paul Rilaidir that was previously cited, poorly executed divine magic with an angry divinity can cause similar, spectacular calamities such as being turned into a pillar of salt. But in fact, the more dangerous failures are the insidious and surreptitious slow crumbling of containment, as the dark magi becomes the unwitting puppet of the infernal entity. The worst outcomes are the outright collusion and cooperation of the dark magi with the infernal entity in its otherworldly agenda.
Spirit Magic–Shamanism–Transcendentalism
Spirit Magic force is the transcendent form of energy incipient in the magical forces in all the domains. The spirit magic force is the pure ideal of magical force intrinsic in any type. By comparison, there are many types of wine; some might even argue some better than others, but there is only one progenitor ideal or pure form of wine that all the others are examples, extensions or variations of. Similarly, some might argue that some magics are better than others; however, they are all variants of each other, despite the view that some are more deviant than their peers are. Despite the relative egalitarianism of the vagaries, some wines have more utility in certain situations. For example, hermitage red is better with tenderloin and pinot white with fish.
Likewise, the subtleties, complexities and pureness of spirit magic can be more useful in specific applications. In particular, it is efficacious in summoning, animation, and telepathic spells. In comparison, elemental magic can create golems, infernal magic can create undead legions and spirit magic can create true doppelgangers. Further, while elemental magic can summon aggregations of elemental force, like a large snowstorm, infernal magic can summon demons, spirit magic can summon live creatures, including specific individuals across long distances and similarly transport them. Where other domains of magic excel in creating and destroying wholesale, spirit magic, as noted in the history section, is excellent in balancing meta-phenomena or forces to allow the underlying normality to reassert ascendance. For example, water elemental force or divine force can heal directly injured or putrefied persons; spirit magic reestablishes the body’s internal homeostatic processes to allow it to heal itself.
The elements of control of the pure ideal of magic that Shamanism uses also allow some unique ritual elements not useful for other practitioners. The imaginal space or thought forms allow the aetheric creation of elements of force modulation–see the following section on ritual for expanded information on will and force modulation. While elemental, divine and infernal rituals require the concretization of will in the world by word, act, or item, spirit magic allows the abstract manipulation of will in mental processes alone. Similar interventions and controls need to be constructed but on an aetheric, imaginal, astral or thought form basis. This accounts for why most shamans may only carry a staff and use no other ritual tools or components. The only other outward manifestation of ritual that they use is the trance of meditation they enter to manipulate aetheric, imaginal, or astral forms.
