[Mage: The Awakening 2nd Ed] Legacy: Thrice-Great

Out of Character (OOC):

Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen
Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition
Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler

Assistant Storytellers: Hannah Nyland & Alex Van Belkum

THRICE-GREAT

The stars dispose, they do not command.  That's our Department

Thrice Great Attainments:

1. Celestial Gaze (Gnosis 2, Spirit 1, Prime 1) – Combines Know Spirit w/ Supernal Vision

2. Celestial Beacon (Gnosis 2, Spirit 2 , Prime 1, Occult 2) – Raise/lower the Gauntlet, see into Twilight/Shadow, Attract spirits or repel them

3. Planetary Portal (Gnosis 4, Spirit 3, Prime 3)- create Verges and Spirit Roads/World Walker, activate leyline nodes and hallows (Geomancy?). Prime 3 - Now can Counterspell Prime now works on Spirit Numina & Influences

4. Orb of the Firmament (Gnosis 6, Spirit 4, Prime 4) – Trap spirits in stasis in an orb like “Bind Spirit” for pure magic. Prime 4 - Turn a Hallow into a powerful Locus.

5. Platonic Fount (Gnosis 8, Spirit 5, Prime 5) – As Essence Fountain combined with Create Locus and Create Hallow. Optional Prime 5 – Birth new Celestial Spirits?

The doom of Atlantis came from its greatest feat of magic

— perhaps the greatest feat of magic there ever could be.

When the Atlanteans raised the Celestial Ladder and ascended

bodily to the Supernal World, they created a myth

that would last forever. From the Tower of Babel to

the Apollo Program, humanity has sought

to storm the heavens once more.

The Legacy that calls itself the Thrice-

Great claims it wants to bridge the Abyss

and follow the Exarchs and Oracles beyond

the sky. The Thrice-Great began during the

Hellenistic period between the conquests of

Alexander and the Roman Empire. In this

period, Greek philosopher-scientists tried

to devise a rational model of the universe.

The resulting system received its definitive

statement by the astronomer Claudius Ptolemy.

The Earth, he said, occupied the center of the universe.

Around the Earth, concentric crystal spheres carried the

Sun, Moon, planets and finally the fixed stars.

In this “Ptolemaic” system, mystics saw more than a convenient

model for predicting eclipses and casting horoscopes.

They saw a Celestial Ladder. Each crystal sphere was another

rung between Earth and the imperishable stars where the

Supreme Godhead dwelled. Sleeper mystics tried to climb

this ladder through visions, rituals and appeals to the gods

and spirits of each planet.

The founders of the Thrice-Great understood that the stars

were merely a symbol for the Supernal World; they tried to

Ascend by way of the Shadow Realm and the planetary spirits

who dwelled there. They did not beg or pray, either. The Thrice-

Great believed that a mage who found the right formulas could

command, and the gods themselves would obey.

These forceful mages, true followers of the Path of the

Mighty, therefore became experts at dealing with spirits. They

believed (or discovered) that each planet bore mystic affinities

to phenomena on Earth: plants, animals, parts of the human

body, gemstones, metals, colors, musical tones and numbers.

By adding these substances and qualities to their spells, they

could attract the forces and spirits of a particular planet — and

compel them.

The Thrice-Great called their mystical doctrine Hermeticism,

after the god of passage between worlds. A simplified, bastardized

form of Hermeticism became known to would-be wizards

among the Sleepers, and has influenced Sleeper occultism to

this day. The complete and true doctrine remains hidden, carefully

preserved by the mages who use its methods to become

mighty in three worlds: the material world, the Shadow Realm

and — they hope — the Supernal World beyond.

Parent Path and Order:

Obrimos and Silver Ladder

Nickname

Hermetics, Stargazers

Orders: From their inception, the Thrice-

Great worked within the Silver Ladder. The

association is old and strong enough that

the théarchs now teach the Legacy to mages

of any Path, not just its Obrimos creators.

The Mysterium also holds a fair number of

Hermetics who seek the keys to command the

planetary spirits and Ascend to the Supernal

World. The Guardians of the Veil have a history

of clashes with the Thrice-Great, but a few

Stargazers help the order monitor the Sleeper

occultists who study Hermetic lore leaked long ago. These

Thrice-Great recruit any who show real mystic talent and

steer the rest away from the genuine Mysteries.

The Thrice-Great’s ritualist approach to magic discourages

members of the Adamantine Arrow from joining the Legacy.

Mages in the Free Council often think the tradition-bound,

elitist Thrice-Great embody everything the Libertines don’t

like about the Atlantean orders: they Libertines don’t try to

join, and no Thrice-Great has yet become a Libertine.

Appearance: Modern Thrice-Great often try for a look that

might be called “classy outsider.” They wear black a lot, whether

it’s a turtleneck sweater or frock-coat (for men) or flowing

robes or pseudo-Victorian widow’s weeds (for women). Some

male Thrice-Great affect well-trimmed goatees, shaved heads

or other styles just a bit outside the mainstream. Hermetics

of either sex tend to wear low-key jewelry made from different

metals and semiprecious stones, using images appropriate for

particular planets. For instance, a Thrice-Great might wear a

copper pin shaped like a swan: copper and swans are both associated

with Venus. Such jewelry isn’t magical — but makes

an acceptable offering to planetary spirits, if the Stargazer must

summon them on the fly.

Background: The Thrice-Great began among the elite of

the Greco Roman world; only well-off, educated people had

a chance to learn about Hermetic mysticism, or could afford

to use its ritualist methods. The Legacy still affects a scholarly

and aristocratic air. Most members have college degrees (or

say they do). They can afford to craft the occasional talisman

of precious metals and gems, not to mention acquiring a diverse

assortment of plants, animal parts, perfumes and other

substances associated with each

planet and pleasing to its spirits.

Hermetics see themselves as the

underappreciated intelligentsia of

the magical world, and the Legacy

tends to attract people who already

held that attitude before they

Awakened. Thrice-Great often were

interested in the occult before they

became mages.

Organization: The Hermetics

organize themselves in lodges that

act as diffuse Consilii, with their

own officers, bylaws, oaths and rituals.

Stargazers are supposed to bring

their problems and disputes to their

lodge leaders, not their Consilium

— a bit of secrecy other mages do not

appreciate. Stargazers obsess over

ranks, titles and other indicators of

power and (supposedly) progress up

the Planetary Ladder.

Lodges tend to schism every time

there’s a conflict in leadership, or

even fall apart completely. Some

lodges also refuse to acknowledge

other lodges as “genuine” Thrice-

Great. Depending on whom you

ask, the Legacy includes anywhere

from six to 15 lodges. Hermetics

sometimes abandon one lodge for

another, so the lodges lack welldefined

territories.

Suggested Oblations: Performing

a full Hermetic ceremony

during a planetary conjunction.

Performing an hour-long invocation

to a planet and the zodiacal

sign the planet currently occupies.

A ceremony whenever a planet

(usually Venus or Jupiter) first appears visible to the naked

eye in the night sky. Charting a client’s horoscope based on

Classical principles (not New Age hokum).

Concepts: College humanities professor, professional astrologer,

“metaphysical” bookshop proprietor, artist, amateur

astronomer, mystic cult leader, barista, invisible worker in a

big organization.

History The Stargazers believe their Hermetic doctrine began with

a figure called Hermes Trismegistos, “Thrice-Great Hermes.”

Hellenistic mystics identified the Greek god Hermes with the

Egyptian god of magic, Thoth. By the later Roman period,

mystics said Hermes Trismegistos was a mortal wizard and

prophet — the first prophet in fact, whose doctrine was older

(and therefore more authoritative) than other mystic stalwarts

such as Moses and Zoroaster. The Stargazers say, however,

that Thrice-Great Hermes was fully historical: Sleeper history

knows him as the Greek astronomer Hipparchos, who lived

from 190 to 120 BC.

Hipparchos is one of the key figures in the history of astronomy.

Orthodox history does not describe him as a mystic,

but even Sleeper historians have recently figured out that

he triggered a religious revolution. Hipparchos discovered

the precession of the equinoxes: that the point in the zodiac

where the sun rises at the start of spring and autumn slowly

moves, taking 26,000 years to make a complete circle. This

incidentally means the celestial pole isn’t constant, either.

It slowly traces a circle in the sky, so one star after another

becomes the pole star. In Hipparchos’ time, the Sun rose in

the constellation of Aries, the Ram, at the spring equinox, but

2,000 years before, the Sun rose in Taurus, the Bull. And in a

century or two, the Sun would rise in Pisces, the Fishes. The

sunrise at equinox currently approaches the constellation of

Aquarius, the Water-Carrier.

In the Ptolemaic model, the entire universe spun around the

Earth, completing one circuit each day. The Sun, Moon and

planets moved more slowly against this daily background. The

system was self-contained. Hipparchos discovered a grander

motion superimposed on the system. Some force was tipping

the entire universe, making it wobble like a top about to fall!

When Claudius Ptolemy recorded Hipparchos’ discovery,

Ptolemy simply described the precession of the equinoxes as a

fact, without trying to explain it. Mystics saw the hand of the

Supreme Godhead — no longer dwelling inside the universe

but beyond it, turning the cosmos and bending the path of

the poles.

The Thrice-Great say that Hipparchos himself Awakened

when he realized some force must exist outside the cosmos

he could observe. Over the years, he learned the star-magic of

Mesopotamia and the god-magic of Egypt, and then quested

into the Shadow Realm to find the spirits of the planets. He

Ascended the celestial spheres to the sphere of the stars and

cried out, demanding to pass and face the One Beyond.

Hipparchos received an answer from the Oracle of the Golden

Key itself, whom the Thrice-Great call Aion. The Oracle gave

Hipparchos the powers of the Legacy and told him how to

use his Attainments. Aion also explained the affinities that

still linked the material, planetary and Supernal realms. The

astronomer returned from his celestial voyage as Thrice-Great

Hermes, the Oracle’s own messenger to the Fallen World. The

Thrice-Great say their founder never truly died, but climbed

the Planetary Ladder again and jumped across the Abyss to

the Supernal World.

Thrice-Great During the Roman Empire

Hipparchos’ discoveries, both astronomical and metaphysical,

spread far beyond the Legacy he founded. The early

Thrice-Great did not keep their doctrines secret. In fact, they

tried to teach every educated, philosophically minded person

they could find, in hopes they would Awaken as Hipparchos.

After so many centuries, of course, the modern Thrice-Great

have little hard evidence of their forebears’ activities, but

modern Thrice-Great point to circumstantial evidence of the

Legacy’s influence.

The far-flung but secretive religion of Mithraism, for

instance, built temples filled with astronomical symbolism.

Thrice-Great tradition holds that the central Mithraic image,

of the god killing a bull, represented the shift of the equinox

from Taurus to Aries.

The Gnostics — diverse offshoots from Christianity and

Judaism — believed that evil, false gods held souls prisoner in

an evil, false world. Some Gnostics associated these false gods

with the deities of the planetary spheres. The true god dwelt

outside the realms of matter, spirit and the visible heavens.

In each written dialogues of the Corpus Hermeticum, a divine

figure tells an eager mortal how souls come from a higher, purer

realm. Salvation involves understanding one’s connection to

this greater reality.

The Chaldean Oracles tell how to contact and summon gods

and spirits through their affinities to plants, animals, stones

and other material things. No one now can say how much of

the Thrice-Great methods the Chaldean Oracles revealed: only

fragments of the book survive through quotations by other

writers. The Guardians of the Veil say they worked for centuries

to suppress the Chaldean Oracles. If they still own any copies,

they certainly won’t admit it.

The purest statement of Thrice-Great ideas to Sleepers came

through the Neoplatonist mystics of the fourth through sixth

centuries AD. The Neoplatonists combined philosophy with

magic rituals from the Chaldean Oracles. Indeed, the Thrice-

Great say many of these now-obscure mystics were members

of their Legacy.

The Neoplatonists insisted on sticking to Greek religious

forms after the Roman Empire made Christianity the state

religion. The Thrice-Great Legacy died out in Europe with

the suppression of the last Neoplatonic academy. Nevertheless,

the Stargazers regard the Neoplatonist movement as their

Legacy’s golden age. They seek to recover lost works by their

Neoplatonist forebears, for many Thrice-Great believe several

of these Awakened philosophers matched Hipparchos’ epic

journey and brought back powerful secrets about the planetary

spirits and the Supernal World.

Medieval Hiatus

After the suppression of the Neoplatonists, the Thrice-Great

survived in secret among scholars of the new Muslim empire.

Unfortunately, while Muslim savants preserved a great deal of

Classical astronomy and philosophy, Islam was no friendlier

than Christianity to the idea of planetary spirits. The Legacy,

and its lore about planetary spirits, declined simply because it

was hard for members to find each other, share information and

assist in training each others’ pupils. Still, Muslim Stargazers

added a few texts to the Corpus Hermeticum.

The Thrice-Great achieved a few small revivals in this period,

though. Most notably, Legacy members gathered at the court of

Ulugh Begh, in 15th-century Samarkand. Astronomy fascinated

this grandson of the conqueror Timur. His observatory compiled

the most accurate star tables and calculations of planetary motion

the world had yet seen. Under cover of this research, the

Thrice-Great restored contact with many powerful spirits of the

planets. The mages who currently occupy the Legacy’s hidden

sanctum, however, are not Thrice-Great and refuse to let modern

Hermetics search for lost secrets of their forebears.

Meanwhile, the Thrice-Great Legacy filtered back into

Europe along with the rest of Classical learning. By the 15th

century, European mages actively sought to reclaim the secrets

of Greek and Roman willworkers. Sleepers also rediscovered

the Corpus Hermeticum, much to the Guardians of the Veil’s

collective annoyance.

A Troubled Transition

The leading figures of this Hermetic Revival gathered in

Italy. The Sleeper Classicist and mystic Marsilio Ficino almost

let the Hermetic Mysteries escape through his translations and

commentaries on the Corpus Hermeticum, but he misunderstood

what he read through his lack of an Awakened perspective.

His Awakened readers, however, recognized what he got wrong

and sought corrected information.

Some of these new Thrice-Great wanted to spread the word

as badly as their Neoplatonist forebears. The Legacy’s most

determined publicist for this period was surely the magus

Fabio Paolini, whose Hebdomades described in explicit detail

how to evoke planetary spirits and draw on their power for

willworking. The Guardians of the Veil retaliated with Cornelius

Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy, meant to lay

out the Guardians’ usual deluding mix of incomplete truths

and convincing lies. Agrippa was not as good a pawn as the

Guardians hoped. His work revealed more of the truth than

the Guardians intended. On the other hand, a few Sleepers

every century Awaken from dabbling with Agrippa’s methods;

the Thrice-Great sometimes list Agrippa as their pawn, if they

feel like annoying Guardian colleagues.

Just as Europe’s new Hermetics congratulated themselves

on recovering ancient powers, a Polish bishop pulled the rug

out from their enterprise. Nicolaus Copernicus’ argument that

everything revolved around the Sun, not the Earth, rocked the

mystical and scientific communities as thoroughly as Hipparchos’

discoveries had done 16 centuries before. No one took

it worse than the Thrice-Great. If the Earth was merely one

planet among other planets, what did that do to the crystal

spheres and spirit realms that Thrice-Great doctrine called the

remains of the Celestial Ladder?

Each century after Copernicus brought new shocks. Galileo

found moons around Jupiter, something never revealed by centuries

of Thrice-Great dealings with Jovian spirits. During the 18th

century, William Herschel discovered a new planet, eventually

named Uranus, which had never appeared in Hermetic plans.

The stars didn’t occupy a crystal shell; they were distant suns.

Nineteenth-century astronomers found the asteroid belt between

Mars and Jupiter, then Neptune orbiting beyond Uranus. The

20th century brought Pluto, a tiny world whose madcap orbit

sometimes brought it within the orbit of Neptune. By the century’s

end, Pluto was demoted from planet to the largest known member

of the Kuiper Belt of icy planetoids, with an inconceivably vast

Oort Cloud of other small, icy bodies beyond that.

The Legacy’s official response to each new discovery has

been to ignore it. All the discoveries of modern astronomy,

the Thrice-Great leaders declared, are but deceptions placed

by the Exarchs. Before the fall of Atlantis, Earth was the center

of the universe, the planets did ride on crystal spheres and

the planetary spirit courts in the Shadow Realm do occupy

the surviving rungs of the Celestial Ladder. This attitude,

unfortunately, made the Thrice-Great into dogmatic foes of

the mages who would form the Free Council. Bad feeling

persists on both sides.

The sheer diversity of magical doctrines now available to

contemporary mages also erodes the Thrice-Great’s claims to

ancient authority. The Hermetics certainly wield great power,

but not enough to render them clearly superior to other Legacies.

The Hermetics’ methods are also undeniably cumbersome. The

Legacy enjoyed a surge in recruitment during the 1960s, when

interest in astrology made newly Awakened mages receptive

to the Thrice-Great’s claims of ancient wisdom. Recruitment

dropped off again, however, and the Legacy is clearly in decline.

After 2,000 years of reaching for the sky, will the Thrice-Great

finally crash to Earth?

Society The Thrice-Great hold a high opinion of themselves. All

the Awakened are special people, of course — but how many

Legacies formed through the direct command of an Oracle?

An Oracle that continues to send messages to its disciples,

the Thrice-Great say. The Stargazers claim Aion itself as the

leader of their Legacy, with Hermes Trismegistos and other

Ascended Masters, or Ipsissimi, as the Oracle’s assistants in

the Supernal World.

Here in the Fallen World, however, the Legacy has no single

leader. The head of each lodge takes the title of Pontifex. Each

Pontifex has the Legacy’s third Attainment but otherwise

achieves his office only by persuading other Hermetics to follow

him and form a lodge. The Pontifices entice Hermetics

from other lodges by bragging about the quantities of lore the

lodge has gathered, the lodge’s influence in the planetary sprit

courts, and their own power. The greatest boast for a Hermetic,

of course, is to Ascend the ladder of planetary spheres and

return with a new message from Aion. Such a Thrice-Great

takes the title of Magister Caelestis.

Thrice-Great receive lesser titles based on their Attainments.

A Hermetic with all three Attainments is a Dominus. The

second Attainment brings the rank of Philosophus, while a

Stargazer with only the first Attainment is a Practicus. Apprentices

not yet initiated are addressed as Zelator. In formal

communications (including lodge meetings), a Thrice-Great is

expected to begin with another Hermetic’s rank in the Legacy,

order and Arcana mastery: for instance, “Philosophus Deacon

Chrysantius, Disciple in the Third Degree.” For the rest of

the encounter, Thrice-Great may limit themselves to the other

mage’s rank in the Legacy.

Stargazers typically choose shadow names in Greek or Latin,

and assign such names to their apprentices. Shadow names

may express some ideal or hoped-for achievement (such as

Telephassa, “Far Shiner”), or just “classicize” a contemporary

name (such as turning Kurtz into Curtius). Names of ancient

philosophers and astronomers such as Anaxagoras or Hypatia

are also used.

Celestial Power

The Thrice-Great believe that as they gain Attainments,

their souls become more similar to that of their patron Aion.

This creates a sympathetic link between the Fallen World and

Supernal World. The more of the Fallen World the Hermetics

bring under their influence, the more easily Aion can reach

into the mortal realm to spark more Awakenings. They also

strengthen Aion’s position in the Supernal World: as below,

so above.

As members of the Silver Ladder, Thrice-Great mages often

seek influence in politics, business or other worldly institutions.

A few Hermetics use their magic to advance their careers and

gain social power directly. More often, though, a Hermetic stays

in the background. Instead of becoming mayor or running a

million-dollar business, the Stargazer works in the City Hall

mailroom or at the coffee shop where the executives congregate.

The mage nudges events through covert magic, sympathetic

links or spirit minions. It’s less direct, but safer.

Thrice-Great also seek influence in the spirit courts associated

with the planets. Thrice-Great know the rulers of each

planetary court, whom they call Archons, will not help rebuild

the Celestial Ladder — not unless the Thrice-Great force them

somehow. Some Hermetics suspect the Archons may be trusties

for the Exarchs. At the very least, Thrice-Great tutors say, the

Archons do not care about human affairs or anything humans

could comprehend.

Only an archmage could hope to bind an Archon. Fortunately,

the planetary courts include spirits of every power

level. The lesser gods wield enough power for most of a mage’s

purposes. Legacy members build their power step-by-step, drawing

minor planetary spirits to their service and using them as

envoys to greater spirits. When a Hermetic cannot compel,

he dickers and bribes until he can forge a lasting contract for

particular services — and gain audience with the next tier of

the spirit court.

Following the example set by the great Paolini, Hermetics call

planetary spirits henads — “sevens” — to distinguish them from

other spirits. Between the seven planetary courts, Thrice-Great

can recruit henads with almost any Influence they need.

Thrice-Great doctrine holds that to send a call across the

Abyss, a mage needs backing from all seven planetary courts.

A high-ranking henad must grant the mage an honorary rank

in the court, increasing the mage’s authority over spirits of that

planet. This special status comes with a new name the mage uses

with spirits of that planet as a sort of password. When a Stargazer

collects password-names from all seven courts, he may seek the

final celestial realm, the sphere of the stars, and call to Aion.

Revelations from Aion

Once a Thrice-Great possesses all three Attainments

and all seven passwords to the planetary

courts, she may climb the ladder of celestial

spheres and seek a revelation from Aion. Thrice-

Great tradition says some Celestial Masters

returned with fourth Attainments — all different,

all awesomely powerful. Others returned as

archmages . . . and others did not return at all, because

Aion pulled them into the Supernal World.

In verifiable, modern history, however, Aion’s

revelations have proved less spectacular. A

Celestial Master returns with merely a new

rote — conveniently, for some feat of magic the

Stargazer has already performed many times

— or a useful tidbit of lore. Skeptics also suggest

the communications from Aion seem less than

divine in their wisdom. Exhortations to guide

the Sleepers in the paths of wisdom and protect

them from the Abyss and the Seers are highminded

enough but a bit . . . hackneyed, as if

some merely human intellect tried to come up

with something a superhumanly wise spiritual

master ought to say.

New Merit: Celestial Name (• to •••••••)

When a planetary god gives a Stargazer a new name, it confers

a minor, honorary rank in the spirit court of that planet. The

new name acts as a password to enter that court: the mage still

must obey all the court’s rules, but at least hostile henads may

give the mage a chance to talk.

The Hermetic also gains a +1 bonus to all dice pools for interacting

with spirits of that court, whether magically or socially.

For instance, the mage gains the bonus to summon this class

of henads, to compel them or banish them, or to attempts to

persuade or negotiate with the spirits using mundane Skills.

The Thrice-Great does not gain the bonus for outright attacks

on the spirit (including use of the third Attainment).

Given time, power and successful negotiations with highranking

spirits, a mage could parlay a Celestial Name into

actual Status in the planetary court. This would confer greater

authority over lower-ranking spirits but also mean obligations

toward higher-ranking spirits, so Thrice-Great are cautious

about pursuing this route. A Celestial Name is pure privilege.

Status in multiple spirit courts also tends to cause conflicts of

interest, while the point of Celestial Names is to collect them

from all seven planetary courts.

Magic

The quick, on-the-fly spellcasting of Thrice Great mages looks

much the same as that of any other willworker. They prefer wands

and disks as Path tools. A Hermetic’s disk sometimes takes the

form of an astrolabe (a device for measuring a star’s position; it

looks like a disk with a crossbar for sighting). The defining tool for

the Thrice-Great, however, is the strophados. This device consists

of a golden ball on a cord. The mage swings the strophados to

imitate the circling motion of the heavens. Thrice-Great generally

engrave their strophados with a diagram and sigils representing

the position of the planets at the time of their Awakening. A

Thrice-Great strophados also unscrews so the mage can load it

with substances sympathetic to the planet whose power or spirits

she wants to invoke. The strophados is essential for extended

spellcasting and is a favored tool for summoning planetary spirits

or opening roads to the Shadow Realm.

Thrice-Great magic becomes most distinctive when these

mages engage in extended casting in their sanctums. A Hermetic

collects a wide range of substances with affinities to the

planets, from bolts of colored cloth to body parts from different

animals. For a full ritual, a Thrice-Great draws a magic circle

marked with the signs of the zodiac and the current positions

of the planets, with chords drawn to mark relationships such

as opposition, trine, sextile and square.

The Hermetic strengthens the influence of planets that relate

to his intended feat of magic by placing the proper substances

on their sigils. The chamber of the ritual may also be hung

with cloth of the proper color; corresponding perfumes scent

the air. As part of the ritual, the Thrice-Great may also play

notes associated with the planets he invokes, using a lyre or

similar instrument. Especially long rites can include a chanted

recitation of a hymn by the Greek poets Homer or Hesiod to a

god associated with the planet. The Hermetic also swings the

strophados. The total time spent whirling the strophados must

exceed one time increment for extended spellcasting, as set by the

mage’s Gnosis (see Mage: The Awakening, p. 76), so extended

spellcasting can be quite strenuous for novice Stargazers.

This elaborate paraphernalia grants the Thrice-Great certain

benefits to spellcasting. (They are not usually feasible for

instant spellcasting.)

• All cooperative spellcasting by Thrice-Great mages gains a

+1 bonus to teamwork rolls, as if they belonged to a symbolic

cabal. This applies to instant as well as ritual spellcasting, but

requires the use of at least three planetary correspondences.

• Combined spellcasting is easier. Using at least five planetary

affinities cancels the penalty for one spell in a combined

casting. For instance, a Thrice-Great could cast two spells at

once, without raising the effective Arcana ratings of the spells

or suffering a –2 penalty to the dice pools for casting each

spell. (This does not enable a Thrice-Great to cast more spells

at once than his Gnosis would allow, though.)

• At least three planetary affinities in a spell counters –1

dice of any other penalties to the mage’s spellcasting dice pool.

Five affinities cancel 2 dice of penalty.

• Use of at least three planetary correspondences reduces

the Paradox dice pool by 1. Use of five affinities reduces the

Paradox dice pool by 2.

Other mages do not gain these benefits by using Hermetic

methods and planetary correspondences: other mages’ souls

lack a Thrice-Great’s sympathy for planetary energies.

Astrological Magic

No one can say when humans first associated

magic with the planets. By the Renaissance,

Sleeper astrologers no longer believed

the planets were actual gods moving around

the sky. Instead, the planets radiated forces that

made various events more or less likely — such

as how the Moon controlled the tides, but more

subtle. Mars, for instance, governed fire, war

and disease. If Mars occupied particular signs of

the zodiac or particular angles to other planets,

people were more likely to quarrel, get sick or

have their homes burn down.

The Thrice-Great now ascribe these arcane

influences to the planetary courts. The tides of

celestial power shift according to the planets’

locations and angles to each other in the sky,

however, even though the power comes from

the Shadow Realm instead of outer space.

Astrology, therefore, is real — at least if you’re

Awakened. The Silver Ladder has initiated several

Acanthus into the Thrice-Great. These mages

use astrology for prophecy and fate-weaving.

All Hermetic magic involves concentrating the

mystic tides to bolster the mage’s spells.

Planetary Correspondences

Thrice-Great use special substances and conditions to attract

mystic energies from the planetary spirit courts. The character

of each planet suggests Influences for its spirits and a range of

magical feats it can empower. The planets do not correspond

tidily to specific Arcana or Practices, however, so Thrice-Great

(and their players) have some freedom in which planets they

invoke in spellcasting.

The Sun is associated with magic of light (of course), energy,

life-force, willpower, healing and augmentation of power. No

surprise, the Sun is the favorite “planet” for Obrimos mages.

The Moon is the planet of transformation, illusion and

everything changeable, from the element of water to emotions

and magic itself.

Mercury is associated with thought and motion: investigation

and analysis as well as literal travel and exploration. Commerce,

theft and divination also fall in this planet’s purview.

Mercury’s element is Air.

Venus governs living creatures, fertility, pleasure, love, friendship

and all the softer emotions that bring people together.

Venus’ element is Earth, but as the abode of life rather than

solidity or stability.

Mars is the planet of raw force, sometimes creative but often

destructive, the element of fire, war, violent emotions and

other disruptions. Mars also governs fever and blood. Venus

seduces; Mars overwhelms.

Jupiter is associated with the element of air and weather as

well as politics, laws, morals, rulership and justice. Jupiter also

governs money, religion and social power in general.

Saturn is the planet of time, age, death and restriction.

Saturn’s element is Earth, offering stability and defense as

well as limitation or destruction.

Even Sleeper occultists know that gold and yellow correspond

to the Sun, silver and white to the Moon, quicksilver

and gray (or mottled colors) to Mercury, copper and green to

Venus, iron and red to Mars, tin and blue to Jupiter and lead

and black to Saturn. The jewels, animals, plants and other

associations of each planet are too diverse to list. Pop-occult

books give detailed (and contradictory) lists of planetary correspondences

. . . but none should be trusted.

New and Lost Planets

A few Thrice-Great believe the asteroid belt

represents a broken “rung” in the Celestial Ladder,

while the “rungs” corresponding to Uranus,

Neptune and Pluto were lost to the Abyss when

the Ladder broke. A few other Hermetics believe

the four missing spirit courts are now scattered,

in hiding or imprisoned in some way. These

Stargazers think the Celestial Ladder could be

mended by restoring the lost spirit courts.

The majority of Thrice-Great, however, believe

such plans are modern, revisionist nonsense. As

they point out, tradition gives no correspondences

to the asteroids or outer planets. Hermetic Tutors

generally cut off “heretical” pupils. The situation

might change if a heretic Stargazer could locate a

spirit for one of the “new” planets, or could show

some great benefit from creating such spirits.

Spirit Allies

A great deal of Thrice-Great magic deals with summoning

and controlling henads. The legacy’s masters of Spirit also create

planetary spirits — and after more than 2,000 years, they’ve made

significant additions to the planetary courts. Most Hermetics

eventually gain henad associates of their own, and the Legacy

as a whole claims a host of contacts and allies in the planetary

courts. The Thrice-Great define three classes of allied spirits.

• Iynges (singular Iynx) are personal familiars. A Thrice-Great

can easily create a “feeding station” for a henad familiar using

objects and conditions corresponding to the spirit’s planet.

For instance, a spirit of Mars could gain Essence from a wolf’s

head mounted on a cedar plaque over a fireplace, flanked by

iron swords and with red candles on the mantelpiece; every

day, the mage burns an appropriate incense.

• Synocheis (“Connectors”; singular, Synocheus) are henads

bound to statues to create fetishes. A lodge can’t gain any respect

unless it has several Synocheis. Not only do the fetish-statues

provide the lodge with Paradox-free powers, the bound henads

can contact other spirits and tell them of a Thrice-Great’s

desire for an audience. When a lodge breaks up, much of the

acrimony centers on who takes possession of the Synocheis.

Creating a Synocheus involves placing substances sympathetic

to the spirit’s planet within a hollow statue (called a telestika),

as well as use of the “Create Fetish” spell. Synocheis can be

represented as Imbued Items or as Retainers.

• Teletarchs (“Initiation Masters”) are the greater spirits

allied to the Legacy as a whole, bound to respond when a

Thrice-Great uses the proper formula. The mage must still

persuade the Teletarch and offer it some consideration in

return for its aid, just as a mortal Ally. Teletarchs are at least

Rank 4, and they can carry appeals to more powerful henads.

The formulas for contacting Teletarchs are so valuable that

Pontifices and other senior Thrice-Great tend to keep them

secret from lesser members — with the inevitable result that

the Legacy has lost the protocols to contact many Teletarchs.

These potent spirits would still respond, though, if any mage

could rediscover the proper rites.

Initiation A candidate to join the Thrice-Great must first prove her

knowledge of Platonist and Neoplatonist philosophy, naked-eye

astronomy (enough competence to track the planets through

the zodiac) and classical astrology. She must also demonstrate

her ability to evoke planetary spirits and perform other magical

feats in the Hermetic style. Her examination takes place at a

lodge’s main sanctum, before a board of three Hermetics with

a minimum rank of Philosophus. The Thrice-Great also call

one of the lodge’s Teletarchs, who may ask whatever questions

it pleases and examine the candidate’s aura. The divine spirit

may veto the candidate’s application at this time, without any

need to give a reason. The candidate can try again a year later,

with a different Teletarch.

If the mages and patron god agree that the candidate deserves

to join the Legacy, the senior Thrice-Great open a Verge in

a special chamber. The lodge’s Synocheis are summoned to

add their own auras, giving the ritual chamber the resonance

of all seven planets. In this sacred space between material and

spiritual, terrestrial and celestial, the tutor guides his pupil

in a complex astrological ritual that shapes her soul. After

the ceremony, each attending spirit receives a gift of Essence

from the lodge.

The ritual to confer the second Attainment is very similar.

A triumvirate of Domini, including the lodge’s Pontifex, verifies

the Stargazer’s proficiency as a Disciple of Spirit. While

they’re at it, they register his current competency at the other

Arcana, too. As a final test, the Thrice-Great himself summons

a Teletarch to witnesses the Stargazer’s graduation to the next

Attainment. This is usually quite easy, since the divine spirit

has been notified of the ceremony and is already nearby.

The ceremony of the third Attainment happens so rarely

that a lodge’s entire membership may gather to witness the

event. The ritual itself does not differ greatly from the previous

Attainments. The new Dominus, however, ends the ceremony

by giving out Essence to as many planetary spirits as wish to

attend. The Thrice-Great consider it auspicious if the Dominus

can use her new Attainment to convert the sanctum’s Hallow

into a temporary locus, while the other Thrice-Great lower

the sanctum’s wards and issue a call to every spirit in the

area — an open house and all-you-can-eat spiritual feast. Such

events remind the spirits and lodge members of their position

as lords of the spirit world. For this reason, most Thrice-Great

wait until they become Adepts of both Prime and Spirit before

seeking their third Attainment.

The Thrice-Great hold firm doctrines about fourth Attainments.

Such ultimate mastery comes not from any mortal rite

but by contacting Aion. The Oracle itself confers a fourth

Attainment, which may be different for each mage. As usual

with fourth Attainments, however, no Thrice-Great in living

memory has provably received this ultimate power.

Attainments Thrice-Great mages, in their spirit dealings, use many

techniques known to other mages — true names, offerings,

commands in the name of mightier spirits and so on. Thrice-

Great also reach out with their will to shape the substance

of the Shadow Realm itself. A Hermetic can ease a spirit’s

activities or make them more difficult.

1st: Celestial Beacon

Prerequisites: Gnosis 3, Spirit 2 (primary), Prime 1, Occult 2

A mage’s initiation into the Thrice-Great Legacy grants him

power over the Gauntlet at places where Supernal energies flow

with abundance. With an instant action, the Thrice-Great can

raise or lower the location’s Gauntlet strength by as much as

his Spirit rating. This Attainment acts similar to the Spirit

2 “Place of Power” spell (see Mage: The Awakening, p. 247)

except the results are automatic. The Attainment also works

at ley nodes, while the spell can only be used at Hallows. If

two Hermetics cooperate, their uses of Celestial Beacon do

not add; apply the results from the mage with the higher Spirit

rating. If the Hermetics oppose each other, however, subtract

the less-proficient mage’s Spirit rating from the change wrought

by the mage with greater proficiency at Spirit.

From Twilight or the Shadow Realm, a Thrice-Great who

lowers the Gauntlet seems to draw in waves of light that form

a sparkling vortex, advertising the lowered Gauntlet to every

spirit nearby. Raising the Gauntlet spreads a hard, crystalline

darkness as if the location were drowned in obsidian, warning

any spirit not to bother attempting a passage. Similar to

the spell a Celestial Beacon emulates, a Celestial Beacon lasts

one scene.

A Practicus can also see into Twilight. When the Hermetic

uses this aspect of the Attainment, he also gains the benefit of

Second Sight, allowing him to see the traces of spirit Numina

as well as willworker magic, and gauge the strength of the local

Gauntlet. Any time the mage wants to use this aspect of the

Attainment, he must devote an instant action to doing so.

2nd: Planetary Portal

Prerequisites: Gnosis 5, Spirit 3

By drawing in the tides of power from the planetary courts,

a Philosophus can open a swirling portal between the Material

Realm and Shadow Realm; either mortals or spirits may

pass. The Planetary Portal resembles the “Spirit Road” spell

(see Mage: The Awakening, p. 251). Similar to the spell, using

this Attainment costs one Mana each time.

The mage can open a Planetary Portal anywhere she wants,

but the process may take several actions. Subtract the mage’s

Spirit rating from the local Gauntlet strength to find how many

turns it takes to open the Planetary Portal (a minimum of 1).

At a ley node or Hallow, the Thrice-Great could use Celestial

Beacon to weaken the Gauntlet first. As with Spirit Road, the

Planetary Portal lasts only one turn. Anything longer requires

actual spellcasting.

To mortal eyes, a Planetary Portal looks like a momentary,

circular shimmer in the air. It could be a trick of the light, or

a person’s imagination. From the Shadow Realm or Twilight,

however, the ingathering spiritual vortex shines in coruscating

hues: every Thrice-Great’s portal looks different, with colors set

by the position of the planets at the time of her initiation into

the Legacy. Any Thrice-Great (or someone else with spiritual

perceptions and Occult proficiency) can figure out when a

Hermetic received initiation through a successful Wits + Occult

roll (difficulty 3), just by studying his Planetary Portal.

Optional Arcanum: Prime 3

If a Thrice-Great is also a Disciple of Prime, he can augment

or counter the powers of planetary spirits. This resembles

Counterspell Prime (see Mage: The Awakening, p. 222) except

this Attainment affects spirit Influences. The mage contests

the spirit’s Power + Finesse roll with his own Gnosis + Prime.

Each success for the mage removes once success from the

spirit’s attempt to use Influence. Alternatively, the mage can

apply his roll as an attempt at teamwork, increasing the spirit’s

chance of success. Thrice-Great lack sufficient affinity to other

spirits to strengthen or counter their Influences.

Thrice-Great use this power to entice or threaten henads.

Every spirit wants to use its Influences with greater power, for

those Influences define its nature. Boosting their power affirms

the spirit’s existence, while weakening them diminishes the

spirit’s sense of its own being. However, Thrice-Great cannot

use this power to affect a spirit’s Numina — and a diminished

spirit is quite likely to strike back.

3rd: Orb of the Firmament

Prerequisites: Gnosis 7, Spirit 4

The highest verified Attainment of the Thrice-Great terrifies

all spirits, for it locks them into the hostile Material Realm.

From the Shadow Realm (or to creatures with spiritual perceptions),

what looks like a violent whirlwind of light wraps around

the spirit, and then hardens into a crystal sphere that traps

the spirit in a particular location. This resembles the Spirit 4

“Bind Spirit” spell (see Mage: The Awakening, p. 251), but

the character merely needs to win a contested roll of Gnosis

+ Spirit against the spirit’s Rank + Resistance. The Orb of the

Firmament lasts one scene. The Attainment does not allow

extended rolls; neither does the binding gain indefinite Duration

with Spirit 5. The Orb of the Firmament may last long

enough, however, for the mage to attempt a more thorough

restraint using regular Spirit magic.

Optional Arcanum: Prime 4

On the other hand, a Dominus who is also an Adept of

Prime can offer spirits a most tremendous boon. By casting

the Orb of the Firmament into an active Hallow, a Stargazer

transforms the Hallow into a locus of equal strength. Seen

from the Shadow Realm, the Hallow’s power curls in on itself

and then beams out, transformed, like a brilliant, circling

searchlight. The Hallow continues to produce Essence for a

scene, and then reverts to its former state.