Ceremonial magic is old, but not truly ancient — it’s a type of magic suited to civilization and practiced almost exclusively by well-educated members of the middle or wealthy classes. In Western Europe and the United States, the vast majority of ceremonial magicians use knowledge derived from Western occult tradition, but there have been ceremonial magicians in almost every culture that has possessed a class of well-off, highly educated people. The magi of ancient Persia formed one such group, as did the syncretist magicians of Hellenist Alexandria. There were also ceremonial magicians in India, China and Japan.

Although the exact details of magical practice vary from one culture to another, the general way that magicians perform rituals is relatively similar. In the modern day, these similarities are reinforced by the fact that most ceremonial magicians are highly educated scholars of the occult, and they eagerly study the magic and ritual practices of other cultures. In addition, mystics of various cultures with generally similar goals or belief systems tend to use the same styles of magic. All ceremonial magicians are serious scholars of one sort or another. The very nature of this tradition means that only scholarly individuals persevere long enough to master it. Most are amateur students of various esoterica ranging from cryptids to ghosts, while others are college professors or other sorts of professional scholars of history, classics, archeology or comparative religion. The promise of esoteric learning or rare books is often a remarkably good way to attract the attention of a ceremonial magician.

Hedge Witch
I do conjure thee and with uplifted voice to thee I call, that thou shalt never
have content or peace until thou comest to give me all thy aid.

Hedge witchery is a particularly diverse type of magic, but it is ultimately focused on affecting other people. Witches can affect emotions and learn to curse and heal others as well as invade their dreams. These mystics are found throughout the world, in every society, from the tribal peoples of the Amazon jungle to the vast metropolises of the industrialized world. Some warlocks are born with their magic or develop it spontaneously. Both of these means to gaining this type of magic are relatively rare, however. The most common ways to become a hedge witch are either having one as a close relative and learning from her or recreating the basics of this magic from the multitude of legends, stories and superstitions about witchcraft. Hedge witchcraft is regularly awoken by would-be witches who experiment with rituals. It is by far the easiest of the six traditions of thaumaturgy for people to learn independently.

Shaman
I became a shaman, not knowing myself how it came about. But I was a
shaman. I could see and hear in a totally different way.

Shamans act as intermediaries between the physical world in which ordinary humans live and the Shadow Realm, which is inhabited by spirits. A shaman’s fi rst and most important step in her training is learning to project her mind and perceptions into the Shadow Realm so that she can interact with beings there. Shamanic exercise changes the life of the devotee forever. Once the exercise is complete, shamans can always see and hear Twilight spirits, so shamans cannot block out the voices of spirits that seek their attention. As a result, shamans literally live double lives. Their relationships with the various spirits they see and communicate with every day are often almost as important as the shamans’ interactions with people. Even in communities where shamans are respected members of society, few understand them and they are often considered eccentric or somewhat mad.

Much of a shaman’s power comes from making deals with spirits. By means of offerings, sacrifi ces and occasional threats, shamans obtain a wide variety of favors from ephemeral beings. They learn a multitude of magical secrets from their explorations of the Shadow Realm. Shamans also forge permanent relationships with spirits, and can gain the Familiar Merit and have a Twilight familiar (or “fetch”). The bond between a shaman and her familiar is often one of her closest. Familiars can be wise mentors, passionate lovers, trusted friends, loyal but emotionally distant allies, or some combination of all of these possibilities. While many shamans take apprentices or befriend other practitioners as a way to interact with peers; for some, the only being who truly understands them is a familiar.

Taoist Alchemist
The tao that can be told, is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named, is not the eternal Name.

Tao, pronounced “dow” and sometimes written as Dao, roughly translates as the path or the way. It is a combination of psychology and philosophy that evolved into the state-recognized religion of China by 440 CE. Taoism teaches that the Tao is the origin of all creation and the force behind the functioning of the natural world. Though the Tao is unknowable, its manifestations are observable. Through the path of nonresistance, one becomes so immersed in the fl ow of the world that he becomes one with it. This does not mean doing nothing, but rather doing things in perfect accordance with the way they should naturally be done. Ultimately, the perfection of the way leads to a return to the original state of the spirit when it was part of the Tao.

The Taoist movement has never been unified. On one level, it is divided between philosophical and religious ideals. The core of the teachings is a way of thinking that does not necessarily require any religious faith. But even the religious branches of Taoism are fragmented in belief, with different sects owing much to Buddhism or Shintoism. Indeed, the magic practiced by many groups of Taoists could be a form of Shinto shamanism, and Storytellers who want to present Taoists whose magic is based on interactions with spirits should look to the shaman tradition

The primary purpose of Taoist alchemy is to facilitate the achievement of the state of consciousness described as the Tao. The Tao is the undying essence of the universe from which birth separates us. As we progress through life, we allow the essence of our being to fl ow out of us, diluted by struggle against the world. This loss leads to death, which is not inherently bad, but it also leads to death without attainment of the way. Taoist alchemists seek to crystallize that which is true according to the way, and to disperse diluted falsehoods.

Vodoun
I do what I want with the spirits, and they do what they want with me.

Voodoo. For most of us, the word instantly brings to mind shambling zombies and wax dolls stuck with pins. Hollywood, antithetical groups of Christianity and Western scholars have all perpetuated this image. It is thoroughly ingrained in our imagination. Some apologists would argue that there is no truth whatsoever to these portrayals of the faith. Yet, some things not altogether true in the real world have a place in the World of Darkness, and one could make a case that various practitioners seeking personal gain (particularly the bocor) have purposefully fed this stereotype.

The name “voodoo” is a distortion of the original Dahomean people’s words: vodoun (the tribal Fon word for “spirit” or “god”) and vodu (the Ewe equivalent). The origin of this faith can be traced to 18th- and 19th-century inhabitants of the region once known as Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that arose during the 15th century and that included parts of what is Togo, Benin and Nigeria today. Vodoun’s tribal roots may go back thousands of years before that. Many modern scholars note that vodoun should be capitalized when used in the same context as other religions. Considering that many faithful followers use the word voodoo, claiming that the word alone is disrespectful might be diffi cult. Unfortunately, the past 200 or 300 years have been marked by outright attempts to wipe out vodoun, and so even accidental insults may be taken to heart by believers.