Magical Traditions in Your Game: Part 2
- 9 minutes read - 1815 wordsBooks Used in this article.
As my introduction to magical traditions seems to have gathered a good deal of attention, I thought I would continue on with this. As always, if people have specific things they want covered, please send me an email, or reach out to me on Discord, and I’ll be more than happy to sit down and write something up for you.
In this article I will cover Braucherei (also called Powwow, though unrelated to First Peoples). Brauche, Brauchau in the Pennsylvania Dutch language, is a vernacular system of North American traditional medicine and folk magic, originating in the culture of the Pennsylvania Dutch. This is less of a faith (as it in-depth is a Christian practice), and more of a magical tradition of healing and casting off curses.
I will also be covering Wicca, which is both a faith and a combination of MANY different magical traditions, from which a unique identity was formed, which then led to many different offshoots and traditional line shifts. I’ll cover how they perform ritual magic, as well as establish holy spaces for working and praying.
I will also be covering trappings (foci special to the tradition or objects that can be used as Fetishes for Fetish linked spells), specific spells that would be most in tuned with that tradition and any other important aspects of the tradition that the GM could include in order to make the tradition feel more personalized to the player.
Braucherei
Overview of Beliefs
Braucherei, in general, follows a Christian path. Your character would worship in Sunday services, and always carry a Bible or have one close at hand. Your beliefs revolve around the idea that magic was given to the faithful in order to heal those afflicted by any sort of malady. In general, this was done through invoking holy names and reciting prayers, which were often handed down to the practitioner from others who have walked their path.
Another part most people will find specifically strange is the reliance on grimoires and holy books. From here spells and diagrams are sought in order to prepare spells for change and healing.
Place of Worship
There is no special temple or church constructed beyond that which already existed for most Christian services. In general, followers of the tradition tended to live in more backwoods kind of places where access to medicines and doctors were few and far-between. They also would primarily be in places where German speaking would be more popular (generally in the North Eastern part of the UCAS). Otherwise, they can be from anywhere, but their roots would be in that area, pre-Awakening era.
Magic, Ritual Magic and Magical Trappings
Magic for the practitioner would be similar to memorized prayers and the ritual creation of specialized objects. Often these are made with the sole intention of using them for magical purposes. These are Hex Signs, Sigils, Himmelsbrief, Grimoires and Talismans.
Hex Signs
There are specific patterns that can be sewn, painted or woven. Those patterns are often considered talismans in their own right for proof against field pests, lightning, field fires, etc. These signs would be painted on homes and barns overlooking the fields they should protect.
Himmelsbriefs
Translated directly to “Heaven’s Letter,” these letters are a kind of contract with the Almighty. They are traditionally written with gold-infused ink on the highest quality paper. The contract, in general, states something to the effect of “If you protect me, I will be forever Your servant and turn people to Your service.”
There are legends of soldiers carrying these during WWII and returning unharmed, with dozens of stories of miraculous near-misses during their military career. They would be carried in the breast pocket or somehow close to the heart. For our purposes, it would be perfect for Armor spells and Increased Attribute style spells.
Grimoires
Grimoires are a part of many traditions and in general are used by those who seek the old mystical ways. One common misconception is that Grimoires themselves are just vessels for knowledge. More often than not, the Grimoire itself in some capacity has been lent some kind of magic. That is to say that the book itself is a magical foci.
For the purposes of Shadowrun, I’d consider each of the Grimoires capable of being turned into a Foci for either Spell Category, Specific Spell Foci or Spirit Foci.
Hands on Healing
One of the principals of the practice is the laying of hands. Prayer softly or loudly around an individual facing the rising sun to cast off ills and pains. Another example is being able to “blow the heat” out of a burn–speaking a prayer and blowing softly across a burn to make it feel relief almost instantly.
Talismans
Talismans make up a lot of the Brauchers arsenal against the forces of darkness. SATOR Squares, plates with sigils inscribed on them, red threads, scrolls of prayers written across them. Each made for a specific purpose and each made by hand through some special ritual.
Here are some specific examples:
- A china plate engraved with a sigil, when cast into a fire it is instantly extinguished when the plate shatters.
- A gun oil prepared with the fat of a wolf that helps you shoot straight
- A blanket with a reducing charm placed upon it that heals sickness for those who sleep under it.
Here are some examples of real life Grimoires.
“The Long Lost Friend”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pow-Wows;_or,_Long_Lost_Friend - The Long Lost Friend - Link to Buy
“The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses” : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_and_Seventh_Books_of_Moses - The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses - Link to Buy
“Egyptian Secrets of Albertus Magnus”: https://www.esotericarchives.com/moses/egyptian.htm
“Romanus-Buchlein”: https://www.esotericarchives.com/moses/romanus.htm
This is honestly the most impressive and most complete collection of Pow-wow. If you want to understand this practice, this is THE BOOK.
The Red Church The Red Church - Link to Buy
Special Conditional Modifiers
Along with Bear Shamans, Braucher’s should be among the best healers you could hope to find. They have a firm faith in the healing powers of prayer and should be able to cast off all but the most powerful curses. Consider giving them a bonus to any heath spells they cast (+2 dice) as well as dispelling any magic reducing a character’s attributes or similar magic used to harm a person (+2 dice on dispelling)
Wicca
Overview of Beliefs
This is a religion founded by a man (Gerald Gardener) in 1954 (though this date is often debated), based on the teachings of a dozen different religions. A mixture of Thelema, old practices, Buddhism and more, it is a Duotheistic religion honoring both a God and Goddess, usually each being given some kind of archetype.
The Goddess is often explained in the “Maiden”, “Mother” and “Crone” to show the life cycle of the human condition. The faith is mostly about coming into your own power and using your faith to better your life and others.
In the early days, Wicca was a fully initiatory faith, involving having to find someone who was a higher initiatory rank than yourself to bring you into the faith through a ritual involving some amount of binding and giving yourself fully to the faith. This group is called a Coven.
Place of Worship
Wicca often is practiced out in nature. Often solid circles of stones or drawn circles in chalk or some other delineation is made to form a circle, or it employs four areas in the cardinal directions. These are used in rituals to form “casting of circles” (which when done form wards), in which the practitioners practice their magic and their faith.
This can be done anywhere, but permanent structures are often built in such a way to be exposed to the sky, and include collections of wood and bones, and feature hermetic sigils drawn onto the walls and floors. The use of the pentacle is often used in rituals, so it is also often carved into the floor to aid in various spell efforts.
Magic, Ritual Magic and Magical Trappings
Wicca, being a mishmash of hermetic traditions, has inherited many features of hermetic practices. So Wiccans will use wands, staves, charged gemstones, sigils and seals. This is something that may confuse those outside of the faith to make someone believe that the practitioner is a standard hermetic mage. However, just as many shamanic followers of the faith should be found (following the Horned Man or Nature Goddess).
One of the principal foci items that all Initationed Wiccans would have is a “cord of their measure”. A cord which has been used to measure their body in various ways and then knots are tied to make a unique Symbolic Material Link to the practitioner. Often the Coven holding on to these cords as a kind of “threat” of magical harm should someone work directly against the coven, after swearing fealty to it, as well as a material link if the practitioner is ever lost or in dire need, it would be available to link spells for healing or protection.
Ritual spells are also sometimes keyed to the phases of the moon. Healing spells or “additive spells” as the moon waxes (becomes more full) and attack or “reductive spells” during the waning moon (becoming less full, closer to a new moon).
Wiccans are encouraged to record their thoughts, dreams and workings in a book called “The Book of Shadows.” This is to be kept “out of the light of day” as it contains your most secret thoughts and workings. This as well would become a powerful Material Link to the magician. Should another magician get their hands on it, it would reduce the TN for all ritual magic used on the target by 1.
Ritual knives are often used as well. One called the “Athame” which is used to cut things in ritual spaces (Foci weapons) and often used in opening wards, to allow the Wiccan to walk in and out of the space. It’s black-handled.
Another called a Bolline, is a knife or sickle with a white handle. This is used to cut or harvest herbs and in general is used whenever something out of astral space needs to be cut.
More information can be found in the following sources:
The Solitary Practitioner: Scott Cunningham The Solitary Practitioner - Link to Buy
Special Conditional Modifiers
Hermetic Wiccans:
The most common form of magic is that of ritual casting of a circle. Wiccans should be able to call up wards in half the time of other practitioners. As well as having their wards treated as one rating higher than other practitioners.
Shamanic Wiccans:
Spells are tied to the phases of the moon. +1 combat spells during waning, +3 during New Moon. +1 Health spells during Waxing Moon, +3 During the Full Moon. All of these modifiers only apply at night under that moon.