Hermetic
Magic
The 36 Decans
The word “decan” originally
comes from the Greek word dekanos, meaning
“ruler of ten.” The decans
were the “rulers” of ten−degree segments of the
sky, each one−third of an entire zodiacal sign:
12 signs times 30 degrees each equals the whole 360 degree zodiac. Lists and
diagrams of the decans
appear on the insides of Egyptian coffin lids, where they served to guide the
dead to the afterlife. The great insight of decanic
(and thus Hermetic) magic, that the decans
govern this world and lead to another, can be seen in those inscriptions. The
earliest decan list archaeologists have found comes
from the 9th Dynasty, around 100 years after Khaibitu−na−Khonsu
founded the Cabal. The Greek magi in
The Cabal has worked very hard to promote other
astrological systems and mire decanic theory in
obscurity, with much success. Relatively few specialists, and practically no
laymen, can even name the decans,
much less use them for “mundane” astrology. Even the names and orders of the decans have been confused −− as far back as the
4th century
A.D., the Hermetic compiler Hephaistion
prepared a decan list that almost seems deliberately
skewed from the Egyptian
originals, which varied themselves from temple to temple. The
Alexandrians, and “Picatrix,” and then the
Renaissance
Cabalists, retained the core of the decanic knowledge, however −− the keys to
reality itself. The Cabalistic decans appear
below, in alphabetical order by decan
name (for an alphabetical reference by magical college, see the Decan Table, p.
00), in the following format:
Decan Name
This section discusses the nature and influences of
the decan, and what portions or components of the
Material (and the other Realms) with which it especially resonates. Some decans share resonances, much as some magical colleges
share spells.
Aethyr: Every decan has a Lord (or Lady), a powerful spiritual entity
known as an Aethyr. This section names the Aethyr and gives its traditional appearance in visions or
on the Higher Planes.
College: For those decans that
correspond with a GURPS Magic college, that
college is given here.
3.3.1.1 Correspondences
The heart of Hermetic magic, correspondences tie the
emanations of the decans to
everything in the universe. Each substance, concept, place, or item resonates
more or less strongly with its constituent decans.
The most powerful such resonances create correspondences: the “symbolic logic”
by which magic operates. GMs should feel free to “personalize” their cosmos
(and throw players who own their own copies of the book a curve) by adding,
altering, deleting, or otherwise changing these correspondences to suit their
own sense of campaign feel.
Places: In these places, magic drawn from this decan may be cast at a bonus, from a +1 for simple
correspondence with an otherwise normal location to +3 for particularly old or
significant locales. Any and all modifications remain at the GM's discretion.
Materials: Using any of these materials, colors, patterns,
substances, etc. in a magical spell−casting
drawing upon this decan may increase the sorcerer's
chances of success. Common or simple materials may add +1 to the spell's skill
roll, rare or difficult ones +2, and legendary or particularly significant ones
+3. Enormous quantities or particularly high qualities of any material may
provide a further +1 bonus. Any and all modifications remain at the GM's
discretion.
Zodiac: The ten degree segment of zodiacal arc subtended by
the decan, along with its governing planet. Zodiacal
signs and governing planets may also influence magical castings, as may their
correspondences. (See the tables of Zodiacal
Correspondences, p. 00, and Planetary Correspondences, p. 00, for
specifics.)
Agchoniôn
The decan of noise, music,
and hearing, Agchoniôn shares some overlap with its
neighboring decan, as the air of Isrö
vibrates to produce the lilting (or blaring) tones of Agchoniôn.
Agchoniôn alone does not convey meaning, however;
languages are part of the domain of Naôth (p. 00).
Aethyr: Hahahaal,
Lord of Unstable Effort, most often takes the form of a large yellow swan or of
a crowd of people
talking in chorus.
College: Sound.
Correspondences
Places: Sonar
stations, opera and concert houses (especially La Scala
in
chambers.
Materials: Bats'
ears, dolphin blood, recording tape, seashells, theremin
music, parrot feathers, glass shattered by sound,
bright yellow−green.
Zodiac: Third
decan of Aquarius; Venus.
Akhouiy
Akhouiy energizes (if that's the apt term) indolence, drift,
ease, and luck, especially “dumb luck” or “fools' luck”. Not
stagnant like Alath, Akhouiy simply “goes with the flow”. Some Orientalist mages claim that Taoist magic is really a
college drawn from Akhouiy.
Aethyr: Vevaliah,
Lady of Abandoned Success, appears as an attractive red−headed
woman with her hair tied up in a
black velvet band. She also manifests as a collie, a raven,
or a large orange carp.
College: None
known.
Correspondences
Places: Casinos,
resort hotels, some taverns, much of Fa'rie,
fountains (with coins).
Materials: Four−leaf clovers, rabbits' feet, upright horseshoes, beer, dice, stones with water−eroded holes through them,
the small bone of a sheep's head, honey, deep orange.
Zodiac: First
decan of Pisces; Jupiter.
Akton
Where the decay of Kurtaêl
is most often the physical result of natural processes, its counterpart within Akton is
the decadence of the spirit, or the self−created
mutilation of soul, culture, or body. Akton instills
corruption, debauchery,
both the cruel and queasy joys of sin and its debilitation
and ravages.
Aethyr: Naber,
Lord of Illusionary Success, appears in many guises; a blonde woman in red, a
man in a fur robe on his
knees, a carrion crow or black crane, and a red−eyed gryphon.
College: None
known.
Correspondences
Places: Alcoholic
wards, whorehouses, crack dens, certain temples in
Materials: Vomit,
maggots, vitriol, cocaine, wormwood, venereal pus, pale yellow.
Zodiac: Third
decan of Scorpio; Moon.
Alath
Alath creates satiety, comfort, rest, the steady state,
boredom, stagnation, and stasis. Alath may be another
crucial decan
in the “damping out” of magical static or destructive
energies where less compatible decans intersect.
Aethyr: Kaliel,
the Lord of Rest from Strife, often appears as a fat man riding on a donkey
drinking wine. Other times,
Kaliel manifests as an enormous, slumbering bull with the
head of a man or leopard.
College: None
known.
Correspondences
Places: Old
age homes, cold deserts, still tarns, ghost towns.
Materials: Tortoiseshell,
square and cuboid shapes,
arsenic, ether, morphia or heroin, deep wine−purple.
Zodiac: Third
decan of Libra; Mercury.
Alleborith
Some see Alleborith as the
essential medium of magical transmission, others as the particulate energies of
mana, still
others as an abstraction for that portion of Barsafael and Anostêr which mages have mapped. In base,
however, it is the decan present in
magic at its most pure and isolate, the “active” reflection of “passive” Kumeatêl (p.
00).
Aethyr: Mendial,
Lord of Power, most often appears as either an azure dolphin or a blue merman
with a trident. In both
incarnations, his eyes are golden yellow.
College:
Correspondences
Places: Magical
laboratories, pentacles, Places of Power, ley
intersections, mana upwellings,
Atlantis.
Materials: Mandrake
root, orichalcum, azoth, pyramid shapes, black cat
whiskers, water from Atlantis, green
moonstones, pineal glands, bright azure.
Zodiac: Third
decan of Capricorn; Mercury.
Anatreth
While Iudal is transition
itself, the act of crossing depends upon Anatreth,
the decan of movement, evolution,
progress, and speed (fast or slow). Anatreth
primarily impels physical movement, but astral or spiritual movement carries
much of Anatreth's impulse
within it.
Aethyr: Nithaya,
Lady of Swiftness, most often manifests as a blurry image of wings, but
sometimes coalesces into a
winged dog, or a human figure with a future and past image “ghosted”
onto it.
College: Movement.
Correspondences
Places: Tornadoes,
airports, speedways or freeways, lightning strikes, bullet−trains
and their tracks.
Materials: Arrows,
bullets, cobra venom, hawk or osprey feathers, methamphetamines, henbane,
violet.
Zodiac: First
decan of Sagittarius; Jupiter.
Anostêr
Some mages theorize that Anostêr, by definition, cannot
exist, at least not as the Cabal understands it. It comprises that
which cannot be done, that which cannot be known, the
impossible, the unnamable, the reverse face of knowledge and
skill, the void that preceded creation.
Aethyr: Yeichavah,
Lord of Effort, traditionally appears as a gray, blind ape or as an enigmatic
figure garbed in prismatic
robes, its face hidden by a peacock's fan. Yeichavah appears in many other forms at whim; many mages
remain uncertain
that they have actually conversed with (or even summoned)
him.
College: None
known.
Correspondences
Places: Some
peculiar rings of stone in New England, an isolated atoll in the Pacific, a
mirage city in the
a hot spring beneath
Materials: The
noise of a cat's passage, books never written, blood from a
stone, imperceptible colors.
Zodiac: Second
decan of Capricorn; Venus.
Arôtosael
This decan drives the cyclic
process of creation and destruction in all its facets, from assembling pieces
of knowledge to
destroying a city in an atomic blast. Arôtosael
most strongly irrupts during the intermediate stages, when enough
components have appeared to make the result apparent, or when
the structure will fall with just one good shove.
Aethyr: Nithael,
the Lord of Perfected Work, embodies and rules Arôtosael.
He often appears as either a pale,
red−headed man in a reddish−purple
gown carrying a wooden staff, or as a winged man with a mirrored sword and
helmet. He usually wears a golden ouroborous
bracelet.
College: Making
and Breaking.
Correspondences
Places: Decisive
battlefields, nuclear accelerators, chemical or alchemical laboratories,
blacksmith shops, beehives, new
forests, the
Materials: Rams'
horn (and anything else in a Fibonacci spiral), flint, clay, radioactives, E above high C, hammers, sage,
murex dye or anything else reddish−purple.
Zodiac: Third
decan of Aries; Jupiter.
Atrax
Where Roêlêd protects the
body, Atrax nourishes it. This decan
is the day−to−day inner strength of
things
renewed by sunlight (for plants), food (for animals), or
worship (for deities). Atrax shades into health and
healing,
though more as a steady state than a dramatic process, and
also, naturally, into decay (food, of course, for bacteria and
worms).
Aethyr: Akiah,
Lady of Prudence, usually appears in traditional guise as a woman bearing an
armload of fruit, grain, or
bread.
College: Food.
Correspondences
Places: Supermarkets
or bazaars, farmland, compost heaps, restaurants, gas stations, granaries, some
fields in
Materials: Bread,
salt, woman's hair, storax, saliva, fertilizer, peridots, light yellowish−tan.
Zodiac: First
decan of Virgo; Mercury.
Axiôphêth
This decan may serve as
another powerful “anchor” for reality. Axiôphêth
empowers gravity, weight and mass, and
forces holding things in place, often including oppression
for its own sake.
Aethyr: Amael,
Lady of Oppression, appears as a woman in an indigo robe seated on the rocks.
Occasionally she weeps,
just as often she has her foot on a man's throat and her
hand wrapped in his hair.
College: None
known.
Correspondences
Places: Underneath
tons of rock, sun−baked desert flats, labor
camps, prisons, certain mountains in the Pamirs.
Materials: Lead
chains, iron weights, ballast from a ship that has traveled around the world,
depleted uranium, indigo.
Zodiac: Third
decan of Sagittarius; Sun.
Barsafael
This decan is the hidden
truth, the subconscious mind, primal unconfessed
emotions and unknown strengths. Some
mages theorize that Barsafael
underlies all the other decans, while others believe
that as the Cabal explores more of the
Realms, Barsafael's essence
shrinks (or, possibly, continues to create more unknown territories).
Aethyr: Hechashiah,
Lady of Ancient Strength, rules Barsafael. She
appears as a woman in crimson and white robes with
one leg uncovered, or as a crimson and white sea serpent.
College: None
known.
Correspondences
Places: Deep
beneath the ocean or in hidden caves, cities unknown to mankind, dinosaur
burial grounds, fragmentary
worlds long forgotten, very old mountaintops in the
Appalachians and limestone sinkholes in upper
Materials: Ambergris,
petroleum, white noise, artesian water, taproots of plants, “U” shapes,
crimson.
Zodiac: Second
decan of Aries; Sun.
Belbel
The decan of pain and
torment, of sharpness and shadow, of shock and loss: few mages explore these
many aspects of
Belbel. Many of the ghostly undead (especially shades and
shadows) derive their essence from the emanations of this
decan.
Aethyr: Aaneval,
Lord of Despair and Cruelty, embodies this decan.
Occasionally, he appears as a man with the head of
a raptor bird; other times, as a black dog; still
others as a man covered in fish or snake scales.
College: None
known.
Correspondences
Places: Torture
chambers, death camps, deep in the rainforests where sunlight never falls,
widows' walks, the
shadow−burns in
Materials: Funeral
crepe, surgical steel, rust, ammonia, neurotoxins, dried blood, nettles, purple
so dark that it appears
black.
Zodiac: Second
decan of Gemini; Venus.
Bianakith
If man is the measure of all things, Bianakith is the template to which that measure is drawn.
Although humanity, as the
primary intermediary between microcosm and macrocosm,
encompasses (at least potentially) all the decans, it
is within
the medium of meat and bone and desire and thought
established by this decan that they must operate.
Aethyr: Mihal,
Lord of Perfected Success, appears only in human form. Sometimes, in fact, in
two human forms (man
and maiden); other times as a crowned king of perfect
form, mien, and carriage.
College: Body
Control.
Correspondences
Places: Crowded
cities, human−scale statuary, portrait
galleries, gymnasia.
Materials: Lungwort,
liverwort, elm, river clay, human blood or skin, starfish, GI Joe or Barbie
doll or any other
idealized poppet, ivory.
Zodiac: Third
decan of Pisces; Mars.
Buldumêch
This decan energizes wealth
and treasure, from giving gold its glitter to building stock−market
castles in the air. Within
Buldumêch's penumbra lie concepts as arcane as currency arbitrage
and as basic as greed.
Aethyr: Murmux,
Lord of Wealth, traditionally manifests as an old man leaning on a staff,
wrapped in a woolen mantle.
College: None
known.
Correspondences
Places: Banks,
stock market floors, gold mines, customs−houses,
money changers, jewelers, treasure troves.
Materials: Money,
anything expensive and hoarded, jackdaw or magpie feathers, cowrie
shells, sapphires, toad−venom,
gold.
Zodiac: Third
decan of Virgo; Venus.
Charchnoumis
This decan imbues all animal
life, bestial thoughts, predation, pack behavior, and such instincts. As a
result,
Charchnoumis is a very powerful component of human beings, and
provides mana for the majority of lycanthropes and
other animalistic shapeshifters.
Aethyr: Rohael,
Lord of Abundance, appears most often as a great bear, but sometimes as a
composite beast such as a
chimera or gryphon. When he appears as a human (whether as a camel−driver or a beautiful woman in green), he
usually
has a blue head.
College: Animal.
Correspondences
Places: Zoos,
slaughterhouses, nature preserves, forests, fresh animal tracks or kills,
watering holes,
Materials: Fresh
animals' blood or skin, bloodstones, fresh game spoor, hunters' weapons, civet−musk, hunting horn
music, anything dark blood−red.
Zodiac: Second
decan of Cancer; Mars.
Eneuth
Fire, the untamed element; man's
first mystery. As the elemental decan of fire, Eneuth sparks not
just the fires of stars
and gas−grills but the
lively fires of inspiration and lust, of war and demagoguery.
Aethyr: Yirthiel,
Lord of Great Strength, most often appears as a golden man or as a three−headed dragon. He
occasionally leads yellow−orange
or red cattle.
College: Elemental
Fire.
Correspondences
Places: Bonfires,
firestorms, tropical or subtropical deserts at midday, war−torn
lands to the south, lava flows, magmatic
caverns, the Plane of Fire.
Materials: Obsidian,
asbestos, sulfur, brimstone, fire opals, sodium and magnesium, rocket fuel, ash−wood wands,
cones, olibanum, garlic, mustard,
cayenne pepper, orange−yellow.
Zodiac: Second
decan of Sagittarius; Mars.
Harpax
This decan sends sap through
mighty cedars and spangles the ponds with algae. All things green and growing,
both
harmful and healing, have their taproots somewhere in the decan of Harpax.
Aethyr: Vishiriyah,
Lady of Harmonious Change, primarily speaks out of wooden musical instruments,
but when she
manifests, it is usually as a white dryad clad entirely in
blue, red, and yellow flowers.
College: Plant.
Correspondences
Places: Sacred
groves, rainforests, algal pools, weed−ridden
croplands, hedge mazes.
Materials: Green
jade, holly, cedar, woodwind music, amanita mushrooms, ivy, coral, forest green.
Zodiac: First
decan of Capricorn; Saturn.
Hephesimereth
This decan is nothing, quite
literally. It imbues creation with defeat, emptiness, and loss. Particularly
pessimistic mages
believe that eventually every decan
will wind up in the sack of Hephesimereth.
Aethyr: Aniel,
Lord of Defeat, walks with his head down and his dark red, shapeless, hooded
robe over him. Only his
hands emerge from the drapery, holding an empty sack.
College: None
known.
Correspondences
Places: Open
abandoned pits, former cemeteries with the bodies disinterred, Antarctic frozen
desert, the intergalactic
vacuum, places where the ground has been sown with salt.
Materials: Dead
batteries, dust from an abandoned house, ashes, mistletoe, no color.
Zodiac: First
decan of Aquarius; Saturn.
Ieropaêl
Second of the elemental decans,
Ieropaêl helps solidly anchor reality as the
embodiment and empowerment of earth, soil,
rock, of the very concept of physicality itself.
Aethyr: Hazael,
Lord of Material Gain, traditionally appears as a large man holding a jar of
oil. Other common guises
include a black centaur and a skin−clad
tribesman.
College: Elemental
Earth.
Correspondences
Places: Mountain
caves, volcanoes, upthrust crags, gravel beds and
quarries, city parks, fertile land in the north, the
Plane of Earth.
Materials: Quartz,
talc, slate, oak, lichen, worms, narcissus, orbs, dark brown.
Zodiac: Second
decan of Virgo; Saturn.
Isrö
Air, at peace and in storms, coheres from the energies
of Isrö. Not only zephyrs and hurricanes, but also
the “lightning
strike” of genius, the “airy chatter” of gossips, and the “windy
oratory” of politicians derive from it.
Aethyr: Rehael,
Lord of Science, traditionally appears as a milk−white,
winged horse or as a proud king with a long
white beard wearing a white robe. Very occasionally he has
manifested as a proud man in a white lab coat holding a
lightning bolt.
College: Elemental
Air.
Correspondences
Places: Windstorms,
steppes, inside or atop clouds, on balloons or airships, cities atop plateaus
in the east, the Plane of
Air.
Materials: Eagle
feathers, chalcedony, galbanum, white orchids, helium, bird−bone
knives, aspen, pink−white.
Zodiac: Second
decan of Aquarius; Jupiter.
Iudal
Boundaries, roads, portals, rivers, bridges, and other
liminal and transitional thoughts and things form
from the energies
of Iudal. Iudal
also emerges in concepts of time, distance, and measurement, and powers bridge−trolls.
Aethyr: Ieilael,
Lord of Eventuality, holds a key in every form, while habitually shifting
between them. Three common
ones are that of a long−haired
man with ox's hooves, a winged man, or a gryphon.
College: Gate.
Correspondences
Places: Bridges,
crossroads, doorways (especially post−and−lintel
ones), boundary markers, rivers, interdimensional
gates, outdoors during an eclipse, grandfather clocks.
Materials: Keys,
two−headed coins, juniper, alexandrites,
tobacco, hollow bones, chalk, mirrors, rose−madder,
cesium,
cornmeal, amber.
Zodiac: Second
decan of Taurus; Mercury.
Kumeatêl
Kumeatêl empowers hidden contention and unknown victory, the
ace up a sleeve or the corps held in reserve, as well as
secrets (especially decisive ones), murmurs, and even some
aspects of codes, glyphs, and runes. Where Barsafael
(p. 00)
is the Unknown, Kumeatêl is
the Hidden, the Occult, and thus may be seen to partially embody magic itself.
Aethyr: Elemiah,
Lord of Victory, appears in a (literally) legendary number of forms, most
characteristically as a
stranger in a blue cloak and slouch hat or as a bearded knight
of cruel countenance in unreadable heraldry. In neither
version are his eyes clearly visible.
College: Enchantment.
Correspondences
Places: Secret
laboratories or military bases, hidden rooms or passages, labyrinths, lost
cities, conspiratorial fastnesses,
pocket dimensions, certain University libraries.
Materials: Artifacts
with secrets, the number 13, walnuts, handcuffs, Christmas wrapping ribbon,
silk cord, knots with
hidden ends, rose (both the flower and the color).
Zodiac: Second
decan of Leo; Jupiter.
Kurtaêl
Death and fear, decay and disease, all fluoresce with
the black energies of Kurtaêl. Vampires, mummies, liches, and
many other undead creatures draw upon the power of this decan for their vitality on the material plane, even if
they must
take its energies admixed with blood or magic or tana leaves to survive.
Aethyr: Menqal,
Lord of Ruin, appears as a corpse in chainmail, as a
black horse, or as a harlequin figure without arms, among his many forms. He
seldom appears as a skeletal figure in a black cowl and cloak.
College: Necromancy.
Correspondences
Places: Graveyards,
terminal wards of hospitals, ruined buildings where people have died, plague
pits, tombs, marshes,
necromantic altars in
Materials: Rowan,
cypress, myrrh, contaminated syringes, rats, yew, hellebore, onyx, ebony, jet, pitch, anything else
black.
Zodiac: Third
decan of Gemini; Saturn.
Marderô
This decan energizes
rebellion against comfort, and anger at injustice −− as well as
violent reaction born from fear of
chaos and disorder. Marderô also
drives mutations, changes born of crisis and stimulus, and the concept of the
opportune disaster.
Aethyr: Hokmiah,
Lord of Sorrow, appears as a man with a lion's face, occasionally enthroned but
more often pacing
angrily with a whip.
College: None
known.
Correspondences
Places: Revolutionary
battlefields or massacres, police stations, some government buildings, meteor
craters, disaster
sites.
Materials: Hammers,
sickles, human blood, pepper, tear gas, axes, five−pointed
stars (but not pentagrams), gunpowder,
rhino hide, white−flecked
azure.
Zodiac: Second
decan of Libra; Saturn.
Methiax
Where Arôtosael assembles
and disassembles matter, concepts, and energies, Methiax
creates them. Or, rather,
creates creation itself. Since (magically even more than
mathematically) the final appearance of all matter is inherent
within its smallest fragments, the impulse of creation is
also the impulse of form, Methiax shapes both
realities and
dreams without regard for any difference that mundanity might insist exists. Some shapeshifters
and phantasms draw
mana from this decan.
Aethyr: Chabuiyah,
Lady of Love, rules Methiax most often as a white
centaur garlanded with leaves, though occasionally she appears as a crowned,
maidenly Muse.
College: Illusion
and Creation.
Correspondences
Places: Artist's
studios, movie theaters and movie sets, counterfeiter's dens, certain very old
vineyards in
Materials: Pyrites,
zircons, flashbulbs, eggs, pomegranate seeds, fractals, holograms,
hallucinogens, fog or anything else
gray.
Zodiac: First
decan of Cancer; Moon.
Naôth
What Iudal is to the
material experience, Naôth is to the conceptual one
−− the creator and sustainer of
communication, language, imagery, symbolism, and teaching. Not only
the media of communication but the urge to
communicate arise from Naôth, which
connects everything on many levels.
Aethyr: Mebahel,
Lady of Peace Restored, appears as a woman reading a book, occasionally bearing
a bloody spear.
College: Communication
and Empathy.
Correspondences
Places: Radio
stations, printers, shared telepathic experiences, shared or archetypal dream
states, universities, a few
select bars, certain bookshops in
Materials: Vervain,
bay leaves, “V” shapes, stringed instruments or their strings, blue−gray.
Zodiac: First
decan of Libra; Venus.
Nefthada
This decan impels pleasure
and delight, enabling thrills physical and mental. Often Nefthada
is only perceptible at single,
almost painfully perfect moments: the meadow under a
rainbow, the first bite of steak, the second swallow of cognac −−
but its influence is in all those things forever.
Aethyr: Nelokiel,
Lord of Pleasure, traditionally takes on the guise of a well−formed
man on a richly−caparisoned camel
or in a luxurious tent.
College: None
known.
Correspondences
Places: Almost
nowhere, save for perfect moments in time or space; some English and Japanese
gardens achieve
correspondence with Nefthada on a
continuing basis, as do a very few building interiors.
Materials:
Zodiac: Second
decan of Scorpio; Jupiter.
Ouare
This decan governs
constructs, machines, alloys, and vehicles. Although Ouare's
college was one of the most recently
codified (by the Heronians in the
2nd century A.D.), it is coeval with all the other decans,
as far as the Cabal can
determine. Some animate golems, cyborgs,
and revenants take mana from this decan.
Aethyr: Heroch,
Lord of Success Unfulfilled, usually embodies this decan
as a bronze clockwork lion, a mermaid (most
often as the figurehead on a warship), a swarthy man with metal−and−ivory teeth, or a chariot−driver
with serpents for
legs.
College: Technology.
Correspondences
Places: Garages,
metallurgical laboratories, inside moving vehicles, virtual−reality
matrices, the Autobahn.
Materials: Gears
and clockwork, plastic, microchips, brass, aluminum, olive−green
or any artificial dye such as aniline.
Zodiac: Third
decan of Taurus; Saturn.
Phoubêl
This decan would seem to
embody the Manichaean contradiction, that light cannot exist without darkness
to define it.
Phoubêl deals equally with both, and thus also with vision,
blindness, and irreconcilable conflict.
Aethyr: Yelayel,
Lord of Strife, appears alternately clad in noble splendor on the back of a
lion or caparisoned in rags
riding a gray horse.
College: Light
and Darkness.
Correspondences
Places: Tropical
beaches, outdoors at sunrise or sunset, tanning salons, cathedrals, stone
circles, fireworks shows.
Materials: Heliotropes
and other tropical flowers, flashlights, cinnamon, “X” or cross shapes, laurel and
hazelwood, black−and−white
(or black−and−red) checkerboard patterns.
Zodiac: First
decan of Leo; Sun.
Phthenoth
Impelling cleansing, restoration, and healing both
physical and metaphorical, Phthenoth brings about the
renaissance of
body and spirit throughout reality. Repair of machines, of
course, is the
overlap may exist for some golems and homunculi.
Aethyr: Shaliah,
Lady of Material Happiness, may appear in many guises, but is almost always
seen as a young, noble
woman regardless of garb or impedimenta (which only very
occasionally include the caduceus).
College: Healing.
Correspondences
Places: Hospitals,
the
Materials: Balm,
pure water, apples, watered wine, chicken soup, potash, Greek (“+”) crosses,
lavender.
Zodiac: Second
decan of Pisces; Moon.
Roêlêd
This decan imbues walls with
their strength, thorns with their sharpness, shields with their glancing
curves, antibiotics
with their efficacy. Along with defense and guardianship, Roêlêd drives alertness, preparation, wisdom of experience,
and that “sixth sense” that tells you you're being
watched. Many wraiths, and some trolls, derive their mana
from this
decan.
Aethyr: Mahashiah,
Lord of Valor, appears as a muscular, dark−feathered
warrior holding a shield (often with a
rattlesnake on it) and stabbing spear, or occasionally as a
knight in armor or a watchman with a whip.
College: Protection
and Warning.
Correspondences
Places: Anywhere
under surveillance or electric−eye grid,
castles and fortresses, missile silos and radar stations,
firebreaks, guardposts.
Materials: Owl
or raven feathers, oxhide, “M” shapes, dragon's
blood, unicorn horn, sirens, tiger−lilies,
Kevlar, chain
links, bronze (both the metal and the color).
Zodiac: Third
decan of Leo; Mars.
Ruax
This decan creates strength
of will, connects perceptions to the mind, and governs sanity, drunkenness, the
hotter
emotions, sleep, and the material phenomena of dreams
(although their content may fall within another decan).
Aethyr: Deneyal,
Lady of Dominion, rules Ruax. She usually appears
either as a dark, physically−imposing giantess
or
queen clad in a white robe. Either form possesses fiery red
eyes. Deneyal also occasionally appears as a songbird
or a cat.
College: Mind
Control.
Correspondences
Places: Television
studios or showrooms, hypnosis clinics or performances, drug parlors and opium
dens, asylums,
personal dreamscapes, memory palaces, and certain lamaseries
in
Materials: Cathode−ray tubes, spirals, poppies, downward−pointing
arrows, cerulean blue.
Zodiac: First
decan of Aries; Mars.
Sahu
The decan of the giants, Sahu impregnates concepts and activities such as archery,
hunting, and herding as well as their
physical associations such as mountains, forests, grasslands
and other wild spaces. For some reason, this decan
also
manifests in high stone walls; possibly as an analogy to
mountains.
Aethyr: Orvandal,
Lord of Material Trouble, appears as a giant, naked save for a belt and bow.
His color ranges from
blood−red to forest−green to
basaltic black.
College: None
known.
Correspondences
Places: Mountainsides,
the walls of