Hi, gang. Last week, we presented the basics of the sahu — a mummy’s magical reconstruction of form — and this week we’ll be wrapping up our discussion of the sahu with a few thoughts about the overall occult context of the Arisen condition (again courtesy of Malcolm, who helped me design the nuts and bolts of same).
Aura and Viscera
As some of you know, I worked on Mage: The Awakening a whole lot. That game clings to the motifs people associate with classic sorcery: earth, wind, fire, all that kind of thing. Plus subtle bodies, auras, and other things that glow in the night. Draw some Celtic knots and fire up the Loreena McKennitt playlist!
I’m intentionally exaggerating this vibe to discuss a common assumption — that magic is an immaterial force with material effects. We assume this because of the legacy of Cartesian dualism, subsequent cultural narratives, and other fancy liberal-arts concepts. It also works for us because it makes magic the realm of the soul: an inherently mysterious (and unnecessary, if you don’t believe in such things) domain where all our knowledge about the material world goes out the window, and our imaginations take charge. But these things are essentially modern assumptions. They stick with us because of our particular history, and in games like Mage, we can use them to great effect.
But Mummy’s conception of magic hails from an older tradition — one alien to our modern sensibilities. This is a path of sorcery that predates Plato and a “world of ideals.” It predates loving, omnipotent gods and the easy division of existence into material and immaterial realms. For example, Egyptologists believe that none of the various terms we translate into “soul” have the characteristics we assume. They are not invisible, untouchable things, but fade in and out of different aspects of the ancients’ lives. When the time is right, they touch and they feast, and just as often take out their rage through calamity, disease, and ill fortune.
So Arisen magic has a visceral, material quality, channeled into bodies and objects, with the latter being of especial importance to them. The Deathless know of invisible forces and abstract, magical power, but these things manifest with less of a New Age, power-up kind of “glow” than you might expect. And although mummies are the heirs of a rich metaphysical tradition, that tradition’s laws demand set, pragmatic manifestations “inscribed” into the soul like a charm painted on a sarcophagus… or carved into the shape of a mystic artifact.
Until next week…
Senebti!
You guys did your kemetic metaphysical homework. I approve so hard it’s not even funny.
Seconded!
Like it like it like it. Curious how deathless magic relates (or associates if at all) to Awakened magic?
I kindof like the subtle implication that awakened magic isn’t as eternal or as central a universal principle as the awakened tend to think it is. That there is, in fact, something older, so awakened magic is just another flavor, not the ur-flavor that underlies all.
With each update, Mummy sounds more and more enticing. 🙂 I can’t wait to be able to play.
Simultaneously evocative without spoiling the mechanics. Damn you all are getting good at this. I am going to have to dive into some research to get a better sense of this stuff. 🙂
a wonderful justification for the use of tools, relics, vessels, and other objects d’magick if i ever heard one.
This post does beg the question though that if “subtle forms” aren’t separate from material forms, where do they rest? Do these mummies have an other world? An underworld? Do their “souls” have multiple parts that separate? Or are they always connected to every part of themselves, only drawing on them when needed?
I love ancient mythos as much as the next guy, but some concepts have improved with time, and I’m not sure i understand the distinction between magic outside materials and magic in materials if they’re still distinct things.
I’m also confused along these lines. The implication doesn’t seem to be that magic is less “glowy” because of what it is but rather just because it’s glow is obscured by its container.
The concepts you draw upon in your observation rely on acculturated assumptions. We have to use some of these because honestly (and as this shows) this stuff is so ingrained we can’t easily get rid of it–we can’t get it out of *us* easily, and we don’t have decent words for it.
Take, for example, the word “Ba,” which is often translated as “soul.” But it isn’t. It’s actually something between “personhood” and “agency”– that is, the facet of existence defined by manifest action. It’s close cousin, “Bau,” is the divine attribute embodied by the Pharaoh and natural phenomena, and not necessarily separable from that.
Your reflex and mine is to think of there being an abstract force of will and intention that powers an act: the “glow” that makes something material happen. But that’s not what’s going on. There’s no division. Now if you’re a physicalist, this is easy, because the force and object are entirely material functions, but that’s not how Ba/Bau works, either. It’s not wholly materialistic or spiritual.
Now in practice, Mummy does this in a more straightforward, functional manner, and you can conceive of it any way you like. But when we talk about the sahu being a “shell of energy” or something this is really just an approximation. This is why, in answering a previous post, I referred to the ship of Theseus. We have a guiding principle to describe what magic does that influences what characters see, hear and feel. Ultimately the game doesn’t waste *too* much time philosophizing so you can get into the action, but we don’t ignore it, either.
this is a great response. thank you! Not that it totally clarifies it, but i can see how with our current set of ingrained beliefs, it would be hard to clarify it totally. I’m also happy to hear a developer’s thoughts regarding the translation of actual egyptian terms. I think a lot of gamers who “claim” to know a lot about real world mythology get caught up in one translation or another without realizing that some words (and concepts) don’t have direct translations to contemporary languages. So, since you pointed this out, i think i will be more open to whatever Sahu, Ba, Bau, etc… do actually represent in a WoD game.
Well this sounds interesting.
And thanks for semi-answering my question before. I know you can’t show everything at once, so I don’t mind waiting for a better answer, I just wanted to make sure that I hadn’t missed if someone had explained it.
Thanks for the feedback, guys. We’re moving into June here now, which means there’ll be even more substance to the blog posts from here on in. Certain things will have to wait until just before release (and others until release itself), but rest assured that I aim to dish plenty — both before the game drops and after (in the form of being available for questions).
While I think NWoD has done a good job of straddling the delicate line of creating it’s own mythology, while taking the mythology of the real world into consideration(A shout out to the Saints days for the Hammer of Witches “powers” from H:tV). The feeling I get from this stuff so far is that it really mines the depths of myth to lend some weight to it’s piece of the WoD setting.
This is the exact moment I decided I want, need and will goddamn have a deluxe version of the new Mummy. I am completely sold. Great work guys, awesomeness itself.
So since we’re throwing out questions:
The implication you’ve made thusfar is that the arisen are constantly dying and resurrecting. Where do they go between? I assume, since you guys seem to want to get away from firm culture-binding, that we won’t be seeing a return of Amenti and Duat. Do they just hang in limbo, or wander around the underworld, or what?
Mwuhaha
Some place that is detrimental to their memory, very likely.
Great stuff guys! I really love the harkening back to the old styles of magic found in a lot of the older books. I wonder if the older the object the more potent the power held within it? I can’t wait to get a glimpse of some of the systems you have cooking up for this game!
But what really has me on the edge of my seat is whatever text your gonna write up for that gorgeous picture! It has me spell-bound!
I would not like their magic to overshadow the Awakened. Magic as a ephemeral thing is a ancient idea too(I think, I am not an especialist), and it is awesome.
Hi, erm, no one. 🙂 The magic of the Awakened isn’t so much a concern in-context since the Awakened don’t exist in the default presentation of Mummy. System-wide consistency is important, but only for systems; internal consistency is what matters with everything else.
Ok, my problem here, again with the notion of “solid magic”: the physical body of the Egyptian dead is vital to existence in the afterword. This is why Pharaohs’ tombs were built with such great care to fool tomb robbers: the physical goods and the actual form of the deceased were vital; he would need his body to complete his journey. He would need his ushabti (which began as living sacrifices, the deceased being buried with servants, until practicality won out and Egyptians began burying their dead with clay representations of servants who would “come alive” on the other side of death and take the place of the living soldiers, artisans and clerics that would otherwise have been buried alive), and other grave goods on the other side.
The journey through the gates necessarily included a reunification with the body. In the case of Pharaoh, this was doubly important since the moment of his reunification was also the time when he assumed the mantle of Osiris and sat in judgement over the souls of the other dead (as opposed to being judged himself).
So the physical body of the Egyptian dead is not presented in the mythology as somehow transubstantiating into a new, spiritual form, but rather reunifying with less material aspects. I keep saying reunification because this is the central aspect of the body’s role in the death cycle of the ancient Egyptians.
I see the idea you’ve implemented of “solid magic slowly subsuming the original form of the mummy” to be essentially out of synch with the body’s role in the events following Egyptian death. I’m no Egyptologist though, so perhaps there’s newer research that sheds light on this.
If it’s something you designed from scratch to explain the mummy’s variable appearance, again, please axe it.
Actually, the belief was that the ba required the khat (body), not that the khat got up and met the ka in the afterlife. Furthermore, the Egyptians did not always believe that the ba was universal. There are actually several historic afterlife beliefs to choose from across a large span of time. Many of them depend on a certain ordering of the universe that Mummy intentionally omits and twists. This is why the body if the Arisen intentionally occupies an ambiguous state.
Otherwise, you seem to be getting stuck in the reflexive dualism I mentioned. The magic of the sahu is not the conversion of an aura into meat. This is why [redacted] can see what they are through a means other than seeing some find of aura. most of the finer points are not really necessary to dig into during play, but we do take them into account.
“When the time is right, they touch and they feast, and just as often take out their rage through calamity, disease, and ill fortune.”
Again, my question: where does this indicate that “magic” is “solidified”? All I see indicated is that under certain conditions, “souls” interact with “bodies.” At other times they do not.
This is no different than modern conceptions of things like poltergeists, ectoplasm, stuff like that. Non-physical sometimes, tangible at others. I don’t see the disconnect you guys are claiming, I just see differences in terminology. How is this any different than the modern conception of Angels, who take physical form sometimes but at others exist in intangible forms?
This stuff is handled through materialization… my question is, why be lazy about this and just pass it off as “magic stuff?”
Actually, as the modern conception of angels typically isn’t like that. Now, most Christian sects believe they are purely spiritual. In the past however, it was believed that angels were corporeal but usually imperceptible. This very much relates to your framing of this sort of thing overall. Theosophical and spiritualist claims are at the root of many popular ideas about the supernatural and the idea of conversions from spirit to matter that come with them are not really universal, but interesting and useful for odd games, for sure.
MOAR UPDATES!
🙂
New update is up. 🙂
Appreciated, thanks!
Hmm. It sounds like the concept of Twilight won’t be seeing much use in Mummy: the Curse. Either that, or you’ll be providing a very different take on it, since as it’s currently described it has some very strong dualist vibes.
I can’t tell you how happy it is that the magic of MtC is going have an “ancient” feel rather than a modern, ‘power up’ feel. I do hope that the ritual aspect of the ancient Egyptian magic is retained. While I know that certain kinds of players want to have instant effects, the ritual aspect of magic (like in Mage’s sourcebook Sorcerer) really adds a lot to the storytelling aspect of the game.
One thing that my players struggled with when playing Mummy 2nd Edition was the lack of choices within some of the Hekau magic path dots (i.e. Necromancy, Celestial, etc.). I hope that either there are lots of sub-choices within each dot OR the magic gets a bit more vague and suggestive (like in Mage the Ascension) that allows for more player imagination and storyteller description.
Also, can I just add…the art that has accompanied each blog topic is PHENOMENAL! I hope the whole book is going to be like this. PLEASE release this in a deluxe hardcover edition. I would easily pay as much as I did for V20 for this book.