Contract Magick

[Ivory]

This idea was stolen from White Wolf's Changeling: the Lost game. I was reading the book and it got me thinking about that dern Faery Magic.

As always, anything for the World of Darkness series tickles my Chaote pickle, but this especially had me thinking about some legit spellcrafting ideas.

Contracts.

Idea in simplicity is taking two things into account:

1) Animism

2) Things happen only because we agree that they do.

K. Follow me here.

So, it's given that in the land of Faerie, everything is based upon contracts - you don't breathe if you and Air didn't make a contract that allows you to; the sun doesn't shine unless you've agreed that it will, and that lovely campfire can be used as a beanbag chair but unless you and it have agreed to work as you assume it should (fire = warm/bright/burn), you're gonna freeze to death.

Point.

So, why can't this work for us normies? Well, it can, it has, it does. Tried it. Was amused. The more your soul enjoys all things Faerie - beauty, mystery, innocence, fantasty, etc. in the flavor of the Fair Folk, the better this seems to work. Or insert applicable animistic scenario.

Yeah. Point then.

Pick up a dollar bill. Walk outside. Close your eyes. Relax. Identify the dollar bill as symbolic for the 'spirit' of money, or what-have-you. Get a clear connection. Formal introductions might be beneficial. This example may work best on a Full Moon night.

Form a contract with the spirit of money, possibly in exchange for something.

Ex: "I do enter into a binding pledge of Alliance with ye, Spirit of Wealth. In exchange for your Boon and Blessing, I shall give up to you one piece of Art my own hands have craft, to be transferred by method of fire or water on the night of the Full Moon each month. If this contract be broken, the offending party will pay penalty by being marked by a period of ill-fortune. This penalty will remain until proper compensation has been made or a Year and a Day has passed since the formation of this contract. This contract is in effect, and binding for exactly a Year and a Day from the moment it is struck."

I tried this with other things, like making a pledge with 'Cold' for it not to string me and I warmed up quickly. I hate smoking cigarettes in winter wind.

Anyway, thoughts?

I'm more interested in people trying this out and sharing results.

Viva le Gentry.

[Harlock]

im not going to say making contracts should not be done but that you should be careful about it, its like making pacts, watch what youre making a pact with, what are the agreements, what do you get in return, and what do you have to give. among other things you need to ask yourself, but if you can procure a contract well one will not hurt you that much just dont make it a common thing.

making contracts with powers that be is like messing with fire, sooner or later you will get burned. and it may not directly be from the source for instance lets say you make a contract for wealth, do you know how many things can spot it? and the worst thing yet is if you are not careful youll find yourself ensnared in red tape, or you forget to do something and then the forces that be take something in return please be careful in your dealings. But i wish you the best of luck

[Ivory]

I understand your concern.

The 'spirits' I'm talking about, in this case, are less of the personalized, Goetic or Intelligent Spirits most pact-making would deal with; the 'spirits' I'm talking about are the abstract concepts behind ideas. Generally only given a personality for the purpose of interaction for the crafting of the contract.

I would advise folks thinking those things out to some degree, and not being careless - but remember, the Universe doesn't think on human lines, it thinks on much more basic ones.

Making a contract with Cold to lessen its effect on you may only necessitate something tiny and meaningless to you, but something symbolically important to the idea of Cold - perhaps filling an ice cube tray up and freezing it.

[Harlock]

i completly understand where you are coming from, just remember the forces that be that make up the system can only be messed with for so long by one individual before they want something back, equivalent exchange is forever present and real.

[Ivory]

You guys are way to serious about these things.

http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:yL8yVFLOvW4USM:http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm90/synyster-666/Joker_Avatar4.jpg: "This city needs a new kind of chaos magician, and I'm gonna give it to 'um."

[Odin]

I think all magick should be taken seriously no matter how small the ritual o the grandest ritual they all need to be practiced with the utmost respect and responsibility

[SWM]

Yes but Heath Ledger is dead. Maybe he is having custard tarts with Crowley.

I lol'd very hard at this...

[SWM]

I don't know who you are referring to.

[Lady Dunsany]

I don't know who you are referring to.

I was talking to you, as have not seen you around. I was letting you know we have a sister forum OtherKin Forums - OtherKin Forum - fairies - vampires - elves - fae - elvish - otherkin - types of otherkin - types of otherkin - Powered by vBulletin (http://www.otherkinforums.net). Next time I will take out a banner and post it at the New York Times.

[Saeiane]

to give a little less of a "mommy spank" answer ( no offense, just a figure of speech. It's just that everyone seems to dislike contracts a lot here lol )

I see what you're saying and it sounds like a good method, I mentioned not too long ago in a post that I once found a world of impish creatures with staffs about twice their height, that are the essence of things. For communicative purposes, we'll name them "Kin".

To me, what you're doing is summoning the Kin and making a pact with it, same way a celtic magickian might pour honey and milk at the base of a tree that sacrificed a part of itself to give the magickian a wand. An easier method of doing this might be making a deal without giving something, for instance I believe in the supreme power of words and names, so if you divined the true name of the specific Kin, you could take power over said Kin. The only pitfall is that in your example, the Kin of your dollar is only one of many Kins of different dollars, it would need to have dominion over a set amount of other Kins. At least it would for me.

*shrugs* But I'm too tired to work out the kinks.
P.S. I once used this method on my computer that was infested with viruses (not unlike the computer I'm on now...) I killed the essences of the viruses and it made them less effective.. Sadly that won't work now :/ it's too deep in the computer. And even still, it didn't help to remove the viruses, it just slowed them down and made them less threatening.

[Kouya]

To me, what you're doing is summoning the Kin and making a pact with it, same way a celtic magickian might pour honey and milk at the base of a tree that sacrificed a part of itself to give the magickian a wand. An easier method of doing this might be making a deal without giving something, for instance I believe in the supreme power of words and names, so if you divined the true name of the specific Kin, you could take power over said Kin. The only pitfall is that in your example, the Kin of your dollar is only one of many Kins of different dollars, it would need to have dominion over a set amount of other Kins. At least it would for me.

Something to add for this, since PMs are dead... I never really gotten around to what essence human magic would dictate so-called 'true names' would have much use, other than it being a personification of the entity's 'core' at the most. Since humans have a petty issue of control, to me it seems like an all too convenient construct made up for the sake of letting the humans become self indulgent.

If its such, should not be terribly easy to get a human's true name and establish 'dominion' in that same sense?


I see what you're saying and it sounds like a good method, I mentioned not too long ago in a post that I once found a world of impish creatures with staffs about twice their height, that are the essence of things. For communicative purposes, we'll name them "Kin".

I shall like to give some poking around a go again, been some while since one did so... but then again my preference was picking around various kinds of 'hells' and looking at the lame folk who got stuck there by their belief entanglements.

[Saeiane]

Something to add for this, since PMs are dead... I never really gotten around to what essence human magic would dictate so-called 'true names' would have much use, other than it being a personification of the entity's 'core' at the most. Since humans have a petty issue of control, to me it seems like an all too convenient construct made up for the sake of letting the humans become self indulgent.

If its such, should not be terribly easy to get a human's true name and establish 'dominion' in that same sense?

Actually, yes and no. It's hard to get any beings "True" name, there is a ritual I once read about to find your true name, and claimed that once you knew it, if no one else did- they could not magickally attack you with much to any effect. To the same degree, it's why that in most exorcisms- you either ask the spirits name, or you name it. To further your power over the spirit to expel it. It all comes down to what you believe. I for instance believe in the power of names. (not just true names) If I know the name of a person, thing or power. I can use it with some degree of control or knowledge. I've applied this belief- with much success, to my magick. An example would be, that after I was attacked and made sick by the disease spirit known as Haha, I traced his energy through his name, using a specific divination process I created; and bound him up so tight, he wouldn't have felt himself go numb ( lol )

So, names do have power, the degree of power the name holds is not equal to how "True" the name is, but it is equal to the amount of knowledge you have on how to manipulate the name. At least these have been my findings. I could be wrong.

The story of Isis and Ra also mentions a "True name" Ra's true name to be exact, he gave it to Isis so she would take dominion over his powers- in return, she saved his life.