Initiation Rite for Hermetic Sacrifice +3/6 (Target: 15)
Hermetic sacrifice is a unique mystery of the Neo-Mercurians, allowing them to replace part of the vis cost with animal sacrifice when summoning daimones. While there is no hard rule, this virtue is less useful for initiates who have not learned Hermetic Theurgy and is often initiated after that.
The initiate spends a season studying under the mystagogue. This is necessary to impart the cult’s knowledge of appropriate sacrifices for various beings, as well as the underlying magical theory. The latter will allow the initiate to determine (with some degree of error) appropriate sacrifices for beings who have not previously been summoned by the cult and do not have known preferences. (mystagogue sacrifices time +3)
The initiate must then acquire the traditional suovetaurilia sacrifice – a sow, a ewe, and a bull. These must be unblemished animals, healthy and pure in colour. These are used to perform a rite at the ruins of the temple of Diana at Nemi during the Nemoralia (between the 13th and 15th of August). In turn the initiate invokes Diana Nemorensis, the spirits of the sacred grove, the nymph Egeria (who taught the Romans much of their religious practices), and the genius of Numa Pompilius (who conveyed the wisdom of Egeria to the people). A divination is then performed to detect if the sacrifice has met with approval (which causes a very slight and temporary increase in the local aura). This requires someone with the Divination supernatural ability and has an ease factor of 15. If this fails, or for other reasons the sacrifice is rejected, then the initiate must try again in a year’s time. (the initiate must travel to a distant place at a specific time +3)
A variant of the rite exists for magi who live too close to Nemi. The steps are identical but the script bonus is reduced.
Initiation Rite for Puissant Neo-Mercurian Lore +12 (Target: 18)
Many Neo-Mercurians who aspire to the priesthood undertake a self initiation into this virtue, as a way of proving their mastery of Neo-Mercurian lore and enhancing their skills as a mystagogue. Some choose to invent their own script as part of this, but at least one script is known to the cult and available to any member who requests it. This version is given below.
The initiate begins by undertaking the open ended task of recovering an item of lost mercurian knowledge. Examples include: The rediscovery of a significant and well preserved Roman site, or one with unique mystical properties. The discovery and integration of some ancient mercurian magic (e.g. a non-hermetic ritual, or an initiation script for a new virtue). The recovery of mundane Roman works of great significance (e.g. the Res Etruscae of Flaccus, some of the missing books of Livy’s histories, the memoirs of Sulla). The reconstruction through original research of a mercurian magic lost to time. (unique quest +6)
Achieving any of the above also qualifies the initiate for eventual membership of the priesthood, its utility in the initiation script is a secondary benefit.
Next, the initiate must determine their personal tutelary deity. This will be a powerful magical daimon which has a nature aligned to the initiate’s favoured technique-form combination. For example, an initiate who favours PeCo might choose an aspect of Saturn, one who favours MuVi an aspect of Mercury, or one who favours CrIg an aspect of Prometheus.
The initiate must invent or learn a theurgical ritual to invoke their chosen daimon. They must also determine a place and time of significance to their chosen daimon – this will always be somewhere with a magic aura and often a regio, so they are rarely easy to find. Determining an appropriate day and time is trivial for a character with high Neo-Mercurian lore. Locating an appropriate magic aura is harder. An InVi base guideline of 4 can determine the suitability, but randomly sampling magic auras is unlikely to achieve results quickly. Many initiates consult a sybil for prophecy to guide them in the right direction.
They must make, or have made, an idol of the daimon in question. A statue, carved pillar, inscribed stone, or mosaic are all appropriate examples. They must open this as an invested item and instil it with the non-hermetic mystery effect Consecrate the Divine Image (see below). The Hermetic Theurgy mystery is required to be able to design a new version of this effect, but lab texts for some TeFo combinations might already exist, at the storyguide’s discretion.
Finally the initiate must travel to the aura and prepare an enclosed aedis , a shrine to house the object. The nature of this depends on the spirit in question – for some it might be a simple open air shrine, for others a small temple might be constructed, for others a cave grotto etc. The initiate waits for the auspicious day and summons their tutelary daimon. They make a pact with the daimon to convince it to “consecrate” the enchanted object as described in the effect below. This will probably require the assistance of other magi to perform the rituals – achieving this is another sign that the initiate is ready to help lead the cult by joining the priesthood. (initiate must travel to a specific place at a specific time +3)(initiate must sacrifice a powerful invested item +3)
Finally, the initiate becomes the guardian of the new shrine. They can consult and honour their tutelary spirit there. Over time they will acquire unique insights that they can incorporate into their understanding of Neo-Mercurian lore, but which are difficulty to explain to others. This grants the Puissant Neo-Mercurian Lore virtue. How long this takes depends on their dedication – a season spent living in the shrine and communing daily with their tutelary spirit will grant the virtue. Otherwise several years of intermittent visits may allow a later season of absorption and introspection.
Sometimes these shrines become regular ritual sites for the Neo-Mercurians, if they have useful properties or are in a good location. Over time they may grow into a larger temple especially if the creator of the shrine later becomes the priest for the tribunal it is located in.
Consecrate the Divine Image (Te)(Fo) 60
R: Personal, D: Sun, T: Individual
This effect opens an object to habitation by a specific magical spirit. The effect must be activated on a day where the spirit’s power is waxing, and in an appropriately aligned magical aura. The effect must be activated by the spirit themselves, requiring their direct presence. The spirit must have might aligned to the technique or form used.
As long as the spirit desires it, they may remain coterminous with the object as if using the Presence power (even if they normally don’t have this ability). They remain aware of everything that happens in the immediate surroundings of the object and possess a constant arcane connection to it.
If the spirit is a daimonic aspect then this persists even if the aspect is dissolved and recreated, but only for that aspect. Other aspects of the same daimon cannot benefit from the effect.
Unlike the Presence power, this effect does not grant an increase to the tether score of the aura.
The spirit may choose to end the effect at any time. Doing so destroys the enchantment – the object remains opened, but this effect (and the vis used for it) are removed.