Thyrsus (Mage: the Awakening)

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The Thyrsus are a fictional path of shaman, witches and medicine men in White Wolf's Mage: the Awakening RPG.

The Thyrsus are Shaman, following the Path of Ecstasy. They are associated with the Watchtower of the Stone Book, which appears as a cave, in the Realm of the Primal Wild, Kingdom of Totems and Abode of Beasts. The Primal Wild is an eden of jungles, forests, mountains, rivers and plains where Nature holds sway and civilization does not yet exist. Here flesh is eternally renewed and ephemeral spirits walk the land. Those who arrive often loose themselves in the ecstasies of being alive.

The Thyrsus are adept at the Arcana of Life and Spirit, making them masters at shape-shifting, healing, creating or changing living things, conjuring spirits and exorcism. However, they have difficulty with the Arcana of Mind because they tend to loose themselves in beastial instincts and all of the joys and pleasures of living. For this reason they are associated with the Tarot card of The Moon, representing the allure of passion and impulsive action.

[edit] Correspondences

In Sleeper religion, philosophy and occult systems, the Thyrsus are often associationed with Shamanic customs, Australian aboriginal mythology, Native American mythology, indigenous myth the world over and Greek Orphic and Dionysian mysteries. In addition to Dionysus or Bacchus, other Nature deities such as Pan, Diana, Gaia, Cernunnos, Shiva and the Green Man are associated with the Path as well.

In Atlantean lore the Thyrsus Path is associated with the element of Water. Their colors are red and brown, symbolizing flesh and blood, while the sapphire represents their connection to the spirit world. Vines, especially grape, ivy and kudzu, represent the Primal Wild's vitality, while cats represent the darker side of the Thyrsus. Their mythical beasts are the minotaur and satyr. Thyrsus rituals favor animal products such as musk, fur and leather, while wine represents the mad revelry of the Primal Wilds. Like Dionysus, the Shaman's vehicle is the humble donkey, and their celestial body is the Moon.

[edit] Legacies

Legacies associated with the Thyrsus Path include:

• Devourers of the Flesh - A Left-Handed Legacy of cannibals within the Adamantine Arrow who hunt and eat their victims to gain their strength (Adamantine Arrow).
• Dreamspeakers - Tribal shaman who commune with the ancient spirits of the Dreamtime. (Legacies: the Ancient)
• Fallen Pillar - Ascetics who reject the Fallen World. They seek spiritual ecstasy through intense pain and physical denial, laughing at the temptations of the material realm the whole time. (Legacies: the Sublime)
• Imagineers - Idealistic Free Council visionaries, artists and Jungian psychologists who study the Astral Realms. (Free Council)
• Neocologists - Originating in response to the Industrial Revolution, these ecologists and environmentalists seek to preserve the earth by creating new organisms and fusing spirits of nature and technology. (Tome of the Watchtowers)
• Orphans of Proteus - Primal shapeshifters who seek to live in harmony with the animal world. (Mage: the Awakening)
• Sodality of the Tor - Centered on Glastonbury Tor, these witches seek to draw down the moon and awaken inner divinity through their pagan rites. Many are involved with Sleeper Wiccans or New Agers. (Legacies: the Sublime)
• Tamer of Rivers - Masters of the element of water, both literally and symbolicly. (Legacies: the Ancient)

[edit] Books

• Mage: The Awakening (August 2005)
• Tome of the Watchtowers (April 2006)
• Legacies: The Sublime (January 2006)
• Legacies: the Ancient (January 2007)
• Free Council (May 2007)
• Adamantine Arrow (January 2008)