Sorry for the premature previous post.
> How does the Eastern definition of mysticism differ from this from the Guide below?
>
> "Mysticism: Also called draconic magic or illumination, this method of conceiving magic involves the search for the Unknowable. Mysticism rejects logic and experience, and uses austerities to sheer away the dull realities which daily and cosmic living accrues upon us. The magic provided is inconsequential and typically of no interest to those who study it."
The most common Eastern definition of a mystic would be something along the lines of "a servant or follower of the High Gods" and be confused when people point out the flaw in the definition. A more rigorous definition might be "one whose magic is enhanced by knowledge of transcendental truths" but that's something only a God Learner would say. Furthermore Easterners would not consider Lunar or Kralori mystics to be mystics primarily through snobbery.
> I like this personally. The Guide pervasively refers to "draconic mysticism" as practiced in Kralorela and the EWF, so the Kralorelans currently appear to be *both* dragon-happy *and* "mystics" according to the terms laid out in that book. Maybe they'd disagree with this in the Isles (which we may agree are "mystical" but not draconic) but I don't know that yet.
As far as I know the Easterners deny the Kralori are mystical. When thinking about the Kralori magic in general, I find it more helpful to write only of draconism rather than draconic mysticism. A few Kralori draconists are mystics but most are not.
> Finessing the "mysticism: also called draconic magic" formulation would help to clarify that "draconic magic" is a flavor of standard Gloranthan mysticism and not a synonym.
> Mysticism: Often manifesting historically as "draconic magic" or "illumination," this method of conceiving magic....
The trouble here with the definition is that draconic magic and illumination/lunar magic aren't mysticism. I personally would write:
Mysticism: Accused of causing the exotic nature of Draconic and Lunar magics, this method of conceiving
magic is [...]. The magic provided is inconsequential and typically of no interest to those who study it. In
some cases, the truths that the mystics have revealed have been so profound that they have transformed
associated practices of magic. These affected practices have often been called mystical even though they are
still spirit magic, divine magic or wizardry.
--Peter Metcalfe
Powered by hypermail