Re: How does veneration work?

> We also know that sorcery is something you know. I can grok how the
> sorcery that the sorcerers use works, but saints, veneration and
> blessings are beyond me. I get how you can decode scripture to learn
> wizardly magic, but how is worshiping a saint something you know? How
> are the blessings something you know as opposed to something you are
> or have?
>
> Olli Kantola

I suppose veneration of saints may be a bit like heroforming. A saint is a paragon, a shining example of how to live a virtuous life. The "something you know" is that you seek to understand the life of the saint, and follow his example in all things, especially all things magical.

So... Where Orlanthi "make love like Orlanth, hunt like Orlanth, etc" they focus on feelings and impressions. The westener's "living in the footsteps of the saint" probably is much more legalistic. You do what the saint did, for the reasons and in the order that the saint did, and it's like a somewhat mechanistic form of ritual magic.

Anyway, that's my quick stab at ansvering your question dear countryman,

  -Adept