| From: | Chris Maxfield <cmaxfiel@****.ORG.AU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Totems |
| Date: | Sun, 20 Jul 1997 01:31:01 +1000 |
>They only existed because they were CREATED from the collective unconcious.
>They still, exist because of the few survivors, and the fact that some of
>those survivors are starting passion cults.
>
>The Totems also figure strongly in this.
I see from the answers to my question that some list members believe totems
to be real - but real in the sense that Spike describes above.
One of the aspects of Shadowrun that I love the most is the ambiguity and
mystery pervading the game. We never really know what's going on; the
motivations and goals of the Dragons, Megacorps, IE, governments, etc., etc
are open to question - if explained at all. This adds to the feelings of
danger and realism for me. The same goes for magic, particularly totems -
just what are they? This is left largely unexplained in the rules and is
the way I prefer it. [All apparent totem activities can be explained,
usually by a mage, as purely internal to the shaman. Even loa riding can
be explained in terms of some sort of Multiple Personalities disorder. :-) ]
However, by the way this list has been describing the activities of the
totems (eg a totem choosing its shaman rather than the other way round) I
had the impression that people seemed to have accepted the idea that totems
were fully independent of shamans. (Powerful entities residing in the
metaplanes and meddling in the affairs of mortals type stuff.) I was not
comfortable with this and so I asked the question about whether list
members believed totems to be real.
The replies show that other people also like to leave totems undefined.
Perhaps totems are the metaplanar incarnation of the Jungian archetypes
from the collective sub/unconscious. Or maybe not. Perhaps they are the
magical embodiment of shamanic belief. Or maybe not. Perhaps they are
powerful free spirits. Or maybe not. Or perhaps they only exist in the
shaman's mind as an alternate personality (any bi-cameral mind enthusiasts
out there?). Or maybe not. The one explanation that I cannot except is that
they are Powers That Have Existed Since Before The Dawn Of Time. They damn
well don't exist now in 1997 and so a good explanation is needed for where
they came from by 2058.
But my hermetic mage still thinks a totem only exists in the shaman's own
imagination. ;-)
Chris
_______________________________________________________________
Chris Maxfield We are restless because of incessant
<cmaxfiel@****.org.au> change, but we would be frightened if
Canberra, Australia change were stopped.
