| From: | Chris Maxfield <cmaxfiel@****.ORG.AU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Totems |
| Date: | Sun, 20 Jul 1997 22:44:26 +1000 |
>What do you think Native American indians worshipped back a couple hundred
>years ago (and even today), if not the memory of the totems from the last
>age of magic?
Or maybe a tribal belief system with a strong basis in wisdom but with no
more basis in reality than the tooth fairy. :-) Ah - can I have a tooth
fairy shaman? Now what would my totem bonuses be?
<<snip>>
>3. When a large enough group of people start to believe in something (Or
>even a single person who believes strongly enough), like the Urban Gator
>Totem, then one of the Greater Spirits can latch on and form itself around
>this belief. The spirits grants power, but at the same time is shaped and
>formed (and confined) by this belief. Thus, while some of the Totems
>(suchs as the Native American Totems) have been around for thousand's of
>years, gator, Leviathan, and Elvis has only been around sicne the Awakening.
<<snip>>
>Ok, that's all I can think of now... Granted, it doesn;t all make perfect
>sense, and as I mentioned before, smacks of AD&D or other fantasy concpts
>(If any of you have read some of the recent Raymond Feist novels, I'm
>actually basing the idea on the concept of how their gods work. Don;t ask
>me to explain, though. I can;t. :] )
Yep. I've read this explanation for the origin of gods in both Raymond
Feist's Rift War books and in Terry Pratchett's 'Small Gods'.
My preference for totems, however, is that they only exist in and are
created in an age of magic. They are beings created in the metaplanes
through the mysteries of magic from the essence (spirit?) of belief and as
a focus of belief. While the age of magic lasts they exist and when the age
of magic dies so too do the totems truly die. As they are created by
belief, this belief defines their nature and powers, and also limits their
actions. They are nevertheless objectively independent beings with their
own, possibly unknowable, agenda.
For this reason, the way I prefer to view totemic 'choosing' is as more of
a resonance between the totem and a magically active person with a similar
nature. If the person is sensitive enough to be aware of this resonance and
acknowledges the link then they gain a spirit guide and a totem. I know -
very hermetic. :-)
I still haven't decided, though, whether or not totems are fully sentient
or are non-self aware metaplanar constructs of shamanic belief. ;->
Chris
_______________________________________________________________
Chris Maxfield We are restless because of incessant
<cmaxfiel@****.org.au> change, but we would be frightened if
Canberra, Australia change were stopped.
