Theory of Magic, pt1

Mana and the Essence

Magic is the substance of all things, of all life and of all manifestations. Magic, also called Mana or “the Essence,” (as in the essence of all creation) is the primal energy of the universe; the stuff from which the universe itself sprung. Many believe that Mana is a part of the original Creator or is itself the Creator. It is true that in our lands there have been a great number of god-like creatures and supernatural beings. In the heavens many say that there are a great number of Gods; but none of them created the Essence. The great truth as taught by the ancient arch mage KuKulcan is that Magic existed before all. This truth was the reason the ancient sorcerers rebelled against him. Devout to their gods they considered it a great heresy. Thankfully this heresy has freed us to pursue magic in its pure form, according to our own desires.

The apprentice may ask, “What does Mana look like?” The Essence itself cannot be seen, instead it can only be imagined by as an infinite sea with countless waves and ripples moving across its surface. All things are made from the Essence and it continues to move through all things.

The true nature of Mana or the Essence is a pure and infinite chaos of potentialities in an eternal state of flux. It surrounds us, permeates us, it is us. Two of the great mysteries are that from this chaos there arises order and that by magnifying this chaos greater order arises. As order is produced the Essence manifests itself by creating a reality or something within an existing reality.

The Essence can exist in an infinite number of states from pure chaos to strict order. Pure chaos is really an ocean of potentialities that always produces some small amounts of order. We call these the Weak Orders. The Weak Orders continually form and dissipate back into the seas of chaos in an instant; only when they become stronger, Strong Orders, do they remain as manifestations as realities or manifestations within the realities that we inhabit.

In between the pure Chaos and Weak Orders are phenomenon known as the Streams of Essence. These Streams are the currents in the Essence that move around and through us. They are organized, but not strongly enough to produce true order; hovering at the edge of manifestation. These streams of essence can create specific manifestations. Only the manifestations of the Essence can be observed because all of the observers are themselves manifestations.