View source for Tradition

A '''tradition''' is a particular style of magic that is practiced and handed down to generations of magicians through [[Apprentice|apprenticeship]]. [[Hermetic Magic|Hermetic magic]] is an especially flexible, powerful magical tradition practiced throughout the [[Order of Hermes]].  There exist other, [[non-Hermetic]] traditions; many of them are associated with a particular culture or locale in [[Mythic Europe]].  Many traditions have origins in the classical or ancient past.

"Tradition" is not a strictly defined game term in Ars Magica.  There are several varieties of magic that can be called traditions.  They are all similar in a sense that wizards who practice the tradition share some similar powers, but they differ in the scope of those powers and in the diversity of the traditions' members.

==Hermetic Traditions==
{{Main|Houses of Hermes}}
[[Hermetic magic]] can be considered a very broad, powerful, and diverse tradition of magic.  All members of the [[Order of Hermes]] can be said to follow it, except perhaps [[hedge wizard|hedge wizards]] who very recently joined the Order.

Each of the [[Houses of Hermes]] is a tradition in its own right. Indeed, several houses combine two or more traditions; see the articles on the individual Houses for details.

=== Ex Miscellanea Traditions ===
{{Main|House Ex Miscellanea}}
House Ex Miscellanea is a [[Societas]], but consists of many independent traditions that it has assimilated over the centuries. It is therefore more properly considered a collection of traditions than a tradition in its own right. Most of the traditions in House Ex Miscellanea overlap with [[hedge magic]]. The difference is that magi Ex Miscellanea usually have full command of the [[Hermetic]] [[Art]]s<ref>''[[Ars Magica Fifth Edition]]'', p. 11, "House Ex Miscellanea"</ref> ''in addition to'' the magic of their ancestral traditions, whereas hedge wizards are restricted to their pre-Hermetic powers only, and are much more limited.

See [[House Ex Miscellanea]] for a list of traditions. Those traditions which, according to [[canon]], survive outside of the [[Order of Hermes]] are also listed [[#Non-Hermetic_Traditions|below]].

== Non-Hermetic Traditions ==
{{Main|Hedge magic}}
Most [[non-Hermetic]] traditions are much weaker and more limited than Hermetic magic. These weak forms of magic are collectively called [[hedge magic]]. There are, however, a few powerful forms of foreign magic that are closer to parity with the power of Hermetic Magic; see ''[[Rival Magic]]'' for rules and background on them.

=== Mystery Cults ===
{{Main|Mystery Cult}}
[[Mystery Cult]]s are secret organizations that teach specific mystical practices call [[Mysteries]]. Mysteries are highly ritualized and often include a spiritual or even explicitly religious component. Magi of the Order of Hermes can join mystery cults, but [[Mysteries]] are outside the usual theory and practice of Hermetic magic.

In terms of [[game mechanics]], Mysteries usually take the form of special [[Mystery Virtue|Mystery Virtues]] rather than [[Art|Arts]] or [[Ability|Abilities]].  Some Mystery Cults are integrated into the Order as Houses, but others are not. Most mystery cults pre-date Hermetic magic theory.

See the [[Mystery Cult]]s article for a list of mystery cults.

=== Hedge Traditions ===
Most traditions that still exist outside the Order are considered [[hedge magic]], though that broad term masks a diversity. Some forms of hedge magic are more powerful than others. In terms of [[game mechanics]], a follower of a hedge tradition may be a [[companion]], [[Gifted companion]], [[Mythic companion]], a [[magus]] [[Ex Miscellanea]], or even a [[grog]],<ref>''[[Hedge Magic Revised Edition]]'', p. 11, "Magi, Companions, or Grogs"</ref> depending on the particular tradition and/or the player's preference.

The following list combines traditions affiliated with both the [[Magical|Magic Realm]] and [[Faerie Realm]]s. Both are included in the common usage of the term "hedge magic."

;[[Borrowers]]
:Traders who barter mortal goods for [[faerie]] blessings
;Breton Bards
:There is a tradition of Breton bards descended from [[Melusine]] the water faerie, whose powers of enchanting music are similar to those of the [[Seirenes]]<ref name="Ringing">''[[Houses of Hermes: Societates]]'', p. 109, "Ringing the Changes" (inset)</ref>
;Corrguineach
:Irish wizards with great powers over elemental spirits, whose powers are similar to those of [[sahir]]s<ref name="Ringing" />
;[[Elementalists]]
:Magicians with power over the four classical elements, including elemental spirits
;[[Folk witch]]es
:Usually female magicians with magical powers of healing, cursing, divination, and shapeshifting
;[[Galdramen]]
:Norse version of the [[mathematicus|mathematici]]
;[[Gruagachan]]
:Scottish magicians with a wide range of powers including shapeshifting, spirit magic, and visions
;[[Koldun]]
:Slavic sorcerers similar to [[volkhvy]], but who follow dark [[pagan gods]] of winter and cold
;[[mathematici|Learned Magician]]s
:University-trained magicians, experts in astronomy and alchemy, also known as '''mathematici'''
;[[Nightwalkers]]
:Magicians who can project their spirits astrally
;[[Ollamhain]]
:Irish bards and soothsayers
;Roman Necromancers
:There are Roman necromancers who use their powers over ghosts to terrorize the locals; their powers are similar to those of the [[Donatores Requietis Aeternae]]<ref name="Ringing" />
;[[Rustic Magi]]
:craftsmen who imbue their products with magical powers
;[[Sahir]]s
:Islamic wizards who summon and bind spirits called [[jinn]]
;[[Seithr|Seithkonir]] (also [[Seithr]])
:Nordic [[folk witch]]es.<ref>''[[Hedge Magic Revised Edition]]'', Chapter Seven: "Vitkir", p. 121 (insert "Female Vitkir"))</ref>
;[[Settuten]], (also [[Settut]])
:Berber witches that excell at destrutictive and dispelling magical effects.<ref>[[Between Sand & Sea: Mythic Africa]]</ref>
;[[Scinnfolk]]
:Herbalists and faerie doctors whose magic can increase fertility
;Taltos
:A Magyar tradition of [[skinchanger]]s and herbalists with powers similar to the [[Pharmacoepians]]<ref name="Ringing" />
;[[Trollsynir]]
:Giant-descended wizards of Scandinavia and Iceland
;[[Vitkir]]
:Scandinavian rune-wizards with versatile powers
;[[Volur]]
:Norse diviners
;[[Volkhvy]]
:Slavic [[pagan]] priests with nature-related powers.
;[[Wise Folk]]
:Villagers who use [[faerie wizardry]] to make charms and wards
;[[Witches of Thessaly]]
:Mostly female wielders of necromancy and curses; possibly the ancestral tradition of [[Trianoma]]<ref>''[[Realms of Power: The Infernal]]'', p. 140, "Infernal Societas: The Witches of Thessaly"</ref>

=== Divine Traditions ===
;[[Karaites]]
:Jewish practitioners of [[Holy Magic]]

=== Rival Traditions ===
The most powerful non-Hermetic traditions are described in ''[[Rival Magic]]''. They are shrouded in legend; some of them are not even certain to exist in [[canon]].

;[[Amazons]]
:The warrior-women of classical legend, who have developed their own independent, non-Hermetic Arts
;The [[Augustan Brotherhood]]
:A secret society of court wizards whose magic descends from the Roman poet and sorcerer Virgil
;The [[Order of Odin]]
:A shadowy group of Nordic wizards that may or may not actually exist<ref>''[[Guardians of the Forests]]'', p. 113, "The Order of Odin" (inset)</ref>
;The [[Order of Suleiman]]
:A rumored organization of Islamic [[sahir]]s
;[[Muspelli]]
:Scandinavian sorcerers who worship the ''jotunn,'' the wicked giants of Norse myth; they are more powerful than the [[vitki]]r.
;The [[Sorcerers of Soqotra]]
:Legendary magicians from a mysterious island in the Arabian Sea

=== Extinct Traditions ===
Not all magical societies survive the ages; several such traditions are covered in ''[[Ancient Magic]]''. 

;[[Canaanite Necromancy]]
The supposed origin of all summoning arts, this biblical group of necromancers are long dead. Being necromancers this doesn't mean the end of them.
;[[Defixio Magic]]
A Roman chthonic tradition that has ties the Cults of Pluto, Hecate & other deities.
;[[Heron Mechanicians]]
A tradition of mechanical craftsmen who create magical constructs to generate their effects.
;[[Hyperborean Hymns|Hyperboreans]]
The Priests of Apollo who were wiped out by the Order in it's early days despite much of the Hyperborean hymns breaking the limits of Hermetic magic.

==  References ==
<references />

==  Related Topics ==
* [[Hedge Magic]]
* [[True Lineages]]
* [[Societas]]
* [[Mystery House]]
* [[Hermetic Magic]]
* [[Mystery]]

===  Related Products ===
* ''[[Ancient Magic]]''
* ''[[Houses of Hermes: Societates]]''
* ''[[Hedge Magic (book)| Hedge Magic]]'' and ''[[Hedge Magic Revised Edition]]''
* ''[[Rival Magic]]''

==  Legacy Page  ==
The history of this page before August 6, 2010 is archived at [[Legacy:tradition]]

[[Category:ArM4]]
[[Category:ArM5]]
[[Category:Faerie Realm]]
[[Category:Hedge Magic]]
[[Category:Jargon]]
[[Category:Magic Realm]]