From: pfstrack@gibbs.oit.unc.edu (Paul Strack)
Newsgroups: alt.games.whitewolf
Subject: The Celestial Chorus
Date: 1 Aug 1994 17:53:18 GMT
Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
NNTP-Posting-Host: gibbs.oit.unc.edu

   Well, I wrote the following on a whim.  I think the Celestial Chorus 
is fairly important in the Mage universe, and it will be a while before 
White Wolf gets around to detailing them.  I'm also afraid they will 
hesitate to make their Christian connection too explicit.  So, here I 
humbly present my unofficial rendition of the Tradition.  I have to 
admit that I am not Christian, and have taken a fairly historical 
perspective on that religion (and others).  I've tried my best to be 
evenhanded, and I hope I have offended no one.

   Legal stuff:  Celestial Chorus, the other tradition and sphere magic 
names are all copyrights of White Wolf, and none of this is intended to 
infringe on those rights.  I don't particularly care about copyrights 
myself, so you can feel free to butcher the rest of this.



                   A HISTORY OF THE CELESTIAL CHORUS



The Minoans

   Like all Traditions, the Celestial Chorus claims an ancestry dating 
back to prehistory.  However, the first culture they claim association 
with is the Minoans.  Based on Crete, the Minoans dates back to perhaps 
3000 BC.  On this isolated island, the Chorus claims they built a 
peaceful civilization, worshiping the Goddess, in her manifestation as 
the life-giving sun, and her sacred beast, the Bull.

   The Minoans were ruled by Priestess-Queens, and with the magical aid 
of the Chorus, achieved an advanced level of technology.  The Minoans 
were a trading race, ruling the seas around their island home.  Their 
culture spread to mainland Greece as well.  Their cities were populous 
and unwalled, for under the shining shield of the One Goddess, there was 
no war.

   This peace was not to last.  Successive waves of Greek invaders 
pushed the Minoans off the mainland, and eventually reached Crete as 
well.  Though more technologically and magically advanced than the 
Greeks, the peaceful Goddess worshippers were unable to deal with their 
warlike ways, and were slowly overcome.  By 1400 BC, the Minoans were 
completely conquered by the Greeks, and the One Goddess was replaced by 
Greek deities.  Some of the Minoan mages assimilated, but most fled in 
search of another home.



Akhenaton

   One large group of Minoan mages reached Egypt, and there tried to 
spread the word of the One.  The Egyptians believed in a multiplicity of 
Gods, but the hopeful idea of the One found sympathetic ears, especially 
amongst the Semetic slaves.  One pharaoh listened as well, and he was to 
institute a brief reign of the One in the Land of the Nile.

   Amenhotep IV ascended the throne of Egypt around 1380 BC.  Some of 
the Celestial Chorus had earned his trust and faith.  Much to the 
surprise of the priesthood of Egypt, he forbade the worship of all gods 
but the One, whom he named Aton, the solar disc.  In deference for the 
One, he changed his name to Akhenaton, meaning "Useful to Aton".

   Worship of Aton did not spread amongst the Egyptian people however.  
They found the conception of a single God bizarre, and were unwilling to 
give up some of their other, more popular deities.  The supernatural 
forces in Egypt, caught off guard by Akhenaton, were quick to rally.  
Vampires, mages and Garou, all quite numerous, worked together to drive 
out the foreign Celestial Chorus.

   By 1360 BC, Akhenaton was murdered by his own guards.  His son, still 
a child, was made pharaoh, and the Priesthood forced him to change his 
name from Tut-Ankh-Aton to Tut-Ankh-Amen.  Using him as a puppet, the 
orthodox Egyptians reestablished the worship of their old gods.  Young 
Tut-Ankh-Amen did not live past the age of 20, and with him died the 
last hope of establishing worship of the One in Egypt.



The Exodus and the First Schism

   The Celestials were still welcomed amongst the Semetic slaves of 
Egypt, especially one tribe, the Hebrew.  With all of Egypt against 
them, they were unable to protect their converts.  A charismatic leader, 
Moses, chose to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt.  With the help the 
Celestial Chorus, he managed to deflect the attacks of the Egyptians, 
and lead his people safely out of slavery.

   The Hebrews and the Chorus wandered through the deserts of the Middle 
East, looking for a home.  There began the first of the many schisms 
that plagued the Chorus.  In Egypt, the One's gender had become vague, 
being referred to as a neuter sun.  The conservatives amongst the Chorus 
continued to view the One as the Goddess, desiring to reestablish to 
peace of Minoan Crete.

   Moses, along with younger, Hebrew Celestials, felt the Hebrews needed 
a more warlike, male God in order to survive in a dangerous world.  They 
argued against the conservatives, claiming their goals were unrealistic.  
Moses retreated into the mountains to commune with the One, in the hopes 
of receiving some revelation.  When he returned, he and his followers 
attacked and disrupted a service of Goddess worshippers before her 
sacred image, the bull.  With this coup, and Moses' reputation as a 
savior, the Male God's advocates won the day.



The Rise and Fall of Israel

   With a new, warrior image of the One, Moses rallied his people, and 
allied himself with other Semitic tribes in the wilderness.  When he 
felt he was ready, he led his people to Canaan, and the "promised land".  
Moses himself was never to reached it, as he perished from age on its 
very borders.  With the strength of the Celestial Chorus behind them, 
the Hebrews swept through Canaan, driving out Egyptians and Babylonian 
influence and establishing the rule of Semitic people, in the nation of 
Israel.

   Once established, however, the schism began to rise again.  Some of 
the Hebrews began to worship the older Goddess.  The ruling Hebrews 
called this blasphemy, and did their best to stamp it out.  The Goddess 
worshiping Celestials, for their part, claimed the Hebrew had become as 
violent and corrupt as their enemies of the past.  The kingdom was 
plagued with internal disputes, and was unable to defend itself.

   Piece by piece, Israel was taken apart, until the last of it fell, 
and the Hebrews were taken as slaves into Babylon, around 600 BC.  Their 
faith in the One kept them from being assimilated, however, and they 
even won further converts amongst other dispossessed Semitic peoples.  
In Babylon, the Hebrews collected together their sacred writings, and 
set down an account of their history using a uniformly male image of the 
One.  The Goddess worshiping Celestials again acquiesced, some of the 
going elsewhere, others biding their time.



Zoroastrianism

   Not all of the Celestial Chorus went to Egypt, and when the Hebrew 
came to Babylon, the Tradition met some of another lost sect of the 
tradition.  A group of Celestials in Sumeria, following theit greatest 
prophet Zarathustra, had developed a complex dualist theology.  They 
called the One Ahura Mazda, still identified with the sun.  They also 
claimed there was another, infernal power, Ahrimane, source of all evil.  
Ahrimane was doomed to loose to Ahura Mazda at the end of time, but in 
many other ways was the equal to the One.

   The Zoroastrians were in direct competition with the magi and kindred 
of the fertile crescent, and thus were always in a precarious position.  
The Zoroastrians and the Hebrews synchronized, borrowing many ideas from 
one another.  Once the Zoroastrain-backed Persians conquered Babylon, 
the Zoroastrian Celestials helped the Hebrews return home.  The 
Zoroastrians continued for many centuries thereafter, but eventually 
were overwhelmed by more recent religious movements.



The Redeemer

   When Babylon fell to the Persians, the Hebrew were allowed to return 
home, but they never again established themselves as a fully independent 
kingdom.  Under the thumb of a succession of empires, the Hebrews looked 
to ancient prophesies of a redeemer, one who would release them from 
suffering, and reestablish the kingdom of God.  Many of the Chorus had 
similar expectations, but believed that the redeemer would instead 
reveal the One to the entire world.

   Finally, when the Hebrew were under the rule of Roman empire, such a 
redeemer arrived.  A man from Nazareth came to Jerusalem, preaching a 
new revelation of God, and his teaching took hold like fire.  Some 
believed him to be the king of the Hebrews, here to lead them to victory 
over the Romans.  His closest followers, though, recorded that he taught 
of the universal love of the One, and redemption for all of mankind.

   The powers in control of Jerusalem could not tolerate his subversive 
teachings.  The Romans, with the collusion of the Hebrew government, had 
him captured and crucified to prevent revolt in the Hebrew kingdom.  His 
disciples survived him, however, and as they did not advocate immediate 
revolution, were allowed to escape.

   In the modern Celestial Chorus, there is nearly as much debate about 
the nature of Jesus of Nazareth as there is about the One.  Most believe 
he was some sort of emissary of the One.  Some believed he was merely a 
prophet, not the redeemer, and continued to follow the Jewish faith.  It 
is unclear how much, if any, influence the Chorus had on Jesus, or his 
disciples.  Only the most hubris-filled claim that Jesus was a member of 
the order, but it is a common belief that some of his disciples were of 
the Celestial Chorus (which ones is a matter of dispute).



The Sects of the Early Church

   Many of the ancient Chorus embraced the teachings of Jesus as the 
long awaited redemption of mankind, and began to spread word of the One 
amongst the entire Roman empire.  When his teachings reached Greece, an 
fascinating expansion of beliefs began.  Perhaps remembering their 
ancient Minoan roots, many Greek philosophers and mages embraced the new 
religion, and added a level of debate to the growing Christian church.

   From this time forward, an incredible diversity appeared in the once 
uniform teachings of Christ.  A multitude of sects arose, some bearing 
only passing resemblance to the original teachings of Jesus.  Many sects 
intermingled and were influenced by other, non-Christian ecstatic cults 
that were popular in the empire at the time.  Though many in number, the 
Christian sects could be divided into two basic camps: the Gnostics and 
the Orthodox.

   The Gnostics were the most diverse of the two camps.  The Gnostics 
emphasized the more mystical aspects of the teachings of Christ.  They 
believed that by pursuing the same path as Jesus, they too could reach 
an enlightened state.  They held that personal religious experience was 
more important than the teachings passed down from the disciples.  Their 
groups were loosely organized; no hierarchy could be established when a 
pupil's revelations might someday exceed their teacher.  The Gnostics 
thought the Orthodox had misunderstand the fundamental teachings of 
Christ, and were too obsessed with worldly things at the expense of the 
spiritual.

   The Orthodox held that strictly following the teachings of Jesus was 
the path to salvation.  They worked to establish a unified organization 
and were very active politically.  They justified their organization by 
claiming a succession of leaders going back to the original apostles.  
They sought converts amongst the Roman slaves, and willingly martyred 
themselves for the glory of Christ.  The Orthodox thought the Gnostics 
were, at best, cowards unwilling to test their faith in the crucible of 
the world.  At worst, the Gnostics were heretics, distorting the 
teachings of Jesus.  One further problem was that some of the Gnostics 
were once again teaching of a female divinity, hidden but superior to 
the male Hebrew God.



The Roman Church

   It is a testimony to the potency of Christ's teachings that, despite 
the sometimes vehement disputes of the early church, his following grew 
rapidly.  The powers behind the Roman empire, especially its secret 
vampiric rulers, grew alarmed.  They began to persecute the new religion 
as subversive, most often attacking the more outspoken Orthodox.  A war 
began for the control of the empire.

   The Romans began with what they considered to be very reasonable 
demands.  They asked the Christians to simply burn an offering to genius 
of the emperor, as proof of their loyalty.  When the (mostly Orthodox) 
Christians refused, they were thrown into jail.  Rather than recanting, 
many Christians swarmed forward, admitting their guilt as a testimony to 
their faith.  Swamped, the Romans became more severe, executing and 
eventually torturing to death the Christians, including death in the 
arena.  Rumors were spread about the secret, malevolent activities of 
the Christians in the hope of turning the people against them.

   For their part, the Chorus supported early Christians in their faith, 
and began to fight for their freedom.  Again, mostly the Orthodox 
Celestials worked toward this goal.  They steadily converted several 
important Roman officials, and began to trace the persecutions to its 
source, the vampires of Rome.  The tide began to turn, and at last the 
Chorus won a decisive victory in the conversion of Constantine, the 
current Roman emperor, in AD 313.

   With Constantine's conversion, the persecutions ended, and a movement 
began to make Christianity the official religion of the empire.  With 
this at hand, many felt that some sort of doctrinal unity was needed.  
With Constantine's support, the Council at Nicaea was held in AD 325, 
determining which Christian writings were canonical, and which were not.  
The Council was largely attended by Orthodox Christians, who felt 
responsible for the victory of Christianity.  They proceeded to label 
most Gnostic writings as heretical, making Orthodox Christianity the 
most powerful religion of the empire.

   Over the next century, the Orthodox Christians rapidly gained ground, 
becoming the state religion in AD 381.  The Orthodox worked hard to root 
out Gnostic heresies, and the Chorus was again distracted by internal 
disputes.  It was long before they realized how easily manipulated they 
had been.  When the Chorus paused in its internal battles, they realized 
the everything the empire had found threatening had been excised from 
Orthodox Christianity.  Some advances had been made, such as the 
elimination of the arena.  Yet slavery and sexual inequality persisted, 
and the Church was being used to prop up the State.

   The Orthodox Celestials began to examine these recent developments.  
To their horror, they discovered the controlling hands of vampires 
everywhere.  The vampires, rather than be defeated, had stepped around 
the problem, and were now doing their best to subvert Christianity as 
they had done with so many other religions in the past.  The vampires 
desperately needed the burning faith of Christianity to inspire its 
forces, for the Empire was beset on all sides by encroaching barbarian 
enemies.

   Enraged, the Orthodox called a truce with the Gnostics.  Though they 
would not reinstate Gnostic teachings, they agreed to allow some of the 
more mystical elements of Gnosticism to reenter mainstream Christianity, 
and to encourage Monasticism as a safe outlet for Gnostic urges.  The 
now unified Chorus worked quietly to pull down the vampire's empire.  
They worked to undermined the military of Rome.  When the barbarians 
came, rather than rallying the armies of Rome under the banner of 
Christianity, they were silent.




The Early Medieval Church, and the Divine Paradym

   After the western half of the Roman Empire fell, the Chorus chose to 
establish their headquarters in Rome, now largely free of vampiric 
influence.  Though they kept a hand in the Eastern empire, the Byzantine 
lands still had far too many kindred in it.  From Rome, they began to 
convert the invading barbarians to Christianity, and spread their 
teachings over all of Europe.  Though much had been lost with the fall 
of the empire, the Chorus helped establish Monastic orders to preserve 
knowledge, until such time as man was able to use it once more.

   With the growth of the Church, the Chorus was able, for the first 
time, to establish its paradym over a large region.  This divine paradym 
was known as the Dominion.  The essential tenant of the Dominion is that 
all good flowed from the One.  Faith in the One gave the worshipper 
access to divine miracles, but only for pious requests.  Relics and 
sites related to the One were filled with divine power.  All of 
Christiandom awaited the return of the Savior, the establishment of the 
kingdom of God on earth, and the universal redemption of mankind.  The 
Chorus saw this as the Ascension, which they called the Reconciliation, 
and tentatively established the year 1000 as the time they would work to 
bring it about.

   All magic that did not come from the One was, by definition, evil.  
In order to explain other sources of power, the church acknowledged the 
existence of an Adversary to the One.  The Adversary was the source of 
evil in the world, and all magic not of the One must come from the 
Adversary.  The Adversary sought to undermine the faith of the pious, 
stealing them away from the grace of the One.  The exact strength of the 
Adversary was a source of conflict amongst the Chorus.  Those claiming 
too much strength for the Adversary were called dualistic, and heretics.  
The official policy of the Orthodox church was that the Adversary could 
only work through deception and illusion, and could not match divine 
power with miracles of his own.

   Though the Dominion spread over Europe, it was by no means universal.  
In many areas, secret hold-overs of older, pagan worship continued, 
especially under the guidance of the Verbena.  Despite the fact that the 
Verbena and their druidic followers had also been persecuted by Rome, 
the Chorus saw no similarity between the two Traditions.  The Church's 
tendency to identify pagan gods with the Adversary did nothing to win 
them popularity in Verbena circles either.



The Challenge of Islam and the Failure of the Reconciliation.

   Christianity was more or less unopposed as the major religion of the 
West until the growth of Islam in the eighth century.  The sweep of the 
Moslem armies took the Christian world completely by surprise.  Before 
they realized what happened, all the world south of the Mediterranean, 
up through Spain and to the very borders of the Byzantine empire had 
fallen to Islam.  Most distressing, the holy land fall into their hands.

   The Chorus was especially confused by Islam.  The Moslems obviously 
worshipped what was another manifestation of the One, but in many ways 
Islam was radically different from the Christian faith.  Denying the 
divinity of Christ, they chose instead to follow the word of their 
prophet, Mohammed.  The Chorus was uncertain how to react to the new 
religion.

   Some Celestials, especially those with ties to the Jewish faith, 
advocated taking the Moslems under the wing of the Chorus.  Lacking 
further information, the more Orthodox Celestials agreed to explore the 
possibility.  Emissaries were secretly sent amongst the Moslems, only to 
be quietly rebuffed.  After a time, it became clear that Islam was under 
the influence of yet another, secretive Tradition, but the Chorus could 
learn little of these mysterious Ahl-i-Batan.

   The matter was temporarily shelved, as the end of the first millenium 
was rapidly approaching.  The Chorus worked frantically to united the 
fragmented Christian world, and prepare the path for the returning 
Redeemer and the Reconciliation.  Yet when the appointed day arrived, 
nothing happened.  Appalled, the Chorus spent the next several centuries 
trying to determine why the Reconciliation had failed.

   They first turned their attention to the Middle East.  Some Celestial 
scholars concluded that it was the loss of the holy land that led to the 
failure of the Reconciliation.  With the backing of the Chorus, the 
Church launched the first of several crusades in the eleventh century to 
try to reclaim Jerusalem.  The crusades had mixed success.  The holy 
lands changed hands several times over the next two centuries.  The 
crusading knights were more interested in pillage than piety.  The 
Church was forced to make several compromises back in Europe in order to 
win the necessary support for the continuing crusades.

   At last the Chorus was able to contact the mysterious Ahl-i-Batan, 
and work out a compromise.  The Batani proposed an ambitious plan of 
magical networking and holy pilgrimages that would link many of the holy 
sites of the middle east in a powerful web of faith.  The Chorus, no 
longer certain that Islam was responsible for the failed Reconciliation, 
agreed.  Reenergized by their share of this potent network of nodes, the 
Celestials once more turned their attention to Europe.



The Inquisition

   In Europe, the Church was suffering from numerous problems.  Bloated 
with bureaucracy and rife with corruption, the Church was losing the 
faith of the common people.  Secular rulers were challenging the power 
of the church, often successfully.  The Church was in such a state of 
disarray that it was unable to stop a pointless schism, with two and 
sometimes three different individuals all claiming the papacy, for 
nearly a century.

   To make matters worse, the Chorus learned that an entirely new 
paradym had been created beneath their very nose.  The Order of Hermes, 
a wide-spread and powerful group of mages, had successfully spread a new 
paradym of magic, which they called the Mythic Age, over many places in 
Europe.  Celestial scholars pointed to the Hermetic paradym as opposing 
the Dominion and the true cause of the failed Reconciliation.

   The Chorus found the smug arrogance of the Hermetics insufferable.  
The Order had spread its influence widely amongst the courts of Europe.  
The majority of the Hermetics ridiculed the Church as needless 
superstition.  The Celestials uncovered evidence that some of them even 
had regular commerce with spiritual beings that could only be the 
servants of the Adversary.  The wrath of the Church was not long in 
coming.

   The office of the Inquisition had long been a part of the Church, to 
regulate the spread of heresy.  Now this office was given new power.  
The church reversed its earlier doctrine that the Adversary could only 
work through the power of illusion, and directly attributed all non-
divine magic to the Foe.  The Inquisition went on a rampage against the 
enemies of the church, including heretics, the infernal, and other 
Traditions of magic.

   The Hermetics were unprepared for the onslaught, and their paradym 
crumbled.  The Inquisition got out of hand, though, as it uncovered more 
and more supernatural presences to combat.  Discovering vampires and 
werewolves, as well as other practitioners of magic, the Inquisition 
went on a frenzy of killing, in which even innocent Sleeper were not 
safe.  The Chorus struggled in vain to rein in its wayward tool, and 
even a few Celestials were caught in its vice.  After the Church ended 
its support, the Inquisition continued in the form of a witch-hunting 
craze that didn't subside until the 17th century.



The Protestant Reformation and the Fall of the Church

   The Chorus was deeply divided by the violence of the Inquisition, and 
the corruption that still ran deep through the church.  Some of them, 
feeling that sweeping reform was necessary, found a leader in Martin 
Luther, an Augustinian monk and professor of theology at Wittenburg.    
He published a list of "Ninety-Five Theses", delineating what he saw as 
problems with the Church.  The Church's refutations fall flat, and 
Luther gained in popularity.  Luther gained political backing in the 
form of the powerful German noble Frederick, and his heresies withstood 
the counterattack of the Church.  For the first time, the supremacy of 
the Catholic church had been successfully challenged.

   The break up of the Church did not end there.  Other, alternate 
Christian views began to crop up, such as Calvinism, and the Anglican 
heresies.  Unlike the past, these heresies were widespread, and had the 
support of kings rather than a few outcasts from society.  Soon Europe 
was embroiled in a series of violent religious wars, seeking to 
establish the dominance of one version of Christianity or another.  A 
few Celestials saw the futility of these wars, but most were blind.

   At the same time, a new secularism was rising in Europe, with a 
growth of ideas the Church was unable to reckon with.  The Italian 
renaissance resulted in art, music and culture separate from the Church.  
An obscure astronomer, Copernicus, challenged the view that Earth was 
the center of the universe.  The Church, caught up in its own wars, 
battled these new ideas sporadically.  Even though they would crush the 
authors, the concepts themselves still spread.

   As the wars ended, the Chorus blamed most of their losses to a 
counterattack on the part of the Hermetics.  They believed that the 
Hermetics wish to destroy the Dominion in the same way the Church 
destroyed the Mythic Age.  Modern Celestials, however, believe this was 
one of the first acts of the new-born Technocracy, including recently 
converted Hermetics.  The early Technocrats helped spread Luther's ideas 
and exacerbated the problems with the newly invented printing press.  
Much of the scientific advances are easily attributed to them.



The Grand Exploration

   Even as Europe was embroiled in internal religious wars, it was 
rapidly colonizing the entire globe.  Many Celestials, disgusted by the 
infighting of the European Chorus, chose instead to spread the Word of 
the One around the world.

   Celestials traveled to the Americas, Africa India and the Orient.  
These mages were an individualistic lot, and took both the best and the 
worst of the Church with it.  In some instances, they tried to protect 
the native population from exploitation by the Europeans.  In others, 
they tried to force the natives to convert to an alien religion.

   The Chorus took the Divine Paradym with them where ever they went, 
and this gave some Celestials a vision of global Ascension.  Many 
realized, however, that with the Christian community so drastically 
divided, and with their magical resources spread so thin, there was 
little hope of that.  Indeed, though the Dominion was established in a 
few areas, most of the European exploration served instead to expand a 
new paradym, one only recently created, that of the Technocracy



The Seventh Council of Nicaea

   There is some dispute as to the order in which the next two events 
took place.  Both occurred at roughly the same time, and the full 
effects of both were slow to take hold.  As both meetings were secret, 
exact dates are difficult to fix.  Both radically altered the course of 
the Celestial Chorus.

   The first event was a great meeting of important leaders of the 
various factions of the now splintered Church, held once more at the 
site of the ancient city of Nicaea.  Catholic and Protestant were there, 
as well as a Jewish and Islamic representatives, and even a few Gnostic 
Christians and old Goddess worshipers, long thought destroyed.  The 
meeting was held in secret, for the followers of each faction would not 
have approved.

   The exact content of the meeting, called the Seventh Council of 
Nicaea, is unknown.  It is known that the various Celestials were in 
agreement that the Church was teetering, and the world was changing in a 
way that was increasingly hostile to magic, Holy or otherwise.  The 
groups tried to hammer out some sort of compromise that would satisfy 
very diverse religious viewpoints.

   The only compromise they could settle on was a radical one.  Up to 
this point, it was the doctrine of the Chorus that, just as there is 
only the One, there can be only one path to salvation.  All the internal 
conflict of the Chorus had be driven by the need to have one, and only 
one faith.  The council broke this doctrine.  It was agreed, rather 
tentatively, that they may well be a multiplicity of paths to the One, 
that there may be some validity in all of the various faiths.  This was 
called the Doctrine of Tolerance.

   This doctrine is not fully accepted, even to this day.  Jewish 
Celestials point to the Tradition's lack of decisive action during the 
Holocaust as proof that the new doctrine has a long way to go.  Some 
groups only grudging tolerate other ideologies.  Others claim the 
multiplicity of paths still only include Christian faith.  Nearly all 
would agree that the only true paths are those that acknowledge that 
there is one, and only one Divinity.

   Regardless, the Doctrine of Tolerance did put an end to the violent 
religious wars that rocked Europe.  The various members of the Chorus 
learned to coexist, if not cooperate.  There was even a resurgence of 
some of the "lost" groups and symbols, as Gnostics, Goddess and Sun 
worshippers became increasingly more open.



The Tribunal and the Horizon Wars

   The second momentous event was the Tribunal, that either inspired or 
was inspired by the Seventh Council.  Representatives of the Chorus met 
with the Traditions two greatest enemies, the Verbena and the Order of 
Hermes, to try and hammer out a truce.  All three groups were wary of 
each other, but they were coming to realize that the world was changing 
in a way that was hostile to all of them, and something had to be done.

   Though it took a great deal of debate, the Tribunal at last set aside 
their basic differences for at least as long as it took to crush this 
new threat.  The Tribunal felt that, with the combined might of three 
Traditions, the problem would soon be dealt with.  The Traditions 
drastically underestimated their enemy.  They had no idea how entrenched 
the new Technocracy had become.

   All of the Tribunals attacks were bitter failures.  The Church's 
condemnation of scientific advances was ridiculed, rather than being 
solemnly accepted as it once was.  The Hermetic surge in mysticism was 
rapidly marginalized, and crushed.  The Verbena succeeded only in 
causing a brief resurgence of the witch-hunting craze.

   Off balance from their lack of success, the Tribunal was completely 
unprepared for the Technocracy's counterattack.  Chantries were razed, 
nodes raided, and countless mages slain.  The Traditions were amazed at 
the number and power of their enemies, who had been hidden for so long.  
The war was nearly lost then.

   The losses did help cement the temporary alliance, however, and the 
Tribunal reconvened.  They also expanded their outreach, contacting 
other mages who now suffered under the onslaught of the Technocracy.  
The Tribunal was expanded to the Council of Nine, and with the pooled 
resource of all the Traditions, they managed to created a great Horizon 
realm, known simply as the Horizon, where they could regroup.  This 
allegiance has lasted until this day.



The Celestial Chorus Now

   The next century was a desperate one for the chorus.  Church 
functions once thought sacrosanct were now denounced.  Whole nations, 
including all of the communist block, fell away completely.  Even in the 
nations were the Chorus still had influence, barrier were set up 
separating the functions of church and state, leaving the governing of 
many nations under the hands of a soulless bureaucracy.  The Chorus 
found themselves increasingly marginalized in the less technologically 
advance countries.

   The Chorus shifted their tactics however, becoming less political and 
more humanitarian.  The Celestials have increasingly concentrated on 
winning back the hearts of the people, and have worked to improved the 
lot of the average man, especially those in desperate need.  The Chorus 
sees itself as the champion and salvation of the Sleepers.  Despite 
effort on the part of the Technocracy to secularize such aid, the church 
is still the primary source of charity in this world.

   The Chorus has not limited its attention to the Technocracy alone.  
The Celestials continue to fight against its more traditional demonic 
enemies, servants of the Adversary, including the Nephandi.  There are 
those that say the Chorus secretly continues its Inquisition against the 
vampires of this world.

   The other Traditions are wary of the Chorus, for they still remember 
the Inquisition.  There are those that believe the Celestials would 
happily replace the world-wide Technological paradym with a world-wide 
Dominion, and those beliefs are not entirely unfounded.  The Chorus has 
never shirked it's duty in the Horizon wars, however, and has been 
amongst the fiercest opponents of the Technocracy and the greatest 
defenders of man.  This, if nothing else, earns them the respect of 
their allies.




SUBTRADITIONS

   The Celestial Chorus has always been rife with internal disputes.  
Even with the new doctrine of religious acceptance, the Chorus has many 
subgroups within it.  Not all member of the Chorus belong to these 
subtraditions, and some belong to several.



Missionaries

   The Missionaries believe the primary task of the Chorus is to help 
and protect the Sleepers.  Missionaries spend most of their time "in the 
field", doing their best to stave off the crises of modern times.  They 
work constantly to free people from drugs, hunger, poverty and despair.  
They sometimes come into conflict with the Technocracy, but often work 
against ordinary sleepers, including criminals and corrupt governments.  
The Missionaries are not exclusive, and accept members from other 
subtraditions.



Followers of the Universal Path

   Celestials that subscribe to the Universal Path, or Universalists as 
they are sometimes called, believe that there can be only one church, 
and one faith.  This is in conflict with the Doctrine of Tolerance, so 
Followers of the Path tend to be circumspect about their view.  They are 
widely viewed with suspicion, and their detractors link them to the 
Inquisition, something they vehemently deny.

   Most of the Universalists point to Catholicism as the one true Faith.  
Even they are not in total agreement, however.  There are a fair number 
of Universalists that subscribe to Eastern Orthodoxy as the true path.  
The Eastern Church has been badly battered over the centuries however, 
and this is the weaker half of the Followers of the Path.  Both factions 
of the Universalists are amongst the most conservative Celestials.



Gnostics

   Gnostic Celestials trace their origins back the early Christians.  As 
they did then, they feel that an individuals personal experience with 
the One outweighs any doctrine.  They seek through various means, often 
ecstatic to receive revelations of the One.  Modern Gnostics criticize 
many of the limitations the Church has put on its members, including 
celibacy, and other forms personal denial.  Some even seek through the 
use of drugs to gain visions of the One.  Other Celestials believe the 
group has been too deeply influenced by the Cult of Ecstasy.



Bene Gesserit

   This subtradition claims that is the oldest faction of the Chorus, 
but in other ways it is the newest.  The Gesserit exclusively use female 
imagery for the One, and have fought to make an equal place for woman in 
both the church, and the world.  The rest of the Chorus, having accepted 
Crete as the origin of the Tradition, do not object to their feminine 
Divinity, but some of the more conservative Celestials are definitely 
uncomfortable with it.  There are links between the Daughters and the 
Dianic witches of the Verbena, perhaps the strongest common ground 
between the two Traditions.

   Other than their use of female imagery and a tendency to matriarchy, 
this subtradition is surprisingly conservative.  They harken back to the 
days of the Minoan Goddess worship, but lacking better information, tend 
to be otherwise orthodox in their religious practices.  They can be very 
militant, perhaps to overcome the stereotype of feminity.  Some of them 
go so far as to advocate female supremacism, including, perhaps the 
inner circle of the Gesserit.  Not all of the its members are female, 
nor are all Goddess worshipping Celestials in this group.



Servants of the Sun

   This is another subtradition of both recent and ancient origin.  The 
Servants point to the Sun as the house of the One.  They hailed the 
shift from away Geocentric universe as an advance in the philosophy of 
man.  The rites of the Servants aren't well known, for they are never 
held publicly, but most believe they are descended from the secret 
worship Mithras in the ancient Roman empire, and Zorastrianism.  Much of 
the rest of the Chorus is uncomfortable with the subtradition's secrecy, 
but the use of solar imagery is becoming increasingly common, especially 
amongst those that wish to avoid questions of gender.



Millenialists

   This subtradition draws believers from everywhere in the Chorus.  
They believe that around the turn of the Millenium will be (or can be 
made to be) the time of the returning Redeemer.  It is widely believed 
that the Redeemer, having once come as a man, will return as a woman.  
The Millenialists seek signs of her impending arrival, as well as 
working to prepare her way.  They hope to find her shortly after she is 
born, to protect her from harm, and to learn as much as they can from 
her guidance.  After she has reached maturity, the Redeemer will bring 
about the Reconciliation, and save mankind.

   A few of the Millenialists subscribe to a darker belief.  They feel 
that the second coming of the Redeemer may (or will) fail, and the world 
will be plunged into a thousand years of darkness, ruled completely by 
the Adversary.  Only at the end of the third millenium will the Redeemer 
return for a final time to save mankind.



The Inquisition

   The existence of this subtradition is a guilty secret of the Chorus, 
and something they will not discuss with outsiders.  Its membership is 
secret, and the widespread belief that its members are all Followers of 
the Universal Path is wrong.  The Inquisitors seek out evil supernatural 
influences in the world, and crush them where they find them.  The 
Nephandi are their greatest enemies amongst mages.  It is said they have 
links to a group of vampire hunters known as the Society of Leopold.  
There are rumors that the Inquisitors will not hesitate to root out what 
they see as evil in the Traditions as well, or even amongst the Chorus.



Cabalists

   Many of the Jewish members of the Celestial Chorus believe in the 
Cabala (or Qabala), an ancient Jewish mystical tradition.  The Cabala 
centers on the study of the Sephirothic Tree, otherwise known as the 
tree of life.  The tens spheres of the Tree are related to the nine 
spheres of magic, plus a tenth "Divine" sphere, representing the one.  
The Cabalists are not active politically, preferring quiet contemplation 
of the One in solitude.  They have been withdrawn since the Holocaust, 
and have yet to forgive the rest of the Chorus for the atrocity.

   The Cabalists have many links to the Order of Hermes, and a fair 
percentage, or even the majority, are actually Hermetic.  Cabalists 
often use Hermetic foci, and they are the strongest link between the 
Chorus and the Order.  Some of Cabalists have actually formed a hybrid 
tradition, with two spheres as their specialty, both Forces and Prime.  
These Cabalists find that their ordered view of the universe and their 
abhorrence of evil makes it impossible for them to use Entropy, however.



Disciples of Mohammed

   This small segment of the Chorus subscribes to the Islamic faith as 
the true manifestation of the One.  The longtime conflict between Islam 
and Christianity has heightened tensions between this subtradition and 
the rest of the Chorus.  Some Celestials, finding the term "Disciple"to 
be egotistical, refers to this group by the insulting term, Mohammedans.  
The links between this group and the Ahl-i-Batan are unclear.





ORGANIZATION

   The Celestial Chorus are tightly organized in a hierarchy resembling 
that of the Catholic Church.  The highest members of the organization 
are the Council of Twelve in Rome, who direct the activities of the 
Tradition as a whole.  These individuals are known as the Princeps, 
after Roman tradition.  The proper form of address used when speaking to 
a Princep is "Your Eminence".

   Immediately under the Twelve are the Archepiscopus, who oversee large 
regions of the globe known as Archdiocese.  Under them lie the 
Episcopus, who oversee local areas, Diocese, no larger than a nation, 
and more commonly only a part of a nation.  Episcopus are invariably the 
head of a Chantry, and often have a few other Chantries under their 
jurisdiction, including Chantries of mixed traditions.  The proper term 
of address for Episcopus and Archepiscopus is "Your Grace" and "Your 
Holy Grace", respectively.

   There is a separate scholastic and educational arm of the Chorus, 
which has a great deal of influence.  Major figures, either the head of 
a school or in control of a major library, are called Prefects.  Though 
technically answerable to the local Episcopus, they often often powerful 
enough to have access to the ear an Archepiscopus, and sometimes even a 
Princep.  Less members of the order are called Praeceptors.

   Other Celestials generally rank themselves by their knowledge of 
Prime.  When there is a dispute in leadership, Celestials will defer to 
the Celestial with the highest rating in Prime, or, failing that, Arete.  
Superiors are addressed as "Father" or "Mother", peers as "Brother" or 
"Sister", and relatively inexperienced Celestials as "My Son" or "My 
Daughter".

   Early advancement is measured solely by one's progress with the 
sphere of prime.  This is still important to holding positions in the 
hierarchy as well.  Only Adepts can be Prefects or Episcopus, and only 
Masters can be Archepiscopus and Princeps.  When a position needs to be 
filled, the Celestials under the authority of the position have a 
conference to give recommendations to the tier immediately above it.  
The superior will generally select amongst the recommended individuals, 
though this is not necessary.  The selection process is often one of 
intense politics, with those above and below the position.

   Since the Doctrine of Tolerance, the Chorus has tried to integrate 
members of all faiths into its hierarchy.  This task is somewhat eased 
by the Edict of Westphalia, declaring in 1427 that no member of the 
Celestial Chorus could hold a rank above Priest or Abbot in the Church.  
Doctrinal differences can still be a major hindrance to advancement, 
however, and many subtraditions accuse conservatives and Universalists 
of excessive control of the hierarchy.

   This rigid organization is both a help and a hindrance to the Chorus.  
It has helped the Tradition withstand the often brutal attacks they have 
faced from the Technocracy, and coordinate counter thrusts.  They have 
more efficient channels of communication than any other tradition, and 
other mages sometimes get references from the Celestials when traveling 
from one region to another.  However, the problems with advancement can 
breed ambition, pride and rivalry.  Some of the more liberal members, 
while recognizing the importance of unity, chafe at the restrictions 
imposed by the hierarchy.

   Status amongst the Chorus is gained through the three Virtues:  Word, 
Faith and Deed.  The Word is revelations of the One, and insights into 
the nature of the world and magic.  Scholarly treatises on magic and 
theology are carefully recorded, and stored in ancient libraries.  Faith 
is a measure of devotion to the One.  The most common measure of faith 
is through denial, voluntarily giving up something of the world as proof 
of one's devotion.  Faith is generally deemed greatest when it is chosen 
without knowledge or reward.  The final virtue, Deed, is acting to 
improve the world and help mankind, including charity and fighting evil.

   Members of the Chorus usually try to meet at least once per week, 
generally on Saturday, called the Sabbath.  These meetings are a time 
when Celestials can renewed their faith, and celebrate the glory of the 
One.  The meetings are punctuated song and readings from the holy 
scriptures.  It is in very poor taste to bring up matters of the world 
during the Sabbath, so impending business is usually discussed after 
worship.

   Initiates of the Celestial Chorus are generally selected on the basis 
of faith (though this need not be faith in God).  Initiates are watched 
carefully, and are secretly "tempted" away from the righteous path by 
the Chorus.  These temptations are more to educate and illuminate rather 
than truly test the Initiate.  When the Chorus feels the Initiate is 
ready, they reveal themselves, and in a great ritual of worship, awaken 
the Initiate's Avatar.  Afterwards, the Initiate is assigned a mentor, 
and undergoes four years of schooling in the history and power of the 
Tradition.  At the end of this time, the Initiate vows to obey the 
Hierarchy and be true to their faith.  They are then accepted as full 
members of the Tradition.

   The most powerful Chantry house of the Tradition is in Rome, hidden 
within the Vatican, as it has been for nearly two thousand years.  
Within its horizon realm, the Dominion still holds sway.  This has 
always been a sticking point amongst the non-Orthodox members of the 
Tradition, and there have been numerous attempts to have the Chantry 
moved, most likely to Jerusalem.  Given the amount of power invested in 
the Roman Chantry, this is unlikely.





METAPHYSIC

   The basic tenant of the Celestial Chorus is: as above, so below.  All 
power and good flows from the One.  Accepting, through faith, the grace 
of the One is the path to happiness.  The Celestials seek to understand 
the One, and become vessel of her will, doing her work on earth.  They 
seek to spread her word, so that others can share in her bounty.

   The Chorus has a two-fold view of Ascension.  The smaller path, is of 
personal Ascension.  Personal Ascension can be achieved only through 
faith.  The closer you are to the One, subsuming yourselves to her will, 
the greater your enlightenment and well being.  The larger path is of 
the Universal redemption of man.  The Celestials believe the One will 
return in a grand event they call the Reconciliation.  All humanity will 
be lifted up in her grace.  There is only so much mere mortals can do to 
bring this about, but the Chorus does their humble best to prepare the 
path for the One.

   An issue in great dispute amongst the modern Chorus is the Adversary.  
They have recanted their position that all non-holy magic comes from the 
Foe, but a few Celestials believe that this is not enough.  Having 
spoken to other mages about the metaphysic of magic, and how belief 
structures reality, these Celestials feel that the focus the Chorus puts 
on the Adversary is dangerous.  It may serve to strengthen the belief of 
the Masses, and thereby strengthen their Foe.  These Celestials point to 
the recent spate of movies centering on Demonic power, some of the with 
creatures of darkness portrayed in a sympathetic light.  Their critics 
ask how one can deny the reality of the demons they fight on a nearly 
daily basis.  It is an issue with no easy resolution.

   The Chorus believes that the appearance of Paradox is caused by a 
lack of faith.  Those that are faithful, and true to their action, need 
fear nothing.  Those with the seeds of doubt within them can fail, and 
be punished for their pride.  Celestials acknowledge that Paradox does 
sometimes affect even advanced mages, perhaps as a test of their faith.

   Celestials believe that a mage's Avatar is a guardian spirit, or 
angel.  This angel chooses you at birth, watches over your development, 
and tries to protect and guide you.  For the most part, the Avatar will 
remain hidden.  Upon your death, your Avatar will choose another 
individual to protect.  The Celestials do not believe the Avatar is part 
of a mage's own soul, for the Avatar return, and the soul goes on to its 
eternal rest.

   The existence of True Faith is an important and complex issue for the 
Celestial Chorus.  Though more common in this Tradition than any other, 
nowhere near a majority of its members possess this power.  Those with 
True Faith are exalted as blessed, though it plays no role in the 
hierarchy of the Chorus.  It is generally believed that Celestials, 
possessing greater knowledge, find it more difficult to access faith, 
which must always be at least somewhat blind.

   Be that as it may, the Celestials believe that all magic flows in 
some way from faith.  Like many Traditions, they have myths of the tenth 
sphere of magic, which they believe is faith.  While there is a great 
desire for those Celestials with True Faith to explore this possibility, 
there is always the fear that greater knowledge will result in the loss 
of that faith.



Correspondence

   "The One is omnipresent, being everywhere at once.  By opening your 
mind to this aspect of the One, you can supercede normal space.  Being 
everywhere at once, you can choose to perceive, or travel, anywhere."



Entropy

   "This is a dangerous power, used by the servants of the Adversary.  
The power of the death is a dangerous one, and ultimately, illusory.  We 
know of the immortality of the soul, and while the body and mind may 
decay, the soul is eternal."



Force

   "Light is the hammer of the One.  It is the primary manifestation of 
her wrath.  Do not abuse the power she grants."



Life

   "All life was created in the image of the One.  As the universe is 
the house for the soul of the One, the body is the house for the soul of 
creatures and plants.  As we work to heal the universe, we learn also to 
heal our own bodies, and others.  Do not engage in the false creation of 
life, however.  This is the domain of the One.  Such poor creatures are 
at best soulless, and at worst a house for malignant spirits to enter."



Mind
   "Just as we bend ourselves to the will of the One, we may bend the 
will of others.  Only by surrender to Divine Will can one increase this 
power, for it is truly the will of the One they surrender to.  Do not 
abuse this power, however.  Choice is the gift given to all the One's 
creatures, for only by choice may one come into grace.  It is not our 
right to take it away."



Prime

   "This is the true manifestation of the One, and this is why study it 
above all else.  Without it, magic is but illusion and phantasm, for 
nothing real may be created.  As prime is the essence of the One, it is 
the essence of all things.  Thus, the essence of the One permeates all 
of creation.  By her will, we may use the pure essence of the One to 
smite her enemies."



Spirit

   "The world of spirits is a dangerous and powerful one.  The spirit 
world is constructed of several overlapping spheres, ascending and 
descending, to the One and to the Adversary.  The boundaries may be 
difficult to discern by the unknowledgeable, so tread with care in the 
spirit lands.  Do not seek to ascend by power alone to the place of the 
One, for not only is this impossible, it is an act of heedless pride.

   "Take care when you have congress with spirits.  The Servants of the 
Adversary are many, seeking to seduce unwary.  Destroy them whenever you 
can.  Our allies in the spirit world are the Angelic host, servants of 
the One.  With study, one can learn how to call for their aid.  We 
recognize now that there are spirits not aligned with either the One or 
the Adversary, but they do not concern us.  They are unimportant in the 
scheme of things."

   The Angels the Chorus deals with resemble the benevolent spirits of 
the various faiths the Celestials subscribe to.  The Chorus will only 
bargain with such Angels, never compel them.  For their part, the Angels 
are predisposed to aid the Chorus, but only in righteous tasks.  The 
Angels, like most spirits, are extremely reticent when it comes to 
discussing the structure of the spirit world, often saying "It is not 
for us to speak of such things."

   Recently, there has been some indication that the spirits working 
with the Chorus are the lesser part of a greater host.  Apparently, they 
have come to the lower realms as part of an act of penance, whereby they 
are able to removed some sort of taint.  The Angels themselves will not 
speak of the matter.  While the Chorus can sympathize with the quest for 
redemptions, the idea of even slightly fallen Angels makes most of the 
Chorus distinctly uncomfortable.



Time

   "The One is all-knowing, and all that has happened, both past and 
present, lay open before it.  In times of need, she can grant us visions 
of the future.  Do not think that this invalidates our free will, for 
though the One knows us so well that she knows all that may come to 
pass, the choice is still ours."





STEREOTYPES

   Akashic Brotherhood - "Our Eastern brothers share many of our beliefs 
but they obsess on the internal mind.  They must contact to that which 
is outside of themselves, including the all-present One, to find true 
salvation."

   Cult of Ecstasy - "These fools pursue endless pleasures and the 
degradations of the flesh.  They know nothing of the dangers facing 
them, lost as they are in their own decadence."

   Dreamspeakers - "The shamans have great peace of mind, and an inner 
wisdom one must envy.  Yet their view of the One is too simple.  She is 
more than just the world, she is all.  Their lack of unity will be their 
downfall."

   Euthanatos - "These mages deal in a darkness best left alone.  Though 
not servants of the Adversary, their doctrine of reincarnation is false, 
their memories of past lives delusions.  Once they realize this, they 
will see the evil in what they do."

   Hollow Ones - "The children are living proof of the failure of faith 
in the modern world.  They believe in nothing, and it leaves a hole in 
their soul.  They must reach out, and find something to live for."

   Order of Hermes - "We have settled many of our differences with these 
mages, and have even accepted some of their views on magic.  We must 
never forget their arrogance, for they have brought us failure in the 
past.  Their blind, mechanical magic is too much like the Technocracy we 
fight to be to our taste."

   Sons of Ether - "These petty fools are little different from the 
Technocracy, having founded the organization.  There godlessness is a 
constant affront.  Why they are allowed membership on the Council of 
Nine is beyond us."

   Verbena - "We know now that the powers most of them worship are not 
the Adversary, but the spirit of nature.  Nature is subservient to the 
one, however, and they need to set their sights higher.  Watch them 
carefully, for a few of them do indeed stray down the dark path."

   Virtual Adepts - "They have truly broken their allegiance from the 
Technocracy.  Now all they need do is free themselves from the 
Technocrat's misbegotten ideas."

   Orphans - "These lost souls are a sign of the darkness of today.  
Take them in where you find them, and guide them to the light.  Such 
poor individuals are often targets for the Adversary."

   The Technocracy - "These vile fiends are responsible for much of the 
evil in the modern world.  They have no respect for the One.  Fight them 
at every turn.  Even if they are not servants of the Adversary, they 
unknowingly do his work."

   Marauders - "Poor confused souls, trapped in their madness.  Aid them 
where you can.  Avoid them otherwise.

   Nephandi - "These fiends are irredeemable, having willingly sold 
their souls to the Adversary.  Show them no mercy."

   Vampires - "These damned creatures should have been destroyed ages 
ago.  Were we not so beset by other enemies, we would continue our war 
against them."

   Werewolves - "They are an anachronistic throw back, that once preyed 
on mankind.  They are a dying breed, not worthy of our attention."

   Wraiths - "Do not meddle with the spirits of the dead.  It is 
forbidden.  If you are able, help them on to their final reward.

   Faeries - "There is a tale that in the first war, some Angels did not 
take sides with either the One or the Adversary.  They were also cast 
out, but fell only to earth.  Perhaps this is the origin of the Fey.  
Treat them as such: halfway between the Divine and the Infernal.  Do not 
give them your trust."
--
Paul Strack <pfstrack@email.unc.edu>

So, this Zen Master walks up to a hot dog stand and says "Make me one 
with everything."