Cult of Ecstacy Paradigm
By Paul Beakley ADPYB@ACVAX.INRE.ASU.EDU
The Paradigm
The Experience -- existence is a series of experiences that expand
and change the immortal being within the Cultist. If a soul experiences
every possible event, it is expanded to extra-human status.
Magick
Whimsy -- the will of the cultist is focused into creating more
opportunities for experiences.
Spheres
- Time -- the Passage. The Passage records the Experience in
total, heals all wounds, overcomes all Bad Experiences (if any experience
can be truly Bad, metaphysically speaking).
- Correspondence -- the Place. One of the best ways to expand
one's Experience is to change one's Place, or view another Place from
afar, or merge many places into one more convenient location.
- Entropy -- the Wild. One of the best ways to improve the
Experience, introduce a little Wild into something and watch the fireworks
fly!
- Mind -- the Lie. This is where the perceptions of the Experience
are filtered and made palatable -- until the Cultist's Experience allows him
to fully understand the Truth. The Doors of Perception must be Cleansed.
- Prime -- The Whim, or The Will (old form: Kia, Fiat). Through force
of will, or sufficient Whimsy, the Cultist can accumulate Experience for
later Whimsies, or transfer his Whim into material Whimsies.
- Spirit -- the Truth. This is where the Truth behind all things lies,
the primal source of The Experience.
- Pattern Magick -- the Art
- Matter -- the Form. Some vicarious Cultists seek to surround
themselves with things of beauty, exploring experience at their leisure but
vicariously. All things that can be created are done so with art and beauty
in mind.
- Life -- the Flesh. The Experience of living things can be altered,
but the Flesh holds the greatest promise.
- Forces -- the Image, the Music, the Light and the Heat. The
Cultist can control the insubstantial as well as the substantial. Some
modern Cultists also call this sight and sound, or audio-visual.
Arete
Whim -- The Experience is to be warped and altered to the whim of
the caster. The greater or more worthy the whim, the more likely The
Experience will warp itself for the benefit of the Cultist. Old form:
Kia, Fiat.
Quintessence
Experience -- somewhat synonymous with The Experience (i.e. the
paradigm model itself), Cultists believe that Experience can be
accumulated, making The Experience more knowable and therefore more
changeable. Once a Whim has been enacted with the help of the Cultist's
Experience, though, a new experience must be found to enact his next
Whim.
Paradox
The Bad Experience -- screw with The Experience too much, and it
turns Bad on you. Things go wrong, experiences and whims are warped
and made evil, and eventually the Cultist is removed from The Experience
entirely.
Mage-specific Backgrounds
- Arcane -- Charmed Life. The more charmed one's life, the less
likely to get in trouble from the authorities.
- Avatar -- Passion. Extremely passionate Cultists seem to absorb
and pass on greater Experience than others.
- Destiny -- Destiny (as per the book). Some are even destined to
have really Bad Experiences. That's cool. It inspires lesser Cultists to
have courage and cleanse themselves of the good/bad distinction.
- Dream -- Plumb the Passage. All experiences are recorded in the
Passage, and some Cultists can search it for "borrowed experiences"
needed at a moment.
- Node -- Diversion. This is a place a Cultist can go to receive
additional Experience that he can parlay into future Whims.
Paul Beakley
adpyb@acvax.inre.asu.edu