Psi-Druidry

Every system is governed by laws and the vague interstices that defy them. Nature is no exception to this fact. Stemming from a haphazard mix of medieval natural magic, paranthropology, and millenial ecology, psi-druidry is an esoteric paradigm that some Awakened have claimed as their own. Practitioners conceive of their magick as psi; a fundamental process in the natural order that bypasses sensory and motor limits. Existing between the interstices of the Verbena, Progenitors, and Sons of Ether, psi-druids stand out amongst the Orphans as semi-recognizable group, connecting in the dingy messageboards of universities and through excited texts on burner lines. These mages believe that extrasensory modes of perception and psychokinetic means of influence are natural parts of life, developed through evolutionary processes and yet so ready to be tended by a priestly hand. Different psi-druids tend to focus on one aspect of the philosophy over the other, and the disagreements in even a sect as minor as this can be quite large. A psi-druid can range anywhere from an evolutionary parapsychologist to a pharmacological hermeticist, though all share a reverence of psi as a hidden variable that underlies reality.

Paradigm:

It's a Mechanistic Cosmos, but Creation is Innately Divine and Alive, so we can Transcend our Limits. (Exoteric)

AND

The World is an Illusion, but We're All God(s) in Disguise, so we can Transcend our Limits. (Mystic)

Practices: Psionics, Alchemy, Medicine Work

Instruments: Psichoactive drugs, meditation, biofeedback, energy working, herbs and plants, psi labs, genetic modification, transgression, psybernetics, mediumship, kirlian auras

Spheres: Mind. Parapsychologists tend to dip into Correspondence and Forces, while natural magicians focus on Prime. Every so often you hear about a paranthropologist testing out Spirit, but it isn't a politically correct area!

Suggested Merits: Green Thumb (1 pt): Many psi-druids find that bio-PK is a useful and holistic tool for interacting with other lifeforms.

Relationship to Others: A variety of Awakened factions have taken note of psi-druidry, albeit little at that. Among the traditions, the Verbena are intrigued by this new development but are still waiting to see if the psi-druids will turn out to be more than wistful eco-activists. Many Sons of Ether are delighted to see older theories like Kirlian auras make a comeback, though some of their medieval cousins are quite backwards. In the Technocracy, the Progenitors see the psi-druids as a psi-tech asset in the making if their cultural deviance can be controlled. The Void Engineers are similarly intrigued by the work of paranthropologists in their extra-dimensional interactions, though some of them give their studied cultures too much credit for explanatory mechanisms. Beyond these factions, few have ever heard of them, outside of the general talk of the Orphans. Psi-druids themselves tend to associate with unAwakened colleagues, given the lack of mages in the paradigm. Many of these are enthusiastic mortals with limited psi functioning, though some possess psychic numina.

Sample Psi-Druids: Evolutionary parapsychologist, Ficinian magician, field paranthropologist, psichoactive chemist, metacommune planner