As for the magician, he can either directly influence objects, individuals, and human society or invoke the presence of powerful invisible beings, demons, and heroes from whom he hopes to profit. In order to do so he must gather knowledge of the nets and bait that he must put out in order to gain the desired result.
Couliano, I. P. (1987). Eros and Magic in the Renaissance. Chicago, University of Chicago Press: 88
Ritual, for example, is evident not only in the performance of the stage or parlour spiritualist who claims to summon up the voices of the dead, but also, on a more mundane level, in the performances of most conjurors. These are frequently ‘ritualized’ in their form (traditionally including magic words, props and gestures) and often appear to effect changes in the real world.
Mangan, M. (2007). Performing dark arts : a cultural history of conjuring,.Bristol, Intellect.
Method Cards
Each character will be selected by a Method when they choose a card from the Method deck.
Again, you have just one chance to swap out your card for another. You may only swap with one character in your cult only (you cannot draw again from the deck). If you like the card you were dealt, you can choose to stick with it.
Method Pages: QR Codes on Method Cards
Each Method has its own webpage. The QR code on your Method Card will take you directly to the card’s webpage.
Method Pages contain a mixture of research prompts. Each Method is described by conficting voices. The conficting voices are parameters within which you will determine how to present your Method to others in your group. It is up to you to interpret these voices when creating, narrating and performing the attributes of your Method.
Read the information on your Method Page very carefully before looking up more information elsewhere.
Once you have worked through the information on your Method Page, you can start to fill out the blank spaces in the Select Method – Sheet
Try to envisage how your cult might be able to achieve this method.
Consider who the Principal Character is – are the capable of pulling off this particular method? Consider also the desired effect you have nominated to pursue by crafting magic as a cult. How can it be effected using this particular method? What tools might be requried to work with the method written on your card. Write down the key ideas on the Select Method – Sheet and keep them as notes to yourself.
Once everyone in the cult has worked on their method, each member can now tell their peers about their method; working through the information on the Select Method – Sheet– again – remaining in character at all times.
The group should, again, now decide which of the methods is going to be nominated as the method of ‘Crafting Magic’ in this game. You can do this by voting.
Remember to carefully consider who the Principal Character is – are they able to craft the effect that you want to choose? Consider also the desired effect and how it relates to the method.
In event of a stalemate, toss a coin (best of three).
Once a desired method has been chosen, place the selected card over the QR code on the Method Confirmed – Sheet
Method Confirmed – Sheet This sheet can be filled in by the person nominating the “winning” Method. Briefly outline the information required on the Method Confirmed – Sheet
Once this has been completed, please move on to tools:
This website, Shift/Work: Crafting Magic https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/craftingmagic/ is written and maintained by Prof Neil Mulholland and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
