Some thoughts on astral travel

To continue from my prior posts on revising Summoning and giving more options to enter Uat, I decided to write this post going over my thoughts on the astral plane, astral travel, and astral evocation.

Astral Plane, aka Yetzirah or Uat

The Astral Plane is one of several planes (or strata), arranged in the following order: Physical, Astral, Mental, and Spiritual or Causal. 

The Astral Plane has several features:

  • It is inhabited by various astral entities that may be contacted or summoned. Summoners call this “Yetzirah”.
  • It has its own geography composed of places drawn from the collective unconscious, such as the Pharphar Wells or individual dreamscapes.
  • It is possible to visit via astral projection, either deliberately with spells or unintentionally via dreaming and altered states. The High Priestess calls this “Uat”.

Astral Travel aka Shemmut

It is possible to project one’s consciousness into the astral plane. The High Priestess specializes in this, referring to it as Shemmut. They have their own spells to induce a Shemmut trance; this isn’t the only way to do so, but it is the most reliable.

Anyone can sensitive themselves to Uat unintentionally through dreams and altered states. However, navigating Uat requires skill in Shemmut. Gifted lucid dreamers can unintentionally develop it through practice, not realizing their dreams cross into astral sojourns.

Shemmut has various useful applications:

  • The Technique is rolled for all applications: enter Uat in the first place, navigate the astral, engage in astral combat, return to their body, cast a spell, etc
  • Spying on targets or exploring faraway places in astral form.
  • Entering people’s dreams to communicate with them.
  • Casting spells on targets from the convenience and safety of the astral plane (this is only possible for Casual Magic, Philosopher’s Stone Meditations, and Inscriptions of Sorcery or Summoning).
  • Consulting with the beings of Yetzirah. The traveler may attempt to contract or bind any encountered without the need to acquire or cast the spell beforehand.
  • Explore the mysterious geography of the astral realms to gather knowledge and enlightenment.
  • Various other applications at the GM’s discretion.

If the caster isn’t a High Priestess, then Alchemy may be used to create devices to enter Uat in concert with the Shemmut Technique. 

  1. The Black Stone version of the procedure creates a hallucinogen that places the consumer in the appropriate trance.
  2. The White Stone version of the procedure creates a work of art that entrances its audience.
  3. The corresponding Philosopher’s Stone Meditation allows the alchemist to place himself in the trance, or induce it in others with a touch or glance.

These procedures are still limited by the availability of doses, the work of art, or the alchemist’s presence. But they present a viable alternative to the spell Door to Shemmut.

Selenim have their own methods to enter Uat, such as a Necromancy spell or an astral gate from within a Realm. Furthermore, the Selenim specialize in visiting the lower planes!

Astral evocations

As I mentioned in my notes on revising Summoning, one form of evocation is the astral evocation. Rather than calling the being physically within the magic circle, the summoner summons the being on the astral plane and communes with it through the altar’s mirror, crystal ball or cup of water. This allows the entity to project any image it desires to the surface. In this way the summoner may have knowledge shown directly to them, scry by sending the summon to spy on distant targets, etc.

Potentially the summoner may call an entity to enter Uat themselves. If the Summoner knows the Shemmut Technique, then he can invoke an entity to place him in the trance needed to enter Uat. If he doesn’t know the Technique, then he could call an entity to serve as his guide. However, while this may be easier to design and cast, the entity will demand a passage fee and perhaps other terms and conditions.

A related application is the creation of a Tulpa. Since my idea for Summoning notes that entities may be drawn from the Summoner’s own will and imagination, then this would include Tulpa’s under that umbrella or vice versa. A Tulpa is like any summoned entity, but deliberately created by the Summoner to serve him indefinitely. For example, the Tulpa could serve as the Summoner’s astral sensor during sojourns rather than projecting his own consciousness. One might create a Tulpa using Sorcery or Alchemy instead of Summoning, if the GM permits.

And those are my thoughts for right now. Hope you enjoyed!

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