My Nephilim Occult RPing Blog

In the Major Arcana Exaltations table (which I reproduced in a prior post ), only some Arcana are associated with Zodiac signs. Twelve Arcana are associated with specific signs, while the remainder are associated with the planets/days (except Saturn/Saturday) and the elements (specifically Air, Fire, and Water). But couldn’t all of the Major Arcana be associated with Zodiac signs? Hypothetically, yes. On the figure below, the remaining ten Arcana are assigned to the twelve signs based on their planet. If the Arcanum's associated planet matches the ruling planet of the sign, then it is associated with it. These planetary associations come from the Golden Dawn's publications and include the outer planets beyond Saturn. As you can see, this leaves an asymmetry because there are twelve Zodiac signs and twenty-two Major Arcana. So The Magician (Mercury) and The Empress (Venus) are duplicated: The Magician appears under both Gemini and Virgo, The Empress under Libra and Taurus. Ther...

In a prior post I recapped that the French version depicted Roma people (here called "Bohemians") as magical creatures, how racist that was, and how someone suggested removing the racial component. In a subsequent post , I mentioned how I opted to name the Western Tradition (as Major Arcana calls it) to the Bohemian Tradition in memory of their roots as refugees from Akhet-Aton. I wrote those before I actually started transcribing, translating and reading the Bohemians supplement. Ignoring the racism, it introduces two concepts: the Boheim ("Bohemia") and the Brume ("Mist"). Paraphrasing from the introduction of the book: The Boheim is an inspiring, creative and libertarian force that inhabits all humans, but few recognize. It is the flame that illuminates certain artists, but also certain political leaders —Che, Gandhi, Zapata and Aung San are examples of this “enchantment”. It embodies courage, thirst for freedom, strength to resist all oppression, the...

In the third edition Gamemaster's Screen , the Quest for the Cycle of Destiny is introduced. (The fanzine  Vision-Ka  #3  specifies on p41 that this Quest is one and the same as the Arcane Quest of The Magician.) The goal of this quest is to acquire and study the Minor Tablets, crafted by Akhenaton as supplements to the 22 Major Arcana Trumps. The purpose of these Minor Tablets is to help mortals reach Agartha. There are four Minor Arcana  in total: The Wand (Fire), The Cup (Water), The Sword (Air) and The Coin (Earth). Keen-eyed readers may notice that the symbolism of the suits correspond loosely to the traditional magical tools (see Liber Ka p52). By pursuing this quest, the Nephilim is better able to understand their Simulacrum's Solar-Ka: they can boost their chances of Critical Success based on their Solar-Ka, retain player control during Shouit seizures rather than handing control to the GM, and develop Solar Resistance through initiation into a Minor Arcanum...

In this post I introduce and tackle the topic of... Bohemians! In Chaosium's books In the  Nephilim  rulebook p57, it's stated that: When the Theban armies and assassins overwhelmed their homes, the Nephilim Arcana tribes avoided destruction by scattering throughout the world. So thorough was their diffusion that many even lost contact with each other. Yet from many secret locations they initiated others into certain Nephilim secrets and bade them to continue the search to locate the other lost Arcana. This was the birth of the great bohemian people called “Egyptians” or “gypsies” in Victorian England. Those nomads created their own culture based upon secret Nephilim rites, Egyptian customs, and elements borrowed from the many countries which they crossed over the centuries. There are other passages in the books linking Romani groups to the occult world and to the Tarot. Liam Routt  suggested some ideas  for Romeny Nephilim based on this passage, but never produced a...