Mystic+Tradition

=[|Mystic Tradition]=

[|What is a Tradition?] from [|the book Mage the Ascension]

A **Tradition** is a group of mystically-oriented mages allied with the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions. That is, they believe in [|magic] and understand that they manipulate magic to create desired effects. This contrasts with scientifically-oriented mages, who believe that they use [|Enlightened Science] rather than magic, and this Science is manipulated to create desired effects. The Traditions' counterparts among the Scientists of the [|Technocratic Union] (and in an earlier age, the [|Order of Reason]) are called [|Conventions]. Each Tradition claims a seat on the [|Council of Nine], representing one of the [|Spheres] of magic. That Sphere is that Tradition's speciality. Although the Council did not technically exist until [|1466], many Traditions count their origins to much earlier periods, as they existed as discrete magical societies. Many other Traditions are created from the joining of several disparate groups; as such, their formal creation may be fairly recent, but their component factions may have existed far earlier.