Renaming Fantasy Shamans/Shamanism (+)

[el-remmen]

I have been using "mystic" as a placeholder until I think of something better - so I'll be watching this thread closely.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Bridger. As in "the bridge between the mortal and spirit worlds."

That is a very good one for a certain tone, which might fit a game set in the modern world. That is really good.

I don't have anything in Latin or Greek but here are the English words that jumped out to me:

Contact and negotiate = commune
Calling for aid = channeling
Driving out evil spirits = revoke/rescind
Healing spiritual ailments = alleviate?

People who specialize = Venerator (gains the knowledge and power of memories that have imprinted on the world), Intercessor (acts as a bridge between spirits and the physical world), Scion (guided by spirits through a relational connection)

I actually made a venerator class once upon a time but I'm not sure where that notebook is now.

Venerator might have legs.

Soul Speaker, Second Sited, Diviner, Ancestor, Forbearers

Latin for:
Soul is Anima
Shaman is Flaminis
Ghost is Exspiravit
Spirit is Spiritus

Yeah I think anima is the best one there. Flaminis is interesting.

Recently I put out the animist class, as when I was doing my research, animism was the best term that covers shamanism but without the regional/cultural identifiers. Stay away from spirit talkers or spirit animal terms (indigenous appropriation)

That makes sense. And yeah I also need to find a good name for the ability to step into the spirit world that isn’t “spirit Walker”.

Mythras uses "Animism" to describe the system of belief and "Animist" to describe the practitioner. From my reading it is broad enough to include all related practices across the world and history, without mis-understanding, mis-labelling or appropriating from any specific culture or practice.

Animism is very good, for the skill at least.

 

[GMMichael]

Sha-woman. Global-mage.

Commumancer...for communing with spirits.

 

[Tonguez]

Animist
Medium
Seer
Channel
Preserver
Grey Warden
Cheval - term used in Haitian practice
Iatromantis - Greek Witch doctor
Ecstatic - Shamanisn is a term applied to practitioners of ecstatic meditative practices so may as well go to the source for a name

 

[Bluenose]

Shaman is Flaminis

Flamen. Flaminis is genitive, of the Flamen. And honestly I'd probably translate that as Priest, since they were associated with particular gods (the Flamines Maiores, the three major ones, were the senior priests of Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus). I'd perhaps use something like Loquitur Manes/Lares/Spirites, a Talker to Ghosts, ancestors or spirits. It's not exactly a Latin (or Greek) concept, as that was something that a priest would also be expected to do.


A pretty common term is Practitioner, somone who follows one of the many Practices that engage with spirits/ the spirit world. But like animist, that applires to ordinary members of the group too, rather than just the leaders. If you want most people to be able to use magic, the animist or practitioner have the advantage that it's how they're used in real life; if you're after specialist spellcasters then Shaman isn't the worst choice, with priest and wizard already taken or with other meanings, and while there are plenty of alternative terms they also tend to be culture-specific.

 

[Faolyn]

Medium?

 

[niklinna]

No new names to offer that I think would be better than what's already here, but—if you are curious about shamans, I highly recommend Ronald Hutton's book [wikipedia]. The article linked has a robust synopsis.

 

[Bilharzia]

Animism is very good, for the skill at least.

Mythras again, goes further. Animism uses two skills, Trance and Binding.

Trance is used to travel to and navigate the spirit world. More specifically if the animist is trying to find a particular kind of spirit, the Trance skill can also be used to help with the search. Trance may also be used to sense the presence of spirits.

Binding is used to communicate and negotiate with spirits. Binding is used in spirit combat to defend or attack hostile spirits. When communicating with a spirit, use of the binding skill may be thought of as a conversation or a negotiation with the spirit if it is a neutral or friendly one - as a social skill would be used with a NPC. Usually the animist is asking the spirit for a favour - would it help heal a companion, or provide some knowledge, or manifest its power within the animist. With a hostile spirit, Binding may be used to compel a spirit to perform a service, where it is commanded to carry out a task, or to be bound within a binding object, such as a fetish, but it could also be bound to a creature.

Different traditions, people or tribes have access to different spirits, this is an example from Monster Island:

The Mandahi tribe worship the python god, Mandahu the cold embracer, as their founder god-spirit. The friendly spirits (easy to find) give the animists certain benefits particular to the python - damage, control over serpents, hypnotism, and the ability to turn into a python.

 

[Doug McCrae]

These are from the glossary in Georg Luck, Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the Greek and Roman Worlds 2e (2006). Note that goes and hariolus have negative connotations:

Greek

goes 'wizard, sorcerer, juggler, charlatan'... The word can designate the "wizard" (a low-class type of magos) or any quack, humbug, or impostor... Originally, goetes (from goao 'to wail') could have been an early Greek shaman whose specialty was a ritual lament over the dead (screams uttered in ecstasy), but it could refer to shrill cries uttered in a normal state of consciousness, during a magical ritual.
iatromantis 'physician-seer', also 'miracle-worker' (semimythical figures like Abaris, Aristeas, Epimenides, Hermotimus). Another form of shamanism in Greek culture (diagnosis, prescription, and prognosis made in trance).
psychagogos 'expert in raising spirits' (to consult them about the future or use them as harmful agents).
sibylla 'ecstatic female seer of a certain type' (localized, attached to sanctuary, but prophesying without answering formal questions).
theios aner 'divine man, holy man', i.e., miracle-worker, prophet, healer, shaman.

Latin

gnarus 'one who knows'. Probably vague on purpose, like other terms of this kind.
hariolus '[ecstatic] seer, prophet, diviner', but usually in a pejorative sense.
peritus 'expert' (in magic).
Sibylla 'type of female diviner, ecstatic prophetess', sometimes worshiped as deity.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Oh man y’all are awesome. I’ll have some free time tonight, and I’ll dig in and give some replies!