Verbena
The Verbena is a Tradition of mages in the Classic World of Darkness dedicated to preserving the ancient crafts and wisdom passed down over the ages by witches and warlocks, druids and druidesses, shamans, mystics, and priests and priestesses of the Old Gods.
Though modern Verbena have some similarities to Wiccans, they are inheritors of far older legacies from disparate cultures originating around the world. Regardless of their many differing faiths and customs, the Verbena share many principles in common. This includes a deep respect for the Earth and the natural order, a holistic view of people and the world as intrinsically intertwined, and the belief that power and understanding can be found by embracing life in all its passions and pains.
Of all the Traditions, the Verbena are perhaps most challenged by the changes brought to the world by advancing technology and expanding civilizations. Each member must find a way to apply the lessons and practices of the old ways to the modern world, or be seen by both mages and mortals as merely a fringe practitioner of a dying craft.
Unlike many mages, the Verbena believe there is innate magic that flows through everything in Creation. There is real power in the phases of the moon and positions of the stars, in the combination of plants properly prepared, in the blood and seed of living creatures. Quintessence is the pulse of the universe itself, carrying energy and the potential for change, giving life to the world. Magic is that energy, that life, and whether one is Awakened or not they have it pumping through their veins. In fact, the Verbena count quite a number of hedge-magicians among their ranks and draw little distinction between them and true mages. To be Awakened is to merely intuitively sense the magic all around them, and to to shape it directly with their own life energy as the Verbena's ancestors once did.
Tools and Practices
The Verbena employ a wide variety of foci based on both their symbolic and mystical properties. Traditional tools include knives and daggers, broomsticks, wands, staves, cauldrons, mirrors, and jewelry. Some keep with them Books of Shadows containing the accumulated secrets of its owners. Herbs and potions are popular means of drawing out and combining the chemical and spiritual properties of plants, which can be especially potent when combined with the Verbena's will and desire. Much of the knowledge passed down from mentor to apprentice and between members of a coven has to do with what effects different herbs are best used for. Perhaps the most powerful foci to the Verbena are bodily fluids, particularly blood and semen as carriers of life energy and sympathetic links to their source. Music, song, and dance are also used as means to to rouse their passions, give life to the Verbena's will, and connect them to the people and cultures from which their rituals originate.
Contents
History
Prehistory: The Wyck
Verbena speak of the Wyck as the first mages, beings of mortal flesh and primal spirit who could bend the world to their will. magic was everywhere in their time, and the Wyck wielded it with power and finesse unrivaled by any that followed. They were leaders, protectors, and pioneers of the first human communities. They traveled the Earth and other worlds, lived as one amongst the animals, battled terrible monsters, and brought back to their people knowledge of healing, divination, and crafts. After giving birth to children of their own and passing on their gifts, the Wyck eventually departed from the world, though to where or for what reason no one knows for sure.
Ancient History: The Aeduna
The Aeduna were the heirs of the Wyck, literally and figuratively, and wielded some of their skill in Awakened magic. But whereas the Wyck had been outsiders and travelers, the Aeduna were born among and lived with humans as healers, scribes, priests and priestesses, philosophers, and scholars. They grew in power and prominence Across the Mediterranean, spreading over time throughout Europe and parts of Asia. Many figures of myth are claimed to have been Aeduna, such Circe, Lilith, Medea, Merlin, Morgan le Fey, and perhaps some of the ancient gods.
The Verbena believe that several groups of mages can trace their origins to offshoots of the Aeduna. The first and largest branch was the Dreamspeakers, who valued the spiritual over the living world, and would largely dominate the Americas and Africa for millennia. The second branch was the Cult of Dionysus, which consisted of individuals who basked in the joys of drinking, partying, and sex; they would eventually merge with others to create the Cult of Ecstasy. Finally, the Cosian Circle formed around 400 BCE in Greece from the efforts of Hippocrates to organize the Aeduna's knowledge. Yet many of his students were ambitious and held little respect for the natural world; they performed dark and gruesome experiments that were condemned by the Aeduna.
The rise of the Roman Empire brought with it the Aeduna's first adversary: the Cult of Mercury, a methodical and expansionist society of mages that would later evolve into the Order of Hermes. The Cult of Mercury began undermining the Aeduna's influence in Greece and Italy, then actively aided the Romans in conquering Britannia and lands held by the Gauls, where the Old Ways had long been honored. The people called out to the Aeduna for help against the Romans, and the two groups of mages began to war against one another. The conflict continued for many centuries, and only intensified as Rome converted to Christianity and the Messianic Voices rose to power.
Dark Ages: The Old Faith Fellowship
Though the Roman Empire declined, the descendants of the Wyck continued to be locked in a three-way war with the Order of Hermes and the Messianic Voices. Yet over time the Order of Reason, an alliance formed from the union of the Cosian Circle with several other scientific traditions of willworkers, became a far greater threat. Using the knights and inquisitors of the Church as their weapons, the Order of Reason aimed to eliminate knowledge of the Old Ways along with all other forms of magic it did not approve of and control. The Old Faith Fellowship was the first attempt to unify pagan mages of disparate cultures and beliefs against their common enemies, but they could not hold back the fires of the Inquisition. Inquisitors put witches to the torch and ruthlessly eliminated evidence of the Old Faith wherever they could find it. Though the majority of those tried and killed by the Inquisitors were not members of the Old Faith, nor even true mages, their numbers were already few and continued to dwindle as a result of the purge.
Renaissance: The Verbenae
In the mid-15th century, adherents of the Old Ways banded together to join the Council of Nine, claiming the Seat of Life as the Verbena. Still, the Inquisition continued and the Verbena were forced to hide and practice their arts in secret, passing on their wisdom and secrets to new generations from mentor to apprentice and through Books of Shadows.
Modern Times: The Verbena
By the 20th century the Verbena and their magic were little more than a legend in the mind of Sleepers, yet the 1960s saw a renewal of interest both in the occult and holistic lifestyles that shared a great deal in common with Verbena practices. In the decades since the Tradition has grown for the first time in centuries, particularly as factions within the Verbena placed greater emphasis on exploring new ideas and incorporating different cultures.
Organization
The Verbena are very loosely organized, with no official ranks or leadership. Individuals are sometimes given the title of novice, initiate, or elder, with the latter being a sign of great respect if not direct authority. A cabal of Verbena is called a Circle, and is usually formed around a goal or cultural identity shared by the members. Circles rarely exceed thirteen individuals, and are often quite smaller. Each Circle may have its own rules and customs, as well as a shared Book of Shadows. The only common role shared among Circles is that of high priest and priestess, the co-leaders of the group, particularly in regards to matters of ritual. Grand Circles are sometimes formed, if briefly, as Verbena gather to share news and ideas, celebrate the changing seasons, or discuss problems that are too large for a single cabal.
Factions
Gardeners of the Tree
The Gardeners of the Tree are the sturdy trunk of the Tradition, the "mainstream" Verbena from as far back as when Nightshade and William Groth founded the formal Tradition, keepers of the Old Ways and sacred rituals (often those of Celtic, Germanic, Greco-Roman or Slavic origins), preservers of ancient sites, mystic bloodlines and natural purity. They are usually looked upon as the leaders of the Tradition - and often present themselves as such - and are some of the most conservative in their outlook and practices. Some go so far as to consider themselves the only "true" Verbena and inheritors of the Wyck.
- The Deas Matri, or Mother Goddesses, are the female fellowship devoted to the Great Mother Goddess in all her forms, preservers of sacred women's magic and knowledge. Members are ranked as Maidens, Mothers and Crones according to both age and mystical knowledge (Arete), and focus on healing and fertility magic, fate weaving, mystic handcrafts, and the arts of illusion and prophecy.
- The Rex Nemorensis, or Kings of the Grove, are the male fellowship keeping alive the sacred traditions of the Skyfathers and Dark Lords as well as that of the Earth Mothers, practicing men's magic and teaching their own lore. They rank themselves as Fools, Fathers and Hermits, and focus their arts on weather craft, battle magics, journeys into the underworld, and the ways of mystic song and poetry.
- The Axis Mundi, or World Tree, are the most politically oriented of the Gardeners, consisting of the Tradition's leadership as well as those interested in diplomacy, inter-Tradition cooperation and outreach to Orphans and Crafts. Most are highly skilled in Ars Cupidea in addition to their more traditional male or female arts. The harsh realities of the World of Darkness and the Ascension War often result in members who are incredibly shrewd, intellectually flexible and sometimes even ruthless when it comes to advancing the interests of themselves and their Tradition.
- The Book of Life is perhaps the most conservative of the already traditional faction. Historians, genealogists and scryers who tirelessly trace Verbena bloodlines. Primarily made up of "pure bloods" who can trace their lineage back to the Wyck, they have a reputation for extreme elitism, sometimes going as far as to view those without pedigree as little more than Orphans with delusions of grandeur.
- The Oaken Shield date back to at least the Dark Ages, if not earlier, as a secret knightly order sword to the defense of their fellow Gardeners and of the sacred sites of the Old Ways. Today, they are front line Ascension Warriors and zealous defenders of their fellow Verbena. Open to men and women, the order specializes in both combat magics and martial arts, both classical European and modern.
- The Silver Blade is a most secret of secret societies, it's existence known only to the Tradition's leadership. Founded by Nightshade herself after the Great Betrayal, they police the Verbena for both Nephandic corruption and Technocratic treason. Masters of divination, warding and assassination, they operate in cells of three.
Twisters of Fate
The Twisters of Fate are the ancient and gnarled roots of the Tradition. Primal practitioners of the oldest and often darkest paths of the Wyck, they work to keep alive ancient and even primitive mindsets, mysteries and magics. Some of their arts seem to predate European culture or evoke long dead ones. They have ancient ties with both Thanatoic and Spirit-Talker sects. Many of them frighten outsiders with their fervor and fatalism.
- The Children of the Dawn are keepers of the oldest of ancient mystic threads. As much shaman as witches, they commune with primal spirits and elementals, as well as ghosts and things some might classify as demons. They use blood sacrifice, ritual scarification, and hallucinogenic vision quests as part of their arts of soothsaying, fertility rituals and exorcisms. Most of them shun modern or even industrial era technology, some going so far as to live as primitive hunter-gatherer hermits in secluded and haunted looking glens and moors.
- The Kindly Ones are masters of fate, prophecy and divine retribution. Skilled in the arts of divination, manipulation and bringing doom upon the guilty, they are infamous for working subtle but extremely powerful magics to punish enemies of the Verbena or transgressors against ancient forces and laws. They typically form covens of only three members.
- The Endless Wheel are a small band of historians and lore keepers who trace the incarnations and histories of individual Avatars, especially those that primarily or exclusively manifest as Verbena. Members study divination and dream magic in addition to ancient languages and cultures.
- The Wild Heart are shapeshifters and skin riders more at home in animal form than human. Each member has a Heart Beast that represents her Avatar, and it is this form that she first learns to take. As one's power and understanding of the Tree of Life grows, she takes on more and more forms. In addition to shapeshifting, members are able to summon and command wild beasts, draw from and mimic their strengths, and speak their tongues. Many have worked to preserve Bygones.
Moonseekers
The Moonseekers are the ever reaching branches of the Tradition. Explorers and teachers constantly looking for new mystic threads to nurture and spread, eagerly embracing modern life and cultures in ways that have always made more traditional Verbena uncomfortable. A highly diverse group, they all share a belief in the sacredness of life and the importance of community. Perhaps more than any other faction, they most represent what many younger Mages think of as the Verbena.
- The People of the Land work to preserve traditional, rural ways of life, including that of farmers and ranchers. They maintain and practice rites of crop and animal fertility, midwifery and herbalism while working to uphold the traditions and values of families and communities. They are frequently dismisses as bumpkins and rubes by more "sophisticated" Verbena.
- Groth's Pilgrims are travelers, folklorists and explorers who search for the mythic threads of the Wyck in lands and cultures outside of the Verbena's European roots. Originally focused on Asia, tracing the footsteps of their Tradition's co-founder, they also search Africa, Australia and the Americas. Their magic is often a mix of traditional Verbena practices with that of a new culture they've studied.
- The Sisterhood of the Moon are modern Neo-Pagans, Wiccans and New Age practitioners. Active in community issues, politics and various social justice causes, they are known for their savvy with computers, alternative media and modern countercultures. They are also one of the first Verbena groups to have embraced techno-magic as a manifestation of the Tree of Life and a possible source of mystic threads.
- The Poor Sisters of the Virgin Mother are a small order of nuns who believe the Virgin Mary to be a face fo the Great Mother Goddess, tempering the judgment of God with her mercy and bringing healing and succor. They are famed as midwives, herbalists, healers and practitioners of fertility rites. As a matter of faith, they constantly advocate the sanctity of life, including adoption over abortion, making them objects of suspicion or even scorn by some of their fellow Traditionalists.
- The Green Knights are a movement of radical environmental activists and even terrorists with a special focus on preserving temperate and tropical rainforests, old growth forests, and sacred trees and glens, as well as endangered species (including Bygones). Most prefer "direct action" methods, including sabotage as well cursing and weather magic. The most skilled among them are able to call upon the primal powers of nature and elemental forces to work fantastic acts of destruction.
- The Crossroads Coven are followers of the Voodoo faiths of the Caribbean and Brazil, holding Damballa and Ayida-Weddo as faces of the Skyfather and Great Mother Goddess. They harvest the mystic threads of their faiths and cultures, practicing their magic through sacred dance, spirit congress, and sacrifices to the Loa. Their skills in divination, healing, fertility rites and exorcism serve to protect and strengthen their communities.
Lifeweavers
The Lifeweavers are the strange fruit of the modern age. Radical experimenters and misfits who strive to push the Tree of Life to it's limits, going in new directions many Verbena view as heretical or even dangerous. Even more diverse than the Moonseekers, some Lifeweavers are effectively factions of one. But regardless of their differences, all share a burning need for discovery mixed with a desire to help others find their own place in the Tree of Life.
- The Scarlet Sisterhood are an all female sorority who use magic to gain personal influence and wealth within the mundane material world. Queens of Ars Cupidae and eager adaptors of techno-magic, they are also known to dabble in blood sacrifice, necromancy and even demonology. Anything that can serve as a tool in their climb to the top is fair game. Ironically, in spite of their unbridled ambition and desire for power, members often support each other in their endeavors, either out of a genuine sense of sisterhood or just a cynical collection of favors.
- The Sacred Helix are modern medical technomancers who work to combine ancient wisdom with cutting edge biological science to create new methods of holistic healing. Devoted enemies of the Progenitors, members promote natural medicines, advocate the sanctity of life and work to combat the ideas of utilitarian bioethics.
- The Unbound are shapeshifters striving to fully understand the mystical and physical potential of the human body. They do this by pushing the limits of self alteration and enhancement, ultimately seeking their own ideal forms and seeing just how far their imaginations can take them.
- Generation Hex is the name given to rebellious young "baby witches" living on the bleeding edge of alternative urban countercultures. Sometimes mistaken for Hollow Ones, they practice Verbena arts and magics, but often feel out of place among more traditional societies. Involved in underground club scenes, the dark and Digital Webs, members experiment with body modification, designer drugs, "industrial witchcraft", high tech toys and sex magic.
