Everything

The superior person does not wait on the whims of others. That person – male or female – moves the world through force of personality. He might not be a tyrant – he might, in fact, be most effective when he isn’t one – but his word commands respect. Mages are superior people, and the most dominant of them use that knowledge to impose their Will upon the people in their lives.

The art of “alphaing” people isn’t necessarily what folks think it is. Although Alpha-Male/ Bitch types do tend to get their way in the short term, people resent them for it, often screwing them over out of vindictive spite. The most effective dominant people make people glad to be in their service. They inspire love as well as respect, and they garner long-term loyalty as a result.

Sometimes, though, short-term results are enough to work with. A bully can impose dominance upon people, turning them into agents of his Enlightened Will. And really, let’s not kid ourselves: abusive bastards run corporations, governments, cults, and even Traditions. The word sociopath is so loaded these days. We’ll simply call those people movers and shakers: they move, and you shake.

As a magickal instrument, social dominance plays out through command of group situations. Rank, eye contact, imposing body language, and sometimes threats provide the obvious tactics, but a seriously dominant person evokes that impression by simply being there. Presence and eloquence work far better than brutality, so a mage who uses domination – a prized skill in the Technocracy, but useful in every other faction too – directs his Arts (typically Entropy, Mind, Life, and Prime Effects) through force of personality, social cues, and the ability to back up his commands with Will when need be.

For obvious expansions on this idea, see the Might is Right paradigm and the practices of dominion and the Art of Desire.