Through faith, all things are possible. This saying underscores the essence of what might be the most common mystic practice in the world: devotion to a higher source. Drawn from the Latin word fides – “loyalty, trust, belief” – faith provides the foundation for many other practices, yet it stands as a practice in its own right. For although witches, shamans, Voudoun practitioners, and even scientists might be faithful to their higher power, faith itself provides comfort and power for those who believe.

Often regarded as the core of overtly religious sects like the Celestial Chorus and Ahl-i-Batin, faith can inspire and energize any mage. Even the demonic Nephandi maintain faith in their horrific Absolute or the Infernal entities they adore. Faith, you see, provides the believer with stability and purpose. And although magick is often seen as an egotistical practice, faith ideally removes the ego in favor of that greater Source. The faithful mage says “THY Will be done,” then acts as an instrument for that Divine Will.

For a mage of faith, the actions she takes and the Arts she pursues all represent the ideals of her higher power. In most cases, those ideals come through a religion – a binding that unites Divinity with the people of the faith. Not all faithful people, though, are religious; strictly speaking, religion is a social institution, whereas faith is a personal connection. Even science – often seen these days as an enemy of faith – can be a devotional practice. The foundations of modern science, historically, were laid by men and women of faith who used their discoveries to delve into, and then to reveal, the glories of their God.

A faithful magus follows the tenets of her creed, maintains contact with her source through prayer, and acts – as often as possible – as an emissary of her creed’s ideals. “Keeping the faith” means pursuing virtues that supposedly please the higher power, and although the particulars depend upon the specific creed (a Franciscan Catholic, a Shi’a devotee, and an Odinist spá-kona all have very different ideas about virtue!), the mage’s adherence to that creed is essential. “Faith” does, after all, mean loyalty.

Associated Paradigms: A World of Gods and Monsters; Bring Back the Golden Age; Creation’s Divine and Alive; Divine Order and Earthly Chaos; Everything’s an Illusion, Prison, or Mistake; It’s All Good – Have Faith!

Associated Abilities: Academics (tenets of faith), Awareness, Belief Systems, Cosmology, Empathy, Enigmas, Esoterica, Expression, Medicine

Common Instruments: Blessings and curses, books (scriptures), cups and vessels, energy, food and drink, group rites, music, offerings and sacrifice, ordeals and exertions, prayers and invocations, sacred iconography, symbols, thought forms, voice, writings and inscriptions