About the Cult of Ecstasy 

HistoryTop of Page (I am getting to it)
            The Cult of Ecstasy officially began in the 1400's when Sh'zar the Seer predicted that magick would die out if all the magicians did not bind themselves together. (I'm getting to it... I am... volunteers are of course welcome)

PhilosophyTop of Page (I am getting to it)

LexiconTop of Page
Ananda: The sacred state of bliss and transcendence. Not Ascension but a step towards it.
Blockhead: An outsider who doesn't get it, and never will.
Chakra: Energy centers along the spine, through which mystic power flows. Various eastern practices define four or seven chakras; the later correspond well with the location of endocrine glands. Tantrick exercises (among others) stimulate energy flow to these areas. See ojas
Code of Ananda: The ethic most Cultists live by, compiled during the Traditions founding and taught as gospel by Ecstatic mentors.
Congrex: A mystick communication, sometimes sexual, sometimes not, which raises power and/or awareness through a shared bond.
Daemon: common term for the Avatar (not to be confused with "demon:)
Dakini: A Tantrick Holy Woman whose magickal powers flow through her sexual energies.
Diksham: The bond between teacher and student.
Divya: A Master Mage
Dreamline: A mystick communication that calls Ecstatics together during emergencies.
Jambo: a formal Cult gathering, often called to discuss some serious matter but enhanced with wild parties.
Kamamarga: The paths to ecstasy. Aka foci. I.e. dance, drugs, etc...
Lakashim: The Divine Pulse, or Heartbeat of the World, ecstasy helps attune a person to the Lakashim and the magick that flows within it.
Ojas: "life-force" the inner power that Ecstatics refine through altered consciousness. Ones personal quintessence reserve, channeled through Magicks like the "rush affect" using Prime.
Okox: Communion with spirits, usually through trance or possession. This often involves sex between the mage and a spirit and the exchange of perceptions on both sides.
"Running away" Drugs: Depressants, narcotics and other chemical inhibitors, which most Cultists disdain.
"Running toward" Drugs: Hallucinogenic, stimulants, and other chemicals, which block inhibitions and open one up to new perceptions.
Sahajiya: one of many former names for the cult.
Sects: Small orders within the Tradition, most pre-date the order itself.
Shakti: "Creative Power"; Prime Energy, usually embodied as a goddess, Also a common name for "True Magick" among Cultists. Real access to Shakti involves, bliss, will, knowledge, wisdom, and action.
Shakta: The male focus energy, which gives form to the raw power of Shakti. Wedding the two into a greater whole is the Tantrick ideal.
Siddhu: A wondering holy man.
Tantra: A system of balancing polarities through exercises, meditations, postures and Congrex. Contrary to popular belief many Tantrick exercises have nothing to do with sex, although the popular ones do. Dakashiniacara the "right-hand-way" concentrates on spiritual devotion to a higher power rather than on mortal sensations. Vamacara, the "left-hand-way" of Tantrick magick involves inner Divinity through focused sensual stimulation - that is ritual sex, drugs and meditation. Three guesses which path most Ecstatics prefer.
Zeitgeist:"Time Spirit"; a personification of a time period that carries such emotional resonance that it takes on a life of its own. Some Time Shaman Cultists can contact or even summon these Zeitgeists.

LakashimTop of Page
            "Our people know what the ancient ones knew. There's a pulse behind the seasons. If you listen carefully away from the modern noise and pressure you can hear it. It weaves itself through music, throbs under lover's words and in the veins beneath your skin. The "Divine Pulse," the Lakashim. The World's Heartbeat." (Trad Book)

Other namesTop of Page
            Seers of Chronos, New Romantics, Bon-Po, Sahajiya, Los Sabios Locos, Timelost
History: The Cult of Ecstasy officially began in the 1400's when Sh'zar the Seer predicted that magick would die out if all the magicians did not bind themselves together. (I'm getting to it... I am... volunteers are of course welcome)

InitiationTop of Page
                                             1. Surrender your fears
                                             2. Focus your intentions
                                             3. Open Yourself
                                             4. Attune Yourself to the Lakashim
                                             5. Repeat Step One

DikshamTop of Page
            This is the most sacred rite of the Cult of Ecstasy. It is taken very seriously. It is the bond between student and teacher. The student promises never to hurt or betray her teachers' position while the teacher promises to be a guide and instructor. There is rarely any payment involved. The student is under no obligation to do anything. She may leave at anytime. The teacher is much more than a teacher of Magick Arts. She is a teacher of survival. Most teachers will take this very seriously. To betray the Diksham bond is akin to "tossing a baby in the air and refusing to catch it."
            Punishment for betraying the bond is usually very severe. It can be anything from Certamen trial to a punishment wheel or banishment from the Cult.
Most mentors and students are lovers. This is not meant as a form of payment but rather it is a form of deep intimacy, which helps to cement their relationship.
            In game play this is not the same as becoming a teacher or student for say the Hermetic's. One is not likely to just ask someone... "Hey can we do that Diksham thing" unless the circumstances are very unusual. It is more likely that if your character has already awakened and initiated to the Cult she understand the bond (since she will likely have experienced it before) and will take time finding the appropriate teacher to form a new relationship with. If you are newly awakened you SHOULD (meaning sometimes players are not around etc) be guided by another Cultist to find the appropriate person to teach you. At the moment there are not many Ecstatics available with the experience to be considered teachers but I am sure something can be worked out. I would suggest if you want to play a newly awakened Ecstatic you contact the Representative and try and let her try and find someone willing to put forth the OOC and IC time to work with you. Failing this you could also look for another Ecstatic and see if they can help you find a teacher.

Stereotypes: True and FalseTop of Page
Cultists of Ecstasy are all a bunch of worthless Hippies: Totally False. Ecstatics are diverse. The are Visionaries, shamans and explorers. If they seem irresponsible it is because people do not look closely enough to understand.
All Cultists are addicts: The ones who get addicted don't last long.
Ecstatics are sex maniacs, dope heads and dropouts: False, Ecstatics purse sex, drugs, vision quests etc... but they consider them sacraments not hobbies.
Cultists are Irresponsible: Quite false. While they deal with societies rules with "take it or leave it" abandon they do foresee the consequences of there own action. The ones that don't know this are likely to have it pounded into there heads by there mentors. "No Mage operates in a vacuum"

Early Cultists realized how important structure is. No group based on total hedonism could survive for long. As societies became more repressed Ecstatics rebelled and threw out all the rules even their own. In the 60's a great revolution took place and the Ecstatics lead the charge. Sadly the greatest of their kind fell to drugs and later generation learned all the wrong lessons. The Cult and the world at large lost sight of the Consequences of their actions. Modern Cultists have recognized their mistakes and are reviving the old ways. The Code of Ananda is but one way they recognize the responsibilities their awesome powers confer.

Tantrick Magick is the Cults foundation: False, Tantar a system of balance between polarities, is one part of a larger whole. The Traditions actual foundation the Lakashim, is both simpler and more complex that Tantrick ritual.
Cultists crave sensuality: Very True.
Cultists hate authority: True, Given most authority figures tendency to quash non-conformity, Ecstatics throughout time have been leery of government - even their own.
The Cult has no formal system of Magickal beliefs: Not True.

That Glazed LookTop of Page
            Most Cultists walk around in a world with senses every day people do not have. Assume that they leave there rank 1 spheres on at all times and must consciously turn them off as opposed to other Traditions who must consciously turn them on.
            Most Cultists will be particularly attuned to their affinity sphere. I.e. a Mind adept might be especially empathetic, a Forces or Prime adept will feel the elemental energies of the world all the time.
As Cultists out grow their foci they may appear to be even more stoned, as they become more and more aware with each focus dropped. In game terms it means a Cultists who say a forces adept might notice an electrical surge before anyone else, or a mind adept might sense the presence of someone mentally disturbed when others do not.

The Code of AnandaTop of Page
            This was written by Sh'zar and his fellow Divyas. All Cultists save a few errant sects generally ascribe it to. Punishment for breaking the Code can be quite severe.

I. Thou art Miraculous, so are we all.
II. He who spits upon the good right hand shall find the left one fails him in time of need.
III. Each gold coin yields two like it. Each stalk given creates a bundle. Yet each coin then turns the rest to dross. And one bundle gone creates a famine. Thus shall a Seer account his deeds.
IV. Some minds rest best asleep, stir not those who would not waken otherwise.
V. Truths foreseen are not always truths.
VI. If a man {or a woman} should rend another's passion, let him be as torn by wild dogs. For passions are the seat of the self, and if they bleed so too does the soul.
VII. Let each Seer account his own deeds, and if those deeds should want for wisdom or kindness let him be put forth to weep alone.
VIII. Humor Cooleth the blood, wrath spills it.
IX. Even trees rent by lightning can grow new fruit.
X. A fool feels no fear, A sleeper remains shackled by it, A Master transcends it yet recalls its wisdom. It is good to be afraid. It is folly to bow to terror.

The Nine Sacred PassionsTop of Page
            All emotions are good; the only really bad passion is the "lack of passion." However, not all feelings should be worn on the sleeve. The Ecstatics know how dangerous unbridled passion can be. The trick is as always, self discipline, There is nothing wrong with what you feel, you should feel it, what you do about it is another thing.
Tali Eos defines the 9 Sacred Passions as: Joy (or wonder)
                                                                       Love
                                                                       Empathy (or Sympathy)
                                                                       Lust (or Ambition)
                                                                       Grief (or Sadness)
                                                                       Fear
                                                                       Jealousy (or Envy)
                                                                       Hate
                                                                       Rage

Sex, Drugs and Rock and RollTop of Page

Sex: Sex is an exchange of powers that stimulates all the energies in the body. No form of consensual sex is considered bad by the Cult. Most Cultists seem to prefer some sort of emotional bond with their partner even if they have just met.
            The Ecstatics divide sex into 3 categories. These categories are not exclusive and can fade into each other. They are more a point of distinguishing what you are doing and with whom.
High Sex: raises ojas and channels it fr9om one partner to another, sharing energy and expanding consciousness. By nature I is ritualistic and disciplined, demanding training and concentration. High sex partners don't have to be friends but it helps. Tantrick magick is the most obvious example though some esoteric S&M also qualifies.
Lovemaking: shares energy and affection between friends. Although it is more spontaneous than high sex, lovemaking expresses the purest kind of emotion. Most mentors make love to their pupils; above all things the Diksham bond requires affection and respect.
Low Sex: flat out screwing, Technique is nice but not essential and partners can be total strangers. High-mindedness aside this kid of sex can be as pleasurable and powerful as any other if its done right. During some Congrex passions rise to a pitch that only orgasm can release. Though most sleepers having low sex only glimpse the Lakashim for a moment, Ecstatics can prolong the contact for hours on end.

            The intimacy and wild power of sexuality can be down right scary; even Cultists are not blind to its downside: obsession, unwanted pregnancy and emotional damage. Most take precautions against all of the above before they start anything, though some brutal sects like the Aghoris do as they will and leave the mess behind.

Drugs
  Running Towards: Cannabis, hashish. XTC, mushrooms, mescaline and peyote, herbs (belladonna, wolfsbane etc...) and drinks like soma, nepenthe and absinthe. All of these (except XTC) have long histories as divine voices, vision bringers, and gateways to the unconscious. Most Cultists have at least tried them at some point.
Running Away: Morphine, crack, heroin, PCP, barbiturates, Quaaludes, and various downers. These drugs nearly all modern inventions offer oblivion over transcendence. While some Ecstatics enjoy the sensation, most serious ones agree that these drugs are more dangerous that useful.
Controversial: Cocaine and coca, smart drugs (piracetam, DHEA, vincamine etc...) venomous (spider, cobra, rattlesnake etc...) amphetamines, LSD (and other synthetic hallucinogens), alcohol, tobacco and opium. Although these psychoactive have potentialuses, Cultists disagree about weather or not they are worthwhile. Some drugs like cocaine and tarantula venom can be deadly while others like alcohol and tobacco don't go much beyond blurred inhibitions. Many modern Cultists disdain artificial drugs and prefer natural highs only. Each individual makes his own choices.
Kaltee: A mysterious herb used in custom made drugs, kaltee works as a food substitute and mild hallucinogenic. Popular among many Technocrats; this herb is highly addictive and illegal within the Technocracy. It is unknown to sleepers and a rumor among the other Traditions.
Monkey Powder: Refined by "Discordian Cultists" It scrambles the mind so badly one can not even think. It is usually sprinkled on food. (not usually ones own)
Scorpion: A vicious poison used by some sects. It sends short bursts of pain through the victim, shorts out her inhibitions and mutilates her thought processes. The person affected will do whatever they feel like doing at that moment (bad bad for Shifters) and lasts 6 hours. The only cure is magickal.
Ghost Dance and Witches Powder: 2 drugs, the first and herb, the second a sparking black dust. It allows a glimpse into the penumbra and can be used even by a sleeper.
STOP (Seratonin Terminator Option P-5601): The ultimate weapon of conformity, this drug prevents the user from feeling any passion whatsoever. No matter what she will remain passive for the drugs duration (6 hours or more), functional but numb, the drug even cancels out other drugs

Rock and Roll
            No the Cult of Ecstasy did not invent Rock and Roll. It evolved on its own but it holds a special place in the Cult. It is by far the safest kamamaranga, (if a little slow). Music is passion. The artist vents his deepest feelings and desires when he performs. It is the intensity of this sharing that makes music such a good focus for Ecstatics. All music is valuable unless the preformer has commercialized himself or forgotten so much that his music looses its spirit. (i.e. Milli Vanilli was not a good focus)

BondsTop of Page
            Cultists understand that interaction with anyone produces a connection to that person. It is a bond. The bonds of family and friends run deep within the Cult and few would betray them. To break a bond of friendship is a lesser version of breaking the Diksham bond, and at the least will cause the Cultist in question to be looked down upon for their foolishness. This is a difficult world at times, and the battle for Ascension is fierce. One who abandons their friends may well find himself also abandoned when he needs them the most.

SectsTop of Page
(I am getting to it)

Disputes and PunishmentsTop of Page

            The Ecstatics do have methods for dealing with disputes. If a dispute can not be settled between the parties concerned it can be taken to a counsel of Masters, or perhaps another group of respected Ecstatics who have through the years proven there worth and merit.
It is a matter of honor to settle disputes yourself when possible and Certamen (yes Certamen) or Contest of Sensation often does the trick.
          Contest of Sensation: the opponents try and overwhelm each other with sensations. In game terms each opponent rolls their Arete each turn and describes what the other feels. The defender resists with a will power roll. Both rolls must exceeded difficulty 5 on the first turn and go up +1 with each turn. Each time Arete beats will power one temporary willpower point is lost until someone falls senseless and the winner is declared, or until someone gives up and forfeits.
            Punishment within the Cult can be anything from Ostracism to permanent Mystic Castration of Passions, death or Gilgul. The "Punishment Wheel" also know as the "Wheel of Sh'zar" is another method of punishment. The transgressor is given an emphatic bond to the victim (mind 2 Time 3) and forced to relive his or her crimes for as long as deemed necessary. This may not sound severe but few wish to endure it more than once.

SleepersTop of Page

            The Cult of Ecstasy believes that the Lakashim flows within each sacred thing, including sleepers. Sleepers are just not aware of it or don't realize it. This is not to say that the Cult believes that everyone should be awakened...."Some minds rest better asleep" some people just don't get it (blockheads) and never will, Care is advised when trying to show a sleeper the way to awakening.
 
            OK a Little Interpretive note after reading the Trad. book: The Cult of Ecstasy does not say that the sleepers have the same abilities to comprehend the Lakashim as the awakened, but rather that they have the potential to. That they catch glimpses and should be enlightened when possible. If the Cult believed that sleepers could attain the same state as the awakened they would din effect be saying that there is no such thing as an awakening because everyone would be awake.

The Others SupernaturalsTop of Page

            The Trad book mentions the Toreador and the Satyrs. The Toreador have the ability top use and understand Lakashim but not in the same way that the Ecstatics do until they reach Auspex 5.
            The Satyrs and the Cultist have a long-standing pact similar to the Diksham that has rarely been broken in the past 2000 years.

Other Tradition RelationsTop of Page

Akashic Brotherhood: The right idea but way too dogmatic about it.
Celestial Chorus: Walking arguments for rebellion. Talk about uptight.
Dreamspeakers: The roots of our Art, now if they would just loosen up.
Euthanatos: Forsake life for death? No Thanks.
Order of Hermes: Oh please! As if there were only one way to work magick! Get a life.
Sons of Ether: This is what science ought to be.
Verbena: They through great parties. Most could lighten up though.
Virtual Adepts: Ascensions best hope today -too bad they are such DICKS!
Hollow Ones: Their black veils blind them to our possibilities

AnandaTop of Page

            Ananda is what the Cultists seek to achieve by way of the Lakashim. It is a state of perfect bliss. If I were going to explain Ananda one way I would use would be to ask a question. Do you remember when you were a child? Think back to the perfect day.
            It was the first really warm day of spring after a long cold winter and the sun was shining brightly through perfect white fluffy clouds. The air was alive with new life as the insects emerged from their hidden places. The ground was soft and you walked barefoot across the grass letting the cold mud squish between your toes. You were still to young to think that the insects would bite you eventually or that the mud was disgusting and would track up the carpet. You only saw the world as beautiful. Somehow you escaped from the eyes of watchful adults and you were all alone and free. Free on the most beautiful day you had ever known. The only think that mattered was that moment (because children have little concept of yesterday or tomorrow. They see each knew day with new eyes, and enjoy it without the biases of adults.) As you walk through the mud breathing in the sent of new flowers you see the very first butterfly, perhaps the first butterfly you have ever seen. It is resting on a daffodil. As you watch its wings move back and forth you think perhaps the butterfly breaths with its wings, the colors are so enchanting that you forget everything else and kneel down in the mud next to the butterfly and watch. Just as you reach out to touch it, it flutters away. You don't stop to consider that the butterfly has wings and could easily escape you. You just chase it...running after it arms and legs pumping, breath straining, jumping up, trying in vain to catch the illusive insect. You spin and spin and the world spins with you but you push onward, sure in the next moment you will be able to reach the butterfly. Then all of a sudden the world seems to spin faster than you do and you collapse in the soft mud. As you lay there and look up you up, (because a child would never close there eyes to such an experience) you see the sky twirling like the colors in the kaleidoscope you got for Christmas. Then there it is... the illusive butterfly.... It flutters out of all the swirling motion of the sky and lands on your hand. It is so clear and so perfect that you don't see anything else anymore. It is so light you can barely feel it but your heart soars, as you know now that at this moment you hold in your hand the most beautiful thing that ever existed...
            Think of the butterfly as the Lakashim, and when you allow it to come to you and for just a moment you realize the full extent of its worth and beauty, that moment is when you have reached Ananda.
     
            NOTE: Not from Whitewolf. The Trad book didnt really have a clear example without having read teh whole narative of the character developing in the book so I worote my own explaation of Ananda. I hope you like it.

Rotes Top of Page

            In general, the Cult of Ecstasy scoffs at the concept of `rotes'. The Lakashim is the Lakashim, to touch it is to touch it. The Cult only very reluctantly accepted the principle of dividing their magick into 'spheres', and even then, they lack the highly standardized definition of the nine spheres that almost every other Tradition does. It is rare for a Cultist to be heard discussing a particular frame of magick... of course, every Cultist can do different things. But surely that means there are as many of these so-called `spheres' as there are Cultists.
            With this in mind, the idea of `rotes', specific magickal effects that are invoked the same way over and over, is almost laughable. Nonetheless, several magickal effects have emerged which the other Traditions would (and sometimes have) defined as 'rotes'. Some of these are unique to the Infinity Chantry, some merely popular there. A few of them are listed below, complete with names, be they assigned by the Cultists or their comrades.
Rotes
Touching the Shakti
Hangover Effect
The Crystal Ship
Breaking the Flow
Bombolai
Inner Fire

            A very common rote, it is for this reason and almost this reason alone that the Ecstatics often find themselves delving into the art of body and mind shaping almost as much as they do time twisting. This rote can be used on another, or on oneself (in which case, only Life  is required). Using Life and Mind magick, the mental and physical patterns of the target are interlinked and intertwined, and then stimulated with various impulses of the Cultist's choosing. The sensations thus evoked are a guaranteed method of drawing one closer to the Lakashim. When used proficiently, the heights of sensation that can be evoked are mind shattering. Orgasms are not unknown, but there have been instances in which orgasm is surpassed, and the subject achieves what has been described as an 'orgasm of the soul', where their entire being seems snap-wired to the entirety of reality, for at least one precious moment. While other Traditions possess similar effects, the Ecstatics seem somehow better as both subjects and initiators of this rote.

            (If used for pleasure, the effects of this rote are best left to the imagination. If used as an offensive weapon, for every success, the victim suffers +1 to the Difficulty of all rolls for a number of turns equal to the successes rolled. Any roll with a Difficulty greater than 10 is, of course, impossible due to the waves of pleasure. Time 3 will increase the duration of the effect twofold, Time 4 threefold. The rote may be resisted via a Willpower roll at difficulty 9, each success countering a success)

Rotes
~The Hangover Effect~ (Life  Time)

            (The size of the wound is immaterial. As long as one success is achieved, even a lethal blow will not be felt until the Cultist desires it to be the case. This rote does, however, have limitations. For a start, it only effects the first wound inflicted after it is invoked. A Cultist who is punched and then shot will have to `hangover' the punch and take the shot. Furthermore, this damage cannot be healed without the corresponding Time magick to `un-pick' the wound from the pattern without allowing the damage to run rampant. The effect lasts for one hour per success)

Rotes
~The Crystal Ship~ (Life  Mind )

            (For every success, the user's dice penalties due to pain (not necessarily wound levels, although this is the most common usage) are reduced by one. Variations of this rote exist to deal with similar penalties imposed, not by harsh pain, but by pleasure, as is the case in a number of other rotes described here.)

Rotes
~Breaking the flow~ (Entropy  Time Mind)

(This rote is essentially a refined version of the 'Dim Mak' rote so favored by many a magi. The Mind sphere is used to multi-task, ensuring that the mage's defenses are not compromised while he gazes into the future. The combination of Entropy and Time magick allows the user to examine all manner of possible courses which the combat might take, and to discern the weak spots in the technique of both himself and his enemy. For every success on the magick roll, the user gains a free success that he may allocate before any roll to hit, dodge, damage or in any other way interact with his foes)

Rotes
~Bombolai~ (Either Spirit or Matter  and Prime )

            (There are two methods by which the bombolai may be performed. The first involves infusing the pleasure in question, be it alcohol, marijuana, or just normal food, with ojas (quintessence), thus `enchanting' it. The second involves calling upon the spirits of the substance to awaken. Whatever the case, the mechanics are the same. For every success the fortunate Ecstatic rolls, the effects of the target substance are doubled upon imbibing. 5 Successes is generally enough to cause even a ham sandwich to make one unconscious)

Rotes
~The Inner Fire~ (Life )

            (For every success, one negative effect of the ingestion of some substance is negated. Particularly strong negative effects may sometimes require more than one success each, but most substances of such a nature are frowned upon by the Cult regardless. A Life  effect can extend the inner fire to others)

If you would like to suggest an addition or make a comment to this page please E mail me at SeaveeB@earthlink.com  please list the subject as "CommentCoX" Thankyou...
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