Secrets of the Cosmos
or
What Every Initiate Should Know Before Embarking On The Path To Knowledge
by Jet Touraine
Annotations by Komaru Takanobu, 226
There are an unknown and potentially extremely large number of Cosmos cards. They can be laid out in an ever-widening pattern of circles called "The Wheel", of which the thirty-six most common cards form the innermost part of the Wheel. Attunement begins with one of the four innermost cards, and proceeds outwards along the chosen path circle by circle.
There are four "Cardinal Paths" on the Wheel, corresponding to the geography of Komaru, as well as the astrology of the Cosmos.
They are The Path of the Sun, or The Path of Healing, to the East, which corresponds to the Sun.
The Path of the Mirror, or The Path of Social Graces, to the South, which corresponds to Lucien, the Light Moon.
The Path of the Void, or the Path of War, to the West, which corresponds to Damien, the Dark Moon.
The Path of the Galaxy, or The Path of Knowledge, to the North, which corresponds to the Galaxy.
The first fact the supplicant seeking knowledge must know is the Exclusivity of the Paths. One can be attuned to only one of the four paths. Once the attunement to the first oath is made the way is chosen, and the other paths are forever closed to the initiate. (This is not quite true, cf. Paradox, which allows one to attune to the opposite path as well.)
Attempting initiations off of one's chosen path can result in serious, even physical harm. Think carefully before choosing a path, learn as much as you can before choosing and do not allow yourself to be rushed to a conclusion by unscrupulous persons.
Attunement requires that the supplicant possess a Cosmos Deck with the Cosmos card of the first or innermost circle for the chosen path, and a person who is already attuned to a Cosmos Deck. (Actually, a previously initiated person is not necessary for this, nor is an entire Cosmos Deck necessary, just the card being attuned to.) This person may be attuned to any path. Once attuned, the initiate will no longer age. The initiate will remain, and appear as, his current age until his 128th year.
Each card has a secret Name, in addition to the common name of the card, too which one can appeal for a specific power once one is initiated to that card. The cards of the innermost circles can each offer only one power, but those of the outer circles are said to possess several powers, of which not all may be chosen. (The actual linkage between cards and powers that can be granted is somewhat more complex than this.)
To receive the power one calls out to the secret Name, and requests the power. For instance, one attuned to the card Pathway Through Shadow of the Path of the Galaxy could call out,
"Seiriel, grant me the power of Reading the Stars"
The other paths and powers are as follows:
To the East, the Light of Perfection, whose secret name Solariel can grant the power Sun's Health.
To the South, the Mirror of Light, whose secret name Mirariel can grant the power What the Mirror Sees.
To the West, the Darkness that Devours, whose secret name is Nyctariel can grant the power Shadow Binding.
The second fact the supplicant seeking knowledge must know is the Cost of the Powers. Many of the powers granted come with bindings. Some can be quite harmless, and in the inner circles usually are such as being required to wear black or to not refuse to speak on a certain subject. Some, especially in the outer circles, can be much more dangerous, and compel one to consume the souls of the dead, or far worse.
To be initiated into the second circle of a cardinal path requires the supplicant and four other initiates of the first circle. One second level initiate can replace two first level initiates, thus, five initiates can raise three of their number to the second level.
* It is said that there is an exception to this in the Path of Knowledge, initiation to Sadalmelik requires the presence of someone currently initiated to Sadalmelik. If this is true, one wonders what rituals the first initiate to Sadalmelik had to endure?
The third fact the supplicant seeking knowledge must know is the Increasing Geometry of Power. In order to advance along a path one must be supported by other initiates of one's path, and not all these supporters may be advanced. Thus, one who wishes increasing power must recruit additional initiates to lower circles of one's path. There is a great risk that a person urging you to choose a certain path wishes you to do so for his own gain, not yours, and wishes to use you as a stepping stone to his greater power. Be sure to ask yourself what you gain from any such bargain.
The main diagonals are also associated with the astrology of Komaru. Using the geographic terms for the Wheel, the North-East diagonal is connected with the Asura, the North-West with the Darkness, the South-West with the Deva, and the South-East with the Light. Attunement to cards along the diagonals is more complicated, and involves initiates of both adjacent cardinal paths.
To be attuned to a first circle corner requires one initiate of each of the two adjacent first circle cards, each possessing a copy of the card. Through the ritual, both supplicants are attuned.
To be raised to one of the eight second circle inner diagonal cards requires a second level initiate of the closest path, the supplicant (which must be an initiate of the first level corner card), and the Miko, or priestess, of the card sought. (This is reversed - the supplicant must be a second level initiate of the closest path, and he requires the support of an initiate of the adjacent first level corner card who is furthermore not attuned to the second level card in question.)
The Miko is not attuned to the card in the normal sense, but is subject to a special binding which takes effect once she participates as a Miko in a second tier corner attunement. Thus a Miko can be created during an attunement in which she acts as a Miko if she fits the requirements for that Miko. (The Miko notes are confused, see notes below for clarification.)
Miko are marked during the ritual by the character of the card they serve in an appropriate color on a specific part of the body. The Miko must abide by the special binding or she ceases to be a Miko and can never be a Miko of that card again. One part of each of the bindings is that the Miko may not act as the Miko of another card. If she does so she ceases to be a Miko of the first card.
(On the second tier, Miko are not related or used for the corner cards at all, but the cards that are neither cardinal nor corner. The mark may be added at any time, but must be done before the person can become a Miko. A person must fit certain requirements before they can become a Miko, and, after becoming one, must continue to follow that binding.)