[UA] Re: UA Inspiration

[Foster Ranney]

>
>Is there a "Mystic Hermaphrodite" Illuminatus! that
>I'm missing?
>
>Jonathan
> 

The first place I'd look to is alchemy. Try the "levity" site, http://levity.com/alchemy/, if you don't know much about the topic. Also, remember that the central concept of the hermaphrodite is Paradox, which fuels magic (explicitly, in the case of any adept, but also in other situations). One reason I've heard for the sexual connotations of witchcraft and Satanism (virgins on the altar or what have you) is that sexual congress is the most fundamental example of paradox magic. Man and woman become one, and a miracle occurs: they give life to a new person. That helped me to get a handle on the Mystic Hermaphrodite. It's one of the more esoteric, but still ancient and fundamental, concepts in the game; and that's a perfect recipe for an archetype.

 - F.A.R. out