In the
role-playing game Mage the Ascension, the nine
Spheres are the terms used
OOC to describe a given
mage's capacity to manipulate reality. Each of the
Traditions looks at each individual
Sphere with a different analytical perspective, each of which is different still from the views of the
Technocracy, who simply regard them as scientific principles, and are different still from the
Nephandi and the
Marauders, who might not even know that they use magic at all.
No matter how a mage views his magic, though, in
OOC terms, each
Sphere is ranked with a rating of zero to five, where zero means no practical, influential knowledge and five means the mage can do whatever the hell she pleases within that
Sphere. The degree of compentency is further limited by a
mage's
arete- if a man does not understand the reality of reality, then he is hardly able to change it, is he?
The
Sphere of
Prime is the stuff of the universe. The gem of an idea brings the energy into the realm of
Mind, and the focus of that idea brings it about into
Spirit. When
Spirit takes form, it is in the shape of
Life,
Matter, or
Forces. Perceiving these powers are functions of
Correspondence and of
Time. No matter how strong a force is, though, it will eventually decay through the forces of
Entropy... and eventually, it will be reborn into
Prime.