The mage can look at a spirit and learn its strengths,
weaknesses and some of the powers it possesses.
This spell allows the mage to both see and analyze a
spirit in Twilight. If the mage also casts the Spirit 2 spell
“Peer Across the Gauntlet,” she can also use the “Analyze
Spirit” spell to analyze nearby spirits in the Shadow Realm.
A single success on this spell allows the mage to determine
a spirit’s Rank and most significant Influence, and also
provides a rough estimate of the spirit’s current Essence
as well as the spirit’s general appearance (see Mage: The
Awakening, pp. 317–318). Additional successes provide
further information, including an increasingly precise
knowledge of the spirit’s Attributes, additional Influences,
the level of its various Influences and (with three or more
successes) knowledge of its more significant or powerful
Numina. This spell provides no knowledge about the activities
or history of a particular spirit, merely its capabilities.
If the caster adds Mind 1 to the casting, she can also use
this spell to gain information about individuals who are
mentally projecting, and if she adds Death 1, she can gain
similar information about ghosts.
Mysterium Rote: Ephemeral Classification
The Mysterium’s central maxim of “Knowledge Is
Power” is never more true than when dealing with
the strange and potentially deadly residents of the
Shadow Realm. Mysterium mages who regularly use
this spell often keep detailed records and sketches of
the various spirits they have encountered and add
these notes to the Mysterium’s extensive catalogs of
spirit types and varieties.