Many ghosts don’t realize that they are dead, much less retain any clear memory of the circumstances of
their deaths or the events that have happened since. This is lamentable in that it holds them to a ghostly
existence rather than allowing them to pass on to their final destiny. It is, however, also frustrating to mages
who might otherwise gain a great deal of information from talking to a ghost. With this spell, the mage can
grant self-awareness and intelligence to a ghost.
This spells works similarly to the Mind 4 spell “Augment Other’s Mind,” except that this spell
only functions on ghosts. The spell brings a ghost to a level of self-awareness at which it can remember
how it died (if it was in a position to know; a person who died of poisoning might know that much, but
not who poisoned it) and what has happened to it since its death. This spell in no way makes the ghost
well-disposed toward the mage. In fact, many ghosts despise the person who showed them their deaths.
The mage must touch the ghost to use this spell, which requires the mage to be in Twilight, the ghost to manifest (see p. 210 of the World of Darkness Rulebook), or the mage to cast “Touch of the Grave” (see p. 138 of Mage: The Awakening). At Death 4, the mage can cast this spell at sensory range, and can use advanced prolongation Duration factors. Some ghosts are self-aware to begin with, and this spell confers no further bonus on such shades.
Mysterium Rote: Thwarting the Waters of Lethe
Ghosts see a great deal more than they remember, making them a valuable, but often untappable resource
for those who seek lost knowledge or the location of long-forgotten (by humans) artifacts. The mages of
the Mysterium frequently do not have time to waste in the slow (and sometimes fruitless) task of talking
ghosts into remembering that they are dead so that they can query them about information. By using this spell, a mystagogue can cut to the chase, diving directly into negotiation for the information he needs.
