The Wheel of Magic, depicting the eight Winds of Magic; clockwise from top: Ghyran, Azyr, Ulgu, Shyish, Aqshy, Ghur, Hysh, and Chamon.
Devised by Supreme Patriarch Garvan Paranoth of the Jade Order in ages past,[1a] the Wheel of Magic, also sometimes referred to as the Great Wheel, or among wizards as "Paranoth's Wheel," is a common sight in the magical tomes of the Empire of Man and the rest of the Old World. It shows the relationships between the eight lores of magic and the eight sorcerous Winds of Magic that feed them. Since magical power is itself simply an expression of the energies of Chaos, most representations of the wheel also include the eight-pointed Star of Chaos in their design in some form.
Each lore of magic shares key words of command, rituals or abilities with other lores in close proximity, whilst existing in opposition to the lore that sits on the opposite side of the wheel. It is little wonder that Men cannot master all eight lores simultaneously, for to do so would be to hold eight polar opposites in balance -- a recipe for disaster should even a single word of command be mispronounced.[2a]
History[]
Garvan Paranoth was the Supreme Patriarch of the Imperial Colleges of Magic beginning in 2383 IC. An accomplished member of the Jade Order, Paranoth was a great researcher into the general theory of magic. He was known for wandering the Known World to learn more about the diversity of nature and trace the courses of the Green Wind of Ghyran throughout the land. Paranoth gained great wisdom and a keen interest in the nature of magic, expounding that magical insight and creation come from experiencing life in all its forms.[3b]
Among his many accomplishments was the codification of the hues and symbols associated with the eight lores of magic. This symbol has become known as the Great Wheel or the Wheel of Magic and has become a commonly recognised icon of the Colleges of Magic as a whole. To wizards however, it is known as "Paranoth's Wheel."[3a]
It is not without controversy. In designing his wheel Paranoth hoped to illustrate his hypotheses that particular lores of magic were associated according to their proximity on the wheel, that Magisters working with a particular lore had superiority over those working with a lore clockwise to their own but were inferior to those working with the lore anticlockwise to their own, and that lores on opposite sides of the wheel were antithetical to one another.[3a]
Time has not been kind to these suppositions, and they have failed to find support despite rigorous testing. Many Magisters also note that the symbol of the Jade College is placed towards the top of the wheel purely due to Paranoth's personal biases.[3a]
Trivia[]
In Defenders of Ulthuan, it's shown that the topmost chamber of the White Tower of Hoeth has the Wheel of Magic built into the floor. It is unclear if Teclis had this done before or after Paranoth, or, in the former case, if Paranoth derived inspiration from the High Elves.
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Empire (8th Edition)
- 1a: pg. 19
- 2: Warhammer Uniforms & Heraldry of the Empire
- 2a: pg.65
- 3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Winds of Magic (RPG)
- 3a: pg. 16
Gallery[]
_Wind_of_Chaos.jpg "Warhammer Magic - Eight (8) Wind of Chaos.jpg (110 KB)")
