What are the types of mages?

Answer 1

The simplest and natural type is a shaman or medicine person, who knows

by direct experience what the interactions are between everything and the

dramas played out eternally. These are trusted and respected by everyone

in a tribe or family group of whatever people. An imbalance occurs when a

natural king or warlord begins to age and lose their grip. The shaman then

attempts to fill the void with varied results but they are hardly ever pretty.

The second type is a sorceror, born of cynicism somtimes but just as easy,

former shaman who believe they must control people, in order to maintain

a status quo. They have power issues, but even worse they are usually the

only people with any deep understanding of medical matters. Thus, people

with various problems have no choice but to depend on them or as it is on

television, ask your doctor if it's right for you.

Their primary context of reference is old medicine knowledge they mostly

forgot, but they remember there are all sorts of magical drugs which the

pharmaceutical branch of their family encourages them to prescribe. The

real secret about sorcery is just that, it is a family business when you do

all the math.

The third type of mage is often an artist or musician, something like that

who can give you spiritual understanding and empathy without a quaint,

ultimately meaningless political sales pitch leading back to an organized

religion, which only serves people who don't know how to think, or what

may be going on besides their own little world.

The fourth type is a true magus as I call it only interested in doing what

the force as it is called in these days demands. Of these are many types

and there is no way to know what or who they are, except in retrospect.

The fifth type is rarely known by anyone except that events transpire in

such unusual ways, their influences is obvious. In old medicine they are

called wizards, because they are beyond all forces of nature as we know

them, and have the ability to use everything for any purpose. Some are

considered to be gods, by the common people.

I realize this answer might disappoint you somewhat if you are a reader

of adventure books and there is much worthy there. However if you are

a person of imagination, you can find a rather interesting definition of a

mage I have not covered in a Science Fiction book called Radix by a man

calling himself A. A. Attanasio. In addition to that, it happens to address

the recent phenomina we call the intersection.