Essence

Essence: An Avatar's Nature
Essence reflects the personality of an Avatar and influences its mage's behavior and ideals. There is no agreement among the Awakened regarding theorycraft for the purpose and origin of Essence. To the Technocrats, the concept of Essence is usually replaced with Eidolon- a construct of one's Enlightened Genius.

Most often, Essence reveals itself as personality quirks, flashes of intuition, yearnings, dreams, and other very subtle and personalized ways. All four Essences can be found in every faction, though there are broad symbolic connections between both: Questing to the Traditions,  Pattern to the Technocrats, Dynamic to Marauders, and Primordial to the Nephandi. Essences also correspond to the symbolic elements in Western mysticism: Dynamic to Fire, Pattern to Earth, Questing to Air, and Primordial to Water.

Some mages believe in a 5th Essence: Infinite, which must exist but has never been documented- and could, for all that anyone knows, be tied to the apotheosis of successful Ascension.

The stronger the Avatar, the more powerful its influence and the echo of Essence in its mage. This is something to keep in mind while roleplaying.

Dynamic Essence
The Dynamic Essence embodies Change. It corresponds to the WtA concept of "The Wyld"- ever creative, mercurial, passionate, restless, brilliant, and in momentum.

Pattern Essence
Whereas Dynamic Essence is Change, Pattern is stability and Order. It can manifest as calm temperment, practicality, conservative opinions, dogmatism, dependability and inflexibility.

Primordial Essence
This Essence symbolizes cosmic potential, the mysteries and enigmas and secrets not of what is- but what could be. It resonates in deep waters, dark silence, shadows, swirling vortexes and labryinths.

Questing Essence
If Primordial Essence is the hidden secret, then Questing Essence is the spirit of adventure: curious, tenacious, romantic, zealous, restless, and yearning.