Circle of the Crone: Titles and Offices

Vampire the Requiem - Covenant - Circle of the Crone

The ritualistic nature of The Circle of the Crone seems to lend itself to a hierarchy of titles and roles, each fulfilling some unique niche or aspect of the covenant’s esoteric dealings, but such is not the case. In fact, only a single “official” title sees very much use throughout the covenant. The rest are either titles pro-tem, city-specific titles or simply convenient descriptors for duties that almost any Acolyte might fulfill.

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The Circle of the Crone is a syncretism of various old religions. Many of these ancient ways — from Celtic Druidism to Mesoamerican Shamanism — maintained similar practices and roles. These roles represent certain archetypes, be it the diviner, the singer or the high Priest. However, while each role may thematically be analogous among different Acolyte cults, that doesn’t mean that the positions (or the associated tasks) are precisely the same.
Of course, the covenant has no central leadership. The Circle follows no concrete dogma and maintains few prescribed laws. The covenant’s gods are many, its rituals limitless. The covenant is little more than a broadly branching tree whose boughs offer umbrage to various sects. Therefore, despite any commonality among roles and duties, the Circle offers very few officially recognized positions. In fact, only two roles are widespread enough to be considered “sanctioned.” The rest are unique from city to city, cult to cult.

Formal Duties

Below are the roles common to most Acolytes. One is likely to find these vampires in any city with a moderate number of Acolytes (five or more).

Uncommmon Roles

In every domain, the Circle wears a different face. Acolytes and their beliefs are different from city to city — and, if the city’s vampire population is large enough, their beliefs likely vary even within a single domain. Each cult demands that its adherents wear particular masks. Below is an exploration of some of these masks — i.e., roles — found within various covenant sects.

Roles in the Philosophy

Religious ceremony rests on symbolism, in which small things that can be grasped stand for big things that can’t be seized in the hand. The Christian reveres the bread and wine as stand-ins for suffering and redemption. The individual is only the microcosm, but reflected in him is the macrocosm. This is a key to Crúac. Acolytes who bury its unspeakable principles in their hearts become able to blend their consciousness into the world around them, not just imaginatively or philosophically, but in fact.
This blending goes both ways, of course. The universe puts its print on the individual, far more than the individual marks the universe. Great and amorphous shapes flow invisibly through the human experience, giving name and form to our acts. One may not realize, at first, that one is following the footsteps of historical and mystical archetypes. Yet the feet fall in the right steps, even when the dancer cannot hear the tune.
This is where the Circle’s wisdom becomes important. The Acolytes have the knowledge and experience to perceive the patterns, and to educate individuals in the shapes their Requiems are taking. The Circle’s advice can help neonates find their place in the cosmos, a place that was always there, but only visible after initiation.

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Unusual Hierarchies

Every cult is different. The hierarchies contained within an individual cult or sect may vary from city to city. One might make use of some unusual alternatives when deciding how the Acolytes in a given region label their hierarchies:

• Tarot (Hierophant, High Priestess, Fool, the Hanged Man, the Emperor, etc.)
• Wolfpack (Alpha, Beta, Omega)
• Infernal (Baal, Duke, Duchess, Lightbringer, Imps, etc.)
• Greek (Gods, Demigods, Titans, Fates, Erinyes, Muses, etc.)

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Roles and Religion

The great question among those who perceive these eight roles and trust their power is, how do they relate to religion? There are two schools of thought, each one passionate about its approach, with no reconciliation in sight.
First, there are those who believe that the archetypes shape the gods as much as they shape mortals. The archetypes might as well be gods, to these philosophers, since they arise from the same human duties, choices and behaviors. In every culture, a patriarchal Father god exists because the male parent is universal to Humanity. Therefore, worshipping Zeus as the patriarch is little different from worshipping the Great Spirit. The details vary, but the overlap is far more significant.
The other camp is far more partisan to their particular god, to whom the believers assign primacy of the archetypal role. From their perspective, all the Virgin goddesses are differentiated, and the differences matter more than the parallels. This philosophy appeals to some religious chauvinists, asserting that Hel is the true death-delving Maiden, with Hine-titama and Qivittoq as either (1) imperfect attendants to Hel, (2) imperfect perceptions of Hel, wrongly worshipped as separate entities or (3) simple imposters. More tolerant partisans defend their personal interest in a single deity as a matter of simple choice. Instead of saying “Odin is the supreme Hermit god,” they say, “I prefer the Hermit god Odin.”

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