charter marks

[lightfairy]

does anyone know much about charter marks? i picked up some teachings on the basics from a friend but need more in depth info. does anyone even know what they are? i got a basic charter for my avatar in case you dont know what they are called but know what they look like.

[Silverfire Darkmoon]

Erm....dude, you're thinking of Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy, which is a work of fiction. FICTION.

[Sabriel MoonStar]

Erm....dude, you're thinking of Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy, which is a work of fiction. FICTION.

Tis true. As much as I love the works of Garth Nix, it is indeed fiction. Here's the wikipedia page for them: here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Charter).

[lightfairy]

nope they do exist, they are a martial arts thing apparrently. and just because you cant see it doesnt mean it isnt there, i mean how many people believe in fairies for gods' sake. if i have made them real then they are. and thanks for pulling me down, made me feel wonderful that did.

[Sabriel MoonStar]

Well all a net search pulled up was reference to Garth Nix and some unrelated business stuff. If I search Fairies on the net I at least get something in the realm of non-fiction.

But I am always open to new info and I fully admit I can and have been wrong before. Why don't you post the info you do know (like which martial art they are related to) and I may be able to help you from there.

[David19]

I can't help with the info, but I do know that some martial art practices, especially the ones that aren't practiced much in English speaking countries, aren't widely available on the internet, and you have to find a martial arts teacher to learn the techniques and practices.

So, you (not just the OP, but others) may not find anything on the net 'cause it's not there, doesn't mean it doesn't exist, just means it needs to be taught.

[Sabriel MoonStar]

True, but I don't think that her argument was helped by her avatar reference. The mark in her avatar (now changed) was from on of the covers of the "adult" editions of one of Nix's books (Sabriel I think. I have the original "juvenile" edition covers so I'm not 100% sure. )

Like I said, I am open to proof otherwise, the only reference I have ever seen to charter marks is in the works of Garth Nix. I'm a huge fan, half of my username is based on the main character of the Abhorsen Trilogy, but I have never read anything that indicated he based them off a non fiction source.

[lightfairy]

Inspired by this Zen painting by the Master Sengai (1750 – 1898) Circle, Triangle and Square. Ink on Paper from the Collection of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo. remind you of anything?

[Sabriel MoonStar]

Circles, squares and triangles are basic shapes. They could look like any number of things.

What are we to compare this to anyway?

[lightfairy]

the six basic charters, and the advanced. master charters just get wierd. but i seem to be the only one who knows much about them and even then i dont know much. i guess i will just have to get craig to teach me some more. I also originally wanted to know if anyone else had seen them before. they work on energy manipulation if you use them right. causing people to bodily move if youre good enough with them. i suppose thats why its a martial arts thing. but i guess their use is not widespread. meh.

[Sabriel MoonStar]

Well if you want us to compare them to the marks themselves you'd have to show us a picture of the marks (if you don't have an online copy you could like scribble them on paper and scan them).

Otherwise it's hard to compare the picture you provided to anything.

[lightfairy]

wish i had a scanner, will have to see what i can do in paint. dont even have photoshop. aint it pants. and no way am i drawing up masters, they are far too mental.

[Sabriel MoonStar]

I heard Gimp is good. Free to boot. http://www.gimp.org/

[David19]

What martial art do you practice?, if you give us the name, it might open more avenues to look in.

[lightfairy]

i only study freestyle self defence but the guy who taught me this did an impressive backpacking thing in asia for three years. even he is not sure where it comes from.

anyway, i finished the doodle. they look so dull on paper, never really noticed it before. but thats because i always use my calligraphy set to draw them out but with me lacking in a scanner its the best i could do.

[Sabriel MoonStar]

I'm sorry to say this but it looks like they were taken straight out of the art from the Garth Nix books. You can see some examples (of which many are direct matches of your sketches) here (http://www.garthnix.co.uk/books_kingdom_landing).

I am sure if Garth Nix borrowed them from somewhere he would have credited it. But given the amount of originality in his work I doubt it.

It looks like maybe someone (perhaps the person who taught your friend) found the symbols personally useful and borrowed them from Nix's work?

[Clare-Dragonfly]

Hee, I had to open this thread because I'm currently rereading Sabriel :D

lightfairy, why don't you ask the friend who taught you more about it? It's apparent that no one at MW knows anything about these outside the Garth Nix books...

ETA: Does your friend know their name in the language of origin? That might help. If they're Asian they're probably not going to be well-known in English.

[lightfairy]

dont know about that claire

i just found this in another thread, paths top 10 things about being wiccan or something like that

3. Contribution.
No, not money - knowledge. The Craft has always, and will always, be an experimental religion. If it works, we use it. Then share it so all in the Craft may benefit.

just happens to be one of the few bits of the original post that hasnt been pulled apart.

[aislinnedanawhitefir]

lightfairy, I don't think anyone is saying you can't use them, I think what they are saying is that they are from a work of fiction, and therefore, that would be the best source for you to research them. While it is fiction, if you find it valid to your path, feel free to use it!