Tapping into the Divine: Wiccan Commemorative Verse and Spirituality

Wiccan commemorative verse refers to a type of poetry or prose that is used within the Wiccan religion to remember and honor individuals who have passed away. Wiccans believe in the interconnectedness of all beings and that death is a natural part of the cycle of life. As such, they often use commemorative verses as a way to celebrate the life of the deceased and to provide comfort and healing for those who are left behind. These verses are often written with a rhythmic and lyrical quality, drawing inspiration from the natural world and the elements. They may incorporate imagery and symbolism that is significant within Wiccan beliefs, such as references to the moon, the sun, the earth, and the changing seasons. The verses may also include references to specific deities or spirits that are important to the individual or their family.

As you can see from the above screen-shot, the randomly-generated season is Autumn, and the current weather is Cool which means we will get four actions per day, as per usual. We also have to assign 5 victory points to the categories Great Treasures, Newly Learned Spells, Fame, Notoriety, and Gold. As the Berserker is the Realm's resident bad-ass, I've assigned three points to Fame and two points to Notoriety. This means we will need to accumulate 30 points of Fame and 40 points of Notoriety in four weeks in order to win the game. We get Fame and Notoriety for killing monsters and Notoriety alone for killing members of the Native groups.

The letter and numbers in the lower-left corner represents how much damage they can deal and the speed of their attack lower is faster while the number in the lower right corner represents how fast they can maneuver in order to avoid incoming attacks. However, a lot of fans recommend reading Stephen McKnight s The Least You Need to Know to Play Magic Realm , which DRASTICALLY cut down the 2nd edition rules by a whopping 97 to a mere 8 pages, so forget the popcorn this time.

The verses may also include references to specific deities or spirits that are important to the individual or their family. The purpose of Wiccan commemorative verse is to create a sense of connection and continuity between the living and the deceased. It is believed that by reciting these verses, the energy and spirit of the deceased can be honored and maintained.

‘Magic Realm’ – The 2nd Most Complicated Board Game Ever

With so many ‘fiddly’ tabletop games out there, there must be some that go beyond the call of fiddliness. Magic Realm is a contender.

We here at BoLS are no strangers to complicated board games. In fact, it’s kind of our thing. Some time back, we took a deeper look into The Campaign for North Africa, which is widely hailed as the most complicated board game ever.

• The Logistical Nightmare That is ‘The Campaign For North Africa’
• The Logistics of the Logistical Nightmare That is ‘The Campaign for North Africa’
• The Combat of the Logistical Nightmare of ‘The Campaign For North Africa’

So it should come as no surprise that eventually we would ask the question, “But what about the second most complicated board game ever?” The answer to that, as far as I’m concerned, is…

Magic Realm

Magic Realm is a mostly competitive adventure game with resource management, unique player powers, and action programming mechanics. Plus so much more. It was released in 1979, the same year as Campaign for North Africa. The game plays for up to 16 players. There are that many characters to choose from and no reason you couldn’t have everyone running around at the same time. Maybe just block off your whole weekend for that.

In Magic Realm, players take the role of wayward adventurers. They travel the land, hunt for treasure, battle monsters, and befriend the locals (or kill them, it’s up to you).

Because Magic Realm is so complicated, this is going to be a very broad overview of the phases of a turn. Don’t expect to be able to jump into a game after just this read, but for some more learning resources, stick around until the end.

How to Win

One of the many interesting things about Magic Realm is players get to choose their victory condition. At the start of the game, players select their victory conditions by distributing 5 points among the available Victory Categories. This determines their overall Victory Requirements.

This is probably among the least important aspects of Magic Realm, but I think it’s just a cool mechanic. Some games swear they allow for multiple strategies to achieve victory. Magic Realm delivers on that promise.

Each game of Magic Realm plays over the course of 28 in-game days, where each turn is 1 day. Each day is broken down into multiple phases.

• Sunrise / Birdsong
• Daylight
• Sunset / Evening / Midnight

Sunrise and Birdsong (The Planning Phase)

Sunrise is the first step of the Birdsong phase. Some game effects occur at Sunrise, usually ending spell effects and the like.

During Birdsong, players will program their turns. Each player has a Turn Record which they will use to record the actions they will take on their turn. These actions are all recorded at the start of the turn, so players will have the plan their turns before they know how some of it will plan out. Typically players will do a lot of sneaking and scouting rather than jumping headfirst into an unknown clearing.

Daylight (The Action Phase)

Player turn order in Magic Realm is random each turn. Daylight is when characters will do the actions they chose during Birdsong.

The Move action allows a character to move into any adjacent clearing. There are potentially secret paths and tunnels as well, but the player will need to do the Search actions before being able to use them. There are also mountain tiles that require 2 Move actions to enter. Things like horses and some magic items will also affect a character’s ability to move.

The Hide action allows the character to roll a d6. On a 6, they fail to hide. Otherwise, they are hidden and can still perform other actions while sneaking around. This is mostly useful for avoiding encounters you’d rather avoid.

The Search action has tables of reference depending on which environment the character is searching, and what they are searching for. But it still boils down to rolling a die and checking a chart. The Search action is also how characters learn new spells.

The Trade action is one of the ways characters can peacefully interact with the denizens of the realm, through buying and selling items. There are several denizens of the realm, each offering different things to the characters. Selling certain items to the right group will award Fame, which is one of the victory conditions.

The Hire activity lets the characters hire allies from the denizens. They can be useful in combat but can also assist with other actions as well. But there are also Leaders, which function almost like an entirely separate character for the player to control. All followers must be paid each day or they will leave. Some spells and such can even take control of monsters to temporarily join your cause.

The Rest activity is basically skipping a turn in order to remove damage and fatigue from your character. Nothing too crazy complicated here.

The Alert action is less of an action and more of a marker of what items and spells your character has ready in the moment. This determines which weapons your character is currently wielding.

The Spell activity (or Enchant in the updated fan rules we’ll discuss later) is not casting spells, as you might expect (hence the name change). Here, characters can either enchant magic they have to turn it into a specific type of magic, or they enchant a clearing on the map. Enchanting a clearing flips the tile itself, revealing a different side with other effects.

The Follow activity is just what it sounds like. One character copies the actions of another for that day. This makes coordinating actions with allied players a lot easier, but it is also used by NPC followers just as a default thing. Fortunately, each follower has the option to stop following at the start of any action. That’s just in case your “ally” had other ideas in mind during the middle of their turn.

The Fly action is essentially just the Move action, but without the frustrating annoyance of gravity. Characters will need magic to use the Fly action but can skip the paths and clearings and move to any adjacent tile.

Sunset, Evening and Midnight (The Combat Phase)

Similar to Sunrise, some game effects trigger at Sunset step of the Evening phase. Combat occurs during Evenings and is broken down into 3 steps: Encounter, Melee, and Fatigue. Since we spend so much time on the different actions, we’re going to pretty much skip how combat works for now. But we might circle back to that one day.

But in short, during the Encounter step, basically you’re figuring out who is attacking and how. During the Melee step is when you decide who you are attacking. Finally, Fatigue is when you start to lose certain action chits for using more exhausting maneuvers.

Midnight is another collection step where certain game effects trigger and things get wrapped up to ready for the next turn. And that’s the very quick and dirty breakdown of a turn in Magic Realm!

The Community

I should also mention the game has a huge fan community. And with any good fan community of an old game comes fan-made revisions and expansions. The widely accepted “correct” rule set is version 3.2. The rules for which can be found here. That PDF is a whopping 273 pages, so get some snacks ready.

However, a lot of fans recommend reading Stephen McKnight’s The Least You Need to Know to Play Magic Realm, which DRASTICALLY cut down the 2nd edition rules by a whopping 97% to a mere 8 pages, so forget the popcorn this time.

Finally, the Magic Realm website. It doesn’t seem official in any capacity, but it’s got plenty of guides and resources and links to anything you might need to get into this game. Even more finally, there is a fan-made visual re-design of Magic Realm available on Tabletop Simulator, which is still my new favorite thing. Actually finally, there’s Magic Realm Light 30, which is a solo print n’ play variant intended to give players an idea of what the full game is like.

I wish I had the time or patience to play a game of Magic Realm, but I’ve had Scenario 4 of Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion set up untouched on my gaming table for months now, so I don’t expect it to ever happen.

Would you be interested in a more detailed explanation of the game?

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Matt has loved games of all kinds his whole life: board, video, war, roleplaying. He's worked as a writer for BoLS since 2017. He's worked as freelance editor for board game rulebooks and has designed many of his own games as well.

The Rest activity is basically skipping a turn in order to remove damage and fatigue from your character. Nothing too crazy complicated here.

In addition, the verses can provide solace and comfort to those who are grieving, reminding them of the eternal soul and the cycles of life and death. Wiccans often personalize these verses to reflect the unique qualities and experiences of the individual who has passed away. They may incorporate specific memories, qualities, or achievements into the verse, creating a tribute that is deeply meaningful and personal. Overall, Wiccan commemorative verse serves as a powerful tool for healing and remembrance within the Wiccan community. It allows individuals to express their grief, honor the deceased, and find solace in the belief that death is not an end but a transition. Through these verses, Wiccans aim to create a sense of love, connection, and spiritual continuity that transcends the boundaries of life and death..

Reviews for "Wiccan Commemorative Verse: Honoring Nature and the Divine"

1. John - 2 stars

I was really disappointed with the "Wiccan commemorative verse". The writing felt forced and lacked creativity. It seemed like the poet was just stringing together random words without any real meaning behind them. The verses were confusing and didn't flow well, making it difficult to understand the message being conveyed. Overall, I was not impressed with this poetry collection and would not recommend it to others.

2. Sarah - 1 star

I found the "Wiccan commemorative verse" to be uninteresting and uninspiring. The themes were cliched and lacked originality. The language used was overly simplistic and did not evoke any emotions or imagery. I was hoping for thought-provoking and powerful verses, but instead, I was left feeling bored. It felt like the poet was simply going through the motions instead of truly connecting with the subject matter. I would not recommend this poetry collection to anyone looking for a meaningful and engaging read.

3. David - 3 stars

Although I didn't hate the "Wiccan commemorative verse", I can't say that I enjoyed it either. The verses were too abstract and lacked coherence. It was difficult to discern a clear message or meaning from the poems, which made it hard for me to connect with the emotions being portrayed. The writing style also felt disjointed, with abrupt changes in tone and subject matter. While I appreciate the attempt to explore Wiccan themes, I believe this collection falls short in delivering a truly captivating and engaging experience.

Embracing Life and Death: Wiccan Commemorative Verse as a Catalyst