The Powers of Death and Decay

"The First Rule of Necromancy is to throw away your paperback Necronomicon!" -- "Tomekeeper" Master Necromancer of the Hall of Legions.
This page is dedicated to my favourite and most used of the arts, Necromancy. Necromantics is the intimate use of life and death energies to the advantage of the Necromancer. Though at first appearance, the name implys the strict and explicit ues of the powers of death alone, it does, in a bizarre and twisted way, also involve the manipulation of life forces.
First, I'd like to explain my quote. It's quite probable that if you are interested in Necromancy that at one point or another, you have either read, or bought (or both) the Necronomicon. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint those of you that have or had it, but it isn't worth the paper it's printed on. You can not buy ancient powers, mighty gods, Necromantic powers and legitimate spells to go along with it for $20 Canadian. Sorry, but no. The truth of the matter is that H. P. Lovecraft is a fiction writer. His story about the origin, purpose, and discovery of the Necronomicon is totally fake, as is the content of his book. It is nothing more than a semi-intelligently wraught mish-mash of facts that he has attempted to correlate into a cohesive tome. Don't believe it, don't buy it, and don't think it's worth even keeping. Let the neophytes and those that are easily fooled keep THAT book. There is no such thing, anywhere or in any art, as "The Big Book of Magic Spells" that you can simply pick up and become a 20 minute magician. The closest thing to an "Instant Magical Fix" is the Keys of Solomon series for Conjurers. Magic is a difficult ability to obtain and maintain. Some people are naturally gifted at magic, but even they have to practice often or else risk losing their ability. I am among the gifted, but I do not slack off at all in practice as a result. Each prospective magician, to be a Master, must diligently seek out their art through trial, study and tribulation. Coles Bookstore does not now, nor will they ever, have a $20 solution. Here is an informative link on the Necronomicon's History.
It is assumed you have already read and applied the texts presented in "Beginning Occult Magic" and "Branching Arts", back at the main page. If not, use the link at the bottom of this page to go back, or use the Back button on your browser.
As a Necromancer, you will find yourself in a precarious position. You have, of course, been practising Necromancy for a while before visiting a page about advanced techniques, so you would have noticed by now that working so close to death does some rather nasty things to you (being a living entity). This is because though you are protected, as a Necromancer, you are still not immune. The real dilemma that most people find is that their own bodies come to resemble the very forces they conjure. Necromancers tend to become very fragile in body and in appearance; their skin bleaches white, their cheeks go sallow and their hands become twisted and bony. Their gaunt and
skeletal appearance eventually progresses to the point that healthy individuals view them as rather frightening or anorexic. This is what the magician reaps as a side-effect of Necromancy. So, one of the goals that must be achieved by every Necromancer is the ability to try to avoid dying from practising their magics. This is done by using a modified form of the energy channelling lessons laid out in Beginning Occult Magic.
The way you were instructed to channel energy in Beginning Occult Magic, was to breathe in the surrounding energies and focus them towards a purpose. Now, let's expand on that idea. A fire magician will not breathe in water energy, nor a water magician fire. Conversely, a Necromancer will not be using the living (or Natural) forces around them, but rather will start off with using the powers of death. When a living thing dies, its essence remains on things it has touched or associated with during life. It is like a personality fingerprint that is left for those that are sensitive to them. You also, as a Necromancer, give off these pulses, but your essence is the essence of death. Instead of using an internal source of life, that being your health, to initate operations of Necromancy, use the death essence that exudes from your presence. Death forces will simply eat up the life forces used in an operation (although it works just as well), but death energies will initiate and also strengthen the operation at no cost to you. A great place to regenerate this ability to pulse out death energies, if you are low on power, is in a cemetary. Just walk around for a while, viewing the vestiments of death and the faces of the other people. You don't have to hide in there, meditate, or seek out bodies, but rather just be present. The effect this has on you, as a Necromancer, is that it "re-aligns" your nature to properly and consistently exude the "death aura". If you become magically impotent, it helps to get your bearings by having a quiet time in the cemetary (however twisted or beautiful that sounds). It performs much the same function as prayer to a Christian. Christians pray, and feel energized and "in tune" with God again. Necromancers can have their time of solemnity and solitude and come away with new focus, and sharper concentration. It takes away the cares of the world and also regenerates your magical power.
Speaking of magical power, let's take a moment to discuss the usage of rings, amulets, talismans, enchanted devices/clothing, etc. In my opinion (feel free to disagree if you wish), the whole pile of rings and things are a waste of money. As I have found, these vestiments of Necromancy do nothing more than bolster the ego. They may be useful for struggling beginners to feel that they have power through the object, but in actuality, one must realise that all these powers are channelled through your own skill, not because of a piece of stone, wood or metal. A struggling Necromancer who knows no better may actually be improved by the use of Necromantic vestiments, but this is only because the beginner believes it will help. Personally, I don't wear a necklace, or ring, or amulet or any sort. I know that my power is just as great even without these things. If you see someone who is having trouble with the art of Necromancy, give them a Necromantic ring. They'll enjoy it, and it will "give them power". After serious study (supposing they are studying to improve their art and not just looking for quick and fun magic results), they will realise that extras are not important and will take the ring off.
Now we come to the technique and abilities of a Necromancer. This will take a while (roughly a lifetime) to understand. Power, as a Necromancer has, is not limited to a certain set of spells and abilities. Necromancers, much like Mages, are very versatile in their abilities. Anything related to death, shadow, darkness, and the undead is within the grasp of the Necromancer. A Necromancer may use their power in any way the imagination can comprehend, the mind can understand and the power can support. Remember, Necromancers: This is not a video game. You are not stuck with a finite amount of spells.
Just as a White Magician creates "pure" areas to work in, the Mage creates "Nodes", and the Enchanter has a "Ritual Area", so the Necromancer can construct an ethereal space of heightened power. These, sadly enough, are very easy to find. As a Necromancer progresses through the ranks they will find that as they approach the height of their own personal power, that their very surroundings will become decayed and ghastly in appearance. This is because the Death Essence that a Necromancer exudes will permeate their surroundings. Because every operation a Necromancer attempts is based in the use of Death Essence and the molding thereof, the necrotic aspects of Death Essence tends to leak out into the surrounding area. As an example of casting a Necromantic spell, such as to see far away, one would use Death Essence. The Necromancer is a secluded sort who is usually unable to consort effectively with other magic types, due to the vampiric and parasitic nature of Necromancy. As a Necromancer, a good idea would be to seek out other magicians and use the infamous Draining Touch to take their life force and energy from them. This can then be channelled into miscellaneous spells and works of Necromancy.
Now, for all of this information, you should know that this covers what is called, "Lesser Necromancy". Lesser Necromancy is not as extreme as Greater Necromancy, but usually just as powerful. To complete the knowledge of a Master Necromancer (ONLY once you have mastered Lesser Necromancy!) you can move on to the last page: Greater Necromancy.