The following is in character speculation by [Tristian L. Goodfellow], and may be pubished as a paper someday.  He's the most likely
of the party to know what he's talking about here, but he's definitely going out on a limb here. *should be rephrased a bit to make it more in character*

There are three basic types of Spirits:

o Elementals

  These are spirits of a substance, most commonly the four hermetic elements of Air, Fire, Earth, and Water.
  They are typified by an obsession with their Element, and a fear or loathing of an oppositional force, and the ability to materialize easily.  They are usually summoned by [Hermetic] magi.  The ElementalPackage describes basic traits common to most elementals.

o Nature Spirits

  These are spirits of composite ideas or places, known as their domain--usually a terrain type, weather pattern, or human facility (such as Home, Factory, or Street).
  They are typified by a total dependance on their idea or place, usually unable to depart from it (a spirit of storms simply fades out when the weather clears up) but having great knowledge and awareness of its own domain, including the ability to tweak luck and fortune.  They are usually summoned by [Shaman]s. The NatureSpiritPackage describes basic traits common to most nature spirits.

o Ghosts

  These are the spirits of those who were once alive, almost always of a deceased namegiver.
  Ghosts cannot materalize fully (except, perhaps, under very special circumstances) and instead interact with the world through vessels.  As holding onto existance beyond the grave is very difficult, most if not all have some form of obsession that gives their "life" form and meaning.  The best-known ghosts are the Loa, ancestors of the human race, but other powerful obsessive personas are also known to exist (worshipped media figures, anchient oriental emperors, Old Gods, etc.).  Loa are typically summoned by [Voodoo] pratitioners, although any tradition that includes ancestor worship may have ghosts associated with it.  The LoaPackage describes basic traits common to most ghosts, and to loa in particular.  Most of what have been called gods are variants on ghosts or the hybrid ghosts, totems and celestials.


In addition, there are three hybrid types of spirits which are also moderately well known.

o Wui-Jen

  These are the midpoint between elemental and nature spirits.
  Wui-Jen are spirits of the Five Stems (Flame, Earth, Wave, Wood, and Metal or Wind), and have a moderate dependency upon their element as well as an obsessive hatred of corrupted spirits.  They are, in many ways, nature spirits of substances.  They are often very in tune with energy flows and the good fortune of moving with them.  Wui-Jen are typically summoned by [AsianMystic]s.  The Wui-JenPackage describes basic traits common to most Wui-Jen.

o Totems

  These are the midpoint between nature spirits and ghosts.  Note that most mundane animals (like Cat and Elk) are actually overarching nature spirits.
  They are concepts or archetypes that are large enough to have garnered some form of sentience from the collective subconscious (at least according to some theories), and tend to be very obsessive about their domain, which is typically an archetype rather than a location, and rarely materialize fully.  Examples include the Dark King, the Mood Maden, the Gargoyle, the Trickster, the Creator, and the Adversary.  Totems have an ethos, but far less of a direct personality than a ghost.  They are typically summoned by [Druid]s.  The TotemPackage describes basic traits common to most totems.

o Celestials

  These are the midpoint between ghosts and elementals.  They are sometimes described as Angels, Demons, or Olympic Spirits.
  Celestials are almost always summoned in forms worshipped or adored by ancient cultures, usually (these days) as angelic or demonic manifestations, but others are possible.  They represent basic forces in the universe--purity, war, destruction, lightning, force, light, or even gravity, etc.  Any given group of celestials will have internal conflict, and may be at war with other groups of celestials (as in the classic conflict between angels and demons).  [MiracleWorker]s (usually Christian or Muslim) sometimes summon celestials, although their church organizations rarely approve of such activities.  The CelestialPackage describes basic traits common to most celestials.
  Common oganizations for Celestials include Zodiac spirits, or spirits associated with the planetary spheres.


In addition to the six above types, a spirit may be a sacrifice spirit, a corrupted (sometimes called tainted or toxic) spirit, or neither.

Sacrifice spirits require basic attributes in the world to give them form.  Aztek priest's blood spirits are the cannonical sacrifice spirit, and are sacrifice elementals (blood or ST).  Thought forms summoned by wielders of [Psionics] are aspects of their personas or the personas of those around them, and require some substance of mind to take form (IQ, WL, or sometimes CH).  [Invae], or insect spirits, appear to be sacrifice nature spirits, requiring hosts to consume and possess.  Other forms may exist.  Although sacrifice spirits are not necessarily evil, they are often percieved to be, as the one to sacrifice is very often not willing.

Toxic nature spirits are the most obvious form of corrupted spirit, and frequent places ruined and poluted, or in the case of Spirits of Man, places of great suffering and oppression.  Toxic elementals (Balefire, Acid, Smog, and Sludge, tentatively) have been noted to exist, although they are rare.  Petro Loa or other highly vengeful spirits could be considered tainted, as they are gods of vengance and hatred.  Other forms may exist.  Corrupted spirits are, by their very difinition, what most would call evil.

It is hypothesized that [Horror]s may be an independant form of spirit, or may be the most essential form of corruption, their intersession being what brings about toxic or corrupted spirits in the world.

There is no likewise "pure" sacrifice spirit known, although [Invae] are the closest candidate.

<hr><b>2002/03/08 10:47 EST (via web):</b><br>
The above is *entirely* in-character speculation.  Might be useful to publish as a paper, though. --bts