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Life is one of the ten Arcana of Mage: The Awakening, the Primal Wild's Gross ruling Arcanum. Mastery of it grants control over the physical forms of all living things; Life spells might heal wounds, transform the bodies of living creatures, spread disease or exert gross physical control over animals and plants. The Arcanum of Life allows a mage to influence the various life forms of the Fallen World. Any terrestrial organism may be affected by the spells of this Arcanum, and their effects range from the healing of wounds and transformation into other creatures to the spreading of disease and sapping of physical strength. The mage can change her shape, make her body stronger, alter her physical appearance, control the behaviour of life forms all the way up to humanity, and raise life from one state to another. The Arcanum of Life is primarily used by the Thyrsus, a Path very much in touch with the natural world.

Mages learning the lore of Life begin with control over only the simplest organisms; as they grow in knowledge, they may affect more complex lifeforms. For these purposes, all living things are designated as Base (plants, fungi, microbes and insects), Median (other non-sentient animals) or High Life (humans and other thinking animals). The Undead - even thinking, previously living humans like vampires and revenants - cannot be affected by Life magic; they fall under the purview of Death.[1]

Life magic cannot make permanent unnatural changes to the Patterns of living things; a Life spell may not be of indefinite duration. The only way around this limitation is to use Fate magic to establish a conditional duration.

Its associated summoning is the Atavism and the Exarch that supervises it is the Raptor. Within Astral Space, Life is personified by the Aeon known as the Stag.