Occult Magic

"Chaos and order are just two ends of the same spectrum. To balance that spectrum on a knife's edge... that is where true power lies.

Occultism occupies a strange spot within the Quadrilunarum; it combines aspects, at least in part, of all three other magics, yet is completely unique in and of itself. Occult magic is the application of intellect (runes, formulae, components, and formal spellcraft) to the raw chaos of the lunar-arcane. Occultism strikes a balance between the high control of arcane magic and the high chaos of elemental magic, which allows it to eschew the personal energy requirements of arcane magic without completely relinquishing control of the magic. And, for many occultists, the intellect (or the chaos) is granted by a powerful entity or force, mimicing the blessings of divine magic.

The Foundations of Occult Magic: Intellect and Chaos

Occult magic is built on the application of mortal intellect (whether or not its earned from studies) to the chaos of the pure lunar-arcane. It breaks the barrier to the lunar-arcane through the trappings of mortal arcana (components, runes, Titanspeak, etc.) to guide the initial magic towards a certain spell, but relinquishes control to the lunar-arcane to sustain the spell and go where it may. Thus, occultism is far more guided than elementalism, but not nearly as controlled as arcana.

Occult Spellcraft

Occult spellcraft is wholly focused on the ignition of a spell. It's concerned with the components, runes, Titanspeak, and motions that should be performed to create the most specific and useful manifestation of the lunar-arcane. These spells are codified, recorded, practiced, and mastered, but they can also be experienced with greatly. Because there is no magic to be maintained, but only a spell to ignited, occult magic has far greater room for experimentation---but also far greater risk for harm in that experimentation.

Some imagine occultism as driving a knife of intellect into the lunar-arcane. It bleeds out into spacetime in the form of magic, and while the knife may determine how that energy first emerges, it cannot guide each drop of blood.

How Occult Magic is Gained and Furthered

Occult magic is often encountered on one end of its spectrum: chaos or intellect. It is more often the latter, in which an arcane caster or intelligent scholar decides to dabble in occultism as opposed to arcana. There are those, however, who encounter occultism on the chaos side, in which they create "wild magic" (magic created by accident, typically from the subconscious) and then pursue further understanding of their magic. Inevitably, any occultist worth their salt learns to meet in the middle, to balance the order with the chaos and know when their intellect stops and the raw power of the lunar-arcane begins in spellcraft. Thus, they further their craft by learning more and greater spells and learning how to unleash the chaos of the lunar-arcane in ever more potent and unique fashions.
Also, for those occultists who channel their magic through the mind and power of a pact, they grow their strength through whichever aspect of occult magic their patron favors, and this growth typically comes from them growing their bond to the pact-giver.

The Limits and Costs of Occult Magic

The biggest limit of occult magic is one's own intellect. While one would think occultists and arcanists are thus quite similar, the biggest difference is how occultists do not need to worry about the management of their own energy; since their willpower is not part of the equation of spellcraft, occultists can focus wholly on their grasp of occult spells and magical theory. The more spells they learn, the more spells they can cast. There is, of course, only so many spells any one mortal can memorize and master, so many occultists specialize and master spells like arcanists do.
The cost of occult magic is two-fold: the mental drain of memorizing and casting too many spells at once, and the increased risk they take from not controlling magic as tightly as arcanists do. Mess up a spell, and you risk hurting or killing yourself or those around you. An occult spell can't be stopped like other magics can be; once it's started, the lunar-arcane will not be halted. Thus, occultists typically only cast spells while they are mentally acute. As they grow tired, they take increasing risks for miscasts.