What does it mean to be a Technomage?
It is far deeper than being interested in technology, or being a skillful user of it.
The distinction between technologist and Technomage lies in the relationship between technology and the individual. It is hard to put into words this relationship (as I have discovered in trying to write this) even though I have felt this relationship for as long as I can remember, and realized that the term Technomage applied to me the first time I heard it. I hope this helps.
Advanced technology has nothing to do with it.I, for one, reject Clarke's Law that any technology, which is sufficiently advanced, is indistinguishable from magic. All technology is identical to magic. Technology's magic lies in the relationship between creator and creation, and in the fact that all technology is an active expression of knowledge.
Technology is a manifestation of knowledge, often painstakingly acquired by those who create it. Technology is reactive in its effects on the people that wield it. If a laser is not a magical instrument, in the countless generations of humans engaged in the pursuit of knowledge that led it as an expression of that knowledge, than there is no magic in the world. If the stone axe was not a work of magic in it's effects on the lives of the humans that used it then the word magic has no meaning at all. Certainly advanced technology tends to be more powerful by building on the past, but then the most powerful form of magic I can think of, writing, is one of the oldest.
A Technomage is one who seeks to express that magic of
technology. This transcends all interactions with technology from
programming a super-computer to building a limestone wall. Always
the Technomage seeks to express the essence of the knowledge inherent in
that technology, often in unique and magical ways, thus adding to the
power of that expression. A Technomage pays homage to the magic
inherent in technology, and to its creators, by seeking to learn the
hidden secrets of the world that allowed it's construction. The manner
that a Technomage wields technology is such as to honor it's magic, as opposed to trivialize it as is far more common in today's society.
--TechnoMage Astrologus
The relationship between a techno mage and technology trancends current
technology...a techno mage should also study anthropology and archeology
and come to understand the full relationship between culture and it's
technology ...and see how evolution thereof comes about...a practical use
of many types of tchnological knowledge also has the effect of alowing the
mage to utilize the enviroment, be it a city or a rain forest (take a look
at some of the arrow technology of south american natives if you want to
be
impressed)
A techno mage should also recognize one crucial fact, the myth of magic itself arises in a culture out of the dream of bending the chaotic forces of nature to the benifit of humanity...science and technology do exactly this...countless parallels can be drawn between myths of magic, and technology...some of the oldest myths in the western tradition involve the granting of wishes, and the care that must be taken in choosing them...technology and science are genies that can make most dreams (or nighmares) real....one must be very cautious which.
--TechnoMage Astrologus