SMN Disease based spells

[TinyRedLeaf]

It makes sense that the same sacred geometry can be used to inflict as well.

This is just my personal view on the subject, and it's not strictly canonical. One of the key attractions of the arcanist class for me has always been the "dual" nature of its abilities.

As you said, the arcanists of Limsa Lominsa are more akin to scientists and mathematicians (which is why it's not really correct to describe their role as "sacred"; that would be a more apt description for the thaumaturges of Ul'dah or the conjurers of Gridania ).

And the key point about science is that it's inherently neutral. It's just a tool. It can be used to harm just as easily as it can be used to heal. In this sense, it's very similar to alchemy, which can be used to create both medicines and poisons.

Others in this thread have pointed to the elemental nature of both conjury and thaumaturgy. Arcanima, in contrast, is non-elemental, because it's all about using arcane geometry to manipulate the aether within bodies and objects. If you like, you could think of it as arcane "physics". Unlike conjury or thaumaturgy, which deal primarily with ephemeral forces, arcanima is all about dealing with actual physical objects.

So, a formula that causes aether to knit together bodily wounds could easily be reversed to tear apart flesh and bone. (Think, for example, of real-life thermodynamics: the application of heat causes objects to expand, but the removal of heat causes the reverse).

Such manipulation of aether lies at the very heart of arcanima. An arcanist is someone who applies magic to both maim or mend, and the jobs that branch from this vocation — summoner and scholar — are in effect, two sides of the same coin.

In principle, this is very different from thaumaturgy, which evolved from funeral rites for breaking down corpses for burial (ie, it's inherently about destruction), and conjury, which is about borrowing the power of elementals to preserve natural harmony.

[IrisBlanchimont]

As you said, the arcanists of Limsa Lominsa are more akin to scientists and mathematicians (which is why it's not really correct to describe their role as "sacred"; that would be a more apt description for the thaumaturges of Ul'dah or the conjurers of Gridania ).

I merely used the Earth term for that kind of magical-mathematical symbolism which is typically called "sacred geometry". In fact you're quite right in the idea that its the least mystical of the magical classes.

[TinyRedLeaf]

In fact you're quite right in the idea that its the least mystical of the magical classes.

Indeed. And it's very much in keeping with the pragmatic nature of Lominsan culture (freedom in strength born of wrought-iron cannons and arms; let's eat and be merry, and loot while we can, arr!), and highly reminiscent of Enlightenment-era England. England in that period of history was developing an intellectual tradition that was uniquely its own, one based more on empirical science than the more theoretical metaphysics of continental Europe. English scientists and philosophers of this era — Hume, Newton and Bentham, to name a few — were more interested in phenomena that were observable and measurable. They would have been the real-world equivalents of Eorzea's arcanists.

And it can't be coincidental that England was as much a piratical state as Limsa Lominsa is in this era. Hard science goes well with guns and muskets, I reckon.

[Morningstar1337]

And the key point about science is that it's inherently neutral. It's just a tool. It can be used to harm just as easily as it can be used to heal. In this sense, it's very similar to alchemy, which can be used to create both medicines and poisons.

Is that why Alchemists make most of the books in the game?

[IrisBlanchimont]

Is that why Alchemists make most of the books in the game?

That makes a remarkable amount of sense. I suppose, in this case, the primary reason for using an alchemist is that they possess the scientific training needed to make a magical geometry grimoire.

[Exodus-E]

Is that why Alchemists make most of the books in the game?

That makes a remarkable amount of sense. I suppose, in this case, the primary reason for using an alchemist is that they possess the scientific training needed to make a magical geometry grimoire.

Kind of, yeah.
This was explained in one of the Alchemist's quests; here, lemme quote it:

"(...) For an arcanist to weave his spells, he must conjure in his mind the image of distinct mystical diagrams known as arcane geometries. These geometries are inscribed upon the pages of a grimoire, such as the one you constructed at my request.
The most important aspect of any grimoire is the quality of the ink used to illustrate its pages. Geometries drawn with ink that is especially conducive to the flow of aether allow the arcanist to more effectively channel his magical strength.
Thus when one is in need of a new grimoire, one must turn to an expert in the making of this liquid gold─an alchemist. (...)"