Lexicon

Common Parlance
These words are in common use among the Garou


 * Anchorhead
 * Elusive spirit gates between the Near Umbra and the Deep Umbra (See Membrane)


 * Apocalypse
 * The prophetic revelation of the end of times. In Garou mythology, it has come to mean the final battle with the Wyrm – a battle many believe they are fated to lose. It is generally accepted that the present time is beginnings of the Apocalypse


 * Auspice
 * The moon phase under which a Garou is born; it often determines her role in Garou society and influences her personality and tendencies. The auspices are: Ragabash (New Moon; Trickster), Theurge (Crescent Moon; Seer), Philodox (Half Moon; Judge), Galliard (Gibbous Moon; Moon Dancer), and Ahroun (Full Moon; Warrior)


 * Bane
 * Wyrm spirits of many twisted and evil types. Scrag, Kalus and Psychomachiae are among the more common types, but endless mutation is possible


 * Bawn
 * The boundary area around a caern, which is patrolled and carefully monitored against intrusion, even by other Garou


 * Blight
 * A corrupted area in either the spirit or material world. These tainted areas spawn Banes


 * Breed
 * The ancestry of a Garou, whether homid (human), lupus (wolf) or metis (born of two Garou)


 * Caern
 * A sacred place where the magic of the spirit world wells into the physical plane. Some serve as centers of Garou septs, while others are in the control of other supernatural groups


 * Celestine
 * The greatest spirits, godlike in their power. Those worshipped include Gaia (the Earth), Luna (the Moon) and Helios (the Sun)


 * Concolation
 * The largest Garou moots; the matters discussed at these great gathers of tribes concern the entire Nation of Garou


 * Concord
 * The compromise reached by the tribes of the Garou Nation which ended the Impergium; its traditions are still enforced today


 * Corruption
 * The Wyrm's power of destruction twisted into decay and depravity; also, the resulting effects of the Wyrm's actions. In the present age, it commonly refers to the pollution and ecological ruin humans inflict upon the environment


 * Crinos
 * The half-wolf, half-human war form of the Garou


 * Deep Umbra
 * The Umbral world beyond the protection of the Membrane. The further a Deep Umbra traveler ventures from the Gaia Realm, the more tenuous “reality” becomes


 * Delirium
 * The ancestral memories of humans, which cause madness and memory loss in those who look upon a Garou in Crinos form Domain: A mini-Realm in the Umbra, usually connected to a larger Realm in the Deep Umbra


 * Fomori (singular “fomor”)
 * Humans or animals corrupted and mutated by the Wyrm; common enemies of the Garou. Some are corrupted unaware, but many humans make a choice to become fomori in exchange for power


 * Gaffling: A simple spirit servant of a Jaggling, Incarna or Celestine. Gafflings are rarely sentient.
 * Gaia: The Earth and related Realms, both physical and spiritual; the Earth Goddess, and the Mother of the Garou
 * Garou: The term werewolves’ use for themselves
 * Gauntlet: The barrier between the physical world of Earth and the spirit world of the Umbra. It is strongest around cities and technology, and weakest around caerns.
 * Harano: A state of bitter depression that afflicts werewolves; weeping for that which is not yet lost. Garou in the grip of Harano are debilitated and often die if they cannot recover their will to live.
 * Hispo: The near-wolf form of the Garou
 * Homid: A Garou of human ancestry. Occasionally used disdainfully by ferals (e.g., “That boy fights like a homid”)
 * Impergium: In prehistory, the period of 3000 years during which strict population quotas were enforced on all human populations
 * Incarna: A class of spirits that ranks below the Celestines in power and includes the totems of the 12 Tribes
 * Jaggling: A spirit servant of an Incarna or Celestine
 * Kenning: The empathic calling some Garou perform when howling
 * Kinfolk: Humans or wolves related to the Garou by blood; they are preferred mates and those most likely to birth Garou cubs
 * Klaive: A fetish dagger or sword, usually of great spiritual potency and nearly always made of silver
 * Litany: The code of laws kept by the Garou, passed down in oral tradition
 * Lupus: A Garou of wolf origin
 * Membrane: The barrier between the Near and Deep Umbra; travel through it must be done at an Anchorhead (see above); alternatively, the Garou can bypass the Membrane through the Dream Zone
 * Metis: The sterile and often deformed offspring of two Garou; they are generally reviled by Garou society
 * Moon Bridge: A path established between two caerns; it must be renewed with spiritual energy during moots and called open with a Rite or Gift when needed for travel
 * Moot: Gatherings of the Garou for any variety of social, political or religious functions; most take place at caerns
 * Mule: Slang for metis
 * Near Umbra: The spirit world surrounding the Gaia Realm, just beyond the Penumbra
 * Pack: A small group of Garou bound to each other by ties of friendship and common goals; the basic unit of Garou society
 * Penumbra: “Earth's Shadow”; the spirit world directly surrounding the physical world. Many, but not all, terrain features have reflections there
 * Protectorate: The territory claimed and patrolled by a pack or sept
 * Reaching: Traveling into the spirit world (see Stepping Sideways)
 * Realms: The worlds of consistent reality within the Tellurian. Earth is referred to as the Gaia Realm, or simply the Realm
 * Ronin: A Garou who has chosen to leave Garou society or who has been forced out. Life is bleak and harsh for these “lone wolves”
 * Sanga: Garou term for shape-shifters other than werewolves; many are presumed extinct
 * Sept: The group of Garou who live near and tend an individual caern
 * Stepping Sideways: Entering the spirit world (see Reaching). Many elders consider this term flippant and disrespectful
 * Tellurian: The whole of reality
 * Totem: A spirit ceremonially joined to a tribe or pack, which is representative of its inner nature. A tribal totem is an Incarna, while a pack totem is an Incarna avatar (a Jaggling equivalent).
 * Triat, the: The Wyld, the Weaver and the Wyrm The trinity of primal cosmic forces
 * Tribe: A larger community of Garou whose members are often bound by similar totems and lifestyles. Each tribe has an ancestral homeland and a wealth of tradition
 * Umbra: The spirit world, the “shadow” of the physical world
 * Veil, the: A poetic term for the protection of the Delirium
 * Ways, the: The traditions of the Garou
 * Weaver, the: Manifestation and symbol of order and pattern. Computers, science, logic and mathematics are examples of the Weaver's influence on the material plane
 * Wyld, the: Manifestation and symbol of pure change and unshaped potential; the chaos of transmutation and elemental force
 * Wyrm, the: Manifestation and symbol of evil, entropy and decay in Garou belief. Vampires are often manifestations of the Wyrm, as are toxic waste and pollution
 * Wyrmhole: A place that has been spiritually defiled by the Wyrm; invariably a location of great corruption

Slang
Younger Garou frequently use these terms, either out of ignorance, or in a concerted effort to distinguish themselves from their elders.


 * Cadaver: A derogatory term for a vampire
 * Feral: Term for Lupus
 * Flock, the: All of humanity, particularly Kinfolk (see above).
 * Gremlin: A malevolent spirit
 * Leech: See Cadaver.
 * Run: A ritual hunt or revel that takes place at the conclusion of a moot
 * Sheep: Humans
 * Throat: To best another in ritual combat. Used as a verb (e.g., “I throated his sorry butt!”).

Old Form
These words hail from the distant past of the Garou and display their Fianna origins. They are no longer used frequently. However, all Garou know these terms.


 * Adren: A pupil or a student who learns from a mentor. The rank between Fostern and Athro (see below)
 * Airts: The magical paths within the spirit world (e.g., Spirit Tracks, Moon Paths, etc.)
 * Aisling: A journey into the spirit world
 * Anamae: “Soul-friend”; most often a bond with a pack totem
 * Anruth: An individual Garou or pack who travels from caern to caern but is bound to none of them
 * Athro: Teacher, mentor. The rank between Adren and elder
 * Awen: The sacred Muse, the creative impulse. Moon Dancers periodically go on spirit quests for her, but she has never been found
 * Brugh: Any sort of mystic place, whether a Garou caern or a Wyrmhole. Often a glade or cave located somewhere in the wilderness
 * Charach: A Garou who sleeps with another Garou or has done so in the past. Often used as a word of anger
 * Chiminage: A form of “favors done for services rendered.” A werewolf may perform a task as chiminage in order to repay a spirit for teaching him a Gift, or to repay a sept for allowing him to use their caern
 * Cliath: A young Garou, not yet of any standing rank. This precedes the rank of Fostern (see below)
 * Fostern: A Garou's pack brothers and sisters; those who are family by choice. Also the rank between Cliath and Adren (see above), populated by Garou who have achieved some renown but not yet entered into the political arena
 * Gallain: The Kinfolk of the Garou – those humans and wolves who are relations and are not prone to Delirium but who are not actual werewolves
 * -ikthya: “Of the Wyrm”; a suffix appended to a name
 * Inceptor: A Garou who guides another through a rite. An inceptor is also called a rite master
 * Kinain: The relationship among Garou who are related by blood through an ancestor. This term of endearment and pride is never used when referring to metis
 * Moon-Calf: Idiot, simpleton
 * Pericarp: The Near Umbra around each Realm
 * Phoebe: An Incarna of Luna, representing the Moon
 * Praenomen: The guardian spirit of a pack
 * -rhya: “Greater in station”; a suffix appended to a name
 * Urrah: Garou who live in the city; also, the tainted ones
 * -yuf: “Honored equal”; a suffix appended to a name