There is a lot of wiggle room here, yes. Each of the casting guilds is more about the method of getting a magical effect to manifest, rather than the actual manifestation itself. How one is fueling the effect. I have not messed with Astro yet, but the other guilds basically break down like this.
Thaumaturgy - Fueled by the self and one's own aether reserves/life force. This is part of why it is sometimes referered to as blood magic.Â
Conjury - Technically fueled by the aether of the land around you and replaced with one's own aether reserves.
Arcanistry - Fueled by personal aether, but Arcanists also refuel themselves by drawing it out from the land around them in a sort of reverse of Conjury (Aetherflow).Â
Keep in mind this is a hard and fast description. There are other factors that define the methods (Glyphs, Prayer, Will, etc. etc.). By and large, the best way to look at it all is that these methods/schools provide a frame work based on efficiency and safety. Anyone that can channel aether can pull off some sort of magical effect (MNKs use Chakras, NINs have Mundras). Just because one can do something naturally does not mean they are doing so in the safest/most efficient manner. That is where formal training comes in, and each method has effects and purposes that they are more focused on. Thaumaturgy is largely destructive, Conjury largely healing and supportive, but this does not mean that one cannot pull off something not in the normal wheel house of a particular paradigm. By way of example, you can cross class Cure as a Thaumaturge and heal people, but that does not mean you are doing so as efficiently as the techniques and teachings of Conjury would let you. Yar.
Hope this is helpful.
Thaumaturgy - Fueled by the self and one's own aether reserves/life force. This is part of why it is sometimes referered to as blood magic.Â
Conjury - Technically fueled by the aether of the land around you and replaced with one's own aether reserves.
Arcanistry - Fueled by personal aether, but Arcanists also refuel themselves by drawing it out from the land around them in a sort of reverse of Conjury (Aetherflow).Â
Keep in mind this is a hard and fast description. There are other factors that define the methods (Glyphs, Prayer, Will, etc. etc.). By and large, the best way to look at it all is that these methods/schools provide a frame work based on efficiency and safety. Anyone that can channel aether can pull off some sort of magical effect (MNKs use Chakras, NINs have Mundras). Just because one can do something naturally does not mean they are doing so in the safest/most efficient manner. That is where formal training comes in, and each method has effects and purposes that they are more focused on. Thaumaturgy is largely destructive, Conjury largely healing and supportive, but this does not mean that one cannot pull off something not in the normal wheel house of a particular paradigm. By way of example, you can cross class Cure as a Thaumaturge and heal people, but that does not mean you are doing so as efficiently as the techniques and teachings of Conjury would let you. Yar.
Hope this is helpful.
