Metallic threads are born under specific astrological events: solstices, equinoxes, and some ¹ eclipses. The first two are what we will call global events. They happen everywhere at the same time. Eclipses, however, are different. There is an argument to be made that they are local events. Eclipses are only visible from certain parts of the world, and the moment they happen is different depending on where you are. This leads to the question: do eclipses shape metal threads globally or locally?

The main argument here is that the event itself is what matters, not wether someone can see it or not. After all, even if you don't see anything different, the event is happening nonetheless. The eartch, sun, and moon are still aligning in a specific way.

As a proof of the effects of the eclipses even in areas where they are not visible, we can point to the fact that they cause measurable gravitational shifts on the entire planet, and they even reshape the atmosphere, causing significant differences in barometric pressure all around the world. If the physical effects of the eclipses are global, why wouldn't their metaphysical effects be?

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A diferent argument, and the one preffered by Ravel, is that astrological events do not cause anything. They simply mark the time at which something happens, acting like a clock. The ticking of a clock is not what causes the hour to pass, but it is a way to tell when it has. Following this logic, eclipses don't cast a magical influence on the world. They are just marking a specific point in time.

The main argument here is that the typing system works with clear-cut boundaries. There is no in-between state at the time when a type ends and the next one begins. A person born twelve hours and one second before an equinox is typed jute. A person born the second after, is typed metal. If the same logic we apply to time is extended to space, then we have to conclude that there is a well-defined area in which the eclipse is happening, and that outside of it, typing is still determined by the usual rules.

One could even go further and argue that the space-window moves with time. The best example of this is the shadow of a solar eclipse moving across the surface of the earth. The eclipse is not happening everywhere at the same time, and the typing could be affected by that.

The answer depends on how you interpret the nature of types. There is no definitive conclusion to this debate. Maybe in the future, the insights of a new thinker, perhaps with a more solid background in astrology, will shed light on this question.

For now, I'm leaning towards Ravel's belief that eclipses are simply markers of time. As it will become clear in further discussions, her reasoning comes from a broader interpretation of this system (one I don't fully share), but on this point, she makes sense. Sooner or later, someone will be born on the surface of another celestial body, and this would be the only interpretationthat would keep the system consistent.

Ravel insists that the actual materials are irrelevant. According to her, the names were assigned to fit the traits observed to associate with each type. At some point someone went: Hmmm, this type is linked to protection and warmth. Wool protects you and keeps you warm. We will call it that Another type was known for it's endurance and so they picked something tough like jute. And so on.

If that's the case, the material is just a symbol, and symbols can be swapped out.

According to Ravel, the most important part is respecting the proportion. As long as your selected objects can be distinctly classified into six types, and the proportion of each type is respected, the system will work. There are, of course, mechanical constraints. In order to perform a reading you need to be able to tie knots with your selected object, and they should be able to tangle around each other. You couldn't use coins, but you can use colored yarns, and that is, in fact, what Revel does.

Her argument is based on the fact that the system is already deeply mathematical. For example, the strenght of a reading is determined statistically based on the probability of getting a valid draw for the type pair you are looking for in at least the number of draws it took you. If numbers govern the system so precisely, why would the material matter? Fate is not a literaly tapestry, and it's definitely not woven with literal threads. If we accept the metaphorical nature of that, the why can't we do the same for the choice of materials?

If the distribution of types is based on how much of the year each type covers, and the choice of materials is a metaphor for the type's traits, then it follows that as long as you respect the proportin of each type, the system will work.

Different materials behave differently. Silk is slippery, wool is fluffy, jute is rough. Those materials don't interact the same way with each other. Tangles have meaning, and materials play a huge role in how the tangles form. That's it, that's my entire case.

Ravel's solution to this is that tangles actually don't have meaning.

1. It's not clear from the tables we have which eclipses are relevant. Even if it were, it is made evident here that we don't have clarity on the extent of their effects. As such, and since eclipses are rare enough, we have ignored them from both the Type Calculator and the Type Tables. We estimated the probability of mystyping someone due to this omission to be less than 0.1%.