The Church of the Shaper teaches that knowledge of ritual magic was gifted to Mortals by the Shaper themself. This knowledge has been passed down within the Church for centuries and comprises a canon of rituals, the methods for training ritualists, and the techniques required for developing new rituals.
The development of new rituals is difficult, dangerous, and only rarely successful. The process often involves unintended consequences and the uncontrolled release of massive amounts of magical energy. It is the position of the Church that is foolish hubris for Mortals to attempt ritual magic without the intercession of the Shaper to guide the process. Despite this, there continue traditions of ritual magic outside the auspices of the Church. The least controversial and most well accepted of these is the ancient ritual used in the creation of Fathach. At the other end of the spectrum are the profane rituals used by Grave-Robbers, and the unholy rites of the Gwyllt.
Sitting at a somewhat uncomfortable middle point are the rituals developed through arcane magical research. Arcane theory teaches that it is the mind of the ritualist alone that directs the effects of ritual magic and that no other intercessions are necessary. The Church rejects this idea and argues that if arcane ritualists are not seeking aid from the Shaper then they are either gambling with their lives and the lives of those around them or they are unwittingly receiving aid from, and coming under the influence of, more dangerous forces.
The practice and development of arcane rituals is not widespread but continues in spite of the disapproval of the Church. The usefulness of arcane researchers and practitioners in general has made it politically undesirable for the Prelates Council to declare the practice entirely heretical. Some members of the Orders, particularly amongst the Torchbearers, argue for a more pragmatic approach and have demonstrated willingness in the past to collaborate with arcane ritualists for the greater good of Tirneach. It is entirely possible for ritualists of either tradition to successfully perform the rituals of the other, though they may find the forms unfamiliar or personally distasteful.