Ajah Choosing Tendencies

[mb]

For the most part, the Ajah an Aes Sedia chooses I think relates somewhat closely to the life she had before coming to the Tower.

 

Wisdoms would tend to choose the Yellow Ajah since they often deal with Healing.

 

Librarians & maybe Teachers would tend to choose the Brown Ajah since they would seek knowledge.

Philosophers would tend to choose the White Ajah.

 

Mediators & councilors would probably tend to choose the Gray Ajah.

Judges might tend to choose the Blue Ajah.

 

Those involved frequently in battles, they might tend to choose the Green Ajah.  Domani women might also tend to choose the Green Ajah yet because of them trained to "love" men.

 

Interrogators might tend to choose the Red Ajah since both groups seem to question people alot.  Victims of violence might also, yet because of hatred for men.

 

 

This thread is mainly to speculate the Ajah choice women would likely make.  Not all women of the group would choose the Ajah, but most would.

The ones I mentioned are only guesses, the tendency might be different.

You may comment on already mentioned tendencies, or may bring up new tendencies.

 

[Shard]

I'd like to know what logic Elaida was using when she assumed that Elayne would be going into Red Ajah. I mean it was interesting in the debriefing that Moraine stated that she knew Nyn and Eggy wouldn't because they actually liked men. So that seems to be a big indicator though not always the case but a big clue none the less.

[Charlz Fel]

Just to clarify--until recently, women who became novices had to be young enough to at least pass for eighteen.  Very, very few women of such youth would have had any of the experiences you describe.  However, looking at what tendencies lead women toward a given Ajah is quite valid.

 

I think the Green Ajah attracts mostly women who want to have adventures.  Likewise, women who really love men will tend to go with the Green, and women who really hate men (for instance, because of abuse) will tend to choose Red.  Women who really want to "make a difference" would be most directly addressed by the Blue, but could really end up anywhere except Brown or White.  The Red has the attraction that the "difference made" in the world is not only absolutely essential, but inherently cannot be left to anyone except Aes Sedai.  On the other hand, the White Tower culture seems to have taught the Aes Sedai that they are better at everything, whether or not it requires the One Power, so this might not be a big selling point.

 

[Charlz Fel]

I'd like to know what logic Elaida was using when she assumed that Elayne would be going into Red Ajah. I mean it was interesting in the debriefing that Moraine stated that she knew Nyn and Eggy wouldn't because they actually liked men. So that seems to be a big indicator though not always the case but a big clue none the less.

 

I don't think anyone assumed Elayne would choose Red, although they might have considered that slightly more likely because Elayne grew up around Elaida.  What was stated is that the Reds gained in prestige because they brought the Tower a novice of such great strength.

[Shard]

I guess I misunderstood but I was under the impression they had meant join the Reds. It seems a little pointless though seeing it that way I mean how difficult really a find was Elayne compared to Eggy and Nyn? I would give alot more credit to her for that. Even then in the end it's the Ajah that they join that gets the real "prize". It just seemed rather weird how puffed up Eladia was about it. I'm sure she would have loved to have Elyane in the Reds.

 

I think the Aes Sedai have done themselves a great disservice turning away those older then 18, I think they wanted them even younger that, easier to mold.

 

Greens want adventure to make a difference, but how does that differ from Blues? I mean it's a Blue, Moraine, that's going out making a difference and having an adventure. A Yellow and Brown would be easier to figure out for those would want knowledge and healing respectivly. Reds though I don't think Hating Men is exactly a requirement is it? EVen though that Ajah certainly has alot of those.

[Charlz Fel]

I imagine that Greens would go out looking for adventure--i.e., go out looking for a cause (or "social justice") that could use an Aes Sedai, and preferably a situation that requires lots of risk and action and not too much sitting behind negotiating tables.  A Blue would probably have pet causes (like finding the Dragon Reborn) and then have adventures, or not, as necessary to further these causes. 

 

I doubt that there is anything like such a clear distinction, however.  I have not read the BWB, but based on comments from people who have, I understand that the seven Ajahs we know started out as groups of women channeling that formed an alliance (which became the White Tower) in order to bring all the other "Aes Sedai" to heel.  Although the Ajahs do have different philosophies about the purpose of Aes Sedai, their differences come from accumulated history rather than any kind of clean, logical division of labor.  For instance, the enmity between the Red and the Blue is a result of the Bonwhim fiasco, in which a Red Amyrlin was deposed and replaced by a Blue (for the second time), rather than any inherent incompatibility of the two Ajah's stated purposes.

 

By the way, I agree that the Reds' pride in finding Elayne was really overblown, but I think it is clear that that is the meaning of the passage.

[reyler]

It's interesting that the Reds would try and make any claim over "finding" Elayne when Andoran custom would have had her butt in the Tower for training no matter what.

[42Bonzo88]

    I think Eladia was going with Elayne choosing Red for two reasons. One, Eladia's fortelling was about Andor and with Elayne "growing up" around Eladia, she (Eladia) assumed Elayne would follow in her footsteps. Two, Eladia would probably grab Elayne by the neck and steer her that way wether Elayne wanted it or not. Look how Eladia treated Elayne in The Dragon Reborn after she came back from Falme.

[Shard]

It's interesting that the Reds would try and make any claim over "finding" Elayne when Andoran custom would have had her butt in the Tower for training no matter what.

 

That's exactly the sort of thing I'm saying I mean really look a Channler had a Channeling child what a shock.  ::) And oh look she happens to be the princess, er daughter heir, of this country right here. Meanwhile there's a whole SLEW of girls you missed all over the place. *shakes head* I think the Reds need to take their medicine finally and accept what they've been doing wrong for centuries, luckily they DO have intelligent Reds amongst them so here's to hoping.

[Mr Ares]

For the most part, the Ajah an Aes Sedia chooses I think relates somewhat closely to the life she had before coming to the Tower.

So Siuan chose the fishing Ajah, and Moiraine the noble Ajah? Girls are chosen at a young age, and throughout their time at the Tower are directed towards the Ajah felt most appropriate. Those with an interest in, and Talent for, Healing are nudged, openly or not, towards the Yellow. Those who think protecting the world from channeling men is the most important thing an Aes Sedai can do are pointed in the direction of the Red. The same with all of them. Just look at the various Ajah purposes:

Red - gentling men

Yellow - Healing

Green - preparing for TG, fighting the Shadow

Brown - preserving knowledge

Blue - causes and justice

Gray - mediation and law

White - logic and philosophy

 

So girls will be sent to where they show greatest interest. The Red is the largest Ajah precisely because so many girls who come to the Tower think of gentling men as one of, if not the, most important tasks for AS. Hating men is not necessarily something they look for, but bear in mind this is an Ajah whose enemy is men - they are always on the look out for channeling men, it is men that they are in conflict with, so a lot of their dislike of en grows from that. Also, with it being ingrained in their culture, newcomers will pick up on it. It gets reinforced because of that. They don't look at an abused young woman, newly come to the Tower, and think she is ideal for the Reds - she hates men!

[Charlz Fel]

Obviously, hating men is not a prerequisite for choosing the Red.  However, I think that anyone who comes to the Tower hating men is likely to end up in the Red.  There's a comment in Seaine's view point when she goes to see Pevara that goes something like, "although some women joined the Red because they hated men, many did so because gentling men who can channel was important."  From other PoV comments concerning Aes Sedai choices of Ajah, I think we can say that the Green is at least seen by other Ajahs as the place to go if you want adventure.  ("If I had wanted to be brave, I would have chosen Green.")  We also have comments from New Spring that by the time you are ready to take the shawl, you have been guided to the correct Ajah whether you realize it or not.  Other than these, I can not think of any comments describing the actual process whereby women come to decide on their Ajah.

[Casco]

Do anyone know what will be the reds new role? Egy did say that the tower will be all 7 Ajah, but now men dont have to be stilled anymore, at least not for the orginal reason, so red Ajah will not have any thing to do.

Will they be the Ajah police? looking for darkfriends (black Ajah)?

I dont remember if Pevara Tazanovni and Tsutama Rath talk anything about the new role of red Ajah when they talk about bonding Asha'mans.

 

[balefireruinssteaks]

By the time a novice reaches the Accepted, the Sisters are pretty sure in what direction she is headed, several Aes Sedai have mentioned this. 

 

It seems silly to me that if a woman does not like men it is a "sign" that she will most likely choose Red, or that if a woman intends to have more than one Warder she is automatically supposed to choose the Green Ajah.  I mean, the purposes of the Ajahs seem more important to me than those things, and I'm kind of excited that the Red Ajah has now considered taking on multiple Warders who can channel.

 

I think some Aes Sedai have it right, as someone mentioned she was surprised that Elayne had chosen the Green Ajah...some said she was pegged for the Blue because of her deft political prowess - though I personally think Egwene might supercede Elayne in the flow of politics.

 

I would say that the original statement of "a girl's life helps choose her Ajah" could be amended to "the natural interests of a girl might help her take the path of a particular Ajah"...such as a girl who might want to become a Wise Woman or Wisdom might naturally choose the Yellow Ajah because of the possibility that she could Heal things even better.  A girl who is able to see the flow of politics (in any form, not just nobility) might lean toward the Blue Ajah or even the Gray Ajah if she also has a "peacekeeper" mentality.  Someone who loves philosophy might lean toward the White Ajah, or even the Brown Ajah if she is not so much a "debate" type but a "I want to understand" type.

 

And then of course I suppose someone who likes to kill people and bask in darkness might lean more toward the Black Ajah.  Or maybe the Red...hmmmmm.

[ROB_88]

i've been wondering, what do the Green Sisters do all day?

they are ment to fight. but except for trollocs in the Borderlands there's not much you can do without violating the "do not kill"-oath.

[Jehaine]

They can train their weaves and be better at them by the time they really need to use them.

 

You don't really need a live target if you want to practise fireballing something.

[Tyrell]

For the most part, the Ajah an Aes Sedia chooses I think relates somewhat closely to the life she had before coming to the Tower.

So Siuan chose the fishing Ajah, and Moiraine the noble Ajah? Girls are chosen at a young age, and throughout their time at the Tower are directed towards the Ajah felt most appropriate. Those with an interest in, and Talent for, Healing are nudged, openly or not, towards the Yellow. Those who think protecting the world from channeling men is the most important thing an Aes Sedai can do are pointed in the direction of the Red. The same with all of them. Just look at the various Ajah purposes:

Red - gentling men

Yellow - Healing

Green - preparing for TG, fighting the Shadow

Brown - preserving knowledge

Blue - causes and justice

Gray - mediation and law

White - logic and philosophy

 

So girls will be sent to where they show greatest interest. The Red is the largest Ajah precisely because so many girls who come to the Tower think of gentling men as one of, if not the, most important tasks for AS. Hating men is not necessarily something they look for, but bear in mind this is an Ajah whose enemy is men - they are always on the look out for channeling men, it is men that they are in conflict with, so a lot of their dislike of en grows from that. Also, with it being ingrained in their culture, newcomers will pick up on it. It gets reinforced because of that. They don't look at an abused young woman, newly come to the Tower, and think she is ideal for the Reds - she hates men!

 

Didn't Pevara say that she joined the Reds because her family were killed by Darkfriends and she felt that the Red would make more of a difference than joining the Green (though she regrets her decision to some extent). Or some such.

[xntric]

i've been wondering, what do the Green Sisters do all day?

they are ment to fight. but except for trollocs in the Borderlands there's not much you can do without violating the "do not kill"-oath.

The thought also crossed my mind. In the Great Hunt, there seemed to be no Green Ajah in the Borderland cities. From Ingtar's revelation, the Aes Sedai generally keep to Tar Valon and rarely help the Borderlands with their fight against the Shadow. In EotW, Agamar (spl?) was thrilled to see Moiraine and was greatly disappointed when Moiraine told him she would not help at Tarwins Gap (which I can understand her reason), but still one would expect Aes Sedai (especially Green Ajah) to live/visit the Borderland cities more frequently.

 

I think the Green Ajah should be called the Pleasure Ajah! They spend more time chasing and collecting warders than they do battling the shadow IMO ;)

[CUBAREY]

They don't look at an abused young woman, newly come to the Tower, and think she is ideal for the Reds - she hates men!

 

 

Except that the hatred of male channelers has led many Reds to distrust ans disparage all men. So when they see a young novive wth a dislike of men they see a natural candidate for recruitment. The Reds may not be the "Man haters club" but many of the Red Ajah are probably charter members of the club.

[Mr Ares]

Except that the hatred of male channelers has led many Reds to distrust ans disparage all men. So when they see a young novive wth a dislike of men they see a natural candidate for recruitment. The Reds may not be the "Man haters club" but many of the Red Ajah are probably charter members of the club.

Indeed. It's part of their culture, and so rubs off on many. A girl who dislikes men would seem a better fit for the Red Ajah than for many others, all else being equal. So she would more likely gravitate towards them, and they would think her a good fit for them, and so be more willing to accept her in. An Ajah with a certain antipathy towards men being a more attractive prospect to a potential Sister with a certain antipathy towards men.

 

i've been wondering, what do the Green Sisters do all day?

Whatever they want. Are you going to argue with that many Warders?

 

Didn't Pevara say that she joined the Reds because her family were killed by Darkfriends and she felt that the Red would make more of a difference than joining the Green (though she regrets her decision to some extent). Or some such.

Indeed (To mb: no, we don't need the obligatory encyclopaedia-wot link). Pevara's reason for joining the Reds, according to Seaine's thoughts, is that she thought she would do a better job hunting down Darkfriends as a Red, hunting male channelers. Perhaps this could be seen as a result of the Green Ajah being the Battle Ajah, thus their role is seen more as open confrontation with the Shadow, whereas the Reds must hunt for the men they gentle, so their role is investigative. Using looking for male channelers as a cover for looking for Darkfriends. A spy more than a soldier.

[Yllek]

I would think the Red's new purpose would be balance between male and female channelers.  They have spend so much time seeking to protect the world from men going insane from the taint, it's only natural that their new mission would be something springing from that. 

[Mr Ares]

Its clear the different political views of the different Ajahs, and how they aim to fight the dark one, but isnt there also a one power difference?

No. A girl's Ajah is determined by her skills and her interests, not by her strength.

[Luckers]

i've been wondering, what do the Green Sisters do all day?

 

Mmm, indeed, one would think they would maintain constant garrisons in the borederlands--but no, and to what tragedy? Malkier might have stood had there been 20 greens nearby to help.

 

But then again what of the other Ajah? The Yellows maintain no hospices--indeed the only healing we've seen them do has been incidental; done becaue they happened to be nearby. The only major intentional healing we have seen done, that of Mat, was done by a circle led by a blue.

 

The Brown? The seekers of knowledge have made NO breakthroughs. Rand's accademies have done more for the world in a year than they have in 3,000.

 

They are all fairly ineffective.

 

1) The Whites tend to be weaker Channelers? (Alviarin who is noticably above average in strength, but only has just enough power to make a gateway, has a prominant position in her Ajah, to start with, and becomes Keeper)

 

It's never stated that Alviarin only just had enough power to make a gateway--and besides we know that it requires above the Aes Sedai's average strength to create a sustainable gateway. Beyond which we have no statements of Alviarin's position in reference to strength compared to other Whites--she gained the Keepers stole through being the nearest to Elaida, and as for the rest, she gained her power through her ability, not her strength. Ishamael would not have been so foolish.

 

2) The Blue have a tendancy to take a select few of great strength (Moiraine, Shaun, Leanne, Sheriam, Anaiya...etc. Supported by the fact that they have a great number of Amyrlins...as well as being described as a very influential ajah (strength determines influence)

 

There have been Amyrlin's who have barely been able to channel. The Blue are influential because of their skills--manipulation and intrigue are bred into the Blue. And they have the largest eyes and ears network amongst the Aes Sedai.

 

You listed strong sisters amongst the Blue--five of them--you missed Lelaine though, so lets make it six. Out of how many? 100? 150? What of the likes of Cabriana? Incredibly weak.

 

Then why do all the strong gravitate towards certain ajahs?

 

They don't. You've built yourself a house of straws. In terms of disposition of strength--amongst the very strogest, above Moiraine level, five of the seven ajah are represented. Step below that and all are.

 

Blues contain a lot of the strong...and whites a lot of the weak. The fact is the leadership ajahs (blue/green/red) need strength to be able to command in the tower)

 

Thats not true. Sitters, Ajah Heads and Amyrlins exist irrespective of strength-and concider that Meilyn, a white, was the next strongest behind Cadsuane in living memory.

[Fjong]

Never figured how the quote function works, but to Tom Therin Telamon's post: "Then why do all the strong gravitate towards certain ajahs?"

 

Verin is brown ajah and she is pretty strong. Also the yellow ajah sitter (romelda or some such) in the rebelcamp is pretty strong too (As strong as the sitter of the blue)... I take that as a very strong indication the theory is wrong.

[Nightstrike]

I think the choosing of Ajah might be a very complex process with many factors. Or, maybe I should say that it is how I imagine it. Ultimately it is RJ's vision that counts, of course.

 

My idea is that interests and Talents in the One Power are the two determining factors for choosing the "right" Ajah. The interests are determined by upbringing (or other personal experiences), personality and skills - and now I'm talking about both OP skills/Talents and other skills.

 

If you're a restless and brave person, you'll most likely end up in Green, Red or maybe Blue. If you've got a Head for studies, you'll most likely end up in Brown or White. Moraine, for instance, had a good Talent for Healing. But she chose Blue anyway. That makes me think that your personality is more important than your strength and your Talents. When they are outside Tar Valon, they usually don't travel alone anyway, so their OP abilities would be less important than their personalities. If they need to, they can always form a circle. I'd think a lot of AS out on missions would also be lent angreal.

[Nightstrike]

I'm not sayingn there aren't exceptions...Nyneave is the perfect example of one.

 

But looking at women talked about:

 

Romanda&Nyneave = Yellow (only stong ones i can think of

Verin = Brown (is she that strong? above average certainly but she's not show to command others that much.)

 

 

But with blues u have: Moiraine/Suian/Leanne/Anaiya/Sheriam/Faolain/and the blue wanna be amyrlin all sitting fairly high

Green you have Cadsuane, Myrelle, Elayne, Egwene had she been raised that i can think of off the top of my head.

 

I can't think of a white ever having been quoted as "strong", only Alviarin being strong enough to weave a gateway.

Luckers mentioned one very strong White (Meilyn). The Whites are the smallest Ajah. They shouldn't have a lot of strong ones, because there aren't that many Whites to select from in the first place.

 

You said that there are exceptions... I think the Blue Ajah might be something of an exception to the rule that "Strength doesn't matter". A lot of Blue Sisters have their own personal cause that they work for. That might often be lonely tasks for them, I think. Moiraine, for instance. She's probably been traveling alone (like in NS). Strength might be an advantage for those lonely ones. They might not always have one Lan at their side. So, maybe the Blue Ajah is the place for the strong and lonely ambitous Sisters.