>>96620436
>so what does tis mean practically speaking?
Sorry, I don't really understand the question.
Its a player-side primer designed to give players a general sense for how the magic system works.

> what are 'qualities and values' exactly?
The values being mentioned there are qualities or characteristics of a target object/entity (otherwise referred to as a Source) which can be quantified numerically.
To my understanding, almost everything in the gamespace breaks down into points of stuff.
So a campfire might consist of 12 points of heat and 8 points of light.
A player who stepped into said campfire might gain 3 points of pain and shock for their inattention.
Somebody standing nearby who got smacked in the face by the burning player's warhammer while they were flailing about, might take 1 point of wounds and 5 points of bruising.
All of these values can be pushed and pulled around through Icontheurgical Animancy.

>how does this all work mechanically?
Only the GM knows the nitty-gritty of everything.
If you're more specific I might be able to answer though.

>is there some formula that tells you how much fire/earth/whatever you can move per action?
Yeah! Pretty much.
I believe it is based off of margin of success. Roll-under system.
So you state the intention of your action, roll 3d6, and however much you go under the target number (ThresholdStat+IconotheurgySkill-ComplicatingFactors) is how much stuff your action influences.

>how can spell casting be limited to what you can sense, but also be moving around abstract concepts like hate?
I believe the key there is in the word 'sense'.
In essence, the criteria for using magic is that you are aware of the target value and comprehend it.
Most people can pick up on somebody's hatred and can intuit it, so they'd be able to magically interface with it.
Though manipulating abstracts is easier to do in yourself than others, since you are personally experiencing them and presumably aren't resisting.