To cast a spell, you need power and a way to form that power into an effect in the world. (Power can be drawn from many things; the text says 'from the Heart, from the Will, from the Sky, from the Earth, according to the needs of the spell and the resources of the Mage', and doesn't elaborate.)
If you work using yourself as a channel, you risk being distracted by the pain of channeling. The book recommends working this way for small spells, where the pain and the consequences of failure will also be small. It is also careful to specify that there are no permanent effects on the caster from working this way.
If you work using a willing channel, you will be free to cast your spell without the distraction of pain, but after a few uses your channel will start to suffer remnants of channel-pain even when you are not casting through them. (The Beast seems to think this is very funny.) These 'Echoes' can last for years, and get stronger the more power someone is made to channel, but after enough time spent resting they will fade away to no ultimate lingering effect.
If you work using an unwilling channel, every use will cause damage to the channel's mind, leading eventually to death. Even one spell, if it is a powerful enough spell, can burn out an unwilling channel to the point where they forget their own name. There is no known way to heal the damage caused by forcing power through an unwilling channel. The book strongly recommends against this method.
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To cast a spell, you need power and a way to form that power into an effect in the world. (Power can be drawn from many things; the text says 'from the Heart, from the Will, from the Sky, from the Earth, according to the needs of the spell and the resources of the Mage', and doesn't elaborate.)
If you work using yourself as a channel, you risk being distracted by the pain of channeling. The book recommends working this way for small spells, where the pain and the consequences of failure will also be small. It is also careful to specify that there are no permanent effects on the caster from working this way.
If you work using a willing channel, you will be free to cast your spell without the distraction of pain, but after a few uses your channel will start to suffer remnants of channel-pain even when you are not casting through them. (The Beast seems to think this is very funny.) These 'Echoes' can last for years, and get stronger the more power someone is made to channel, but after enough time spent resting they will fade away to no ultimate lingering effect.
If you work using an unwilling channel, every use will cause damage to the channel's mind, leading eventually to death. Even one spell, if it is a powerful enough spell, can burn out an unwilling channel to the point where they forget their own name. There is no known way to heal the damage caused by forcing power through an unwilling channel. The book strongly recommends against this method.