What does "aware of" mean?

[SangoProduction]

Hidden Possessor
Creatures that are not aware of the wraith or do not count the wraith as a hostile creature take a -2 penalty on saves against his possession ability.
Found this bit in the Spheres of Power's Wraith, which made me question..."What is awareness?"

Then, in an attempt to be less of a naval-gazing philosophy teacher, I instead directed my attention to "what does it mean to not be aware of a character?" Which...is probably still to philosophical, but I am asking in as solid a ruling as possible...what would it take for a creature to become / not become aware of the wraith?

Would going invisible/incorporeal in front of someone, after they've already seen you going to make them "unaware," or are you going to have to wait until they totally forget about you and your existence?

[Crake]

I would go with a less extreme version of the latter, interpreting it as being "aware of [your presence]", so not so much completely forgetting your existence, but in a sense, when they put their proverbial guard down.

[Telonius]

It sounds like the phrase is just supposed to be referring to Initiative. If the wraith would be getting a surprise round against the target character, the target wouldn't be aware and takes the penalty. If the target knows the wraith is there (generally), but doesn't think the wraith is a hostile, it takes the penalty. Basically, if the wraith catches somebody who doesn't know they should be worried about it, that somebody takes a penalty.

So how to become aware of the Wraith? Succeed on a perception check (not sure exactly how it works in Spheres of Power, but it would be Spot/Listen in regular 3.5 and Perception in Pathfinder), or be in regular initiative order.

[Hackulator]

They need to know you're around. If you go invisible in front of someone, they still know you're around. Basically they would continue to be aware of you until the end of the scene.

[KillianHawkeye]

I assume that a character who failed a Perception check against a hidden wraith's Stealth check would be unaware of them.

[Doctor Awkward]

Found this bit in the Spheres of Power's Wraith, which made me question..."What is awareness?"

Then, in an attempt to be less of a naval-gazing philosophy teacher, I instead directed my attention to "what does it mean to not be aware of a character?" Which...is probably still to philosophical, but I am asking in as solid a ruling as possible...what would it take for a creature to become / not become aware of the wraith?

Would going invisible/incorporeal in front of someone, after they've already seen you going to make them "unaware," or are you going to have to wait until they totally forget about you and your existence?

In the context of the rules, "aware" means exactly the dictionary definition; "having knowledge or perception of a situation or fact."

Thus in game terms, if you are "aware" of another creature, you have perceived it in some fashion. Generally this is done with Spot or Listen checks. Most often this rule is used before combat to determine surprise. If two opposing sides begin an encounter, and one side is not aware of the other, a surprise round occurs.