Alright, so I've been sleeping on it and I think it's safe to say that the Wider world is quite literally where your mind wanders when you go to sleep. Dying allows you to dream unfettered and gradually pass deeper and deeper from your ties to reality--like a vision quest where the goal is the attainment of truth and annihilation of self (Returning to your pure, formless state so that you may be reborn) The living can sometime bridge this gap (trances, comas, etc) just as the dead may sometimes intrude upon us via possession or hauntings. As such Kens can be used to do a few things:

*Obfuscate oneself as a means of protection or subterfuge, in the Wider world to know something is to hold power over it. As an example:

The Totem: Shamanism is not usually the realm of the vampire, cursed as they are they rank rather low in the cosmic hierarchy. Be that as it may the Totem grants its bearer the ability to commune with spirits as an equal, molding their reflection in the likeness of a powerful totemic being. As in all dealings with the otherworldly it pays to be wary, lest an impostor draw too much attention to themselves.

*Navigate the insanity that will surround you in this shared dream. The notions of the waking world are but phantoms here, shadows of your own making--those that walk the wider world are unhindered by them. Through the use of Kens you may become like a dreamling and break these self imposed tethers.

*Fathom the truths and riddles that are found here, and in so doing become armed. In the Wider world knowing something is to have power over it, those that would remain free gird themselves in kennings and knots of riddle. To think a thing bare and know it clearly is to defeat it.

etc. Basically Kens only come into play when you're trying to make contact with the Wider world, entering into a deep trance (Or better yet slipping into a deathly coma by way of a potion) Here you can speak with the dead or other dreamlings, try to make sense of the memories that cluttered on the other side or interact with sites/objects of power. Magic itself stems from the Wider world and as such many relics cannot be activated from outside of it.

Also, a note on all Crafts (Kens, Veers and Dictums) while you shape them via mirrors and ritual you must pin them in place with symbolic tattoos. 

Veers are next, and I'll have the list of common Crafts you're likely to encounter up soon.