I was thinking about a conversation I had with Alphonsus and Malakyte last night. We were talking about the pantheon in Triskele and how it would work. One of the things that came up, is how difficult it is to classify one God or Goddess as Good, Neutral or Evil. Malakyte and I wrestled with this in Everwind when thinking about our nature goddess Illustree. She was classed in the 'good' camp, however we had various discussions about her being much more neutral, as nature can be violent and harsh at times, and is not always 'good' in the do gooder way we might perceive.
Alphonsus said he had struggled with similar things with his god Castan, also in the 'good' camp. Castan was a god of honour, loyalty, truth and justice. He represented many good qualities, and was associated with knights and warriors. However, Alphonsus talked last night of how difficult it might be at times to see a god that glorifies those who took part in wars as totally 'good'. He's got a point!
With this all in mind I came up with an idea for a Goddess today, please let me know what you think!
I thought we might approach the triple goddess idea.(fits with the Triskele of the realm too)
So we would have one Goddess (as part of the pantheon) , name unknown yet, who represented all aspects of life and who's followers would choose (or be placed) in three categories.(not age related)
Maidens - who would essentially be neutral.
They would be expected to be without a partner? They would be the active, run around the kingdom types. They would be the ones in the centre of battle, healing the injured. They would be allowed to carry weapons for protection of themselves and the natural environment. They would be expected to work closely withe the rangers in the realm. They would lead the spring festivities, and be associated with the new moon
Mothers - who would essentially be good
They would be the organiser, caring, nurturing, councillor types. They could have partners. They would be in charge of the temples, the healing centres. They would be the guides and welcomers to new clerics, they would be teachers and pastoral carers. They would be associated with childbirth, they would work the land, grow the herbs, tend to the vegetables. They would lead the summer and harvest festivals, and be associated with the full moon
Crones - who would be neutral, but understanding of the darker sides of life (not evil)
They would be the clever, intellectual types. Keepers of the secret knowledge, masters of the spells. They would be more secretive, insular, they would have contacts with the dark realm. they would preside over matters of death, and resurrection. They would probably work closely with the mages, and their secrets too. They would lead the winter festivals, and be associated with the waining moon.
This would allow the different aspects of one goddess to be played by different people. In some churches, priests and clerics fill many different roles, we don't have to all do the same thing just because we follow the same God. One God can have many faces.
I realise this doesn't cover men, and it would be good to have a male voice in this. But I was looking for a male equivalent of Maidens, Mothers and Crones? ....Buck?, Father?,Wise man?
So its just at the idea stage, and has been rolling around in my head today.... I welcome any feelings about if this would work or not, or your input or ideas.
Alternatively just tell me I am completely mad to even consider this!
2 comments:
Hi Wren. You have so many interesting ideas. I've not had time to digest this, so I'm not giving a definitive view, but I wanted to encourage you with my gut feeling on what each thing says to me... and you can see if it's what you were hoping for or not.
Interestingly, in line with your previous posting, I think it's hard to classify people as light dark or neutral. Aren't we all wrestling with many different things within us? In many ways the "neutral" creation probably reflects this. I agree that "smiting" others is hardly a "good" act.
Anyway, here goes:
"Goddess". I would feel perfectly happy following a gender neutral god (in role play). Could there be a god that was gender neutral and thus combine your groups into 6 categories (maiden etc)?
Maiden - this says "young" to me. It also has a feeling of innocence.
Mother - this has a feeling of hierarchy (as in, "in charge" of something)
Crone - this has an old woman feel to it. Feels quite witch-like.
Buck - this is interesting... and to me has a more warrior feel than cleric. Don't really know why. Can't think of a better one at moment... thinking of things like Steward, Esquire?
Father - a perfect balance to "mother"
Wise man - this is more "nice" than "crone" to my ears. Um... what about something like "dark cleric" for male and female or is that too simplistic?
Your right, the titles are tricky, and very gender specific. I had another idea.What about Dawn clerics, Midday (anything more romatic sounding?) clerics, and Twilight Clerics?
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