Selenomancy

From: Argrath_at_aol.com
Date: Sun, 24 Dec 1995 10:54:37 -0500


This is something I wrote in 1991, lightly edited:

        According to Elder Secrets, the Red Moon's phases vary depending on one's perspective. This used to bother me. If the phases vary, then lunar cultists' power would vary from place to place on a particular day. Given the physical position of the Red Moon, however, it is plausible that it shows different faces to different countries. A corollary of this fact is the fact that lunar magic varies from place to place.

        According to the best information available, the Red Moon hangs in the Middle Air, not in (or on) the sky. One half of it is bright red, and the other half is black. It rotates clockwise, when viewed from above. The local phase depends on how much of each side is visible.

        In the Silver Shadow sultanate, the moon is always at least three-quarters full. This is because the sultanate is practically under the moon. The progression of phases is thus: Full, Shadow, Sliver-Go, Ebbing, Growing, Sliver-Come, Gibbous. The sultanate is also lit by an eerie silver glow reflected from the walls of the Crater.

        Previous information had misled us. One source asserted that the moon is always full within the glowline. This is obviously not compatible with the physical model of the moon. Lunar magic works as if the moon were full, when cast from within the glowline. This does not mean that the moon is actually full, however. Another source had the moon completely invisible outside the glowline, with a dramatic moonrise occurring as one travelled across the line. Elder Secrets contradicts this.

        The exact day and time the Red Moon began to rotate is a secret. Orlanthi believe that discovering that fact would reveal a cosmic fact about the Red Moon's orientation in the world. If the Moon first faced south, that would have different effects on its magic than if it first faced north.

        Lhankor Mhy scholars have performed careful measurements of the Moon's rotation. They concluded that the Moon's face never points directly in a cardinal direction at a significant moment in the day. At dawn, noon, dusk, and midnight, it always points a little off from north, south, east, or west.  Thus, the Red Moon creates an independent reference point for the universe.

        The previously posted table shows how each part of the world sees the Red Moon on a particular day of the Theyalan week. The numbers across the top refer to regions of the world. Each region is about 51½ degrees wide. (Note that in Lunar mathematics a circle is seventy degrees.) Our sources do not give the exact location of the glowline in most areas. Thus, except in the south, the author has placed the line arbitrarily along the borders of the Lunar Empire proper.

        In the center of the region, the moon is exactly in the named phase at sunset. Magical effects from the moon begin at sunset and continue until the next sunset. At the borders of the regions, the magical effects depend on which side of the line one stands.

        The Red Moon's phases spurred the Lunars to develop trigonometry and the related sciences of surveying. The RuneQuest skill is Cislunology.  Cislunologists also study Geomancy and Selenomancy.

        Geomancy is the art of determining the magical effects of a location on the earth. The hero Jannisor made the most famous and effective use of geomancy when he captured the Mad Sultanate in Tork. A more mundane use is the correct siting of a grave to satisfy the departing spirit.

        Selenomancy is the art of determining the Moon's effects at a given place and time. Practitioners of Lunar Magic can use it to good effect. If the magician chooses the time and place of spellcasting correctly, he or she can achieve great effects. Selenomancy helps in the timing of rituals, as well.  [Sorry there's not more: I thought I had written in greater detail. Anyhow, check 4th ed. Pendragon for general ideas.]

End of Glorantha Digest V2 #294


WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html

Powered by hypermail