Polaris & Yelm from nilsw_at_ibm.net on 1996-07-16 (Glorantha Digest Vol 03)

From: nilsw_at_ibm.net
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 96 21:00:56 +0000

Pam:
>I see Polaris as one of the most universal sky dieties. He is contacted
>by Praxians, Imtherians, Grazers, Dara Happans, and even Orlanthi
>fighting the Lunars! Each culture likely emphasizes different aspects
>of him, but the aspects of farsight, navigation at night, grace of
>movement, and holding out against adversity are universal.

To further this view: in the East Isles Polaris, who is known as the Admiral Deva, is associated with order and war. He gathered the stars into ordered constellations and fought off the minions of Tyram who invaded the sky - a preflection of Thella's gathering of the Isles in her Net.

Peter on Yelm:
>But it can only _rule_ if it has sufficient people to make its presence
>felt. If the cult is small (1% of the population), then it runs the
>risk of being exterminated after a major setback.

That's too mundane a view. There is a mythical reason why Yelm is still there in spite of a small cult: he is the Sun, the old emperor of the universe. This will reflect on his worshippers and the people around them. (NB I'm perfectly aware that this reasoning requires that you think the gods created humans, not the other way round. In Glorantha I personally think this is the case).

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