Phases of the Goddess

From: BiturianV_at_aol.com
Date: Fri, 4 Oct 1996 21:12:51 -0400


Sandy said:
"LUNAR GODDESSES: I believe that every phase of the moon has its own Goddess.
So there. I don't think they're considered the most vital deities of the Empire, tho."

*(*(*
This seems mostly true. But let me expand on it a bit.

The Entekosiad's final pages contain a diagram titled Rufelza and the Lunar Cycle that names the 7 Lunar goddesses in conjunction with the phases of the moon and some other mystic correspondences. That's pages 112 and 113. These seven goddesses correspond to stages in the Red Goddess' transformational journey, and to the corresponding journey taken by people who choose the Lunar Way.

Full 1/2 Moon, Verithursa
Crescent Going Moon, Lesilla
Dying Moon, Gerra
Black Moon, Rashorana (Illumination)
Crescent Coming Moon, Orogeria
Empty 1/2 Moon, Natha
Full Moon, Zaytenera

From some perspectives, these seven goddesses are the only Lunar goddesses, and the other Lunar divinities are reflections or parts of them, in various fashions. Of course, from those perspectives, the seven goddesses themselves are all Masks of the One, who is named Sedenya (unless you're a freaking all-out mystic and insist that Sedenya herself is but another Mask).

Of course this diagram and its notes are pretty darn esoteric, not to mention that they currently appear only in one of the Gloranthan chapbooks available from Wizard's Attic.

As more of the Lunar Way makes it into print as background material and adventure hook fertilizer for the new Gloranthan rpg, information on the Lunar divinities and philosophies will become a lot less esoteric (he said, tautologically).

To get the info flow started a bit sooner, there's an upcoming issue of Tales of the Reaching Moon that's a Lunar special.

Since ToRM is David Hall and the MegaCorp's baby, we Chaosium don't know all the contents, but I have seen the article Greg wrote about the surface of the Moon. Yes, the surface of the Red Moon. It's a bloody amazing piece. I'm reading this type of material with new eyes because this style of wonderful mythological geography will be relevant to the new Gloranthan rpg. . . and to the miniatures game as well.

All this isn't to say that Peter Metcalfe's response to Sandy is entirely wrong. Peter said:
"Surely these phase goddess would be the same as the corresponding
Seven Mother? (ie Jakaleel is the Black Moon Goddess and Danfive Xaron is the Dying Moon God)."

No, the phase goddesses aren't the same as the corresponding Seven Mothers, but the Seven Mothers cerrtainly reflect the phase goddesses and form another layer of the Goddess' transformation cycle.

End of Glorantha Digest V3 #219


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