Assuming that you don't, OA as written up has Thunder Powers (or rather, looking at the spell names, Wind Powers). Somehow. Therefore, Vinga has the same Thunder/Wind Powers. Somehow. Probably a different Somehow, but there you go. Looking at that write-up, OT has considerably more Storm/Wind/Thunder than OA (and, therefore, than Vinga), which I'm sure won't surprise anyone.
We have several documented instances of female Orlanthi being able to control the wind: I can't look it up at present, but seem to remember a lady on an expedition to Skyfall Lake being surprised at the fury of the storm and her inability to control it. It seems to me that it is possible, Somehow, for women to gain more access to Storm than Vinga/OA can give.
As for which aspects of Orlanth women can join: surely the question is which ones they can't join. Not OA: that's documented. It seems obvious that aspects that rely on male potency are impossible to women. So Orlanth the Ultimate Clan Ancestor is out. Orlanth Who Defines Your Role As A Man is out. Orlanth the teenage layout who seduces anything in a skirt - yes, that's why OA is out! But Thunderous? If wind has anything to do with male potency, you're doing it wrong.
And of course Orlanth Goodvoice etc, who are also other gods in their own right, are open to women: though I'd guess they'd use those other names. No Storm powers there, though.
Jeff, wasn't it?:
> Outside of Saird, I doubt that they are too many variations on Vinga worship
beyond the basic "Orlanth the Warrior" template - I mean let's face it, she just isn't
that culturally significant.
Two points here:
1) What is this about Saird? I know of nothing published that ties Vinga to Saird
more than to anywhere else.
2) "Not significant": let's translate that as "not as significant as Orlanth". Absolutely
true. 5% of the population, or thereabouts. Probably similar to CA. Which means,
since in Glorantha they don't realise this is fiction, that if you wrote down all her
myths etc. they would ONLY fill, say, three thick volumes rather than the thirty or so
Orlanth would get. The fact that in this universe the Orlanth followers have only
bothered to do a few pages out of their thirty books doesn't stop Vinga's three
volumes existing. And I'm certainly not waiting for the men to get their fingers out
before I feel I'm allowed to develop Vinga. So she can have as many subcults
/Aspects/associated cults as we like: Orlanth has more, sure, but don't try to
pretend they're all documented. At the very least, there's a slightly different Orlanth
for every clan in Sartar.
Back to Alex (I think?):
>My current thinking is that: it's possible for women to access Thunderous powers;
it's difficult, for mythic and social reasons; it's probably not via Vinga, which isn't to
say that it isn't at least largely Vingans who might do this.
Sounds about right to me.
> So what does that leave? I'm not sure, either they have to undergo
some elaborate test to join Orlanth Thunderous directly, or worship
some related god/hero/initiatory aspect who manifests thunder powers
of some sort.
Also sounds about right to me. And since I can't think of any reason why
Thunderous should exclude women, either sounds possible. Maybe they approach
OT through this hero/aspect? Getting both possibilities in there?
Maybe the quest involved is Vinga Proves She Is Orlanth's Daughter - but I'd expect
that to give one storm power, not the whole bunch.
I suspect we're coming back to the Thunder Brothers, about which I wish I knew more. If she gets one spell from each of them (and all of them together make up OT), that would just about do it.
Do we have published Thunder Brothers details, or is it time to make some up?
Jane Williams jane_at_williams.nildram.co.uk http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~janewill/gloranth/
End of The Glorantha Digest V6 #173
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