Astroism (As-tro-ism)
The Banner of Astroism has four animals which represent the four Goblan sect deities.
Mythology & Lore
To the Orkans the 12 divines who are made of stars each took part in creating the world of Bi'Terra. but the goblans beilieve that they are chief guardians of the living realm and that there is a fifth chief deity called the unkown god that oversees all life in the living realm and the realm of the dead.
Divine Origins
It seems to come from Egydianism but was spread to the Orkans and the Goblans mostly and mixed with the local phenomena in the lands they settled in like the Orkans' spiritual connection to Auroras that are seasonal in the the north eastern arctic region of Degora and the Goblans' connection to the constellations representing spirit guides.
Cosmological Views
Those who are Astroist believe that the constellations are deities or at the least divine enough to make a big impact on Bi'Terra. They believe that depending on what time of the year you are born in determines you personality traits, your destiny and your fate and because of this many nations of this religion tend to have a caste system.
There are twelve Orkan gods and four Goblan gods, they are:
1: Dorakami, a constellation in the form of a dragon with four wings who is the creator of all dragons and gave fire to the races of men. Those born under his sign are to become connected with dragons and have a natural attunement to them and have a great natural connection with magic.
2: Otokami, a constellation in the form of a man with four arms hold a sword, sickle, balance and scroll which represent war, harvest, justice and art, he is said to be the creator of the races of men which is why all races of men have these four attributes to their society. Those who are born under his sign have a natural gift depending on the quarter they were born on: gifted with being a great warrior, gifted with being a great farmer, gifted with being a great judge who can discern good and evil, and being gifted with an artful mind singing and playing music or making great paintings or able to tell great stories.
3: Dobokami, a constellation in the form of a Lions head who is the creator of all land animals and he gave the races of men the honorable privilege to be their masters. Those who are born under his sign are said to become great with animals and having many animal friends or being able to tame any beast.
4: Shokobukami, a constellation in the form of a great and mighty tree who is the creator of all plants found on land and in the sea and he gave men fruit to eat and trees for shade and air to breath. Those who are born under his sign are said to be very fruitful (alot of kids) or very abundant with the things they have.
5: Sakakami, a constellation in the form of a whale who is the creator of all sea life and he gave men wisdom and understanding of their surroundings. Those who are born under his sign are said to become very wise counselors or very wise kings.
6: Torikami, a constellation in the form of a great eagle who is the creator of all birds and he gave men connection to the spirit realm. Those who are born under his sign are said to have a very deep connection with the spirit realm and can sometimes naturally see spirits without magic.
7: Aisukami, a constellation in the form of a woman or a wolf who is a goddess of love and gave men the ability to love. Women who are born under her sign are said to be very bountiful in children and very beautiful while men however are said to be very handsome having many lovers which in turn may not leave a heir in his name.
8:Unmekami, a constellation in the form of a great giant spider or in the shape of three triangles merged, who weaves the destiny of every man. Those who are born in the first of half of his sign are said to have a happy ending with their life or at the very least a good wonderful life while they who are born in the second half have a bad ending to their life or at the least a sorrowful life. However for women it is in reverse concerning the time of the month they are born on.
9: Senkami, a constellation in the form of armored warrior who is the husband of Aisukami, who is the god of war and he gave men bravery and courage. Those who are born under his sign are said to be great warlords and great generals or great warriors.
10: Subemirkami, a constellation in the form of a large eye who can see all things and records them for judgement when men die. Those who are born under his sign tend to be noticed more than others and are quite popular whether it be for good or evil.
11: Tenkukami, a constellation in the form of a cloud or lightning who is the creator of the skies and had power over the storms of the world. Those who are born under his sing are said to be energetic and impatient, lacking discipline, a wild child.
12: Tenshikami, a constellation in the form of a cherub, who is keeper of the heavens and guards the gates to paradise. Those who are born under his sign are said to be very righteous and pure from evil.
4: Hounderos, a constellation for the winter season in the form of a a wolf howling.
Orkan gods
1: Dorakami, a constellation in the form of a dragon with four wings who is the creator of all dragons and gave fire to the races of men. Those born under his sign are to become connected with dragons and have a natural attunement to them and have a great natural connection with magic.
2: Otokami, a constellation in the form of a man with four arms hold a sword, sickle, balance and scroll which represent war, harvest, justice and art, he is said to be the creator of the races of men which is why all races of men have these four attributes to their society. Those who are born under his sign have a natural gift depending on the quarter they were born on: gifted with being a great warrior, gifted with being a great farmer, gifted with being a great judge who can discern good and evil, and being gifted with an artful mind singing and playing music or making great paintings or able to tell great stories.
3: Dobokami, a constellation in the form of a Lions head who is the creator of all land animals and he gave the races of men the honorable privilege to be their masters. Those who are born under his sign are said to become great with animals and having many animal friends or being able to tame any beast.
4: Shokobukami, a constellation in the form of a great and mighty tree who is the creator of all plants found on land and in the sea and he gave men fruit to eat and trees for shade and air to breath. Those who are born under his sign are said to be very fruitful (alot of kids) or very abundant with the things they have.
5: Sakakami, a constellation in the form of a whale who is the creator of all sea life and he gave men wisdom and understanding of their surroundings. Those who are born under his sign are said to become very wise counselors or very wise kings.
6: Torikami, a constellation in the form of a great eagle who is the creator of all birds and he gave men connection to the spirit realm. Those who are born under his sign are said to have a very deep connection with the spirit realm and can sometimes naturally see spirits without magic.
7: Aisukami, a constellation in the form of a woman or a wolf who is a goddess of love and gave men the ability to love. Women who are born under her sign are said to be very bountiful in children and very beautiful while men however are said to be very handsome having many lovers which in turn may not leave a heir in his name.
8:Unmekami, a constellation in the form of a great giant spider or in the shape of three triangles merged, who weaves the destiny of every man. Those who are born in the first of half of his sign are said to have a happy ending with their life or at the very least a good wonderful life while they who are born in the second half have a bad ending to their life or at the least a sorrowful life. However for women it is in reverse concerning the time of the month they are born on.
9: Senkami, a constellation in the form of armored warrior who is the husband of Aisukami, who is the god of war and he gave men bravery and courage. Those who are born under his sign are said to be great warlords and great generals or great warriors.
10: Subemirkami, a constellation in the form of a large eye who can see all things and records them for judgement when men die. Those who are born under his sign tend to be noticed more than others and are quite popular whether it be for good or evil.
11: Tenkukami, a constellation in the form of a cloud or lightning who is the creator of the skies and had power over the storms of the world. Those who are born under his sing are said to be energetic and impatient, lacking discipline, a wild child.
12: Tenshikami, a constellation in the form of a cherub, who is keeper of the heavens and guards the gates to paradise. Those who are born under his sign are said to be very righteous and pure from evil.
Goblan gods
1: Draeka or also called Draekeros, a constellation for the summer season in the form of a great Dragon.
2:Lavaetha or also called Lavaetheros, a constellation for the Autmn season in the form of a great serpent.
3: Pantheros, a constellation for the spring season in the form of a great cat (a lion or a panther
Tenets of Faith
If one was born during one of these deities signs in the sky, that person can only worship that corresponding deity. EX: if one were to be born during Otokami's sign, that person only worship Otokami throughout their entire lifetime.
for goblans however this is not the case as they tend to believe that you can only worship the gods during their corresponding times of the year. EX: the god pantheros can only be worshiped during the 3rd to the 5th month of the year.
Ethics
Both Orkans and Goblans tend to believe that prophecy is to never be prevented and that in doing so would cause great calamity on the world and they both believe that one should only marry with those of the same birth sign and that if not done accordingly then the child would have bad omens haunting him for the rest of his life. the Orkans believe that if one were to attempt to worship the incorrect deity of their sign then that person was to be exiled and that the deity would judge him. but Goblans believe that worshipping the wrong deity of the season would cause that season to bring forth calamity or bad karma and that person would have to be put to death to stop the bad karma or calamity.
Worship
Worshipping Orkan gods
When worshipping the Orkan gods, one must first build an altar and give the corresponding sacrifice of their deity's sign and then perform a ritual corresponding to that deity.
1. When worshiping Dorakami, the worshipper must worship at an altar made from volcanic rock at day but with obsidian at night. and then they must sacrifice via crack dragon eggs onto the altar in order for the prayer to come to pass. and then they must go out and allow a dragon to breath fire upon them (the worshipper may defend themselves from the fire, they just need a dragon to intend to breathe fire onto them. however some devout worshippers endure the flames, even dying if necessary). and worshippers of Dorakami are not allowed to harm dragons and are demanded to give tribute to dragons whenever they come across them.
2. When worshipping Otokami, the worshipper must worship in the correspondign altars depending on the quarter of the sign they were born on: if they were born in the first quarter of Otokami's sign they must worship at a makeshift altar made of weapons and armor, and they are to make a devout proclamation to only use one specific weapon their whole life and in breaking that weapon or using any other weapon they would be seen as unworthy of their god and to commit honorable suicide and face the flames of the underworld. if they were born on the second quarter of Otokami's sign they must make a greatbonfire as an altar and are to make a devotional tribute of 1/4 of their crops and 1/4 of their animals to this deity via sacrifice so that may be blessed even more when harvest time comes again, if they fail to make a sacrifice they must go and fast however many days it takes until a shaman would be sent to tell them what Otokami demands from them. if they were born in the third quarter of Otokami's sign they are devoted to justice and righteousness from birth and not upholding that would be considered no longer worshipping Otokami, and they must commit suicide. if they were born in the fourth quarter of Otokami's sign they must make an altar from their personal belongings such as books, idols, clothes etc., and devote a song or story or artwork to Otokami and burn the altar like a bonfire and if the flames wouls become blue then the sarcifice was accepted but if it remained red then it was rejected, and they must go for a year as a beggar and whatever coins or offerings they recieved they must burn it at the spot the they last made the altar to atone for their failure to entertain Otokami.
3. worshippers of Dobokami must make an altar of stone and wood in the shape of a lion in the wilderness and must give offerings of crops and leave it there for whatever animal will eat it. devotees of Dobokami have a lifelong sworn oath of harming no animals except for dragons in self defense, as dragons are seen as an unnatural animal to Dobokami. and then they must perform an act of kindness unto an animal they come across throughout their lifetime. if the devotee of Dobokami were to harm an animal or act unkind to them, then Dobokami would send a great beast to attempt to slay the devotee. and if the devotee survives then they are seen as have been givin a second chance.
4. worshippers of Shokobukami are to not make an altar but instead carve a large wooden bowl from a cherry tree and put petals from a variety of flowers and fill it up with oil and let it sit on your window or somewhere where sunlight can shine upon the bowl and after the oil dries up, they are then to light the petals on fire and smear it's ashes onto their foreheads. devotees of Shokobukami are in two categories of devotion: one beign devoted to eating only fruits and vegetables and the second being devoted to only eating meat as to not hurt plant life.
Devotees of Shokobukami are sworn to an oath of doing no harm unto plantlife except for eating fruits and vegetables and for their rituals.
Priesthood
The Orkans have shamans who are death magi who mainly speak with the spirits to consult on behalf of their kings and other things, while the Goblans have druids who use their Death magic to summon spirit animals to aid them with guiding their destiny of their life.
Political Influence & Intrigue
Many Kings in Degora have druids or shamans act as advisors concerning the spiritual realm and to advise them of the future and ect.
Sects
two mains sects of Astroism is the Goblan view of the stars and the Orkan view of the stars.
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