Chauntea (chawn-TEE-ah)

(a.k.a. The Great Mother / The Grain Goddess / Earthmother)

Chauntea is among the oldest of the deities, having been present at the creation of Abeir-Toril, infusing the twin worlds with the essence of life. She holds sway not so much over the natural world, but over the way in which sentient mortals interact with the world.
The Great Mother is revered by any who depend on the land for their livelihood. A kindly mistress, she ensures healthy harvests to those who treat the tilled earth with the respect she demands.
Chauntean priests pray to the Great Mother at sunset. For her favor, she asks that her faithful spend every effort preserving the natural cycle of growth and harvest. The devoted are divided into two sects: the pastorals, who minister to farmers and villagers, and the true shapers, solitary druids who find truth in the wild lands yet to be tamed.
Chauntea (chawn-tee-ah) is the humble deity of all growing things, especially those sowed by the hand of humankind. She rarely appears to mortals, nor is she fond of grand spectacles. She prefers quiet and small acts of devotion. Venerated by farmers, gardeners, and comon folk, she is beloved by all that work the soil. 

Religion

Her church consists of two divisions: those who work in civilized areas (clerics) and others who watch over outlying and wilderness regions (most often druids). The two branches of the church are cordial to each other, but relations are sometimes strained, as the progress of civilization continues to push the outlying branch farther afield. Both sides teach others responsibility and respect for nature, how to prevent damage and disease in plants, and how to minister to the land so that it provides year after year. 

Clerics

Chauntea’s clerics and druids pray for spells at sundown. They have a fertility festival every Greengrass and observe solemn High Prayers of the Harvest on whatever day harvesting begins in the local community. Their few rituals are usually performed on freshly tilled land, and they say that passing one’s wedding night on such a field guarantees fertility in marriage. Her clerics most often multiclass as rangers or druids

Divine Domains

Animal, Earth, Good, Plant, Protection, Renewal

Tenets of Faith

• Growing and reaping are part of the eternal cycle and the most natural part of life. 
• Destruction for its own sake and leveling without rebuilding are anathema. 
• Let no day pass in which you have not helped a living thing flourish. 
• Nurture, tend, and plant wherever possible. 
• Protect trees and plants, and save their seeds so that what is destroyed can be replaced. 
• See to the fertility of the earth but let the human womb see to its own. 
• Eschew fire. 
• Plant a seed or a small plant at least once a tenday.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Chauntea is allied with the other nature deities of the Faerûnian pantheon, has an intermittent romance with Lathander , and opposes deities of destruction and untimely death, particularly the Gods of Fury (Auril, Malar, Talos, and Umberlee). She is a very old deity, and some consider her to be the progenitor of the natural races of the world.