The 8-Gods Religion


Deities
  Deities of Light
  Deities of Darkness
  Neutral Deities
  The Void

Holidays
  Major Festivals
  Minor Feastdays
  Moveable Holidays

Theology
  The Stele
  Worship
  Prayers
  Curses





Deities


Deities of Light


Apollo Ra

Lord of Light

symbol: sun
     god of justice, honor, duty, fairness, creation, art and music
 

Chrys Vesta

Lady of Light, Madonya

symbol: three interlocking rings or spirals
     goddess of hearth, home, family, motherhood, healing, nurturing, crafts

Deities of Darkness

Hel Sekhmet

Dark Queen, Mother Night, Lady of Darkness

symbol: flame
     goddess of death, destruction, disease

The Trickster
  (Panduruloki Shaitan)

The Deciever, Lord of Lies

symbol: horned mask
     god of deceit, lies, greed, selfishness

Neutral Deities


Zen Shifu

symbol: flying dove
     god of peace, wisdom, balance, negotiation, tradition

Helm Ares

symbol: sword
     god of war, conflict, strength, action

Bel Tempis

symbol: wave & wind in a circle (yin & yang)
     goddess of weather, water, travel, fortune

Fellana Sylvis

symbol: hawk & hare in a circle
     goddess of animals and nature, the seasons, hunting, feast or famine

The Void

     Some people believe that, as the gods are above mortals, so there is another power over the gods.  This power is another step removed from the mortal world.  It is all-powerful and all-pervasive, yet it is without form or substance.  It does not manifest in any earthly form, it does not communicate in dreams or portents, it does not answer prayers.  Yet people believe that this power is always present, and stronger than any 'mere' deity.

Holidays


     The 8-Gods religion celebrates the Solstices and Equinoxes, the major quarter-days, the death of the old year (and rebirth of the new), and two moveable holidays based on the weather.  A quick rundown, in chronological order:



Major Festivals

Spring Equinox -- Festival of the Lambs


March 20-22 (3 day festival)
Main Deity: Fellana Sylvis

 Celebrates: awakening of spring, change of seasons, fertility.
  Activities:  house-cleaning, prayer,  feasting, games and sports.  decorating and hiding eggs.  blessing and purification of livestock.  giving of gifts to lovers or to those whom you are courting.
  An auspicious time for bethrothals, or starting new contracts.

Summer Solstice -- Festival of Light


June 19-23 (five day festival)
Main Deities: Apollo Ra & Chrys Vesta

  Celebrates: light, creation, truth and honor, the arts.
  Activities: prayers and blessings, arts and crafts, competitions of skill.  giving of gifts to friends and family.
  An auspicious time for weddings.

Autumnal Equinox -- Harvest Festival


September 21-23 (three day festival)
Main Deity: Fellana Sylvis

  Celebrates: harvest, changing of the seasons
  Activities: competitions of produce and livestock, horse racing, sampling fruits of the harvest (and brewing!)

Winter Solstice -- Festival of Darkness


December 19-23  (five day festival)
Main Deities: The Trickster & Hel Sekhmet

  Celebrates: evil (to some extent), death, time of destruction of the old to make way for the arrival of the new.
  Activities: Saturnalia - a day of pranks, tricks, masquerade (December 22).  prayer and blessings against disease.  funeral for the old year.  mock funerals for people who want to change something about their lives.  giving away of items.
  An auspicious time to end projects or complete work.  A very bad time to undertake anything new. 




Minor Feastdays


Candlemas -- Festival of the Virgins


February 2
Main Deities:  Chrys Vesta, Zen Shifu

  Celebrates: hearth & home, womanhood, traditions
  Activities:  reverence of Vesta and hommage to virgin girls/women.  making and blessing of candles that are lit to ward off thunderstorms later in the year.  checking to see if there's more winter weather ahead (cf: groundhog's day etc), traditional stories and songs.




Beltane -- Memorial Festival


May 5
Main Deity: Helm Ares

 Celebrates: honoring those who fought for their country, and warriors still active.
 Activities: prayer and ceremony; rememberance for dead heroes.  games/sports like jousting.  renewal of pledges and promises.



Midsummer -- Festival of Peace


August 8
Main Deity: Zen Shifu

  Celebrates: peace & good will, enlightenment and learning, invention
  Activities: group efforts and games (such as barn-raising, or building human pyramids to win a prize)
  An auspicious time to start new projects and partnerships.



Samhain -- Festival of the Dead


November 11
Main Deities: Hel Sekhmet, Helm Ares

  Celebrates:  death, war, the spirits beyond
  Activities: bonfires, war games, mock battles, reverence of the departed, abjuration of restless spirits.  the pardoning of criminals and forgiveness of debts.
  An auspicious time to forgive debts, and the opportunity to put aside pledges and promises without losing honor.



Year's End  -- Festival of Rebirth


December 31
Main Deities:  Hel Sekhmet, Chrys Vesta

   Celebrates:  death of the old year, rebirth of the new.
   Activities: those who have mock-deceased during the Festival of the Dead hold parties to be reborn.  celebration of hope, and wishes of luck of the new year.




Movable Holidays



First Thunderstorm


~between spring and summer
Main Deity:  Bel Tempis

   Celebrates: changing of the weather, perhaps a change in fortune.  redistribution of wealth.
   Activities: gambling, games of chance, giving alms to the poor.  generally goofing off and being free with your money.



First Snowfall


~between autumn and winter
Main Deity:  Bel Tempis

   Celebrates: changing of the weather, perhaps a change in fortune.  redistribution of wealth.
   Activities: gambling, games of chance, giving alms to the poor.  generally goofing off and being free with your money.



Holy Days


Sunday:
     This day of the week is considered especially sacred to Apollo Ra.

The New Moon:
     This day of the lunar cycle is considered especially sacred to Hel Sekhmet.






Theology


     It is the general purpose of these deities to aid mortals through the adversities and hardships of life.  In return, they are worshipped and their followers try to adhere to their ideals and teachings.  The clergy are not separated into different factions, though some may favor a particular deity moreso than others.  Many scholarly clerics have an affinity for Zen Shifu, for example.  In the same manner, the gods do not have separate temples.  Each community has one temple, and this is the house of worship for any or all of the gods.



The 8-God Stele

     Worshippers of the 8 gods usually wear an oblong symbol carved of stone or incised metal as a pendant.  Symbols of the gods are arrayed on the stele in a particular order:

Apollo Ra: top left
Chrys Vesta: top right
Hel Sekhmet: bottom right
The Trickster:  bottom left

   The four neutral gods' symbols are depicted around the edge of a round disk in the center of the four gods of Light and Darkness.  The disk rotates, bringing the four neutral gods into different positions, which ascribes them different meanings.

   For example, when the flying dove of Zen Shifu is at the top of the circle, it flies upward and is allied with the gods of Light.  In this configuration, it symbolizes peace and brotherhood of men, enlightenment and wisdom.  However, if the disk is rotated so the dove is flying downards and is allied with the gods of Light, this symbolizes peace through capitulation, giving in to enemies due to fear or unwillingness to fight.  It can also stand for being mired in traditions, and unable to better one's self by clinging to old modes of thought.
   When the sword of Helm Ares points downward, this symbolizes war of attrition, destructive war, invasion and the like.  When the sword points upward and is allied with the gods of Light, it symbolizes the fight for freedom and justice, the protection of the innocent.

   The round symbols of Bel Tempis and Fellana Sylvis aren't generally considered to have 'good' and 'bad' sides, but they might.  Bel Tempis ascendant could mean fair weather for travel (but drought for Fellana Sylvis, who would then be allied with the Dark gods).  Or vice versa; downpours might be good for the crops, but bad for seafarers, or those who get mired in muddy roads.




Prayer


     Standard prayers are offered at dawn (or on awakening) and dusk (or on going to bed).  The order the gods are addressed is standardized:

Apollo Ra
Hel Sekhmet
Zen Shifu
Helm Ares
Bel Tempis
Fellana Sylvis
Chrys Vesta
The Trickster

  Apollo Ra and Hel Sekhmet are given precedence as being the strongest deities. (Lord of Light and Queen of Darkness, respectively.)  The Trickster is last due to his disfavor of most everybody.  Chrys Vesta is second to last, even though she is the Lady of Light, mainly because she is humble enough not to care who is first or last or what.
  In some provinces, it is traditional to reverse the order of Apollo/Hel at night. (ie: Lord of Light first at dawn, Mother Night first at dusk.)


  Personal prayers are basically freeform.  One asks for help from each deity, either in the deity's general area of expertise, or with a specific event or problem. 


Apollo Ra
Lord of Light
 illuminate my path; show me the way of truth and honor.

Hel Sekhmet
Queen of Darkness
  shield me from my enemies' sight;  enfold me in your dark embrace; let your fires cleanse my soul of impurities.

Zen Shifu
God of Peace
  grant me serenity, and the wisdom to know when to be at peace.

Helm Ares
God of War
  grant me strength to overcome the obstacles in my path; to triumph over those who oppose me.

Bel Tempis
Goddess of Wind and Wave
  grant me fortune in my endeavors; let the winds be at my back; let the rains fall on my crops.

Fellana Sylvis
Goddess of Field and Forest
  grant me prosperity; and bountiful harvest.

Chrys Vesta
Lady of Light
  shine your blessing upon my family; let our home be secure; grant me good health.

Trickster
Master of Deceit
  grant me cunning and skill to defeat my enemies, to know friend from foe, to take what is rightfully mine.






Afterlife

(bloodsong currently has no clue :X )