RVA: Some Notes on the Mother Goddess
Just some long delayed world building.
* * *
The major dominant religion among the foxen for the past eight to fifteen thousand years has been that of the Mother Goddess, a monotheistic creation deity that reinforces the foxen cultural norms towards matriarchal practices. As a spacefaring technological race, outsiders might expect that the foxen would be mostly atheistic or agnostic, but a surprising 65% of them express at least some religious belief, and most of that is directed towards the Mother Goddess. [1]
Unusually for a monotheistic religion, there has been no primary single volume detailing myths and the proper ways of worship and conducting one’s life, such as is found in the Qu’ran, the Bible, or Dianetics. Instead a remarkably coherent oral tradition maintained the Mother Goddess’ beliefs, though there have been major writings expanding or codifying certain parts of it, such as the Stones of Soar, or Lady Argana Bloodwine’s classic pre-Spaceflight chapbook The Face of the Mother Goddess, Maintaining Her Presence in Your Household Though Good Workes and Patience With the Flawes We All Have, Plus Five Good Recipes for Tree Pestes. [3]
Worship: For the most part, despite the great age of belief in the Mother Goddess, it’s still very much a “household” religion, as Lady Bloodwine’s book maintains. There no great cathedrals or mosques or temples to the Mother Goddess to be found, no great prophets, and few “holy” works of art. Formal worship is made at a shine, maintained over a home’s hearth, or at the family table, led by the eldest capable female member of the household. Larger ceremonies do happen, particularly at the Winter and Summer Solstice, but as those generally involve the entire community, they are led by the highest ranking Noble caste female in the area. [4]
Beliefs: As with any religion, there are several that are considered “core” even while followers argue about the details. Some of the prominent include:
Creation: In the beginning, the universe was utter void. There was no sunlight, no warming fires. All was Cold and Dark. In this emptiness, the universe grew lonely, so she created suns and planets to fill Herself. And since it created life from itself it was the first mother, so Mother is what she decided to call Herself.
Eons passed, but Time was nothing to the Mother, so she took as long as she needed to make the worlds that filled Herself. Her paws shaped the mountains and seas, and made the animals and plants. But like any artist she was rarely satisfied with her first works, so she let them pass into oblivion and shaped the mountains and seas and plants and animals again and again, leaving their bones pressed into the rock for her children to find and learn from Her mistakes. Finally, she made her finest creations, and the two foxen cublings mewled and squalled as she drew them from her, until she pressed their muzzles to her breasts and fed them Her milk.
The Mother raised the First Sister and Second Brother in her cave by her fire for many years, and taught them all her wisdom. Then, when they were old enough to survive on their own, she moved to a different cave, and made a new First Sister and Second Brother, repeating the process over and over until thousands of her children lived in the world and could create children of their own. And in each of those caves the next generations of mothers spoke with the Mother’s voice, for had Sister not come first?
Ecology: Notably, the Mother Goddess’ tenets include maintenance of the land. Aside from compilations of wise farming techniques, many teaching revolve around the Parable of the Forest. In this story, two forests sit across from each other, a wide river dividing them. The two Countesses holding land on either side of the river pledge to build a bridge together, to enhance trade and bring wealth to their people. The first Countess, in her haste to bridge the river, strips her forest of every tree, leaving a muddy, stump filled wasteland, depriving her people of a much needed hunting ground and the bridge only half built. The second countess takes far longer to meet her obligation, cutting down only every fifth tree, leaving the rest to grow and the stumps to be pulled and new trees planted. Her forest and its hunting ground survives, and when her bridge is finished she uses it to bring food to the starving people of the first Countess.
From that a general trend towards tending land with an eye towards preserving as much natural beauty as possible came about. While this is generally admirable, it did stunt some early technological development due to resource scarcity, since open pit mines were not seen as keeping within the Mother’s teachings. [5]
Charity: This tenet aligns very easily with the major human religions. Essentially, those who Have should be sure those who Have Not are provided both the minimums required for survival, and so they have the ability to prosper. In times past this was handled through a system similar to the human tribal potlatch gift giving system, seen today through the Noble distribution of Solstice gifts to Commoners. In modern times this is handled through various social programs, both governmental and NGO’s.
Simply put, the idea of a foxen standing on the street corner begging for coins isn’t merely tragic, it’s a deadly sin by the beggar’s lord for allowing them to fall to this state. “Better a Noble stand naked in her court, than her Commoner want for a coat in the winter,” is a common proverb on the subject.
Curiosity: In the Mother Goddess creation mythology, she created many puzzles for her children to discover. Foxen paleontology grew out of a belief that the fossils found by farmers and miners were the Mother Goddess’ “first tries” at creating a world suitable for her children. In similar fashion the scientific method grew out attempts at codifying all Her wonders.
Empathy: One of the most important tenets, and considered closely related to that of Charity. The Mother teaches that there are no monsters in the world, only creatures and people not yet understood. Attempting to understand the thoughts and feelings of an adversary is considered the gift of truly great souled foxen, and one of the greatest sins is ignore the feelings of others for the sake of material goals.
The Chain of Sin: Any foxen with free will is capable of error, and failing to follow the Mother’s teachings results in a link being added to a metaphorical chain that will follow a foxen into the afterlife. Charitable and kind souls will have a chain both short and light, so the weight on their soul is negligible. Souls who were cold and miserly in life will find that their chains are long and heavy. Those seeking redemption from past sins may be able to remove a few links, but only the Mother Goddess may unlock the chain completely, and that only happens when the soul reaches....
....The Cold and Dark: When a foxen dies, it is said that they awaken on a cold and dark plain, the ground covered in snow, the sky dark with clouds, snow falling around them. They will be as naked save for the fur they were born with, and the iron chain of their sins hanging from one ankle. As they move forward to seek shelter, the ground gradually becomes uneven, the snow covered bodies of those who ignored the teachings of the Mother Goddess lying before them to trip them up. Gradually, if their chain is not too heavy, they will see the spark of a fire in a cave, and smell its smoke, leading them to where the Mother Goddess waits to free them from their chain and guide them to the other side into the Fields of Green, where they may finally reunite with all their lost family and friends, and live forevermore.
In variations both gruesome and sometimes hopeful, the newly dead might find a friend or acquaintance who died before them, discovering the that they did not merely freeze and die again, but still live. Sometimes the fallen merely urge the newly dead to move forward and not despair as they did. Other times the newly dead will help the fallen rise again, so they can walk and find the Mother Goddess together.
[1] In comparison, 15% (the majority in Gerwart) identify as atheist/agnostic, 12% (majority in unaligned foxen states) identify as following the polytheistic Sana pantheon, 5% identify as being part of various so-called “charismatic cults” based around a single leader claiming to have a direct link to the Mother, and the remaining 3% follow imported alien religions such as Christianity, Muslim, Wazagan Polytheism, and Kinis Determinism, among others. [2]
[2] There’s also a foxen rabbi and his wife maintaining what is probably the loneliest synagogue in Allied Worlds space. Please stop by and have a chat. They always have cake for visitors.
[3] The recipies are generally left out of “serious” editions of the epistil. Though there are occasional attempts to recreate the recipes by excessively serious historical reinactors.
[4] “Thus none too subtly making a link between religious and political control over Service and Commoner subjects.” On the Necessity of Forcible Democratization, Gen. Stannis Brokenfang. (ret.). Published just prior to his conviction for sedition and attempted mutiny.
[5] This does beg the question how the Noble districts and city-states that would eventually become the Mother Country managed to avoid being taken over by Gerwart, which followed a sort of bureaucratic polytheism, and had no such ecological restrictions in place. The answers are 1) There was a large ocean between them, and 2) the proto-Gerwart states were too busy slaughtering each other and colonizing the continents to the south of them.
* * *
The major dominant religion among the foxen for the past eight to fifteen thousand years has been that of the Mother Goddess, a monotheistic creation deity that reinforces the foxen cultural norms towards matriarchal practices. As a spacefaring technological race, outsiders might expect that the foxen would be mostly atheistic or agnostic, but a surprising 65% of them express at least some religious belief, and most of that is directed towards the Mother Goddess. [1]
Unusually for a monotheistic religion, there has been no primary single volume detailing myths and the proper ways of worship and conducting one’s life, such as is found in the Qu’ran, the Bible, or Dianetics. Instead a remarkably coherent oral tradition maintained the Mother Goddess’ beliefs, though there have been major writings expanding or codifying certain parts of it, such as the Stones of Soar, or Lady Argana Bloodwine’s classic pre-Spaceflight chapbook The Face of the Mother Goddess, Maintaining Her Presence in Your Household Though Good Workes and Patience With the Flawes We All Have, Plus Five Good Recipes for Tree Pestes. [3]
Worship: For the most part, despite the great age of belief in the Mother Goddess, it’s still very much a “household” religion, as Lady Bloodwine’s book maintains. There no great cathedrals or mosques or temples to the Mother Goddess to be found, no great prophets, and few “holy” works of art. Formal worship is made at a shine, maintained over a home’s hearth, or at the family table, led by the eldest capable female member of the household. Larger ceremonies do happen, particularly at the Winter and Summer Solstice, but as those generally involve the entire community, they are led by the highest ranking Noble caste female in the area. [4]
Beliefs: As with any religion, there are several that are considered “core” even while followers argue about the details. Some of the prominent include:
Creation: In the beginning, the universe was utter void. There was no sunlight, no warming fires. All was Cold and Dark. In this emptiness, the universe grew lonely, so she created suns and planets to fill Herself. And since it created life from itself it was the first mother, so Mother is what she decided to call Herself.
Eons passed, but Time was nothing to the Mother, so she took as long as she needed to make the worlds that filled Herself. Her paws shaped the mountains and seas, and made the animals and plants. But like any artist she was rarely satisfied with her first works, so she let them pass into oblivion and shaped the mountains and seas and plants and animals again and again, leaving their bones pressed into the rock for her children to find and learn from Her mistakes. Finally, she made her finest creations, and the two foxen cublings mewled and squalled as she drew them from her, until she pressed their muzzles to her breasts and fed them Her milk.
The Mother raised the First Sister and Second Brother in her cave by her fire for many years, and taught them all her wisdom. Then, when they were old enough to survive on their own, she moved to a different cave, and made a new First Sister and Second Brother, repeating the process over and over until thousands of her children lived in the world and could create children of their own. And in each of those caves the next generations of mothers spoke with the Mother’s voice, for had Sister not come first?
Ecology: Notably, the Mother Goddess’ tenets include maintenance of the land. Aside from compilations of wise farming techniques, many teaching revolve around the Parable of the Forest. In this story, two forests sit across from each other, a wide river dividing them. The two Countesses holding land on either side of the river pledge to build a bridge together, to enhance trade and bring wealth to their people. The first Countess, in her haste to bridge the river, strips her forest of every tree, leaving a muddy, stump filled wasteland, depriving her people of a much needed hunting ground and the bridge only half built. The second countess takes far longer to meet her obligation, cutting down only every fifth tree, leaving the rest to grow and the stumps to be pulled and new trees planted. Her forest and its hunting ground survives, and when her bridge is finished she uses it to bring food to the starving people of the first Countess.
From that a general trend towards tending land with an eye towards preserving as much natural beauty as possible came about. While this is generally admirable, it did stunt some early technological development due to resource scarcity, since open pit mines were not seen as keeping within the Mother’s teachings. [5]
Charity: This tenet aligns very easily with the major human religions. Essentially, those who Have should be sure those who Have Not are provided both the minimums required for survival, and so they have the ability to prosper. In times past this was handled through a system similar to the human tribal potlatch gift giving system, seen today through the Noble distribution of Solstice gifts to Commoners. In modern times this is handled through various social programs, both governmental and NGO’s.
Simply put, the idea of a foxen standing on the street corner begging for coins isn’t merely tragic, it’s a deadly sin by the beggar’s lord for allowing them to fall to this state. “Better a Noble stand naked in her court, than her Commoner want for a coat in the winter,” is a common proverb on the subject.
Curiosity: In the Mother Goddess creation mythology, she created many puzzles for her children to discover. Foxen paleontology grew out of a belief that the fossils found by farmers and miners were the Mother Goddess’ “first tries” at creating a world suitable for her children. In similar fashion the scientific method grew out attempts at codifying all Her wonders.
Empathy: One of the most important tenets, and considered closely related to that of Charity. The Mother teaches that there are no monsters in the world, only creatures and people not yet understood. Attempting to understand the thoughts and feelings of an adversary is considered the gift of truly great souled foxen, and one of the greatest sins is ignore the feelings of others for the sake of material goals.
The Chain of Sin: Any foxen with free will is capable of error, and failing to follow the Mother’s teachings results in a link being added to a metaphorical chain that will follow a foxen into the afterlife. Charitable and kind souls will have a chain both short and light, so the weight on their soul is negligible. Souls who were cold and miserly in life will find that their chains are long and heavy. Those seeking redemption from past sins may be able to remove a few links, but only the Mother Goddess may unlock the chain completely, and that only happens when the soul reaches....
....The Cold and Dark: When a foxen dies, it is said that they awaken on a cold and dark plain, the ground covered in snow, the sky dark with clouds, snow falling around them. They will be as naked save for the fur they were born with, and the iron chain of their sins hanging from one ankle. As they move forward to seek shelter, the ground gradually becomes uneven, the snow covered bodies of those who ignored the teachings of the Mother Goddess lying before them to trip them up. Gradually, if their chain is not too heavy, they will see the spark of a fire in a cave, and smell its smoke, leading them to where the Mother Goddess waits to free them from their chain and guide them to the other side into the Fields of Green, where they may finally reunite with all their lost family and friends, and live forevermore.
In variations both gruesome and sometimes hopeful, the newly dead might find a friend or acquaintance who died before them, discovering the that they did not merely freeze and die again, but still live. Sometimes the fallen merely urge the newly dead to move forward and not despair as they did. Other times the newly dead will help the fallen rise again, so they can walk and find the Mother Goddess together.
[1] In comparison, 15% (the majority in Gerwart) identify as atheist/agnostic, 12% (majority in unaligned foxen states) identify as following the polytheistic Sana pantheon, 5% identify as being part of various so-called “charismatic cults” based around a single leader claiming to have a direct link to the Mother, and the remaining 3% follow imported alien religions such as Christianity, Muslim, Wazagan Polytheism, and Kinis Determinism, among others. [2]
[2] There’s also a foxen rabbi and his wife maintaining what is probably the loneliest synagogue in Allied Worlds space. Please stop by and have a chat. They always have cake for visitors.
[3] The recipies are generally left out of “serious” editions of the epistil. Though there are occasional attempts to recreate the recipes by excessively serious historical reinactors.
[4] “Thus none too subtly making a link between religious and political control over Service and Commoner subjects.” On the Necessity of Forcible Democratization, Gen. Stannis Brokenfang. (ret.). Published just prior to his conviction for sedition and attempted mutiny.
[5] This does beg the question how the Noble districts and city-states that would eventually become the Mother Country managed to avoid being taken over by Gerwart, which followed a sort of bureaucratic polytheism, and had no such ecological restrictions in place. The answers are 1) There was a large ocean between them, and 2) the proto-Gerwart states were too busy slaughtering each other and colonizing the continents to the south of them.