{"id":1685,"date":"2019-01-08T09:32:28","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T20:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/?post_type=yada_wiki&p=1685"},"modified":"2026-10-08T14:18:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T01:18:59","slug":"asterism","status":"publish","type":"yada_wiki","link":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wiki\/asterism\/","title":{"rendered":"Asterism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Based on the star religion of the elves, Asterism is the religion of the Gold Class<\/a> and much of the Silver Class<\/a>. A few Copper Class<\/a> people also convert to it, mainly house-servants.<\/p>\n

Orthodox Asterism was the official religion under the Elven Empire. At the time of that Empire\u2019s fall, human Asterists underwent some internal purging because of their collusion with elven oppression of humans, but as human high culture is, basically, elven culture, Asterism remained the religion of the (now human) ruling classes and most urban people. It was once the case that Asterists were primarily descended from house slaves and Earthists from field slaves, though it has been so long since the Fall of the Elven Empire<\/a> that this is only approximately true any more.
\nEven in the country and among Earthists, the local Asterist scholar<\/a> is still highly regarded by most people \u2013 for his or her learning, if nothing else – and people who are otherwise basically Earthists in practice will show up for the occasional moon ceremony. The relationship between the scholars and the local Earthist mystics varies from mutual public denunciation to complete collegiality, depending as much on the personalities involved as anything else. Rural scholars are often ascetic and devout (and rather vague about worldly matters), while urban scholars are more likely to join the powerful whom they advise in a degree of worldly indulgence and display.
\nAsterist ceremonies follow the lunar cycle and the seasonal stars. The numbers three and nine, and their significant multiples, are considered sacred and figure largely in ceremony, symbolism and practice. The cosmology recognizes a divine power which manifests in three aspects (the Origin, the Journey and the Destiny), each with three faces. The Lifegiver, the Lifesustainer and the Lifetaker are the female faces, the Planter, the Grower and the Harvester the male faces, while the Maker is both male and female at once, the Changer either male or female alternately, and the Ender neither male nor female.
\nElves are, in a sense, Asterists as well, of course, but the comparison is rather like that between a very conservative “high” Tridentine Catholic (the elves) and a rather liberal, rather “low” Anglican (the average human Asterist).
\nThe elvish practice is that priesthood resides in rulers and the senior members of families (male and female equally), but the priests are assisted by professional religious scholars who study the ways of the divine and instruct the priests in their ceremonial duties. This approach was passed to human Asterism (and has affected Earthism as well, in that the heads of families function as priests there also). Often, married couples are both scholars.
\nIt is, of course, possible to be both a priest (by position) and a scholar (by training) simultaneously.
\nThe scholars belong to a number of Asterist Orders<\/a>, large and small, founded with different missions at various times. Some are teachers, some researchers, astronomers, mathematicians, musicians, historians, and so forth (in some orders, several of these are combined). Most are politically involved, a natural role given that they advise the rulers on their priestly duties, which are in turn intimately entangled with the running of the nation. There are also lay orders, voluntary associations of Asterists who have a practice, or a rule of life, or a mission in common, which can be anything from social clubs with an opening and closing ritual to devout secluded orders of ascetics.<\/p>\n

Someone acting as an Asterist priest wears a belt representing constellations, with a sun buckle.<\/p>\n

Asterism has a famous diagram, created by an artist named Courageous and therefore known as the Courageous Diagram, which represents the Essential 27: nine forbiddings, nine affirmations and nine practices that are, in theory, the unaltering core of Asterism, though in practice there are (in the words of an Asterist scholar from the early years after the fall of the Elven Empire) as many ways to be Asterist as there are stars. <\/p>\n

The Nine Forbiddings: <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Do not worship what is of this world; worship only the Nine in One. <\/li>\n
  2. Do not destroy the image of Nine in others. (Usually held to forbid murder.)<\/li>\n
  3. Do not take from others what supports their life. (Usually held to forbid theft; progressive thinkers apply it to unjust rulers and employers.)<\/li>\n
  4. Do not set out to bring grief or harm to others. <\/li>\n
  5. Do not create disorder in your mind, your life, your community or the world. (Usually held to forbid drunkenness, among other things.)<\/li>\n
  6. Do not speak against the truth, or break your given oath or vow. <\/li>\n
  7. Do not act or speak in arrogance or overestimate yourself.<\/li>\n
  8. Do not act or speak unjustly or dishonestly.<\/li>\n
  9. Do not take pleasure without responsibility. (Usually held to forbid various forms of debauchery, especially extramarital relations.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Nine Affirmations: <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Divinity is Nine and One. <\/li>\n
    2. All beings flow from the perfection of Nine. <\/li>\n
    3. All beings participate in the glory of Nine. <\/li>\n
    4. We come from Nine, abide in Nine, and return to Nine.<\/li>\n
    5. All manifestations of Nine are equal and equally deserving of honour. <\/li>\n
    6. Nine manifests as Origin, Journey and Destination. <\/li>\n
    7. Origin manifests as Lifegiver, Planter and Maker. <\/li>\n
    8. Journey manifests as Lifesustainer, Grower and Changer. <\/li>\n
    9. Destination manifests as Lifetaker, Harvester and Ender.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The Nine Practices: <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Congregate to study, worship and pray.<\/li>\n
      2. Observe a regular practice to honour Nine. <\/li>\n
      3. Study the words of the wise and holy and learn from them. <\/li>\n
      4. Cultivate wisdom in yourself and others.<\/li>\n
      5. Seek purification and self-improvement. <\/li>\n
      6. Contribute to the benefit of others, your society and the world.<\/li>\n
      7. Give to those in need. <\/li>\n
      8. Strengthen bonds of family and friendship and support rightful authority. <\/li>\n
      9. Observe the rituals of the stages of life and celebrate with others who do so.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"content-type":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"wiki_cats":[],"wiki_tags":[49,50],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yada_wiki\/1685"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yada_wiki"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/yada_wiki"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yada_wiki\/1685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2413,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yada_wiki\/1685\/revisions\/2413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wiki_cats","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wiki_cats?post=1685"},{"taxonomy":"wiki_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/gryphonclerks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wiki_tags?post=1685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}