About the moon

[Hybris]

If they're strict monotheists, and they worship the sun, then they would have to worship the sun exclusively. There can't be any other deities. The moon would be, at most, a non-deified subordinate to the sun. Perhaps its role would be similar to Mary's in Protestantism: she isn't divine, even if she is the mother of the Son of God, just a saint. But she isn't associated with negative things either.

If they're only as monotheistic as Catholics (God being the only recognized god but saints being prayable to, and Mary a recognized divine intercessor), there's room for the moon to be more deified. But that wouldn't necessarily make it the evil one.

The Moon might be the mirror of the Sun when the Night has comed, its way to still support its believers when he dived under the horizon. Pale reflect of the Sun, the Moon would be a bit like, you know, the little bit of "Yang in the Yin". And the "Yin in the Yang" when the Moon hide the Sun (Solar eclipses). Balanced

 

[Rosemary Tea]

The Moon might be the mirror of the Sun when the Night has comed, its way to still support its believers when he dived under the horizon. Pale reflect of the Sun, the Moon would be a bit like, you know, the little bit of "Yang in the Yin". And the "Yin in the Yang" when the Moon hide the Sun (Solar eclipses). Balanced

That makes the most sense if Orcish religion really is strictly monotheistic.

There are also lots of myths, worldwide, on why the sun and the moon don't appear together in the sky. Typically they involve some quarrel or spite between the deities of the sun and moon. But that requires both of them to be deities.

The second instance would most easily allow the moon to be associated with negative things while the sun is associated with positive things. But that would still mean the moon is, in some way, divine.

 

[pmmg]

Perhaps its role would be similar to Mary's in Protestantism: she isn't divine, even if she is the mother of the Son of God, just a saint.

Last I checked, its the same in Catholicism.

Yeah, that quarter and three-quarter feels modern. It's just too precise and enumerated. I very much like brightening and darkening, for which there are the terms waxing and waning, and those are serviceable if not very colorful.

I suspect the Greeks at least, would have thought in terms of quarter and three quarters, but I agree, its not colorful. In my own story, I presented it as 'the crescent light of Luna' or the 'Half light...' and such to give it more color. Other terms did not have the word sound for the voice of the story, and I did not go on as far to make up some kind of ritual or religion about it.

I dont foresee making up words for this story, but maybe on in the future. I did introduce a culture that might view it differently. Maybe for them.

If I were you, unless there is a strong need to attach it to something that actually existed, I might go the entomology route. What was the root of waxing, and might that be changed a little to add antiquity. Or, I might try to find an obscure culture that did so...only google has not been helpful with that.

If they are aware that the moon's phases are due to shadows, maybe it can be the shadowed and un-shadowed moon.

 

[Rosemary Tea]

Last I checked, its the same in Catholicism.

Maybe that's the official word, but if she isn't divine in Catholicism, why is one of the most important prayers Hail Mary? Why is she asked to intercede for us?

In Protestantism, there is no Hail Mary prayer, and no belief that she can and will intercede with God.

Seems to me that Catholic Mary is pretty well deified, in a way that there's no hint of with Protestant Mary.

 

[Rosemary Tea]

If I were you, unless there is a strong need to attach it to something that actually existed, I might go the entomology route. What was the root of waxing, and might that be changed a little to add antiquity. Or, I might try to find an obscure culture that did so...only google has not been helpful with that.

Wax is from the Old English for "grow." Wane is from the Old English for "shrink." Thoroughly prosaic.

If anything, just using wax instead of grow and wane instead of shrink looks more antiquated.

 

[Hybris]

Why is one of the most important prayers Hail Mary? Why is she asked to intercede for us?

In Protestantism, there is no Hail Mary prayer, and no belief that she can and will intercede with God.

Seems to me that Catholic Mary is pretty well deified, in a way that there's no hint of with Protestant Mary.

I think (I'm not an expert) that for the catholics, every saint can intercede (at some point) with God. My Grandma always said me to pray for St Antoine if I had lost something... And it is one of the biggest difference with protestant, who (again, I'm not an expert, so I think) just consider saints as exemplar humans, who deserve a special place in the heavens.

 

[pmmg]

Maybe that's the official word, but if she isn't divine in Catholicism, why is one of the most important prayers Hail Mary? Why is she asked to intercede for us?

In Protestantism, there is no Hail Mary prayer, and no belief that she can and will intercede with God.

Seems to me that Catholic Mary is pretty well deified, in a way that there's no hint of with Protestant Mary.

I would derail the thread if i answered it. Ill send a pm a little later about it.

 

[Prince of Spires]

All orc magic is prayer magic and firmly in the hands of the shamans, the priesthood. Warriors serve the Sun. All other peoples are to worship the Sun or else be eliminated--killed or driven out.

This gave me a completely not related to the sun and moon thought I'm now curious about. Is this control of magic by the priesthood at some point challenged in a reformation type revolution, where part of the movement lets people interact directly with magic instead of being forced to go through some priest?

 

[skip.knox]

I'm keeping the real-earth timeline confined to humans, at least so far. I'm going to roll Reformation and Scientific Revolution into a somewhat ungainly ball. The central narrative there is that a combination of methodology, better instruments, and a fundamental shift in the relation between "mages" and public authority gets Altearth to a "scientific" understanding of how magic works. The reform element will be political on the lay side, and will be about breaking the power of certain schools and leagues on the wizardly side. Then, once this new approach starts to show practical results in agriculture, transportation, communication, and construction, there's no stopping it.

But that's all with the humans. With the orcs, they're not going to have a reform. They're the object lesson for what happens when a society is so locked, it is unable to change, even to save itself. After centuries of terrorizing Europa, they crumble in a relatively short period of time. I don't really have a story to explore that, however, so it all remains sketchy.

 

[Prince of Spires]

Makes sense. It does sound like you've got a whole millenium worth of stories to tell still. Better get writing

 

[skip.knox]

Yup. Now I just need to set aside a millennium for the writing