Home Signs and beliefs Ancient gods. Spiral dance revival of the ancient religion of the great goddess Revival of the ancient religion of the great goddess

Signs and beliefs

Ancient gods. Spiral dance revival of the ancient religion of the great goddess Revival of the ancient religion of the great goddess

Ancient Gods
Four Ancient Gods of Azeroth (clockwise from top left: K "Tun, N" Zot, Yogg-Saron and I "Sharaj)
Side/ Attitude towards others	Lords of the Abyss, Powers of the Old Gods (Dark Empire)
Homeworld	Abyss
Place- position	Titan Prisons in Azeroth, various worlds in the Great Darkness
Basic language	Shat "Yar"

"They do not die; they do not live. They are outside the cycle."- Herald Volazh

Ancient Gods- creepy and disgusting entities created by the Lords of the Abyss. In the distant past, they crashed onto the surface of Azeroth from the Great Beyond Darkness and began to expand their influence, giving birth to two races - the Faceless Ones and the Akiri. The civilization they created was called the Dark Empire and occupied a significant part of the unified Kalimdor. The elementals, who first declared war on the Ancient Gods, eventually began to serve them and joined the Dark Empire.

The reign of the Old Gods continued until the Pantheon arrived on the planet. The Titans destroyed the citadels of the Dark Empire and imprisoned the Old Gods deep beneath the surface of the world. If the Pantheon destroyed them, Azeroth would be destroyed. K"Thun feigned death and was sealed in a Titan research station near Uldum. Yogg-Saron was captured in the depths of Ulduar. However, I"Shaaraj, the most powerful of the Old Gods, was killed by the Titans, and only his heart was preserved to be awakened thousands of years later. The Pantheon was unable to defeat N'Zoth, whose exact location remains unknown.

Although the Old Gods have been captured or destroyed, their influence still corrupts mortal peoples (and immortal beings too). The Old Gods are considered one of the most dangerous and persistent threats facing heroes. Although those who came to Azeroth remain the most famous, there are other Old Gods in the universe.

Description

Although early sources indicated the existence of three, four, and five Ancient Gods, according to the latest information, exactly four arrived on Azeroth - K'Thun, Yogg-Saron, N'zot and I'Shaarj.

K"Tun

Main article: K"Tun

K'Thun was the ruler of the Qiraji, a race of intelligent insects that emerged from the Akiri and also served the Ancient Gods. It was because of K'Tun that the War of the Shifting Sands began, in which the Qiraji were defeated by the combined forces of the night elves and Aspects. A thousand years later, after the Third War, K'tun awakened in An'Qiraj, intending to capture all the dragons who were trying to get into his lair. A group of mortal heroes were able to get inside and destroy it.

Yogg-Saron

Main article: Yogg-Saron

Yogg-Saron, the Old God of Death, was imprisoned by the Titans beneath Ulduar, their own city in Northrend. When Alliance and Horde forces arrived on the northern mainland to battle Arthas's Scourge, Yogg-Saron was summoned to the surface of the earth and was able to corrupt the minds of the guardians of Ulduar abandoned by the Titans. The heroes of Azeroth made their way to the ancient city and were able to free the guardians, who later helped them destroy the body of Yogg-Saron.

N"Zot

Main article: N'Zot

N'Zoth was hidden by the titans in the depths of the Great Sea. It is known that in the distant past, the servants of N'Zoth fought against the combined forces of K'Tun and Yogg-Saron, and the General Zon'ozz led his troops. N'Zoth is directly connected with the Emerald Nightmare, which captured the Emerald Dream. Due to N'Zoth's connection with the ocean, it is assumed that it was he who created the naga from the night elves who drowned after the Sundering. After the Cataclysm, researchers of Vash'ir stated that N'Zoth may be influencing this place. N'Zoth is responsible for Deathwing's actions after the Cataclysm.

And "Sharaj"

Main article: I "Sharaj"

The strongest of the Old Gods and the only one of them who was killed by the Titans. He was a monster with seven heads, and his last breath cursed Pandaria into Sha. Shortly before the siege of Orgrimmar, it became known that the heart of I "Shaaraj survived and was hidden under the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Garrosh Hellscream gave the order to excavate the lands of the Vale and find the heart, which he managed to restore using local magical lakes. I" Sharaj himself was not resurrected, but the heart gained strength and became capable of corrupting living creatures and communicating with Garrosh. The Mantises, who worshiped I'Shaarj in the distant past, sided with Garrosh after the restoration of his heart. The Paragons, the strongest warriors of the race, tried to protect him during the siege of Orgrimmar.

Other Old Gods

An unknown number of Old Gods were hurled into the Great Dark by the void lords, and numerous other Old Gods are active in the worlds beyond Azeroth.

Some of the more outlandish theories regarding the creation of the sentient dagger known as Xal"atath claim that the blade is all that remains of a forgotten Old God who was consumed by its kin in the early days of the Black Empire.
One unnamed world had become irredeemably infested by the monstrous beings during the early ages of the universe. A conclave of demonic nathrezim came to dwell among the Old Gods upon the black world, basking in their dark power. When Sargeras, defender of the Pantheon, arrived, he ruthlessly interrogated the nathrezim about the nature of the Old Gods. Once he had learned the truth about their purpose, an enraged and horrified Sargeras killed the demons and cleaved the corrupted world in two, instantly killing its world-soul and the Old Gods infecting it. This event is what led Sargeras to abandon the Pantheon and eventually form the Burning Legion to scour the universe of all life in an attempt to prevent the void lords" plans from ever coming to fruition.
In the Burning Crusade expansion, a group of arakkoa known as the Dark Conclave attempted to summon an ancient and powerful evil entity labeled as a "Summoned Old God" into Outland ; this seemingly implies that it is one of many extra-terrestrial Old Gods.
- A scroll in Veil Terokk mentions that Anzu would converse with "the gods of the abyss", and that he would find them "dull, witless creatures".

Story

Creation

The Ancient Gods were created by the Lords of the Abyss, who are the purest creatures of the Abyss dimension and for this reason are not able to appear in reality. The Overlords created the Old Gods in the form of flesh, consisting of the energy of the Abyss, and made them their beacon on numerous worlds in the Great Dark Beyond. The purpose of the creation of the Ancient Gods is the desecration of any life, not excluding the essences of the titans that may be located inside the planet.

The Titans of the Pantheon were distracted by the activity of demons and did not pay attention to the appearance of the Ancient Gods. They spread across the planets and discovered inside one of them the essence of a titan, which was to be born in the future. There were also several nathrezim on this planet, for whom Sargeras, then still serving as the champion of the Pantheon, came. Sargeras saw that the Old Gods were implementing a plan to desecrate the essence of the titan. If they managed to do this, then a true dark titan would be born from the planet, becoming a reflection of the Lord of the Abyss in reality.

Realizing what was happening, Sargeras decided that the destruction of the entire universe was the best alternative to what awaited it under the influence of the Lords of the Abyss. He wished to convene a Legion that would exterminate all living things in order to prevent the Ancient Gods from fulfilling their dark destiny. Sargeras began his crusade with the destruction of that very desecrated world, in the depths of which the titan's soul was hidden.

Dark Empire

The Four Ancient Gods arrived on yet another planet that contained the soul of a titan and was located in a remote corner of the Great Beyond Darkness. This titan was to be named Azeroth in the future. The Ancient Gods, who bore the names K'Tun, Yogg-Saron, N'Zoth and I'Sharaj, fell to the surface of the world in various places, embedding their vast bodies into the earth's crust.

They rose like mountains of flesh, adorned with hundreds of fanged mouths and black eyes. A miasma of despair spread around the bodies of the Old Gods, and their polluting influence, like cancerous tumors, spread across the planet, turning the lands into a black and lifeless wasteland. At the same time, the tentacles of the Gods broke deeper and deeper into the core of Azeroth, trying to get to its defenseless heart - the future titan.

Living matter leaked from the bodies of the Ancient Gods, from which two races of creatures arose: the cunning and intelligent n'raqi, who would later become known as the Faceless Ones, and the Akiri - strong insect-like creatures with durable bodies. The two peoples were the physical embodiment of the Ancient Gods and served fanatically to its creators.

Thanks to new minions, the influence of the Ancient Gods expanded. The Faceless Ones became ruthless overlords, forcing the Akiri to build high citadels and cities around the huge bodies of the Gods. The largest city was built around I'Shaarj, the most powerful Ancient God, who was located in the central part of the largest continent on Azeroth. The growing civilization, which included the N'raqi and Akiri, continued to grow and became known as the Dark Empire.

The development of the Dark Empire was noticed by the elementals who ruled Azeroth before the arrival of the Old Gods. Although the four elemental lords, known as Ragnaros, Al'akir, Neptulon and Therazane, had been at war with each other for millennia, they joined forces against the Old Gods to regain control of the planet. The power of the elementals was enough to destroy many of the strongholds of the Dark Empire , but in the end they still lost the war and became servants of the Ancient Gods.

Finally, Azeroth was discovered by the titans of the Pantheon, who recognized their future brother in the planet and gave him this name. They realized that one day Azeroth would become such a powerful titan that it could defeat the Void Lords. To fight the Ancient Gods and their Dark Empire, the Titans created a huge army of forged creatures, led by guardians endowed with the powers of the Pantheon. The army included Anubisaths, Tol"virs, Earthmen, mogu, mechagnomes and various giants. The heart of I"Sharaj is all that remains of him

The Guardians, using the powers bestowed upon them, were able to destroy the most powerful Ancient God - I'Shaarj. The murder left a gaping wound on the body of Azeroth, from which blood rose, and this wound became the Source of Eternity. The Guardians realized that the titan in the depths of Azeroth would die from loss of blood , if they tried to kill the rest of the Old Gods. It was then decided that K'Thun, Yogg-Saron and N'Zoth would be defeated and imprisoned in the depths of the earth. A massive complex called Ulduar was built above Yogg-Saron, the last god defeated. The prison of K'Tun became a place in the future known as An'Qiraj and located near Uldum. The heart of I'Shaarj - the only thing left of him - was placed in a crypt on the territory of the future Pandaria. N'Zoth was sealed somewhere in the depths of the Great Sea. For the four elemental lords and their servants, who were also defeated by the army of the titans, a separate closed dimension was created - the Abode of the Elements. All the elementals ended up there and continued their endless war with each other.

Ordered Azeroth and the locations of the Old Gods" prisons.

To provide the world with protection from the influence of the Ancient Gods, who, despite their captivity, could influence those around them, the Titans, through their guardians, decided to empower five dragons, who became Aspects and were obliged to protect Azeroth. Nozdormu became the Bronze Aspect and gained power over time to maintain the correct course of history and oversee the destinies of mortals. Alexstrasza, the red dragon, became the guardian of all life and played a key role in protecting the world from corruption. The task of the green Ysera was to protect the Emerald Dream - a special dimension of Azeroth through which life spread. Blue Malygos became the guardian of arcane magic, which was an incredibly dangerous weapon in the wrong hands. The Guardians made a fatal mistake, which would still play a role in the future: they gave black Neltharion, the fifth Aspect, power over the lands, although it was there that the Ancient Gods were imprisoned.

Meanwhile, Sargeras, having finally left the Pantheon, completed the creation of the Burning Legion. The Pantheon attempted to meet with Sargeras, aware of the threat of the Void Lords, and spoke of Azeroth being able to deal with them in the future. Sargeras destroyed the remaining titans with the help of fel magic and began a search for Azeroth in order to prevent absolute evil from being embodied in this world due to the actions of the Old Gods. The souls of the Titans of the Pantheon, protected by the spell, were preserved and tried to migrate to the guardians of Azeroth, but died during the migration. The Guardians received only flashes of emotions and memories of their creators and, not understanding anything, turned to the Pantheon, from which they never received an answer. Only Ra realized what exactly happened and was able to save a piece of Aman'Tul's soul, after which he hid it in the Valley of Eternal Blossoms.

Curse of the Flesh

Main article: Curse of the Flesh

Yogg-Saron, captured deep beneath Ulduar, created the Curse of Flesh, which made the titan creatures weak and easily destroyed, turning their stone or iron bodies into living flesh. The Ancient God began to influence the guardian Loken and over time was able to drive him crazy. Under the influence of Yogg-Saron, Loken interfered with the work of the Forge of Will, with the help of which the creation of the titans appeared.

Main article: Aspects of Dragons

All new creatures created using the Forge of Will received this curse, which over time turned their bodies into flesh. Later, the Curse of Flesh was made into a disease that was transmitted from one creature to another. Loken reprogrammed Ulduar, becoming the chief curator, and went with his armies to find the guardian Ra, whom he could never find. However, his armies transferred the Curse of Flesh to the not yet infected Tol"virs, Anubisats and Mogu.

Although the curse was created by the Old Gods to serve their dark purposes, it was responsible for the creation of many of the peoples of modern Azeroth, including dwarves, gnomes, and humans.

War of the Ancients

Main article: War of the Ancients

Ten thousand years before the outbreak of the First War, Queen Azshara, who ruled the night elves, and her Highborne, wanted to open a portal for Sargeras, who finally managed to discover Azeroth. Alexstrasza turned to the other Aspects, and Neltharion, the most respected of them, proposed a plan to protect the planet - to invest the powers of each of the Aspects into a simple golden disk that would become an artifact so powerful that it could protect Azeroth from any threats outside. Neltharion managed to convince the other Aspects of the need for this plan, and thus the Dragon Soul was created.

Unknown to the Aspects, Neltharion heard the whispers of the Old Gods imprisoned in the very land he was supposed to watch over. The gods knew who Sargeras was and what his appearance meant for Azeroth. They decided to use the energy of the portal being created for him to free themselves from captivity. However, Illidan Stormrage took possession of the Dragon Soul and used it to close the portal, thereby preventing the release of the Old Gods and causing a massive catastrophe that changed the world forever.

Ten thousand years later, the Old Gods invaded Nozdormu's domain and created a rift in time to send several beings back to the War of the Ancients. This could change the course of history and give them another chance to free themselves. But this plan was not realized due to the intervention of Nozdormu, who sent Krasus, Ronin and Broxigar back in time.

War of the Quicksand

Main article: War of the Quicksand

Over time, K'Tun began to gain strength and, using the Qiraji army that emerged from the Akiri, conquered the ancient titan research complex built above his dungeon in Silithus. K'Tun waited until his army of insects became powerful enough and began to conquer nearby territories night elves, intending to rule all of Kalimdor. Thus began the War of the Shifting Sands, in which cursed titan creatures like the Tolvirs also fought on the side of the Qiraji.

In the early battles, the night elves acted quickly and effectively, winning victories thanks to the brilliant leadership of Fandral Staghelm. However, after the death of his son, the Qiraji were able to drive the night elves from Silithus. It seemed that the war was almost won by K'Thun and his army, but the combined forces of the night elves and dragons were able to push the insects back to An'Qiraj. They did not even hope to defeat the Old God and decided to seal the Qiraji troops inside their own fortress. Fandral Staghelm, entrusted with the Scepter of the Shifting Sands, closed An'Qiraj behind the Scarab Wall and destroyed the scepter into pieces, mourning the death of his son.

New era

K'Thun awakened in the ruins of An'Qiraj, and in order to defeat him, the Scarab Wall was opened. A squad of heroes of Azeroth descended into the dark depths and dealt with the Ancient God. The remains of K'Tun, which still had power, were later used by Cho'Gall and the Twilight's Hammer cult until An'Qiraj was finally brought down. During the war against the Scourge in Northrend, it was revealed that Loken, seated in the Halls of Lightning, was planning to finally free Yogg-Saron. Soon the League of Explorers reached Ulduar and, having discovered the activity of the Ancient God, reported this to the Alliance, Horde and Kirin Tor. A squad of heroes again descended into the depths of the titan complex and destroyed the Ancient God. N'Zoth created the Emerald Nightmare, which desecrated the Emerald Dream, and turned the satyr Xavius into the Lord of Nightmare. He was also behind Deathwing's plans to return to Azeroth and cause the Cataclysm. The heart of I'Shaarj was found in Pandaria, and Garrosh Hellscream awakened it by feeding it with the waters of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Garrosh took the heart to Orgrimmar and used its power to strengthen himself and his comrades. However, during the siege of Orgrimmar, he was defeated, and the heart lost the last remnants of energy.

Power and strength

"For I bear allegiance to power untouched by time, unmoved by fate. No force on this world or beyond harbors the strength to bend our knee. Not even the mighty Legion." - Harbinger Skyriss

Despite the awesome might of the Old Gods, those who believed them to have powers greater than the titans have grossly overestimated power of the parasitic beings. Sargeras and Aman"Thul both demonstrated the ability to kill Old Gods with ease. Sageras demonstrated the ability to kill numerous Old Gods simultaneously when he, with a single stroke of his sword, destroyed a nameless world-soul that had been corrupted by Old Gods . Aman"Thul killed the most powerful of the Old Gods on Azeroth, Y"Shaarj, by simply plucking him from the surface of the planet. In doing so, he inadvertently wounded the sleeping world-soul due to how deeply Y"Shaarj had infected the planet. Though the titans could have easily destroyed the rest of the Old Gods in a similar fashion, it was believed that doing so would have destroyed Azeroth itself. The titans decided to imprisoned the remaining Old Gods where they lay and contain their evil rather than risk further harming Azeroth.

Abyss

Main article: Void#Old Gods

Whispers

The most notorious and tragic victim of the old whisperings is Neltharion the Earth-Warder; the once mighty Dragon Aspect who had been empowered by the titan Khaz"goroth with dominion over the deep places of the world. Yet, not even Neltharion"s great wisdom and power proved capable of breaking the grip the old whisperings had on his mind, causing the Earth-Warder to eventually lose all his sanity. Neltharion renamed himself Deathwing, seeking the genocide of all non-draconic life as well as the enslavement of the other dragonflights.

The most striking historic account of the old whisperings, however, is found in the ancient scrolls of lore of the tauren tribes, kept at Elder Rise within their capital city of Thunder Bluff . The legend of creation of the formerly nomadic Tturen makes a direct reference to the whisperings, stating that the first incidents of tauren having committed acts of deceit, murder or warfare were because some of their early brethren " heardken to the dark whispers from deep beneath the world."Ysera acknowledged that these whisperings originated from the Old Gods, and that they penetrate even into the Emerald Dream.

The Old Gods are the main focus of the third expansion for Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft: Whispers of the Old Gods. In addition to adding legendary card versions of the four Azerothian Old Gods, the expansion adds a myriad of different cards related to the eldritch beings in some way - mainly in the form of faceless ones , mortal cultists and new, "corrupted" versions of pre -existing characters such as the "Polluted Hoarder" (Loot Hoarder) or "Hogger, Doom of Elwynn" (Hogger). C"Thun is the primary focus of the expansion, and is accompanied by a total of 16 different minion cards who either buff C"Thun in various ways, or activate unique effects if C"Thun has been buffed a sufficient amount of times.

Inspiration

The names and overall nature of the Old Gods are an homage to the various group of deities from the Cthulhu Mythos in the works of H.P. Lovecraft (first stage), Brian Lumley (third stage), and the Call of Cthulhu RPG. C"Thun and Yogg-Saron are named after

Activity Messenger of the gods, mistress of birds, mistress of G "Khanira, spy of Cenarius Zone Emerald Dream (formerly), Sanctuary of Aviana, Mount Hyjal Status Alive Relatives Bleith (husband) Worldview True Neutral

Biography

Gift of becoming a demigoddess

In ancient times, Aviana was an ordinary raven until she was chosen by Elune to deliver messages from the moon goddess to her son, the demigod Cenarius. Soon she began to transmit messages between other powerful creatures of the ancient world. Each of these creatures gave Aviana new abilities necessary to complete her tasks, and she soon became their equal in power.

Well of Eternity

War of the Ancients

Aviana in Suramar during the War of the Ancients.

During this war, Aviana was shot out of the sky. Ronin saw her lifeless body fall, attacked by a group of demons. The Dreadguard surrounded her body, piercing it with their spears. The kingdom of Aviana - the tree of G "Khanir - died along with her.

The first Druids found her body in the middle of the battlefield and took it to the highest mountain. She was buried in a circle of stones at her shrine.

Emerald Dream

For ten thousand years, Aviana, deprived of bodily form, wandered through the Emerald Dream. However, many mortal races continued to revere her. There was even a cult of raven druids who worshiped Aviana, who learned to take the forms of birds. However, Aviana's children, the harpies, gradually descended into barbaric and cruel behavior, forgetting about their ancestor, or turning to dark masters. Some who revered Aviana believed that she survived the War of the Ancients, with some of them claiming to be able to establish a connection with her. However, this was unlikely unless the connection was through the Emerald Dream.

World of Warcraft

This section contains exclusive information for World of Warcraft.

[Relics of Aviana] were kept in sealed vaults in Malfurion's cells in Moonglade. Klinathr the Dreamwalker, guardian of the relics, used them to battle against the forces taking over the Emerald Dream.

This section contains exclusive information for.

Ten thousand years after the War of the Ancients, Deathwing the Destroyer returned from the Underdark to Azeroth. Under his command, the fire elementals, led by Ragnaros, attacked Mount Hyjal with the goal of burning Nordrassil. During the siege, the Guardians of Hyjal were called upon to help defend the Tree. One of the tasks assigned to them was to help resurrect the demigods, one of whom was Aviana. In addition to resurrecting her, the adventurers also destroyed the harpies, the fallen children of Aviana, who attacked her sanctuary. When everything was completed, the celestial demigoddess Aviana returned and helped repel the attack of the fire elementals and throw Ragnaros back to the Firelands.

Tasks

Aviana participates in the following missions:

Appearance

Aviana takes the form of a large harpy with golden-colored arms and legs and a body covered in feathers. She wears golden armor covering her chest, as well as a golden necklace and headdress. There is a sapphire in the center of the necklace.

The battle

Aviana, whose primary role is as an envoy or spy, prefers to stay away from the battlefield. If drawn into battle, she will attack from as far away as possible using magic and a bow, or transform into a raven to claw at opponents while attempting to disengage from the fight.

Quotes

Aviana's first appearance occurs after using the sacred nectar:

Mysterious Winged Spirit says: Come...closer...They're pulling me in...

After resurrection:

Aviana says: I... was reborn.
Aviana says: Heaven is my kingdom.
Aviana says: Anyone who harms my children will pay severely!

During the quest Death of the Foremother! :

Aviana yells: You will no longer pollute the winds of Hyjal, monster!

But I have to admit, part of me wants to fly up and watch... this whole world burn.

Assumption

Book Shadows & Light was published during the same period as the trilogy War of the Ancients and in the same month as The Demon Soul- in October 2004. This may mean that Aviana's death occurs in a new version of the chronology of the war. This is confirmed by the words of Alexstrasza, who suggests that G "Khanir died along with Aviana. On the other hand, in Shadows & Light it is said that the Eternals cannot truly die, and if they do die, they can be reborn.

Changes in updates

Notes

External links

Gods

Ancient gods

Loa

Titans

Others

Demigods

SPIRAL DANCE

REVIVAL OF THE ANCIENT RELIGION OF THE GREAT GODDESS
Translation from English Alexey Osipov

CHAPTER 1. WITCHCRAFT AS THE RELIGION OF THE GODDESS.
Between worlds.
Full moon. We met at the top of a hill overlooking the waters of the bay. The lights stretch below us like a field of scattered jewels, and distant skyscrapers pierce the swirling fog like the spiers of fairy-tale towers. The night is full of magic.

Our candles have gone out and the makeshift altar barely stands under the gusts of wind singing in the branches of the tall eucalyptus. We raise our hands and let it hit our faces. Revival takes over us, our eyes light up, our hair flutters. Special tools don't matter; we have everything we need to create magic: our bodies, our breath, our voices, and ourselves.

The circle is outlined. The spell begins...
O giver of dew, floating moon in the sky

You who shine for everyone.

You, flowing through everything...

Aradia, Diana, Cybele, Ma...
The helmsman of the last sea,

Gate guard,

The ever-dying and ever-living radiance...

Dionysus, Osiris, Pan, Arthur, Hu...
The moon illuminates the treetops and pours its radiance onto the Circle. We move closer together to keep warm. The woman comes to the center of the Circle. We begin to sing her name:

"Diana…"

“Diee-aa-naa...”

"Ah-ah-ah..."
The chant increases, twisting into a spiral, rising upward... The voices merge into a single harmony that endlessly changes modulations. The circle turns out to be enclosed in a cone of light.

And then silence reigns.

“You are a goddess,” we say to Diana, kissing her as she retreats into the outer circle. She smiles.

She remembers who she is.
One by one we will step into the center of the Circle, hear our names chanted, feel the cone of power rise around us. We will accept the gift and keep it in memory:

“I am the Goddess. You are a God/Goddess. Everything that lives, breathes, loves, sings in the infinite harmony of being - all this is divine.”
In the Circle, holding hands, we will dance under the moon.
“Not to believe in witchcraft is the greatest of heresies.”

^ Hammer of the Witches, 1486.
Every full moon, rituals like the one above are performed on hilltops, on the seashore, in open fields and in ordinary houses.

Writers, teachers, nurses, programmers, artists, lawyers, poets, plumbers and auto mechanics - men and women from very different backgrounds come together to celebrate the mysteries of the Triple Goddess of birth, love and death, and her Consort, the Hunter, who is called the Lord of the Dance of Life . The religion they practice is called Witchcraft.*

Witchcraft is a word that scares and confuses many. In people's imaginations, witches are vile old hags riding broomsticks, or evil Satanists performing obscene rituals. It is assumed that modern witches are adherents of an exotic cult, concerned mainly with casting spells on enemies by piercing wax figures with pins, and which clearly lacks the depth, dignity and seriousness of the goals of real religion.

But Witchcraft is a religion, perhaps the oldest religion that has existed in the West. Its roots go back to the distant past - older than Christianity, Judaism, Islam, older than Buddhism and Hinduism, and moreover, it is significantly different from all the so-called great religions. The Old Faith, as we call it, is closer in spirit to the traditions of the American Indians or to the shamanism of the Far North. It is not based on any dogma or set of beliefs, nor on any scripture or holy book written by some great man. Witchcraft takes its teachings directly from nature, and draws inspiration from the movements of the sun, moon and stars, the flight of birds, the slow growth of trees and the cycle of the seasons.*

According to our legends, witchcraft began more than 35 thousand years ago, when the air temperature in Europe began to fall and huge sheets of ice slowly moved south in a final advance. Through the rich tundra, teeming with wild game, small groups of hunters followed freely migrating reindeer and giant bison. They were armed with the most primitive tools, but some of the clans had a special gift - they could “call” the herds to the edge of a cliff or to a hole, where some of the animals, in voluntary self-sacrifice, “allowed themselves to be caught.” These especially gifted shamans could tune into the spirit of the herd, and through this become aware of the pulsating rhythm that permeates all living things, the dance of the double helix, the rotation of everything through being back into non-being. They expressed this knowledge not intellectually, but in images: the Mother Goddess, the parent who gives fulfillment to all living things; and the Horned God, hunter and prey, forever passing through the gates of death so that new life may continue.

Male shamans wore skins and horns for identification with both God and herds; but the female priestesses appeared naked, embodying the fertility of the Goddess. i Life and death were perceived as an endless stream; the dead were buried as if asleep in the bosom of the earth, surrounded by their tools and ornaments, so that they could awaken at any moment to new life. ii In the caves of the Alps, the skulls of huge bears were installed in special niches, from where they uttered prophecies that guided the life of the clans. iii In the lowlands, female deer, whose wombs were filled with stones symbolizing the souls of the deer, were immersed in lakes, as if in the waters of a mother’s womb, so that the victims of the hunt could be reborn. iv

In the East - in Siberia and Ukraine - the Goddess was the Lady of the Mammoths; she was carved from stone with powerful rounded shapes, which embodied her gift of fertility. v In the West, in the great cave temples of France and Spain, her rites were performed deep in the belly of the earth, where the great opposing forces were depicted as bison and horses superimposed on each other, growing out of the cave wall like images of dreams. vi

The spiral dance could also be observed in the heavens: the moon, dying and being reborn every month; the sun, whose waxing light carried the warmth of summer, and whose waning light carried the breath of winter. Records of the moon's movements were found scratched on the vii bone, alongside an image of the Goddess holding a buffalo horn, also representing the moon as a moon. viii

But the ice retreated. Some clans followed the herds of bison and reindeer into the far North. Some crossed the Alaskan Isthmus into American territory. Those who remained in Europe took up fishing and collecting wild plants and shells. Their settlements were guarded by dogs, and new tools were soon invented. Those who had inner strength found that it increased when they worked together. While isolated settlements turned into villages, shamans and priestesses joined forces and shared knowledge. The first sabbaths were formed. Deeply connected to plant and animal life, people domesticated those they had once hunted and bred sheep, goats, cows and pigs from their wild relatives. Seeds were now not only collected from around the area, but also planted so that they would grow where they were intended. The Hunter became the Lord of the Grain, sacrificed when the ears were cut in the autumn, buried in the womb of the Goddess and reborn in the spring. The Lady of the Wild Things became Mother Barley, and the cycles of the sun and moon began to mark the time for sowing, reaping, and putting livestock out to pasture.

Villages grew into the first cities, large and small. The goddess was depicted on the plastered walls of the sanctuaries giving birth to the Divine baby - her husband and son, flesh of her flesh. ix Widespread trade brought contact with the mystery cults of Africa and Western Asia.

In lands once covered with ice, a new type of energy has been discovered, a force that flows like streams through the Earth itself. Barefoot priestesses could trace these "ley lines" in the young grass.* Certain stones were also found to concentrate the flow of energy. They were installed in special places in the form of rows and circles, indicating time cycles. The year appeared as a great wheel, divided into eight parts: the solstices, the equinoxes and the quarter dates between them, when great festivals were held and lights were lit. The power increased with every ritual, with every ray of the sun or moon that touched the stones during the Time of Power. The stones became huge reservoirs of subtle energy, gates between the visible and invisible worlds. In circles, near menhirs and dolmens, at roadside graves, priestesses could explore the mysteries of time and the secret structure of the cosmos. Mathematics, astronomy, poetry, music, medicine and an understanding of the workings of the human mind gradually developed side by side with knowledge of deeper mysteries. x

But the further development of culture led to people immersing themselves in the art of war. Since the Bronze Age, wave after wave of Indo-European conquerors rolled into Europe. The warrior gods drove the Goddess' people from the fertile plains and beautiful temples into the hills and high mountains, where they became known as the Sid, Picts or Pixies, the Good Folk or Faeries. xi The mythological cycle of Goddess and Consort, Mother and Divine Child, which had reigned for over 30 thousand years, was changed to suit the new values of the militant patriarchies. In Greece, the Goddess in her many guises married new gods - the result was the Olympian pantheon. In the British Isles the victorious Celts adopted many of the characteristics of the old faith, incorporating them into the mysteries of the Druids.

The fairies, who grazed their cattle in the rocky hills and lived in round huts covered with turf, retained the Old Faith. The mothers of the clans, called “queens of Elfheim”, which meant the land of the elves, led the covens along with the priests, the Sacred Kings, who embodied the dying God, and who underwent ritual play death at the end of their reign. They celebrated the eight festivals of the annual Wheel with exuberant horse rides, chants and the lighting of ritual fires. Conquerors often joined in the celebrations; then unions and marriages took place and, as they said, “fairy blood” flowed in the veins of many village families then. The Colleges of Druids and the Poetry Colleges of Ireland and Wales have preserved many ancient secrets.

Christianity didn't bring much change at first. The villagers saw the story of Christ as just a new variation of their ancient tales of the Mother Goddess and the Divine Child, sacrificed and reborn. Village priests often led the dance at sabbaths, otherwise great festivals. xii The Sabbats that retained knowledge of subtle energies were called Wicca or Wicke, from an Anglo-Saxon root meaning “to bend, to shape.” These were those who could give shape to the invisible according to their will. Healers, mentors, poets, midwives - in any community they were central figures.

The persecution began gradually. The 12th and 13th centuries brought a revival of some aspects of the Old Faith by troubadours, who wrote love poems to the Goddess in the guise of a Noble Lady, their contemporary. Magnificent cathedrals were built in honor of Mary, who absorbed many of the features of the ancient Goddess. Witchcraft was declared a heretical act. In 1324, an Irish coven, led by Dame Alice Kyteler, was tried by the Bishop of Ossory on charges of worshiping a non-Christian deity. Dame Kyteler was saved by her title, but her followers were burned.

Wars, crusades, plague and peasant revolts swept across Europe in the following centuries. Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans, led the French army to victory, but was burned as a witch by the English. In the witchcraft tradition, Virgo is a name expressing the highest respect; it can be assumed that the French peasantry loved Joan so much because she was in fact one of the leaders of the Old Faith. xiii The steadfastness of the medieval Church was shaken, and the feudal system began to collapse. The Christian world was engulfed in messianic movements and religious riots, and the Church could no longer tolerate the rebels calmly.

In 1484, a bull by Pope Innocent VIII unleashed the Inquisitorial persecution of the Old Religion. In 1486, the Dominicans Kramer and Sprenger, with the publication of the Malleus Maleficarum, “The Hammer of the Witches,” began a reign of terror that was destined to hold all of Europe in its iron grip until the 17th century. The greatest persecution was directed against women: of the estimated nine million witches executed*, eighty percent were women, including girls and young girls who apparently “inherited” the evil from their mothers. The asceticism of early Christianity, which turned its back on the carnal world, degenerated in some areas of the Church into hatred of those who give life to this flesh. Misogyny, the hatred of women, became one of the most powerful elements of medieval Christianity. Women who menstruate and give birth were identified with sexuality and through this with evil itself. “All witchcraft grows from carnal lust, which is insatiable in women,” stated the Malleus Maleficarum.

The terror was indescribable. Once accused, whether by a malicious neighbor or a capricious child, the alleged witch was suddenly and without warning arrested and never returned home. She (grammatically “witch” is feminine, but the term is used for men inclusive) was assumed guilty until proven otherwise. It was common practice to strip the suspect naked and shave her in order to detect the "marks of the devil", which could be moles or freckles. Often the accused were stabbed all over their bodies with long, sharp needles, as it was said that the places touched by the devil were insensitive to pain. In England, "legal torture" was prohibited; instead, suspects were deprived of sleep and subjected to prolonged starvation before being hanged. On the continent, every kind of cruelty imaginable was practiced - the rack, finger vices, “boots” that crushed bones in the legs, brutal beatings - in a word, the full register of the horrors of the Inquisition. The accused were tortured until they signed confessions prepared by the inquisitors, until they admitted cohabitation with Satan and participation in dark and obscene deeds that were never part of true Witchcraft. They were tortured most cruelly until they gave up the rest, until the quota of 13 people - participants in the coven - was reached. Confession ensured a merciful death: strangulation to the stake. Resisting suspects who insisted on their innocence were burned alive.

Witch hunters and informants were paid for each person convicted, and many considered it a very lucrative business. The increasingly powerful male medical establishment welcomed the opportunity to put an end to midwives and village herbalists, their main economic competitors. For the rest, this meant the opportunity to get rid of “arrogant women” and unwanted neighbors. The witches themselves believe that very few of those persecuted during the bonfires were members of covens or belonged to the Craft. The victims were elderly, decrepit, mentally ill, women with an unpleasant appearance, with physical disabilities, or, on the contrary, village beauties who offended the informer with a refusal, or even aroused lust in a celibate priest or in a married man. Homosexuals and freethinkers were caught in the same network. At times, up to hundreds of victims were sent to the chopping block every day. In the Bishopric of Trier, after the trials of 1585, only one woman remained in two villages.

Witches and fairies who were able to do so fled to places where the Inquisition could not reach. Some might end up in America. Perhaps a real coven was held in the woods of Salem before the trials that marked the end of active persecution of witches in that country. Some researchers believe that the families of Samuel and John Quincy Adams were members of the megalithic Dragon Cult, which preserved knowledge of the power of stone circles. xiv Of course, the independent spirit of witchcraft is very akin to many of the ideals of the Founding Fathers: for example, freedom of speech and religious worship, decentralized government, and the primacy of individual rights over the “divine” right of kings.

This period was also the time when the African slave trade reached its peak and the conquest of America took place. The same accusations of savagery and devil worship were leveled against witches and used to justify the enslavement of Africans (who were transported to the New World, presumably to be converted to Christianity) as well as cultural destruction and mass genocide of American Indians. African religions threw on the protective cloak of the Catholic nomenklatura, calling their

STARHAWK (STAR FALCON)

SPIRAL DANCE

REVIVAL OF THE ANCIENT RELIGION OF THE GREAT GODDESS

Translation from English Alexey Osipov

CHAPTER 1. WITCHCRAFT AS THE RELIGION OF THE GODDESS.

Between worlds.

Full moon. We met at the top of a hill overlooking the waters of the bay. The lights stretch below us like a field of scattered jewels, and distant skyscrapers pierce the swirling fog like the spiers of fairy-tale towers. The night is full of magic.

The circle is outlined. The spell begins...

O giver of dew, floating moon in the sky

You who shine for everyone.

You, flowing through everything...

Aradia, Diana, Cybele, Ma...

The helmsman of the last sea,

Gate guard,

The ever-dying and ever-living radiance...

Dionysus, Osiris, Pan, Arthur, Hu...

The moon illuminates the treetops and pours its radiance onto the Circle. We move closer together to keep warm. The woman comes to the center of the Circle. We begin to sing her name:

"Diana…"

“Diee-aa-naa...”

"Ah-ah-ah..."

The chant increases, twisting into a spiral, rising upward... The voices merge into a single harmony that endlessly changes modulations. The circle turns out to be enclosed in a cone of light.

And then silence reigns.

“You are a goddess,” we say to Diana, kissing her as she retreats into the outer circle. She smiles.

She remembers who she is.

One by one we will step into the center of the Circle, hear our names chanted, feel the cone of power rise around us. We will accept the gift and keep it in memory:

“I am the Goddess. You are a God/Goddess. Everything that lives, breathes, loves, sings in the infinite harmony of being - all this is divine.”

In the Circle, holding hands, we will dance under the moon.

“Not to believe in witchcraft is the greatest of heresies.”

Hammer of the Witches, 1486.

Every full moon, rituals like the one above are performed on hilltops, on the seashore, in open fields and in ordinary houses.

Male shamans wore skins and horns for identification with both God and herds; but the female priestesses appeared naked, embodying the fertility of the Goddess.[i] Life and death were perceived as an endless stream; the dead were buried as if asleep in the bosom of the earth, surrounded by their tools and ornaments, so that they could awaken at any moment to new life. In the caves of the Alps, the skulls of huge bears were installed in special niches, from where they uttered prophecies that guided the life of the clans. In the lowlands, female deer, whose wombs were filled with stones symbolizing the souls of the deer, were immersed in lakes, as if in the waters of a mother’s womb, so that the victims of the hunt could be reborn.

In the East - in Siberia and Ukraine - the Goddess was the Lady of the Mammoths; she was carved from stone with powerful rounded forms that embodied her gift of fertility.[v] In the West, in the great cave temples of France and Spain, her rites were performed deep in the belly of the earth, where the great opposing forces were depicted as bison and horses superimposed on each other friend, growing out of the cave wall like images of dreams.

The spiral dance could also be observed in the heavens: the moon, dying and being reborn every month; the sun, whose waxing light carried the warmth of summer, and whose waning light carried the breath of winter. Records of the moon's movements were found scratched into bones, alongside an image of the Goddess holding a buffalo horn, also representing the moon as a moon.

Villages grew into the first cities, large and small. The goddess was depicted on the plastered walls of the sanctuaries giving birth to the Divine baby - her husband and son, flesh of her flesh. Widespread trade brought contact with the mystery cults of Africa and Western Asia.

But the further development of culture led to people immersing themselves in the art of war. Since the Bronze Age, wave after wave of Indo-European conquerors rolled into Europe. The warrior gods drove the Goddess' people from the fertile plains and beautiful temples into the hills and high mountains, where they became known as the Sid, Picts or Pixies, the Good Folk or Faeries. The mythological cycle of Goddess and Consort, Mother and Divine Child, which had reigned for over 30 thousand years, was changed to suit the new values of the militant patriarchies. In Greece, the Goddess in her many guises married new gods - the result was the Olympian pantheon. In the British Isles the victorious Celts adopted many of the characteristics of the old faith, incorporating them into the mysteries of the Druids.

Christianity didn't bring much change at first. The villagers saw the story of Christ as just a new variation of their ancient tales of the Mother Goddess and the Divine Child, sacrificed and reborn. Village priests often led the dance at sabbaths, otherwise great festivals. The Sabbats that retained knowledge of subtle energies were called Wicca or Wikke, from an Anglo-Saxon root meaning “to bend, to shape.” These were those who could give shape to the invisible according to their will. Healers, mentors, poets, midwives - in any community they were central figures.

Wars, crusades, plague and peasant revolts swept across Europe in the following centuries. Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans, led the French army to victory, but was burned as a witch by the English. In the witchcraft tradition, Virgo is a name expressing the highest respect; it can be assumed that the French peasantry loved Joan so much because she was in fact one of the leaders of the Old Faith. The steadfastness of the medieval Church was shaken, and the feudal system began to collapse. The Christian world was engulfed in messianic movements and religious riots, and the Church could no longer tolerate the rebels calmly.

Witches and fairies who were able to do so fled to places where the Inquisition could not reach. Some might end up in America. Perhaps a real coven was held in the woods of Salem before the trials that marked the end of active persecution of witches in that country. Some researchers believe that the families of Samuel and John Quincy Adams were members of the megalithic Dragon Cult, which preserved knowledge of the power of stone circles. Of course, the independent spirit of witchcraft is very akin to many of the ideals of the Founding Fathers: for example, freedom of speech and religious worship, decentralized government, and the primacy of individual rights over the “divine” right of kings.

Oral tradition tells that some European pagans who came to the New World as indentured servants or forced labor ran away to join the Indians, whose traditions were similar in spirit to their own. In some areas, such as the American South, black and white paganism was combined with Native American elements.

After the persecution ended in the 18th century, an era of unbelief began. The memory of true Witchcraft has faded; those nightmarish stereotypes that still persisted seemed absurd, ridiculous or tragic. It was only in this century that witches were able to “look out of the broom closet,” so to speak, and confront the truth with the fantasies of evil. The word “witch” itself carries so many negative connotations that many wonder why we even use it. Reclaiming the word "witch" means reclaiming our women's right to be powerful; our men - to perceive the feminine within them as divine. To be a witch is to identify with the nine million victims of bigotry and hatred and to accept responsibility for creating a world in which human prejudice no longer demands sacrifice. A witch is a sculptor, a creator who gives form to what is not yet visible, and through this becomes one of the Wise, one of those whose life is filled with magic.

Witchcraft has always been the religion of poets, not of theologians. Myths, legends and teachings are recognized as mere metaphors for That-That-Cannot-Be-Said, an absolute reality that our limited understanding can never fully comprehend. The secrets of the absolute cannot be explained - only felt or perceived intuitively. Symbols and ritual actions are used to induce altered states of consciousness that reveal extraordinary experiences that do not come in the form of words. When we speak of “secrets-that-cannot-be-told,” we do not mean that our rules prohibit us from speaking freely. What we mean is that inner knowledge simply cannot be expressed in words. It can only be conveyed through experience, and no one can predetermine what kind of insight another person will receive from it. For example, after the ritual described at the beginning of this chapter, one woman said: “As we sang, I felt a complete interpenetration, we became one single voice; I felt unity with everyone.” According to another, “she realized how different the chant sounded for each of us, how unique each individual was.” One of the men simply said, “I felt loved.” For a witch, all these statements are equally true and valuable. They are no more contradictory than the statements “Your eyes are as bright as the stars” and “Your eyes are blue as the sea.”

The main symbol of "That-which-cannot-be-said" is the Goddess. The Goddess has an infinite number of aspects and thousands of names - She is the reality hiding behind many metaphors. She There is reality, manifesting divinity, existing in all manifestations of life, in each of us. The goddess does not exist separately from the world - she is the world itself and everything that exists in it: the moon, the sun, the earth, a star, a stone, a seed, a flowing river, wind, wave, leaf and branch, bud and flower, fang and claw, a woman and a man. In witchcraft, spirit and flesh are one.

As we have seen, the religion of the Goddess is incredibly ancient, but modern witchcraft may just as well be called a New Religion. Today, the art of witchcraft is experiencing not just a return to life, but a real renaissance, a new birth. Women all over the world are pushing for the revival of traditions and the awakening of the Goddess, the image of “full and beneficial female power.”

Since the decline of Goddess religions, women have lacked religious models and spiritual systems that responded to women's needs and experiences. Male images of the divine are characteristic of both Western and Eastern religions. No matter how abstract the concept of God behind them is, all images, avatars, preachers, prophets, gurus and Buddhas are overwhelmingly male. Women are by no means encouraged to discover their own power and awareness; they are taught to submit to male authority, to identify male perceptions with universal spiritual ideals, to reject their own body and its sexuality, to squeeze their insights into the framework established by men.

Mary Daly, author of Away from God the Father, points out that a model of the universe in which a male God controls the cosmos from the outside serves to justify male control of social institutions. “The image of God the Father, multiplied in the human imagination and declared as benign by patriarchy, in turn pays a quid pro quo to this type of social order by sanctioning its mechanisms of suppressing women as entitled and adequate individuals.” The subconscious model continues to shape the perceptions of even those who have consciously rejected religious teachings. The details of a dogma may be rejected, but the underlying belief structure is assimilated at such a deep level that it is rarely sought for conscious clarification. Instead, a new dogma, parallel to the old one, replaces it. For example, many people rejected the "new truth" of Christianity without addressing the underlying concept of truth as a body of beliefs revealed through a "Superman" endowed with power or intelligence beyond ordinary human capabilities. Christ as the “Superman” can be replaced by Buddha, Freud, Marx, Jung, Werner Erhard or Maharaja Ji in the corresponding theology, but in any case, the truth seems to come from someone from the outside, a kind of “second-hand” knowledge. As researcher and part-time feminist Carol Christ points out, “Symbolic systems cannot simply be rejected, they must be replaced with something. If replacement has not occurred, then in moments of crisis, difficulty or defeat, consciousness will return to old familiar structures.”

The symbolism of the Goddess is not at all parallel to the symbolism of God the Father. The goddess does not rule the world; she essence world. Manifested in each of us, She in all Her magnificent diversity is cognized by the individual only from the inside. It does not legitimize the power of one sex over the other, nor the authority of the managers of temporary hierarchies. In witchcraft, each of us must discover our own truth. The Divinity becomes visible in ourselves, whether we are men or women, because the Goddess also has a masculine aspect. Sexuality is a mystery. Religion poses the question of reunification with the divine within and with all its external manifestations among people and in nature.

Goddess symbol - Poemagogy. This term was coined by Anton Ehrenzweig to “describe the special function of representing and symbolizing the creativity of the ego.” It has an unsteady, dream-like, elusive quality. One aspect flows into another: the Goddess constantly changes form, changes face. Her images do not define or record a certain set of qualities; they kindle inspiration, creativity, fruitfulness of thought and spirit: “And one thing becomes another / In the Mother herself... In the Mother herself...” (Ritual chant of the Winter Solstice).

The importance of the image of the Goddess for women cannot be exaggerated. The image of the Goddess inspires women to see ourselves as divine, our bodies as sacred, to see the successive phases of our lives as sacred, our aggression as healthy, our anger as cleansing, and our power to create and nurture, but also to stop and destroy when it necessary, as the very force that supports all living things. Through the Goddess we can discover our power, enlighten our consciousness, take ownership of our bodies, and celebrate our emotions. We can move beyond the narrow roles that limit us and become whole.

The goddess is also important for men. The suppression of men in the patriarchal tradition under the leadership of God the Father may not be so obvious, but it is by no means less tragic than the suppression of women. Men are encouraged to identify with a model that no human being can successfully follow: to be mini-rulers of narrow universes. They are internally split into the “spiritual” Self and the lower animal emotional nature with which it must fight. They are at war with themselves: in the West they are at war with sin, in the East with desires or with the ego. Few manage to emerge from this battle without losses. Men lose touch with their feelings and their bodies, becoming the “successful male zombies” described by Herb Goldberg in The Danger of Being a Man: “oppressed by all the means of repression of our culture, which denies them their feelings; the mythology of women and how distorted and self-destructive they see and treat her; the need to “act like a man,” which prevents them from responding to their inner urges both emotionally and physiologically; and finally, a general self-hatred that allows them to feel comfortable only when they are working in harness, and not when they are living for joy and personal growth.”

Since women give birth to men,* nurture them at their breasts, and in our culture are primarily responsible for caring for children, “every man raised in a traditional family develops an intense early identification with the mother, which thus imposes it has a strong feminine imprint.” The Goddess symbol allows men to experience and integrate the feminine part of their nature, which is often experienced as the deepest and most sensitive aspect of their self. The Goddess does not exclude the masculine; she contains it within herself just as a pregnant woman carries a male child. Her own masculine aspect embodies both the sunlight of intellect and the wild, untamed animal energy.

Our relationship with the Earth and the other species with which we share it is also conditioned by our religious patterns. The image of a God outside of nature has given us the basis for the destruction of the natural order and justified the plunder of natural resources. We have made an attempt to "conquer" nature, just as we have attempted to conquer sin. It was only when the results of pollution and environmental disaster became sufficiently threatening even for survival within the city that we came to understand the importance of natural balance and the interdependence of all living things. The model of the Goddess, whose presence in nature is constant, fosters respect for the holiness of all life forms. Witchcraft can be seen as an ecological religion. His goal is harmony with nature, sufficient so that life can not only survive, but also flourish.

The rise of Goddess religion has worried some politically oriented feminists. They fear that this will divert energy away from active action aimed at social change. However, in areas that have deeper roots, such as gender relations, real social change can only occur if the myths and symbols of our culture themselves change. The Goddess symbol provides spiritual energy both to dismantle systems of oppression and to create new life-oriented cultures.

Modern witchcraft* is a rich kaleidoscope of traditions and trends. The covens, that is, the small, closely interconnected groups that make up the community, are completely autonomous; in them there is no centralized authority that would determine the order of liturgy or ritual. Some covens follow practices that have been passed down from person to person in a direct line since pre-Inquisition times. Others derive their rituals from those at the forefront of the modern witchcraft renaissance - the Britons Gerald Gardner and Alex Sanders, whose followers are spread throughout the world. Feminist covens are perhaps the fastest growing area of Witchcraft. Many of them belong to the Dianic branch: they consider the feminine principle to be much more powerful than the masculine. The remaining covens are decidedly eclectic and create their own traditions, drawing material and inspiration from many sources. My covens are based on a magical tradition that dates back to the Little People of Stone Age Britain, but this does not stop us from creating our own rituals that reflect our needs and the trends of the day.

The myths behind the philosophy and "thealogy" (a term coined by religious scholar Naomi Goldenberg, derived from the Greek "thea", goddess) presented in this book also belong to the Magical tradition. Other witches may disagree on the details, but the basic spiritual values and values are common to all branches of witchcraft. Much of the material in the Magical tradition is still kept secret, and thus many of the rituals, chants and spells are our own creations. In witchcraft, the chant is not necessarily the older, the better. The Goddess continually reveals herself to her followers, and each of us is able to write our own liturgy. Despite the diversity, there are a number of ethical values common to all witchcraft traditions. They are based on the understanding of the Goddess as the ever-present in the world and in all forms of its life, including, naturally, humans.

Theologians who are well acquainted with the Judeo-Christian concept usually find it difficult to understand how a religion like witchcraft can form and develop a system of ethical values and the very concept of justice. If there is no division between spirit and nature, no concept of sin, no commandments to sin against, how can people be ethical? By what rules do they judge their actions when the supreme judge is removed from his post as ruler of the cosmos? And if, in the end, the Goddess is present in the world as it is, why then try to change it and generally strive for the ideal? Why not enjoy the divine perfection you already have?

Love of life in all its forms is the basic ethical tenet of witchcraft. Witches are required to honor and respect all living things and serve the life force itself. Since witchcraft recognizes that one life feeds another and that one must kill in order to survive, life cannot be considered useless, cannot be wasted. Serving the life force involves working to preserve the diversity of natural life, preventing environmental pollution and the destruction of species.

The world is a manifestation of the Goddess, but nothing in this concept encourages passivity. Many Eastern religions preach complete peace, not because the deity is actually present in the world, but because, according to their beliefs, this is precisely what does not exist. For them, the world is Maya, an Illusion that hides the perfection of the Divine Reality. What happens in such a world does not matter much, because it is only a play of shadows that obscures the Infinite Light. However, in the tradition of witchcraft, what happens in the world is vitally important. The goddess is immanent, but she needs the help of people in order to appear in all her glory. The harmonious balance of plant/animal/human/divine awareness is not achieved by itself, it must be constantly renewed and this is the true goal of magical rituals. Internal, spiritual work is most effective when it goes hand in hand with external work. Meditation on the balance of nature can be considered a real spiritual action in witchcraft, but not as powerful as clearing garbage at a tourist camp site or a protest march against a nuclear plant that does not have special protective systems.

Witches see justice not as something administered by any external authority, but based on a written code or set of rules imposed from outside. On the contrary, justice is an inner feeling. that every action entails consequences that must be treated with full responsibility. Witchcraft does not foster a sense of guilt, a stern, warning, self-hating inner voice that cripples and perverts all actions. On the contrary, it requires responsibility. “What you sow, you reap thrice,” says the saying - an expanded version of the postulate “Do to people what you want them to do to you.” For example, a witch does not steal, but not because some sacred book warned her against it, but because the triple harm will significantly outweigh any small material gain. Theft humiliates the thief's own human dignity; it is like a receipt that a person is not able to provide for his needs and desires in an honest way. Theft creates an atmosphere of suspicion and fear in which the thieves themselves have to live. And since we are all woven into a single social fabric, those who steal pay more taxes and insurance premiums than others. Witchcraft supports the view that everything and everyone in the world is interconnected and interdependent, and therefore responsible for each other. An action that harms one actually harms everyone.

Honor is the main guiding principle of witchcraft. This is not the need to be offended by any manifestation of disrespect for your masculinity, but an internal sense of pride and self-respect. The Goddess is revered not only in oneself, but also in others. Women who embody the Goddess are respected, but they are not placed on a pedestal or perceived as some kind of supernatural being; they are valued for their earthly human qualities. “I”, human individuality, the unique path of the individual in this world have undeniable value. The Goddess, like nature itself, loves variety. Unity is achieved not through loss of self, but through complete self-realization. “Honor the Goddess within you, celebrate your Self and you will see that your Self is everywhere,” says Victor Anderson, a priest of the Magical tradition.

Material from World of Warcraft Roleplay Wiki

Aviana(English: Aviana) is a demigod who in the past was an ordinary raven until she was gifted for her good service as a messenger of Elune and the other Ancients. Aviana was the guardian of G'Khanir and an active participant in the War of the Ancients until she died in a battle with demons.

Ancient times

Aviana was a simple wild raven until one day Elune called her for a special task. Raven successfully delivered the message to Cenarius and in the future performed her job very well for a long time, which is why Elune offered her to serve as a messenger for other deities or mortals. Each demigod greeted the raven and gave her gifts. Thanks to the granted power, the raven became almost equal to the deity - Aviana.

Among the abilities gained was transformation into any form. Aviana was very curious and often came to the Temple of Elune disguised as a night elf. When Queen Azshara and her servants began to use the magic of the Well of Eternity, Aviana was the first to feel the consequences of reckless use of the arcana and told Elune about it.

During the War of the Ancients, Aviana was a spy for Cenarius, who sent her to spy on the demons of the Burning Legion. When humans or night elves were in danger, Aviana would take on one of her friendly forms, such as a warrior, and help save them from being pursued by demons.

Aviana is known to many races, including trolls, night elves, tauren, and dwarves. She took the form of any of the races and pretended to be one of her own in order to spy from within.

Aviana lived on top of G'khanir and was his guardian.

Return

Cataclysm to World of Warcraft.

Ysera senses that the Shrine of Aviana southwest of the World Tree and the Raven Druids who guard it are in danger, after which the green Aspect sends adventurers there. Choluna, one of the wisest representatives of the raven druids, knowing that Aviana is not physically present in Azeroth, says that she still sometimes hears her whispers and intends to summon the deity to the sanctuary. Aviana's spirit manifests itself several times.

With the help of the feather of Blate, an ancient feathered predator who has been reveling in grief for ten thousand years after the death of Aviana, Choluna tries to connect with her, but Aviana's egg is stolen by Setria, the twilight dragon. The egg is saved, after which Choluna summons Aviana to the sanctuary, and the deity returns to Azeroth.

Alternate Draenor

The source of information in this section is the supplement Warlords of Draenor to World of Warcraft.

Raven druids, serving the demigod Aviana and speaking on her behalf, visited the alternative Draenor. They became interested in the Arakkoa, who were also celestial creatures, which is why, according to the Druids, they were subjects of the great Aviana. The visitors from Azeroth did not want the arakkoa to become victims of their cruel nature, and were ready to accept them. Skylord Omnuron was tasked with retrieving a feather belonging to an Arakkoa of noble birth. This feather would allow the Druids to conduct negotiations in the language of the winds, in which the Draenor creatures would receive an offer of peace.

The garrison commander, who agreed to help Omnuron, obtained the necessary feather during the invasion of Skypath, an arakkoa fortress located atop the Spiers of Arak. For his help, Aviana gave him her own feather. However, the Druids were unable to begin negotiations. They continued to collect feathers, but after each attempt to contact the arakkoa, the feathers either broke or only the stem remained. But the crow druids still did not stop trying, wanting the arakkoa to get a place on the Great Branch of G'Khanir.