Are there more moons or just the Red one?

[Nicochan]

I'm a bit confused. I think I read somewhere in the Sourcebook that there was a Blue Moon in the sky and it fell. But online I find some mentioning of a White Moon too..

 

[David Scott]

There are current ones, ancient ones and that which is yet to come:

Current ones:

• Annilla the Blue Moon
• Sedenya the Red Goddess

Ancient Moon Goddesses

That which is yet to come: The White Moon

You might also find Moon Names by Greg Stafford helpful

 

Edited February 17, 2022 by David Scott

[Nicochan]

12 minutes ago, David Scott said:

There are current ones, ancient ones and that which is yet to come:

Current ones:

• Annilla the Blue Moon
• Sedenya the Red Goddess

Ancient Moon Goddesses

That which is yet to come: The White Moon

You might also find Moon Names by Greg Stafford helpful

 

So we can see in the sky both the Blue and the Red Moon?

[M Helsdon]

1 hour ago, Nicochan said:

So we can see in the sky both the Blue and the Red Moon?

The Red Moon is a constant presence as it goes through its phases. The Blue Moon can only be seen now as that fragment called the Blue Streak, and then briefly, as it falls from the top of the Sky Dome down into Magasta's Pool and into the Underworld. It is called the Blue Streak because it falls very quickly.

[Eff]

The Blue Moon can also only be seen by people initiated into some form of Blue Moon secret, I believe, or at least that used to be the case, because in addition to hiding behind the Sky Dome, she's also constantly invisible (and indeed, provides the Invisibility Rune spell). So only those found trustworthy can see Annilla as she falls.

[AlHazred]

"Yes, step right up ladies and gentlemen! Only I, initiated into the mysteries of the Blue Moon and a devotee of Annilla, Lady of Secrets, can see the Blue Streak! Only I can interpret the subtle sways and warps of her flight from the top of the Sky Dome down Magasta's Pool! But, for a fee, I will share this wisdom with you! For twenty lunars I phrase the answer in clear and actionable language; for ten I use the language of cant, which occasionally admits of ambiguity; for five, I speak a parable which you must interpret as you will; and for one lunar, I babble in an unknown tongue."

Edited February 17, 2022 by AlHazred

[Eff]

51 minutes ago, AlHazred said:

"Yes, step right up ladies and gentlemen! Only I, initiated into the mysteries of the Blue Moon and a devotee of Annilla, Lady of Secrets, can see the Blue Streak! Only I can interpret the subtle sways and warps of her flight from the top of the Sky Dome down Magasta's Pool! But, for a fee, I will share this wisdom with you! For twenty lunars I phrase the answer in clear and actionable language; for ten I use the language of cant, which occasionally admits of ambiguity; for five, I speak a parable which you must interpret as you will; and for one lunar, I babble in an unknown tongue."

One word too few to be a multiple of seven, so tis proved fraudulent. Thirteen too many for the square double of which a true lunatic be marked. And the sanctified glossolalia, the value is really the greater and clarity the less. But few know how the words count. 

The letters too if counted all out.

Edited February 17, 2022 by Eff

[dumuzid]

There has also been a Black Moon, usually called Gerra.  She was the moon in the Darkness, after the Blue Moon was slain (by the Dara Happan emperor Lukarius, by Orlanth--accounts differ as to the perpetrator).  She was used as a scapegoat by the Dara Happans while they sheltered under the Dome of Manarlavus, and made to suffer for ills that were not her fault.  Within the Lunar Way she is the goddess of suffering, associated with the Third Wane when Sheng Seleris brought the empire to its knees.  She is honored with self-sacrificial rites at her Black Pyramid, where her worshipers mutilate themselves and offer what they cut off to her.  The climactic events of a major sacrifice at the Black Pyramid are unforgettable.

[Joerg]

Other planetary bodies associated with female deities have been called moons, too, despite moving on the Sunpath or the Southpath. Artia the Bat, Uleria (=Mastakos). And Entekos=Dendara=Moskalf.

[Jeff]

Only two moons can be seen in the sky - the Blue Moon, aka the Blue Streak, which is the source of the tides, and the Red Moon, which first appeared in the sky in 1247. Heroquesters claim to have seen other moons - a White Moon has been seen many times on the Hero Plane, with growing frequency. Some claim to have encountered the Black Moon in unknowable Limbo, but that's where the impossible can be and if you are in Limbo you are so lost, it is unlikely you will ever be found. 

[Jose]

1 hour ago, Jeff said:

Only two moons can be seen in the sky - the Blue Moon, aka the Blue Streak, which is the source of the tides, and the Red Moon, which first appeared in the sky in 1247. Heroquesters claim to have seen other moons - a White Moon has been seen many times on the Hero Plane, with growing frequency. Some claim to have encountered the Black Moon in unknowable Limbo, but that's where the impossible can be and if you are in Limbo you are so lost, it is unlikely you will ever be found. 

What happened with the moon gods Jeff?, were they almost destroyed in the gods War by chaos? Is that the reason moon cults were so rare to find before the Red goddess coming? I mean, God time is cyclical and cyclical is an attribute of the moon rune, right? 

Edited February 18, 2022 by Jose

[EricW]

6 hours ago, Jeff said:

Only two moons can be seen in the sky - the Blue Moon, aka the Blue Streak, which is the source of the tides, and the Red Moon, which first appeared in the sky in 1247. Heroquesters claim to have seen other moons - a White Moon has been seen many times on the Hero Plane, with growing frequency. Some claim to have encountered the Black Moon in unknowable Limbo, but that's where the impossible can be and if you are in Limbo you are so lost, it is unlikely you will ever be found. 

Can anyone bring magic back from the White Moon? If so what? The White Moon cultists seem awfully persistent, despite vigorous Lunar discouragement, maybe their magic contradicts or undermines the power of the Red Moon somehow?

Edited February 19, 2022 by EricW

[soltakss]

10 hours ago, EricW said:

Can anyone bring magic back from the White Moon? If so what? The White Moon cultists seem awfully persistent, despite vigorous Lunar discouragement, maybe their magic contradicts or undermines the power of the Red Moon somehow?

I see it as an apocalyptic cult, giving nothing now, but promising much when the White Moon rises.

[Akhôrahil]

20 hours ago, EricW said:

The White Moon cultists seem awfully persistent, despite vigorous Lunar discouragement, maybe their magic contradicts or undermines the power of the Red Moon somehow?

I get the impression that there's something about it that means it can't just be brutally, violently suppressed - the Lunar Empire are employing some more indirect means, like having Jar-eel debate them and merely banishing the adherents to the outskirts of the empire (like the Grantlands). Something about how either because of the Lunar connections or its pacifist nature, mere brutality seems like it wouldn't work out? The kind of cult that thrives on martyrdom?

Edited February 19, 2022 by Akhôrahil

[EricW]

9 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

I get the impression that there's something about it that means it can't just be brutally, violently suppressed - the Lunar Empire are employing some more indirect means, like having Jar-eel debate them and merely banishing the adherents to the outskirts of the empire (like the Grantlands). Something about how either because of the Lunar connections or its pacifist nature, mere brutality seems like it wouldn't work out? The kind of cult that thrives on martyrdom?

Perhaps they are proceeding carefully because the cultists are associated with some very strange magic, even if they can’t yet use it. The white moon is out there and it’s getting stronger. Just killing them might not stop the apocalypse.

Edited February 20, 2022 by EricW

[Eff]

19 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

I get the impression that there's something about it that means it can't just be brutally, violently suppressed - the Lunar Empire are employing some more indirect means, like having Jar-eel debate them and merely banishing the adherents to the outskirts of the empire (like the Grantlands). Something about how either because of the Lunar connections or its pacifist nature, mere brutality seems like it wouldn't work out? The kind of cult that thrives on martyrdom?

Well, there are intimations that Jar-eel "debates" them through violent means that kill people in the process. But setting that aside, once the White Moon Rebellion kicked off in 1623, violence was used to suppress it. So perhaps it's less that violence is ineffective and more that states are not normally in the habit of starting out with mass murder and generally go through a process of escalation. (Or maybe it's just that "these Lunars are crazy!" etc.) 

[JRE]

Maybe my view of Jar Eel is permanently colored by the incredible Dan Barker's "Jar Eel Assassin" t-shirt, but I think her standard procedure is, like her ancestor Hon Eel, making others fall in love with her. That inevitably causes a lot of self inflicted casualties. Though it can be turned on her, as in Dwernapple. I think she fights when she has to, but she prefers not having to do so. 

I also think she will be at the tearing of the Red Moon / Rise of the White Moon, so maybe those White Moon debaters were more succesful than expected. 

I would expect most of Glorantha knows about the Blue Moon, specially in Pamaltela as her children live there. In Genertela she is mostly tied up with troll assassins, and Lunar copycats, so I am sure it is not something people mention often. Bad luck, and bad for your health. Sailors, however, trace her movement and will try to predict her fall, as that will change the tides. 

Obviously everyone knows of the Red Moon, and that it is a "recent" development. I expect that is one of the main reasons the Hero Wars take part mainly in the lands between Dragon Pass and Peloria, because that is a beacon that brings heroes from the whole world, both to support it and tear it down. 

[EricW]

On 2/21/2022 at 3:28 AM, Eff said:

Well, there are intimations that Jar-eel "debates" them through violent means that kill people in the process. But setting that aside, once the White Moon Rebellion kicked off in 1623, violence was used to suppress it. So perhaps it's less that violence is ineffective and more that states are not normally in the habit of starting out with mass murder and generally go through a process of escalation. (Or maybe it's just that "these Lunars are crazy!" etc.) 

Given the goddess provides spells which cause insanity, and exploring the mysteries involves contact with mind blasting concepts, they would have to kill a lot of people if they decided to execute subjects just for being insane.

[g33k]

On 2/19/2022 at 1:54 PM, Akhôrahil said:

I get the impression that there's something about it that means it can't just be brutally, violently suppressed - the Lunar Empire are employing some more indirect means, like having Jar-eel debate them and merely banishing the adherents to the outskirts of the empire (like the Grantlands). Something about how either because of the Lunar connections or its pacifist nature, mere brutality seems like it wouldn't work out? The kind of cult that thrives on martyrdom?

In a magical world like Glorantha -- with human sacrifice actually providing power (q.v. maize rites, among others) -- maybe they have figured out that violent martyrdom would give the White Loonies a major power-up...

Or, more subtly:  if the Red Moon does the necessary to prevent a White Moon power-up, that could reveal secrets they don't want revealed (e.g. to Argrath, who I think they realize is sneaking around seeking power-ups of his own, and secrets of Lunar-disempowerment).

[Joerg]

27 minutes ago, g33k said:

In a magical world like Glorantha -- with human sacrifice actually providing power (q.v. maize rites, among others) -- maybe they have figured out that violent martyrdom would give the White Loonies a major power-up...

Or, more subtly:  if the Red Moon does the necessary to prevent a White Moon power-up, that could reveal secrets they don't want revealed (e.g. to Argrath, who I think they realize is sneaking around seeking power-ups of his own, and secrets of Lunar-disempowerment).

As I read this, Sedenya herself would not regret the transition from Red to White, as that would complete the cycle that the myths combined by Teelo Estara describes. It is the Lunar Empire based on the Red Moon which is antagonistic to the movement of the White Moonies seeking liberation and seeking to change the mother (and celestial home) of the Red Emperor. Jar-eel's debates about Liberation etc. with the White Moonies is as much a learning experience for her as it is part of her duty assigned to her by her dad in one of his clearer moments to prevent the Empire falling apart over this. (Or, as likely, Great Sister was the one who put Jar-eel onto this task, as she, too, may be concerned with the well-being of the Empire over the development of the celestial body.)

The Lunar Way is different from the Way of the Lunar Empire. The Glowline might actually be a hindrance to the further mystical development of the Goddess, who has not yet reached the celestial position she held in the Perfect Sky.

[d(sqrt(-1))]

On 2/17/2022 at 6:27 PM, AlHazred said:

"Yes, step right up ladies and gentlemen! Only I, initiated into the mysteries of the Blue Moon and a devotee of Annilla, Lady of Secrets, can see the Blue Streak! Only I can interpret the subtle sways and warps of her flight from the top of the Sky Dome down Magasta's Pool! But, for a fee, I will share this wisdom with you! For twenty lunars I phrase the answer in clear and actionable language; for ten I use the language of cant, which occasionally admits of ambiguity; for five, I speak a parable which you must interpret as you will; and for one lunar, I babble in an unknown tongue."

Jack Vance fan, perchance?