Basics: Four Gods (Redux)

[This post was meant to go up yesterday, but life and school got in the way.]

I’m restarting my posts on the Otherfaith, and each Wednesday I’ll be posting basic information about the gods, spirits, daily practices, and other important bits of the faith. Every Friday (maybe this Saturday, if my word processor is still down) I’ll post more freeform musings on various topics concerning the Otherfaith.

Other days are open for other rants, though I’m hoping to produce less rant and more content this year. 2013 was a rough rollercoaster, and I learned a lot. It’s time to implement those lessons.

For our first post in the 2014 basics series, we’re going to review the Four Gods of the Otherfaith. There’s been some big revelations and deepening understandings about these gods, and I want to share part of them before going further. This post is also meant to re-familiarize yourself with the gods of the faith, giving you the most basics concepts of them. We will revisit them later on in the series – after we have explored what it means to be a god in the faith and have learned about other spirits we worship. This post will be added to a page for easy access later on, and I will update as needed.

Overview

The Four Gods of the Otherfaith are the Clarene, Dierne, Laetha, and Ophelia. They are called the ‘Four Gods’ because there were four gods originally that revealed themselves. Their names are often (not always) preceded with ‘the’, implying that the name is also a title or that they are the supreme possessor of that name. Each of these gods can be loosely tied to the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water, respectively), but if we conceive or perceive them strictly in those terms we are missing huge parts of their reality.

the Clarene is the founder of the West – the sacred landscape which we journey to and upon which myth occur – and the only god of the Four that is not created but born as a god. Her lover the Ophelia is deified first of the other three, followed by the Laetha. the Dierne is the last god to be crowned with divinity. Each god interacts with each other in specific ways, as would be expected from such distinct personalities, and this influences how we pray to and approach them at times. There are familial connections, conflicts, and emotional ties to consider.

One of the biggest changes since 2013 is, though still called the Four Gods, the Otherfaith technically has six gods we give worship to. These other two gods are the Ophelene and Laethelia.

Now, we’ll delve into the ‘main roles’, correspondences, and important information for each of the gods. The section ‘related spirits’ will be addressed with separate posts about those spirits and their stories.

the Clarene

Main Role: Protector of the West/Other People
the Clarene creates the sacred otherworld we interact with and, in doing so, takes responsibility for the land and its People. She does this by cultivating the land – farms and fields, urban spaces, wild spaces, parks, etc. – and by acting as a gatekeeper. Her connections to weaponry (guns, swords, spears) are tied to her protective role.

Related Spirits:

• technically all West spirits
• Dallas
• Black Lion
• Dragongirl
• Desiree
• Merryweather
• Adilene
• Asier
• Othani
• Baryl
• Zs
• Dahlia
• Mary Anne

Symbols/Correspondences:

• black
• medical equipment
• lions
• gold
• graveyards
• Space Needle, Empire State Building, and Sears Tower
• guns/gunpowder
• crowns
• cows
• extinct mega fauna
• griffins
• hounds
• foxes
• tea
• coffee
• Black Death
• Kingship/sovereignty
• compass
• tall trees (sequoias, Douglas fir, Redwoods, etc.)
• skyscrapers
• black mirrors

Epithets:

• Orchard-King
• King
• Girl-King
• Singer
• Unfeathered One
• Lion Maker
• Hand Holder
• Mother Slaughter
• Tea Brewer
• Star-Spearer
• Beloved of Women
• Gunpowder Mother
• Fire Catcher

the Dierne

Main Role: Queen of Consent and Pleasure
the Dierne is the last of the Four Gods to be deified – opposite of the Clarene, born a god. The two share some symbols and roles – both preside over the holiness of love and consent – and come into conflict often because of this. the Dierne presides over pleasure – sexual, sensual, emotional, and mental. He ensures the comfort of the People and that such comfort does not come on the backs of others.

Related Spirits:

• Lilibell
• Flower Maidens
• Grace
• Alynah Blake
• Alice
• Desiree
• Aletheia
• Danny
• Malice
• Thunderhorse

Symbols/Correspondences:

• stars
• masks
• pianos
• violins
• alcohol
• wolves
• darkness
• mirrors
• peacocks (white peacocks)
• anatomical hearts
• tiaras
• the number 10
• black swans
• blood
• guns
• wind
• roses
• black
• aspen trees

Epithets:

• Fear* (asterisk represents the entirety of fear – not just horror)
• Pallis
• Star-God
• Boy-God
• Boy-King
• Queen of Stars
• Meteor
• Star-Striker
• Revolutionary Boy
• Divine Whore
• Many Mirrors
• Dark Brother
• Orgasm-Maker
• Starbird
• Bloodied Hands

the Laetha

Main Role: Challenger of the People
the Laetha is once human then fae then god. His entrance into the West causes upset – because the land rejects him. So he dies and lets the land have him, lets the West strip from him what it rejects – until he is born anew as one of the People. His role toward us in the faith is to challenge who we are, who we can be, and how we fit in the world.

Related Spirits:

• Althea Altair
• Anne Marie
• Mary Anne
• Othani
• Adilene
• Thunderhorse
• White Mare
• Danny
• Aria
• Baryl
• Sabia

Symbols/Correspondences:

• fire
• firebirds
• poppies
• rubies
• red birds
• mechanical hearts
• gears
• clocks
• matches
• bombs
• nuclear reactors
• androids/robots
• Artificial Intelligence
• bugs, especially beetles and butterflies
• lanterns
• utility monsters
• wildfire
• song
• gold
• the number 7
• white bark trees

Epithets:

• Firebird
• the Lantern
• Sundered Self
• Many-Armed
• Gold-teared
• Hollow One
• Mortal
• White Tree
• Many Souled
• Devourer
• Hundred-bodied
• Lost Boy
• Flower-King
• Gold-King
• Forgetful One
• Singer
• Gold Mother

the Ophelia

Main Role: Queen of the Waters/Life
the Ophelia is the divine lover to the Clarene, deified by drowning in her own river. She is heavily tied to water and all that means – flow, subtle power, health, time. She sustains the People and washes our shame from us. She is also tied to memory, because of her connections to time.

Related Spirits:

• Mallory
• Malice
• Corliss
• Dahlia
• Ceur
• Belle
• Wynter
• Lyra
• Beryl
• Lilibell

Symbols/Correspondences:

• lakes
• rivers
• clocks
• algae
• river stones
• river weeds
• simplistic masks
• blue
• sickly/mossy green
• ocean monsters
• skulls
• black and blue colored birds
• blue fire
• swamps
• rain
• unicorns
• peacocks
• decay
• snow/winter/ice
• death
• unpleasant bodily functions
• ponds
• wells
• shapeshifting

Epithets:

• Bluebird
• Death
• Dead Women
• River Women
• Lady of the waters
• Lady of the Veil
• Vile Queen
• Lady Death
• Keeper
• Soundless
• Sorrowful
• Wounded One
• Without Fate

the Laethelia (Laetha + Ophelia)

Main Role: Mediator and Stabilizer
the Laethelia is both the combined/shared power of the Laetha and another god unto herself. She keeps the West – and us- balanced just on the edge of comfort and discomfort, acceptance and rejection. She also stabilizes the powers of the Laetha and Ophelia, both volatile gods that fight with each other often.

Related Spirits:

• none known

Symbols/Correspondences:

• ponds
• pools
• mermaids
• fish
• gold
• green

Epithets:

• none given

the Ophelene (Ophelia + Clarene)

Main Role: Holy Retribution/Justice
the Ophelene is, as the Laethelia, the combined powers of the Ophelia and Clarene and also a separate god. She is the force of holy retribution in the Otherfaith. She protects the weak and stands in the way of oppression. She is most connected to defending women (all women).

Related Spirits:

• none known

Symbols/Correspondences:

• armor
• swords
• halo
• light

Epithets:

• Cruelty Killer
• Wise One
• Slayer
• Guardian of Women
• Protectress of Strength