Unitary Astroism/Observations/Holy Writings by Prophet Mathurin Hossenfeffer

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On Proper Thought, Practice, and Worship

Taken and copied from the great Sanguis Astroist Temple in Libidizedd, the following writings by Prophet Mathurin Hossenfeffer are considered essential to the Church of Unitary Astroism.

Aspects, or On the nature of the Stars

An Extract from a rambling discourse

It is evident that as above, so below. What do I mean by this? I mean that it is very clear to me that the stars each have a mirror in our beings, or perhaps it might be clearer to suggest that they exert such an effect upon us that our very essence is, in part, shaped, molded or enhanced by them. Starting with the most obvious example, if you will, which is that of the Maddening Star, it is a child of chaos, its cycle is most exaggerated by variable oscillation, as it were, and within us, it calls to the impetuous side, the emotion, lust in all things. It is strong, but not focussed, rather raw, wild and unfettered. And those shared natures within us respond to it in a like fashion, lust for lust, strength for strength. In this way we can see the Star's influence upon the physical shell, as above, and so below. The Maddening Star is the clearest star, it is the one most easily grasped, most naturally comprehended, since it conforms to the most base elements of our personalities, to the raw, uneducated beast within us that reacts immediately to external stimuli. Which is not to cast it in any unfavourable light, even if such a thing were possible for a star, for after all, Man needs those raw emotions, that passionate strength, his emotions and his lusts to be a man. It is, interesting to note though, with this taken into consideration that the Maddening Star seems to be the one that the relatively primitive natives of Dwilight seem to fear the most, and both consequently and perversely the one that engages and galvanises them the most. Yes, indeed. But to those of us coming from the East, with our greater minds, our superior wisdom, our vastly better developed understanding of logic and complex reasoning, to us perhaps the Auspicious Star is a more closely melded companion, for it is, in many ways the antithesis of the Maddening Star. Whereas Maddening is aligned with raw energy and reaction, Auspicious is more closely allied to focussed energy and action, or even proaction. By our observations to date, the Auspicious Star has not even the slightest deviation or divergence from its alloted path, and in such a fashion, akin to its sibling star, it resonates with such parallels as might be found within our psyches, with the intellect and ordered plans, with propositions formally described, the meticulous and the precise, straight lines and sharp angles, so to speak, order and progress, sequence and alignment. These two opposites being diametrically opposed, as they are, can be seen to be offset or, perhaps more appropriately, balanced by the third of the stars. What do I mean by this? I mean that the Austere Star is the balance, it is the crux, the pivot, the moment of stillness, not of inaction, but of the moments between action. It is a mindful withdrawing, a deliberate holding back, an eschewing of the to and fro, the back and forth. It is separate and distinct, above the world both literally and figuratively, and it speaks to us in terms of the spiritual rather than the physical or the mental. It is not about inaction, but about not acting, not about indecision, but about not deciding. All of these facets are blended in the raw matter of men, such that here under the glorious influence of the Stars themselves, those noble elements that govern the make up of each of us can be exaggerated, or perhaps magnified to the extent that our capability to reach the absolute maximum of our potential is most excellently realised. Of course all this may be above the layman, but in more simplistic terms we can still usefully match both the temple of the soul and the temple of the heavens by extolling the more easily grasped correlation between the body of Man and the Maddening Star, the mind of Man and the Auspicious Star, and the spirit of Man and the Austere Star.

- Mathurin Hossenfeffer, First Prophet of Astroism.


How do we advance in spiritual proximity to the Stars?

An extract from correspondence

This is an interesting question, and the answer is both straightforward and clear, and yet also complex and muddy; exactly as one would expect of a proposition concerning both the purity of the divine light, and the baser, befuddled chunks of flesh gazing up at them.

The simple answer is that you must merely learn to act in accordance with the prevailing disposition of the stars. You need do nothing other than allow them to work through you.

Here though we encounter the problem of all flawed mortal flesh attempting to align itself with the perfection of a divine source. It is ourselves, our very beings the present the problem, for we are too rough and boisterous to easily apperceive that divinity in anything other than a most approximate form. We can easily see that Auspicious is bright today, bright enough to still be visible in the daylight, and yet to merely describe the Star as 'bright' misses an infinity of nuance and connotation.

In practical terms, we can pray, or meditate, we can commune with the essence of the stars. This seems especially true of Austere more so than the other Stars, perhaps because of its nature. And, perhaps more importantly in every day life, we can try to act while holding the Stars in our minds, strengthening the bond between divine and mundane.

- Mathurin Hossenfeffer, First Prophet of Astroism.


On the mutability and immutability of both Stars and Humanity

An extract from a sermon delivered in Donghaiwei

The Stars rest above us. They change in their Aspect, and yet they remain fixed and constant in their place. As with so many facets of the Bloodstars behaviour, this dichotomy informs us and educates us. And yet, we must ask, in what way are we fixed, in what way are we changeable, in what ways mutable, and in what ways immutable. Unlike the Stars, our form is immutable - the ravages of age, war or disease aside - and yet this is merely a superficial attribute. Form is a cloak we wear, an external casing that contains and covers the divine essence and essentials within. Our position, when likened to that of the Stars in the firmament is that of us in our own firmament. In the sky of mankind's existence, the nobility necessarily shines brighter than the peasantry, and this provides us indisputable evidence that the natural order of things is the feudal system which is most righteously instituted in our society. This is our fixed position, set and beyond change. But what of the other aspect, the fluctuating, inconstant facet of our being? This is that which makes us what we are as individuals, it is the peculiarity of humanity that makes one different from another - each element, each humour in tune with the changing faces of the Stars, and in thus fashion, changing in different proportions as each of us has different proportions of humours relating to the essential natures of the Stars themselves. So in the Blood it runs, each resonating to a different degree to the combinations of the complementary essence of the Stars, as each shows and hides its glory. In this, we can learn a lesson from the Stars, as to what the boundaries of acceptable behaviour are, for it illuminates for us the borders, the limits, the confines of what is, and should be mutable in humanity, and what shouldn't.

- Mathurin Hossenfeffer, First Prophet of Astroism.


On Marriage (with special reference to milking stools)

An extract from a sermon delivered in Donghaiwei on the occasion of the wedding of the Lady Allison Kabrinski and Lord Deverka Cryfdwr

The joining of two people in this fashion dates back to time immemorial; it is a custom we have brought to Dwilight from our old homes in the East, and yet here it has a new, stronger significance. I'd like to share some thoughts on balance, symmetry and numbers with you.

Let us look at the nature of balance. I'm not talking about the simple linear balance of, for example, weighing scales, but the more complex nature of balance spread out in all directions from a single point. Look, if you will, at the simple milking stool used by the dairymaids who milk their cows. These stools need to be quickly placed so the task at hand can be carried out, yet they need to provide a stable platform for maids who sit upon them. Have you, perhaps, ever noticed these stools? They are interesting because they have three legs. No matter the nature of the ground on which they are placed, be it a rough earthen floor, cobbles, or even a grassy meadow, the stool is stable. Each leg finds its own placement, and serves to provide its own, equal share of the support.

Considering this perfect balance and harmony of three, we do well to also consider the Bloodstars, also three in number, also perfect in their balance and harmony. This is accepted wisdom. However, consider this further line of thought. As we have three stars above, so we have two people before us now.

Three stars and two people form what though? What, if anything, is the significance of the number five? Where is the balance, the harmony, the perfection? Simply put, there is something lacking, some missing factor that proves without doubt that two people, such as we have here, under the three stars, are an incomplete form.

If the number five is spiritually incomplete, then consider the addition of a single, lone element. Contemplate the marriage itself as a sixth contributing factor to the esoteric shape of the Lady High Inquisitor Kabrinski and the Lord Grandmaster Cryfdwr's lives. Now we have the three stars, the two people and the one marriage. Now we have a perfect balance, a perfect symmetry; we have a triangle with a base of three seen from any side, the three, the two and the one.'

- Mathurin Hossenfeffer, First Prophet of Astroism.


By what means do the stars of blood direct the course of we mere mortals?

An extract from a sermon delivered in Bohai, delivered in response to the query

I have already spoken in the past about the relationship between the Bloodstars and Men, so I shall take this opportunity to discuss in greater depth the actual physical and divine mechanisms through which the Bloodstars direct the course of our lives. There are fundamentals of behaviour, from which every mode of human expression is built. Some of these elements of man's experience are well known and understood by all; anger, joy, and so on, while others such melancholy are more complex and, or at least so it seems to me, most likely composed of the more basic emotional constructs. These fundamentals of human existence are transmitted throughout the body through blood, from the source of emotion, that being the heart. It is no mere coincidence that the Bloodstars are so named, for it is our very blood that they affect with their divine influence. Blood is thicker than water simply because it is a more complex liquid, and that complexity is a product of these substantial emotional fluids. The balance, or otherwise, of these temperaments is governed within the human frame by the spark of the divine, and that in turn is directly informed by the Bloodstars. When the Maddening Star is bright, there is a rise in the blood of the liquor that promotes passion, courage, fear and all the other emotional constructs that we have come to associate with that Star, giving rise to such expressions as 'his blood is up', or ' his blood was boiling'. By contrast for example, the Austere Star stimulates cooler emotional states than those that are ignited by the Maddening Star.

Now some people, those to whom I refer as Resonant, are very much in tune with the nature of their blood, and the changes within it that are wrought by the influence of the Stars. They deeply feel the ebb and flow of the constituent fluids, and allow their actions to be in accordance with the divine state of the Stars. Others, whom I call Disonant, either can not or do not act in accordance with the influence of the Stars. This may be due to a deliberate attitude on the part of the Disonant, or perhaps due to an imbalance within them of the emotional fluids.

Men are imperfect, and we are also all different. The composition of our emotional nature is a product of the proportions, or balance, of these temperamental juices. In some people there is a natural imbalance, as we have commonly seen in the native Dwili that we have encountered. So many of them have an overabundance of the passions contained within the physical shells of their bodies that the Maddening Star does not simply give rise to an increase in the corresponding behaviour, but to actual madness, as they are overwhelmed. Careful emotional contemplation, and guided meditation on the Stars at appropriate times can help bring about a more healthy balance of the blood, allowing those so afflicted to free themselves of the beserk episodes that previously drove them to insanity and constant conflict.

- Mathurin Hossenfeffer, First Prophet of Astroism.


On the Sword, the Cup and the Open Hand

An extract from a sermon delivered in Mimer

We can present the Faith with the Sword, showing the might of those who follow the Bloodstars, for who can deny the power the Bloodstars have granted our Faith?

We can present the Faith with the Open Hand of peace, showing the grace and fellowship of the Bloodstars, for behold all we have acheived in Fellowship.

We can present the Faith with the Cup, showing the simple perfection the Stars reflected in a cupful of water, for in this most act we sweep away all that is unecessary and show ourselves to be likewise a simple mirror of the Bloodstars.

There has been much talk lately about how the Faith is perceived by the profane. Let me say this. If they see only the Sword, then we have wronged them and have wronged the Faith too. But likewise, if we omit the Sword, then we have also wronged them. To milk my analogy of the stool still further, when we present the Faith to the outer world, if we do not show the governance of all three Stars, we are presenting them a stool lacking one or more legs, and yet... we expect them to sit?

The Stars are constant and yet shifting, their faces change as the days change. Their essential nature remains unaltered, and yet the aspect they present to us differs. The Bloodstars themselves teach us that from day to day one Star may be bright while others are Dark, one may Wax while others Wane. How can any of us then, begin to suggest that there is a correct Star to be the true summation of the Faith? We cannot, and to attempt that would truly be heresy.

We seek balance both as individuals and as a contributing part of the Faith. And yet each of us poor mortals has a different composition, as I have explained before, and each of us has a different purpose. It is therefore the case that when presenting the Faith to the outside world we must be especially cautious and mindful of our own particular tendencies, and grateful for others of the Faith who provide us with the balance that is required.

By all means, bring the Sword to the outer world, but ensure that is is followed by the Cup and the Open Hand. Otherwise, you are no agent of the Bloodstars, but simply an agent of the Maddening Star alone.

- Mathurin Hossenfeffer, First Prophet of Astroism.


On interpreting Dreams and Visions

An extract from a response to a letter asking for the Prophet's interpretation of a dream

You ask a difficult question. First let me say that some dreams are just dreams and have no greater meaning or message for us.

But even if this dream is a divine vision, it may still not be possible for another to grant understanding other than through conventional wisdom and an understanding of the ways of humanity and symbolism in particular.

It has long been my hypothesis that the prophetic dream or vision is in part a product of our own psyches as well as being of the divine source. By saying this, I do not mean in any way to belittle the vision, but rather to suggest that some measure of the colour of it, the flavour of it, comes from our own minds, while the central message remains truly the divine component.

Let me elaborate.

Let us consider a vision calling for a pilgrimage to a particular place, to the Founding Temple at Caiyun, for example. Now should that vision manifest for a member of the Faith living in Morek, it might be expected to hint at a journey over the grasslands and wide plains towards the birthplace of the Faith. However, were the same vision to manifest for a member of the Faith living in Libiddo, one would expect the vision to suggest a sea voyage. The underlying heart of the message is the same, but the clothes in which it walks is what changes.

It is my contention that it is some working of our own minds - or our souls, or perhaps even of the spark of divinity which lies within each of us perhaps, but certainly a component of our own selves - who furnish the vision with that detail which makes the vision comprehensible to us.

If this proposition is correct, then a true and complete interpretation of the dream must require the dreamer to help in translating the imagery of the dream. That is not to say a priest or a prophet cannot help, for often visions couch themselves in similar fashions, whether the symbols of the dream come from within or without. However, the dreamer has the key to unlock the dream. The dreamer has the key.

- Mathurin Hossenfeffer, First Prophet of Astroism.


On the Afterlife

During the longest recorded conjunction of Darkness, Lord Deverka Cryfdwr, the First Grandmaster of Morek died, slain by monsters. As the Auspicious Star waxed, news of Deverka's death reached the Prophet. Below is presented an extract from the letter he wrote to the Faithful, on the subject of the afterlife.

It can come as no surprise that at times like this, we seek to understand what happens next, what comes after death. The truth is that we do yet know. There is much we can deduce, and some things upon which we can speculate, but for now at least the boundary of life and death still retains some mystery.

Let me expand upon what I have said. It is evident from our relationship with the Stars, that in each of us there is some spark of divinity which we share with the Bloodstars. In each of us, exists this elemental fragment of a nature we share with the Stars themselves. Divinity is no fragile flame to be snuffed out with the moment of our death, and so it is clear to me that there is some element of a man which persists beyond the cessation of the mortal frame.

Deverka, the man, may be gone from us, and yet something of Deverka - in the form of that divine spark - persists.

What happens next is where the mystery lies, where knowledge ends and some educated speculation must begin.

It is only natural that we look for answers to the other greater, purer manifestation of that divinity for answers; to the Bloodstars themselves. Even now, Auspicious has been renewed, refreshed, reborn. Its light returns to us, following its period of Darkness. Perhaps in the same fashion, and this seems most eminently likely to me, the Spark that was dressed within the flesh of Deverka is undergoing its own period of Darkness. Continuing this train of thought, it would seem likely that it will in the future return to us; renewed, refreshed, reborn.

It will not be Deverka as we knew him, but it will be that same, fierce, bright Spark that served the Faith so well.

Some comfort may be gleaned from this, I am sure. Deverka was a stalwart of the Faith, and as I gaze up with adoration at the growing strength of the Auspicious Star, so too do I believe that I will one day encounter Deverka in another, new form.

- Mathurin Hossenfeffer, First Prophet of Astroism.


On why we gaze upon the Stars

From a response to a letter querying the practice of observing The Stars

When one comes newly to the Faith, never having given the Stars much consideration before, it can be difficult to consciously perceive their Influence upon the self, to notice how one or another might guide our moods and motions, how each differently reaches into us at different times. Simply looking at them with one's eyes to see their state, can greatly help one to come to identify the sensation of the ebb and flow of the influences of each as they wane and wax.

Given time, meditation, and contemplation of the Stars and the self, one learns to name these feelings within, to recognise their connection to the Stars, to sense the lessening, or increasing pull of the Stars. After many years I, and I imagine many of the devout members of the Faith, no longer need to be able to see the Stars to know, for example, that Maddening is waxing at the moment. Now, even were I to be in a locked, windowless room, I can feel that change through my inner reflection of the Prince of Strife.

I do still enjoy gazing upon their Divine Light though.

- Mathurin Hossenfeffer, First Prophet of Astroism.


Writing in Question

Prophet Mathurin Hossenfeffer's last piece is the only writing he ever issued that tries to address larger, bolder questions, similar to those Prophet Lucius Arundel had on his voyage to Libidizedd. It is an especially curious source of information. Prophet Mathurin Hossenfeffer's suspicion that the Bloodstars were responsible for previously unexplained influences was a groundbreaking claim. While wrong in his assessment, it is clear that the Bloodstars were attempting to communicate to him the same message they communicated to Prophet Lucius Arundel later in Libidizedd. Why the First Prophet did not receive it before his untimely departure is not entirely known, though his unrivaled connection to the Bloodstars is suspected to have played a part.


On the Purpose of Religion

From a sermon delivered at the wedding of Khari Kye and Rynn JeVondair in Mimer

Lords and ladies of Corsanctum, Faithful, honoured guests," he began when the temple was quiet, "we have witnessed something I consider to be of significance. All too often Sanguis Astroism is accused of a militaristic imperative to cleanse the world of non-believers. And yet today, in the Sacred Heart of Sanguis Astroism, we have born witness to the joiningof Lady Khari, priestess and Guardian Stalwart of the Faith, and Prime Minister Rynn of D'Hara, a follower of the path of Verdis Elementum. The ceremony contained elements, if you'll pardon the pun, of both religions, and I hope it also satisfied both.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask; why do we have religion? What is the purpose of faith? What is the place of a church?

I would suggest that it is threefold, though I acknowledge that it is in my nature to see import in patterns of three. Firstly, and most importantly it is a unified struggle to pierce the veils of mystery of the world around us, to understand the Truth behind truth, to commune with, in some small, mortal way, and get closer to, Divinity. Secondly, it is a joint glorification of that same Divinity, a public recognition and exclamation of the connection we have with the Divine. And thirdly, it is a community of fellows who tread the same path to Divinity, who can support each other, can aid when our faith is troubled, and comfort when our souls are wounded.

Recently I have had to travel to Aurvandil to try and understand our Faith's relationship with 'Orthodox' Astroism. Sadly, I'm sure you know well by now, it has been determined to be nothing more than a political tool, designed to validate Allison Kabrinski's heresy and to bring offence to our Church. There was no seeking of truth, no glorification of anything other than possibly Allison herself, and no community other than through vitriol.

By contrast I ask you to consider the contribution of Verdis Elementum today, specifically the act of consecration of the pendant Verdis we saw. Even as an outsider to their religion, and doubtless failing to truly comprehend all it signifies, I could easily see the desire to understand the workings of our world, the veneration of the elements, and the unity the act brought. We turn our gaze up to the Bloodstars, they turn their senses to the elemental forces at play in the world around them.

There is much debate in our Church at the moment as to whether or not other religions should be tolerated, especially within those realms which are dedicated to our Faith. To those who would suggest that all others be cast out, I ask this question. Can you be sure that the same Divinity which shines through the Bloodstars, which manifests within each man and woman, which lies at the core of our Faith; can you be sure it does not also inspire the elements, quicken the Wind, hasten the Fire, strengthen the Earth and stir the Water? Verdis Elementum also reveres the element of Spirit, which surely gives a only a different consideration to the Spark of Divinity we hold to be within us all. Can you be sure that they are not simply walking along a different path to the same destination?