Iconoclastic Astroism/Writings/Sermons

Roleplay from Rabisu Daycryn

Message sent to everyone in "Sanguis Astroism"

Faithful Brothers and Sisters, Considering the wise words of Brother Medugnatos last week, I pray that I shall approach this subject with the required balance. Today I shall expound upon the subject of heresy, hypocrisy, and disbelieving. First, what is a heretic, or a hypocrite, or a disbeliever? Heretics are those who believe what is contrary to the truth, and not only that, they believe that which is evil and harmful and perverted. The nature of evil is a more vast topic than the scope of this sermon, yet we all of us do have an intuitive sense, granted by true and harmonious communion with the Bloodstars, that there is such a thing as evil. What is harmful can be objectively measured, whether in loss of life, in blood shed, in cities ravaged, or kingdoms toppled. And what is perverted is not merely what is abhorrent or disgusting or distasteful, but it is a corruption of that which is good. An example might be in a believer in the Stars who also worships the Prophet as a "god;" a situation which I have never encountered but Sister Allison reportedly has. Another example might be in a believer in the Stars who, conversely, believes the Prophet is no prophet at all, that his prophecies are mere guesswork. Hypocrites speak what is contrary to the truth, or they act contrary to the truth, but it is not necessarily evil and perverted. The heretic is surely also a hypocrite, yet not all hypocrites are heretics. Disbelievers simply do not believe what is true. They may have the same doubts or wrong beliefs as the hypocrites and heretics, who are themselves also disbelievers of a sort, but are not all necessarily hypocrites or heretics. Second, what to be done with heretics, hypocrites, and disbelievers. Disbelievers must be converted and brought into the Light of the Stars. This would be helpful to them, to our faith, and thus to the world at large. This is the matter of preaching to expand the faith; the Open Hand. Hypocrites must be corrected, that they may walk in the Light of the Stars. To fail here would risk their becoming a heretic, who is even more dangerous. This is the matter of preaching to make steadfast and clear the faith; the Cup. Heretics must be shunned, lest they pervert the Light of the Stars. To fail here would risk the Sanguis Astroist faith being destroyed from within, to set ill examples both amongst us and to the world at large. This is the matter of safeguarding the faith from dangers; the Sword. May all of my fellows here seek to safeguard themselves against these dangers! By the Light of Austere,

Rabisu Daycryn (Luminary)

Roleplay from Eoghan O'Faolain

Message sent to everyone in "Sanguis Astroism"

Brothers and Sisters: I apologize for the delay in this week's lecture; I have been somewhat preoccupied with the reclamation of Darfix. And I do say "lecture", rather than sermon, because while I do hold a badge of high office I do not wear the robes of our priesthood. That said, I write to you today regarding morality. None of our holy scriptures touch deeply on morality, so what is human morality to the Divine Bloodstars? Is it necessary to be a just and moral person in order to attain balance and harmony? I would suggest that it is not. The Stars drive us to action, either logical or passionate, and to refrain from action, but they do not tell us whether that action or inaction is moral. This is necessary, for the Stars do not fight amongst themselves as we do, the Stars do not lie. They are constant and yet changing, but they do not distinguish "right" and "wrong", for to the Stars all human action or inaction has the same Divine spark, the same source in the Bloodstars. And it must, for how could any action not be traced, in a harmonious soul, back to the Three? Then why morality? If we are not mandated by the Divine to be just and upright, why ought we strive for such a thing? There is yet guidance to be found, if we look closer. The Stars do not lie, they do not deceive. The Stars are even-handed and treat all as they deserve to be treated. The Stars do not shy away from giving their influence, even to those who would rather ignore it. So must we be. We ought be forthright, we ought be just and treat all according to their station and afford each man and woman, each brother and sister the respect they deserve. And we must not shy away from governance; we must ensure that our just rule is afforded to those who lack the ability to properly rule themselves, and give our guidance to those who can. These are the root not only of our morality, but of the expansion of our Faith: they are the root of the Cup, the Open Hand, and the Sword, and they are how we show our Faith in the Bloodstars to each other, and to the world. I hope you have found this lecture in some way useful, information or enlightening as we make our way with difficulty towards the stars. Ever Yours in Faith,

Eoghan O'Faolain (Consul)

Needs a template added.

Letter from Labell Enstance (30 days, 2 hours ago) Message sent to everyone in "Sanguis Astroism" (144 recipients) On the nature of the blood and its divinity

It is well known and established that the Stars affect our lives through the blood. Each Star seems to pull at a certain string or region that entices said Star's special effect, like we were a puppet on strings.

This, however, is not the case. Such strings would be visible or at least tangible if they were real. I have done numerous tests on servants trying to locate these strings, and no amount of smoke, incense, or magnetic rock has revealed any evidence of anything attaching them to the heavens. Not even a magical crystal imported from Beluterra revealed anything. Therefore, the logical conclusion must be that the Stars have a sort of conduit within the human body, which responds to the Stars' influences like a beacon being lit on signal. I had an idea that these conduits would probably be organs with double purposes, for the sake of space preservation. I tested this by conversing with and subsequently dissecting several criminals of my province and found that the most passionate had significantly larger hearts while the more sophisticated ones sported larger heads and brains, much as I suspected. In addition, the livers of the less active ones had a tendency to be larger and better looking. I conclusion, I believe to have located the conduits of the Stars within us, and that they are as follows: Auspicious: The brain Maddening: The heart Austere: The liver

I also noticed that each of these organs hold tremendous amounts of blood when opened, though that is nothing to the amount that streams through them when the body is alive. However, the way in which the blood leaves the organ is fascinating. When one cuts the heart, the blood spurts outward with such violence that one must shield one's eyes or risk being blinded by the splatter. When the other two organs are cut, however, not much blood leaves immediately. Indeed, the liver and brain seem to prefer a slow drip as a way to allow the divine liquid to exit. Which is faster, I do not yet know as I seem to be lacking an hour glass of the correct size to measure this accurately.

However, I believe this piece of research gives enough information about the human body and its relation to the Stars to give us a new tool of meditation in that we can now focus on the organ that must be augmented or lessened in activity to bring us harmony. In addition, it provides a possible explanation as to the flawed nature of mankind. Because the placement of the three organs channelling the Stars is so clearly not the same as the position of the Stars in the sky - being arranged awkwardly above each other and to the sides instead of in a shape from where we should be able to place a hand in equal distance to each while still touching the skin - we are greatly hampered in our receiving of the proper signals.

Sadly, my research does not go further than this at this time. I hope it will stimulate at least one fruitful discussion amongst the priests of the faith.

Yours,

Labell Enstance of Terran, Priest of Sanguis Astroism Light of the Auspicious Star of Sanguis Astroism and Magistrate of Trade of Terran, Duke of Phantaria, Governor of Shokalom

Roleplay from Rabisu Daycryn

Message sent to everyone in "Sanguis Astroism"

Faithful Brothers and Sisters. There are those who have come to me lately asking for advice and guidance. And there are those too who could use some guidance even though they have not specifically asked. So today I shall share some words concerning the subject of prayer, in the hopes that it will be of some use. First, what is the purpose of prayer? In some other religions, prayer is a petition to gods, much like a subject appealing to his lord, for some gift: be it a good harvest, protection against raiders or thieves, mercy, justice, land. As with lords, such gods in such religions then either accept the prayer and grant the petitioner his wishes, or considers the prayer unworthy and withholds the asked-for boon. It is an external matter: one being, subject to the will of another, asking for an external object to be given. It is like making a trade offer: one offers up something - be it sacrifice or merely pious sentiments - in exchange for another thing. This is not how prayer functions in Sanguis Astroism. As the Most Holy Prophet has discovered, the Bloodstars work within us. They work in our blood: in our hearts, in our minds, in our spirit. Although the Bloodstars are situated above us, they are not like lords nor gods, with whims to satisfy and emotions to appeal to. We are not to try and make, through prayer, the Bloodstars act differently by giving us things. The goal of our faith is to become Enlightened, as the Prophet has; it is to make ourselves more attuned with the Bloodstars; not the other way around. Thus, the purpose of prayer is not to beseech the Bloodstars to change: it is to make ourselves change. The Bloodstars act within us all; even within nonbelievers, yea, even within heretics and the vilest of men. Yet through our own choices, we, as conscious beings, can choose to ignore the beating heart of Maddening within us; we can choose to ignore the voice of Auspicious's reason; we can choose to become imbalanced and out of tune with our own nature. This does no wrong to the Blooodstars! It does only wrong to ourselves. Only harm can come of a lack of Harmony with the Stars. Thus, prayer, like meditation, is an effort made to become more Harmonious. We must take our own selves out of the way, and allow the Bloodstars to work freely. Secondly, how should we pray? There is no set manner. As with meditation, we must find what works for us according to our individual inclinations and needs. And as with meditation, regularity counts for more than time spent in one prayer. Even a quick prayer in the morning each day is better than one lengthy prayer every week. The words of prayer matter less than our intention; though through words, our minds and hearts can become more focused. When possible, prayer with others of the Faith works better than alone, for as we are all influenced by the Bloodstars, so we can influence each other to become more in tune with them. In praying, we voice our honest desire to become more Harmonious with the Bloodstars. In meditating, we give our ear to the Bloodstars as they influence us. Together, prayer and meditation becomes our guide along the path of enlightenment, rather than a chore or task to be accomplished. So, ask not that the Bloodstars may grant you some earthly end or item. Instead, pray that you will become more attuned to the Bloodstars as they work. By doing so, you may become more reasonable in planning your goals; you may become more passionate about doing what needs to be done; and you may become more inwardly peaceful with whatever happens. May you find their Harmony within you all.

Rabisu Daycryn (Light of the Maddening Star)