Sanguis Astroism/Writings/Treatise on Proper Worship

Redressing the Balance

Introduction

The faith has undergone much upheaval of late. The Thulsoman worship of the Maddening Star conflicts directly with the Church of the Scarlet Trinity's re-evaluation of the stars' effects. Meanwhile, theocracies have been created and destroyed, and the faith has had to come to a decision as to how those of other faiths (in particular, Torenists) must be dealt with.

This investigation will attempt to reconcile some of the more radical claims of the Excellence Treatise with the main body of the Prophet's work, while simultaneously pointing out where I believe that worship and focus is lacking for the proper three-legged balance of the stool that is our faith. I have seen the extremes of Maddening worship that the Church of the Scarlet Trinity rejects, and I can only wholeheartedly agree with the basic premise that this is not the way that faith should operate. The proposal that excellence should be our focus is an enlightening one, but also one that requires further analysis, I believe.

On Excellence

One of the claims that the Excellence Treatise makes is that "Sanguis Astroism is not about the worship of three stars". I respectfully disagree. While "the proper pursuit of excellence" is a worthy goal for the faith, I would posit the position that this is identical to, in fact inherent in, the proper worship of the stars. It is indeed a misconception to think that worship involves conquering the world in the name of the stars (the hand and the cup must be given their dues), but it would be wrong to separate 'excellence' from worship.

While Asterion Artemesia calls the term Bloodstar 'implicitly violent', this would be an incorrect understanding of the word's meaning. They are named so because "it is our very blood that they affect with their divine influence", as the Prophet has made clear. It may be that there are dark connotations of 'blood', but it is our job to change this. The pursuit of excellence makes perfect sense, when combined with an understanding of the influence the stars have on us. According to this reading, 'excellence' is merely another term for harmonising our blood with the stars' influences. This is what is meant by the proper worship of the stars. The greatest follower of the stars will be the one who can properly align himself with their influences, allowing himself to be guided by their positions, and therefore ultimately becoming an instrument of their divine will.

The Cup

An extract from a sermon delivered by the Holy Prophet in Mimer "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." Of all the methods of worship, I would suggest that the chalice is the least emphasised. This is wrong. The faith is perceived by outsiders as having put too much of the sword into action; perhaps this has been so. In any case, Astrum's war against the Torenists amply fulfils this necessary part of the faith. At the heart of the faith, however, great strides have been made in opening the hand. Peace, generally speaking, reigns over the eastern theocracies. With the founding of Niselur, the faith has finally reached the Western Continent in force. This is not to say that we cannot extend the faith's hand further, merely that this is already well underway.

The cup of reflective water, on the other hand, has been sadly neglected. The Excellence Treatise and my own humble writings perhaps go some way to remedy this, but I believe that there is too little reflection and meditation on an everyday basis. Those who follow the stars have been given relatively little direct guidance as to how exactly they should follow them. The Aquiliean experiment, attempting to suffuse society with divinity in such a way that reference will no longer have to be directly made to religion, is a fascinating one, but it has its dangers. The greatest of these is clearly that the 'democratic theocracy' will simply become one without reference to divinity. In any case, this treatise will attempt to lay some guidelines for the actual practise of properly worshipping the Bloodstars, in an everyday, practical sense.

The Natures of Auspicious, Austere and Maddening

Before, I lay down my guidelines for proper worship, I must establish what I consider to be the most accurate view of the natures of the stars. Some of the most radical suggestions made in the Excellence Treatise are those pertaining to the exact roles of the stars in guiding us. It is here that my opinions must separate themselves most radically from Asterion Artemesia. While he makes many important insights, the conclusions he reaches about the stars' natures appear to directly contradict the revelations of the Holy Prophet Mathurin.

On Auspicious, the Asterion has a correct view, I believe. Reducing it to something as plain as helping us "thinking correctly" is an oversimplification, but perhaps a necessary one.

Maddening, on the other hand is somewhat misinterpreted in the Excellence Treatise, to the extent that it is simply impossible that the star stirs men's passions most strongly during its dark phase. It plainly does not. As the Prophet said, the star "calls to the impetuous side" of us. Although strong emotions are possible in the dark phase, these are natural and I have never heard it claimed (apart from by the Asterion) that these emotions are due to the lack of Maddening. I was present in Thulsoma, where the influence of the Maddening star can most keenly be felt, and I can assure you that during Maddening's superiority my blood near boiled with emotion. The Asterion does have one thing correct; one under the influences of "rage, fanaticism and insanity" during Madenning's brightness is not attuned to the star. Instead, it can be said that Maddening influences us greatly, but it is our own duty to align ourselves with the star. Only then will purer and more excellent emotions come to the fore. If you fail to channel Maddening in the correct fashion, its emotional energies will still coarse through your veins; you will be filled with the non-excellent emotions of anger and bloodlust, however, since Maddening "is strong, but not focussed" as the Prophet has said.

It would be wrong to describe Austere as the primary arbiter of our actions. The Holy Prophet describes it as the controller of our "spirit", instead. As I will detail later, our actions (which the Asterion attributes solely to Austere) are influenced by the combination of the three stars' effects. Austere is the star that balances Auspicious and Maddening, so it has perhaps the most direct effect upon our actions, but it is not the sole (or even the greatest) arbiter. Austere is best described as a meditative star that enhances our self-knowledge and our interaction with the stars. Where Auspicious governs our knowledge of the external world, Austere allows us to look within ourselves and to access a more spiritual dimension of understanding. Through this contemplation we can come to attune ourselves more readily to Auspicious and Maddening, and better combine our logic and intuition to create conscious knowledge. Interpreting Austere in this fashion gives us a picture of a star that is more contemplative than proactive.