Post by Feralan on Sept 13, 2006 17:19:56 GMT 1
(found on the forums of Silvereye, a Kaldorei guild on Argent Dawn)
SHAMANISM AND NATURE WORSHIP
(From the World of Warcraft pen-and-paper RPG, Chapter 7: Description - Faith)
Shamanism and Nature Worship
Several races follow a different divine power than the philosophical humans. The tauren, night elves, orcs and jungle trolls follow instead the very real guidance of spirits, nature and the goddess Elune. They believe that everything that has ever lived has a spirit that remains as a power that can communicate with other spirits -- and mortals on the physical plane. Everything that has lived or still lives is connected spiritually. In this instance, the shamans and druids of the shamanistic races do not discount the humans’ study and worship of the Holy Light, as it too emphasizes a holy connection, but they maintain the light comes from the millions of spirits that connect everything, not a single person’s connection with the universe. The humans are close, the shamans say, but they are missing the biggest part.
The night elves live a very spiritual life: firstly acknowledging and honoring each spirit as an individual life; secondly honoring the goddess Elune, the only true deity on Azeroth. The night elves deal with all manners of spirits, from the small spirits to the great Ancients and the moon goddess. The elves will seek for guidance -- or interference -- from the spirits, asking the small spirits for small tasks and entreating Elune or one of the other wise and powerful spirits of their forests for more significant tasks. They see their forests as havens for living spirits, and it nearly broke them when the undead and the demons befouled so many of their precious woods. As the spirits have served them for thousands of years, now they seek to give back to the spirits by healing the woods.
The orcs and tauren don’t worship the trees and nature as much as they do the spirits of their own ancestors and the more wild spirits of fire and animals. Tauren carve totems to represent the animals they honor and draw power from, invoking the name of the spirit. Therein lies their power, but they find spiritual comfort and guidance from the spirits of their ancestors. Each tauren knows her own lineage — some spanning ten generations — and has been able to recite it since she was a calf. By learning the great tales of her ancestors, the tauren will connect to one or two ancestors with whom she identifies. She will live her life in honor of those tauren, seeking guidance through meditation and serving their names through her deeds.
Orcs are the newcomers to divine magic on Azeroth, and although they are learning from the tauren, they have not reached the same level of dedication as their allies. They are in a process of rediscovering their old traditions — what they can remember of them. The Burning Legion drew them from seeking guidance from the divine to trying to master the arcane, and they have only recently shaken off the demons’ yoke. The orcs now attempt to communicate with the spirits again, seeking clues in the epic tales they tell children and the songs they sing. Orc shamans are connecting with the ancestral spirits again; and prayer, vision quests and sweat lodges are entering the orc lifestyle once more.
The jungle trolls are also experiencing an overhaul of their faith. Their savior, Thrall, convinced them to give up their evil ways of sacrifice and cannibalism to embrace the Horde’s divine worship, so the jungle trolls are finding new ways to praise their bloodthirsty ancestral spirits. They have turned from sacrificing their enemies to sacrificing animals, and they no longer feast on their enemies’ corpses -- because that is what the undead do.
The One True God of Azeroth
While the humans follow their philosophical religions, the dwarves research their absent makers and the Horde races pray to their ancestors, the night elves are the only race that is entirely devoted to the only true deity Azeroth has known: the moon goddess, Elune.
It is her power that sheltered the world in the early days and her guidance that kept the night elves from falling into magic addiction like the high elves. While she has interfered very rarely in direct conflicts on Azeroth, she does guide her priestesses.
Many feel that Elune has become brokenhearted at the recent events in the world. With the humans and high elves following arcane magic, the coming of the Horde, the destruction wrought by the Burning Legion and the Scourge on her beloved Kalimdor forests, and lastly the death of her son Cenarius, some night elves fear that she has given up on the world. Truly there is little redemption to be found in the past several years, but many strive to show her that all is not lost. They only hope she watches and listens.
SHAMANISM AND NATURE WORSHIP
(From the World of Warcraft pen-and-paper RPG, Chapter 7: Description - Faith)
Shamanism and Nature Worship
Several races follow a different divine power than the philosophical humans. The tauren, night elves, orcs and jungle trolls follow instead the very real guidance of spirits, nature and the goddess Elune. They believe that everything that has ever lived has a spirit that remains as a power that can communicate with other spirits -- and mortals on the physical plane. Everything that has lived or still lives is connected spiritually. In this instance, the shamans and druids of the shamanistic races do not discount the humans’ study and worship of the Holy Light, as it too emphasizes a holy connection, but they maintain the light comes from the millions of spirits that connect everything, not a single person’s connection with the universe. The humans are close, the shamans say, but they are missing the biggest part.
The night elves live a very spiritual life: firstly acknowledging and honoring each spirit as an individual life; secondly honoring the goddess Elune, the only true deity on Azeroth. The night elves deal with all manners of spirits, from the small spirits to the great Ancients and the moon goddess. The elves will seek for guidance -- or interference -- from the spirits, asking the small spirits for small tasks and entreating Elune or one of the other wise and powerful spirits of their forests for more significant tasks. They see their forests as havens for living spirits, and it nearly broke them when the undead and the demons befouled so many of their precious woods. As the spirits have served them for thousands of years, now they seek to give back to the spirits by healing the woods.
The orcs and tauren don’t worship the trees and nature as much as they do the spirits of their own ancestors and the more wild spirits of fire and animals. Tauren carve totems to represent the animals they honor and draw power from, invoking the name of the spirit. Therein lies their power, but they find spiritual comfort and guidance from the spirits of their ancestors. Each tauren knows her own lineage — some spanning ten generations — and has been able to recite it since she was a calf. By learning the great tales of her ancestors, the tauren will connect to one or two ancestors with whom she identifies. She will live her life in honor of those tauren, seeking guidance through meditation and serving their names through her deeds.
Orcs are the newcomers to divine magic on Azeroth, and although they are learning from the tauren, they have not reached the same level of dedication as their allies. They are in a process of rediscovering their old traditions — what they can remember of them. The Burning Legion drew them from seeking guidance from the divine to trying to master the arcane, and they have only recently shaken off the demons’ yoke. The orcs now attempt to communicate with the spirits again, seeking clues in the epic tales they tell children and the songs they sing. Orc shamans are connecting with the ancestral spirits again; and prayer, vision quests and sweat lodges are entering the orc lifestyle once more.
The jungle trolls are also experiencing an overhaul of their faith. Their savior, Thrall, convinced them to give up their evil ways of sacrifice and cannibalism to embrace the Horde’s divine worship, so the jungle trolls are finding new ways to praise their bloodthirsty ancestral spirits. They have turned from sacrificing their enemies to sacrificing animals, and they no longer feast on their enemies’ corpses -- because that is what the undead do.
The One True God of Azeroth
While the humans follow their philosophical religions, the dwarves research their absent makers and the Horde races pray to their ancestors, the night elves are the only race that is entirely devoted to the only true deity Azeroth has known: the moon goddess, Elune.
It is her power that sheltered the world in the early days and her guidance that kept the night elves from falling into magic addiction like the high elves. While she has interfered very rarely in direct conflicts on Azeroth, she does guide her priestesses.
Many feel that Elune has become brokenhearted at the recent events in the world. With the humans and high elves following arcane magic, the coming of the Horde, the destruction wrought by the Burning Legion and the Scourge on her beloved Kalimdor forests, and lastly the death of her son Cenarius, some night elves fear that she has given up on the world. Truly there is little redemption to be found in the past several years, but many strive to show her that all is not lost. They only hope she watches and listens.