Earth Mother (updated 2004/05/12)

  Damgalnuna, the Lady of that which is ...    Danu, the Goddess (Kith)    Hypsiglena, the Serpentmother (Alu, ...    Xohm, the Earthmother (Baal, Dwur) 

The Earth Mother is one of the most powerful and widely worshiped primal divinities. Among the Eldar she was worshiped as Amarnaneth, and greatly loved. She presides over the natural process of life and death, giving birth to all creatures from the earth, nurturing them as only a mother can throughout life on the earth, and protecting them in their earthly tombs when they pass on. She rules not only the lands but also the seas, which both together make up the earth. She is also the goddess of the necessities of daily life, such as agriculture, fertility, harvests, hearth, dreams, builders, and crafts. She is patient as the earth itself and slow to anger, but when roused she can cause severe disasters such as earthquakes and storms.

While the "Earth Mother" is responsible for rain and storms, She relies upon the Winged Messenger to deliver those "messages" to the world. When crops were abundant, the "Earth Mother" and "Winged Messenger" are often praised and thanked for their abundant rain. Not only is lack of rain a threat to survival, it was also a sign that the "Earth Mother" or perhaps the "Winged Messenger" are unhappy.

The "Earth Mother" also rules the underworld, which is viewed in various ways by different cultures: some see the underworld as a return to her womb from which to be reborn, some see it as a gentle protective embrace, and some see it as a chthonic hell.

In matriarchal societies such as that of the Rochir, the "Earth Mother" is the ruler of the gods, and is often referred to as the Goddess. In patriarchal societies, She is the queen of the gods and wife of the Sun King.

Druids revere her as the mother of the earth; the Baal dragon priests worship her as the goddess of stone and strength; Alorns worship her as the patron of builders; even the zealous and narrowly focused Knights of the Eternal Flame pay her homage as a goddess of law and fortresses.

Damgalnuna, the Lady of that which is Below (Deep Old Ones, Southmarens) (updated 2004/11/02)

Great Lady of the Waters, Lady of the Chambers, Mistress of the Gates

The consort of Dagon is often invoked by fisher-folk to bring the abundant plenty of the sea, filling their nets with fish. She is less well-known as the keeper of the Gates of Abzu, abstruse rituals for summoning long-forgotten creatures of the deeps.

Danu, the Goddess (Kith)

Danu is the Goddess and Earthmother of the Kith. To accept all of her aspects is to accept all of nature, youth and age, growth and decay, life and death. She is the generative power of nature and the female principle: the supreme deity. She is served by her consort, the "Horned God Kernunnos". She is very similar to Xohm, and the Kith have often allied with the like-minded Dwur.

Kith view history not as a battle between good and evil, but a battle between those who accept the supremacy of nature and those who fear nature in all its forms and wish to control and ultimately defeat it--between those who worship the Goddess and those who worship the unnatural creations of order. Civilization is an unnatural force with weak, soft inhabitants who are terrified of both the feminine principal (the Goddess) and of wild nature (the "Horned God").

Hypsiglena, the Serpentmother (Alu, Avathar, Linnorm) (updated 2004/03/16)

Hypsiglena is the Avathar dark "Earth Mother" and She is also the mistress of snakes, depicted as a snake-haired woman (gorgon) or two-headed venomous serpent. She is a cold, cruel goddess who found the first Avathar child born inside the egg of one of Her serpents and only nurtured it to life so that She could savor its screams and devour it later. Some say that this child was an Eldar babe who fell into her clutches, from which She birthed the Avathar race. The Linnorms of the Great Salt Marsh also claim Hypsiglena as their mother-creator.

The Avathars are terrified of Hypsiglena. Those who do not pass muster at the death gates of the Duirgurth are devoured by Her or swallowed whole, spending an eternity being slowly consumed in her round belly. Fear of being taken by Hypsiglena is perhaps one of the driving factors behind the Avathar obsession with longevity and Necroalchemy. [ more... ]

Xohm, the Earthmother (Baal, Dwur)

In the Baal faith, the "Earth Mother" takes the guise of Xohm, mother of all dragons. She is said to appear as an enormous, gem-encrusted dragon.

The Dwur have always worshiped Xohm as the mother of the gods and the patron of stonemasons. Evidence of this predates their relationship with the Baal, prior to which She was only known as the Earthmother rather by a proper name. Nor was She depicted in Her dragon form in the earliest Dwur works.

The Dwur also revere Xohm as the "Earth Mother", the stone beneath the (small and hairy) Dwur feet. Stonemasons revere Xohm, for they are creating works from Her natural gifts. Creating unique, beautiful things and ritualistically giving them back to Xohm to beautify Her further is one of the most noble and sacred acts in Dwur society. Countless vaults of impenetrable Dwurstone vaults have been hidden deep within the mountains and filled with precious gifts to Xohm. Since the Dwur created these things for Her alone, these vaults are not intended to ever be opened again, [ more... ]