Green Faith

Said to be the oldest religion in both the New Kingdoms, and the Frontier Lands, the Green Faith is a multifaceted set of doctrines focused on appreciation for nature, teaching that all living things are linked and that natural changes in the weather, the seasons, and individuals are to be admired and revered rather than feared. To the adherents of the Green Faith all of nature is holy, even those parts that are hard to understand or dangerous. Even death is just another change that connects one generation to the survival of the next. Though frequently dismissed as not being a "real" religion by those who worship specific deities, the Green Faith is a very o1d and very real religion.

Structure

Although some Green Faith priests are independent, most belong to an order that focuses on a particular aspect of nature, such as air, beasts, or plants. The orders are known as the Druids of the Leaf, Druids of the Flame, Druids of the Fang, Druids of the Earth, Druids of the Storm, Druids of the Wave, Druids of the Wing, and several minor orders.

Each order of the Green Faith maintains an oral record of its history, knowledge of the natural world, and lore of the realms of elemental and fey. For many of the major orders, this knowledge has been accumulated over thousands of years. It can take a lifetime of study to understand all the secrets of the druids, so this knowledge is divided into “circles”.

A new member of an order is called an initiate of the first circle and is taught a broad history of the order and its most basic techniques. As a member demonstrates greater understanding, magical aptitude, and loyalty to the order she is initiated into higher circles, each time gaining access to more of the order’s history and knowledge. The major orders are divided into nine circles, while the minor orders typically have three to five circles.

Within each successive circle there are fewer priests. In some orders the higher circles have a specific number of priests. While this number may increase if the order expands into a new territory, more often a member who wants to be initiated into a circle for which there isn’t an opening must challenge an existing member of that circle. The challenge may be hand-to-hand combat, a contest of spellcasting, or some other form of challenge decided on by the order. A challenge is usually nonlethal and causing permanent harm to one’s opponent is grounds for disqualification (and possibly other forms of censure). If the challenger wins, she is allowed to advance to the next circle while the loser is demoted to the lower circle. Challenges are limited to one per lunar month to prevent them from distracting from other duties.

Though all priests of the Green Faith are considered peers, in times of conflict deference is given to the initiate of the highest circle. Priests who reach the highest circle of their order are known as archdruids. The head of each order is known as the great druid and is chosen from among the order’s archdruids. The head of all the Green Faith is called the grand druid. Traditionally the grand druid is chosen from among the great druids, though at times when the orders have been in conflict a wise and powerful independent druid has been chosen. The titles grand druid and great druid are held for life, though rarely a holder may abdicate or be challenged by a priest of sufficient rank.

Culture

The Green Faith does not personify nature in an anthropomorphic way. Nature's voice is the burbling of a stream, the buzzing of a bee, the clattering of stones, the crackle of flame, the cry of an eagle, the howl of the wind, the growl of a bear, and the rustling of branches. Deciding that a man or a woman somehow incarnates nature is seen as small minded and as overvaluing one's role within the cycle of nature. Life exists on such a large and small scale that no one person can adequately represent its greatness and complexity; nature has created mighty trees older than civilization and countless tiny creatures in the water and air that live and die in but a few days. A druid may be proud of her skills or arrogant about her aspect's role in the cycles, but the ageless wheel of life that consumes and renews humbles all druids. What lesser beings might fear, hate, or covet in this bounty, druids admire and treat with the utmost respect.

Most followers of the Green Faith believe in reincarnation—that souls are immortal and go through life's journey many times in countless different forms. All living things are part of this cycle, and a humanoid in one life maybe animal, plant, or even elemental in another. The Green Faith does not teach a strict hierarchy of life but rather that in each life there are new lessons to be learned. One must therefore respect all life, for one never knows what an individual's past or future lives might hold.

The Green Faith’s core is the druidic belief in protecting nature and understanding the cycles of seasons, elements, and mortality. Its favored weapons are those used by druids. Its holy symbols are mistletoe, holly, and green faces made out of leaves. Lay members of the Green Faith may indicate their allegiance by hanging a bundle of herbs outside their door, carving a face on a building's eastern corner, or planting oaks or holly along the road to a settlement.

Public Agenda

Green Faith priests are keepers of ancient wisdom. The Green Faith has collectively accumulated vast knowledge of the natural and spiritual worlds, much of which has never been written down. It is the job of every priest to learn from the elders and to teach the next generation. The knowledge acquired by priests of the Green Faith is not purely academic. They use their wisdom to protect nature and to aid those who live close to it. These worshipers serve rural and tribal communities as spiritual advisers and healers, but they also lend more practical aid, teaching such folk how to work in harmony with nature to get the best results. Priests of the Green Faith are known for their neutrality, and they are often called upon to serve as diplomats or impartial judges when disputes arise.

Assets

The Green Faith does not accumulate treasure, and most of its lay followers are simple folk of the land who haven’t a lot to offer. What they do have is great stores of knowledge and lore primarily about the natural world.

History

Some scholars of the divine believe that druidism is older even than the concept of worshiping a deity. In the earliest days of the world, before mortals could even envision such abstract ideas as gods or philosophies, the environment was a constant presence in every life. The heat of the sun, the chill of rain, the violence of a storm, the strength of a beast, and the beauty of a wildflower were all physical proof of the complexity and power of nature. Whether observing the procession of day to night, the birth of a child, or the destruction of a raging forest fire, mortals witnessing the miracles of the natural world deemed them proof of something greater than individual lives, and reverence for that source is the origin of the first druids, wise folk who put their faith in an unnamed power that drove all of these events.

Legends hold that the Green Faith grew out of an ancient conflict between four sects of druids who battled for control of a vast wilderness. One sect put its faith in the storms of the sky, a second in the earth that provides a home to all living things, a third in the strength and purity of wild beasts, and a fourth in the cleansing quality of fire. These sects gathered for war, intent on finishing their conflict once and for all. As the rising sun shone its rays in the war-torn vale, the druid leaders gathered their strength, but before any of them could strike, a geyser erupted from the ground. Made of equal parts bubbling water, rich soil, and snapping flames, this geyser spiraled up from the earth, and a host of multicolored birds emerged from it, flapping away as the geyser sank down. The druids realized that although their methods differed, their beliefs all took root in the same concept; though they had come to do battle, they instead forged a lasting peace. From this alliance grew the Green Faith, and in the thousands of years since then, it has changed little, despite cataclysms, planar invasions, and mortal wars, for the cycles of nature are a pattern more reliable than the most finely tuned clockwork device.

Cosmological Views

Members of the Green Faith do not necessarily deny the existence of deities. However, they do not view deities as being to be venerated considering nature in all its splendor to be greater than any god or goddess, no matter how powerful. They see the true divine in every blade of grass, in a tree, in the rumble of thunder and so on. To the members of the Green Faith all of nature is god, goddess and temple all rolled into one.

Tenets of Faith

The one abiding law of the Green Faith is to live in harmony with nature. They acknowledge the necessity of farming to most races but believe that such can be done more efficiently by working with nature rather than against it. Its members strive to live lightly on the land since nature is their deity.

Ethics

To outsiders it may seem that followers of the Green Faith do not care for the distinction between good and evil. The truth is that they have very different views of what constitutes good or evil. To its members good is to protect nature from being despoiled or overdeveloped and to live lightly on the land. To kill in defense of nature is no sin, though as they revere all life to an extent killing is usually a last resort, preferring to bring an opponent around to their way of thinking through wise argument.

The Green Faith is very protective of its secrets, and it's natural that some outsiders might grow suspicious of what its members are hiding. In areas where modern religions are practiced and the Old Ways are forgotten or suppressed, slanderous conspiracy theories may arise about what the druids know or what they do unseen in the woods. Green Faith adherents strive to disabuse people of these notions before they lead to violence against their order.

Worship

The Green Faith celebrates the solstices, equinoxes, and planetary alignments. Specific orders may have additional holidays, usually the anniversaries of important events in the order's history. Some orders of the Green Faith also celebrate full and new moons by performing rituals such as marriages or naming days on nights when the moon is at an auspicious point in its cycle. Certain members of the Green Faith hold the moon in such high regard that they eschew the solar calendar and instead use a lunar calendar that has been passed down for generations.

Members of the Green Faith do not build temples in the traditional sense. In fact, most of their sacred sites are practically invisible to those not of the faith, for they are simply places of great natural beauty or wonder. A shrine might be a tree bent into an unusual shape, an upthrust rock in a bare plain, or a clean spring in a dry badlands, while a crashing waterfall, giant oak, or semidormant volcano could become a temple of the faith. Druidic carvings in stone or wood might mark these sites, but just as often they are simply recognized by those in touch with nature. Though any member of the Green Faith may recognize and worship at these sites, these places of worship are often kept by a single order of druids whose area of concern matches the nature of the sacred site.

Instead of gathering in enclosed buildings for important rituals, members of the Green Faith build henges, perfect circles of stone blocks or wooden pillars surrounding a central altar or totem. Henges are open to sky, and the stones or poles are erected to perfectly align with celestial objects at specific times during the year. Henges often mark the convergence of ley lines.

Followers of the Green Faith rarely live or otherwise build structures near their sacred sites. Some fear that to do so would make the wondrous become mundane, while others believe that the presence of humanoids (even those who revere nature) would despoil these places.

Priesthood

Formal dress for the clergy is a robe, vestment, cowI, and ceremonial wooden staff all in greens and earth tones. This clothing may be plain or elaborate, and priests with advanced magical powers may incorporate living plants into their ceremonial garb. Adventuring priests wear clothing appropriate for travel, and they adorn their clothing or weapons with a sprig of holly or mistletoe or wear a holy symbol as a necklace or hanging from a belt.

Green Faith priests are also mediators between nature and civilization. They intervene whenever an environment is threatened by the encroachment of humanity, such as excessive logging or hunting, and attempt to curb such activity through diplomacy and education. When such methods fail, however, they often feel no guilt at resorting to intimidation or more drastic measures. They also teach lay followers how to defend themselves and their property from natural dangers, such as floods or predators, using methods that work with nature rather than destroy it.

Priests may be nomadic or sedentary. Some treat a geographic region—such as a forest, river, or valley—as their parish, protecting the creatures that live there. Others serve as the religious leaders of rural and tribal communities. Still others wander the land, observing nature in all its varied forms, or follow the migration of birds or beasts. Like their sedentary counterparts, nomadic priests provide advice and mediation to those they encounter along the way.

Sects

Although some Green Faith priests are independent, most belong to an order that focuses on a particular aspect of nature, such as air, beasts, or plants. The orders are commonly known as the Druids of the Leaf, Druids of the Flame, Druids of the Fang, and so on. The orders informally patrol and protect natural territories, which may overlap to a small or large extent depending on the orders' focuses. For example, a large forest's birds might be protected by Druids of the Wing, its plants by Druids of the Leaf, and its predators by Druids of the Fang, though all three orders would come together against something that threatened the entire forest. The following are the largest orders and their areas of interest and practices.

• Druids of the Earth: These druids trace their traditions back to one of the original factions that formed the Green Faith. Druids of the Earth watch over burrowing creatures, caves, soil, worms, and herd animals. They advise farmers and ranchers when to plant and graze and when to let the land lie fallow. They may work with miners to make sure their activities are not too disruptive to nature. Above ground, Druids of the Earth mark their sacred sites with menhirs or stelae. Below ground cave paintings preserve their ancient wisdom—some are untouched since prehistoric times. Priests of this order specialize in earth-based magic. They often bond with herd animals and animals that burrow or dwell in caves.
• Druids of the Fang: One of the Green Faith's founding factions, the Druids of the Fang revere predatory beasts such as lions, snakes, and wolves. Many seek to emulate these creatures, living off the land by their wits alone. Others work with rural communities, protecting them from dangerous. predators while at the same time protecting those predators from vengeful humanoids. Places sacred to the Druids of the Fang are often marked with the claw marks or footprints of predatory animals or with the bones of prey animals. Druids of the Fang specialize in animal-related magic, and almost all of them form a bond with a predatory animal.
• Druids of the Flame: The Druids of the Flame descend from another of the Green Faiths original factions. Often misunderstood by outsiders, these priests revere fire as a force of change. They recognize wildfires as necessary to clear away old growth and make way for new life. They are arguably the most militant order, using fire to cleanse the world of aberrations and undead. Counter to expectation, they also work to protect wilderness and rural communities from both arson and negligent fires. Major rituals by Druids of the Flame typically include a balefire or wicker effigy, and residual ash often marks their sacred sites. These priests often specialize in fire magic. Few take animal companions, and no animal is particularly favored among those that do.
• Druids of the Leaf: These priests revere trees and green plants and the bounty they provide. Druids of the Leaf are gardeners of the wilderness, fighting the spread of plant diseases and encouraging regrowth in areas affected by extreme weather or negligent humanoids. They work with farmers, gatherers, and loggers to ensure sustainable land use, and they teach that even weeds may have beneficial uses. Rituals conducted by Druids of the Leaf often take place in natural clearings or around particularly large or fecund trees. The path to these sites may be marked with blazes, abstract symbols cut into living wood. Druids of the Leaf focus on plant-related magic. Plant companions are more common among Druids of the Leaf than in other orders.
• Druids of the Storm: Only a few centuries old, the Druids of the Storm model their order after the storm druids who were a founding faction of the Green Faith. These priests focus on storms, winds, and weather. and they are close allies with the Druids of the Wing. Druids of the Storm teach followers of the Green Faith how to predict coming weather and how to alleviate or exploit the prevailing conditions. Druids of the Storm meet in places marked by the weather, from lightning-struck trees to rugged mountaintops. Percussion and wind instruments often feature in their rituals. Air and weather magic are the specialties of this order, and those who choose to bond with an animal favor crows and seabirds.
• Druids of the Wave: The priests of this order devote themselves to rivers, to seas, and to fish and other swimming creatures. Druids of the Wave are stewards of the watery world who are quick to point out that more of the globe is covered by water than land. Druids of the Wave act against overfishing and pollution, but they also protect those who respect nature against drowning and dangerous sea creatures. Waterfalls and secluded bays serve as shrines for the Druids of the Wave, though the ever-moving priests rarely form permanent congregations. Druids of the Wave specialize in water-based magic, and those who bond with an animal companion or familiar most often choose one that is aquatic or amphibious.
• Druids of the Wing: Druids of the Wing watch over winged creatures, both domesticated and wild. Though the well-being of these creature is their primary concern, Druids of the Wing also observe flying creatures as a form of divination, finding hidden meaning in their movement through the air. Of course, many initiates of this order are drawn by the dream of flying. The nesting grounds of birds and other winged creatures are sacred to Druids of the Wing, and many of their most important sites are virtually inaccessible without flight. Druids of the Wing specialize in magic related to animals and divination, though some learn mind-altering magic from the allied Druids of the Storm. Druids of the Wing who take an animal companion or familiar inevitably choose one that can fly.
• Minor Orders: The smaller orders of the Green Faith include both relatively new orders and older orders with very specific focuses. If a minor order grows in popularity, it may eventually become a major order. Examples of minor orders include the Druids of the Hive (focusing on bees and wasps), Isle (islands and island life), Rift (geothermal and volcanic areas), Scarab (crawling insects), Scale (dinosaurs, reptiles, and snakes), Spore (fungi rather than plants), and Web (spiders).

The Green Faith is not my creation and most of the information in this article was taken from Pathfinder's Ultimate Wilderness Sourcebook.

As above, so below, as within, so without, those that proclaim their devotion to the light without embracing, bowing to the dark; idealize half the world but must devalue the rest.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Alternative Names

Old Faith

Demonym

Greenies