Gleirea, Host of Horns
Gleirea
One of the Twelve High Hosts that rule over the Heavens.
Gleirea is oft associated with the earth itself, its soil, the trees, and the beasts of the field. Most commonly, she is associated with horned animals, as well as wine and drinking horns. She is frequently depicted with masses of curly brown hair, and curled ram's horns or curved bull's horns. She is a favored goddess in Ethel, the sheeplands, as well as Urudun, the cowlands.
Gleirea figures prominently into most creation myths for Host Keepers, awakening the forests and fields to feed mankind. She is also a fertility goddess, and many stories speak of her birthing humanity after drinking the oceans dry. Later though still ancient myths say she laid with the First King of Kings, and from this union all the many races of humanity were born (except the Aernigh, of course, who are always separate).
There are many feasts dedicated to Gleirea, most notably the mid-Spring feast found in nearly every Host Keeping settlement. These feature much drinking and carousing, and in Monos (especially western Monos), performances of the many stories associated with her. Like all Spring Hostesses, Gleirea is mischievous, and her mischief is unsurprisingly sexual in nature. Many a ribald performance or telling describe her exploits, most notably her ability to alter her sex at will and her ability to assume the shape of any animal.
Gleirea's colors are Green and White, though she is also often depicted with many-colored flowers, especially pink. Her bird is the Hen (though it is believed to have been the Swallow in ancient times). Her beast is the lamb and the ram. Her Month is the second Month, called the Gleir Moon or the Gay-Moon. Her constellation is the Horns. She is associated with luxury and comfort, as well as hedonism and fury. She is considered the patron of Bachnar, the fourth Royarch, who gave names to all the beasts and birds, and the wild places of the earth.
Common aspects: Gleirea Oirei (the shepherd), Gleirea Builai (the wild), Gleirea Math (the mother), Gleirea Athra (the father)
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