Zvezdarska
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Zvezdarska ( Звездарска) is a Metaphysical and Natural Law which reigns Moskova. Its concept is so important that is the origin of one of the wider spread systems of beliefs, which tends to be referred to and even fusioned with the postulates of this Law as if they were the same thing. This law is even tied with the Folklore of Moskova, as many fairy tales, legends, and myths feature creatures from it. It can be considered a magic system and a point of view regarding the afterlife.
While it is not mentioned explicitly in Seeking for the Lost Northern Stars, since it is an important part of the mythology of the world, many beings and even plot-relevant events are related to it.
Zvezdarska's hierarchy is composed of four levels, sorted from the lowest energy to the highest energy.
The first level includes humans, animals, plants, and basically the most known biological entities. All the creatures from this level are of material nature and they're not naturally magical. However, some humans can use magic, such as witches. The concept of magic implies the power to change the surrounding environment in uncommon or not natural ways or in a really fast-paced way by spells and other methods. Between this level and the following one, there's the first limit point or boundary which is between natural (non-magical) and supernatural (magical). Creatures from this level cannot change their state unless they die and their soul breaks away from their body. However, this state tends to be transitory (hence why it's not represented in the pyramid diagram) as the soul can reincarnate in another creature from this level or pass to the Third Level, depending on the case.
The second level is the one of the so-called Magical Creatures, beings that live mostly in no urban areas and are featured in Folk Tales. They have material and magical nature and tend to have very long lifespans. Some examples are Sirin, Forest Spirits, Rusalki, etc. From this level upwards, all the creatures are magical.
The Third level comprises two special kinds of magical/supernatural entities: Demons and Messengers of the Stars. They are Immaterial supernatural creatures that can transmute into material creatures. Despite being pretty similar, they both are different.
The highest level of the vital energy scale are the Stars themselves. Non-material, magical entities born from the Void, the Dark and the Chaos, the first sources and manifestations of light in the universe and originators of planets and life. They have lots of powers, they can use magic and become a material avatar by themselves and can give (intentionally and unintentionally) energy to lower beings. They are born mostly from the Chaos in the Universe, but Dæmons that accomplish their tasks (usually after several lives) can ascend to Stars. Some known examples of Stars are the Sun, Alioth and Dubhe.
As stated by Zvezdarska's postulates, the world is divided in two dimensional planes that overlap. The Material/Natural Plane is the visible and tangible world, where physics laws apply but magic can be found.
In the other hand, the Immaterial/Supernatural plane is the state -or "place"- where is believed magic comes from and where Demons originate. Humans normally cannot access to this plane in their lifetime, but there are some places of the world where energetic anomalies happen and make the boundaries between both planes blurry, for example the Northern Lands and the Prison of Fire and Ice {Alioth's cage}. The Aurora Borealis is considered like a "bridge" between both planes, and when it appears in places far from their normal distribution, is an indicator of the irruption of Supernatural beings in the natural world. A example of this is the classical Demon tied Aurora, which appears alongside a terrifying howl when demons are about to attack.
Zvezdarska's concept and scale has been seen by the pass of the time as belief or even a cult by the inhabitants of Moskova. However, it is a very interesting case since it is not an organized religion. It can have priests and priestesses presiding ceremonies and rituals, but there's no actual specific sacred book nor hierarchy of ranks or specific customs.
The origin of the ancestral cult to Stars is unknown, but it's been largely spread since time immemorial. It can have some differences among cultures, specially regarding customs, rituals, symbols and such, but there's two things all variations have In common: Stars are other celestial bodies are considered divine and sacred, and in most cases the Most important Star is the Sun. This cosmology was the main one of Moskovar people, but by the pass of the time evolved into a "modern and simpler " version, which is the Modern Solar Cult. Kozzakhi are one of the people that keep (or used to keep) the trading version of the belief. An interesting difference from the Stellar Cult towards some Western Religions is that divinities are not expected to be not considered absolutely perfect. They can be calledd "the most perfect among imperfection", but it considers actual perfection as an oxymoron since even the Superior beings (Stars) are born from the Chaos.
The modern version of the cult is similar to the traditional one, but leaves most of the stars in a second plane (in some cases they aren't even considered) and pays almost total attention to the Sun, so it can be considered a monotheistic belief. The Sun is related to Power, hence the Tsar of Moskova tends to be considered the Child of The Sun.
Zvezdarska is considered also as a collection of tales since many of the legends, myths and stories from elemnets Creatures from different places in the scale are also an important topic in artistic representations (rugs, painting, drawing, pottery, theater plays) all over Moskova.
Postulates
- All living beings have vital energy Inside of them.
- There's a hierarchy that classifies all the creatures according to their amount of energy, represented as a pyramid. This measure determines their nature.
- The highest level (highest energy) corresponds to the Stars while the lowest one is represented by humans, animals, and other biological entities.
- The hierarchy includes both material and immaterial beings.
- Moving from one kind of nature to another can normally be done just by the highest level in descending order. For moving upwards or changing the nature of a creature from a lower level help from the highest one is required, as an energy loan. There's another way of changing level which is basically, death.
- Reincarnation is a link between life and a following one but is also a link between the material and the immaterial.
- The world has two Planes: the Natural/Material one and the Immaterial/Supernatural one.
Material vs Immaterial
The first noticeable dichotomy in this Law is the Material vs Immaterial one. The concept of Material tends to be confused with visible, but it doesn't mean the same. Material means tangible, and a tangible thing can be physically felt by someone else and do not break the laws that reign over Nature since they are formed of actual matter. Immaterial means the opposite thing. Non-material creatures or things are not made of actual matter. They can be visible or not, they can be heard or not, but they cannot be felt in other ways. The condition of immateriality tends to be a concept hard to understand since it implies not always following natural laws. Immaterial creatures do not have an actual specific shape nor actual specific gender but they can shapeshift. However, despite Non-material being away from human compression, it doesn't mean perfection.Levels of the scale
Zvezdarska's hierarchy is composed of four levels, sorted from the lowest energy to the highest energy.
Level I
The first level includes humans, animals, plants, and basically the most known biological entities. All the creatures from this level are of material nature and they're not naturally magical. However, some humans can use magic, such as witches. The concept of magic implies the power to change the surrounding environment in uncommon or not natural ways or in a really fast-paced way by spells and other methods. Between this level and the following one, there's the first limit point or boundary which is between natural (non-magical) and supernatural (magical). Creatures from this level cannot change their state unless they die and their soul breaks away from their body. However, this state tends to be transitory (hence why it's not represented in the pyramid diagram) as the soul can reincarnate in another creature from this level or pass to the Third Level, depending on the case.
Level II
The second level is the one of the so-called Magical Creatures, beings that live mostly in no urban areas and are featured in Folk Tales. They have material and magical nature and tend to have very long lifespans. Some examples are Sirin, Forest Spirits, Rusalki, etc. From this level upwards, all the creatures are magical.
Level III
For a further reading check Demons and Messengers of the Stars/ Dæmons.
The Third level comprises two special kinds of magical/supernatural entities: Demons and Messengers of the Stars. They are Immaterial supernatural creatures that can transmute into material creatures. Despite being pretty similar, they both are different.
- In the case of Demons, they tend to be associated with an evil or tricky demeanor. They can become material when a very powerful similar takes power from a Star, mainly by possession which is in some sense a break of the "strict mobility " part of the law.
- Contrasting to their relatives, Dæmons, more widely known as Messengers of the Stars are basically souls of deceased heroes or positively impacful people who died with pendant matters to attend. They are called by the Stars and given extra energy by them to take the task of looking for people with the potential of following their legacy or creating an own one. For commiting their task, they reincarnate in a magical creature or a natural one. They tend to be associated with the good will.
Level IV
The highest level of the vital energy scale are the Stars themselves. Non-material, magical entities born from the Void, the Dark and the Chaos, the first sources and manifestations of light in the universe and originators of planets and life. They have lots of powers, they can use magic and become a material avatar by themselves and can give (intentionally and unintentionally) energy to lower beings. They are born mostly from the Chaos in the Universe, but Dæmons that accomplish their tasks (usually after several lives) can ascend to Stars. Some known examples of Stars are the Sun, Alioth and Dubhe.
The Planes
As stated by Zvezdarska's postulates, the world is divided in two dimensional planes that overlap. The Material/Natural Plane is the visible and tangible world, where physics laws apply but magic can be found.
In the other hand, the Immaterial/Supernatural plane is the state -or "place"- where is believed magic comes from and where Demons originate. Humans normally cannot access to this plane in their lifetime, but there are some places of the world where energetic anomalies happen and make the boundaries between both planes blurry, for example the Northern Lands and the Prison of Fire and Ice {Alioth's cage}. The Aurora Borealis is considered like a "bridge" between both planes, and when it appears in places far from their normal distribution, is an indicator of the irruption of Supernatural beings in the natural world. A example of this is the classical Demon tied Aurora, which appears alongside a terrifying howl when demons are about to attack.
As a belief system
Zvezdarska's concept and scale has been seen by the pass of the time as belief or even a cult by the inhabitants of Moskova. However, it is a very interesting case since it is not an organized religion. It can have priests and priestesses presiding ceremonies and rituals, but there's no actual specific sacred book nor hierarchy of ranks or specific customs.
Ancestral Stellar Cult
The origin of the ancestral cult to Stars is unknown, but it's been largely spread since time immemorial. It can have some differences among cultures, specially regarding customs, rituals, symbols and such, but there's two things all variations have In common: Stars are other celestial bodies are considered divine and sacred, and in most cases the Most important Star is the Sun. This cosmology was the main one of Moskovar people, but by the pass of the time evolved into a "modern and simpler " version, which is the Modern Solar Cult. Kozzakhi are one of the people that keep (or used to keep) the trading version of the belief. An interesting difference from the Stellar Cult towards some Western Religions is that divinities are not expected to be not considered absolutely perfect. They can be calledd "the most perfect among imperfection", but it considers actual perfection as an oxymoron since even the Superior beings (Stars) are born from the Chaos.
Nothing that dares to exist can be perfect. Even the Stars are born from darkness and dust.
Modern Solar Cult
The modern version of the cult is similar to the traditional one, but leaves most of the stars in a second plane (in some cases they aren't even considered) and pays almost total attention to the Sun, so it can be considered a monotheistic belief. The Sun is related to Power, hence the Tsar of Moskova tends to be considered the Child of The Sun.
Folklore
Zvezdarska is considered also as a collection of tales since many of the legends, myths and stories from elemnets Creatures from different places in the scale are also an important topic in artistic representations (rugs, painting, drawing, pottery, theater plays) all over Moskova.
Zvezdarska Hierarchy Diagram by Gege16
Type
Metaphysical, Astral
Related Ethnicities
Moskovar, KozzakhiRelated creatures
Demons ,Messengers of the Stars/ Dæmons, SirinRelated objects
Stellar Sabers, Alchnos't 's sapphireRelated organizations
MoskovaRelated characters
Alioth, DubheRelated documents
Seeking for the Lost Northern Stars
by Geraldine Escriva
Meterial Plane vs Supernatural plane: tundra by Gege16
A very well-written and fascinating article! Great job. I've always loved stars, and write about creatures being born from stars in my own stories! :)
Thank you so much! I appreciate you like it!