A Novice’s Catechism Regarding Luna’s Many Faces by Sister Agatha de Emmoi. Published by the Royal University at Vermillion Press, 1249 ME.
Queen Luna is the greatest of all goddesses, and second in power only to her husband King Helios among all the hosts of heaven. However, much confusion has arisen from the fact that She is a Goddess with many faces. This confusion has since led many sisters into discordance with the church, and even, on rare occasions, into outright heresy.
Each aspect of the Lady Luna is but one piece of a larger nature, and no woman may understand the Goddess by studying only a single face. Each face also teaches us truths about both divine and human natures. Although many worshipers chose to declare their allegiance to one aspect or another, no one may understand the Goddess’ true nature without studying each of Her faces. This text aims to enlighten our youngest sisters into the truths found in the scriptures about each of Luna’s faces, so that they may not be led astray.
The first aspect we shall examine is Luna the Maiden, represented by the waxing crescent moon. Luna the Maiden is a trickster, and a stumbling block for the proud. She protects lovers and confounds authorities. When society becomes calcified, She shakes it free. In the scriptures Luna the Maiden appears during times of change or revolution, and even helps women to escape their husbands.
Many theologists find her to be the most troublesome of all Luna’s aspects to explain. Her behavior in the scriptures appears almost unconscionable to many, but the truth is very simple. She teaches us that no man or woman, no mortal king or queen, is greater than the gods. No mortal law may circumvent or overwrite divine law.
If a structure is so feeble that it cannot resist Her challenge, then it does not deserve to endure and her meddling will bring it down. She is a force for revolution only to enable a new and stronger form of order to rise up and take the place of a decaying source of authority that no longer has the strength to enforce its will.
The sign of Luna the Maiden can also be represented as a waning crescent moon. This inverted sign is used under regular circumstances by convents dedicated to the treatment and care of those suffering from senility.
The waning crescent is also worn by certain mature priestesses who overindulge themselves in communion with their younger sisters, and wish to show their openness to heterodox practices in religion. These sisters may be misguided, but should not be treated as heretics, which risks making them into martyrs among their followers. Instead, they should be guided gently back into proper religious practice so that they may bring their younger sisters with them.
The second aspect we shall examine is Luna the Mother, represented by the full moon. Because Luna the Mother is the only aspect which shows Her whole face many believe that She is the most powerful, but the scriptures tell us that no aspect of Luna is greater than any other. Luna the Mother is the patron of forgiveness, compassion, kindness, and familial love. In her words given to us through the scriptures, She teaches us that no one is beyond hope of redemption; that all mortals are children of the gods, and each of us is deserving of love.
In the scriptures, Mother Luna appears as a protector of the weak and helpless. When Prince Marcus of the Golden Legion was left to die of exposure as a babe, it was Luna Herself who appeared to nurse the baby at Her breast until he could be found. Those who even touched Her cloak as She passed would be healed of any illness. She also acts as a teacher, both through Her words handed to us by the scriptures, and through Her prophets whom She inspires.
More priestesses in sheer numbers chose to associate themselves with Luna the Mother then to any other aspect of the Goddess. They act as midwives, pediatricians, teachers, and perform acts of charity for the sick and impoverished. Just as Luna the Mother shines the brightest, they are the face we present most often to outsiders. However, adherents should not be confused into believing that greater prominence is any indication of greater wisdom.
The third aspect we shall examine is Luna the Matron, represented by the waning half-moon. Luna the Matron is the source of wisdom and patron of female authority. She is the strictest of Luna’s aspects, and only women of noble blood are permitted to officiate rituals in Her name by the laws laid down in the scriptures.
She demands that daughters obey their mothers, and enforces the natural social hierarchy among women the way Her husband does among men. In the scriptures She is most prominent as the avenger of adultery. Many of her followers emulate Her by exposing and shaming women or catamites guilty of sexual impropriety with married men. These sisters provide a vital service protecting the delicate tapestry of our moral society.
Priestesses associated with Luna the Matron tend to be older and fulfill most of the administrative roles within the church. It is not at all unusual for a sister who had dedicated herself to another of Luna’s faces to feel the draw of the Matron as they grow older. Just as the moon inexorably begins to change, it’s a natural extension of a sister’s growing wisdom for such a change to occur within her when she is ready to take her place among those of us in the highest ranks of the church.
Much has been made of the so called ‘half-nuns’. Firebrands never cease their agitations claiming that certain priestesses in elevated places take too much interest in worldly affairs. Some even dare to accuse the pontifex herself of impropriety.
These accusations are totally without merit. The church is dedicated only to the spiritual benefaction of its worshipers. Any assertations to the contrary are fundamentally opposed to our holy mission and must be exposed as the lies they are. However, that is a concern for those of us more advanced in our learning of theology. Novices would do well to avoid considering such weighty matters while still so young in their faith that they might be led unknowingly into heresy.
The sign of Luna the Matron may also be represented as a waxing half-moon without heresy, although the practice is uncommon. The waxing half-moon is worn to signal adherence to a fundamentalist sect of Lunar worship which melds the conservatism of old age with the vigor of youth. Because of their association with certain reactionary political groups the sign of the waxing half-moon is often viewed with unwarranted suspicion by those who do not share their beliefs. Although novices would do well to learn from their zealousness in following Queen Luna.
These have been the three major aspects of Queen Luna, but she also rarely shows herself through two minor aspects.
The first of these minor aspects we shall examine is Luna the Wanderer. The Wanderer is unique in that She shows Herself in daylight. In life, the moon may in fact appear during the day showing any of her faces, but when represented in art the Wanderer is always depicted as a waxing gibbous moon.
Luna the Wanderer is most well known as a sponsor of women who must interact with the world of men, but She also acts as a sponsor for men who must take on a feminine role. For instance, Luna the Wanderer may offer her protection both to a noble lady who must act as regent in the absence of her husband. She may also do the same for a father who must care for a child in the absence of its mother.
In the scriptures, Luna the Wanderer shows Herself to mortals as a male traveler, even challenging those She meets to match Her in feats of strength. She reveals Her truly divine nature only to the devout.
The sign of Luna the Wanderer may also be represented as a waning gibbous moon without heresy, but such a sign should never be worn by a woman. Although few brothers follow our faith, it is by this sign that a male may proclaim his allegiance to the Queen of Gods.
Although the practice is not religious, catamites who wear the clothes of women often wear the sign of the waning gibbous moon as a discrete advertisement of their true nature. As there is no genuine theological justification for the practice, we shall not dwell on it further.
The final aspect we shall examine is Luna the Widow, represented by a new moon. Luna the Widow oversees the process of transition that exists between death and birth which mortals may never witness.
She is the most mysterious of all Luna’s aspects and many theologians have commented on the similarities between Luna the Widow and the Veiled One. While the two are often found in company with one another, Luna the Widow oversees death within the context of the circle of life. The Veiled One is a goddess of universal eternal entropy with a greater purview then the simple cessation of life’s pulse.
According to the scriptures, it is Luna the Widow who shall entomb the gods themselves in the moment of Gotterdammerung, after the death of the sun itself. Then after the death of all other life She will Herself be entombed by the Veiled One and that shall be the end of the universe.
Few sisters devote themselves to the Widow, but those who do are often studious with a noticeably mystic bent. Novices would be well advised to treat them with respect.
And leave them alone.
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