Skip to content
The Well of Daliath
Menu
Menu

Solar Purity

Posted on September 6, 2023

Light does not shine through grime and pollution – that goes a long way towards understanding most Solar cultist’s obsession with purity. The ideal is to let your (inner) Light shine, and so mixing yourself with the lesser elements is going to to require ritual purification.

So Dayzatar is the purest and most righteous of deities – he removed himself from even the Sky Dome to remain pure. Nothing can touch or pollute him. This means Dayzatar does not engage with the rest of the world. He IS the Light Rune, Fire without Heat. Dayzatar may not be worshiped by the impure.

Pole Star and Ourania may approach Dayzatar when purified but if they have engaged with the world they must engage in ritual purification.

Yelm is noble and virtuous, but must engage in the world to carry out his duties and responsibilities. He suffers for this – unlike Dayzatar, Yelm has experienced Death, suffers each night in the Underworld. Yelmites must ritually cleanse themselves before participating in worship ceremony. He is the Fire Rune, with both Heat and Light.

Yelmalio is Light in the World – a curious state of purity and pollution. He is Light, but the Last Light – which means he must by necessity engage in activities beneath even Yelm. For Yelmalio to approach Yelm or Dayzatar requires purification.

Lodril is the Heat Below – and by nature he is polluted. In fact, he is the Heat Rune, Fire without Light. Lodril is always ritually impure – and so his worshipers do not need to be purified to worship him.

I am not sure guilt falls into this. It is ritual purity that matters. So I wear the loincloth of mortality to cover my personal matters and protect my soul from chaffing. I wear my sandals of protection to keep the pure from touching the impure. I wear my vestments of disclosure so that people can see what everyone should see. This is among the ways I maintain my purity.

If I become polluted – perhaps I walk barefooted upon the earth, I get soiled by dirt, blood, excrement, etc, I engage in sex, etc. – I must ritually wash, recite some hymns, and so on before I can worship Yelm. But once purified, all is fine.

Ritual purity is a big deal in many nomadic societies, for example bedouin society.

In the Solar view of the world, everyone has a place for them assigned by Yelm. It may take a while to figure that out, but there is something you are meant for that is established outside of you.

Core to the Solar world-view is that Yelm assigned EVERYTHING a name and task. Mortal man exists to praise the gods and serve them. Yelm appointed one of his sons to rule the lower world (including humanity) as the emperor. Humans should try to remain pure and those who can are favoured by the gods. But many cannot, and those that cannot work the fields, dig the ditches, fight as footmen, fish the rivers, and all that kinds of stuff. And that’s ok. Those from ancient families from the core of the Yelm cult, pure people from lesser families can follow other celestial gods. The gods are at the center of everything.

Core to the Malkioni world-view is that logic and reason. concludes that human societies are all organized into classes or castes – judge, priest, soldier, and worker. Some suggest that there is a philosopher ruler/champion who combines all of these things. The gods didn’t decree this – human reasoning does. Rightness means living in accordance with logic and reason – HUMAN logic and reasoning. Mortal humans are the measure of everything, not the gods or spirits.

Jeff Richard

Next
Previous
Dayzatar, Lodril, Ourania, Pole Star, Yelm, Yelmalio

Sections

  • Search Tips
  • Current RuneQuest Glorantha Publications
  • RuneQuest Glorantha Corrections and Q&A
  • Catalogue
  • References for Glorantha
    • Gloranthan Canon
  • Gloranthan Documents
  • RPG Systems & Versions
  • Gallery
  • Role-playing in Glorantha
  • About This Site
  • Get involved!

Latest Posts

  • Hendrikiland or “South Sartar”

    There are about 175000 humans in the lands between the …
  • The Greatway

    Yesterday we were up around the Greatway, looking at the …
  • History of Orlanthi Cities

    If we think about the history of the Orlanthi, their …
  • Rural Sartar / Urban Sartar

    Thanks to King of Dragon Pass and the old HW …
  • Continuity with the Golden Age

    Several Gloranthan cultures claim continuity with the Golden Age – …
  • Kralorela and the Eastern Dynasty of Light

    Almost a third of the humans of Genertela reside in …
  • New to RuneQuest and Glorantha?

    If you are coming new to RuneQuest and Glorantha with …
  • New Orlanthi Adults

    Traditionally, new adults in Orlanthi cultures go through a period …
  • Watch your Red Moon Phase!

    A key thing to playing a Lunar character is remembering …

Links

  • Chaosium
  • Glorantha on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest on BRP Central
  • RuneQuest Glorantha on MeWe
  • Glorantha Wiki on Fandom
  • Prince of Sartar Webcomic
  • Glorantha G+ Archives on Tapatalk
  • Search mailing list archive

Latest from BRP Central

  • Healing trance use-case ...?
  • Runequest adventures & copyright
  • “Army of Duckness” Miniatures Kickstarter!
  • Seshnela Questions
  • Associated cults questions
  • Axe Hall
  • Hrestoli in Tanisor
  • Solar worldview of Time
  • Caprati & Du Tumerine
  • Interracial Genetic Structure

Popular Tags

Avalon Hill Boldhome (large city) Chaosium Cult demographics Cults of Runequest (preview) Ernalda Esrolia (homeland) Fonritian pantheon FR G+ post Greg Stafford Guide to Glorantha (preview) Humakt Issaries Jar-eel Kralorelan pantheon Lhankor Mhy Lunar Empire Lunar Pantheon Magazine Malkioni pantheon Map Maps Michael O’Brien Mongoose Nochet (metropolis) Nomad Gods Orlanth Orlanthi pantheon Photo reference Population demographics Prax (homeland) Praxian pantheon RQ3 RQG Sandy Petersen Sartar (homeland) Spirit Cult Subcult Tales of the Reaching Moon Troll Pantheon Yelm Yelmalio Yelm Pantheon Youtube

Recently added or updated

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult – P

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult

  • Honor and Combat

  • Orlanth art preview for the Cults of Glorantha

  • Hendrikiland or “South Sartar”

  • Dragons Past #1 – Gloranthan Military Experience (1983)

  • CHA4034 Red Book of Magic – Chapter 02 Rune Magic Spells Q&A (A-M)

  • CHA4032 RuneQuest Glorantha Bestiary – Q&A

  • CHA4034 Red Book of Magic – Chapter 02 Rune Magic Spells Q&A (N-Z)

  • The Greatway

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult – N

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult – O

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult – M

  • CHA4028 RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha – Chapter 18 Between Adventures Q&A

  • CHA4028 RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha – Chapter 12 Rune Cults Q&A

  • CHA4036 RuneQuest Weapons and Equipment Q&A

  • CHA4039 The Smoking Ruin and other Stories – Q&A

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult – G

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult – F

  • Rune Magic by Cult and Associate Cult – L

©2023 The Well of Daliath | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme