The Mythopoet's Manual

Writing Multi-Cultural Fictional Settings
1st Draft, including many author's notes to self

Loren J. Miller

Copyright © 1993-1998. All rights reserved.

Contents

• Introduction
  • Welcome
    • Some Other Sites
  • MythoPoet
• Mentality of Religion
  • The Realm of the Sacred
    • Sacred Time
      • Mythtime
      • Festivals
    • Sacred Space
      • The Otherworld
        • The Three-fold Otherworld
      • Holy Sites: Shrines and Temples
  • Worship
    • Sacred Things and Worship
      • Ancestors, the Dead
      • Sacred People
      • Sacred Objects
      • Monsters
      • Deities
    • Manner of Worship
      • Appeasement
      • Role Models
      • Ancestor Worship
      • Worshipping the Gods
• Culture
  • Subsistence Patterns
    • Foraging
      • Walking Foraging
      • Mounted Foraging
      • Aquatic Foraging
        • Fishing
      • Religious Tendencies of Foragers
      • History of Foraging
    • Horticulture
      • Slash and Burn Horticulture
      • Dry Land Horticulture
      • Religious Tendencies of Horticulturalists
      • History of Horticulture
        • Domesticated Animals
        • Domesticated Plants
      • Horticulture and Matriarchy
    • Herding
      • Transhumance
      • Pastoral Nomadism
      • Religious Tendencies of Herders
    • Agriculture
      • Large Scale Societies
      • Peasant Agriculture
      • Plantation Agriculture
      • Mechanized Agriculture
      • Religious Tendencies of Agriculturalists
    • City Life
      • Religious Tendencies of City Dwellers
      • Civilization
  • Economics
    • Reciprocal
    • Redistributive
    • Market
    • Commerce
  • Kinship
  • Control Structures
    • Band
    • Tribe
    • Chieftain
    • State
  • How Would this Work with Dwarves?
    • Dwarven Foragers
    • Dwarven Horticulturalists
    • Dwarven Herders
    • Dwarven Agriculturalists
    • Dwarven City Dwellers
• Sacred Narrative
  • Definitions
    • Myth
      • A Sacred Narrative
      • Involving Divinities and Other Sacred Beings
      • Set in a Primordial Time.
    • Legend
    • Folktale
  • Sacred Patterns
    • Cosmic Cycle
      • The Emptiness
      • The Creator
      • CreationCreation
      • Judgment and Cataclysm
    • Cycle of Nations
      • Imprisonment and Escape
      • Borders of the World
      • Empire, Degeneration, and Extinction
    • Heroic Cycle
      • Separation
        • Supernatural or Mysterious Origin
        • Portents at Birth
        • Perils Menace Infancy
        • Refusal of the Call
        • Supernatural Aid
        • The Crossing of the First Threshold
        • The Passage Into Darkness
      • Initiation
        • Distant Wandering
        • The Road of Trials
        • The Meeting with the Goddess
        • Woman as the Temptress
        • Atonement with the Father
        • Apotheosis
        • The Ultimate Boon
      • Return
        • Refusal of the Return
        • The Magic Flight
        • Rescue From Without
        • Crossing the Return Threshold
        • Magical Contest
        • Trial or Persecution
        • Last Scene
        • Violent or Mysterious Death
        • Resurrection or Ascension
  • Examples
    • The Maori Myth of the World's Creation
    • The Birth of Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec War God
  • Mundane and Sacred Storytelling
  • The Mythopoet's Struggle
  • Mythic Questing
    • Ritual
    • Bold Action in the Mythic Realm
    • Dangers of the Mythic Quest
• Divinities
  • Choices to Make
    • The One and the Many
    • Immanent or Transcendental
    • Manifest forms
      • Habitat God
      • Elemental God
      • Anthropomorphic God
      • Gods of Emotion
      • Ancestors
      • Abstract Gods
    • Divine Interrelations
      • Ancestor Worship
      • Pantheism
      • Polytheism
      • Henotheism
      • Dualism
      • Monotheism
      • Duotheism
      • Atheism
        • Religion Without Gods
      • Philosophy
      • Science
      • The Divine Self
    • Compartmentalized Religion
• Worship
  • Righteous Life
    • Belief Systems
    • Alignments
    • Divine Archetypes
      • Greek Example
  • Ritual
    • Purpose
      • Clean
      • Talk
      • Feed
    • Types of Rituals
      • Complexity
    • Personal vs. Domestic vs. Corporate
      • Morality
      • Rites of Passage
      • Unity and Separation
    • Ritual Rich and Poor
    • A Warning About Rituals
    • Sample Rituals
      • Purification Rituals
      • Sacrifice
        • Propitiation
        • Foundation Sacrifice
        • Votive Sacrifices
        • Dedication or Commencement Sacrifices
        • Closing or Separation Sacrifices
        • Separation Sacrifice
        • Royal Horse Sacrifice
      • Ecstatic Rituals
      • Divination
      • Seasonal Rituals
        • New Year Ritual
        • Harvest Ritual
        • Spring Fertility Ritual
      • Spoken Rituals
        • Bless
        • Curse
        • Oath
        • Prayer
      • Divine Ecstasy
        • Soma Sacrifice
      • Shamanic Rituals
        • Shamanic Journey
        • Shamanic Healing
        • Psychopomp, Escort of Dead Souls
      • Possession
        • Exorcism
        • Necromancy
      • Initiation Rites
        • Birth
        • Male Puberty
        • Female Puberty
        • Marriage
        • Shamanic Initiation
      • Funerary Rituals
        • Burial or Inhumation
      • Human Sacrifice
        • Sacred Kingship
        • Companion for the Dead
        • Appeasement
        • Abandonment of Children
        • Foundation Sacrifice
        • Punishment
        • War
        • Bloodsports
        • Cannibalism
      • Community Rituals
        • Feast
        • Parade or Procession
        • Circular Dance
• Divine Things
  • Artifacts
    • Items of Divine Manufacture
    • Icons
    • Relics
    • Ritual Objects
  • Architecture
    • Cosmology and Religious Architecture
    • Home
    • Temple
    • Shrine
    • Regional Design, the Town Center
• Religious People
  • Religious Specialists
    • Titles
      • Abbess
      • Abbot
      • Bishop
      • Caliph
      • Cardinal
      • Cleric
      • Diviner
      • Doctor
      • Father
      • Hermit
      • Hero
      • Imam
      • Magi
      • Master
      • Minister
      • Monk
      • Mother
      • Mystic
      • Pope
      • Preacher
      • Priest
      • Prophet
      • Sacred Ruler
      • Saint
      • Seer
      • Shaman
      • Witch
      • Wizard
    • The Religious Hierarchy
      • Place of a Kiva Men's Society in the Zuni Year End Ritual
      • Nunnery Example
      • Charitable Order Example
      • Bureaucratic Hierarchy Example
  • Religious Believers
    • Everyday Obligations
      • Worship
      • Economic Contribution
      • Dedicating Children
    • Extra Effort
      • Pilgrimage
      • Holy War
      • Temporary Religious Specialist
      • Lay Organizations
• Religion and Campaign Creation
  • Introduction to the Sheets
  • Brainstorming
  • Filling In The Religion Character Sheet
    • Basics
      • Religion Name
      • Physical Distinctions
      • Cultural Pattern
        • Hunter Gatherer (Habitat)
        • Agricultural (Hostile Nature)
        • Pastoral Nomad (Tribal Patron)
        • City Dweller (Luck)
      • Symbols
    • Sacred Stories
      • Origin of the World
      • Origin of the People
      • Heroic Legend
    • Divinity
      • Theology
      • Miracles
      • Game Attributes for Divine Figures
    • Ritual
      • Types of Ritual
    • Artifacts
      • Heroic Relics
      • Ritual Objects
      • Icons
      • Weapons
    • Holy Sites
      • Typical Location of a Place of Worship
      • Frequency of Places of Worship
      • Temple Architecture
      • The Central Temple, the Holy of Holies
    • Organizational Details
      • The Organizational Grid
      • Divinity
      • High Leader
      • High Council
      • Priesthood
      • Rows of the Organizational Matrix: Agents and Subgroups
    • Random Crap to be Moved Elsewhere
      • Structure or Hierarchy
  • The Culture Sheet
    • Basics
      • A Note on Inventing Region Names
    • Subsistence, Social Control, and Economics
    • Roles
    • Kinship
      • Marriage
      • Residence
    • Cultural Personality
    • Belief Systems
    • Attitudes
    • Organizational Matrix
      • Band
      • Tribe
      • Chieftain
      • State
  • Regions and Settings
  • Campaign World
    • Filling in Campaign Details
      • Brief Description
      • Themes
      • Inspirational Reading
      • Mood
      • Continuity
      • Key Words
    • Cosmology
      • Day Sky
      • Night Sky
      • Day Length
      • Year Length
      • Cosmic Neighborhood
    • Population
      • Race
      • Language
      • Script
    • Magic
      • Magic Frequency
      • Magic Magnitude
    • Technology
      • Technology Frequency
      • Technology Magnitude
    • Religion
      • Divine Power Frequency
      • Divine Power Magnitude
    • Psionics
      • Psionic Power Frequency
      • Psionic Power Magnitude
    • Character Creation Guidelines
      • Rule System
      • House Rules
      • Recommended
      • Discouraged
      • Equipment