#And NOW I'm researching about cardinals and popes

[celestemagnoliathewriter]

Catholic Worldbuilding and the Wizarding World - Headcanons and More

If you've read All That Remains, my Regulus-Black centric work, you'll know I've incorporated Catholicism into my fics since then. The inspiration to incorporate Catholicism came from both @artemisia-black's Lacrimosa and Fiat justitia and her world building in D&D and Pietas, and @green-and-grey-kenaz's And he Drank.

Some caveats before I go on:

These are just headcanons of mine and things I've put into my fics. They work with the world but you don't need to accept them as canon or canon-compliant. Nor am I asking you to do so. I'm just excited to have this list put together of what I've done and the research that went into it.

There are other religions and faiths in the wizarding world. As Britain became more multicultural and diverse, it meant the purebloods and wizarding population did too.

This list is specifically for certain old-school Catholic families, particularly ones like the Blacks.

Catholic HCs and world building in my works:

Old-world pureblood families were Catholic. As the Roman Empire spread, witches and wizards from other areas hopped into Britain and converted Muggles and purebloods alike from paganism to Christianity. Wizarding world Jesus was a wizard; the Resurrection can still hold up as a miracle because no magic can reverse death.

When Hogwarts was founded in about 1000 AD, a chapel was installed inside the school. In my Regulus Black-centric work, I have the chapel and its tabernacle being a personal gift from Pope John XV to Salazar Slytherin in honor of the new school being built. 

Magical Catholic Mass isn’t terribly different from Muggle Catholic Mass. The key difference is that since purebloods/wizarding society tends to be more old-school than Muggles, purebloods never bothered to implement the vernacular changes of Vatican II. They still celebrate Mass in Latin. 

The Pope is always aware of magical Catholics, not unlike the Prime Minister knowing about wizards. There are wizarding bishops and cardinals buried in the catacombs in the Vatican.

Magical Catholics have their own dioceses; they’re bigger, geographically speaking, because there’s a much smaller wizarding population than the general population. 

Pureblood Squibs are sent to monasteries or convents. 

I’ve created several locations like St. Mungo’s to accommodate various parts of wizarding society. St. Mungo was a real Britonnic saint, so all these saints below are also Anglo-Saxon/British and I’ve incorporated them into my worldbuilding, particularly in my current longfic, Supernova. Again, these are all my creations - not actual canon. 

There is a privately-funded pureblood hospital called St. Teilo’s. It’s where purebloods go to avoid being treated by Muggleborn Healers or associating with Muggleborns in general. St. Teilo’s bio page.

I created a day school for pureblood girls called St. Leoba’s. In the context of my fic, Supernova, it’s where a lot of pureblood girls go to school before they go to Hogwarts, whose parents aren’t keen to educate them themselves. St. Leoba’s bio page. 

There is a long-term care home called St. Hugh’s Home for Hopeless Cases. It’s a poorly funded Ministry facility for wizards with long-term illnesses and inmates from Azkaban who have been Kissed. St. Hugh of Lincoln’s bio page.

Purebloods worship at St. Aelred’s Cathedral. St. Aelred of Rievaulx was a real monastic whose abbey is now in ruins in Northumbria. I weave that into my stories by having Muggles see the abbey in ruins, but purebloods can see a proper cathedral and that’s where they have Mass. St. Aelred’s bio page. 

St. Aelred also has an extensive graveyard, complete with private mausoleums for individual families. The Blacks have one of the grandest mausoleums. 

The stained glass windows and art in St. Aelred’s move like photographs and portraits. The crucifix appears to be ‘living’ with blood shining on Christ’s wounds. Purebloods think it’s neat.  

The Statute of Secrecy and the creation of the Church of England were tied together. The CoE was founded in the early 1500s. The Statute of Secrecy went into effect in the late 1600s. The rise in persecution against witches and wizards, particularly from Muggles associating Catholic practices with witchcraft in general, was one of the reasons why the Statute went into effect. As a result, this is one of the other reasons why purebloods are so resentful towards Muggles and Muggleborns, as most of them are Anglicans.

Most pureblood families aren’t necessarily devout. Cultural Christianity/Catholicism is fairly common, but even when it’s cultural, it’s still very much a way for purebloods to wield power, influence, and control. 

Like many Catholics, old-school purebloods really like their relics and/or more ‘gory’ mementos. You may be aware that Catholics venerate (not worship, not adore, more like honoring) relics of dead saints, such as fragments of bone, skin, blood, etc. Given the Black family’s cool collection of blood and other unusual items, it makes sense to me that pureblood Catholics are fully on board with collecting pieces of dead bodies and having their own reliquaries at home. 

The splitting of one’s soul is an act of violence against the sacred. I wrote a meta on Horcruxes and Soul-Splitting; I imagine that the most zealous purebloods would find horcruxes to be outright offensive, not because of the murders involved, but because of the disintegration of the soul. I would also like to highlight this meta written by @artemisia-black and @ashesandhackles, the Importance of the Soul. 

#hp meta #hp headcanons #catholicism #catholic #catholicism in my fics #the black family #st teilo #st aelred #st leoba #st hugh of lincoln

[ghosting-medium]

・❥・ Way of the Fellowship ˗ˏˋ꒰ 🧭 ꒱

Links:

Cardinals:

✦ North

✦ East

✦ South

✦ West

Intercardinal:

✦ Northeast

✦ Northwest

✦ Southeast

✦ Southwest

Lesser Entities:

✦ Pope - Diishah

✦ Cardinals (Note: Not the Deities, but the Entities that help) Atria & Ryū

✦ Archbishops - Fleur, Iris/Asterid, Damien

✦ Bishops - Hilda, Kalin, Onyx, Ravette

✦ Priests - St. John (not the actual Saint John he’s different), Adriene, Anala, Kempley, St.Matthew (once again not the actual Saint Matthew)

The Way of the Fellowship is a conpantheon, found by @kaisleaves, @moonlight1237, and Kalmi. In my notes a conpantheon is a new and modern term stemming from the words "constructed" and "pantheon". Con- being the prefix meaning that it means together (from the wondrous and amazing, Kalmi).

I find that there are many different beliefs, and theories surrounding conpantheons. Some think it's unknown deities being discovered, deities who were known but never recorded, some are entirely built my the practitioner. It's not like an original character though, it requires a lot of thought, boundaries, patience, and energy.

Always double, nay, triple check information. Do research on some of your findings, maybe the name has come up before in history. Or the name possible has an origin meaning, giving more insight to the entity. Always cleanse, ward, and protect before reaching out to an entity!

Background on the Fellowship:

My two other partners in this, helped tremendously and I want to note that they helped with every step of the way. All credit goes to all three of us, and I'm insanely proud of each of us.

Questions & Answers:

Firstly, we started asking questions about the Cardinals origins. Were they self-constructed, were they always an energy in the Universe that went undocumented? Were they deities in other mythology, religions but weren't documented heavily or even at all? Were they once documented, but their information got mistaken with other deities? Truly who are you, and where did you come from? Were they previously dormant and are now "awake"? So many questions swiped around, and we got answers individually from each entity.

North: "We were always energy in the universe, most nature entities are. However, the lower entities of this pantheon are more created/shaped by you three (Kalmi, Moon, and I). Some of us might have ties to other mythology, and religion, but we are highly undocumented until you three came along. So, you could say we were sleeping, and now are being found. The more accurate description would be that we were energy in the Universe already, but now we are fully formed and documented with loose ties in other religions"

South: "Just as North said, however most sun/fire entities have more documentation that others. Lunar deities might have the same level of documentation in comparison. You might be able to find information on me elsewhere but nothing as detailed or accurate as you all would be doing."

East: "I am the most related to Mother Earth in a sense, more of the earth element. As you described a warmer breeze, warm chocolate chip, very relaxing vibe. My documentation will mainly come from the work you all are doing now."

West: "I was always an energy in this world, no documentation. I would describe myself as an entity that was sleeping and is now being found."

Secondly, how are the lesser entities related to the major deities in this pantheon?

I just want to note the term lesser, and lower entities are a title that they all are comfortable with. It does mean that they aren't on the same playing field as the Cardinal, the actual deities of the Fellowship. The lesser entities are helpers that assist certain deities/energies by spiritual or mundane means. Perhaps to be invoked or evoked by a practitioner/believer when the practitioner is wanting to assist a deity. Together they all make a team. The lesser entities assist in temple cleanings within the spiritual realm, mundane and spiritual teachings, and assisting followers of the deities. They can be interacted with, but worshipping of the lesser entities is either not common, or not accepted.

Can humans be priests/have positions to assist The Way of the Fellowship, or can only the divine do this?

The World, and King of Swords as confirmation. Yes, humans may assist The Way of the Fellowship and have positions, but they may not be listed amongst the divine.

Can humans be spoused to the deities?

Knight of Cups, Justice, and 9 of Cups as confirmation. Yes, if the offer is given and if the offer is accepted mutually and not forced. However, it should be debated heavily before accepting.

Can humans be spoused to the lesser entities?

Knight of Cups, 10 of Swords, and Death. The offer is more rare than if it were a deity, but, once again if the offer is given then it should be considered. Spousing a lesser entity within The Way of the Fellowship does promise trials of transformation and a lot of work. In other words, these trials aren't optional.

Prayer Sign Offs:

Can either say you or me depending on the circumstance

May the path guide your/my way

May the breeze guide you/me

Let the compass guide you [direction either Cardinal, or Sub-Cardinal, or home]; eg.; Let's say you were in East's residence you would either say "Let the compass guide you East" or, "Let the compass guide you home".

Logo/Compass Rose:

Compass Rose by Nick Matej

#conpantheon #way of the fellowship #north #south #east #west #northeast #northwest #southeast #southwest #lesser entities #pope #cardinals #archbishops #bishops #priests #witchcraft #witchy #directional entities #deity #deity worship #entity

[alphawave-writes]

Welp, I’ve been converted. I was GOING to write a kinky Sigrold smut fic, but I guess I’m gonna spend the next two hours making a priest!AU kinky Sigrold smut fic. 

Expect it in the next hour or so.

#ONE PIECE OF FANART #ONE! By my dear friend Vainsh #And NOW I'm researching about cardinals and popes #It's gonna be Cardinal!Siebren and Pope!Harold btw #And uhhh Sigma's the bottom in this one #You guys will like this one I hope XD

[gasolineghuleh]

Hello there! First I'd like to say that I love your blog very much and that you're the sweetest person! Thank you for being so welcoming and so kind with everyone ❤️ I'm new to the Ghost family, and I really (really) need to ask this: is Ghost a satanic band? I've seen some rumors, I've done some research and I've seen answers of all kinds lol but mostly of people saying that they're not... What are your thoughts about this? Hope you have a good week! ✨

Hahahahaaa. Okay. This is a deep subject to cover, let me see how I can do.

Yes and no. Their lyrics are very Satanic in meaning, and the undertones are there. Some more heavily than others. Year Zero, for example. He Is is also basically a gospel song for Lucifer (Morning Star, Guiding Light, beast with many names, etc). Many of the lyrics used are double meanings and are meant to refer to Sathanas/Lucifer. So you are correct in assuming that they are a Satanic band, yes. However it’s not done in a dark or negative way. I think of it as a Christian rock band- are they preaching a message? Hell yes. Are they actively negative towards those who don’t follow the same message or ideology? No. So how about some of the other lyrics, then? Deus in Absentia has a choir singing out to their “absent” God at the end of it, meant to symbolize the end of theistic civilization. Prime Mover is calling for the antichrist born of the Olde One. Con Clavi Con Dio is a summoning call to tell Lucifer that “we are here”. It’s a worship song, just like He Is. 

Now let’s talk about imagery. Their main symbol, the grucifix, is meant to resemble an upside down cross. Usually a Satanic symbol, yeah? I’m not going to get into what it really means- all we need to know is what people think it means for our purposes here. Everything with Ghost’s imagery is meant to evoke this Satanic feeling. The merch, the album covers, the clothing styles on stage, the incense, everything. Their stage set up closely resembles a Catholic church, flipped on it’s head. Even Papa is meant to evoke the feeling of a Pope, again, flipped on it’s head. Now we have the Cardinal, clad in red, but distinctly different, right?

So while the lyrical influence is there, and the imagery is certainly there, it’s not a clear cut answer. It’s a yes and no. Yes, they’re Satanic. Are they serious about it? Who knows. Is it a parody? Yes, it’s all in good fun. Is Tobias himself a Satanist? He’s spoken about it a few times. Is everyone who listens to Ghost a Satanist? No, absolutely not. I myself am a Luciferian (think Satanism’s older brother) but many of my friends are actually Christian and enjoy Ghost. 

This got long winded. TLDR, Yes and No. Any interpretation, I think, is okay at this point in time. They’re telling a story, and they’re singing their own gospel. Whether you choose to follow or not is what makes them a Satanic band. 

#Anonymous