Deimar
Deimar is the goddess of the earth, precious metals, farmers, harvest, abundance and prosperity, gratitude, and hard work. She is the mother goddess of the pantheon and is married to Solstefar. She is known for being kind, matronly, and doting, but is sometimes slow or late for things. She made the oreads and cyclops. She is revered by farmers, miners, and underground races. The Harvest Festival is her celebration. The month of Deidith is named for her.
Her Temples
The temples of Deimar are known for their stone and earthen building materials. Some have sections (never the entire structure) made with sod, which often has foilage growing out of it. Her temples often (though not always) have a circular structure. They always have at least one section (or multiple) with a high-pitched or high-domed roof. This high-roofed section will be a single, large, empty room with a large summoning circle engraved in the floor for rituals.
Temple of Deimar
Temple of Deimar
Temple of Deimar
Temple of Deimar
This is an AI Generated Image.
Worship
Worship of Deimar is prevalent among farmers especially those in Gattenwood, northern and central Croulia, and northern and central Nortram. She is also worshipped by miners, who perform offerings to assist them in finding veins or desired materials.
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Most groups do not worship Deimar as their primary goddess. Worship of Deimar mostly occurs during harvest seasons and with other farming rituals.
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Temples to Deimar typically feature a prominent worship floor made of dirt. This worship floor is where offerings are poured out, and where sacred soil if unearthed for anointings. These earthen floors are regularly kept by sacred attendants who keep the floor flat and free of any weeds or rocks. They will also replace the top soil every so often (depending on how busy the temple is), with fresh dirt that has been blessed by the High Priest/Priestess. Worshippers will bring alcohol, grain, or flour to pour out onto the sacred ground for the various rituals. There is also an altar where farmers will dedicate the first fruits of their field (or their first bushel of their harvest (whatever that may be) to the goddess. These offerings are then blessed and given to the temple for food for the priests/priestesses/attendants.
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At home, devotees will worship Deimar by pouring out alcohol or flour/grain on the ground before prayer. These prayers will be for blessings or thanks depending on the season. Worshippers are required to make prayers before they start their plowing for the season, before they start harvest, and after the harvest is finished. Worshippers may pray more frequently depending on their level of devotion/superstition.
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Sacred
Deimar holds certain practices and attributes as sacred to her, and devotees of Deimar, therefore, hold these things sacred as well.
1. Hard Work: It is considered the sacred duty of followers of Deimar to engage consistently in work. Work is considered virtuous, and even those blessed with abundance and wealth are expected to continue to work to increase that abundance or to help others. Living off of another's labor is looked upon by the goddess with disdain.
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2. Patience: Deimar values patience. It is believed that those who continue to work hard and are patient will impress the goddess, and she will bless them with abundance. Those who are impatient will incur her displeasure, causing them to receive a smaller reward than they would have otherwise.
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3. Gratitude: Gratitude is a paramount virtue to Deimar. She demands that people express gratitude for those who help them. This is true for anyone who bestows upon someone a gift or opportunity, but it is especially true for divine favors. Those that fail to express thanks to the gods/goddesses for favor will incur Deimar's wrath. Any farmers who fail to perform the ritual for gratitude after harvest will be cursed with barren soil the following year.
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4. Modesty: Deimar values modesty in behavior, dress and action. Deimar is by far the least self-aggrandizing out of all the pantheon. She expects her devotees to behave in like-manner, avoiding braggadocio, dressing a in neat and comely manner without ostentatiousness, and refraining from public disturbances.​
Blasphemy
Deimar holds certain practices as blasphemous to her, and devotees of Deimar, therefore, hold these things as blasphemous as well.
1. Harm to benefactors: As gratitude is a prized virtue of Deimar, the act of harming a benefactor is considered blasphemous to the goddess. This is especially true for those that have long-term help from their benefactors, and for those who feign need as a pretext to lure in benefactors and harm or steal from them. Those that engage in these practices will have rocks and/or boulders pelting them as they journey to the land of the dead. The size and hardness of the rocks will be dependent on the number of betrayals, or the level of those betrayals.
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2. Marital Infidelity: As the mother goddess to the pantheon, and wife to the god Solstefar, Deimar prizes marital fidelity. Marital infidelity is a blasphemous to her. This applies whether or not the spouses are okay or complicit in the marital infidelity, as open marriages are also blasphemous to her. Those who are guilty of infidelity are forbidden to enter her temples without an absolution ceremony. Those that do, will have the sacred soil in her temples slowly suck them in. They must be pulled out and carried out by others to exit her temples. They may still perform ceremonies external to her temples to fulfill their obligations to the goddess but are forbidden from entering her temples.
It is to be noted that individuals who are involved in secret infidelity may perform an absolution ceremony secretly before they are required to enter. They often will return to their infidelity afterwards, requiring additional absolution ceremonies. If a priest/priestess recognizes what an individual is doing, and suspects they are not sincere in their desires for absolution, may decline performing the ceremony.
It is also to be noted, that since most people are not devotees to Deimar, and only do ceremonies external to the temple as required for harvest and planting seasons, temples to Deimar are few in comparison to other deities. This, coupled with ability for cheaters to receive absolution before entering the temple, makes this an uncommon method for ascertaining adulterers.
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3. Contaminating Soil: As goddess of earth and farming, it is blasphemous to Deimar when people purposefully destroy farmland's growing potential through practices like salting the earth and pouring other minerals/contaminants that render the earth incapable of growing crops. Those who do this practice, whether through intention or neglect, will have their feet weighed down when they journey to the land of the dead after death. In order to receive absolution, the individual must restore the land back to its former capabilities and perform an absolution ceremony. This blasphemy does not apply to lands that are already barren and incapable of farming.​
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Rituals
Deimar has five major sacred rituals: The Consecration, The Ceremony of Thanks, First-Fruits Ceremony, Marriage, and Burial. The Ceremony of Thanks is obligatory for all farmers, regardless of whether or not they are a devotee of Deimar.
1. The Consecration: This ceremony is performed when the soil is ready to be plowed, or when the crop is ready to be harvested. Some perform it on both occasions. It is performed over the field/fields in question. The farmer or a member of the family/staff will pour a cup of alcohol over the soil and consecrate the ground to the goddess in prayer. Then they ask that she bless them with a bountiful harvest.
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2. Ceremony of Thanks: This ceremony is performed when the crop is ready to be harvested. It is performed over the field/fields in question. The farmer or a member of the family/staff will pour a cup of alcohol over the soil and spill a handful of grain/flour on the soil. They thank the goddess for blessing the soil with abundance. and then thank her for blessing them with their abundant crop. This ceremony is required whether the crop is plentiful or meager. If it is meager, they can remove the adjectives expressing abundance, but must still thank the goddess for what they were able to yield. If no crop at all was able to be harvested, they must still perform the ceremony but may leave out the grain/flour pouring and the part about receiving a crop.
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3. First-Fruits Ceremony: It is customary for farmers who are devotees of Deimar to bring in their first basket of harvest to the temple for Deimar. Farmers may bring in the first of their harvest in general, or the first of each type of crop harvested. They then perform a ceremony, where they walk across Deimar's sacred soil and then place the basket on the altar. The priest/priestess addresses the devotee, asking what their purpose is in coming before the altar to Deimar. They speak in return that they have come to bring an offering. The priest/priestess asks what offering they are brining, and the devotee says they are bringing the first-fruits of their labor and the start of the bounteous harvest that Deimar has given them. The priest/priestess then accepts the offering and blesses them to continue to have a bounteous harvest.
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4. Marriage: During the marriage ceremony, the couple comes to the door of the temple for Deimar. The priest/priestess greets them at the door and asks them what their purpose in coming is. The couple replies that their purpose in coming is to get married. The couple then is brought before the sacred soil in front of the altar. The priest/priestess reads the story of the marriage between Solstefar and Deimar, and the children they had together. Then the priest/priestess says that marriage is a good thing, brought about by the gods/goddess, to facilitate bringing progeny into the world. He/she asks the couple if it is their desire to follow in the goddess's footsteps by entering into sacred marriage. The couple responds in the affirmative, and the priest/priestess beckons them to follow in her footsteps. A series of two footprints appear in the soil, and the couple follows inside the footprints to the altar. Once they are at the altar, the priest/priestess reiterates the importance of marriage and how the couple must both work hard together to build a life together and remain faithful just as the goddess. The couple then affirms these vows, and the priests/priestess binds their hands together. The couple then kneel, before the altar, and the priest/priestess pronounces them man and wife.
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5. Burial: Devotees of Deimar believe in burial only and shun cremation. The grave is dug for the deceased beforehand, and the body is placed into the casket. The priest/priestess speaks of the afterlife, and the abundance how their body is returning into the hands of Deimar while their spirit is traveling to the land of the dead. The body is then lowered into the grave. Each of the family members drop a handful of dirt onto the coffin, each asking Deimar to take the deceased's body back into her care while their spirt move on. Once every finishes, the priest/priestess then commends the body into Deimar's care. The earth then swallows the coffin entirely, the hole being closed up.
Harvest Festival
The Harvest Festival is dedicated to the goddess Deimar. It starts Manday, the 9th of the month Deidith, which occurs around our version of November 20 or 21. It lasts three days (like every festival). Traditionally farmers will finish harvesting their crops before the start of the festival. Local governments will typically collect their take of crops as a tax either before or after the festival, depending on local customs and climate regions.
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The Harvest Festival is meant to thank the goddess Deimar for the harvest in order to ensure her cooperation the next harvest season. Priestesses of Deimar will break apart loaves of bread and spread them on the ground. Then they will pour pints of ale on the ground. This is to feed the goddess, so she is strengthened to give a good crop the next growing season. Households, especially local farmers, will pour a fistful of flour/grain and a cup of beer or ale onto the ground as an offering to the goddess as well.
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During the festival, children will hang turnips and gourds from the ceiling or put them in windows as decorations. They will also braid garlic bulbs and other vegetables too. Many breweries, taverns, and restaraunts will make ale and other foods special for the holiday. Food is eaten in abundance.
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Clergy
Temples/monasteries for Deimar are typically smaller and family run. Priests and priestess must be married in order to become a priest/priestess. They cannot marry another person even if their spouse dies or leaves them, however, they do remain a priest/priestess. Unmarried adult family members can live at the temple as attendants, labors, or apprentice priests/priestesses.
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There are five levels of priests/priestesses: pledge, apprentice, priest/priestess, high priest/priestess, archpriest/priestess. Each temple will have a high priest/priestess in charge of it. They may or may not have additional priests or priestesses depending on the size of the temple. Pledges are typically children of priests/priestesses between the ages of 8 to 16. Once they complete a minimum of three years training, they are eligible to become apprentices, provided they are at least twelve, and it is identified that there is sufficient availability of positions for them to eventually become a priest/priestess should they complete their apprenticeship and become married. If there are not sufficient spaces available, they can become either attendants or ground laborers. However, if there is not sufficient space for them in any position, they are dismissed from the temple into ordinary, but retain their pledgehood, unless they decide to renounce their devotion to Deimar or act in a manner contrary to her teachings, so that there pledgehood is revoked from them.​
For grounds laborers and attendants, there are seven levels: volunteer, hireling, sworn laborer, sacred laborer, apprentice attendant, attendant, and high attendant. Ground laborers work the farmland and/or roof garden of the temple. Those who are not sworn into the groundskeeper service cannot clear out the sacred soil when it needs to be cleaned and replaced. Attendants work inside the temple performing duties like cleaning, laundry, carrying sacred vessels, etc. Hirelings can be both ground laborers and attendants, but cannot perform consecrated duties, such as carrying sacred vessels.
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Pledges, sworn laborers, and apprentice attendants receive a quarter portion of natural earth magic (a full portion being the normal amount of magic an oread would have). Apprentices, sacred laborers, and attendants receive a half portion of magic. Priests/priestesses and high attendants receive a full portion of magic. High priests/priestesses receive a double portion of magic, and archpriests/priestesses receive a triple portion of magic. This is in addition to whatever amount of magic they would have otherwise.
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In addition to the portion of magic, priests/priestesses, high priests/priestesses, and archpriests/priestesses gain the ability to curse plants and crops growing in soil so the ground becomes toxic to the plants. This lasts until after winter. High priests/priestesses and archpriests/priestesses can also curse someone to gradually sink into any dirt or sand-based ground. This can last until the next Tvillinger, or as long as the high priest/priestess specifies. Priests/priestesses, high priests/priestesses, archpriests/priestesses, and high attendants also gain the ability to swim through dirt and sand at will. This ability allows them to pass through dirt, soil, and sand as if they are swimming through water. This includes anything/anyone that is touching them physically.
Sacred Soil
Inside temples/monasteries to Deimar, there is a small area of soil in front of the altar to pour out grain and drink offerings. As the soil becomes more mired, the priests/priestesses or sacred attendants will clear the soil, and new soil is brought in and consecrated by the priests/priestesses. The old soil can be simply returned to the ground outside, but it can also be integrated into soil for farmland/plant growth. The old sacred soil will help any plant/crop it is integrated into to grow at an accelerated rate or in abundance. It will also help heal soil that has been rendered infertile. This soil is highly sought after for that reason.
It is forbidden the clergy/attendants/laborers of Deimar that they sell the soil for more than the labor of those that are moving it and/or the cost to replace that soil. Those that try to sell the soil for more can get stripped of their position and the magic/privileges that come with it. This includes those that accept "donations" outside of the actual purchase of the soil to get preference in the selection of who can purchase it. Priests/priestesses can use other reasons to determine who get preference when purchasing the soil at their discretion, whether it is based on need, piety, first come first serve, etc. Some purchasers of soil will turn around and sell the soil on the black market for a profit. The clergy are supposed to try and avoid selling it to such people if they are aware of people engaging in this practice, but purchasers of the soil as allowed to sell the soil at cost (including the cost of moving it) if they so desire.
Sacred Garden/Farmland
All temples/monasteries to Deimar include an area to farm/garden to grow crops/plants for sustenance (some of these roof gardens on top of the temple). The crops/plants are used first to feed the temple/monastery. The temple can also sell the crops to purchase necessary clothing/supplies/equipment for the temple/monastery. Selling can only be done for things that are necessary and plain. The crops/plants are not to be used to enrich the temple or clergy or provide lavish decorations/clothing. Any leftovers crops/plants/proceeds are to be donated to the poor. The temple can also use the sacred soil to increase their crop yield.​