Segment One Blog Project

http://www.angelarium.net/seraphim/#/raziel-angel-of-mysteries-1/

A. ENVIRONMENT

   The Celestials of the Source reside on the Astral Plane. The Astral Plane is a plane of existence the overlaps and suffuses the Material World of Mortals, and extends beyond towards the Void. The Astral Plane in a place of pure thought and energy. The plane is vast and open like space of the Material World, and it is sweep by winds of psychic energy which blow Ætheric clouds. Ætheric clouds are leftovers from creation and posses infinite potential. There is no temperature here like the Material World since no normal matter exists here.


   This vast openness is dotted with astral drift "stone" made of solidified ideas. In order for an idea to become solid it must leave all mortal minds. Only then will the idea cease changing and become drift "stone". If the idea returns to mortal thought and reason, the stone dissolves becoming psychic energy once again. Ambient light of the Source can be seen from everywhere within the Astral Plane. The darkness of the Void is also visible and marks the edge of Creation. We Celestials tend to cluster around the most ancient astral drift stones that have remained unthought for millennia. We do not require shelter and perhaps meet in the location because they are easily identified or we attribute signification to their age.


   We Celestials aren't the only inhabits to the Astral Plane. Mortal souls can enter into the plane upon death or by altering their consciousness. They often appear as they view themselves or as simple motes of light. Over time the mortal souls are absorbed back into the Source and their unique existence ceases. There is another type of being that calls the Astral Plane home we have labeled them Astral Leviathans. Their thoughts and motivations are foreign to us. We believe them to form randomly in the Ætheric clouds which they make their homes. They are incredibly dangerous to mortal minds traveling into the Astral Plane. They are easily avoided by us (or choose to be). The extent of their abilities are unknown and the sovereignty of their domains are respected.

http://www.artofmtg.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Godless-Shrine-Expeditions-Battle-for-Zendikar-MtG-Art.jpg

http://www.coolwallpapers.me/download/4127/Purple_Nebula_HD.jpg/

http://heliofob.deviantart.com/art/Space-Destroyer-347051109

http://img08.deviantart.net/a231/i/2013/346/c/6/hydra_by_cloudminedesign-d6xokx5.jpg

B. CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE

Norms-

   Every celestial has a true name. Our true name is known to us upon our creation and every Celestial knows when their true name is uttered. It is considered impolite to utter another Celestials true name unless absolutely necessary.


   One should not interfere with transition of mortal souls. Death on the material world is seen as tragic by mortals, but we Celestials do not prevent it nor do we usher it. Once the soul is on the Astral Plane there are those who would wish to help the soul reunite with The Source quicker believing it to be a mercy. It is forbidden. A soul can be protected from a Leviathan or Fallen so afar the Celestial isn't manipulating the soul, but rather the opposing force.


   Mortals visiting the Astral Plane can be conversed with if the Celestial chooses. They can be aided as the Celestial sees fit, as they are prone to becoming lost and disoriented. If a Celestial is threatened by a mortal traveling the Astral Plane they may result to using force. The most common means of dealing with these interlopers is banishment back to Material Plane.


   Celestials avoid the Void. The Void is absence of The Source, and creation does not exist in it. It is believed to "enter" the Void is to remove yourself from existence.


   It is forbidden to create beings that possess Will. Celestials have considerable ability to manipulate Ætheric clouds and psychic energy. If a Celestial wills it they could construct a palace of diamond or even an entire solar system on the Astral Plane. However the gift of Will is reserved for The Source.


Values-

   Mortals and Celestials are separate by design. Had The Source intended for the Celestials to become mortal or mortals to become Celestials it would be. As such we don't attempt to elevate mortals beyond their current existence. They are in fact perfect and we are perfect in regards to The Source's design. (It is similarly believe that Astral Leviathans are also a design of The Source).


   The Source is all and the creator of existence. Everything has purpose within Creation even if it is not apparent. Celestials are a function of this ordered arrangement. Those Celestials who work against this order are considered Fallen.


   Will is the most important force in existence is and is a direct testament to The Source's power. Will represents consciousness, choice, and ability to produce change in a rational state. Mortals exercise Will through abstract construction of ideas and physically manipulating their bodies. Celestials' Will is many order of magnitude greater than mortals.


   The eldest Celestials have existed for eons before youngest. Their power and purpose is greater than that of the younger Celestials. We believe the oldest Celestials maintain the form and functions of reality. The only thing that stir the eldest to actions are events which threaten the design of The Source.


Worldview-

   There is Creation and the Void. The Creation is all of reality that exists and is a product of The Source. The Void is the absences of anything and everything. It cannot be defined as a place, but simply what is not. The Source does not communicate with the Celestials or Mortals, and its intentions are implied. The Source does not interfere with Celestials or mortals. We would not exist if The Source had not wished it to be so, and we are the keepers of creation simply because we were granted the power to do so. If you apply Will against another Celestial or do what is forbidden you are Fallen. The Fallen have chosen to go against the design of The Source.


Symbols-

http://www.angelarium.net/treeoflife/#/yesod/

The Source

http://www.angelarium.net/treeoflife/#/keter/

Will

http://www.angelarium.net/treeoflife/#/daat/

Creation

http://www.angelarium.net/treeoflife/#/malkuth/

Mortals

Classifications of Reality-

   Not all beings are equal in the amount of Will they can use to influence Creation. There are many things that have no Will at all. We define the the presence of Will in a being as Shu. The first order of Shu is can be seen in plants, simple animals, and microbes of material world. These beings react without thought they are body without mind. The second order of Shu is mind. The mind is dependent upon the body and manifest through the body. This is seen in moral humans and complex animals. The third order of Shu is transcendence of body to pure mind and the use of abstract thought which forms the psychic wind of Astral Plane. A mortal soul is a third order of Shu and capable of travel into the Astral Plane. The fourth order of Shu is the Will of Celestials. We can manipulate Creation separate from our form. A Celestial need not touch something to move it but merely Will it to change in regards to form or energy. Shu of the fourth order allows for novel creation through use of Ætheric clouds. Shu of the fifth order is a power solely attributed to the Source. Only The Source can create something from nothing or delineate Creation from Void. Astral Leviathans are believed to have Shu somewhere between third and fourth order by some Celestials since they are native to Astral Plane. Others have suggested they have Will similar to microbes of Material World. And a very small number of Celestial have put forth the notion that Astral Leviathans are animated by a force other than Will that has yet to be defined.


   Form is defined in several ways. On the Material world things are either concrete or abstract. Those abstract ideas and thoughts can have form in the Astral Plane, and what is concrete on the material is now an abstract ideal in the Astral. So a known tangible object on the material plane is said to be Pó. Something known on Material, but intangible Ré. Things that are tangible on Astral are Nü. If something is known, but intangible on the Astral like a mortal body it is called Cü. So a mortal body is both Pó and Cü. Astral drift stone by it's nature is Nü, but has no classification to mortals on material so it can't be Pó or Ré. When it becomes Ré or Pó to mortals it becomes Cü. Some objects exist tangibly on the Material World, but at forgotten or undiscovered to mortal minds. Paradoxically when Celestials travel to the Material World they do not alter the forms of objects with their knowledge. It is thought that if mortal minds can collectively fathom all of Creation the Astral and Material planes would likely merge. Some Fallen seek this goal and actively seed the mortals with knowledge.


C. STRUCTURES/SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

Institutions-

   The Source is all. As an institution of our culture it describes the ordered universe and our place within Creation. The Source is the origin of everything; we intrinsically know this upon our creation. The Source provides us with purpose and expectations of behavior. Our values are based on the knowledge The Source has instilled in Celestials.

   Will is efficacy, agency, power, and liberty. Will forms the foundation of thought and consciousness. Celestial identify Will as a gift from The Source. Entities with Will are elevated above objects with no Will. How we understand how beings are to function is based in limitations of their Will. How we measure each other can also be described in Will.

   Creation is reality, planes of existence, and everything not the Void. Creation distinguishes between everything that originated from The Source from the nothingness of the Void. We understand that Creation is important to The Source. Celestials uphold the fundamental laws that operate within Creation. We actively prevent Creation from returning to the Void.

   Mortals are fundamentally different from Celestials. They are native to material plane and have finite lifespans. Plants, animals, microbes are all associated with mortal institution. Life and death among mortals is in accordance with The Source's Will. Though the concept of Mortal we understand that different rules govern different beings. It is not our place to act as, or upon mortals. Nor should mortals attempt to practice the great works and mysteries. Can be noted that Celestials can parish through extraordinary use of Will. It is believed that only the Will of another Celestial can harm a Celestial.

   The Fallen are Celestials that operate counter to the institutions of Celestial Society. In some form or another they violated one or some of the institutions that govern our behavior. Possible violations include: creating beings with Will, attempting to merge planes of existence or alter them outside of classification, attempting to expand the Will of mortals or otherwise influencing them, using their Will in hostility against another Celestial, and abandoning The Source or Creation. A few Celestials choose to leave Creation for the Void. We believe this is both an act of defiance to The Source, and an act of utter oblivion.


Class distinctions-

   The Seraph are the oldest and most powerful Celestials. They rarely interact with other Celestials. They maintain the fundamental order of Creation. Seraph are believe to have a greater understanding of The Source and orders of magnitude more Will than lesser Celestials. Seraph exist in a state of torpor and is believe that most of their Will is used to maintain some function of reality. If a Seraph is spurred to action all Celestials take note.

   The Watchers were created immediately after the Seraph. They are the most powerful active Celestials. Watchers provide guidance and governance to lesser Celestials. Watchers are the most likely to deal with Fallen. Since it is generally agreed that one Celestial should not use their Will to harm another, Watchers form a Triumvirate to challenge an accused Fallen. There is little room for interpretation within the knowledge instilled by The Source, but it is possible to arrive at different conclusions. Any member of the Triumvirate can remove the Fallen title from an accused Celestial. However, if they are all in agreement they may hostilely use their collective Will to subdue or destroy a Fallen.

   The Messengers are the youngest and lowest class of Celestials. They are the most plentiful and use their Will to correct minor imbalances as directed by Watchers. Messengers are the most likely to visit Material Plane or interact with Astral Projections (visiting mortals). Messengers provide minimum assistance to mortal souls. The Messengers that interact with mortals and their souls regularly. in our context of time not mortal's, are called Guardials and receive heavy oversight from Watchers to make sure they don't cross established boundaries of behavior. It is well know that most Fallen were previously Guardials. Some interpret this as mortals having a corrupting influence. Others see Guardials using misguided passion to assist mortals.


Demographics-

   Celestials are immortal by design, but it does not mean they are ageless. The oldest Seraph make up less than .001% of total Celestial population. Some Seraph slumber in very remote locations with Creation making their exact number difficult to quantify. Less than a hundred are commonly known. They have existed since the dawn of Creation making them eons old. Watchers make up roughly 20% of Celestials and their creation marks a change in the material world when stars began to form and matter began to coalesce. Messengers make up the remains 80% of Celestials. They were formed around the time Will (and life) became present in the Material Plane. Celestials do not biologically reproduce and are formed in a state of relative maturity. As such we do not apply gender or sex markers to ourselves, but vary from asexual, feminine, and masculine physiques. Some lack humanoid form all together like Seraph.

   General we define ourselves in terms of class and strength of Will. We have no concept of heredity or ethnicity. There are a finite number of know Celestials currently 5,067,104,717. While this number seem inordinately high we are spread out over the vastness of all Creation. We existed in even greater numbers once, but their was a time before Messengers existed in which the Seraph preformed the Great Purge upon the Watchers. Messengers have little knowledge of the event, and Watchers that survived the event explain it as the rationale behind their governance to prevent it from happening again. There is some concern that at some point all Celestials could perish since we aren't capable of reproducing ourselves. We believe this is designed by The Source, and is accounted for by The Sources plans.

Ritual- 

   The most important ritual is Assembly. Assembly is the act of multiple Celestials coming together to share the same proximate space. Our Will can allow us to communicate over unfathomable distances, so it is a special event when any two or more Celestials have a face to face meeting. They typically start by sharing their true names. This is a very intimate act among Celestials. If you don't wish to form an Assembly the simplest course of action is to decline sharing your true name. After sharing true names the participating Celestials form a locus of amorphous Will external to their bodies. Their thoughts, experiences, and identity collide into a singular place. Usually an Assembly such as this is pleasurable, but occasionally distressful as one loses their sense of self in another. Some Fallen have enter into Assembly with the intent of harming or manipulating other Celestials. Generally the more participants the less personal and more formal the Assembly becomes. Additionally Celestial describe feeling closer to The Source after an Assembly.

   The Triumvirate is similar to an Assembly, but with the purpose of forming a consensus on guilt or innocents of an accused Fallen. An accused Fallen may be permitted to enter into an Assembly to better address his accusers and explain it's rational behind its behavior. This leaves the accused vulnerable to the combined Will of the Triumvirate. Refusing to enter into an Assembly with a Triumvirate is often considered a sign of guilt. If the infraction is minor the Triumvirate provides warning. Major infractions or repeat offense can result in censure of Will. The Watchers directly counter the Fallen's Will leaving them in a vastly weakened state. A Triumvirate can only maintain censure on one Celestial. A new Triumvirate must be formed to censure a newly accused Fallen. In extreme cases with exceptionally dangerous or radical Fallen (like other Watchers) the Triumvirate uses their combined Will to unmake the Celestial returning it to Ætheric clouds, or even rarer "pushing" the Fallen out of Creation into the Void.


Substance-

   Celestials aren't biological beings like mortals. We lack the metabolism associated with life on Material Plane. We absorb ambient energies from The Source. The energy appears much like light in the Astral Plane. It is believed that mortals do this as well just to a lesser degree. This energy absorbed is directly related to our ability to use Will. It is one of the many reasons we do not make prolonged trips to Material Plane as it is further removed from our source of energy, but not completely absent.


Life cycles-

   Since Celestials aren't born as adolescences or age in a biological manner it is difficult to quantify life cycles in a way mortals do. Celestials are manifested by The Source fully formed with knowledge and purpose. Celestials experience a great degree of certainty early in their "lives". We call this stage neophyte do to limited experiences which may challenge their certainty of purpose. Celestials that have greater number of experiences such as interactions with mortal life forms, souls, or even Astral Leviathans can find purpose to be more elusive since these being do not necessary have ingrained knowledge. During this stage of maturing and questioning we are called Wanders. It is considered a normal stage of cognitive and spiritual development, but when Celestials enter their Wandering period Watchers are expected to guide the Celestials through this tumultuous time and guide them back to The Source. The last stage of maturity is Actualization which shares the certainty of belief with the Neophyte after questioning their individual purpose, and the purpose of Creation. Actualized Celestial are said to better understand The Source intention for them.

   On the rare occasions a Celestial perishes they experience no afterlife similar to mortal soul. The two know methods of Celestial death are entering the Void which removes them from both Creation and The Sources reach, and dismantlement through Will. A dismantled Celestial returns to Creation in its purest form (Ætheric clouds) and as such may take on various forms of existence as The Source wills it. The lost of a Celestial (even a Fallen) is acutely felt by every Celestial especially any Celestial that had ever entered an Assembly with them. There is no certainty that The Source will create any more Celestials after construction of the Messengers. We have no record of a Celestial perishing from old age and very few things are capable of harming us. Many believe that should all the Celestials perish Creation will cease existence at least in its present form.


D. AREAS OF CULTURAL INTEREST

   Order is important to every Celestial. We inherently believe that we are constructed by an ordered entity for the purpose of maintain order across Creation. Many consider this our mandate and function. Those that disrupt order are consider Fallen and their actions are condemned.

   We concern ourselves greatly with purpose. Celestials firmly believe that The Source, Creation, and by de facto so must Celestials must have purpose. Purpose is deceptively simple to a Neophyte, but a complex process to the Actualized Celestial. Celestials don't just have purpose they live through purpose. Losing one's sense of purpose is often considered the path to becoming Fallen.

   Will is a gift to us by The Source. We cherish this gift and believe that the strength of our Will makes us favored among The Source's creations. We concern ourselves with the strength of our will relative to each other and other beings in Creation. Part of what make Assembly so special is experience another individual through pure Will.

   The Source is ever present in our lives and actions. We consider The Sources purpose for us and our actions. What we fear the most is miss interpreting The Source's purpose for us. We also pity mortals for being so distant from The Source and the knowledge granted to us. Are knowledge of The Source extends far beyond the scope of the mortal mind and yet there are infinite mysteries even to us.

   Celestials obsess constantly of the minutia of Creation. We revel in its complexity and simplicity. We marvel over mysteries and truths. Many Celestials visit the Material Plane merely to enjoy the many facets of Creation. Part of the Wandering period is often done on the Material Plane were form and substance is so contrasted from thought and feeling. We instinctively fear the loss of Creation as a whole. Conversely, we often do not discuss the Void because we fear it, and the fact that it exists represents either by the design of The Source or a limit to The Source's Will.