The Fivefold Pathway of the Soul
Encyclopedia
The Fivefold Pathway of the Soul, written by Ordol, is one of the primary religious texts of orthodox ('Quintarian') cultures in Lois McMaster Bujold's
fantasy novels The Curse of Chalion
(2001), Paladin of Souls
(2003), and The Hallowed Hunt
(2005). This entry outlines that (fictional) book based on background from Bujold's three books in this fictional realm. The Fivefold Pathway does not exist as an independent book; a fanfictional version existed at one time on the Bujold fansite, http://www.dendarii.com/, but that text seems to have disappeared. The inferred content is distinct, but Ordol's title alludes to the Quinquae viae ('five paths') of Aquinas, five 'proofs of the existence of God' that remain very important in Roman Catholic theology.
Essentially, the World-Soul could not perceive itself, and so split itself in two to be able to see itself. This split created the Father and the Mother. In their love, they created the Daughter and the Son, and split the seasons up among themselves.
Later, a great demon-lord was granted a soul by a saint of the Mother, and then took up service in the Mother's name, to banish all other demons from the world of matter. He was finally slain, but the Bastard was born of his union with the Mother, though the precise way in which this happened is unclear. From him, the Bastard inherited control of all the demons he had overcome.
.) The Quadrene form omits the Bastard, touching forehead, navel, groin, and heart, with the thumb folded inward.
Misfits of various sorts sometimes feel called into the service of the Bastard.
The Father generally takes the souls of fathers, or men of equal paternal duty (for instance, a childless lord who has cared well for his people, often in the Father's name). Sometimes families don't find out that their sons or brothers even had children until the funeral.
The Mother generally takes the souls of mothers, or people who have served in her duty, as gardeners and the like.
The Daughter takes childless women and girls, and childless soldiers in her Order.
The Son takes childless men and boys, and childless soldiers in his Order.
The Bastard takes everyone else, especially those whose lives have been made into a disaster. Notably, all those who died in the commission of death magic belong to the Bastard. So do all homosexuals—regardless of whether they might also qualify for selection by one of the other gods.
Some souls, the sundered, refuse the gods and remain as ghosts. These ghosts slowly decay and lose personality.
Frequently saints have been given a specific task by one or another of the gods, and their sainthood only remains in effect until the task has been performed. Others, called "petty saints", have been granted minor powers (a magistrate will "occasionally" be able to recognize when someone is telling the truth; a midwife will have special healing skills) which remain with them for some time. Former saints evidently remain recognizable, at least to each other, if only because of their demeanor.
Sainthood is described not as being awarded to those who are particularly good, or faithful, but as something that happens when the gods need a tool for a job, and find someone who has relinquished their will to the gods; someone who has given up their own drives and desires and made themselves empty. The parable describing this act involves a cup and some liquid, and is described as making a mess. Inferences can be made that the cup represents the person, and if it is full of something (or set upside down, indicating it is closed) - will, drive, ambition - then pouring more into it will just cause that poured liquid (metaphor for the will of the gods) to spill out. If it is empty (the person has emptied themselves of their will), the gods can come in and fill it, creating a saint - someone possessed by some portion of the gods' essence.
Sainthood is often described as a burden, and the relation of the saint to the god is described in unflattering terms - "beast of burden" is one of them. Despite this persons who have been saints are described as being "addicted" to the service of their god above all other vices.
In The Curse of Chalion, Cazaril becomes, temporarily, a saint of both the Daughter and the Bastard. Another important character, Umegat, is a saint of the Bastard until the tools of his mission are destroyed and he himself is badly hurt.
The Dowager Royina, Ista, was at one time a saint of the Mother, but failed in her task at that time (a task which Cazaril finished successfully). In Paladin of Souls her argument with the gods ends with her becoming a very temporary saint of the Father, and a more permanent saint of the Bastard, with a long-term mission.
A more complicated set of theological issues involving the possession and exorcism of animal souls 'taken up' by human beings are raised in The Hallowed Hunt, which has a distinct cast of characters and location within the fantasy world. These issues are plainly not a part of Ordol's orthodox theology, but illuminate its concerns and limitations.
, the mystical and meditative visions Buddhism
or Shintoism, and the distinction of Quintarian and Quadrene beliefs both the Shia/Sunni and Catholic
/Protestant schisms. There is also a clear relation with the interfering and inter-related Homeric gods in the Iliad
and Odyssey
, made ironic by the relative inability of Bujold's family of deities to act without human invitation.
One strong sense that emerges, however, is that the Quintarian faith is far more a critique of than a tribute to the Christianity of Bujold's midwestern culture and family. Most obviously (remembering Bujold as a persistently feminist writer), she provides a Mother as well as a Father, a Daughter as well as a Son, and instead of an immaterial 'Holy Ghost' allows half-demonic bastardy divine status. None of her gods are willing condemners to hell, but desperate to save all the souls they can; far from despising the physical world as 'fallen' or inferior, they are fascinated by the 'stubbornness of matter'. Ista's climactic and visionary possession by the Bastard in Paladin of Souls reveals his 'hell' as a place of chaotic unbeing wherein any soul entering dissolves; suffering is neither the point nor any form of 'justice', and from this 'hell' a trickle of chaos runs animatingly into the world, so that even the 'damned' and the substance of demons are recycled. There are also theologies of assassination and suicide (mainly in The Curse of Chalion) that run counter to Christian orthodoxy and variously challenge the arguments commonly invoked by anti-abortionists and supporters of the death penalty. The central role of animals in Quintarian funerary practice (and the explicit existence in The Hallowed Hunt of animal souls) are also readily seen as rebukes to contemporary, religiously sanctioned exploitation of animals, while the whole pre-technological fantasy world, capped by its seasonal gods, effectively sacramentalises nature by respecting it in a way most urban Christianity has now lost.
It should also be noted that the 'trilogy' is not necessarily complete. The three published novels centre successively on theologies of the Daughter, the Bastard, and the Son; implicitly, two further novels should concern those of the Mother and Father, and in answering a question after her 2004 address at the Library of Congress Bujold said that while she had no immediate plans to do so, she would like to write those novels and create a quintet.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold is an American author of science fiction and fantasy works. Bujold is one of the most acclaimed writers in her field, having won the prestigious Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record. Her novella The Mountains of Mourning won both the Hugo...
fantasy novels The Curse of Chalion
The Curse of Chalion
The Curse of Chalion is a 2001 fantasy novel by Lois McMaster Bujold. In 2002 it won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature and was nominated for the Hugo, World Fantasy, and Locus Awards in 2002....
(2001), Paladin of Souls
Paladin of Souls
- Synopsis :Paladin of Souls is a sequel to The Curse of Chalion and is set some three years after the events of that novel. It follows Ista, mother of the girl who became Royina in that book and a minor character in it...
(2003), and The Hallowed Hunt
The Hallowed Hunt
The Hallowed Hunt is a fantasy novel by Lois McMaster Bujold, published in 2005. It placed fourth in the annual Locus Poll for best fantasy novel.- Plot introduction :...
(2005). This entry outlines that (fictional) book based on background from Bujold's three books in this fictional realm. The Fivefold Pathway does not exist as an independent book; a fanfictional version existed at one time on the Bujold fansite, http://www.dendarii.com/, but that text seems to have disappeared. The inferred content is distinct, but Ordol's title alludes to the Quinquae viae ('five paths') of Aquinas, five 'proofs of the existence of God' that remain very important in Roman Catholic theology.
Pantheon
| The Daughter | The Mother | The Son | The Father | The Bastard | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Spring | Summer | Fall/Autumn | Winter | None |
| Primary color | Blue | Green | Red | Grey | White |
| Secondary color | White | Yellow | Orange | Black | Cream |
| Theological sign | Forehead Forehead For the Arsenal striker see GervinhoIn human anatomy, the forehead is the fore part of the head. It is, formally, an area of the head bounded by three features, two of the skull and one of the scalp. The top of the forehead is marked by the hairline, the edge of the area where hair on the scalp... /brain Brain The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,... |
Belly Abdomen In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity... /womb |
Heart Heart The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions... |
Groin Groin In human anatomy, the groin areas are the two creases at the junction of the torso with the legs, on either side of the pubic area. This is also known as the medial compartment of the thigh. A pulled groin muscle usually refers to a painful injury sustained by straining the hip adductor muscles... /genitals |
Mouth Mouth The mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food andsaliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth.... /tongue Tongue The tongue is a muscular hydrostat on the floors of the mouths of most vertebrates which manipulates food for mastication. It is the primary organ of taste , as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly... as well as thumb Thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position , the thumb is the lateral-most digit... |
| Represents | Birth and life, symbolized by the opening of the new year | Health and healing | Friendship, the outdoors, animals, and hunting. | Closure, justice and "deaths in good season", as typically symbolized by the closing of the year | Balance and all things out of season. |
- While the other four gods' feast days are the start of their respective seasons, the Bastard's feast day is "that intercalary holiday inserted every two years after Mother's Midsummer to prevent the calendar's precessing from its proper seasons" (The Curse of ChalionThe Curse of ChalionThe Curse of Chalion is a 2001 fantasy novel by Lois McMaster Bujold. In 2002 it won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature and was nominated for the Hugo, World Fantasy, and Locus Awards in 2002....
, p. 221), corresponding to our February 29. The Bastard is sometimes referred to as the "God of the Unseason". The major religious schism (the 'Quadrene Heresy') turns on denying the divinity of the Bastard.
Creation
The story of how the world came to be is outlined in chapter three of Paladin of Souls. Notably, in contrast to today's Western monotheistic religions, the gods did not create the world: "The world was first, and the world was flame" is the beginning of the story. The World-Soul proceeded from the world itself.Essentially, the World-Soul could not perceive itself, and so split itself in two to be able to see itself. This split created the Father and the Mother. In their love, they created the Daughter and the Son, and split the seasons up among themselves.
Later, a great demon-lord was granted a soul by a saint of the Mother, and then took up service in the Mother's name, to banish all other demons from the world of matter. He was finally slain, but the Bastard was born of his union with the Mother, though the precise way in which this happened is unclear. From him, the Bastard inherited control of all the demons he had overcome.
Churches and structures
Churches are typically built with a four-lobed footprint, reminiscent of a four-leaf clover, with a lobe dedicated to each of the Father, Mother, Son, and Daughter. Each lobe is of equal size, as the gods are equal. A second building, typically a tower, is built behind the Mother's lobe as a place of worship for the Bastard.Signing
The Sign of the Five is a small ritual performed whenever the Gods are invoked. The signs are usually made with the thumb, first, and second fingers of the right hand briefly touching the forehead, mouth, belly, and groin before spreading the opened hand over the heart. (Cf. The Sign of the CrossSign of the cross
The Sign of the Cross , or crossing oneself, is a ritual hand motion made by members of many branches of Christianity, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation of a trinitarian formula....
.) The Quadrene form omits the Bastard, touching forehead, navel, groin, and heart, with the thumb folded inward.
Dedication
Around their 12th or 13th year, male children of nobility are typically inducted into the Order of the Son, or the Order of the Daughter. The former is the larger, and is analogous to a standing army. It is primarily concerned with the external security of the relevant kingdom. The Daughter's Order is smaller and more concerned with internal security, particularly in protecting travelers on the roads.Misfits of various sorts sometimes feel called into the service of the Bastard.
Death
At the deceased's funeral, acolytes of each of the Orders, dressed in their God's colours, bring animals of their God's colors forward, one by one. Whichever God has taken the deceased's Soul into His/Her heaven has their divine animal make some sign that the God has taken the deceased's soul.The Father generally takes the souls of fathers, or men of equal paternal duty (for instance, a childless lord who has cared well for his people, often in the Father's name). Sometimes families don't find out that their sons or brothers even had children until the funeral.
The Mother generally takes the souls of mothers, or people who have served in her duty, as gardeners and the like.
The Daughter takes childless women and girls, and childless soldiers in her Order.
The Son takes childless men and boys, and childless soldiers in his Order.
The Bastard takes everyone else, especially those whose lives have been made into a disaster. Notably, all those who died in the commission of death magic belong to the Bastard. So do all homosexuals—regardless of whether they might also qualify for selection by one of the other gods.
Some souls, the sundered, refuse the gods and remain as ghosts. These ghosts slowly decay and lose personality.
Seasonal ceremonies
The quarterly changes in season are accompanied by ceremonies honoring the god of the upcoming season. This is also typically when the church gathers its quarterly donations from the local populace.Winter to Spring
An old man, dressed in the colors of the Father of Winter, leads a young maiden, dressed as the Daughter of Spring, to the local church for a service of change. On the journey, the Father is pelted with balls of wool mimicking snowballs. It is considered a bad omen when real snowballs can be used (at least by the Father's avatar). Traditionally, young women touch the skirts of the "Daughter" as she passes for good luck in finding a husband in the next year. Once at the church, the avatar of the Father cleans off the central hearth and withdraws. Then, the avatar of the Daughter sparks a new fire for the new year.Spring to Summer
A young woman, usually a newly wedded bride, leads a pregnant woman to the temple for a service of change.Summer to Fall
There is no description of this ritual in the books, but from the symbolism of the other seasonal rites it most likely includes an old woman in the dark green of a widow, leading a young man in the colors of the Son.Fall to Winter
A young man, in well worn, ragged clothes the color of the Son of Autumn, leads a young father, dressed in a judge's robes the color of the Father of Winter, to the local church for a service of change.Sainthood
Living saints of each of the five gods exist, and typically have the power of second sight—vision in the spirit realm—as a side effect of their theological state. They are known to each other by the alterations in their aura, visible as a "glow" in the colors of the god whom they are serving. They cannot see their own aura, only the auras of other saints and the cursed. They do not immediately reveal themselves otherwise (with very few exceptions).Frequently saints have been given a specific task by one or another of the gods, and their sainthood only remains in effect until the task has been performed. Others, called "petty saints", have been granted minor powers (a magistrate will "occasionally" be able to recognize when someone is telling the truth; a midwife will have special healing skills) which remain with them for some time. Former saints evidently remain recognizable, at least to each other, if only because of their demeanor.
Sainthood is described not as being awarded to those who are particularly good, or faithful, but as something that happens when the gods need a tool for a job, and find someone who has relinquished their will to the gods; someone who has given up their own drives and desires and made themselves empty. The parable describing this act involves a cup and some liquid, and is described as making a mess. Inferences can be made that the cup represents the person, and if it is full of something (or set upside down, indicating it is closed) - will, drive, ambition - then pouring more into it will just cause that poured liquid (metaphor for the will of the gods) to spill out. If it is empty (the person has emptied themselves of their will), the gods can come in and fill it, creating a saint - someone possessed by some portion of the gods' essence.
Sainthood is often described as a burden, and the relation of the saint to the god is described in unflattering terms - "beast of burden" is one of them. Despite this persons who have been saints are described as being "addicted" to the service of their god above all other vices.
In The Curse of Chalion, Cazaril becomes, temporarily, a saint of both the Daughter and the Bastard. Another important character, Umegat, is a saint of the Bastard until the tools of his mission are destroyed and he himself is badly hurt.
The Dowager Royina, Ista, was at one time a saint of the Mother, but failed in her task at that time (a task which Cazaril finished successfully). In Paladin of Souls her argument with the gods ends with her becoming a very temporary saint of the Father, and a more permanent saint of the Bastard, with a long-term mission.
A more complicated set of theological issues involving the possession and exorcism of animal souls 'taken up' by human beings are raised in The Hallowed Hunt, which has a distinct cast of characters and location within the fantasy world. These issues are plainly not a part of Ordol's orthodox theology, but illuminate its concerns and limitations.
Significance and Interpretation
Bujold's rich invention is clearly not based on any one faith, and incorporates aspects of many. The polytheism and seasonal sacramental calendar suggest HinduismHinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, the mystical and meditative visions Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
or Shintoism, and the distinction of Quintarian and Quadrene beliefs both the Shia/Sunni and Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
/Protestant schisms. There is also a clear relation with the interfering and inter-related Homeric gods in the Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
, made ironic by the relative inability of Bujold's family of deities to act without human invitation.
One strong sense that emerges, however, is that the Quintarian faith is far more a critique of than a tribute to the Christianity of Bujold's midwestern culture and family. Most obviously (remembering Bujold as a persistently feminist writer), she provides a Mother as well as a Father, a Daughter as well as a Son, and instead of an immaterial 'Holy Ghost' allows half-demonic bastardy divine status. None of her gods are willing condemners to hell, but desperate to save all the souls they can; far from despising the physical world as 'fallen' or inferior, they are fascinated by the 'stubbornness of matter'. Ista's climactic and visionary possession by the Bastard in Paladin of Souls reveals his 'hell' as a place of chaotic unbeing wherein any soul entering dissolves; suffering is neither the point nor any form of 'justice', and from this 'hell' a trickle of chaos runs animatingly into the world, so that even the 'damned' and the substance of demons are recycled. There are also theologies of assassination and suicide (mainly in The Curse of Chalion) that run counter to Christian orthodoxy and variously challenge the arguments commonly invoked by anti-abortionists and supporters of the death penalty. The central role of animals in Quintarian funerary practice (and the explicit existence in The Hallowed Hunt of animal souls) are also readily seen as rebukes to contemporary, religiously sanctioned exploitation of animals, while the whole pre-technological fantasy world, capped by its seasonal gods, effectively sacramentalises nature by respecting it in a way most urban Christianity has now lost.
It should also be noted that the 'trilogy' is not necessarily complete. The three published novels centre successively on theologies of the Daughter, the Bastard, and the Son; implicitly, two further novels should concern those of the Mother and Father, and in answering a question after her 2004 address at the Library of Congress Bujold said that while she had no immediate plans to do so, she would like to write those novels and create a quintet.
See also
- Lois McMaster BujoldLois McMaster BujoldLois McMaster Bujold is an American author of science fiction and fantasy works. Bujold is one of the most acclaimed writers in her field, having won the prestigious Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record. Her novella The Mountains of Mourning won both the Hugo...
- The Curse of ChalionThe Curse of ChalionThe Curse of Chalion is a 2001 fantasy novel by Lois McMaster Bujold. In 2002 it won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature and was nominated for the Hugo, World Fantasy, and Locus Awards in 2002....
(CC) - Paladin of SoulsPaladin of Souls- Synopsis :Paladin of Souls is a sequel to The Curse of Chalion and is set some three years after the events of that novel. It follows Ista, mother of the girl who became Royina in that book and a minor character in it...
(PS) - The Hallowed HuntThe Hallowed HuntThe Hallowed Hunt is a fantasy novel by Lois McMaster Bujold, published in 2005. It placed fourth in the annual Locus Poll for best fantasy novel.- Plot introduction :...
(HH)
External links
- http://www.dendarii.com/