Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Creation Myths of the Elves: the Eladrin


In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
 
The Elves have many Creation Myths.  Each race has their own types of Creation Myths, according to their religions.  The High Elves have four major creation myths, the Wood Elves have only one.  The Massalian Elves have one creation myth, and the Eladrin have a couple.  Each creation myth tells the Elves a bit about themselves, where they came from, and why they are alive.

Eladrin Creation Myth

The Eladrin Creation Myth presented here explains why they are Eladrin and why they know the Secrets of the Universe.  They have a few others, relating to the Sun and Moon, and Nature.

The Tale of the Creation

בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ.
In principo creavit Deus caelcum et terram. 
In the Beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. 


In the Beginning, Elohim had said, "Let us go down."  And they went down in the beginning and they, the Elohim, organized the heavens and the Earth of Arborea.  And Arborea they had formed with the sacred Word of all Creation and Destruction.  And Aborea, after it was formed, was all empty and desolate.  This was because the Elohim had not formed anything upon the world of Aborea. 


Elohim had moved upon the desolate world and the Ruach Elohim brooded on the waters of the Deep. Then the Elohim said: Let there be Light upon the World!  And there was light and the Elohim were pleased that they were obeyed.  Then the Elohim spoke the Word and the Light and the Darkness were divided and again, the Elohim were pleased that they were obeyed. 


And the Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness the Night.  And Elohim also said, "let there be an expanse to divide the waters from the waters."  So, Elohim spoke the sacred Word again, and the waters divided themselves -- and Elohim were pleased that they were obeyed.  And Elohim called the expanse Heaven.  And the second time of Creation had passed.

On the third Time of Creation, El had said to the other Elohim, "Let us create ground upon the face of Aborea."  And so Elohim had ordered that the ground may be raised up as dry.  The waters they called Ocean, and the ground they called Arborea.  And Elohim were pleased that they were obeyed.


Elohim had said to one another, "Let us prepare the earth to bring forth grass; the herb yielding seed; the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, whose seed in itself yieldeth its own likeness upon the earth." And it was so, even as they ordered. 

And Elohim organized the earth to bring forth grass from its own seed, and the herb to bring forth herb from its own seed, yielding seed after his kind; and the earth to bring forth the tree from its own seed, yielding fruit, whose seed could only bring forth the same in itself, after his kind; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed according to the sacred Word. And it came to pass that they numbered the days; from the evening until the morning they called night; and it came to pass, from the morning until the evening they called day; and it was the third Time of creation.

And the Gods organized the stars in the expanse of the heaven, and caused them to divide the day from the night; and organized them to be for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years; And organized them to be for lights in the expanse of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so. And the Gods organized the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; with the lesser light they set the stars also; And the Gods set them in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to cause to divide the light from the darkness.  And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed.  And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that it was night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that it was day; and it was the fourth Time of Creation.


And the Gods said: Let us prepare the waters to bring forth abundantly the moving creatures that have life; and the fowl, that they may fly above the earth in the open expanse of heaven.  And the Gods prepared the waters that they might bring forth great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters were to bring forth abundantly after their kind; and every winged fowl after their kind. And the Gods saw that they would be obeyed, and that their plan was good. And the Gods said: We will bless them, and cause them to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas or great waters and cause the fowl to multiply on Aborea.  And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that they called night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called day; and it was the fifth Time of creation.

And the Gods prepared the earth to bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind; and it was so, as they had said.    And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth the beasts after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind; and the Gods saw they would obey. And the Gods took counsel among themselves and said: Let us go down and form man in our image, after our likeness; and we will give them dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 

So the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them. And the Gods said: We will bless them. And the Gods said: We will cause them to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And the Gods said: Behold, we will give them every herb bearing seed that shall come upon the face of all the earth, and every tree which shall have fruit upon it; yea, the fruit of the tree yielding seed to them we will give it; it shall be for their meat

And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, behold, we will give them life, and also we will give to them every green herb for meat, and all these things shall be thus organized.  And the Gods said: We will do everything that we have said, and organize them; and behold, they shall be very obedient. And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning they called night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called day; and they numbered the sixth Time of Creation.

And on the seventh Time of Creation, the Elohim rested.


Important Points:

This creation myth of the Eladrin establishes the relationship of the Eladrin with their Gods, the Elohim.  It also establishes the core of Eladrin mystic and logical thought.  The Eladrin, through this creation myth, state that they have a relationship between their Gods, the Heavens, and the Earth (in this case, Arborea). The Sacred Word of Creation and Destruction is the root of all Eladrin magic -- Whether it is Divine, Essence, or Mental . . . or Arcane.  This creation myth is taught in Eladrin universities and is passed down from Arcanist master to Arcanist apprentice -- and from Arcane Elemental Master to Apprentice.  From sacred Geometry to the sacred Word, the Eladrin has a special relationship to the Universe and this myth explains it as it is so.

Next: the Creation Myths of the High Elves.

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