Miss Amalya Corinthian wondered:
In Telluria, some names are considered mascul, and others femin. Is this a schizomorphic practice, or do Aristasians consider some names more blonde/brunette than others? I was thinking about it, and it seems that way, at least to me, but only with certain names, so this is likely a lot more fluid than its Tellurian counterpart.

Raya Chancandre Aquitaine answered:
You are exactly right. In the matter of names, Aristasia is more fluid. In Telluria nearly all names are definitely mascul or femin, just as nearly all clothes (at least traditionally) are so. In Aristasia there are some names that would normally be for blondes and others for brunettes, but the majority are usable for either sex. In The Princess and the Captain, Antala is definitely a brunette name, as is Claralin. Clarala is a more likely blonde form. Sushuri is almost always a blonde name. Thamë/Thamla is usually brunette.

Sometimes this may be a local or temporary phenomenon - for example if a famous person has held a particular name, children named after her will tend to be of the same sex that she is.

Aristasia is also more fluid in the matter of clothes, although many brunettes will shy off “very blonde” clothes. Some blondes, however, consider it cute to dress in styles that seem quite brunette.

In some parts of the East there are clothes that may only be worn by a particular sex, but such places will also tend to have rules (or at least strong customs) as to which clothes may be worn by particular ages and Estates too.

Starting on the Path of Devotion could not be easier. Our Celestial Mother, like every mother, is always ready to accept the love of Her children.

It is good if you have a picture or a statue of Her. It should be one that you find attractive. One that speaks to you of Her love and beauty. It might be a picture of Mahalakshmi, or a statue of Mother Mary. It might be a picture of Kwan Yin. You might wish to feel the protection of Dea in her mighty form as Sri Durga. Whatever form you love, choose that. Then you can look upon Her form when you talk to Her.

It is traditional also to bring Her gifts. Light candles before Her; burn a little incense. Once you have your picture or statue of Her and have placed some candles and perhaps an incense burner before it, you already have your first Shrine. If you can, it is nice to bring fresh flowers to the shrine and offer them to Dea.

These are very simple things, but simple love always pleases our Mother. Say good morning to Her when you arise and bid Her goodnight when you go to bed. These are the elementary courtesies that a child pays to her mother. It is also considered proper in many circles to bow when you approach Her image or when you pass it.

Another common practice is to offer food to Her before eating it. This is something like saying a simple grace, but the difference is that instead of merely thanking Her for Her bounty, we are giving the food to Her. It is said that she consumes the true essence of the food and that we eat Her leavings, which is the material part of the food. But by Her eating it, the food is blessed and we ourselves taste something of its true essence, which our worldly tongues are unable to do.

These are some simple practices that will start you on the Path of Devotion. If they become part of your life, you will be a devotee of Dea.

Full article: Devotion to God the Mother

One of the fundamental differences between Aristasia and Telluria — even when regarded as parallel worlds — is that the rationalist revolution of the 17th Century (miscalled the “Enlightenment”), which has shaped modern Tellurian thought and culture, did not take place in Aristasia. Aristasian science fiction, such as The Princess and the Captain explores a world in which technics have developed to a high degree, but are seen as an extension of the traditional metaphysical outlook, and are not the result of a revolutionary rationalism.

Even the Classical Aberration of Greece and Rome, with its republicanism, individualism and proto-rationalism, has no equivalent in Aristasia. In Telluria, this aberration was consciously revived at the time of the Renaissance (literally a “rebirth” of the Classical spirit). In Aristasia the traditional view of the world (as upheld by Plato in Telluria against the spirit of his time) continued unbroken.

In Westrenne Aristasia, a spirit of individualism and a weakening of tradition has certainly manifested itself in recent centuries. However the Westrennes have never regarded this as a “progress” or “advance”, and have never adopted an attitude of superiority and condescension toward the ancient world or the East. On the contrary, they regard their own “modernism” as a decline from the highest standard and as somewhat regrettable, while at the same time acknowledging that it has made their particular culture possible.

The fact that the most advanced technics in the West have come out of Novaria — the Western nation most closely adhering to the traditional thought of the East — seems like a paradox only to non-Aristasians. To the Aristasian mind, the strong connexion of Novaria with the wellsprings of traditional intellectuality is precisely the reason for its successful adaptation of that intellectuality to the forms and possibilities of the Iron Age.

Again and again one must remind oneself that in Aristasia technics are not associated with a revolutionary ideology as they are in Telluria, but on the contrary, are seen as the latest application of traditional Intelligence.

Miss Sakura tells her thoughts:

In the Aethyr I was thinking of the Three Great Refuges of Buddhism: the Acts by which one becomes a Buddhist. These are:

I take Refuge in the Buddha

I take Refuge in the Sangha

Now we must understand that “Buddha” means the supreme Spirit; the Atma.

The Dharma is the “Wonderful Law”.

The Sangha is the Buddhist community or congregation.

What I felt I was told was that the process of becoming an Aristasian is a precise parallel to this. We too take the Three Great Refuges:

I take Refuge in Dea

I take Refuge in the Motherland

We must understand that:

Dea is the supreme Spirit, the Atma, and the Mother of every soul.

The Thamë is the Golden Order, the Wonderful Law which governs the stars, the Empire and our own hearts.

The Motherland is the true Home of every Aristasian. By the care and direction of our Puran mistresses we live, as part of the great Familia of the Celestial Empire, which is seen as a saving community. By extension we also take refuge in the sisterhood of Aristasians in Telluria, who are the legitimate and adopted continuation of the Familia in this world.

What I felt that I was being told was that the taking of these three Refuges was the way a Tellurian becomes an Aristasian.

I humbly pass this forward to my Elders for their wise consideration.

Princess Peach is the Nintendo heroine who, though frequently kidnapped in her early life, has survived to become an active, adventurous and sporting princess. She is most Aristasians’ preference when playing light games. But is she a blonde or a brunette?

Miss Lindie reports:
Princess Peach is assuredly a blonde and always has been. Her hair seems to vary from light red to pale lemon - whether from nature or choice we cannot say. But it is true there are some enigmas in her history. In Nippon, she was always called Peach, however in the West there were various changes. In the original Donkey Kong the girl was Pauline - not royal and probably only a distant relation to Peach. Once the Princess arrived in the West, she was at first called Princess Toadstool. The name Peach only became fully current in the 3D era. Also there were some games in which the Princess was Daisy, an auburn brunette.

This is not really as confusing as it sounds. We now know that Princess Peach’s full name is Princess Peach Toadstool, while in Mario Tennis, The Princesses Peach and Daisy are shown to be two separate characters who can play doubles together or compete with one another. This should not be confusing to an Aristasian. Princess Daisy is Princess Peach’s brunette cousin who has at times in true Aristasian Life Theatre tradition enacted the role of her royal relative. She is in fact the ruler of another realm.

Both girls, though entitled Princess, are in fact rulers in their own right. Another curious fact is that while Princess Peach is human in form, her subjects are all Mushroom People, like Kinopio. This raises the question of marriage. It would clearly be impossible for Princess Peach to marry one of her subjects. The anarchic Tellurian argument that royal personages “are just like other people and could marry anybody” would hardly cut much ice in the Mushroom Realm. The Princess must clearly marry another royal personage of her own - um - shape. Since royal marriages are often in the family, her brunette cousin Daisy might even be a possibility, uniting two illustrious realms in time-honoured fashion.

This exchange came immediately after the conversation recorded in Timeless Motherhood:

Miss Suzanna wrote:
Thank you very much for your replies to my questions. It is wonderful to ask a question and get such replies. They present an enticing vision of a grave and beautiful way of life. By grave, I don’t mean lacking in fun, in fact I don’t quite know what I mean, but the word seems to fit!

It is heartbreaking to think how, from childhood, there is so much misery and suffering in the Pit, due to spiritual starvation… You said [earlier] that we have control over our own hestia - our homes and hearts, and can do something about them. If we try to lead our lives in a way which is pleasing to Dea, will that have an effect on the suffering of others, even if it is not directly helping them? Or is there some other way we can do this, in the way that nuns in a convent believe that their prayers will have a potent effect on the atmosphere somehow.

Miss Sushuri Novaryana replied:
I believe that by living lives that are pleasing to Dea and are racinated, we do have an effect on that part of the anima mundi to which we are connected.

I also believe that ideas are much underrated. By making available ideas and ways of looking at things that are nourishing (though largely forgotten by the current world) I think we provide new possibilities for people. So much of life, after all, is in the mind, and all cultural developments, good and bad, begin there.

I understand your word “grave”. It probably applies to Estrenne thinking rather than Westrenne in Aristasia. But in the end the Estrenne way of thought underlies all our thinking.

The quality you are describing, I think could also be called “measured” (remember that the term “a measure” used to be used for a dance-step as well as mensuration) or “in tune with the universal harmony”. It is the quality of thamë. Such terms as “stately”, “formal” and “ritualised” are also associated with it. To the modern Western mind these things seem very serious and lacking the joy of spontaneity; but we should remember that to our ancestors, these things were supremely joyful, which is why the quality of Jupiter ( Thamë ) is called jovial. Nowadays joy tends to be trivialised, so “jovial” has lost all its ritual and formal associations; but for those who first used the world, formality and fun went hand-in-hand to the point where they could be expressed by the same word.

Anita here again, pettes, with a little disquisition on satin, which no one has ever said is a completely innocent fabric! Chiffon and lace connote fragility, daintiness, vulnerability, but satin … well satin is what is known as a sensuous fabric, both to wear and to behold, and nowhere is satin more sensuously used than in Trent.

Now, satin is a special type of weave, one that has more warps than fillings on its surface, which is what causes its sheen. It can be woven from silk, rayon or even cotton. Silk satin is the finest and most expensive, although rayon satin is almost as good. Because of its reflective properties, satin makes a girl look larger than she is, so it is worn to greatest advantage by very slim pettes.

Satin did not really come into its own as the fabric for elegant evening wear until Mlle. Madelaine Vionnet of Western Vintesse invented the bias cut. Bias cut fabrics are cut across the grain, you see, which allows a garment to fall in a smooth, flowing vertical drape, and to be rather easily manipulated into clingy, slinky gowns of transcendent grace and elegance. Bias cutting is relatively wasteful of fabric, however, as a pattern must be laid diagonally across the bolt, but it produces garments that are so deliciously fluid that pettes are willing to pay a bit extra.

Take the stunning black ciré satin gown above, as worn by Ursula Jeans in Noelle Coward’s latest film, Cavalcade, which has just been released and is showing right now in local theaters all over Trent. The low, revealing bodice clings enticingly, as does the skirt down to the knees, where it is released into glistening folds which drape to the feet and spread over the floor. Daringly black and ultra-slinky, modesty is maintained by a delicate bow of tiny diamonds applied to the decolletage, echoed by the jewels on the bracelets and on the scarlet red feathered fan.

To the right is Mary Lou Dix in a rather plain gown of pale lavender bias-cut satin. Its lines are almost severely simple and classic, yet its impact is in no way lessened thereby. On the contrary, the gown’s utter simplicity displays Miss Dix’s perfect figure without interposing the least distraction.

But bias-cut satin drapes so beautifully that even when the design is complex and unusual, a woman’s figure cannot be easily concealed.

Look at Miss Carole Lombard in this close-fitting evening gown of black satin. The skirt appears twisted in a large, draped bow just above the knees, trailing off into a narrow train, echoed by a twisted halter held in place about neck and shoulders by a large diamond clip. At the risk of trying your patience, dearest pettes, let me finally show you Miss Lombard in the same dress, now covered with an unusual three-quarter-length cape of black satin, broadly banded in black monkey fur which falls outward in sprays.

Once again, girls, the quiet, self-possessed air of these women is not at all unusual in Trent. You will easily find see it in studio stills from the province such as these. You won’t find any blank stares, nor any hint of hostile or indifferent alienation either, as I understand is quite common among models in the place called the Pit: Trentish women are always connected to everything around them not despite, but because of their self-possession.

Lady Aquila wrote:
The Aristasian salute touches either the left shoulder or the left side of the chest (there are many variants on the salute - not random - each military or other group using it will have its own strictly-observed form). Nonetheless the reference is to the heart (which is on the left side) and to the shoulder or arm (which is the instrument of action).

That the (relatively late) Tellurian salute should touch the head, which is the centre of lunar reason, which in turn is the focus of the rationalist revolution which ushered in the rajasic age in West Telluria, does not seem insignificant.

The salute to the head is known in Aristasia as are some other salutes used in different places and circumstances. The salute to the head generally has the effect of being jauntier and less formal than the standard salute, though there are a few contexts in which it is officially used. It has been used in pictures on the Aristasia Friends site largely because it is more readily recognised by newcomers than the standard Aristasian salute.

Miss Carola wrote:
I got a vision of a beautiful place in Elektraspace, with gorgeous and sentimental pictures of Dea. A place where Devotional practices like chanting are explained and also a basic and easy to understand philosophy. It is so beautiful and created with so much love, that the hearts of the visitors rejoice. Can we make this possible? I believe many travellers in this dry and hostile desert of the pit, will be glad to rest and refresh in such an oasis.

Miss Annalinde replied:
Interestingly, we have been thinking about just such a place. I think there should be a “library” there for the more serious philosophy as we have been discussing it. But for most people it is not necessary to go into such depth. As you say, the philosophy should be expressed as simply as possible, with the facility for any one who wishes to go more deeply into it.

Devotion should be the main theme of the site, and as you say, it should be an oasis for the thirsty soul, with beautiful pictures of Dea and simply-explained devotional practices, as well, perhaps, as some important texts.

I hope our discussions here are preparing us and leading up to the creation of such a place.

This discussion occurred about three years ago at the Aristasian Spirtuality Group, and may have contributed to the eventual creation of the Chapel of Our Mother God last year.