MB&LK's Amber Bits

Amber Astrology

When I designed SWtE I had thought that we would have PCs admiring the star-lit nights, and that got me to thinking about the constellations of Amber. A discussion with my co-GM of the time (waves at Rikibeth) got me to thinking about Amber Astrology.

While one thought might be to use the Elders as examples of constellations, here is what I created, with some annotations (of a sort) for my thinking about it...

While for the purposes of English-literate players I wasn't going to change the months and days of the week for Amber, I did split the "year" astrologically into ten different aspects, noted of course by where the constellations are prominent.

The Amber year in that campaign began in Winter. The first sign is Alsander: The helper. Names are often chosen for these to reflect their meanings and the other way around. (Reflections are an important part of Amber cosmology, so I don't mind playing with them.) Born under Alsander were Eric, and Mirelle.

The Winter-Spring transition is one celebrated in many cultures as the sun begins to be reborn, making its way into longer and warmer days. The second sign is Barclay: The foundation. Born under this sign were Oberon, Deirdre, and Merlin.

In choosing who was born under which signs I had the choice of deciding whether or not astrology was another form of magic in the campaign. I did, in fact, give it to the Priesthood as part of their rituals, in thinking it might shape the origins of a psyche, although I did not, of course, bind anyone to it.

In Spring, you have the young things, and the signs of eternal youth, the birth of babies and blossom.s. Brode: The reflection is the sign of Spring. Finndo and Gerard were born under this sign.

I did wonder if the names recalled perhaps past heroes of Amber. The idea of Brode had immediately made me think of a Rebman warrior who was martyred in a conflict for Amber, but I never quite spent the time to write the histories.

Spring turns into Summer, and the transition is sometimes subtle, other times obvious. The sign of this transition is Colman: Maker of peace, which is not (but should have been!) a play on Coleman who does so many camping supplies. Corwin, Sand, and Delwin were born under this sign.

The first part of summer is a bright time, full of festivals and sunshine. Devin: Patron of the arts oversees this time. This constellation saw the birth of Bleys as well as Dworkin.

However, as summer wears on, things get warm, things dry out. In periods of drought, fields of flowers from spring are mere tinder for fire. Julian's Rangers are supplemented with volunteers during this long part of the year in fire watch. While Arden can take care of itself, and fire is a part of its method, fire and chaos have a lot in common. For my Amber, I noted that summer really is a longer part of the year...although this could be changed by the King. This portion of Summer is seen by Fiach: Keeper of the dead. Fiach's celebrations are often pyres, and people light the torches to guide the ghosts during this time. It also noted the births of Caine and Florimel.

This time moves us into the transition of Summer and Fall. It is marked by milder temperatures and the beginning of harvest. However, the tempers fueled by Summer have not yet cooled, and Kellagh: Maker of war is often invoked, the stars of his constellation bright in the sky. Julian and Martin were born during these months.

The first coming of Fall is a chill breeze, something you can smell in the air. Amber kitchens celebrate this with feasts as it seems like everything is "in plenty" during this time. No one goes hungry unless they so choose, as abundance is everywhere. It is said, however, that the order in which the staples of the winter are harvested is a good measure for how the winter will be won. Looking up into the sky now you will see Leon: The catalyst. Celebrating their birthdays are Osric, Random, and Rinaldo.

The first harvests are in, and now the rest of the time here is spent in work. It is not unknown for the King to send restless guard from the castle down to the fields of Garnath for this portion of Fall, to help bring in crops. This is a time where even the children of Amber are seen diligently picking up fruit that has fallen from trees so that it can be preserved. It is, however, also the time that many daydreamers are exposed, as in the sky is Maitias: The dreamer, under whose ascension was born Brand.

Once all of the fields are plucked clean, or left to the creatures who do such jobs, it is time to prepare them for the next year, and the long growing season. This transition into winter is somewhat less busy, as people enjoy the fruits of their labors. There is a lot of opportunity, however, to get into troublemaking, as this is the start of Council season. Reamonn: The activist was bright in the sky at Benedict and Fiona's births.

If I was running another game with these influences, I might shuffle the birthdays a little to suit the characters better, although these worked well for the game then. For G&G, for example, Fiona and Florimel would probably have been born under Leon, and Julian under Colman, and so on and so forth.

Posted by Meera at June 14, 2003 11:10 AM