Ogma

The god (in few places goddess) of bards and storytelling. According to the gospel of Ogma, the world cannot be divided into good and evil, but rather it is a giant stage upon which a fantastic play unfolds. Being 'good' means understanding one's role in life and play it. Being 'bad' or wrong is blundering along with no connection to the rest of the world like a single jigsaw piece. Sometimes the bards picture the world as a giant tapestry, where evil is recognized as holes appearing when threads are ripped apart. Ogma may not be the greatest god, but He is the most important god, for He knows how mend the threads. He plays a role above the roles as does a playwright. A writer describing a hero's life may not possess the abilities of the hero, but even so the writer has more power than the hero, as the writer can interpret the acts of the hero and incorporate them into their rightful context. It is the divine duty of the bards to depict the world so as to make clear the underlying symbolic reality. This will enable the ordinary men to know their rightful place in the great chain of being. Mastering magic is not a prerequisite for being a bard, but many bards find it natural that magic and storytelling are related, since magic is nothing but symbols made manifest. Accordingly, most bards try to learn at least a rudimentary level of magic. Ogma has many proud temples, usually funded by famous bards, but few priests. The role of the priesthood is to spread the word of Ogma and to discover and educate future bards. A few bards are able to combine the preaching of Ogma's creed with their careers, but this is of their own choosing. The priests of Ogma generally consider that being a priest attenuates the creative ability of a bard. Aside from that, most temples have no lack of funding or candidates for priesthood, the ranks of the latter being filled by hopeful youngsters whose abilities do not match their desire to become bards.
Holy day: November 30th in Ogma's Grove.