Ormazda

The [file:///C:/Users/Jesper/Dropbox/Bandagora/encyc.htm#Guder goddess] of truth and trial (though since she is almost never portrayed, most people think of Ormazda as male). Ormazda is often called the merciless goddess, and She is probably both the most feared and respected goddess. At the entrances to Her temples an inscription usually reads: "Ormazda judges not, Ormazda knows." She is the adamant guardian of truth and does not allow any mendacity. The mere utterance of Her name can be used as a proof of truth, but few feel at ease saying Her name aloud. The inexperienced often insist that the signers of a contract should invoke Her, but this happens rarely compared to Hermes and [file:///C:/Users/Jesper/Dropbox/Bandagora/encyc.htm#Plutus Plutus]. Rather, Her name is invoked in desperation of lacking trust. As the goddess of trials She sometimes temporarily takes care of the other gods' worshipers. These worshipers are given some kind of atonement to perform, and She watches over them, until they have completed or failed their tasks.
Ormazda has few priests and few worshipers, for She demands much of them. And they in their turn demands much in terms of tolerance from their surroundings, as they insist on telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth. In return those priests and worshipers are almost impossible to fool. To fund the temples the priests (almost exclusively men) offer truthful answers. The price is high, but the answer is guaranteed to be true. All question must concern a person, if that person is present, the question can be any question that can be answered by a yes or no. If the person is not present, the question can only be if that person is dead or alive. Ormazda only answers one question about any particular individual once per month, and in some cities the temple has regular customers coming in once a month to ask if they still have a nose. The point is to bar any other question from being asked. When confronted with the question if this is not in fact hiding the truth, the priests answer without hesitation that it might be, but: "To Ormazda, all truths are good, all lies are evil."
Holy day: October 6th. If depicted at all, she is typically a hooded genderless figure. 
Holy symbol: The rune of truth, which resembles an exclamation point.