Hastur

Hastur (The Unspeakable One, Him Who Is Not to be Named, The King in Yellow, Assatur, Xastur, H'aaztre, or Kaiwan) is an entity of the Cthulhu Mythos. Hastur first appeared in Ambrose Bierce's short story "Haita the Shepherd" (1893) as a benign god of shepherds. Hastur is briefly mentioned in H. P. Lovecraft's The Whisperer in Darkness; previously, Robert W. Chambers had used the name in his own stories to represent both a person and a place associated with the names of several stars, including Aldebaran.
Hastur is a Great Old One who lives or is imprisoned on a dark star near Aldebaran in the constellation of Taurus. He is related to Carcosa, the Yellow Sign, the Lake of Hali, and is often associated with decadence, nihilism, and stagnancy. Paradoxically, the Unspeakable One also is sometimes referred to as the patron of shepherds. According to some sources, Hastur is not an actual entity at all, but rather an embodiment of the cosmic principle of entropy. This metaphorical view can be applied to other mythos entities, such as the view of Shub-Niggurath as an embodiment of the cosmic principle of life/fertility.
== Appearance ==
There is considerable confusion about Hastur's appearance, with possibilities ranging from an invisible force that can only be sensed psychically, to a two-hundred-foot bipedal lizard covered with tentacles. He has at least one avatar, the Emerald Lama, an alien-looking monk in a green robe. In the rare cases of possession, the victim's skin becomes scaly and their limbs seem boneless. The nature of Hastur's true form (if he has a "true form") is still a mystery.
== Cult of Hastur ==
The Tcho-Tchos and the people of K'n-yan are both known to worship Hastur. In the past, he was also revered in Samaria, Attluma, and Hyboria. His cult is considered particularly abhorrent, even when compared with those of the other Great Old Ones. The members of the cult are dedicated to bringing Hastur to Earth, as well as torturing mi-go to gain knowledge. Worshipers may call up Hastur when Aldebaran is in the sky (the best time being Candlemas Night when Mercury is in trine), usually in the presence of nine monoliths in a V-shape in imitation of the constellation Taurus.
In addition to his cults, Hastur is served by the interstellar race known as the byakhee. Some say the mi-go and Ithaqua are Hastur's minions, but there is little evidence to support this and much to contradict it.
== Relationships ==
The Outer God Shub-Niggurath and Hastur are closely linked, having mated to produce their own foul offspring called the Thousand Young. There seems to be some conflict between Hastur and Cthulhu; when the minions of the two beings have met, they have endeavored to destroy each other.
Category:Gods
Category:Gods and god-like beings
Category:Great Old Ones
Category:Characters