What do we know about the Twelve and their cults?

[IlSire]

I feel like, even after all these years and two lorebooks we don't really know much about the Twelve, not only about *who* or *what* they are/were but also about their cults and how they relate to eorzean's everyday lives.

Althyk, for example, is still very obscure despite being quite important since we know that historians usually respect him and that's it.

What about Lymlaen and sailors? Do they have any rituals for ships and stuff?

Menphina is revered by Keepers of the Moon...but how exactly?
She doesn't seem that much about hunting in the moonlight and stuff and more about being a loving maternal figure in general.
I can see the goddess being very important for Keepers families because of the whole Zhloe's "Menphina's embrace" but that seems mostly fitting more for the female core of it.
Males are pretty much ousted from the family as soon as they can, wouldn't they be more about Oschon because wandering or maybe Thaliak/Althyk if they go the hermit erudite route?

What about Azeyma and Keepers and also her being the goddess of "enquiry"?

Would Nymeia be extremely important for any pratictioner of astrology?

We know that Au'Ra don't really worship any of them is it safe to assume Viera and Hrothgar will be the same?

I could go on with many questions and I know it may seem silly but I would really love to know more about any little tidbit since it's a bit odd that, to this day, we don't know too much.

[Brightamethyst]

We don't really know. For all the talk about the Twelve there's very little evidence of things like clergy or formal worship for most of them (outside of Ishagrd, anyway.) We see people talk about them and invoke them in oaths or the heat of the moment (by the Twelve!), and there are shines dedicated to them, and an occasional priest, but that's the extent of it shown in game. Outside of Ishagrd, prayer and worship seem to be more personal than organized.

We know that Au'Ra don't really worship any of them is it safe to assume Viera and Hrothgar will be the same?

Probably. Gods are very much a regional thing. The far east doesn't revere the Twelve just like Eorzea doesn't revere the kami. Stands to reason the Viera and Hrothgar worship something else entirely.

[RenewalXVII]

It's worth pointing out that the Second Astral Era was very religious, until those theocracies collapsed in the Third Calamity and broke the power of organized religion; that's what made the Allagans rather atheistic. The faith of the Twelve is apparently at least as old as Allag, and so was probably shaped by those events.

[LineageRazor]

I'm not sure it's fair to refer to them as "cults" - at least, unless you're the sort that maintains that ANY religion is a cult, and the established religions are just cults that have gone mainstream. Worship of the Twelve is perfectly acceptable in Eorzea, even expected, to a degree - whereas true cults, like the Lambs of Dalamud, are looked upon as delusional and (justifiably) dangerous fanatics.

In-game, however, I think that Ishgard's worship of Halone is the only case whose worship is gone into in with any depth, and appears to be patterned after Catholicism (specifically, medieval, Inquisition-era Catholicism). It's worth noting, however, that worshipers of Halone never downplayed any of the other Eleven as being "false gods" - while Halone is the center of their worship, the others are no less godly than she. Even Nophica, Halone's bitter rival, is never singled out as being unworthy of worship. Also worth noting, it may well be the case that non-Ishgardian worshipers of Halone do not subscribe to Ishgard's church, but worship her in their own way.

It's also risky to generalize that Au Ra do not worship the Twelve. The Twelve are worshiped in Eorzea, and while most Au Ra do not live in Eorzea, the few that are born and bred there probably DO. Worship of the Twelve is a regional and cultural thing, not a racial thing.

[IlSire]

I'm not sure it's fair to refer to them as "cults" - at least, unless you're the sort that maintains that ANY religion is a cult, and the established religions are just cults that have gone mainstream. Worship of the Twelve is perfectly acceptable in Eorzea, even expected, to a degree - whereas true cults, like the Lambs of Dalamud, are looked upon as delusional and (justifiably) dangerous fanatics.

I used "cult" but I agree that "religion" or just "worship" would be better terms, it's just that the word "cult" doesn't have the exact same connotations it has in English and can be used as a synonym in my mother language, sorry.

It's also risky to generalize that Au Ra do not worship the Twelve. The Twelve are worshiped in Eorzea, and while most Au Ra do not live in Eorzea, the few that are born and bred there probably DO. Worship of the Twelve is a regional and cultural thing, not a racial thing.

I agree that it's totally possible with Eorzean Au Ra but I was referring mostly about what traditionally happens where the greatest bulk of the race resides, which in this case is in Othard and for Viera and Hrothgar would be Golmore Jungle, Skatay Range and Ilsabard I guess.

It's worth pointing out that the Second Astral Era was very religious, until those theocracies collapsed in the Third Calamity and broke the power of organized religion; that's what made the Allagans rather atheistic. The faith of the Twelve is apparently at least as old as Allag, and so was probably shaped by those events.

Oh yes, I remember that passage from the lorebook, would be nice to know more indeed.

We don't really know. For all the talk about the Twelve there's very little evidence of things like clergy or formal worship for most of them (outside of Ishagrd, anyway.) We see people talk about them and invoke them in oaths or the heat of the moment (by the Twelve!), and there are shines dedicated to them, and an occasional priest, but that's the extent of it shown in game. Outside of Ishagrd, prayer and worship seem to be more personal than organized.

It's a shame we don't know much, even if there is no formal highly organized religion it would be good to know how the various people in Eorzea intertwine their worship in their lives especially for those groups that traditionally do it, like Keepers of the Moon and Menphina, Seekers of the Sun and Azeyma and so on.

[Seraph522]

I'm not sure it's fair to refer to them as "cults" - at least, unless you're the sort that maintains that ANY religion is a cult, and the established religions are just cults that have gone mainstream. Worship of the Twelve is perfectly acceptable in Eorzea, even expected, to a degree - whereas true cults, like the Lambs of Dalamud, are looked upon as delusional and (justifiably) dangerous fanatics.

I used "cult" but I agree that "religion" or just "worship" would be better terms, it's just that the word "cult" doesn't have the exact same connotations it has in English and can be used as a synonym in my mother language, sorry.

In fairness, the term 'cult' can also be used in English simply to refer to a particular sect of faith devoted to a particular god or goddess, and doesn't necessarily have the same negative connotations; this term is used often in academia, for example, when speaking about polytheistic religions (i.e. the Imperial Cult in the Roman Empire which worshiped emperors as deities after their deaths). This definition would fit perfectly for what you described. The problem mostly arises with its popular usage, which is negative in tone and usually refers to the aforementioned insular and fanatical religious groups; that's probably where the confusion is coming from.

[Haxaan]

Primals all of them...

[myahele]

Halone seems to have the largest organized religion of the 12, followed by Rhalgr in Ala Mhigo prior to its fall.

While worship of the other gods in conjunction with a city's patron deity is fine, it's very controversial to change a city's patron god. The only example we have of that is when the Mad King of Ala Mhigo decided to make Menphina the patron god of Ala Mhigo.

That said, each city-state honor their patron god in their own way and tries to remain true to what the god represents.

As one might expect for a maritime city-state, Lominsans revere Llymlaen, watcher of the seas and goddess of navigation. True believers make pilgrimages to the mark of the Navigator before they set sail, and upon their safe return to port. The worship of Llymlaen has roots in a loose collection of local beliefs, however, and thus cannot be thought of as a formal religion. Indeed, the Navigator has no grand temples nor clergy to Her name in Limsa, save the odd bethel overlooking the endless seas. Instead, each man keeps his own faith within his home through prayer and humble ritual.

Oschon's Finger: When a thief is caught, a common punishment is to remove a number of fingers proportional to the value of the items stolen. These fingers are then taken and blessed by anointed priests of Oschon, the Wanderer. It is thought that, when carried on a journey, these fingers will point out the safest routes, and are therefore cherished by caravan drivers and traveling merchants throughout Eorzea.

Gridanians see the Elementals as extension of Nophica. By obeying the Elementals, they're honoring Nophica's love of nature.

Ul'dah have Nald'Thal. The Thaumaturges and the funeral rites associated with them is how they honor Nald'Thal.

Sharlayan share the same creed of Thaliak via pursuing knowledge and wisdom.

I do recall one quest where a priest at Adama Llamdama told us to make a pilgrimage to Azeyma's prayer stone. Apparently, people make such a pilgrimage to pray for her "divine judgement." There's even one npc in Camp Drybone that actively worships Azeyma. He says that the Calamity was Azeyma's divine judgement for man's sins.

I think it was said that moon cats paint their faces as a way to worship Menphina.

Outside of the main city-states and their patron deities, I think the worship of the remaining 12 is more personal and depends on what the god represent. I guess people will pray to one of the 12 for a specific reason. Nophica for a good harvest, Llymlaen for safe travels, Azeyma for justice, Nald'Thal for a good afterlife or business deal, etc.

[CienFleur]

Tbh…

When I finished creating my character 5 years ago… I was looking through the twelve and was like
“Oh… Choose a deity…? What for?”

I was reading the entries and “Menphina” was my choice because of two things...
“Keeper of The Moon” & “Love”

5 years later… Now… I wanna know more about those 12. What do they look like? Do they exist? Can we like receive their aid say like a ‘Boon’ for one hour each Eorzean Day?

Thoughts? Feelings? Ideas?

[ObsidianFire]

A little bit of FFXIV game development history here...

Back in 1.0 to 3.x, elemental damage was still a thing in the game as a whole. Picking a deity shifted around your elemental defense stats a little bit. However, in 4.0, elemental damage was removed from the game as a whole and put into Eureka as a main mechanic. As part of that, the elemental defense stats gained from picking a deity disappeared and now picking a deity is simply a Role Playing decision.