Faith is a dangerous concept inGame of Thrones. The dominant religion in Westeros is the Faith of the Seven. The priests and followers of the central church wield a considerable amount of power in their home nation. While they’re the primary in-group, they’re far from the only game in town. The old gods maintain popularity in a variety of locations, ensuring a mix of beliefs throughout the continent. Beyond Westeros, a few unique souls still follow even older gods. The Church of Starry Wisdom is one of the most bizarre examples.
One of the downsides of watchingGame of Thronesinstead of readingA Song of Ice and Fireis that the show is a bit more focused. It’s a long show, but it still leaves behind endless little details. The books constantly make references to elements of the world that may never become important. People had to write encyclopedias just to explain some of those ostensibly throwaway lines to a hungry audience. The Known World has several generations of history that many fans will never experience.
What does the Church of Starry Wisdom worship?
The Church of Starry Wisdom rejected all of their ancestral deities to bow before a chunk of black stone that fell from the sky. Their leaders are the High Priests, who probably practice a selection of horrible traditions. The Church of Starry Wisdom sprouted up several millennia before the events ofGame of Thrones. There are no precise calendars, buthumans first reached Westeros around 12,000 yearsbefore the story begins, and the Church had to start ages before that. The Church of Starry Wisdom rose during the reign of the Great Empire of the Dawn, a mythic realm that once occupied a considerable chunk of Essos. Every element of the story exists somewhere between campfire tales and religious scripture. The Great Empire of the Dawn is long dead, and its people possessed no written language, so everything that may have happened in it remainspotential fiction within fiction.
The Great Empire of the Dawn supposedlystarted when two gods gavethe world their first and only son. The sinister Lion of Night sired a son upon the Maiden-Made-of-Light. That boy became the God-on-Earth, who built and ruled the Great Empire of the Dawn for 10,000 years. His eldest son took the throne when the God-on-Earth finally ascended to join his parents. Over the next several millennia, the God-on-Earth’s genetic line kept control over the Great Empire of the Dawn. Each descendant was another generation removed from godhood, ensuring a shorter and more difficult reign. Six generations after the God-on-Earth, the Amethyst Empress prepared to ascend to the throne. Her younger brother became obsessed with a black stone that fell from the sky. He killed his sister in cold blood and stole her birthright to become the Bloodstone Emperor. As a practitioner of torture, cannibalism, and dark magic,the Bloodstone Emperor becamethe first High Priest of the Church of Starry Wisdom. Many believe that his evil actions summoned the Lion of Night’s wrath, leading to the mythical Long Night.
Is the Church of Starry Wisdom still around?
The Church of Starry Wisdom is very niche, but it’s still around by the time ofGame of Thrones. The books mention it exactly once. InA Dance with Dragons, Arya Stark lives in Braavos. She’s deep into the process of learning tojoin the Faceless Men. She takes the identity of Beth, a blind beggar girl. One of her early assignments involved wandering the streets without her eyesight. Beth must learn the subtle details of the city’s comings and goings by listening. One of the many things she hears are the few remaining members of the Church of Starry Wisdom. They fit into a list of religions she passes by without paying much attention to. Her third-person narration describes them like this:
As she made her way past the temples, she could hear the acolytes of the Cult of Starry Wisdom atop their scrying tower, singing to the evening stars.
What inspired the Church of Starry Wisdom?
The Church of Starry Wisdom is areference to H. P. Lovecraft’s"The Haunter of the Dark." First published inWeird Talesin 1936, “The Haunter of the Dark” is a sequel to “The Shambler from the Stars” by Lovecraft’s protégé, Robert Blorch. The story follows Robert Blake, a horror author who investigates a Providence church. He discovers its connection to the Church of Starry Wisdom and its hidden esoteric artifact. Disturbing that item, the Shining Trapezohedron, sends the titular eldritch horror after him. For its part, the Church of Starry Wisdom only pops up in one other story. They appear in “The Shadow from the Steeple,” Blorch’s follow-up to “The Haunter of the Dark.” Further examination offers them a short explanation. Archaeologist and occultist Enoch Bowen formed the cult in 1844 after discovering a hidden pharaoh’s tomb in Egypt. He assembled 200 followers who agreed to offer sacrifices to Nyarlathotep in exchange for arcane knowledge. They remain somewhat obscure in their original source material.
The Church of Starry Wisdom has never been a central aspect of aGame of Thronesstory. It does exist in a lot of fascinating fan theories, butthere’s no confirmation of them. They still exist, but they seem to have very little impact on the narrative. If the Church of Starry Wisdom ever takes control of the narrative, the people of Westeros have dark times ahead. They’re happy to spend most of their time singing to the stars.
