A letter to Grayson, Cleric of Altheda, After reading your letter I thought long and hard about how to respond. Your request seems earnest, and the little I remember of you has left me feeling hopeful. Prior to the Summer Wars I would have said yes to you, thoughtlessly believing that everyone brought through the portal only had the good of Osterra in their hearts. Things have changed. Traitors abound and I know nothing of your goddess and very little about you. I tend to avoid the company of those who claim godhood at the best of times. Past experiences have taught me to be...wary. However, you seem to have great respect for Altheda and I do remember you fondly if vaguely. So, I give you this quest - convince me of HER worthiness. Show me why she deserves such loyalty and devotion. Prove to me she sides with the Light in the Everwar, and I will move mountains to help you connect with her again. Prove to me YOU are of the Light. Think long on this before you answer. This is no small task I have set before you. Without direct contact with Altheda how will you convince me? (OOC - I'm implying that if you can't convince me, you might end up facing trouble. We can't have rouge mages running around willy-nilly now, can we?) Yours in Light, Meryn, Healer of the Longren

I think you can use the term druidism. It seems to be a ubiquitous term in the fantasy genre already. Also, incorporating practical everyday knowledge like herb lore in role play isn't really "stealing" from a culture, it is just a fact. I'm pretty sure you aren't stepping on cultural toes by using lore that is practical. Like you said, it's the mystical regionally specific things I feel you need to wary of. For example, Celtic druids specifically worship the goddess Brigid. She is one of their most revered goddess and is in charge of healing, poetry and smithcraft among other things. In deference to the actually religion, make up your own strong female goddess and her attributes. As for astrology, I'd use the base knowledge - Sagittarians are free spirits, Libra seeks balance, etc. - and just give the constellations, stars, planets new names. I think that western astrology is also part of the public domain, and you won't be antagonizing anyone who wasn't already looking for a fight.

I feel like if you take the main theory behind druidism such as communing with nature to enhance your character's personal power and loose the specifics of the Celtic religion you should be good to go. That's what I tried to do with Meryn and her work with elementals/gems/tuningforks... So keep the idea of using spirit animals for guidance but make up your own meanings. Use plants to enhance your spells, but make up what they are used for. Keep the idea of using stones, bones or found objects to cast divinations but don't use ogams as your runes. Druidism is found in every culture in the world and is a great foundation for building your own RP version of something that exists IRL.

I did something similar for the RoS to use as a ward border during the ritual! I didn't use beads to hold the LEDs in place though. I used poly fill which worked pretty well and painted the inside some crazy colors using nail polish. I'm having the same issue with the seam. I also used cheaper LEDs without remotes because I made quite a few.

I am Meryn Seeker, Healer and Warrior. I have found myself with other portal travelers for the first time in my life. Though I've been sucked through the bloody things before I've always ended up alone. Odd how so many of us have been gathered here. I really can't imagine that this is an accidental meeting. I wonder what this means and who is pulling our strings? At the moment, I will work with these people to survive, but I will keep a wary eye on them. I have reason to not trust easily.