Family: Divine/Beastman
Habitat: Unknown
Disposition: Motherly, Generous, Gentle
Diet: Food of the Gods
Shub-Nuggurath is considered by all Mamono races to be the goddess of childbirth and motherhood, but is also considered to be THE fertility goddess. While others of the Dea Monstrum hold power in the domain, it is mostly only in the eyes of their specific worshipers. Shub-Niggurath on the other hand is universally considered to be the fertility goddess. Her fertility is so revered that she is often known as ‘The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young’, making her something of an idol to many Mamono who seek motherhood and large families.
Often in older depictions, Shub-Nuggurath is depicted as bipedal with black skin, wearing only a semi-transparent black shawl which does nothing to conceal her motherly breasts which are swollen with milk to give to her children. Her arms are covered in soft black fur, said to be spun for clothing for her babies whenever she gives birth to another child. Her abdomen is always enticingly swollen, showing she is always pregnant when she is seen by her adoring worshippers. From the waist down, she has the furry his and legs with a furry tail and cloven feet not unlike a Satyros. Her face is rounded slightly with motherhood, always showing the warm glow an expectant mother has. Her hair is naturally curly and short with curved goat horns growing from the sides. Her eyes are often yellow, always piercing with a mother’s affection and in the rare cases, discipline.
Due to how she was originally viewed, many would think she would have been God of the Satyros. Many Mamono scholars believe that indeed she once was the patron god of the Satyros, but fell into decline when the Satyros culture began focusing on the delights of their wines and grapes, embracing Bacchus as their patron god instead. When Shub-Niggurath fell out of favor with the Satyros, the Centaurs, her next strongest group of supporters, rallied to protect the name of their patron god and formally organize her religion. As a result, in modern times, Shub-Niggurath is said to appear in a tauric form not unlike a goat’s body and her short curly hair has become a long curtain of curls, enhancing her image of femininity and fertility.
The main places of worship for Shub-Niggurath are in forests, the more ancient the woods the larger her sects are. The places of worship are usually clearings made by nature and any formal relics or decoration are made from natural materials and carved by hand. No superficial offerings such as gold or jewels are accepted and instead natural offerings such as fresh fruits or game are offered instead. All of the practices are ritualistic in nature with song or ceremony and focus primarily on blessing new mothers, pregnant women about to become mothers, or women who wish to become mothers through a blessing of fertility. Offerings are not expected to be extravagant, but heartfelt and honest lest Shub-Niggurath punish the would-be parents by preventing their pregnancies.
The most precious and perhaps the most powerful rituals are couples who cannot bear children for some reason. In that particular case, the couple can perform a ceremony on the night of the new moon to ask Shub-Niggurath to appear and help them. If their desire to have children is honest, and they will love that child, she will appear, but will not be pregnant. In the middle of the ritual area and copulate with both the participants and she will absorb not only the seed of the male, but also take in the egg of the female and use her own womb to bear the child. While she is pregnant, she will take the parents with her deep in the forests until the child is born. The parents will then return with the baby who will appear without a doubt to be the pair’s own blood despite being born to the god. Often they report living in a beautiful forest of perpetual night where they are encouraged to embrace their base natures and often have a more loving and affectionate marriage coming out than they did going in.
Many humans secretly worship Shub-Niggurath, especially in the often-persecuted homosexual community which The Order has been campaigning to stamp out when they are not campaigning after Mamono. Same-sex lovers seeking to build families undergo the impregnation ritual and find that their new child is indeed theirs despite it being naturally impossible for such a child to be born. Often these children have a strong affinity to animals and the forests and are often considered miracles by those of the Shub-Niggurath faith. The Order would call the entire faith unnatural in the most extreme sense and like anything connected to monsters, seek to stamp it out.
Unlike some Dea Monstrum who pick and choose among humans, Shub-Nuggurath welcomes and encourages all humans into her faith and her arms. Often humans chafing under The Order’s rule or personal situations can find solace in the Shub-Niggurath Faith no matter what their walk in life is or what they may have done. Many men or women, abused by their human relationships, seeking forgiveness, or simply chafing under the strict rule have the option of beseeching Shub-Niggurath to take them into her arms. Mythos would say that Shub-Niggurath will appear, pregnant once again, and embrace these disenchanted souls as her lovers and children and make love to them there in the forest. In the process, the women will transform into a Mamono, usually a Satyros, Centaur, or related breed while the men are changed into Incubi, although they will have goat-like additions, such as horns or hooves with hairy legs. Often these individuals are called the ‘gof’nn hupadadgh Shub-Niggurath’ which is roughly pronounced from the god’s language for mortal ears and means ‘The Favored of Shub-Niggurath’ and are considered precious children to the Faith, the new Mamono being considered beloved sisters and the men being very desirable husbands. Although most choose to stay with their new lover/mother in her realm rather than live among her worshippers.
Outside of claiming new children or gifting her followers with children of their own, Shub-Niggurath leaves the handling of her Faith to her daughters, The Dark Young. They live deep in the woods, usually at ritual sites where their mother’s faith is held and lead their mother’s worshippers in natural and free love and religious rites. Often many speak to them to begin rituals which garner their mother’s attention. Oddly enough, all 1000 of the known Dark Young all share the same features, meaning that while they have the same mother, it’s likely they have the same father as well. Who that father might be though has many specialists in The Order very worried.
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