Artwork by Leah Becker
A central difference between the World of HOOD and the “real world” is that our timeline has been reshaped by magic. And a whole new world needs a whole new religion.
Instead of Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, the dominant religion in our story is called Hycathism. Though any man or woman may be a Hycathus (pl. Hycathi, worshipper of the Hycathic religion) only select women of particular lineages have access to Hycath powers believed to have been bestowed by Hecate. (Come back on Wed for more about her!)
This has had the added effect that women in general have held a more prominent place in society throughout Europe, and for a long time inheritance was strictly transferred from mother to daughter. Hycathism as a religion has many practices and holidays that are unique to it, or in some cases piggyback on pagan practices in the real world.
Find out more about Hycathism:
Hycathism, also known metonymically as the Temple of Hycath, is a monotheistic religion based on the powers and prophecies of the goddess Hecate. Practised worldwide, it has differing numbers of adherents and followers in different nation states, particularly the Promised Land, its present-day holy site, and the Anglia Isle, where it is the dominant religion.
Adherents are divided into two major categories: Hycathae, women who possess the magical powers of Hecate from their own birth till the birth of their daughter, and Hycathi, non-magical persons of all genders who believe in the tenets of the religion. Hycathae, in turn, are divided into three tiers of magical ability, in ascending order of power and descending order of numbers: Baethlae, Cynthae and Nyridiae.
