Gryphon (Zodiac)
The Gryphon is the twelfth and final sign in the Avarian zodiac. It is the birth sign for the month of Rashani.
| Month | Rashani |
| Ruling Element | Earth |
| Ruling Planet | Nthanda |
| Modality | Dissonant |
| Ruling Trait | Strength |
| Keywords | Earthy, sensual, diligence, good humor, natural, sincere |
Description
Brave, blunt, and often boisterous, the Gryphon is a grounded and dependable sign. Gryphons love the simple things in life and play as hard as they work, exhibiting great diligence in accomplishing necessary tasks and then giving themselves up to relaxation and revelry once the work is finally done. They are easy-going and have a good sense of humor, if not an overly sophisticated one. The Gryphon almost always means well even when it blunders, and some can have an almost childlike naivety and faith that persist despite all hardship, or even reality.
Gryphons make good soldiers and workmen, and equally good field commanders and foremen. They are the sort of people who labor hard and faithfully at their appointed tasks, learn from their experiences, and in doing so eventually rise to the top to become leaders with a deep understanding of the processess and people of which they are now in charge. Although they are not at all diplomatic and give commands and opinions with equal bluntness, they have a strong common touch, and easily gain the esteem of those in their charge. A Gryphon will never ask anyone to do something they would not tackle themselves, and their leadership style often involves working side by side with others and leading by example just as much as by command.
Gryphons feel a great need to be active, preferably out of doors. They feel most at home in nature or in simple settings. Grandeur and luxury are not for them, and they tend be uncomfortable with formality or ostentation. They can be a bit hedonistic, but even then they enjoy a plenitude of simple and often natural things rather than expensive pleasures and possessions. They are quite pragmatic, and can be generally relied upon to keep a level head in times of crisis. In contrast, they can sometimes become quite upset over smaller things. A Gryphon may grouse and groan about a splinter, but bear a broken leg with the most perfect stoicism.
The Dissonant Gryphon
As both a dissonant sign and a hybrid creature, the Gryphon can struggle with conflicting aspects of itself. This often comes out in such struggles as that between its sometimes irresponsible love for simple pleasures and its sense of responsibility, between its craving for adventure and love of home, between its boisterous combative nature and its care for others, and between its desire for adventure in love and its simple and sincere attachment to a single lover or spouse. These traits can make it surprisingly multifaceted and understanding of others, but can also make it seem erratic, unreliable, or simply hapless.
The Gryphon in the Heavens
The Gryphon is a large constellation of 28 stars, which seems to sweep across the night sky in exuberant flight. Its body is a seven-sided polygon of stars, while additional stars form the line of four outstretched limbs, a tail, and wing. Yellowish Bikum in the Gryphon's beak, and the white stars Alghal and Rijulis body and tail, respectively, are its brightest stars. It is best seen in the fall, reaching its zenith in the seventh month of Kholabi.