Sivanah

Sivanah

(Deity)

Titles

Goddess of Illusions
The Seventh Veil

Realm

Sivanah's Realm, Maelstrom

Alignment

Neutral

Areas of Concern

Illusions
Reflections
Mysteries
Veils

Worshipers

Illusionists, tricksters

Edicts

Show the beauty in illusions, pursue the nature of truth, respect the need for secrets

Anathema

Use illusions and shadows to harm another creature, reveal a secret you have sworn to keep

Follower Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Knowledge, Madness, Magic, Rune, Trickery

Subdomains (1E)

Deception, Insanity, Memory, Protean, Thought, Wards

Follower Alignments (2E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (2E)

Delirium,magic, secrecy, trickery
Alternate: Glyph

Favored Weapon

Bladed scarf

Symbol

Veils tied in circle

Sacred Animal

Coyote

Sacred Colors

Gray

Images of Sivanah

Source: Inner Sea Faiths, pg(s). 82–87 (1E)
Gods & Magic, pg(s). 69 (2E)

Sivanah (pronounced siv-AHN-ah) is the patron goddess of illusion magic, tricksters, and those who keep secrets. She is also known as the "Seventh Veil", a name taken from the clothing she is most often depicted wearing. Her religious symbol is a circle made of six dull-colored veils tied end-to-end.

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Appearance

Sivanah's true form is disguised behind her seven veils, each of which is tied to an ancestry, the first six said to be human, elf, halfling, gnome, anadi, and naga—although there is some contention among religious scholars over whether her fifth form may be some other creature known for its mastery of illusion, as older tales claim the fifth veil concealed a cyclops. Her true form is said to be that of a member of a seventh, unknown ancestry, but she always appears as female. She can appear as any of these ancestries while wearing the appropriate veil.

Dogma

Sivanah's ultimate goals are only known to the goddess. This concealment might be a reason why her faith has not grown more.

Providence

The goddess communicates with her faithful through mirrors, reflections in water, and sometimes even through their own shadows.

Realm

The goddess makes her home in the most unlikely of places: the Maelstrom. Sivanah's Realm is extremely difficult to find, appearing in no fixed place, yet can always be recognized by its abundance of mirrored surfaces. Sivanah protects her realm in this way from the native proteans, who bear her much ill will. The exact origin behind this conflict is not known, although there are many speculations, including that Sivanah once stole something from them, or that she once was a keketar, risen demon, or fallen azata.

Relationships

Sivanah has a rivalry with Zon-Kuthon as she loathes the dark god's corruption of shadows, and sometimes uses her influence to cause darkness to act unexpectedly for Zon-Kuthon's clerics. Sivanah also has an incomprehensible interest in the false-god Razmir. Her followers, most often veiled witches from Irrisen, are her most commonly utilised emissaries to Razmiran.

Church of Sivanah

A cleric of Sivanah.

The worship of Sivanah is popular in the countries of Nex, Irrisen, and in the cities of Katapesh, while it is strictly prohibited in Nidal, due to a ban by the country's clerics of Zon-Kuthon. She is also widely worshiped among the illusionists and gnomes of Golarion, who appreciate her devotion to their favorite school of magic. Devout illusionists who follow her have been known to be able to mimic divine healing magic by use of the shadow conjuration spell.

Holidays

Worshipers of the goddess celebrate a general holiday called Seven Veils, on either 7 or 23 Neth, as one of their most sacred of days. What rituals the church of Sivanah performs on this date, however, are unknown to outsiders, for the cult enjoys its secrets. This secrecy has, unsurprisingly, given rise to all manner of sinister rumours, yet when Seven Veils rolls around each year, its eager participants are quick to set aside rumour in preference for the night's fun and games. The festivities include comic performances, jokes, illusions, and multi-racial masquerade balls.

References

Paizo published a major article about Sivanah in Inner Sea Faiths.

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.