Gozreh, The Wind and The Waves

Gozreh is timeless. Born when the first breeze caressed the ocean, she is ever changing, tempestuous, and unpredictable, yet also prone to periods of constancy, stillness, and routine. He is the storm cloud chased by clear skies, the spring warmth that follows winter, and the fair winds that carry seagoing ships. She is the great wave that capsizes those ships, the gentle current that deposits sailors on safe shores, and the rising and falling tides. Those who ply the waters or rely upon the rains know this better than most, and are sure to placate Gozreh and honour him when the wind and waves are favourable.

Gozreh has two aspects, equally depicted in art and sculpture. When at sea or over water, Gozreh is a woman with wild, flowing green hair, whose body transforms into endless waves. In the sky and over land, Gozreh appears as an aged man with a long white beard, emerging from a mighty storm cloud. Gozreh is moody and brooding, able to spend weeks in a glowering quiet only to explode in a fury of water, wind, and lightning. He is an elemental force, not fettered by the work of mortals; he may turn aside his wrath when appeased with gifts and flattering words, or he may ignore mortal cries entirely. Many cargo ships throw a crate or two overboard in the deep ocean to satisfy her, so that she does not take more by force. He is the amoral side of nature, that which brings life and takes it unexpectedly. Gozreh represents both female and male facets of life, unconstrained by civilization’s notions of masculinity and femininity. Grandmother, grandfather, brother, sister, eternal and ever changing, the Wind and the Waves echo and shape the countless living things on Golarion.