The Sister's Creed

Root Concept
The Sister’s Creed defines how Sappho lives, works, and loves. Every woman carries innate worth; her presence strengthens the Circle. Contribution is celebration, and belonging is chosen. Through cooperation, honesty, and joy, the commune endures.

Principle One — Worth and Belonging
Every Sister holds value from the moment she arrives. Labor, laughter, wisdom, and desire all sustain the Circle; no talent lies outside its need. A woman’s worth is not proven through competition but through connection. The commune flourishes because everyone gives what she has and receives what she needs.

Principle Two — Purpose and Role
Freedom and duty move together. Each Sister seeks the work that matches her nature—whether she builds, heals, teaches, or inspires. Overseer guidance aligns skill with need so that individual gifts strengthen the whole. Work is both privilege and responsibility, carried with pride, not burden.

Principle Three — Guests and Outsiders
Hospitality is sacred. Visitors are welcomed with food, rest, and music, treated as kin until their purpose is known. Yet every welcome carries a gentle boundary: stay and contribute, or depart with blessing. Sappho’s gates open easily, but they do not stay open forever.

Principle Four — Faith and the Divine
Sappho honors the Divine Sisterhood of all womankind and the living forces of Mother Earth. Devotion is measured not in prayer but in care—mending, teaching, planting, building. To create is holy; to nurture is sacred. The divine resides in hands that work and hearts that share.

Principle Five — Children and Continuance
The Starlings of Sappho belong to all. Every woman is mother, teacher, and protector, ensuring no child grows hungry or unloved. Communal raising binds generations, weaving empathy into every class and craft. In caring for the young, Sisters renew the promise that Sappho will outlast them all.

Principle Six — Sex and Relationship
Love and desire are expressions of freedom and vitality. Connection is chosen, celebrated, and free of jealousy; pleasure strengthens bonds rather than divides them. Affection may be fleeting or enduring, but consent is constant. The body’s joy is as sacred as its labor.

Principle Seven — Conflict and Forgiveness
Differences are inevitable; cruelty is forbidden. Sisters meet conflict through honest talk and measured courage, seeking understanding before judgment. When harm is done, repair it quickly and fully—better a scar that teaches than a wound that festers. Forgiveness restores the Circle’s strength.

Principle Eight — Honesty and Speech
Truth spoken with care builds trust; truth spoken without grace breaks it. Each Sister strives for clarity tempered by kindness, knowing that words shape the world as surely as hands. Silence may heal, but deceit corrodes. Speak with intention, listen with patience, and mean what you promise.

Principle Nine — Joy as Sustenance
Joy is the commune’s pulse. Music, laughter, wine, and celebration restore what toil consumes. Sisters are urged to delight in one another, to dance when the drums call, to remember that happiness is not frivolous but fuel. A joyous heart keeps the Circle alive through any darkness.

Principle Ten — Accountability and Balance
When the Creed is broken, consequences serve restoration, not revenge. Rayna and the Overseers’ Council weigh each act with fairness and empathy. Correction may take the form of service, reflection, or restitution—whatever best returns harmony. Justice in Sappho is not punishment; it is repair.

Philosophy of the Creed
The Sister’s Creed is lived, not memorized. It transforms ordinary acts into ritual—working, singing, loving, forgiving. Through it, the Circle renews itself daily. Where trust falters, the Creed steadies; where chaos grows, it returns the rhythm.

Tone of Recitation
Read warm and steady, voice communal and sure. Each principle distinct, each pause a heartbeat. It should sound like the voice of many spoken as one.