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The Faith of the Seven

The Faith of the Seven is the dominant religion of the Seven Kingdoms, and is often simply referred to as "the Faith." The only parts of Westeros where the Faith is not widespread are the North and the Iron Islands. Priests in the Faith of the Seven are known as the godsworn - "septons" if male, "septas" if female.

During trials by combat, the Seven are expected to intervene on the side of the just combatant. In order to become a knight, a squire must spend a nightlong vigil in a sept and become anointed in the name of the Seven. For this reason, there are few knights in areas where the Faith is not kept, such as the North.

The Faith worships the Seven, a single deity with seven aspects or faces, each representing a different virtue. Worshippers pray to specific aspects of the Seven for help and guidance depending on their need. The aspects are:

• Father represents judgment. He is depicted as a bearded man who carries scales, and is prayed to for justice.
• Mother represents motherhood and nurturing. She is prayed to for fertility or compassion, and embodies the concept of mercy.
• Warrior represents strength in battle. He is prayed to for courage and victory.
• Maiden represents innocence and chastity. She is usually prayed to to protect a maiden's virtue.
• Smith represents crafts and labor. He is usually prayed to when work needs to be done, for strength. He carries a hammer.
• Crone represents wisdom. She carries a lantern and is prayed to for guidance.
• Stranger is an exception to the other aspects, representing death and the unknown. Worshippers rarely seek favor from the Stranger, but outcasts sometimes associate themselves with this god.

The Old Gods

The Old Gods of the children of the forest, are nameless deities of stone, earth and tree. The old gods appear to be a sort of animistic religion. The greenseers of the children, or shamans, were said to be able to talk with all beasts and birds, and to see through the eyes of their carved weirwoods.

There are no priests, holy texts, songs of worship, and practically no rites that go with the worship of the old gods. It is a folk-religion, passed from generation to generation. The closest thing to a ritual seen is prayer before the heart tree in a godswood: holy groves contained within castles throughout the Seven Kingdoms. These are often the only places where living weirwoods still remain south of the Wall.

Weirwood trees with faces carved into them, called heart trees, are considered sacred. Prayers, oaths, and marriages are often performed in their presence. The faces were carved into the weirwoods by the children of the forest, but their meaning or purpose is not completely understood by humans. Long ago all noble houses once had a godswood with a heart tree in its center, but many families have since converted their godswoods into secular gardens. It is said that the old gods only have power where the heart tree faces can see, and thus the old gods retain little power in the south.

R'hllor

R'hllor, also known as the Lord of Light, is a prominent god on Essos. He has only a few followers in Westeros, where he is more commonly known as the Red God. In an effort to spread the faith to Westeros, the red priests send Thoros to King's Landing to convert the fire-obsessed Aerys II. This attempt failed after Thoros was unable to impress him.

The religion is based on a dualistic, manichean view of the world: R'hllor, the god of light, heat, and life and its antithesis the God whose name should not be spoken, or the god of ice and death. They are locked in an eternal struggle over the fate of the world. According to the ancient prophecy from the books of Asshai, the struggle will only end when Azor Ahai, the messianic figure will return wielding a flaming sword called Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and raise dragons of stone.

Like other types of magic, the magic of R'hllor seems to have faded after the last Targaryen dragons died. But with the return of the dragons in the east, the abilities of R'hllor priests have strengthened. Thoros, while serving at the temple in Myr, did not experience any form of new-found powers. However, since the return of the dragons he has resurrected Beric Dondarrion during a traditional R'hllor burial ritual.

the drowned god

The Drowned God is a sea deity worshipped solely by the Ironborn in Westeros. The religion of the Drowned God is old, dating back to before the Andal Invasion. The Andal invaders of the Iron Islands converted to the local religion rather than absorbing the Faith of the Seven as they did in the south of Westeros. The Drowned God religion supports the ironmen's naval, pirate culture.

When an ironman drowns, it is said that the Drowned God needed a strong oarsman. When referring to the dead, followers repeat the phrase, "What is dead may never die." The ironmen believe the dead are feasted in the Drowned God’s watery halls, his every want satisfied by mermaids.