The Sisterhood of Elune, Druids of the Moon and the Moon Priest(essess)

[Moridunum-argent-dawn (Moridunum)]

Hello all,

I have been wondering lately about Moon-Priests and their role with(in) the Sisterhood of Elune and the Druids of the Moon

To start, as we all know the end of the Third War had such an huge impact upon the Kaldorei people that once gender-specified roles were now opened up for the other gender. Mainly; the Cenarion Circle opened up its ranks for females, while the Sentinels and Sisterhood of Elune opened up its ranks to the males.

And while we have seen our fair share of both female (Arch)druids and male Sentinels. We lack the numbers of male Moon-Priests and while there are 3 Priests in Legion, and while it is assumed they’re Moon-Priests, there is no way to know certain they’re members of the Sisterhood.

We have the ingame toy statue to commemorate the opening up of said orders to the other gender(a female Druid and a male Moon-Priest).

Now this leads me towards the Druids of the Moon. I think that Blizzard might have backtracked(or simply forgotten) that the Sisterhood of Elune was opened up for males to and thats why they added the Druids of the Moon in Val’sharah. They both have somewhat the same role in their respective societies, while the Sisterhood is an older, and probably bigger, order and the two groups do intertwin and work together closely as seen at the Temple of the Moon in Val’sharah.

And we also have been shown that the Druids of the Moon have no animalform, or Moonkinform specifally, thus linking them closer to the Sisterhood in terms of what their “job” is supposed to entail.

Now after researching what little is known from the Druids of the Moon; I am left to wonder, what exactly is the difference between the Druids of the Moon and the Sisterhood of Elune; they both seem to serve the same deity, they both tend to the Temple(s) of Elune and they both (I assume) revere Elune above all other (wild-)Gods. And why would a male choose the Sisterhood of Elune, where he can never ascend to the higher echelons of the Order above the Druids of the Moon, where he could rise to a place of importance and power without the gender-discrimination!? Also can we assume the Druids of the Moon was an Druidic Order known to Kalimdor Night Elves, or was it a Broken Isle bound order akin to the Druids of the Ashen, Fin, and probably others?

[Kalwyne-argent-dawn (Kalwyne)]

@Moridunum-argent-dawn

And we also have been shown that the Druids of the Moon have no animalform, or Moonkinform specifally, thus linking them closer to the Sisterhood in terms of what their “job” is supposed to entail.

If I recall correctly, there are some ‘Druids of the Moon’ at the Broken Shore in Moonkin form. Been a while since I was there on my druid though so I could be wrong.

EDIT: Yep!
https://www.wowhead.com/npc=119091/druid-of-the-moon

[Orithiel-argent-dawn]

Since there is not much lore to go by I am going purely with speculation and headcanon so to speak. I play a druid of the Moon myself.

The way I see the difference between the Druids of the Moon and the Sisterhood is their focus. While they both obviously draw on power of Elune for their powers and Elune is the main focus of their worship the druids of the Moon still show some connections to the nature and the Dream.

They can shapeshift into Moonkin form after all and if we go by the spell setup of the Balance druid specialization they do have limited abilities which draw on powers of the Nature - regrowth, wrath, barkskin to name the few. As such I imagine they are more offensive focused “job” but should they provide support and healing such powers are granted through the nature and the Dream.

Another difference might be their focus on the Astral Power - the Celestial bodies of Azeroth. I imagine the druids of the Moon might literally closely monitor different phases of Azeroth’s two moons and same as real life druids and astronomers focus on the impact of said phases on nature and how both of them intertwine.

We have seen Elune lift up Ysera to make her a constellation after her death and we know the balance druid specialization does come with some spells which are star related so it is easy to imagine the Druids of the Moon observe and document Moon and Stars. They might even go as far as trying to find out events from celestial bodies - not unlike the Star Augur in Nighthold.

The main difference for me is that the Moon Priestesses serve her Goddess and the People while the Druids of the Moon always seemed to me as more aloof and connected with nature and observation of the skies and Moon.

[Aeneon-argent-dawn]

@Moridunum-argent-dawn

And why would a male choose the Sisterhood of Elune, where he can never ascend to the higher echelons of the Order above the Druids of the Moon, where he could rise to a place of importance and power without the gender-discrimination!?

Because becoming a priestess or druid isn’t a path you choose for power nor riches.

Either way, worshipping the same (main) deity doesn’t mean their tasks are the same. Priestesses are military leaders, spiritual guides to their people, and have a integral and leading position within night elf society itself.

Druids of the Moon, like many druids, aren’t as involved in such and seem to largely focus on their duties to nature.