I was recently asked in a comment on AO3 about the nine winds of Windclan (a piece of lore that features in my Warriors fanfiction, make a mighty sound), and where the inspiration for this concept came from. I've included my answer (plus some extra info) under the cut, for anyone else who might be curious!
As a quick summary for anyone who is reading this without reading the story, Windclan in my stories believe that every cat born to their clan is born under one of nine guiding winds, each of which highlights particular traits they should strive to embody and use as virtues to lead them in life. Each wind is identified by a colour name.
In our nonfiction world, there are actually a lot of living cultures who associate cardinal directions with colours. There are also many real-world belief systems that associate the concept of wind with messenger gods or other divine beings. The nine winds of Windclan rose out of a combination of these ideas. I also took some inspiration from the astrological zodiac, in the sense that your associated category is defined by the circumstances at the time of your birth.
The nine winds line up approximately with the eight cardinal and intercardinal directions (north-east, north, north-west, west, south-west, south, south-east, and east), with the final being stillness or absence of wind altogether. In the Windclan territory as I write it, some winds are more common than others, and others are more likely to occur at certain times of year as well as the seasons change.
Below I've included the nine winds, their associated virtues, and the expectations of what a cat born under each wind should be like.
Silver wind (north-east) is associated with wisdom. This wind blows into Windclan from the highstones, most commonly in springtime. Cats born under the silver wind should strive to be perceptive and thoughtful.
Red wind (north) is associated with hope and creativity. Also more common in springtime, this wind comes in from the quarry. Cats born under the red wind should strive to be imaginative, courageous, and resourceful.
Pale wind (north-west) is associated with diplomacy, and mercy. It carries in from over the farmland. Cats born under the pale wind should strive to be empathetic, intuitive, persuasive, and forgiving.
Golden wind (west) is associated with justice. This, along with the winds to the south-west and south, are the most common throughout the year. Cats born under the golden wind should strive to be confident, cooperative, and principled.
Black wind (south-west) is associated with piety and duty. This wind, one of the most common, comes to Windclan territory from over the lower paddocks. Cats born under the black wind should strive to be honest, unselfish, and reliable.
Blue wind (south) is associated with steadfastness, and tenacity. It blows in from over Riverclan territory. Cats born under the blue wind should strive to be determined, methodical, and forward-thinking.
Green wind (south-east) is associated with honour. It carries in from Fourtrees. Cats born under the green wind should strive to be dignified, strong-willed, sincere, and eloquent.
White wind (east) is associated with love. It is a rare wind, blowing in cold air from Shadowclan territory in the harshest seasons. Cats born under the white wind should strive to be charismatic, gregarious, and compassionate.
Stillness is associated with patience and caution. It's believed many great leaders are born in a moment of true stillness. Cats born in stillness should strive to be responsible, decisive, serious, and measured.
I found it a lot more interesting as a concept to be assigned a symbol at birth that advises what you should try to cultivate in yourself, rather than the astrological signs that people relate to because it explains something about how they already are. Deliberate acts of self-creation are really compelling to me, whereas over-reliance on labels to summarise or account for the self (especially in a shrug, it’s-just-how-I-am abnegation of personal agency kind of way) is boring and stifling.
Keen readers will notice that several winds share common virtues and overlap in several places, which is intentional, because I think when things are too neat and easy-to-categorise, that betrays it as artificial. Within the framing of Windclan history, I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that the most common winds (golden, black, and blue), and therefore the most cats, are allocated virtues that encourage especially prosocial and useful behaviours for warriors.
I hope this has been interesting to you!
