Elune

Elune is a moon goddess worshipped by several mortal cultures on both Azeroth and other planets in the Great Dark Beyond. On Azeroth, she is best known as the primary goddess of the night elven pantheon. She is associated with the larger of the planet's two moons, the White Lady, and is considered to be the mother of Cenarius, the forest lord and patron god of all druids. Reverence for Elune is not limited to the night elves, however. In tauren culture, she is known as Mu'sha (or simply Moon), the left eye of the Earth Mother, with the right eye being the sun, An'she. Elune is one of the few true deities of Azeroth, but the mythology surrounding her suggests that her true identity has not yet been fully understood.

Description
Although relatively little is revealed about Elune's true origins and background outside of mythology, the Winter Queen of Ardenweald is her sister. The moon goddess Elune has been revered by the night elves and several other races since the earliest ages in Azeroth's history. The markings on the Crumbling Ceremonial Vestments resemble both the sign of Elune and those of several loa, likely dating back from the night elves or dark trolls' early days.

Elune also seems to have a connection to the titans. Indeed, she taught the dark trolls words in Titan such as "Kalimdor". The early night elves also believed that Elune slept within the Well of Eternity during the day. The titan Eonar also took refuge on a planet named Elunaria. Finally, one of the Pillars of Creation, created by the Pantheon, the Tears of Elune, is named after. Khadgar also believes that the prime naaru may have been created by Elune during the great ordering of Light and Shadow. This is further demonstrated by the Tear of Elune being able to restore the heart of Xe'ra.

A well-organized priesthood devotes itself to the service of Elune. The highest echelon of this order is known as the Sisters of Elune, and as the name implies, membership in this echelon is open only to women, on the belief that Elune's deepest mysteries can only be understood by a woman's heart. The war chants of the Sisters can call down the Night Warrior's wrath to smite their foes, and their prayers to the Mother Moon can nurture even the gravely wounded back to health.

Elune has never been observed in physical form on Azeroth, but she has often been depicted as a kaldorei woman of transcending beauty and perfection, crowned with a simple platinum circlet and surrounded by a dazzling luminescence. Night elven artisans have traditionally portrayed her in their works as having long and silvery hair, alabaster skin, and eyes of pure moonlight.

To the best of anyone's knowledge, Elune only has had one lover: the stag demigod Malorne. They conceived a child named Cenarius, who inherited a powerful blend of his mother's unconditional love for Azeroth's living beings and his father's mystic ties to the Emerald Dream. The natural world is intimately connected to the moon goddess as a result, and for more than ten thousand years, the night elves have reflected this by arranging their society according to a harmonious balance between the druids and priestesses, which is embodied in the present age by the union of Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind. The tauren too have a myth that purportedly relates the story of Cenarius' conception.

The Night Warrior
Strongly associated with healing, tranquility and harmony, Elune is a goddess of peace, but she is not always a pacifist, as she does not advocate peace at all costs. One of her aspects is the Night Warrior, who takes the valiant among the dead and sets them riding across the sky as stars. The Night Warrior is the incarnation of Elune's wrath.

In tauren mythology
The tauren know Elune as Mu'sha, one of the Earth Mother's eyes along with An'she, the sun. Along with her brother, she plays an important role in the early parts of tauren mythology.

The birth of Sun and Moon
The tauren believe that the Earth Mother shaped the world to be a sanctuary where she could give birth to "the light of her heart" away from the corruption of the Old Ones trapped in the depths. After creating the world and the elements, the Earth Mother went into labor and brought forth a radiant son she named An'she, followed by a luminous and gentle daughter she named Mu'sha. The elements called them "Sun" and "Moon". Over time, the twins grew close to the elements, with Mu'sha dancing with the waters and sharing secrets with the winds, while An'she similarly bonded with the fire and mountains. They steadily grew in power until they were able to influence the elements themselves and use their power to forge weapons so they might spar and play: a bow and arrows for Mu'sha and dual blades for An'she. The Earth Mother was overjoyed by this and gently guided her twins through the ages, but she remained ever vigilant against the Old Ones and their shadows.

She eventually grew tired and knew that she needed to rest. In order to keep her children close and safe while she slumbered, she pressed them into her eyes—first An'she and then Mu'sha. The Earth Mother rested first with one eye shut and then the other, since her children's light was now too powerful to fully contain. When her left eye was open, Mu'sha gave peace and sleep to the creatures of the dawning. However, this restless watch denied the world An'she's warmth and caused the land to grow cold. Mu'sha's powers were similarly diminished by her mother's rest, and without her guidance, the winds whipped up in storms and blizzards. When the Earth Mother awoke, she despaired at how the elements had changed in her children's absence, but as their light returned, the cold faded and everything back to how it had once been. The elements consoled the Earth Mother and showed her how her time of rest had allowed new life to thrive, and so she named the seasons in her time of work (summer) and her time of rest (winter). From her eyes, she then showed Mu'sha and An'she how to guide the elements through these new seasons and eventually how to bring about the accompanying changes to the land at will. She told the twins that they had proven their strength and that they should watch over the world that she had made for them, but that they still had to stay safe inside her eyes.

Sorrow of the Earth Mother
The Earth Mother wished for her twins to share the love and happiness she felt at seeing their growth, and so created the shu'halo (tauren). On their mother's request, Moon and Sun taught the shu'halo everything they knew—how to work with the elements, build homes, acquire food, sing, dance, ferry the rivers, and hunt wild beasts. However, while Moon and Sun were almost strong enough to defend themselves from the Old Ones and their shadows, the tauren were young and vulnerable. The next time the Earth Mother slept, the Old Ones stretched their influence across the land and corrupted many of the tauren with their whispers, causing them to make war on each other and throw the elements into chaos. Mu'sha and An'she watched helplessly, as their mother had only ever spoken of shadows and not the suffering those shadows might cause. They cried out, waking their mother. Upon seeing what had happened, the Earth Mother wept a single tear. Realizing that she was also susceptible to the corruption and thus no longer a safe haven for her children, she wrenched Mu'sha and An'she free from her skull, her fingers digging so deeply that their light could never return to her again. Moon and Sun tried to console their mother, but she lay paralyzed by sorrow. An'she declared that they had to set off to stop the source of the corruption, and Mu'sha agreed.

Word of the Earth Mother's sorrow and the twins' journey to save her was carried on the winds. The siblings soon encountered a party of uncorrupted shu'halo, who presented a radiant blue infant they'd found on the plains. When the child began to wail, the twins recognized them as having been born from the Earth Mother's lone tear. Mu'sha took the babe in her arms and An'she asked what they should call them. Mu'sha replied that their mother would know, but before the twins could return to their mother, the shadows attacked them. With the aid of the elements, the twins managed to hold back the darkness: Mu'sha evaded the shadows' grasp as quick as the wind and flowing like water and used her glimmering arrows to disperse the shadows' whispers, while An'she did the same with his swords, fire, and earth. As they began to beat back the darkness, however, one of the shadows lashed out for An'she's heart. Mu'sha destroyed it with one of her arrows, but not before it inflicted a great wound on An'she. Mu'sha tried to bind her brother's wound with water and wind, but it continued to bleed no matter what she did. Mu'sha sent a plea on the wind and the Earth Mother sought out her children. She told Mu'sha that her presence was keeping the bleeding An'she alive, but Mu'sha knew that her brother would surely die if her healing light strayed too far from him.

Knowing that the shadows would return to take the rest of the tauren, the Earth Mother decided to sacrifice herself to contain the darkness. The twins protested, but she quieted them and told them to take permanently to the skies, from where their light would be able to chase away any shadows she could not hold. She told them to always stay in each other's sight so Mu'sha could tend An'she's wounds. She then gave the blue child—whom she'd named Lo'sho—to Mu'sha and told the twins to teach the infant everything they knew. Although heartbroken, the twins obeyed their mother's words and took their eternal post in the skies with Lo'sho. The Earth Mother proceeded to embrace the land a final time and give all of herself in order to keep the shadows at bay. Seeing their mother's sacrifice, Mu'sha asked the breezes to lift her mother's words so the shu'halo could hear them, and pulled at the tides and winds so they would always be able to follow her voice. Meanwhile, An'she shone his light across the land so the way would be clear, and all the while, Lo'sho listened to their siblings' lessons, hearing in them the wisdom of their mother.

Ancient times
Originally, the people that would become known as night elves were a tribe of dark trolls who migrated to the heart of ancient Kalimdor and settled upon the shores of the Well of Eternity. The energies of the Well transformed their bodies, elevating their stature and granting the trolls great intelligence and virtual immortality. It was then that the tribe's mystics first began worshipping the moon goddess, "Elune", whom they believed slumbered in the Well's depths during daylight hours.

The night elf goddess Elune was said to be disappointed in the Wild God Goldrinn's feral insistence. It was his unwillingness to tame his savagery and bloodlust that overshadowed his noble heart. When Elune's great moonlight illuminated the dark during the full moons, it was as if her eyes glared down upon him in judgment. His anger at her conviction caused Goldrinn to become even more bloodthirsty and indomitable than ever.

Recorded night elven history shows that formal worship of Elune dates back to at least 14,000 years. However, it is certain that the moon goddess was being revered through more primitive and decentralized methods long before this. The first known center of devotion to Elune was established by the Sisters of Elune within the ancient kaldorei capital of Zin-Azshari. The Sisterhood at one point relocated this temple to the Temple of Elune in the city of Suramar after it became evident Queen Azshara and the Highborne increasingly distanced themselves from the tenets of the moon goddess. After Suramar itself had fallen to the onslaught of the Burning Legion, Elune became a profound source of hope and humility to all night elves as they witnessed the Ancient Guardians of Azeroth rally under the blazing moon to come to the defense of a world being put to the flame over their civilization's mistakes.

Maiev Shadowsong, a former high priestess, mentioned that there are legends saying that Elune's power through the Night Warrior helped the night elves to secure Kalimdor.

Recent times
In the era between the War of the Ancients and the Third War, a period known as the Long Vigil, devotion to Elune had essentially become universal among the kaldorei but was practiced without centralized places of worship, much like in ages past. The Sisters of Elune founded a new temple for the moon goddess however, the first of its kind since the complex at Suramar itself: the Temple of the Moon within the recent night elven capital city of Darnassus. Elune's chosen, Tyrande Whisperwind, resided here both as high priestess and as head of the kaldorei government, and by her side stood many priestesses (and for the first time, several male night elven priests) ready to venture out and soothe a war-weary Azeroth with the Mother Moon's healing light. Elune has at least one other functional temple in Val'sharah, where the Tears of Elune were kept for millennia, and which Tyrande Whisperwind personally helped protect in recent times.

At one point, a piece of one of 's moons fell into a pool on the far side of the woods. Such a thing was perfect for use in the dedication of a moonwell to Elune in Starfall Outpost.

Velen's visit to Darnassus
During a visit to Darnassus by the draenei prophet Velen, he explained that the kaldorei's description of Elune, as well as the demonstrated powers of the goddess, matched his experiences with powerful naaru. He began to offer advice regarding how to commune with powerful naaru, but Tyrande thanked him for his opinion, then cordially requested that he refrained from making such outlandish claims when in Darnassus or in the presence of Elune's priesthood.

Devotion and worship
Elune's aspect known as the Mother Moon emphasizes tranquillity and harmony to allow for the greatest nurturing of Azeroth's creatures. However, Elune does not advocate pacifism in the face of threats to her harmony and tranquillity; novices in the Sisters of Elune are trained extensively in tactics and combat under the moon goddess' aspect of the Night Warrior. Elune expects devotion from her priestesses, but never demands they give her every waking moment — the Mother Moon is experienced by her daughters as a nurturing, loving matriarch whose expectations are not oppressive in nature. Whereas Elune is the center of reverence for the Sisters of Elune and the sentinels, the kaldorei druids have devoted themselves to the teachings of Elune's only child; the demigod Cenarius. As such, there exists a deep and intimate link between the spirituality of the night elven druids and priestesses, on which their entire society has been based for over ten thousand years.

Moonwells can be commonly found in most Temples of the Moon as well as throughout night elf settlements. Containing waters from the second Well of Eternity blessed by the moon goddess, they possess extraordinary healing and restorative properties, and can purify their surroundings for years. They even allow spellcasters to refresh their mana, apparently a gift from Elune to Azeroth's other defenders, and in kaldorei society, they are revered by the druids, Sentinels and Highborne alike.

In the area now known as Sargeron in Desolace, there were once four shrines known as Elune's Cathedral, Elune's Temple, Elune's Sanctuary and Elune's Palace. Each shrine housed a relic of Elune commonly used by the ancient elves in rituals to their goddess.
 * One could expect special power from washing one's face in the waters of the Cup of Elune, allowing one to see the spirits of ancient elves as part of the Cleansing Ritual.
 * The legends surrounding Elune's Handmaiden has it that in ancient time, after battle, the enemies' weapons were to be cast upon the basin in exchange for a divine gift as part of the Ritual of War.
 * According to ancient legend, Elune's Brazier was placed for the performing of sacrifices. A blessing is bestowed upon the being who places the flesh of Elune's enemies on the brazier's burning embers as part of a sacrificial offering.
 * The ancient elves revered the gems created by the Ancient Vortex Runestone, claiming that they were gifts from the goddess herself. It was believed that they were weapons capable of delivering them from any enemy. The monument's gemstones were imbued with the power to summon a firestorm. The storm could grow to be a mighty weapon either through sustained worship of Elune, or charged by spiritual energies of the fallen.

Religious practice
The night elves use the word "god" in plural ("Gods help us all"; "May the gods have mercy"), and the Temple of the Moon in Suramar had frescoes and murals depicting Elune and many other gods (actual gods, not demigods) shaping the world. We infer that the night elf religion, though centered around Elune, is actually polytheistic (the druids' reverence of certain demigods supports this). Elune's worship, therefore, is more like a dominant mystery cult than a monotheism, similar to the religions of Ancient Egypt or Ancient Greece on Earth.

The tauren and the earthen were also known to honor, if not outright worship Elune. The earthen were aware that it was she who gave birth to Cenarius, and were surprised to hear that Ysera was regarded as his mother. It's unknown if this means that the earthen worshiped her, or were merely better-informed about the origins of Kalimdor's demigods.

A tauren myth, the White Stag and the Moon, relates how Apa'ro (Malorne) fled the Shu'halo (Tauren) by escaping into the sky, but was entangled by the stars. Mu'sha saw him and fell in love with him, and agreed to free him if he loved her. Mu'sha's actions appear slightly out of character with Elune as understood by the night elves and the earthen, but it might be helpful to interpret it as a "just-so" story that the tauren used to explain the origin of Cenarius.

Divine interventions
When the night elves rode into battle, the Sisters of Elune fought side by side with the sentinels, singing to Elune and calling upon her power. Oftentimes the lunar goddess responded by visiting her wrath upon the night elves' enemies. It was even said that the priestesses could bring a semblance of the moon into the noonday sky, lending some of Elune's strength to the nocturnal night elves. After the battle was won, the priestesses prayed over the wounded and brought them healing. Other divine interventions were granted by her including:
 * The ability of calming races engaged in battle by singing a song of peace at night, until sunrise.
 * The ability to heal or grant a follower the gift of healing.
 * She also created a physical shield around Tyrande to prevent her from coming to harm in Azshara's palace, defending her from the likes of the jealous Lady Vashj.
 * Causing a rain of solid moonlight to fall when her priestesses face enemies.
 * Elune created the wildkin to watch over sacred sites.
 * She made nightsabers silver and black so they could meld into the shadows on a moonlit night.
 * Elune created the Gem of Elune to allow direct communication with her.
 * Elune provides her chosen High Priestess with psychic visions, warning her about a possible trouble or giving hope in times of despair.
 * Elune appears to be capable of cleansing the deepest corruption from a living creature. Notable examples of this are her salvation of Avrus Illwhisper, redeeming the Fallen Priestess into her original form, and in particular her redemption of Eranikus.
 * In Warcraft III, Tyrande states that she relies upon Elune's power to remain hidden during the night. The night elf racial, Shadowmeld, is a blessing of Elune upon the night elves.
 * The night elf racial Touch of Elune provides all night elves with a special passive benefit at all times, slightly increasing their Haste and Critical Strike during the night and day, respectively.
 * The talent Fury of Elune allows balance druids to directly call upon the power of Elune, calling down "a beam of pure celestial energy" to inflict Astral damage against enemies.
 * Other druidic abilities and talents such as Moonfire, Elune's Guidance, Full Moon, and Blessing of the Ancients appear to call upon Elune's power as well, sometimes alongside that of An'she, as well as Starfall, an iconic druidic ability shared by Tyrande and the Priestesses of the Moon.
 * Elune is depicted to have some power over the element of water, or at least over the tides, permanently banishing water spirits using the Orb of Elune, and Ebonhorn was also able to use Mu'sha's Tears to represent the element of water in a ritual in order to see the ancient past.
 * It is believed that Elune granted the Scythe of Elune to Velinde Starsong.
 * Elune blessed the Ancient Guardian Omen with immortality.
 * She granted a vision to Zamael Lunthistle to recognize the wrong he did.
 * After worgen arrived to Darnassus, Elune granted Tyrande a vision of Goldrinn being killed by demons during their first invasion, and of a spectral wolf, indicating the coming of King Wrynn to the city and Garrosh's assault on Ashenvale.
 * Guided the spirit of Shalasyr from her remains and allowed her husband, Jarod Shadowsong, to relive all the tender moments of their marriage. Meant to be a private experience, Elune showed only Jarod what she did, even excluding Tyrande who was officiating the funeral.
 * When Ysera was corrupted by the Emerald Nightmare and mournfully killed by Tyrande, tendrils of moonlight reached down from a lunar eclipse and cleansed both Ysera and the Tears of Elune from the Nightmare's taint. Vegetation also grew where Ysera's corpse had lain after it vanished in the daylight.
 * When Broxigar's hand was burned by Illidan Stormrage, Tyrande prayed to Elune, and a stream of silver light encompassed the priestess and wrapped around Brox's hand. As the moonlight touched his fingers, in a few seconds the burned flesh healed, the gaps where bone showed through regrew, and the horrific injury utterly vanished.
 * When Tyrande was captured by Queen Azshara's men, she was locked up in a cell. Elune protected her from all physical and magical harm while she was imprisoned, making her immune to torture. The Highborne thus tried to starve her, but Elune had also greatly diminished her need for sustenance.
 * Blessed kaldorei banners.
 * Shrouded the entire region of Darkshore in perpetual darkness by causing an unnatural lunar eclipse, greatly empowering all the night elves and worgen who fought with Tyrande to successfully reclaim kaldorei lands.
 * Daniss Ghostdancer channels the power of Elune into the Drums of Primal Might (although noting that Elune's power was taxed by Tyrande being the Night Warrior), allowing the harnessing of the "raw, primal might of the slain beasts" into "instruments of destruction" against the Horde.

In the RPG
Elune is the only true goddess in the world, and the most powerful Eternal in Azeroth.

History


In the world's infancy, she protected all living things and allowed them the chance to grow and thrive. Whenever she found violence, she would cast her calming influence across the land so that peace and healing might be given another chance to thrive.

Thus it was for many centuries, until arcane energy began to leak into the world through the Well of Eternity. Despite her attempts to guide them away, she watched in horror as her spiritual children among the Kaldorei were drawn to the Well and seduced by its power. Though her companion Malorne and their child Cenarius joined her faithful among the Kaldorei in an attempt to stave off the arrival of the Burning Legion, the demons spilled across the land in a wave of death and destruction that even she could not prevent.

After the Kaldorei went into seclusion following the War of the Ancients, Elune spent thousands of years nurturing the world back to life. Saddened by the fall of so many Eternals in the war, she pursued her task alone with only occasional visits to her son.

Just as she felt she had once again accomplished her task and brought Azeroth toward a new era of peace, the human kingdoms fell under the corrupting influence of high elven magic and crumbled into chaos. Shortly thereafter, the orcish Horde came to Azeroth and sparked a new era of warfare that threatens to consume the world like the War of the Ancients did so long ago. Though her Kaldorei followers have returned from their time in the Emerald Dream, it has yet to be seen if the moon goddess will take any direct action during this time of trouble.

Appearance
It's difficult to make the goddess out through the luminescence that surrounds her, only catching glimpses of alabaster skin and long, pale hair, graceful gossamer robes and a platinum circlet upon her brow. Her eyes are brilliant orbs of pure moonlight, and she smiles peacefully upon her worshipers.

Elune faiths
Elune is revered by those who worship her as the mother of the world, a scion of peace and a protector of all living things. The majority of the Kaldorei strive to follow in her footsteps, though most rationalize their need to resort to violence as the shortcoming of a mortal existence. Even those who worship other powers respect Elune for the unconditional love she gives to all creatures regardless of their beliefs or actions. Though she has never shown herself in physical form on the Material Plane, all the creatures of Azeroth know that were she to do so, it would herald the arrival of a long awaited era of peace.

Combat
Elune never engages in combat of any kind, nor does she allow it to occur in her presence. Though she never physically manifests in the world of mortals, when she involves herself in a violent situation, she arrives invisibly and undetected using her song of peace to calm the combatants until sunrise.

Notes and trivia

 * One of the Pillars of Creation, the Tears of Elune, is named after her, hinting at some connection between Elune and the titans. Though unrelated, there are also several items named after her tears, such as the Tearstone of Elune and Mu'sha's Tears.
 * Of the four elements, Elune seems to be most closely associated with water. Tauren mythology speaks of Mu'sha bonding with the elements of wind and water, just as An'she bonded with fire and earth; Mu'sha's Tears represented the element of water during Spiritwalker Ebonhorn's ritual to see the past; the Tablet of the Balancing Tides references the balance of power between her and Neptulon; and Moon Priestess Tharill used the Orb of Elune to permanently banish restless water spirits in Darkshore. Elune therefore also has a possible connection with the Tidemother and the Spirit of Water.
 * Sylvanas Windrunner considered Elune to have possibly stayed Varok Saurfang's hand, sparing Malfurion Stormrage's life, and also noted that Elune "wouldn't be the only force beyond the Alliance" to oppose her true objectives.
 * Elunite Ore is said to be blessed by her.
 * The wedding of Tyrande and Malfurion took place when the White Lady was at its zenith.
 * In ancient times Elune blessed a Fountain of Health in Stonetalon Mountains.
 * In an alternate timeline where Deathwing had successfully brought about the Hour of Twilight, the time-twisted fragment of Tyrande was still able to call upon the powers of Elune.
 * Elune is not an Old God.
 * Although Elune seems to be able to call upon considerable powers of the Shadow and Void as in Darkshore, Xal'atath, an ancient weapon connected to the Old Gods, considers Elune an "upstart 'goddess'" and "a great enemy", as she attempted and failed to claim her power at the Sisters of the Moon. Xal'atath herself seems somewhat estranged from the four Old Gods, and as such this might refer to some kind of personal enmity.
 * Anduin Wrynn considers Elune to be another expression of the Holy Light.
 * Baine Bloodhoof believes that Fearbreaker, forged by the dwarves and blessed by the Light, resonates with the familiar power of An'she and Mu'sha, neither of which were better than the other, and together seeing with balanced vision, through Fearbreaker feeling a kinship towards them. Anduin in response stated that, "Light is light, whatever its source".
 * Balance druids, especially the Druids of the Moon, night elf druids found at the Temple of Elune in Val'sharah, appear to have a special affinity for Elune's powers, with the moonkin and other breeds of wildkin even stated to have been her original creation.
 * The ship Elune's Blessing is named after her.
 * The spider Lady Sathrah was her favorite.
 * Prior to patch 4.0.3, players could encounter the Voice of Elune upon completing Guardians of the Altar.
 * It is heavily implied that the Lun'alai worship Elune.
 * During the early development of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Elune was originally named "Lunathris".
 * Many fans theorized that Elune and Ysera are the same being, since they are both described as the mother of Cenarius and show great compassion for the lesser races. However, writer Richard A. Knaak has confirmed that they are NOT the same.
 * Maiev Shadowsong's ability to use Blink comes from Elune.
 * In the Patch 5.2 Raid Preview, Lead Encounter Designer Ion Hazzikostas talked about how they originally planned for the Twin Consorts of Lei Shen, Lu'lin and Suen, to be the imprisoned spirits of the sun and moon but scrapped the idea because it didn't feel right. He goes on to state the only true spirit of the Moon is Elune and she was clearly not locked away by the Thunder King.
 * The Star of Elune gems are named after her.
 * The world of Elunaria may be related to Elune.
 * The server Elune US is named after her.
 * Elune borrows from many lunar goddesses and fictional derivatives, particularly Tolkien and Forgotten Realms.
 * Moon motifs resemble the symbol from contemporary, especially as depicted in Moonwells shown in the Vault of the Wardens and other Legion instances.
 * Elune as a multifaced goddess is likely based on, as well as elements of the Night Warrior.
 * Other aspects of the Night Warrior, such as how Tyrande changed, in combination with her epithet the "White Lady", is likely based upon the real-life folklore of the in various cultures, being a variation of  myths.
 * Elune may have been inspired by Forgotten Realms Selune (being nearly the same name but with different pronunciation), in turn based on, who in turn is the syncretized parallel of , the combination of which may be the basis for Selune.
 * Another Forgotten Realm goddess that may have been a basis is Sehanine. Elune and Sehanine share a particular habit of rarely, if ever, manifesting themselves, communicating with their Chosen through dreams and moonlight. It is revealed in the fourth edition of D&D that Sehanine is, in fact, an aspect of Selûne. More so, Elune may be based on Ehlonna, goddess of the elves, forests, woodlands, flora, fauna, and fertility from the Greyhawk setting.
 * Another possible inspiration is Varda, the Lady of the Stars and patron deity of the elves in J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium. Elune and Elbereth share many similarities, including names, epithets, and their relationship to elves and place in their culture.
 * In the story Eyes of the Earth Mother, Mu'sha wields a bow; the association of a lunar goddess with a bow is likely based on.

Speculation

 * In the Folk & Fairy Tales of Azeroth story "The Embrace" the White Lady is a character that is possibly Elune. In the story the White Lady and the Sun were charged with keeping watch over Azeroth as it dreamed and the Blue Child was born of the love of the White Lady for Azeroth and its denizens.
 * In the same book, "Eyes of the Earth Mother" has Mu'sha, who the tauren consider to be Elune, being the sister of An'she and the daughter of the Earth Mother, and is charged with both taking care of Lo'sho (the Blue Child for the tauren) and sustaining An'she after he was wounded after her mother falls asleep upon the world.
 * It is hinted that it was Elune who transformed Kalecgos into an Aspect of Magic. Given that the ritual was done during the Embrace and involved the presence of the White Lady and the Blue Child, and the White Lady is associated with Elune, then it is possible this was the case. This is supported by the following texts: "His was now the ultimate mastery of arcane magic, given willingly, with love and hope and trust, by his flight, by the Mother and Child, by the echo of what the titans had willed, long ago".
 * It is possible that Elune's power are on par with, if not rival, the Old Gods. Tyrande were able to call upon Elune's blessed power in the Emerald Dream at the other plane of existence to cleanse its corruption caused by N'Zoth, an Old God.
 * There is a possibility that Elune aided the titans in creating Azeroth. In the Temple of Elune in Suramar, there were murals on the ceiling depicting Elune creating Azeroth alongside gods whose faces were not depicted.
 * It may be that the White Lady isn't just symbolic of Elune, but rather is Elune. Its appearances in Legion and Battle for Azeroth show her power seemingly coming directly from it.
 * Given Elune has engaged with other races on other planets, and the Shadowmoon clan learned their magic from the earth and moon as well as the viability of a Lunar Rock from the Draenor Pale Lady to bless a moonwell, it is possible Elune also helped the origin orcish shamanism.
 * Given "Atal'ai" means "Devoted Ones", it is possible the Zandalari Lun'alai group means "Devoted to Lun'al" that Elune's name to them is Lun'al.

Elune, a naaru?
In the third round of Ask CDev, Blizzard remarked that "Velen has been a prophet of the naaru for many thousands of years, and it’s unlikely that he would propose such a theory without significant evidence and consideration." Community manager Kaivax fueled the mystery a bit further by tweeting "whether or not [Elune being a naaru] is anything other than talk is anyone's guess."

Tyrande Whisperwind, Elune's chosen high priestess, has dismissed Velen's opinion on the matter out of hand. Tyrande's rejection of Velen's claim seems to tie into a notable difference between the naaru and Elune--the naaru reject being objects of worship by mortals, although some may revere them. The moon goddess however has for countless ages empowered a night elven priesthood devoted to worshiping her as a divinity, and in every generation has anointed the most faithful of her worshipers as high priestess of a religion dedicated to her name.

With Elune's mortal avatar dismissing the assertion that the Mother Moon can be identified as a naaru of major prominence, no certainty exists either way. This does not preclude connections between the naaru and Elune, but it suggests the moon goddess might not merely be one of them. However, she could in fact be some form of naaru not yet witnessed, perhaps an incredibly powerful one.

Since then, it's been revealed that an object linked to Elune, the Tears of Elune, were capable of unlocking a piece of a naaru; Light's Heart. It was even speculated by Khadgar that Elune created the first naaru.

Elune, a Titan?
Elune has some sort of connection to the titans. This is supported by the name of the Tears of Elune, one of the Pillars of Creation, as all the other Pillars are named after members of the Pantheon, the ruling sect of the titans. The blue dragon Kalecgos became a new Aspect of Magic under the White Lady who is said to be Elune herself, and the rest of Aspects were empowered by the titans, giving credence to this theory. She also taught the dark trolls (before they became night elves) words in Titan such as "Kalimdor". Most of Tyrande Whisperwind's abilities as Priestess of the Moon appear to be arcane in nature, most Astral-damage abilities such as Fury of Elune and Full Moon appear to be related to Elune, and on the cosmology chart, water is apparently most closely associated with the titans and the Wild Gods, the wielders of arcane and nature magic.

Elunaria, the planet Eonar took refuge on, could be where Elune was born if she is indeed a titan. Alternatively, Eonar herself could be Elune; Eonar's servant Ysera has long shared a very close relationship with Elune's favored night elves, even taking on one of their forms, and invoking the Nightsong during her death and rebirth. Elune's direct intervention in cleansing the Tears in Val'sharah, the druidic land where her only major surviving Temple has been based for 10,000 years, as well as the Image of Aegwynn's description of the Tears matching that of the Emerald Dream, also implies some possible connection between the two.

Elune, Azeroth?
Some fans theorize that "Elune" is the name given by the night elves to Azeroth, the planet's world-soul, or at least some aspect thereof. This is supported by Elune's close connection to the Well of Eternity, which was formed from the life-blood of Azeroth's world-soul when Y'Shaarj was ripped from the surface of the world, as the early night elves believed Elune to be a nocturnal deity who slept in the Well's depths during the day. Furthermore, her powers were able to penetrate into the Emerald Dream and cleansed it's corruption by the Old God N'Zoth.

When Magni Bronzebeard revealed Azeroth to be a titan, he used the pronoun "she", indicating that Azeroth is a female titan. Alternatively, Azeroth's world-soul could be the Earth Mother, which Baine Bloodhoof believes is Azeroth herself, with tauren mythology explicitly describing a connection between the Earth Mother and Mu'sha.

Elune, a "Light lord"?
Another possibility is that Elune is perhaps a Light equivalent to the void lords, a "Light lord". As the Light and the Void are equals and opposites, there would presumably be entities who rule the Light just as the void lords rule the Void. If such entities exist, then Elune could be one of them, and the one responsible for creating the naaru. While highly speculative, it nonetheless remains a possibility in light of the recent discoveries concerning her and the naaru.

Elune, the Tidemother
See Tidemother speculation.

Elune, the First One
See First Ones speculation.