Oralius

Oralius is the primary deity of the Cardassian religion, the Oralian Way. Oralius is typically portrayed as a female, though a few sects have portrayed this deity as male. 

Little is known to outsiders about the nature of Oralius; however, at least three Cardassian clerics have been known to have significant experiences involving their faith as a result of an encounter with the Bajoran Orbs. Whether these visions are the responsibility of Oralius or the Prophets, however, is unclear. ( trilogy)


 * The Pocket books novel  speculates that Oralius is a legend that grew up in Hebitian society due to the influence of aliens known as the dithparu that used a mask similar to an Oralian recitation mask to bond with a host. While some continuities may include this as fact, this is not canon to either the  or  universes.

At some times, the relationship between the individual Hebitian or Cardassian is described in similar terms to the way Earth's Christians describe the believer's relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The Oralian Invocation, in which the believer describes what he or she wishes to happen ("...to speak her words with my voice, To think her thoughts with my mind, To feel her love with my heart..."), bears a striking resemblance to the sentiment espoused in certain passages from the Bible, especially some of Paul's letters in which he expresses the wish to have the mind of Christ and to speak the words given by the Spirit.

This wish is symbolically expressed by the ritual donning of the recitation mask for the reading of the Hebitian Records and for prayer, a custom which in some sects is the sole province of the Guide; in others it is permissible for laity, including males, to wear a recitation mask as well. The recitation mask is carved with feminine Cardassian features (though often more androgynous for masks shaped for men by sects that allow this--masculine features in the minority sects that represent Oralius as male) in a representation of Oralius herself. (--"The Desolate Vigil")