Aspect of the Chameleon

An'she is the sun in tauren mythology. Once the right eye of the Earth Mother, An’she was torn out and sent spinning across the heavens, chased eternally by Azeroth’s most visible moon, known to the tauren as Mu'sha.

Tauren priests (known as Seers), and paladins (known as Sunwalkers) aim to revere the light of hope that the Earth Mother shines upon the world, through the use of An’she’s power. Tahu Sagewind implies that such a focus on An'she, as opposed to the power of Mu’sha used by druids and night elves, aims achieve the balance of the Earth Mother, and that this isn’t a new concept.

So far, tauren priests and paladins have not been observed conclusively noting the similarities between the power of An’she and other forms of divine magic (such as the Holy Light), or even the similarities between tauren priests and paladins and those of other races. They appear to believe that night elf Priestesses of the Moon use the power of Mu’sha (to the elves, Elune), for instance. Still, they seem to use the terms “sun”, “light” or both as synonyms for An’she.

While the tauren refer to Mu’sha as a ‘she’, the gender used to refer to An’she, if there is one, is unknown.

Sayings

• Tauren Paladin trainers: “The light of the Sun illuminates the path to wisdom.”
• Tauren Priest trainers: “Light watch over you.”
• Tahu Sagewind: “...There is balance in all things, even death.”
• Aponi Brightmane: "It's always darkest before the dawn. The dawn will come... The sun will rise. The balance will shift back to where it should be.”

Speculation

This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

Tauren Seers have been in the lore since before World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, and even Wrath of the Lich King, when Tahu Sagewind and Aponi Brightmane explain why tauren priests and paladins will become playable. These Tauren Seers are healers, but the source of their power was not elaborated on. With Cataclysm, tauren priests are known in-game as Seers – this seems to indicate that tauren priests, like the new gnome priests, are not new to the lore but were instead merely unplayable race/class combinations before now. Tahu Sagewind's words may suggest that a focus on An'she as well as Mu'sha, and therefore the idea of weilding the sun's power, isn't a concept new to the tauren; "Well, it isn't exactly a new thought, sister."

The Sunwalker order may contain both priests and paladins, which is implied by the close friendship of Tahu Sagewind and Aponi Brightmane, who simultaneously become the leading paladin and priest (respectively) of the tauren. It appears that they developed new or more advanced techniques to wield the power of An’she, and the Sunwalkers were founded as a result of this new avenue of power, and a new path to revere balance and the Earth Mother. Alternatively, this path was already known (likely to traditional tauren Seers), but due to the close connections between powerful tauren druids and the night elves (who put an extreme emphasis on the power of the moon), this way of the Earth Mother had become overlooked by the tauren, as it is shunned by the night elves.

It is possible that An'she, like Mu'sha and Apa'ro, is known to the night elves by another name. The high elves of Quel'thalas once worshipped the sun in a reversal of the night elves’ moon-worship, before they invented the concept of the Holy Light in combination with a human cult – they may have worshipped this same source of divine energy.

As the tauren refer to Mu’sha as a ‘she’, An’she, its polar opposite, is likely a ‘he’. Tahu Sagewind and Aponi Brightmane refer to the pair as having balance, making this notion seem very fitting.

Possible sources of An’she, and relation to the Holy Light, Loa Gods and Divine Magic

An'she and the sun may be the tauren interpretations of the Holy Light, or another form of divine magic coming from a separate, if possibly related source. Tauren may or may not consider the various forms of divine magic wielded by humans, dwarves, blood elves (the Holy Light) and trolls (the Loa Gods) to be linked to An’she and the Earth Mother.

Anne Stickney of WoW Insider gives an argument in "Know Your Lore TFH Edition: Elune is a naaru" that An'she could possibly be a naaru and partner to Mu'sha. In her argument, she suggests that Mu'sha and An'she came to Azeroth together, but approached spreading the Light in different ways to different populations. Mu'sha approached the trolls or night elves in a direct fashion, while An'she approached the dwarves and humans more obliquely.