Pathfinder

Rune representation

In scholarly astronomical or astrological works, Golarion is sometimes represented by a rune: a circle with three vertical bars overlaying it. One might suggest this symbol is more in keeping with Golarion as 'the Cage', rather than as 'the Child'.

Continents

Golarion contains eight continents amid immense seas.

• Arcadia is a lush continent that lies west from Avistan and Garund across the Arcadian Ocean, which bears its name. 4,000 miles from the shores of Avistan, little is known of this land save in the most ancient of texts and lore from long-fallen empires, though there are infrequent trade and colonization efforts from Avistan to Arcadia.
• Avistan is a large peninsular continent that expands westward from Casmaron, bordered by the World's Edge Mountains. Avistan plays host to a number of civilizations built upon the ruins of great past empires, such as Thassilon and the colonies of Azlant. The Avistani nations of Taldor, Cheliax, Andoran, and Qadira are shaping up to become world powers, and the city of Absalom on an island off its coast is the largest and most cosmopolitan city in the world.
• Azlant is a once-great island-continent a thousand miles to the west from the Arch of Aroden. Azlant saw the rise of the first human civilizations. All that remains of Azlant today is a series of jutting crags and narrow, twisted channels; most of the continent sunk beneath the sea when the Starstone fell from the sky.
• Casmaron is the largest continent, spanning much of the world's northern hemisphere and containing the two largest and most powerful empires in the world: Kelesh and Vudra.
• The Crown of the World is an immense frozen desert that spans the northern pole of the planet. While much too cold and harsh-weathered for permanent and successful habitation save for a few hardy nomads, the Crown is an invaluable trade route between Avistan and Tian Xia.
• Garund is a largely unexplored continent that lies southeast of Avistan, across the Inner Sea. Whether one is scouring its northern deserts for lost relics of the Osiriani pharaohs or trekking through the near-impenetrable jungles of the Mwangi Expanse, Garund provides endless adventures for those willing to risk its many dangers.
• Sarusan is the smallest and least-known continent on Golarion. It lies amid the least traveled portions of the sea.
• Tian Xia is a great supercontinent across the ocean east from Casmaron and west from Arcadia. Like Avistan, it is home to many ancient and powerful empires, including Minkai and the Successor States of Lung Wa. Despite its remote location, merchants from Tian Xia travel the entire world.

Oceans

Five great oceans cover the remainder of Golarion.

•     The Antarkos Ocean, which covers most of Golarion's southern hemisphere, including the South Pole, and is largely composed of a permanent ice shelf.
•     The Arcadian Ocean, west of Avistan and Garund, east of Arcadia, and surrounding Azlant.
•     The Embaral Ocean touching Casmaron, Tian Xia, and Sarusan.
•     The Obari Ocean, between Garund and Casmaron.
•     The Okaiyo Ocean separating Tian Xia from Arcadia.

Seas

The nine most important seas on Golarion are:

•     Castrovin Sea
•     Fever Sea
•     Inner Sea
•     Ivory Sea
•     Shining Sea
•     Sightless Sea
•     Songil Sea
•     Steaming Sea
•     Valashmai Sea

Age Before Ages: collective term used in the Inner Sea region to describe Golarion's prehistoric past that preceded the destruction of the Starstone and the Age of Darkness. Going backwards in time from Earthfall, it includes the Age of Legend, Age of Serpents, and the Age of Creation. It is a time best known through myths and legends, and although great priests and powerful diviners have used magic to explore it, their discoveries have been fragmentary and confusing, raising many more questions than they answered.

Age of Creation: term used to describe the uncounted years of mythic time, beginning with the creation of Golarion and ending with the emergence of mortal races upon its face (the Age of Serpents). It was a time when the deities of Golarion played a much more active role than they do today. It was during the Age of Creation that the great battle occurred that led to the god Rovagug's imprisonment.

Age of Serpents: a term used for the length of unmeasured time which preceded the rise of humanity on the continent of Azlant. It was marked by the rise of one of Golarion's first mortal race to gain control of large parts of the world. It was preceded by the mythical Age of Creation and was followed by the Age of Legend, when the power of the humanoid races eclipsed the other races.

Age of Legends: a general term used to refer to the "prehistoric" time before the destruction of the Starstone led to the Age of Darkness in -5293 AR. It is marked by the rise of the first human civilizations, and ended when the resulting Earthfall destroyed these civilizations and ushered in Age of Darkness.

• The Starstone is a unique gemstone meteorite that was part of a massive meteoroid which shattered and struck Golarion in -5293 AR. This event, known as Earthfall, caused the destruction of many ancient empires.

Age of Darkness: a thousand-year period in which the sun's light was blocked by the ash knocked into the atmosphere by the meteoric impacts of Earthfall. It began with the impact of the Starstone in -5293 AR and lasted until the sun's light had been restored, roughly in -4294 AR. During the Age of Darkness, all major civilizations across Golarion were destroyed, ushering in a time of anarchy and destruction.

Age of Anguish:  a term used by historians to describe the roughly 800 year period starting in -4294 AR when the skies finally cleared of the dust of Earthfall. This age was characterized by the conflicts of primitive peoples in a desperate struggle for survival and domination in a world left shattered by the Age of Darkness. The end of the Age of Anguish, and the beginning of the Age of Destiny, was marked by the founding of the Osirion civilization in circa -3470 AR, and the slow re-establishment of human civilizations across the world.

Age of Destiny: began with the founding of the Osirian civilization and spanned three and a half millennia until Aroden raised the Starstone from the bottom of the Inner Sea and founded the great city of Absalom, ushering in the Age of Enthronement. It was marked by the re-emergence of human civilization after the barbarism of the Age of Darkness and the Age of Anguish.

Age of Enthronement: began with the founding of Absalom, and its inception is also the starting point for the Absalom Reckoning dating system. The Age of Enthronement spans the years from 1 AR until 4606 AR when Aroden, the god of humanity, died.

Age of Glory: was supposed to have begun in 4606 AR, but instead of the god of humanity's return, his priests lost their divine connection and he is presumed to have perished. Instead of humans being led into a new golden age of peace and justice that Golarion hadn't witnessed since the height of ancient Azlanti, the world was plunged into decades of chaos and the Age of Lost Omens.

Age of Lost Omens: The age of the current day, having supplanted the Age of Enthronement in 4606 AR when the death of the god Aroden threw the entire planet into decades of turmoil and confusion. Aroden himself had prophesied thousands of years before that he would return on the cusp of mankind's greatest triumph and usher in the Age of Glory. His priests and followers calculated the supposed exact time of this event and prepared for it with lavish pomp. On the prophesied date, instead of his return, all contact to the god was lost and the world was devastated by terrible storms, the opening of vast planar rifts, and decades-spanning political upheavals. Since then, no major prophecy has come true, a condition for which historians have named the current era.