Invocation to the Gods of Theatre!

Tech week has started. How will that translate to the blog? This week I will be pondering the Gods of theatre! I had been planning to keep it on the light side tonight, but my meditations and research took me in a much deeper direction.

I've been reading more about Dionysus, patron deity of theatre, who is associated with Ariadne.  Clement of Alexandria, believed that certain rites of Dionysian mystery cults recreated the conception of Dionysus, particularly as the result of the union of Zeus and Persephone. This would be the first incarnation of thrice-born Dionysus, and a bull faced god, at that. Clement was a Christian and born around 150 ce, so his interpretation of the rites needs to be taken with a tequila bottle worth of salt. And maybe the tequila too.

Has anyone really explored the relationship between Ariadne, the Minotaur (bull head male body!), the labyrinth and Dionysus? I've explored the idea of Ariadne as an epithet and Persephone but have never really meditated on the part of the lore where Ariadne is connected to the Minotaur, to Dionysus a bull god and to Persephone.

This blog entry is brief, but it is just the seed of a deeper meditation I'm off to ponder. I hope you do as well and will add your thoughts in comments!

The Tragic Women of the Greco-Roman world...

I hate the term Greco-Roman, but alas, that pretty much describes what we have here. Tonight, Nemesis and I were talking about Dido's lament (aka her suicide speech). I remarked about that being the moment opera was born. We waxed poetic once again about Medea and Jason and how Medea has been much maligned over the years. This lead to a chat about Jeff Mach's play, Seeds, a bdsm take on the relationship between Hades and Persephone. I think fans of Ann Rice's The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty‎ will like it. It's slated to premiere at The Geeky Kink event in NJ, Nov 4th - 6th. This got me to thinking about all of the "wronged women" in Greek and Roman lore:

Ariadne: Abandoned by Theseus, "rescued" by Dionysus.
Demeter: Daughter stolen, gets to see her for half the year..
Hera: Cheated on left n right by Zeus.
Diana: Tricked into killing her lover, Orion!
Medussa: Get's it on with Neptune on Aphrodite's altar and is turned into a stone-turning, snake headed monster. And what happens to Neptune? Jack and shit. Nice.
Khione: Date-raped by two Gods, gives birth to their twins.
Helen: The face that launched a thousand ships. Nevermind that it was her husband who went after her when he could have just given her a divorce. Sheesh.
Pasiphaë: Minos' wife who winds up mating with a bull because Minos wouldn't sacrifice the best one to Neptune. That's where we got the minataur! She was an innocent bystander, yet she's the one who's blamed for doing it with a bull! And check out Neptune's involvement in yet another debasing of a Goddess... how did he come to be associated with these stories?
Athena: Hephaestus tries to rape her and his spunk lands on the earth which impregnates Gaia who then gives birth to Erichthonius!

I'm writing the Wronged Goddess version of the Vagina Monologues. What should I call it?

I don't take these stories literally, but I, and I'm sure many of you who bother to read this blog have looked beyond the surface of the stories and into the deeper themes. There is some evidence that Hephaestus and Athena were considered a divine pair and that Erichthonius is their son (Shhh! Don't tell Marguerite Rigoglioso!)

Likewise, Pasiphaë, Europa and Ariadne are linked with the Moon Goddess in ancient Crete, the theory being that "Ariadne" is a Greek epithet for the Goddess the same way "Lucina" is in Italy. I also like to note that Pasiphaë is the sister of Circe, Aunt of Medea and both are from Thessaly. I don't always appreciate wiki articles, but this one is a wonderful starting place. Note the mention of Pasiphaë as an oracular Goddess!


That's all for tonight. Tomorrow, something practical!

Trance/Possession/Prophecy

Today was the Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone workshop on Trance-Prophecy. It was very interesting. I've used tarantella and pizzica as trance inductors and also Drawing Down the Moon, which is Italian, by the way. Etruscan, if you want to get specific about it. I was surprised that they've done work in Italy, but I guess I shouldn't be.

I volunteered to let Gavin take me down the path and let myself be possessed. I decided to trust him and let go of my ego and my own way of doing things. In a meditation earlier in the day, I saw Diana walking in front of me down the path, so when I volunteered, I suspected it would be Her. It was, and she didn't want to wait for Gavin to get through the entire pathworking. She started coming through me and he told me to pull back and wait, to have more control. She and I were confused, not understanding why we couldn't do this right away. Since I had put my trust in him as my guide, I said let's do it his way, and we did. I can see how it opened up more choice for me. I could have picked any of several who wanted to come through. Diana, however, was most present. She came through, and as he described, it was like relaxing into a warm bath. Everything sounded "underwater" to me. I didn't have a care. I was completely relaxed. When I came back up, it was like a dream that was floating away.  Funny, I had to let go of my hard-won control to gain some.

I do remember that she told the group to "Find the joy in the Work." It's not all dark n mysterious all the time. There is Joy here too. Otherwise, why bother?

There was a ritual for Dionysus afterward in the vineyard. One of my favorite cohorts got to bring Hecate through and rocked it like a Trance-Diva! Part of the ritual was ecstatic dance. I had my tamburello with me and played for both the ritual and the dance. I decided that i wanted to let go and trance MY way, just to feel the back to back comparison. I gave the tamburello to a friend and started dancing and rocking and I handed off my laurel wreath and then as I danced i threw my scarf around someone's neck (like pulling them towards me). Next thing I know I'm on the floor with Gavin's hands on my head telling me to close my chakras LOL

It was a great day. I got to meet some fabulous people learn new techniques, and had a wonderful time. If you get a chance to take this workshop, you should!

A nod to the God of Wine

He was also the God of ecstasy and ritual madness, and for a myriad of reasons (all of which are debated), was involved in the Mysteries of Eleusis.  After a day of ritual, I thought a nod to him would be appropriate. I'll delve more into his lore at another time including his parentage, role in the Mysteries, as the origin of Jesus mythology, and the Bacchantes.

TO DIONYSOS (incense: storax)
I call upon loud-roaring and reveling Dionysos,
primeval, two-natured, thrice-born, Bacchic lord,
savage, ineffable, secretive, two-horned and two-shaped.
Ivy-covered, bull-faced, warlike, howling, pure,
you take raw flesh, you have triennial feasts, wrapt in foliage, decked
with grape clusters.
Resourceful Eubouleus, immortal god sired by Zeus
when he mated with Persephone in unspeakable union.
Hearken to my voice, O blessed one, and with your fair-girdled nurses
breathe on me in a spirit of perfect kindness.