Devotions to Ariadne

I've been a bit negligent on observing devotional days and I've been trying to change that this month.  I realized that part of my problem is that I feel as if I should be able to devote a whole *day* to each one, and so when that seemed impossible, I would try to move it around, but inevitably other obstacles, and you know, life, gets in the way.  So I'm telling myself that "the day is the day is the day".  Whole days set aside for festivals are wonderful, but there's no need to be separating the spiritual from the mundane completely all the time, and in fact probably a lot of arguments FOR blending them.  I've revised my lists of possible activities for each devotional day, to include small activities as well as more time consuming ones.  And most importantly, just keeping the god/dess in mind during the day, and being present, paying attention... which doesn't take any time, simply effort!  This small change in perspective seems to be working well for me this month.

When I first started observing devotional days, the 4th was for Aphrodite.  I had a small shrine for Her as well.  Though I never had any direct experiences with Her, I felt like I couldn't NOT honor the blessings of love in my life somehow.  Aphrodite is a grand and complex goddess, with plenty of association with Dionysos.  And while I didn't feel like my offerings and prayers fell flat exactly, something just didn't click. 

Something had stuck with me that I had read in Otto's Dionysos: Myth and Cult, which was that on Cyprus Ariadne was worshipped as Ariadne Aphrodite (which to me brings to mind Ariadne as deified by Dionysos).  So with this in mind, I made some changes to my shrine intending to focus on this syncretized aspect.  I used red and black cloths, I added a snake goddess statue I'd acquired many years ago, and a round mirror for Ariadne's lunar aspects.  Admittedly now I've just come to think of it as "Ariadne's shrine", for I feel she's more complex than this particular aspect  (and likely was a Minoan deity in her own right). So I hope Aphrodite takes no offense... But it feels less as if I'm "changing deities" than that I am adjusting my practice to reflect the goddess that my heart was already resonating with, if that makes sense.  I'm not sure why I was hesitant to do this in the first place... but my experience with Ariadne has been a bit like the labyrinth itself.  She actually led me to Dionysos to begin with, in Her roundabout way, and since then I danced around Her for a quite a while before getting to this point.

I wasn't sure at first where to place a devotional day for Her... The full moon seemed appropriate considering Her lunar aspects, although it falls awful close to Dionysos', so I settled on keeping it on the 4th for now.  I realized when the day came that this is when the waxing moon looks very much like bull horns!

All that being said!  I spent some time communing with Ariadne on Her devotional day.  Offered up milk and honey, and some white wine, as well as some lotus-scented incense.  I put on some music, and sat down with pen and paper hoping to gel together some of my haphazard ideas for an Ariadne festival into something more concrete and organized.  And indeed, I wrote out a very long invocation for her and everything fell into place for the festival, which is both encouraging and exciting.  I've feel that this will be one of two yearly festivals for her.  (This one in midsummer, the second in the fall.)  But since this is my first attempt at creating a new festival, we shall see how it all turns out!  At the time of posting this, the festival is actually tomorrow! Or today after I've slept, however you wish to look at it.)

One last thing to note -- dreams have been something I've been thinking about off and on lately (including dream incubation, lucid dream states, how one might induce oracular dreams, that sort of thing).  It was not something I was thinking about while I was brainstorming for Ariadne's festival, but nevertheless, the message came through suddenly that She could be a dream guide.  And I thought, Lady of the Labyrinth, holder of the thread... well that makes sense!  I'll blog more about this as it develops.

Art, Ariadne and the Cretan Bull Cycle

I wanted to take a moment to highlight the extraordinary talents of a couple of friends of mine, Moco and Maize, who together create art under the name Mandem.  If you're familiar with the darkwave or steampunk scene at all, you may have already seen their work.  Their art has been on the covers and in the liners of many of The Cruxshadows' albums, as well as the Airship Pirates RPG book by the steampunk band Abney Park.  They describe their style as Mythpunk Art Noir, which I think describes it very well!  

All of their work is wonderful, but some personal favorites of mine are the ones of Ariadne.  They are beautiful and haunting.  I plan to buy some prints soon to put on my Ariadne shrine.

Potnia Tauron

Her Brother's Keeper

I highly recommend you check out their website as well as their Etsy store. 

And last but not least, here's a link (posted with their permission) to Maize's undergraduate honors thesis, entitled "The Cretan Cycle: Sex, Sacrifice and the Sacred Beast." 

Back in 2007 when I first read it, I was at a point where I was starting to actively explore my attraction to Dionysos more seriously.  The myth of Ariadne, Theseus and the Minotaur had always been a favorite.  But the thesis really blew me away, and I remember that several points in the thesis confirmed things I had felt intuitively but hadn't had any references for.  If you're at all interested in Greek myth it's definitely worth reading.  The thesis includes some of their art and part of an unfinished graphic novel that I really hope they finish someday!  I'm told they may expand upon and publish this whole work eventually. 

I meant to post a blog about their work much earlier than this. I was planning to reread the thesis more carefully and go into detail about how awesome it is.  But I think it speaks for itself much better than I could - so check it out!

Kerenyi and other random thoughts...

I've read more than half of Dionysos: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life by Kerenyi. Unfortunately, because I got it on inter-library loan I wasn't able to keep it long enough to finish it.  But I plan to buy a copy as it certainly seems to be one I'd like to have in my personal library.  I had many "aha" moments with this book as well as a general broadening of knowledge. Things that really grabbed me included pretty much all the information on Ariadne.  He pointed out evidence that she has an underworld aspect... which is something I've felt intuitively but don't remember coming across anywhere else.  Also, many interesting things about Erigone, the Aiora, and the Anthesteria... things that I'm filing away for next year's festivals. 

Kerenyi has an approach which seems, dare I say, scholarly but reckless?  But maybe it's less reckless than I think, not being overly scholarly myself.  His knowledge certainly seems extremely broad.  But he would say things like, "From the absence of any depiction of such and such, we can assume..." (pardon my vagueness since I no longer have the book with me) or draw conclusions that I was surprised at but at the same time appreciative of, even if they occasionally seem a stretch, at least based on the information presented.  He doesn't have the same loving, almost mystical approach as Otto, but the book is invaluable nonetheless... especially with the generous amount of photographs of relevant art in the back of the book.

Another thing I'm still contemplating, and will be until I get my own copy of the book and can finish this section (and probably long after), is Dionysos Trieterikos, Dionysos of the two-year period.  He describes that Dionysos was in some places worshipped in the context of a two-year period, where He was absent for 12 months (or in the underworld), and then present for the next 12 months.  This is hard for me to wrap my head around, on one hand, and on the other... well, it ALMOST make sense.  I'll try to explain my train of thought... It's probably not surprising, since I come from a Wiccan background, that I've attempted to think of Dionysos seasonally, especially when it comes to the possibility of creating other festivals for him, or even putting his known festivals into a context of a sort of Wheel of the Year.  But that's never quite seemed RIGHT.  Is He born on the Lenaia?  Earlier in the winter?  Later during the Anthesteria, when the flowers blossom?  All three since He was born two or three times?  But the Anthesteria also has associations with marriage and death.  If you're following me at all, it becomes obvious that Dionysos is too many-formed to fit neatly into a seasonal year.  He's constantly dying and being reborn in some way.  The ivy fruits in the spring and the vine in the fall.  He is a god of both light and dark.  So that some people thought you'd need two years to fit around his complex, dual nature.... well I could kind of see that.  

I'm not sure what that means for me yet, if anything.  I'd be curious if any other modern worshipers of Dionysos ever think of him in this way... or notice a shift of any kind from one year to the next.

What else?  I'm currently reading Dver's book Dwelling on the Threshold.  I will review it more appropriately when I'm done, but so far, even though most of it I've read before, I'm very glad I bought it -- I've been flipping to sections that are very synchronous to things that have been on my mind lately. 

I've been feeling like the next step on my path is to cultivate some more disciplined trance techniques.  I am a mystic at heart... ever since I started on my path, I've had that part of me that wants to run away and join a pagan temple and devote myself completely, fully, every day to the gods, if such a thing existed.  But in spite of that inclination, trance has always been difficult for me.  Letting go is difficult for me.  I'm a stubborn beast.  I don't mean to be!

I did a tarot reading for myself recently (using the Voyager Tarot).  It was a spontaneous layout.  It included my Self, my Guide, and my Lesson in the present... and my Self, my Guide, my Lesson in the future.  And in between those cards were 3 more cards connecting them, which I named Keys/Pathways.  These keys included:  Actor (Man of Wands), Fear (7 of Cups), and Delusion (10 of Crystals).  The present Self was Equilibrium (2 of Cups) and the future self was Passion (10 of Cups).  What I took from this, among other things, was that the to get from a place where I'm just sustaining and keeping things in balance to a place where I feel truly passionate and complete, I need to release the masks I identify with, the fears that are holding me back, to get to a place where that's possible.  Seeing these cards didn't worry me... it seemed like a natural progression.  I think I can handle this (she says now before the breakdown!) 

It helps to have a husband and soul-mate, who sees me, TRULY sees me.  Knowing this, I feel like I can peel back the layers and masks without fear of getting lost, because his love and Sight will ground my true self even if I myself am not entirely sure who that is yet.

Anyhow, I'm glad it's June.  It seems like May is always difficult for me.  Is it because it's the fifth month and fives mean conflict? 

I found out there's a labyrinth just a mile away from my home... thanks, World-wide Labyrinth Locator! 

Also, I just finished a bottle of wine and caught up on about 200 posts from ginandjack's tumblr.  I'm happy to report I'm feeling pleasantly less sane than before and ready for sleep...

Midnight Shopping List of a Modern Maenad

___ wine

___ chocolate

___ cat toys

___ black eyeliner

___ 2 different kinds of batteries

Madness

Someone I know went crazy yesterday.  Like out of his head, take off all his clothes, run down the street naked kind of crazy...

Literally.

An intoxicant was involved, and perhaps more than the one we know about, or even in combination with some mental health problems or breakdown.  But what we do know does not explain the severity of it or the duration.  It doesn't add up. 

I wasn't there, but I happened to hear of it when it first happened.  I said some prayers for his safety, focused on sigils of protection and finding.  In my concern, I prayed to Dionysos, thinking of him as a god of madness, and even protector of the mad.  (Thinking of the madness of the maenads, or the protection I've felt when I've felt mad with grief or intoxication.) 

But later I realized, in addition to that, he is also a god who strikes with madness, as a punishment or consequence of hubris, denial or wrong-doing.  The person in question, I'm afraid, was guilty of all three.  And although he suffered no serious injury, he did not escape the consequences.  He was found, arrested, and (to sum up) a whole lot of shit, all of his own making and responsibility, caught up with him.  Am I saying that he was divinely punished?  I don't know.  You could also chalk it up to karma, entropy or inevitability, I suppose.  I have no problem with holding all possibilities, even conflicting ones, as equally true.

So even though in compassion I tried to reach out with prayers and magick, it was way out of my hands.  I spent a lot of time today comforting my friend who is really close to him. But it all hit so close to home that I feel nearly shell-shocked with the strangeness and implication of it, how sudden and inexplicable it was, how one's life and plans can turn on a dime, and especially... how much worse it could have been, for him, or for the people around him.

It's a sobering reminder (pun intended) to check yourself, your true intentions, and your weaknesses and limitations.  

 

Dionysos incense

2 parts myrhh

1 part frankincense

1 part dittany of crete

1 part patchouli leaf

pinch each of 3 sacred herbs
a dry ivy leaf

few drops of wine and a couple drops of pine oil

I change this up a little bit each time I make it.  Thinking of creating a different kind later this year that includes pine resin.

Current Reading List

I’ve really been digging not only my library’s interlibrary loan system (especially now that the requests are all online instead of in writing), but also their digital library system.  I love listening to audiobooks when I’m cooking or doing chores.

Recently, I was listening to the audiobook of The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan, and was pleasantly surprised at how often he brought up Dionysos.  He makes a rather good argument for Johnny Appleseed being an American Dionysos.  Did you know that apples from trees planted by seed are pretty much inedible, but they were great for making alcoholic cider?  That was NOT in the Disney cartoon I saw when I was a kid.  There is more to it than that, including his being an outsider, a wanderer, very close to nature, and having some pretty radical spiritual views for the time, but I recommend reading the whole chapter at least - but the whole book is excellent.  He also discusses Dionysian vs Apollonian principles in his discussion of our human ideals of beauty on the chapter on the tulip, and unsurprisingly, Dionysos comes up again on the chapter about Cannabis and intoxication.

I recently tracked down a science fiction short story written in the 70’s called The Feast of St Dionysus.  In the story, a man who is having trouble dealing with traumatic memories of his mission to Mars, goes off into the desert of Earth to be alone (and one senses, possibly to end his life).  Instead of the solitude and starkness he was hoping for, he finds a cult community in the middle of the desert that worships Dionysus, somewhat as a saint and somewhat as an equivalent to Jesus.  The main character then gets convinced to join the community and participate in the mysterious festival they have planned.  It was worth tracking down, I enjoyed it.

It’s worth mentioning that I found a reference to the above short story in The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants, one of the first books I got through interlibrary loan . (And really didn’t want to give back.  One day, I’ll buy a copy.)  The encylopedia mentions Dionysos in connection with the fly agaric mushroom, which seems to be speculation, although it’s something to think about. I think it’s interesting that both Dionysos and fly agaric mushrooms share an association with pine trees.

I’m also rereading The Science of the Craft, which is very thought provoking as far as seeing mystical and magickal phenomenon in a framework of quantum physics.  I’ve been pondering the concept of our consciousness as being a metapattern in the quantum sea (or Zero Point Field) and the idea of gods as also being intelligent metapatterns (though presumably greater or more complex). It gives a new perspective to the idea of invoking or evoking gods.  Is it simply a matter of aligning yourself with a particular god-pattern?

Currently on loan:  Kerenyi’s Dionysos.  (Finally!! Been meaning to read this for a long time.)  And an interesting find from a used bookstore:  Healing Dream and Ritual: Ancient Incubation and Modern Psychotherapy by C.A. Meier.  Not quite sure what to expect from it, but I’ve been feeling drawn to creating a dream incubation ritual focused on Dionysos, since that’s how he’s often communicated with me, so I’m hoping it will give me some inspiration for that.