I recently had the opportunity to play percussion at a "Rock 'n' Roll Ritual" (aka "Witchstock") at a local Pagan Shop. At the "cakes 'n' ale" point in the proceedings, the priest/rhythm guitarist passed around a bottle of Southern Comfort (actually filled with tea), followed by a tray of mushrooms and sugar cubes. These were nice theatrical touches, but I couldn't help thinking about the symbolism: deity in whisky and LSD.
Now, first of all, I would refer you to "Thought the Seventh" above for my thoughts on mind-altering substances and pagan/shamanic practices in general (if you want the Cliff Notes, my attitude is tolerant, to say the least, and has cost me one friendship to date). But what did these accoutrements of the '60s in general and rock concerts in particular have to say to the ritual participants? What energies were we conjuring? When the priestess appeared as smack-addicted, promiscuously-bisexual Janis Joplin what ideals might she embody?
I'm a child of the '60s. And damn proud of it. No re-evaluating the era for me; what happened to Western culture during that decade was, to my way of thinking, perhaps the most important growth spurt since the American and French Revolutions. Civil rights. Gender rights. Sexual liberation. The Great Society. None of these things would I denigrate in the slightest. So why do the '60s seem to have a bad rap these days? Why do the questions I raise above about the ritual have any resonance?
Society is, in large measure--and for better or worse--a construct of spoken and unspoken rules. As such, society fears the overthrow of established order, even when that order has become corrupt or malign. The '60s, it seems to me, brought a blast of seemingly-chaotic rebellion to bear on the settled order and it is that seeming chaos, and its attendant contradictions, which today's reactionaries point to in objection. I would argue that the degree of fervor surrounding the various rebellions of the '60s was a function of necessary evolution bottled up beyond the point of containment. Not unlike the notion of "The Big One" being overdue to level LA.
This argues the need for constant social evolutionary growth. And the pagan community can be at the forefront of this by embracing both liberation and discipline. We have an understanding of the naked abandon that is at the heart of the Wild Hunt and the Bacchanalia--of frenzied sexual passion and the destruction of that which is dross. At the same time, we understand the discipline needed to join in circle with others or to seek the gods on our own. We know the dedication needed to grow in spiritual and magical empowerment.
"Discipline" does not mean "restraint". "Discipline" comes from the Latin word for "learning" or "studying". As we learn the infinite possibilities of the universe, we can embrace all of them non-judgementally and seek true liberation for ourselves and those around us in the exercise of our free will and our tolerance of the free will of others.
An it harm none, do what thou wilt.
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