As an artist, have you ever gone to great length to incorporate symbolism into your work, and realize later that almost no one is ever consciously aware of it? I think it is a pretty common occurrence among artists who intentionally employ symbolism. So I had this idea that I was going to do a little write up on tonal correspondences and time signature, and how we used them in The Rites of Eleusis for composition. At the end, we can talk about your art and methods you’ve employed if you like.
I have mentioned this process a few times over the years in talking about our work, and it is referenced in an earlier blog post with a little history, here:
Colors (Queens Scale) and Notes that corresponding to the Hebrew letters in certain Hermetic traditions
The above chart illustrates the various colors that correspond to the Hebrew letter paths on the Tree of Life, and the musical tones that correspond to those colors according to Allan Bennett’s Golden Dawn diaries.
These same correspondences are used by the Builders of the Adytum and in the writings of their founder, Paul Foster Case.
I remembered reading someone else had done a review with some details on this, so I did what anyone would do, and conducted a Google search.
What I found is the Richard Kaczynski review of the DVD release of The Rite of Mars from March 19th, 2015 on the Zero=Two Thelemic Blog:
“When dealing with sacred names—as in a group performance of the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram—the melody is dictated by the notes corresponding to those names. Thus, Adonai (אדני, ADNI or “Lord”) is sung to a melody using the notes E, F#, G, and F, while the name of the Archangel Gabriel (בריאל, GBRIAL) is sung using the notes G#, E, D, F, E, F#.” – Richard Kaczynski, 0=2 March 19, 2015
Let me start by saying that this review stunned me when it was initially published (although it should not have, given Richard’s reputation for scholarly research and attention to detail) because it is the first time someone had written about the attention to detail we had incorporated into the composition without my having to explain it to them. It was a moment of pure joy for me to see that someone understood what we were up to!
Color (Queens Scale) , Tone and Letter Correspondences in more detail
And what we were up to is just as Richard described. Throughout our musical adaptations of The Rites of Eleusis, there are musical keys, scales, and phrases based upon these tonal correspondences that can be as simple as selecting the key of a tune, to the entire backing composition serving as the analysis of a God name. Time signatures are selected to represent the numerological significance of the beat. Themes for various characters are incorporated into the music, so that the theme of Saturn (2018) is heard when Saturn in Libra stalks the stage in The Rite of Venus (2007). The changing tides of the Rites is recorded in the changes within the musical score, but there is a continuity to the composition that runs throughout the entire cycle.
In addition, the color correspondences are included in the original scripts by Aleister Crowley, himself, as part of his vision for the Rites. We incorporated all of those into the costuming, lighting and sets.
The most obvious place where these tones are incorporated is the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram.
Angel and God names from the LRP in colors that correspond to the musical tones
The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram appears in The Rite of Luna (2005), The Rite of Mars (2012) and The Rite of Saturn (coming later in 2019) and in each of these presentations, the music is performed in a slightly different style and cadence, but the primary tones are the same. The background music in all cases begins and ends with a series of chords constructed from the tones corresponding to letters of the Tetragrammaton and and name Adonai. All are composed in 3/4 time to capture the cadence of the opening A-Ta-He and closing A-Me-N of the Qabalistic Cross.
These are just some of the tools we used in crafting the music, but I share them in the hope that those of you who are looking for ways to incorporate this material into your work might find the method we employed useful, at least as a jumping off point.
When working in magick, or stagecraft, it is all about intentional application of symbols.
Anyone else have places where they weave more symbolism into their art than is apparent on the surface? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.
[This post was provided to me by Sister Lita at my request. I will be hosting guest posts here from time to time. If you would like to provide content, please reach out and let me know! -editor]
In early 2015, an email of inquiry went out to all O.T.O. Grand
Masters, Frater Superior Representatives, and as many Masters and
Secretaries of each local body around the world. Had they or any
of their predecessors presented the Rites of Eleusis? If so, please
respond. All the information about those rites would contribute
to our Order’s overall knowledge of how well Crowley’s works had
stimulated his inheritors. The response received was nothing short of
amazing, and that information was presented at the Centennial
Conference in Vancouver, Canada, in May of 2015.
As the information came flooding back, an Excel was produced, listing
each country, the name of the local body, the date performed, which
rite was presented, and any commentary about the event. The total
number of performances came in at just over 600! A copy of the
presentation can be found in the last chapter of the centennial
celebration volume of Success is Your Proof.
Most
Thelemites who have read about Aleister Crowley’s Rites of Eleusis,
know that those first seven performances were held at Caxton Hall in
London in 1910. However, the rites would not gain the attention they
deserved for almost seventy years. That is, until 1979 when Agape
Lodge No. 2 in Hollywood, introduced their members to Crowley’s
Eleusis series, by informally doing readings of the rites.
Thereafter, interest widely spread around the world.
What the presentation and chapter on the Rites did not include, due
to time and space constraints, were some of the additional comments
offered when these rites were reported. Some of the comments spoke of
interesting people that participated, and some of them were anecdotes
of fun and scary things that happened. It is some of those comments
which I found most fascinating and will herein share a few of them.
For instance, Grady McMurtry served as Magister Templi for the Rite
of Saturn for Thelema Lodge in October of 1982. Lola de Wolfe hosted
a Rite of Saturn in June of 1983 at her home near Mt. Diablo. An
original cast member from the Broadway production of Hair
acted in the Rite of Saturn, sponsored by Thelema Lodge in 1985. Even
Hymenaeus Beta contributed some original poetry of Harry Crosby, for
a Rite of Sol.
There were mishaps, too. At a Rite of Mars presented by Camp 23 in
the U.S. in 1980, they reported that they had placed a cauldron on
stage for a burning fire, but during the presentation the cauldron
tipped over and sent up dramatic tall flames. It wildly impressed the
audience, who thought it was part of the play, but it was not. The
fire did not last long, but the floor got pretty burned. Another Mars
fire story happened at Apep Lodge in Australia in 2010. It was a
1970’s theme, held outdoors around a fire pit, with red velvet
curtains all around, and a sexy funky soundtrack. Everyone began
drinking early, and sometime shortly after the rite, someone got too
drunk, too close, and caught fire. Fortunately the fire on his
clothing was quickly put out and he did not get hurt. Athene Lodge of
Denmark in the mid 1990s, presented a Rite of Saturn. They had rented
a community building, but they had to keep their celebration secret.
They had fun smuggling in the wine, which was otherwise outlawed on
the premises.
Also in the early 1990s, 93 Lodge in San Clemente, California,
presented the Rite of Luna in their garage with the rafters full of
pine branches and cricket noise, but what really wowed the crowd was
the use of a blue laser light cone that shown down upon Luna, until
that veil was broken. In 1996, 93 Lodge put on the Rite of Sol.
Jesus on the cross wore sunglasses, and Brother Lon Duquette led a
Mexican hat dance around huge sombreros on the floor. The Lodge also
offered a synchronized swimming presentation in a pool for a Rite of
Venus. In Los Angeles, Blue Horizon Oasis in 2009, presented the Rite
of Saturn with a Krishna motif, and that same year, LVX Oasis had a
punk rock theme for the Rite of Mars, a Rite of Saturn with an Andy
Warhol theme, and a Rite of Sol with a Templar setting.
Scarlet Woman Lodge in Austin, Texas, presented many rites with fun
themes from 1997 through 2000. Saturn was set in an asylum with the
mental illness of Saturn, one Rite of Mars had a gangster setting and
another Mars had the cast dress as chimps, gorillas, and bonobos, but
only one character was human. In the Rite of Mercury, that character
was a carnival circus clown. A Jupiter rite had an Indian Ganesh
theme, and a Venus rite had a Shakespearean Midsummer setting.
In 1990, Albion Lodge in London presented all seven rites at Conway
Hall to celebrate Crowley’s works. It was only the second time the
rites had been presented in their original city since 1910. They even
included original musical pieces with a live violin player. As well,
there is Eleusyve Productions located in Seattle, Washington, which
has successfully produced all the rites in the form of rock operas,
with great success.
Every one of the rites has had its character’s words remain
intact, but in how the stories are presented is left wide open to its
readers, and each rite will fit well in almost any historical setting
or theme. Each modern presentation continues to stand as a strong
testament to the power of Crowley’s writings. These iconic rites
are an important part of Crowley’s legacy, and with their ongoing
presentations, they will continue to inspire future generations. If
your local body decides to do theatrical readings or live
performances, no matter where in the world they take place, please
let your Eleusis Historian know.
The historian keeps track
of all Crowley’s Rites of Eleusis presentations produced
worldwide. This reporting is voluntary, but when done, becomes a
part of our historical files. Please include the name of the local
body, which rite was produced, the date and place of presentation,
copies of any fliers, programs, or pictures, and any comments on a
particular theme. Please email to: eleusis@oto-usa.org
Thank you for helping to keep these rites alive and inspiring.
Sister Lita-Luise Chappell has been an O.T.O. member since January of 1991, is the founding Master of Golden Lotus Lodge, a Bishop in the Order, and serves as the International Rites of Eleusis Historian. She has a Masters in Psychology and a Doctorate in Human Sexuality. Dr. Chappell is also a published author of The Thelemic Cookbook, two books of poetry, and three books of international murder mysteries; all available on Amazon.com. Her social commentary on sex in sports, Sticks & Balls, and her spy novel, Hiding in Paradise, will be out later this year.
One of the little aphorisms I have said to myself over the years, just to keep myself going, is that “Faith can certainly move mountains, in so far as we employ our faith to move that mountain one rock at a time.” All art is magick. All creation falls into the mundane order of miracles we shape with our will, and build with our sinews. Inspiration and perspiration are closely interwoven.
With that in mind, picking up where we left off in our previous post, we will proceed to step three of our Doing Rites Right flow chart.
3. Have your planning meetings
This step is much as we covered in the first post in this series, but you will likely need to plan several meetings, covering specific areas. Don’t neglect any of the A,B,Cs we covered before: Artisit Vision, Budget, Casting, Dates, Effects and Fallout!
Come prepared with copies of the annotated script that you can share with your cast and crew; copies that they can scribble on and generally use to keep track of evolving landscape of your vision. Your meeting topic may include:
Stagecraft and Lighting – depending on whether you are using a theater, you may need a professional for this. Props – Don’t forget to give yourself time to make these before rehearsal, so your cast can work with them. Costumes – Depending on the theme, thrift stores can be a fantastic resource. Casting – As your production size increases, your cast size may too. You may need to plan for auditions, so be sure to give yourself some advance time to advertise.
The Rite of Mercury Set, 2010
Sets – These can be simple or complex. Anything you can do with theater cubes will make your life easier, but if you are like me, you will what to do something big. Give yourself a lot of time to figure out how to construct your vision. Start with a cardboard model. I built them out of pizza boxes with duct tape. Rehearsal Schedule – Plan the number of rehearsals based on the chart about, then add 2 for tech and dress rehearsal. It is best if you plan scene by scene, and give cast members the night off it they are not in the scenes being rehearsed that night. For our productions, music and choral rehearsals – This is a whole other aspect, and should be planned prior to the blocking rehearsals, so that the choir knows it’s parts before they start acting. For each of these you will need to plan who will be responsible for the task, what sort of time frame will be required, and what sort of budget you will need.
4. Readers-Theater/Rehearsal
With a more complex vision, you will require a more granular rehearsal. Each scene and poem will need to be broken down and run repeatedly.
You can still start with a readers-theater in an early rehearsal in order to familiarize the cast with the structure, and brainstorm ideas for interactions between the characters.
Given the spartan nature of the script notes, there will be a great many questions about what motivates these characters, and how you choose to answer these questions will shape your presentation. This process will go on throughout the rehearsal schedule.
As your performance date approaches, you may find yourself invoking a rule coined by Melissa during our runs: “Simplify, do not embellish.” Your vision may be rich and complex, and creating it is certainly part of the learning process, but it will not always translate to stage. At some point, you will have to let go of the vision a little bit in order to be ready for opening night. Don’t let this discourage you! It is part of the process.
Sol Crucified, The Rite of Sol, 2012
5. Presentation
Again, depending on scale, you may do a single performance, or many. By the time opening night rolls around, the work of the director should be done. Again, I strongly advise that once the show opens, there in no more tweaking. The cast will have an idea how the show should run, and changes at this point will simply cause confusion and undermine the performance.
Allow the magick to run it’s course.
6. Review and relax. At this stage in the game, we may be talking about theatrical reviews. Here I would urge you, don’t be too worried about it. As it turns out, criticism falls into two categories. Useful, and stupid. Seriously.
A useful critique from an eloquent and professional source will undoubtedly discuss areas where your presentation either succeeded of failed in the eyes of the critic. It will contain information on the impressions that the critic received during the staging, and some indication about whether they would recommend their readers attend. Even a negative review might be very helpful in shaping your future work.
A stupid review is usually provided by someone who is unpaid on the internet. It will contain expletives, insults, and no useful information. Disregard these. Don’t even read the whole thing. If it is a comment you have control over, delete it and move on.
And don’t forget to relax and enjoy your achievement! Laugh about the hard parts! Consider all you have learned! And above all:
Party in a construction site! The Rite of Saturn 2018, photo by David Parks
Having covered getting started last post, we are going progress to advice on scaling the Rites to a larger size. Not everyone is going to want to do this. Remember that The Rites of Eleusis started out as elaborate house parties, and an intimate setting is very enjoyable, and illuminating for performers and attendees.
Doing the Rites on a large scale is certainly not a requirement, but it is possible if you want to do it, and following these steps, mostly painless.
As you recall I wrote about rehearsal time and planning, and I am going to start by including that information here, and then expand upon it.
[You may also note that while I copied this, I corrected it. Because for some reason I wrote all of this backward in the original post. I fixed it there, too.]
“Plan your rehearsal dates. I have a handy guide for amount of rehearsal time required. Each of the Rites runs a little more than an hour if not embellished.
Readers-Theater: One hours of rehearsal per 20 minutes of stage time. On-Book: One hour of rehearsal per 15 minutes of stage time. Memorized: One hour of rehearsal per 10 minutes of stage time. Embellished: One hour of rehearsal per 5 minutes of stage time.
Using the above rules, a “Readers-Theater” style presentation, three one hour rehearsals would be adequate. For an “On-Script” presentation, four one hour rehearsals is called for. For a memorized production, 6 rehearsals is optimal, with everyone off book for the final two. For an embellished production, which will probably run closer to two hours, you will need to plan as many as a dozen two hour rehearsals. Note that I am talking about actual rehearsal time. You can plan for 15 minutes at the beginning and end of meetings to discuss related matters like costumes, props, etc.”
Disregarding the information on shorter presentations, this handy guide is very useful for planning your rehearsal schedule, and it assumes that you have planned every embellishment in advance.
Set building for The Rite of Sol, 2012
Read that again: in order to employ this schedule, you will need to plan every embellishment in advance!
What this means is that, before you launch into one of the larger presentations of The Rites of Eleusis, you are going to have to spend some serious time doing research and planning. I cannot recommend more strongly that if you plan to stage a large production, you complete your annotations before you start your auditions. For the record, this is something Melissa Holm took point on throughout our productions, and excelled at. This inclusion of annotation, will result is some adaptation of our previous steps. They are very similar in essence, but differ in execution, just as a larger presentation will differ in scale.
Rehearsal for The Rite of Mars, 2014
1. Find your cohort
Imagine and approach who you would like to work with, but be ready to be flexible. Your cohort now becomes your dream team, and you might not be able to get all of them on-board, as a larger lead time and rehearsal schedule will shrink your available pool. That said, I make this step one because:
A. People who are skilled are busy, so asking early allows them to free their calendar.
B. If you can work your schedule around people with specific skills, it will inform your annotations and adaptations early in the process. We often started penciling rehearsal and performance dates 2 years in advance for our productions, and it worked rather well.
Pan and Cancer, The Rite of Luna, 2005 Photo by Raven Erling
2. Find your director (or plan your direction!)
Much as previously stated, you will need to select your director at this point, and refine your vision. This is where script annotation happens! Other than your specialty talent from the previous step, your really shouldn’t worry too much about casting until the annotation is 80% completed.
As the annotation takes time, you will find that if you cast before your annotations are complete, attrition will lead to recasting. Better to wait until you are within 6 to 8 months of your target performance date before really casting.
Unless you have an encyclopedic knowledge of mythology and symbolism, you should plan on doing a great deal of research at this stage. You should also read the Rite you are planning to stage repeatedly, and look for your own inspiration within the poetry.
Lastly, you are entirely free to substitute different poetry, or to edit the verses included in the original Rites. Allow yourself the latitude to make this artwork your own, and shape it into what you truly desire. Now, with this in mind, I am going to provide an example of an annotated Rite of Venus I accidentally found in 2006 when I forwarded the link to our cast without reading it. This is NOT the Rite of Venus presented by Aleister Crowley, but it is a Rite of Venus clearly adapted from his work, and one it may have been a great deal of fun to present.
Scenes from The Rites of Eleusis as filmed by Lady Chandria, provided from her estate by Glenn Turner, voice-over by Vandimir McAirt, featuring Grady McMurtry, music by Jon Sewell, Viola by Sunnie Larsen from Aleister Crowley’s The Rite of Sol, a rock opera 2012
Becoming Godlings
Vandimir McAirt, one of the principal figures in the reemergence on The Rites of Eleusis in the San Francisco area in 1980, relayed a story about the ritualists, and how they used to refer to themselves as “Godlings”. A term they coined, which you might interpret as ‘humans learning the first steps in experiencing their own divinity’. As someone who has approached this material with my own sense of naivete and wonder, I think the term is appropriate. It seems to embrace the awakening of the titanic forces in the subconscious mind, and their eventual gestation and birth into consciousness, by stages, with all the humor and awkwardness that goes with it.
Seeing as this blog is about Doing Rites Right, rather than just tell you funny stories about how awesome it was for me to do the Rites, it is time to provide a little guidance for those who would like to embark on this wild adventure.
Probationer from The Rite of Sol, photo by Tim Smith 2012
My principal advice is: “Do it!” Start from “Yes”, and then work out the detail.
If you haven’t done so already, this is your invitation to become “Godlings”. This particular post is going to start with the assumption that you are just starting out, and want to know where to begin. In the coming days I will be providing more in-depth recommendations for larger productions. For now, let’s start simple. For your first time out, I recommend the following steps.
Army under the command of Aries, the Rite of Mars 2014 photo by David Parks
1. Find your cohort
If the Rites are something you want to do, and you want to do them with other people, you will need to find your team, or pantheon, if you will. Start by reaching out to friends and communities you are already familiar with, who may have an interest in the material. If you are working with a large or established group, be willing to approach leadership with your ideas, and see if they can offer support. Ask questions, talk about options, and find out who among that cohort has a talent they have been looking for an outlet to express.
Remember that the original Rites of Eleusis staged by Crowley had room for solo music and dance. While violin is beautiful, one might also express divine music with flute, or cello, or piano, or banjo. Along the same lines, there are many types of dance, but also martial arts, or gymnastics, or aerial work. Unless you choose to do so, you are not limited to the original format. See one of our previous posts, and, “drive it like you stole it.”
And if there is no burgeoning musician in your midst? Don’t let that stop you for a moment! Play some music on a stereo and add more dance!
Venus from The Rite of Venus 2007, photos by Sandra Swan
2. Select a director
This seems simple, but it cannot be overstated. Nothing will get any production lost in the weeds faster than failure to have someone making decisions. Often the choice will be obvious, but never let it go unsaid. Having one point of contact when problems inevitably arise is crucial to being successful. Your director will probably be part of building the cohort. Perhaps it is you! In either event, as you enlarge your cohort, talk with the team members about what they can do, and think about ways you can adapt a presentation to suit their skills. Not only will this improve the quality of your presentation, It will give people a chance to bring their genius to the Rites, which is always a win-win. The director will ultimately be the person with a vision, deciding which of these gifts to incorporate into The Rites, and their decision should be respected. (Never argue with the director! Talk politely after rehearsal.)
When contemplating the need for a director and who to select, remember: we may all be manifestations of the divine, but if mythology has taught us anything, it is that Gods squabble! They have a hierarchy. You will need one, too. Do not select a director who is conflict avoidant.
Mercury and Elemental from The Rite of Mercury, photo by Sandra Swan 2010
3. Have a planning meeting
Once you have the core of your team, and a director with at least the beginnings of a vision, get together and develop your plan. Set aside two hours, be someplace comfortable. Provide snacks.
The things you need to talk about (A through F):
A. Artistic Vision: This is where the director explains what the overall presentation is going to look like. Don’t get too bogged down in details. For a first production, 10 to 15 minutes should cover this section.
Paint with broad strokes to start with.
B. Budget: Do you have a budget for props, sets, rehearsal space or a theater? Do some planning ahead of time, and depending on your vision, have a rough idea what you will need to spend. Then add 15% for incidentals. Another 15 minutes.
C. Casting: Here you go through your cast list and assign the roles. Talk about your vision, whether you expect the cast to be off-book, or if they can work with scripts in their hands. Talk about costuming expectations, and who might already have costume elements, but keep it short. For a first production, it is best to be on-book. Allow 15 minutes.
D. Dates: This is the big one, the central purpose of your meeting. Talk to your principals about the dates you would like for your presentation. Find the block-out dates for cast who may be traveling, or already have plans.
If your presentation will be in a private home or theater, you will need to check availability can confirm the dates after the meeting, so maybe have several to choose from. Also, this is a good time to decide if this will be a public, or private event.
Additionally, plan your rehearsal dates. I have a handy guide for amount of rehearsal time required. Each of the Rites runs a little more than an hour if not embellished.
Readers-Theater: One hours of rehearsal per 20 minutes of stage time.
On-Book: One hour of rehearsal per 15 minutes of stage time.
Memorized: One hour of rehearsal per 10 minutes of stage time.
Embellished: One hour of rehearsal per 5 minutes of stage time.
Using the above rules, a “Readers-Theater” style presentation, three one hour rehearsals would be adequate. For an “On-Script” presentation, four one hour rehearsals is called for. For a memorized production, 6 rehearsals is optimal, with everyone off book for the final two. For an embellished production, which will probably run closer to two hours, you will need to plan as many as a dozen two hour rehearsals.
Note that I am talking about actual rehearsal time. You can plan for 15 minutes at the beginning and end of meetings to discuss related matters like costumes, props, etc. This section of your meeting will be the bulk of your time, and will likely take 45 minutes to an hour.
E. Effects: Talk about what you envision for lighting, music, or other practical effects, and who will be pulling these items together. Emphasize safety, especially with fire. And plan to rehearse your effects, as testing your vision during the performance can lead to disaster. For a first production this will likely take 15 minutes to half an hour.
F. Fallout: This is a ritual. There are large forces that will be invoked. They will impact the way that you, your cast, and crew will view reality for the remainder of their incarnation.
Plan for time to decompress. Schedule a few minutes at the end of rehearsal to ground. Talk about a self-care plan. Discuss the best strategies that your cast members have for coping with stress. Make certain that everyone understands that they need to show up for rehearsal well fed, rested and ready. This is another 15 minutes and is a nice subject to close your meeting on.
It is a lot to discuss, but planning ahead will make the next steps run smoothly!
Probationers with the Big Book, The Rite of Mercury photo by Sandra Swan 2010
4. Readers-Theater
Whether you do so publicly or not, I recommend doing a dramatic read through of The Rite you have chosen to perform with the cast. This will make certain everyone is acquainted with the flow of the material, and allow them to build some chemistry together.
This can be an early rehearsal, or this may be your first public performance.
Virgo from The Rite of Mercury, photo by Sandra Swan 2010
5. Presentation
Once you have everything in order, and you are ready to present, you need to be aware of a simple fact: Nothing goes as planned. Creation is an act of will, and the manifestation of will implies force. There are going to be challenges, changes, road-blocks, tears, distractions, unruly cast members, flaky theaters, traffic, and at least one person will drop out. This is normal. Roll with it.
To the director I say: Mastery over others is power, mastery over yourself is strength. Which is another way of saying, don’t despair, don’t lose control, just adjust. Don’t take anything personally.
Fairy and Faun, The Rite of Luna, Photo by Raven Erling 2005
6. Review and Relax!
There is nothing like post ritual bliss. The Rite is like a marriage ritual, and you should enjoy your honeymoon. Plan some time afterward to look at what you accomplished, celebrate your victories, and learn from your mistakes. And do not neglect the cast party.
Trust me on that last one. If you fail to plan a cast party to ground out your team, they will likely show up at your house, order a pizza, and plan their own. It might get weird. Those invoked of Gods, even for a short period of time, will often develop an appetite for mischief, especially toward those fellow performers that have been invoked of their compliments, or their nemeses.
For those who have celebrated these Rites themselves, what did we miss? Comment below with your suggestions!
After yesterday’s
post about the Massacre at Thessalonica, it seems like a good time to
talk about something a little lighter. Learning about set design, the
hard way.
But why stop there?
Since this blog post is going to be dedicated to a funny story that
happened along the way, feel free to share your own stories in the
comments! We could all use a laugh.
This story goes back
to 2005, and our staging of The Rite of Luna.
We invested
some time in planned how the set would be constructed. A pair of
matching obelisks had been donated to us early on in the process, and
we eventually used them in every Rite. In the Rite of Luna, we
imagined them as the twin pillars that flank the High Priestess in
standard Tarot decks and painted them accordingly.
In addition, since we didn’t want the invocations being directed toward Luna at the back of the theater (which would involve the audience looking at the backside of the performers for the entire Rite), we flipped the stage. We thought ourselves oh, so clever as we placed Luna at the back of the audience, so all the invocations would go through the crowd!
Nymph, Satyr and Fountain from The Rite of Luna – photo by Raven Erling 2005
The stage also
included an altar, which we imagined as a fountain carved from stone.
This, then, was upstage, and served as a central point around which
to block the action and iconography.
Not knowing how to
make such a structure, we did a little trial and error. We started by
buying a fiberglass fountain. This was easy. Then, we did some
research on how we could make a fake stone, that looked real, and
that a human could stand on. We found an internet article on how to
make “Hypertufa”.
Hypertufa is a
mixture of water, cement, pearlite and peat that cures overnight. And
to make a form for it, you can simply dig the shape you want out of
the earth. So that is what we did. We dug a hole the shape of the
rock we wanted, jammed the fountain in it upside down (wrapped in a
trash bag), and then began to mix batch after batch of hypertufa in a
5 gallon bucket. We also bought a couple sheets of rigid foam
insulation to take up space and make the giant mass lighter. And it
worked. A rock the size we created might have weighed 1600 pounds.
Ours was only about 400 pounds!
Nevertheless, it suited
our purpose. Moving it was a hassle, but we were sure we could
manage. And we did. We even took the fountain to Portland, Oregon for
our premiere performance on April 15th, 2005. It road in a
van with two of the cast members, who noticed another trait of
hypertufa. Apparently, it smells like a dirty hamster cage. But the
set was complete. And despite the faint odor of minuscule mammal, and
the backbreaking weight, we were pleased with it.
Pan being Pan, The Rite of Luna – photo by Raven Erling 2005
The performance at
Sekhet-Maat Lodge in Portland went well, in terms of staging, and we
were excited for our Seattle debut at the Richard Hugo House.
We
took 4 days to set up the theater, focus the lights, get our stage
dressed just as we wanted, and rip the seats out of the back row of
the theater to make space for the throne of Luna.
And the impact of
this configuration was far beyond all that we imagined!
Luna, her entourage and the throne of Luna, back row of the Richard Hugo House, 2005 photo by Raven Erling
As it came to pass,
unbeknownst to us, a member of one of our first Seattle audiences
decided that attending Aleister Crowley’s The Rite of Luna, a rock
opera of heroic amounts of LSD was just what she was in the mood for
on a Saturday night. This attendee then seated herself at the back of
the house, right in front of the throne of Luna.
As a result, every
word directed at the throne, every invocation, every petition, every
raging cry seemed to be personally directed at this young woman, as
she grew more and more concerned that these actors were trying to
draw her into madness!
Pan, Satyr and Fauns, looking very much like demons to those not versed in Greek mythology or who are engaging in personal work as a freelance psychedelic astronaut. Photo by Tiphany Overzat
On the whole, the
Rite of Luna was very moving for her. As the performance ended, she
bolted from the theater and locked herself in the bathroom off the
lobby. It took her friends 45 minutes to talk her down through the
door. We had to pay the theater staff to stay late.
Nevertheless,
our set design was effective in ways we never imagined!
How
about you all? Any unintended consequences you want to share? Any
wisdom you acquired that involved the baptism of Bactine? Let us know
in the comments!
If you read my
previous post about gender essentialism in The Rites of Eleusis, you
may have gotten the opinion that I have some pretty liberal ideas
about sex and gender. You would be right.
I can cite many events, many ideas and observations, many philosophical points that support my view that the intimate lives of our neighbors should never be our business, and never be politicized, but I think this story tells it best. I discovered it while researching the morality laws in antiquity, and it is a heartbreaking tale of loss, discrimination and religious politics that also happens to be the singular turning point for the Eleusinian Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone, and why and how they ended.
I should note here at the outset that my “mind your own business” attitude is not intended to say we should ever ignore those in distress, those who are being hurt, exploited, manipulated or coerced. Rather, we should refrain from torturing those who are enthusiastically happy with their consensual relationships, however they manifest. The glory of the world is in diversity.
Returning to the
main point, much as our documentary started out with the question:
“Who started staging The Rites of Eleusis after Crowley presented
them, and why?”, this post started with the question: “When did
the cult of Demeter at Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries in
antiquity end, and why?”
The short version is that, after 2 millennia of nearly uninterrupted operation, Roman Emperor Theodosius closed all the Pagan shrines between 389 and 391 c.e., and the Telesterion at Eleusis was among them. That would have gotten you the point as answer “B)” on a multiple choice quiz in Western Civilization 101, if the other options were: “A) Ronald McDonald outlawed the Eleusinian Mysteries after the Grimace Affair in 1977.”, and “C) Nero burned downed ALL the shrines, like the pyromaniac he was.”
But the date isn’t the story. I included it a few times over the years in presentations, and I mention it in the voice-over in our Rites of Eleusis documentary, because it was interesting to me. Then, during some unrelated research, I stumbled upon the story behind the date, and that is what I want to share with you.
In the book,
Berkowitz, a lawyer, traces the history of sexual laws and crimes via
the case laws associated with a variety of cultures starting with
Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets through the imprisonment of Oscar
Wilde for “gross indecency”. It is an engaging and often
disturbing account of how sexuality was (and is) categorized into the
“acceptable” and “unacceptable” realms of human culture, and
the even more disturbing practice of the implementation of sexual
punishment (not punishment for sexual conduct, but the use of sexual
assault as state sanctioned
punishment) that humanity has employed through the several thousand
years of recorded history.
I
found the book to be as well written as it was disturbing, and I find
myself returning to it regularly when discussing common sexual
morality with common people, as it affords many examples of just how
arbitrary our morality is, how contrived, and ultimately how
manipulative. It is a panorama of how humans cannot seem to stay out
of each others personal lives, and the cruel lengths we can go to
when we are trying to correct what is not our business.
Within this book, Berkowitz included an account of The Massacre at
Thessalonica. And because he did his homework, he included a few
details that my Western Civilization textbooks tended to gloss over.
Sex between men was common in the Ancient world, and while there were some political ramifications regarding who was “on top”, the populous at large accepted the practice. Not so much a Goth garrison that was policing the Greek city of Thessalonica, and homosexual sex was especially repugnant to their commander, Butheric.
A half century after the rule of Emperor Constantine, Christian inspired laws that regard all sex as obscene, but allowed that sex within marriage was a necessary evil, gave no license to homosexual practice. This was convenient for Butheric, who used these laws to strike out against the local practice, and one of those he arrested was a chariot racer who was a local favorite. (For modern context, imagine a sheriff in a rural area arresting a flamboyant professional wrestler.)
The Goths had not counted on the 100,000 spectators from the Hippodrome in Thessalonica descending upon the garrison, demanding his release. When they refused to free the aforementioned charioteer, a mob murdered the Goths in a full on fan-boy riot. To add insult, they mutilated Butheric and dragged his remains around the city.
When news of the revolt reached the Emperor in Rome, in a fit of rage he ordered a savage retaliation. Just before the start of the next games, a reinforced garrison locked the gates of the Hippodrome and proceeded to ruthlessly butcher every man, woman and child in attendance, regardless of whether they have been involved in the previous riot.
At least 7,000 killings later the massacre was over. This did not sit well with Thedosius reputation as an Emperor given to Christian Mercy, and either through genuine remorse, or political savvy, Theodosius reached out to Ambrose, later a Saint, and at that time the Bishop of Milan, to receive absolution for this crime.
He was denied.
Instead of receiving the Emperor to hear his confession, Ambrose sent a letter threatening to deny the Eucharist, and withhold the blessing of the Church until Theodosius did penance.
This was the first time the Church had taken any action of this kind, and Ambrose withheld the sacrament for eight months despite the Emperors pleas. The penance that Saint Ambrose finally managed to extort from Theodosius was the closing of all the pagan shrines throughout the Roman Empire.
VanDyke, Saint Ambrose & Emperor Theodosius, 1620
That’s how it happened. That is how pagan practice in Rome ended. The vestal fires were extinguished. The sanctuaries were closed. Traditions that were already thousands of years old when Christ was wandering around Galilee were outlawed.
In just over a century, all male-male sex was to be legally seen as an offense to the Christian God, and punishable by death within Rome. What started as the arrest of a chariot racer in a province of the Empire, ended with the Church seizing political control of that Empire, and thousands of years of mystery tradition was wiped out through a type of spiritual extortion.
As you may have guessed from the title, I am about to encourage ritualists to be bold, experimental, and entirely free from restraint when it comes to gender roles in The Rites of Eleusis. So if you were just wanting my broad opinion on the subject, you can move along, because that is exactly the position I endorse.
If you would like to know my reasons for supporting such a broad attitude, or you want to review my bullet-point in order to engage me in a lively debate, let’s dive in and examine my views.
But before that: ***BIG DISCLAIMER*** This is my blog. These are my opinions. They are based on 18 years of practice, study, success, failure and hard work. These opinions carry the weight of that sweat, determination, and foolhardy optimism as the singular seal of their authority; they are not statements endorsed or supported by any organization, including O.T.O., A.:. A.:., or E.G.C.
Now, to my list of reason why an essentialist adherence to the gender roles in The Rites of Eleusis is unfounded or unnecessary.
1. There is no singular authority that can lay claim to The Rites of Eleusis.
I should clarify that this claim presumes that you have not entered into any agreement with anyone that grants them authority over your public artistic expression. For example, if you are performing The Rites of Eleusis under the auspices of a Chartered O.T.O. body, the Master of that body may have something to say about how you stage the material. But you are not required to do so under any official auspices.
The Rites of Eleusis, themselves, are within the public domain. They may be performed by anyone, anywhere, in whatever manner. Cast members need not be members of O.T.O. or A.:. A.:., although members of those organizations are often involved in staging The Rites. They are rituals that were originally presented to raise awareness for the A.:. A.:. to be certain. But in their original form, they were intended to be public, and while they certainly contain mysteries in my experience, those mysteries are not subject to the oversight of any person or organization. Drive it like you stole it!
2. The rabbit hole of “strict observance” can become a trap.
Artists can choose to place limits upon themselves in order to enhance the creative process, and it is a fantastic way to shape a play or series of plays in order to create an overarching theme, vision, and style. When done thoughtfully, it can create a level of cohesion to a project, and inspire a great deal of creativity. For example, in staging our Rites of Eleusis, we made an effort not to change any of the words. This resulted in a few lines from The Treasure House of Images including some awkward scansion, but the result was true to our original vision and goal, and inspired some really creative music to make it all fit.
Taurus and Cancer from The Rite of Luna
That does not necessarily make the performance of our Rites more legitimate, by the way! Because without a singular authority as mentioned in point one, legitimacy becomes a matter of pure speculation.
Now, one could chose to present The Rites of Eleusis with a ‘strict adherence to the original gender role’ policy, but how strict? Should the Crowley roles be performed by a bisexual male, age 35, who has some romantic interest in both the violinist and the principal dancer? Without the aforementioned authority, who can argue that attraction between the actors is more or less important that gender identity? Honestly, the traditions of theater have their roots in the festivals of Dionysus, filled with fabulous actors, gender transgression, and ecstatic liberation! These traits are evident in the lives of actors and performers since time immemorial! Why break with that tradition?
Obviously, this is all open to interpretation, so I would encourage you not to allow yourself to feel stifled unless it is an intentional choice. Otherwise, you can ‘strictly observe’ yourself right out of a cast, and limited your troupe out of an opportunity for exploration. Don’t fall into that trap. Drive it like you stole it!
3. The audience is either going to “get it” or they wont. Gender is not the determining factor.
There is a school of thought that says: “If Venus isn’t played by a woman, and audience will not understand the symbolism!”
That is just non-sense! Do you honestly think that someone could attend a Rite of Venus, and be fully capable of comprehending the levels of meaning in The Rite, and somehow miss out because the performer is male? Or trans? Or Asexual? Or non-binary?
Do you seriously want to argue that your audience is well versed enough to understand the depth and breadth of the this profoundly dense esoteric material, but somehow they can’t understand acting?
Allow me to say, with all the weight of my experience, this is a poor argument. We cast a variety of roles with various genders. No attendee or cast member was ever confused by this. There were about 100 other confusions, but the gender identity of the performers was never a problem. Drive it like you stole it!
4. The Rites of Eleusis are experimental.
I know it may be obvious, but in case you hadn’t noticed, The Rites of Eleusis are a grand experiment. The various talents of a few friends harnessed to attempt to create a state of ecstasy in the audience, and especially in the performers!
Additionally, they are the best vehicle I have ever found for creative experimentation in Thelemic circles. The only rules are self imposed. The only limits are your imagination, and whatever laws of physics you can’t find your way around!
You want to stage an all mime Rite of Mercury? So be it! Drive it like you stole it!
You want to perform a post-apocalyptic Rite of Mars at Burning Man, with a random cast selected from the audience and handed scripts? You go! Drive it like you stole it!
You know you want to! You know I want you to!
You want to mount a Rite of Venus set in a castle where all the characters are dressed like the cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Oh, my God! Please do that! And invite me!
Don’t Dream It! Be It!
In closing, as has been stated previously, I am in favor of exploration, experimentation, and interpretation. This is entirely consistent with my views on The Rites of Eleusis as a whole, and once again, I encourage ritualists to be bold, experimental and entirely free from all but intentional constraint.
If you have been enjoying our blog posts so far, but thinking, “I really want this to get more granular and nerdy!” well, you are in for a treat. And since I am going out on a limb with my nerdy self, feel free to play along at home!
In part three of our discussion of The Rites of Eleusis as Magickal Textbook (or study guide, if you will) we are going to wander into the weeds of interpretation!
To start with, allow me to say for the record, “I love The Rites of Eleusis presented as strict A.:. A.:. style rituals.” If you are a purist, who wants to present the material exactly as Aleister Crowley did, to the best of your ability, I am all for it! Hell, yes! And please, let us know when you are staging it! Put a link in the comments! I’d love to be there, and will bring friends!
Also, God I hope you find a violinist who can perform that music! I have never seen that done, and would LOVE it! I just wanted to go on record and say that as much as I love interpretation, I love all the interpretations, including the purist variety.
The Rite of Saturn – Caxton Hall, London 1910
That said, our work with the Rites is highly interpretive, and the study that informs our interpretation can be broad and eclectic. As an example: Let’s discuss Capricornus Emissarius from The Rite of Saturn. (If you didn’t make it to see The Rite of Saturn last September, we are sorry you missed it! You’ll have to wait for the video in June to watch all the scenes I am referring to. I included pictures.)
In order to fully appreciate our interpretation of Capricornus Emissarius in The Rite of Saturn, allow me to provide this helpful chart:
You can see that we have graphed the astrological figures present in each Rite against the dominant planetary force, and included the small card Tarot attributions that present information along the same axis. The meanings of these cards in the Tarot also include numerical and elemental influence, much as the characters in The Rites incorporate additional influences from the paths and myths associated with the God forms.
You may note that there are no astrological attributions for Jupiter. There are several ways that the central figures can be interpreted in The Rite of Jupiter, and strict astrology is the least satisfying. Seeing as the Sphinx represents the attributes of the Fixed Signs of the Zodiac taken in conjunction with one another (see The Key to the Mysteries by Eliphas Levi), it is not much of a stretch to interpret Hermanubis as the Mutable Signs, and Typhon as the Cardinal Signs.
This is consistent with the alchemical attributions associated with the elements that the figures on the wheel represent, Salt being Fixed, Mercury being Mutable and Sulfur being Cardinal.
The Wheel of Fortune from The Book of Thoth
Additionally, we can interpret the principal characters in The Rite of Jupiter as exemplifying all of the planetary rulers from The Rites that follow, but presented in their infancy. Thus Typhon represents Mars, Dionysus as the hidden God becomes Sol, The Sphinx evolves into Venus, Hermanubis becomes Mercury and Hebe and Ganymede become Luna and Pan, respectively.
Taken in combination, these two interpretations are immanently more satisfying than any singular astrological attribution for these figures in The Rite of Jupiter, which is why I left them off the chart. But I digress.
Returning to the question of the attribution of Capricornus Emissarius. First note that Sagittarius, alone, of all the astrological signs, has no representative in The Rites of Eleusis, unless you ascribe that association to Capricornus Emissarius. Otherwise, this seems like rather an obvious oversight. But looking at the various meanings of Emissarius we have: “emisary”, “agent”, “spy” and the literal meaning “stallion”. If we see Capricornus Emissarius as a spy (as he is depicted in The Rite of Saturn) and as the precursor to Capricorn, Sagittarius becomes a logical attribution.
Especially given the literal meaning stallion, which we turned into a double-entendre, as horse is also slang for heroin, and our Capricornus Emissarius was depicted as an alchemist, creating laudanum. To add another layer, the conjunction of Saturn and Sagittarius is depicted in the 10 of Wands in the Rider-Waite Tarot. Which is just the sort of thing one might symbolically use to their advantage in creating the iconography of a scene. (Tip of the hat to Melissa Holm and Ryan Holsather, who developed this motif so beautifully, and Richard Cardone, who breathed life into it).
The 10 of Wands, Rider-Waite Tarot DeckRichard Cardone as Capricornus Emissarius The Rite of Saturn, 2018
Obviously, this is all interpretive! Far outside of the bounds of anything we can claim Aleister Crowley intended, but that is hardly the point.
As creative magician, we should always look deeper, strive for more! Exceed! What wild interpretations have you seen? Anything you would like to share?
Following up on our most recent post about the Tree of Life and The Rites of Eleusis, let’s look a little bit closer into how the attributions associated with the paths on the Tree of Life informs not only the narrative, but the poetry of The Rites of Eleusis.
I’ll be citing one example here. I encourage anyone who would like to contribute other examples to post them in the comments.
Built around the superstructure of Allan Bennett’s Golden Dawn diaries, 777 is a relatively comprehensive textbook of attributions for the various Paths and Sephiroth of the Tree of Life. I say relatively, as some of the material originally included by Bennett regarding musical tonal attributions was not included in 777, but later reintroduced by Paul Foster Case in his Builders of the Adytum materials, including his book The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages. Additionally, any practicing magician is encouraged to keep a diary of additional attributions they may discover during the course of their own work.
But on to our main point: how the source material in 777 is employed in crafting the poetry of The Rites.
For the most part I am speaking of Crowley’s poetry in The Rites, as the poems of Swinburne, Shelley, and Thomson are less likely to stand up to this type of analysis, although to some extent the writing of J.F.C. Fuller does.
The attributions from 777 corresponding to Venus are listed under both path 7 (for the Sephiroth attributed to Venus) and path 14 (for the path connecting Chokma and Binah, also attributed to Venus).
Among the attributions for path 7 we find: Lynx, Emerald
Among those of path 14 we find: Sparrow, Dove, Myrtle, Rose, Clover, Emerald Green, Sky Blue, early spring green, bright rose
The Empress Card from the Thoth Tarot Attributed to the 14th Path on the Tree of Life, corresponding to Venus
Compare these to the poem “Daughter of Glory”, which appears in The Rite of Venus in 1910, spoken by Libra, and was originally published in 1905 as part of Orphues: A Lyrical Legend, volume 1
Daughter of Glory, child
Of Earth’s Dione mild
By the Father of all, the AEgis-bearing King!
Spouse, daughter, mother of God,
Queen of the blest abode
In Cyprus’ splendour singly glittering.
Sweet sister unto me,
I cry aloud to thee!
I laugh upon thee laughing, O dew caught up from sea!
Drawn by sharp sparrow and dove,
And swan’s wide plumes of love,
And all the swallow’s swifter vehemence,
And, subtler that the Sphinx,
The ineffable lynx
Heralds thy splendour swooning into sense,
When from the bluest bowers
And greenest-hearted hours
Of Heaven thou smil’st toward earth, a miracle of flowers!
Note that while the Swan is attributed to the 1st path, Kether, the primal creative force, many believe that the swan appears in the Tarot card associated with Venus, the Empress (above). In fact, the bird in the lower left corner of the Empress Trump is a pelican, and the attribution of the swan within the poem may be a hint at something else. Additionally, the swallow (described as swift) is associated with the 12th path, attributed to Mercury. The appearance of the symbols associated with the forces that precede the birth of Venus would appear to be intentional, and perhaps invocational in this instance, as the poem describes the creation of the goddess.
Much of this is speculation. And why not? Each inquiry into what the deeper meaning could be provides both insight into the meanings of the narrative, and possible creative interpretations that can be incorporate into staging the material!
Speaking of speculation, as a humorous aside, when I first encountered The Rites of Eleusis as a young man, I was informed that Crowley wrote all of the poetry over the summer of 1910, and this was sited as one of the many proofs of his genius. It was some time before I discovered that Aleister Crowley did not write much of the poetry within The Rites of Eleusis, and that the poetry he did write was often lifted out of his earlier publications. Nevertheless, I walked around believing that he had drafted these seven plays in total over the course of a single summer for over a year.
