Today we’re dropping the final video in our series of seven short videos wherein we discuss our creative process and the lessons we learned along the way. In this video Jon talks about musical themes, mysteries hidden in the score, motivations foreshadowed in the music, and what the tones can tell you.
Seven Lessons – Lesson Seven, The Rite of Saturn: Musical Themes
In other exciting news, as of yesterday we are an official selection of the First Hermetic International Film Festival. We are awaiting some clarification on which categories we’ve been selected for, and will keep you in the loop as we find out.
As with the Festival in Madrid, this year this Festival in Venice, Italy will be taking place online. As we learn more details we share it here, in case any of you want to attend the gala event remotely!
Thanks again to everyone who has been watching The Rites of Eleusis, and sharing the videos with their friends. The outpouring of support has been moving, and we are so grateful to everyone who helped to make this work a reality!
Let’s begin with the assumption that you want to make art, be it staging a Rite of Eleusis, or any other means of self expression. Then let’s continue with the idea that you want to share that art with other people.
How do you do it?
Start with the basics: social media, invite your friends, posters, and reaching out to any special interest blogs, podcasts or online magazines that appeal to your target audience.
But in terms of really bringing in an enthusiastic crowd, we suggest you make an event of the presentation. Over the years we explored several manners for doing this to greater and lesser success. Here is a mile high overview of our strategy.
We Started Taking the Show on the Road
We staged The Rite of Luna in 2005, and before presenting it in May in Seattle, we traveled to Sekhet Maat Lodge in Portland, OR to do a “pre-show”.
This was a somewhat stripped down version of the final presentation, without the multimedia aspects and some of the larger set pieces. But it served as a target date to get the cast ready for performance, allowed us to create buzz around the material we were presenting, and work out some of the kinks in front of a supportive crowd.
The Rite of Mercury at Sekhet Maat Lodge, 2010
The members of the Lodge really loved having us, and we learned that strange rule performing artists encounter, the further you travel, the cooler you are.
This method went well enough that we used the same strategy for two more shows, The Rite of Venus in 2007, and The Rite of Mercury in 2010. At some point I should go into detail on The Rite of Venus 7/7/7 event, as that deserves a post all it’s own.
As we continued to explore this strategy, we discovered that there were problems and expenses associated with travel we had not anticipated. In addition, as our sets grew more and more elaborate, the idea of bringing them to other locations became more problematic.
So we needed to explore a new strategy.
We Brought the Show Home
Employing that aforementioned strange rule (the further you travel, the cooler you are) in it’s converse, we decided to invite a guest speaker from out of town with a solid draw (and so much charm!) to speak for one of our performances. We then increased the ticket cost for that one show enough to cover airfare and expenses.
Thus we had one person traveling, no sets, and a draw that naturally created a more robust event. Additionally, buzz about the lecture event increased buzz about the remaining performances.
Lon Milo DuQuette
Our first guest lecture was delivered by the inestimable Lon Milo DuQuette, who was kind enough to give a talk and performance before one of our presentations of The Rite of Sol, as well as provide a couple of lectures for Horizon Lodge, our local O.T.O. body.
The “video” of Lon’s Lecture, created by Daniel Christensen
We had this wonderful plan to record the lecture on video and make it a special feature on the DVD. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the recording media. The video was entirely lost. But as fate would have it, we had audio rolling through the lecture as well.
Our good friend Daniel Christensen volunteered to create a power point style video to accompany the lecture, which we placed on YouTube, and which continues to receive traffic to this date.
Incidentally, Daniel has invited his mother to several of our presentations, which she has always graciously attended and appreciated. After seeing the last one, Daniel proceeded to show her clips from some of the others she had missed, and to try to explain the overall narrative. She was confused by much of this. Eventually, he showed her the video he had created for Lon’s lecture.
After watching it, she turned to him and asked: “Why didn’t you show this to me first?”
As it turns out, this lecture is an excellent introduction to the overall structure of The Rites of Eleusis.
After our success with a guest speaker for The Rite of Sol, we decided this was a better investment of our resources. Since then we have had the pleasure of having Richard Kaczynski, Merle Ward and Dr. David Shoemaker provide guest lectures, each bringing their own wit and wisdom to their presentations.
The best part of this practice is having the opportunity to hear the lectures in the theater, while immersed in the work itself. It really drives the material home.
“It is necessary, in this world, to be made of harder stuff than one’s environment.” ― Aleister Crowley
This post has been delayed because I find the subject matter particularly difficult. For my own part, I have nothing but the deepest appreciation and respect for everyone who wanted to work with us along the way, and I make it a practice to foster an attitude of gratitude for the abundant support we have been provided. I have always seen my role as being supportive to the artists we work with, and have made every effort to be understanding and patient when situations become difficult.
Complaining about other people and their behavior, especially in a public forum, isn’t something I am either keen to do, or particularly comfortable with.
Yet, it would be a disservice to anyone looking for practical advice if I were to pretend that there were never interpersonal challenges, never disagreements, and that we were never placed in a situation where we made the decision to remove a cast or crew member from our team. It happened on several occasions over the years, and each time was uncomfortable, but ultimately we did what we thought was best for the team, and the project.
This particular post, like many others, also presumes that you, the reader, are the person running the project, and the advise is geared accordingly.
In our last post we talked about Adjustment, course correction, and how moving forward often means just, “not taking things personally”. Rather than succumbing to frustration, accept the reality and soldier on. This is likewise the first order of business in conflict management when dealing with difficult people.
“We were just joking!” Capricornus explains to Choragoge
Fortunately, those skills will likely cover you over 80% of the time, and often fostering the attitude of courageous adjustment on your team is enough to smooth out the wrinkles and keep the project moving forward without taking further action. It is surprising, but true, that when you tell people that you expect them to be able to handle a challenge, and when you put that idea to them with conviction, that they will believe you and act accordingly!
The other 20% of the time, you may find yourself dealing with the sort of intransigence that can only be solved by removing the human obstacle from the equation.
The
reasons that a person might be difficult are as varied as the people,
themselves. There are some who are attached to their own vision, and
cannot refrain from argument. There are some who are cruel and
disruptive to other cast members for their own amusement or out of
insecurity. There are some who will just actively do the opposite of
whatever you ask in the name of “Chaos Magick” or some other
excuse to defy any and all authority. There
are some who simply claim that they wish to be involved, and proceed
to do nothing, but argue their devotion to the project.
Some challenges can be overcome by setting firm expectations, and sticking to them. If the behavior can be discussed, acknowledged, and modified, chances are good that this will be a great learning opportunity for everyone involved. Working with a group is one of our best catalysts for growth, and one of the benefits of doing this work. Don’t be too quick to run off volunteers who may just be working through some personal foibles.
“Their false compassion is called compassion and their false understanding is called understanding, for this is their most potent spell.”
― Aleister Crowley
Nevertheless, the underlying truth is that unless you believe that you can work through the issue, the reason is not important. If the person cannot address the concerns about their conduct, then the project leaders must address the concerns, by removing the person from the project. A problematic person cannot be ignored within the group. They will drive off the rest of the team.
And if someone is making a point of being difficult while trying to create and rehearse, there is a good likelihood that they will be equally or more difficult when it is time to perform! Sadly, it also means they will be difficult when asked to leave.
They will argue. Make a scene. Accuse you of being cruel. Defame you on the internet. Try to foster bad publicity. Possibly reach out to crew members and supporters and try to convince them to withdraw support. And my all time favorite, accuse you of being a poor Thelemite for interfering with their will*.
“And another thing! You are a BAD THELEMITE!” …is NOT what Magister Templi said to Aquarius.
This, BTW, is non-sense. If anyone has the will to be involved in your project, they must necessarily have the will to meet your criteria. And if it is truly their will to celebrate The Rites of Eleusis and they cannot do so as a member of your team, they can certainly go and do it themselves. Wish them luck, and escort them out!
It can be rather like a bad breakup in a public place. Loud, angry and embarrassing. I recommend that any difficult conversation like this involve the person in question, and two members of the team. Don’t do it in front of everyone if you can help it, and don’t go alone. Three is the magic number.
And when they do respond loudly, and they may, once again the adage, “Don’t take it personally” comes to mind. You cannot allow yourself too much time to revel in hurt feelings when dealing with a troublesome individual. You have a production to run, and they have already derailed it to some degree. There is a very good chance that causing you distress is precisely the reaction they are looking for, and I suspect you have better things to do.
Remove them from the group, e-lists, etc. and move on with the work. Explain it to the remainder of the cast without getting personal. Remember, another person may have to depart, and they will be watching for how you treat people when they leave. Every courtesy you show to a difficult person once they have been removed reflects well on you, and keeps the channels of communication open. You want people to come to you and let you know what is happening, rather than being afraid to reach out to you, thus allowing their struggles come as a surprise at the eleventh hour.
I also strongly recommend that you do not respond on social media, do not engage in debate, do not play into their narrative, do not try to “show them” by doubling-down in even more egregious behavior than their own. This is a victory for your detractors. This plays to the narrative of their persecution. And in the end, it is a waste of creative energy.
“The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick alongside it.”
― D.L. Moody
This is a quote I often paraphrase as: “Sometimes you lay a straight stick next to a crooked stick and call it a good days work.”
And this is a much easier task when you remember this simple truth: You are not in a power struggle with anyone. If you are in charge, you can listen to every idea (at the appropriate time), consider every option, and make your decision. You can adjust as necessity requires, as we previously discussed. You are never obligated to debate. If you are running the show, that is it.
Now, if you make it awful, people will leave. But if you allow someone else to make it awful, people will also leave. At the end of the day, you do not have to explain yourself, defend your position, or apologize for being responsible for making the decisions. You just have to step into your role as an authority and act according.
And, Oh, my friends! Don’t let that go to your head, either. That is the other pitfall of taking things personally.
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 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?
