XII. “Garrish Light”
Concerning the main ritual arc at HPF 2012;
The rituals we presented at Heartland this year were unorthodox, did not follow a prescribed tradition or format and left some to ponder our meaning. And it was, in fact, that very freedom to perform magic in any way the practitioner can find value in that we were trying to communicate. The ritualistic destruction of the established temple by the disruptive, ill dignified elemental aspects in main ritual was in no way designed to inhibit or castigate participants. It was designed to do the exact opposite; to liberate. I value self-exploration as a form of, and a powerful tool in the practice of, magic. All of this was done by design and in the execution of that part of the design, I personally feel a sense of satisfaction. It is my wish that people continue to ponder our meaning and explore the heavy, introspective themes we chose to present.
It has, however, come to my attention in a very personal way that my ritual had a wide range of deep impact. It has been sufficiently illustrated to me (no small feat to do for a Taurus) that some people were made very uncomfortable, even done harm, by the ritual’s execution. It was built into the intent of the magic we were to create, among other things, to shine light into the dark places of the self. I did not foresee the full impact that light would have across the very broad spectrum of the festival participants. Not everyone is at a stage to have light thrown on every part of themselves; not all wounds are ready to heal. I think Florence said it best, “I never knew that light could be so violent.”
Questions regarding the intent of our ritual have been posed to me and I would offer the two evocations as an illustration of our intent:
We evoke the ever-vigilant Sun; Lord of Light, Heat and Gravity. We loose your arrows and split the pregnant, fertile darkness. We enjoy the warmth of your walls; keeping the cold shadows at bay. Your gravity unifies us into a single, communal force standing together against the vicissitudes and inclemencies of primal waters of kaos. Will it so!
The evocation of the sun done first and by the Priestess sought to create a yielding, safe place of unification for people to return to after venturing into the darkness we evoked in the next part.
We evoke the fertile Moon; Guardian of the Dark, the Forbidden and the Mysterious. We seek the heroic perils living in your shadowed breast. We seek to try ourselves in the courts of our own fear. We seek to journey at midnight, to witness your uncounted, nameless mysteries and arrive fearless at dawn. Will it so!
The evocation of the Moon was designed to bring the “Heroic Perils” to the edge of the light crated by the Sun.
I would also offer this from the closing ritual as a further insight into my intent;
We gather back here after the temple crumbled under its own weight. We are free of trappings and formalities and we bear only the lessons of ill dignified aspects. It is a new beginning; The Dawning of a New Day. Free of the dogmas and restrictions of tradition, we are beckoned to explore the self and the world with four simple, powerful tools; one from the howling east, one from the simmering south, one from the deepest west and one from the mountainous north.
I cannot guarantee that my work will not have a similar magnitude of impact in the future. I am not timid in my exploration of magic and the self and I cannot make apologies for that but, I will certainly go to further lengths in the future to attempt to foresee the entire spectrum of impact. I cannot share with you the exact phrase that cast light on all of this for me but, I can say it was my intent only to shed light on darkened places. It was never my intent to summon up demons of the past and stand them in front of people and for that I apologize.
Sincerely,
House Arcanum