All Rites Reversed (Antero Alli)

Copyright 1987 by Antero Alli
All rights reserved. No part of this book, in part or in whole, may be reproduced,
transmitted, or utilized, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
sYstem, without permission in writing from the publisher, except for brief
qUotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
ISBN: 0-941404-81-1
Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 87-50537
Copyright Registration Number: TX 2.,Q08-582
OTHER TITLES BY THE AUTHOR
ANGEL TECH: A Modern Shaman's Guide to Reality Selection
THE AKASHIC RECORD PLAYER: A Non-Stop Geomantic Romance
CHAPEL PERILOUS: Dreaming Phases For Lovers (stage play)
AS THE WORM TURNS: A Psychic Soap Opera (radio play)
ASTRO*TURF: Down-To-Earth Astrology
THE 21st CENTURY TAROT
PhotoMontages in this book by Antero
Occasional Art by Christi
Typesetting: MacIntosh Font: Laser Palatino
Cover Art 1988 Wolfgang Gersch, METAART STUDIO
1115 32nd Street, Oakland, CA 94608, 415-652-2210
Layout Design by Antero
Limited First Edition - 1986
Second Revised Edition - 1987
VIGILANTERO PRESS
p.o. Box 7513 Boulder CO 80306
First Falcon Press Edition - 1988
FALCON PRESS
3660 N. 3rd St.
Phoenix, Arizona 85012
(602) 246-3546
Manufactured in the United States of America
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The section of ALL RITES REVERSED dedicating itself to ritual theatre
emerged as a ten-year personal response to certain key principles
introduced by David Rosenbloom during the Spring of 1976 in Berkeley,
California . The keys of NO-FORM, CONTACT POINT and
POLARIZATIONS were presented by David to a handful of participants
experimenting with accessing spiritual sources in the body, primarily for
self-knowledge. If it wasn't for David's inspired and deliberate role as
initiator to these principles, the current medium of ritual theatre may never
have come to pass. Thank you, David, wherever you are ...
Throughout the history of this medium' of r.itual ' theatre, other key
individuals and/or directly shaped its destiny and they are:
JERZY GROTOWSKl...for his pioneering work & brilliant blue light
. ANTONIN ART AUD ... for burning his tragic flaws so brightly
WILLIAM BLAKE .. .for so vividly envisioning the archetypes we all met
CHRISTOPHER S. HYATT .. .for the initiations and your menacing clarity
CARL C. JUNG ... for his seminal literature on alchemical process
CHAMBER THEATRE TROUPE .. .for your dilligence, grace,& the eternal
JANE BROWN .. .for engaging the values of relaxation, form and gravity
KEITH BERGER. .. for your early training, a lasting friendship & the future
SIMA WOLF. . .for fusing her sparkling, broken ballerina into the medium
ROBERT GREENW A Y .. .for the invitation to legitimatize this work
NANCY LUNNEY /ESALEN .. .for bringing ritual theatre to Esalen
JOSE ARGUELLES ... for waking up in a Mayan temple & living to tell it
G. GURDJIEFF .. .for the presence he instilled in the words that he spoke
URSA MAJOR (Allegra, Jim & John) .. .for our experimental designs
this space my deepest gratitude to
CONTENTS
1
PREFACE
by Robert Anton Wilson, Ph.D.
3
AUTHOR'S INTENT
RITUAL TECHNOLOGY FOR SELF-INITIATION
by Antero AlIi
8
THE FIRST RITUAL
Principles of Ritual Theatre
18
RITUAL PREPARATION
Guidelines For Entering Work
37
RITUAL FUNCTIONS
An Association of Techniques
44
RITUAL DESIGN
Three Levels of Work
48
Level I: INITIATIONS
The Internal Landscape
59
Level II: DARK RITES <Of The Soul)
Endurance
70
Level III: ILLUMINATIONS
Clarity of Forms
- - - - - - - - - - - - ~ . - - - ~ ~ - ---
78
EARTH SURRENDER RITES
Planetary Helixing for Men & Women
with a Poem by Chris Hoffman
83
GROUNDING CIRCLES/DREAMTIME RITUALS
plus The Law Comes From The Mountain
An Interview with an Aboriginal Elder of the Yuin Tribe
92
VOCAL CREATIONS
A Basis for Sonic Resonance
The Voice As Artist
An Interview with Paul Oertel
100
THE RITUAL CATALYST
Master of Ceremonies
Group Dynamics in the Performance Medium
An Interview with Keith Berger
108
DANGERS?!
Pitfalls & Perils Along The Way
120
REFLECTIONS ...
PassingThoughts On The Medium
guests ojJlonor
133
GEOMANCY
6y 1?jcfiani feather Yinaerson
140
FUTURE MEMORY
Yin Interview with Jose Yi'lJue{{es
146
WILDERNESS
6y Ju{ian Simeon
152
STALKING THE DANCE
Yin Interview with ,{iza6eth Cog6urn
159
ON CONSTRUCTING A TEMPLE
6y '1(?vin Yi. Lewis
165
UNDOING YOURSELF
Yin Interview with Christopher S. !}(yatt
173
GLOSSARY
Defining Ritual Terminology
by Antero Alii
181
SUGGESTED READINGS
182
AFTERWORDS
About The Author
)
)
!For 1(af{ista
ttie tBrigfitest Star in ttie SKy
&
ero Cfiristi
for tier Severity of t])evotion
All Rites Reversed 1
PREFACE
By Robert Anton Wilson
Theatre is, and has always been, magic. The very word tragedy comes
from tragos, goat-song, and refers to the ancient rituals in which the
goat-god was sacrificed as an offering to the Earth Mother. Satire comes
from satyr, the goat-man-god. Comedy, similarly, derives from como do, a
festival to ensure the fertility of the tribe. Indeed, the difference between
drama and ritual depends almost entirely on what the audience is told on
the way in to the scene of the action. Move a Solemn High Mass into the
Ethel Barrymore Theatre, tell everybody it is an experimental, and they
will experience it as theatre. Stage Waiting For Godot in a cathedral on
Maundy Thursday, and it will function as a totally acceptable sacrament;
and nobody will have any doubts about who Godot is.
Ibsen's Doll's House is allegedly the classic example of the "naturalistic"
play -- the social drama, the "slice of life", from which all the ritual
elements have been removed. Yet Nora's awakening is the same theme as
that of the awakening in the Eleusinian Mysteries in ancient Athens, and
when she slams the door the the resonance in the collective psyche is
identical with that experience when the Bible is slammed on the pulpit and
the candles extinguished on Maundy Thursday. The ritual of awakening is
always a path through psychic death to psychic rebirth, and that happens
as much to Nora as to any character in the more obviously ritualized
dramas of Sophocles.
The new form of Ritual Theatre developed by Antero Alli in the past ten
years is uniquely a product of our eclectic and revolutionary age. It is very,
very old and very, very new. As Osiris says in the Egyptian Book of the
Dead, "I am yesterday, today and the brother of tomorrow." To enter
Antero Alli's magic circle is to experience that kind of time-warp: you
become one with with the first paleolithic shamans dancing to the
bear-god, you will know yourself here now as you have never known
yourself before, and you plunge into science-fiction futures in which
humanity is expanded mentally and physically beyond our wildest hopes.
Meanwhile, everybody in and out of the theatre can enjoy it and use it right
now.
ROBERT ANTON WILSON, Ph.D.
INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF THE HUMAN FUTURE
Author of COSMIC TRIGGER, MASKS OF THE ILLUMINATI,
THE NEW INQUISITION, SEX & DRUGS, PROMETHEUS RISING, & others
All Rites Reversed
3
INTENT
This book -presents the development and internal workings of a ritual
technology dedicated to the process of Self-Initiation. This particular
medium came about over a ten-year period of working alone and in
conjunction with a multitude of groups from many walks of life. For the
most part, it has served as a tool for self-knowledge although occasionally,
with the right group, it's been elevated to performance ritual. For lack of
better terms, I've chosen to call this medium ritual theatre. Ritual theatre
combines elements from both ritual and theatre, as if it were rooted in the
former and branching out into the latter. It is primarily a non-performance
medium complete unto itself yet has proven effective for enhancing any
ceremonial tasks, including preparation for live theatre.
Ritual, and its purpose, is refered to hereafter by those activities
triggering awareness of our living relationship with the entity embodied as
this planet. We are, as human beings, indigenous to this planet. Ritual
serves to enhance our unique placement ... who we are and why we are
here. As Global Inhabitants, we are here to participate with the planetary
entity in a certain way. At the root, we are feeding off the Earth and it is
feeding off of us. As we become more aware of this underlying reality,
Planetary Intelligence can be said to be awakening within us. Earth
Renewal Rites are those intentional activities serving the specific function
of feeding the planetary entity. Human Renewal Rites are those which help
us draw power, support and instruction from planetary energies. There is
a reciprocal feeding occuring and ritual tunes us into its innate patterns.
DNA, as we know, is the genetic blueprint of life. Its complex, mandalic
code interconnects all living forms in a planetary communications system
of which every member/creature/being has a direct line to. DNA is also the
native language of the planetary entity. When human beings learn how to
resonate with and think like DNA, we'll have the distinct privilege of being
listed in the Planetary Dire<;tory. Like the Aboriginies and their
Dream-time, A.T. & T. will be replaced by resonant telepathy. How a
"human resonator" is developed is a primary ritualistic concern. As DNA
instructs RNA Messenger molecule how to manufacture protein for its
sustenance, so does the planetary entity instruct human beings in the task
of feeding itself. To become receptive to this information, we have only to
surrender to the Earth and become conduits for its transmission.
The overall purpose of ritual theatre is with the internal construction of a
resonator. Resonance develops through the accumulation and integration
f certain essences innate to one's being. Ritual theatre work trigg r
innat patterns of motion and being for the purpose of their assimil ti n.
4
All Rites Reversed
The development of resonance depends on a certain willingness to sacrifice
I those icons, dogmas, and ideations no longer coinciding with the innate.
Personal growth is excited with those encounters revealing conflict and/or
between what we have learned and any real fridion produced
to the .innate. The friction of this conflict has a way of
feedmg the mnate bemg within us by cultivating the disconcerting
awareness of our need to transform and mutate. A human resonator
builds itself through the direct-knowledge of these four interdependent
centers/selves/realities: PHYSICAL - EMOTIONAL - CONCEPTUAL -
/ we are. not human beings having a
spmtual but spmtual bemgs havmg a human one. In this way,
we share spmtual resonance with the planetary entity.

After developing a strong internal resonator, it is possible to enter the
realm of performance ritual. To the degree we are in true resonance with
certain .essential forces, within and around us, is the degree we are moved
and ammated by these. Whatever essence authentically moves us, also
moves others. The particular type of performance refered to here is
in nature as to invoke and preserve certain primordial
9uahhes over theatrical persona. Consider it a primitive
. sacred theatre pla.cmg mterpersonal interaction secondary to an
of forces whIch use the performers as their mode of expression.
ThIS of performance. provokes the possibility of performers
and audIence to partake m spmtual communion or, holiness. The kind of
performer required to incite this type of miracle is unique and talented. For
the most part, his/her personality has become flexible (polarized) enough
"innate to occur .. . one serving the purpose of direct
spIrItual transmIssIon.
Humans are ritualistic creatures and innately know more about how
w?rk than one suspect. My dream was to present this
( t nal . m a to actively enhance whatever ritual technology or
r 11\ mal task IS already engaging you, the reader, and perhaps, help
II 1 hereto unknown techniques and insights imbedded deep inside
(jill' in tin t . The challenge of writing ALL RITES REVERSED was in
!lot p,Ntl
l
) a-hea? of mys.elf but letting my knowledge develop
I IIIUItHWO\1 ly WIth my bemg. I could've only written this book after
do lip, I II t t 1I ff f r about ten years first. This is how any kind of real
11111 111 1' I IIld o/j h orne to pass, I think. In researching this book, I
1'( II :t.pd 1111 1111\ Illlol'\B f my personal knowledge early on and so, invited
( I tl /',11 I WI' l) cribe their process of "preparing for, designing
Illd I 1' \ III "'" I Ifl 'I VI ' 1'!tUnl." Certain key individuals were also
interviewed by myself to infuse the book with their immediate and valuable
responses. These guests reside in the final section of this book, as if
gathered there for a culminating ceremony.
Ritual theatre is a LAB for testing the simultaneous growth of our
knowledge and being; it is a reality check to our understanding & ... reality
checks never bounce. (Read UNDOING YOURSELF by C.S. Hyatt;
Falcon Press) . To support self-exposure, this medium is presented as a
ritual technology ... one stripped of religious dogmas and imposed
belIef systems. (The author confesses the attempt to eliminate dogma as
being a doctrine unto itself.) One of the overall objectives of a generic
ritual technology is the excitation of ones own cosmologies into conscious
recognition. We find outwhat we are living for, what our lives revolve
around and what we are feeding off of (and what feeds off us.) Of special
interest is the discovery of what I call "the bones of ritual" or those ritual
techniques common to many traditions. Each bone fits as a piece of a
dancing skeleton .. . a ritual medium unfettered by cultural bias and/or
brand-name, religious affiliation. This type of ritual technology is an open
doorway to our direct-knowledge of the Infinite. Unearthing such
magickal methodologies is an ongoing research for those psychic
archeologists who have discovered enough relics to keep looking.
This ritual medium is not a particularly glamorous one. Quite frankly, its
vigorous demands and zen-like starkness tend to turn some people right
off. When there's a lot of "deep work" to do, the time alloted for
personality worship is, or ought to be, dangerously slim. Once this is
obvious, those attached to their emotional needs for personal recognition
start complaining and/or realign with a different reason for being there.
For those participating, this approach is set up to evoke Source Relations
or encounter and dialog between Personality and Essence ... Ego and
Self ... Illusion and Reality. The kind of conflict and internal pressure often
resulting can be disconcerting to those just seeking personal gratification.
However, for tl;wse willing to risk self-exposure and disillusionment, they
see how conflict serves human development and the birth of a soul.
A central strand in this weave is learning perseverance to ones own
subjective truth. With enough committment, a self-penetration occurs and
we are allowed to braid ourselves into the collective fabric without losing
our individual color. Coming from a highly "theatrical" background, I was
very reluctant to surrender completely to my subjective experience for fear
of exposing an "indulgent performance" which was, to my Actor's
mentality, a fate worse than death. How was I to know that total
committment to the Subjective eventually catalyzed a more objective
awareness? I literally went kicking and screaming. The last thing I was
6
All Rites Reversed
going to let go of was the finely crafted sword of my will. I recall stages of
being utterly lost in the sauce of my own preconceptions and losing sight of
everything beyond my nose. Then there was that god-awful Dark Night of
the Soul where King Confusion held court and my Foolish Intellect insisted
on figuring it all out. (See DANGERS: Chapel Perilous).
After . ten-plus years and thousands of rituals later, it seems I'm
approaching Beginner's status. I know less now than I ever did before yet
the work has allowed me to begin living my life. One thing is certain as I
look back and that's this: Once you're ushered int.o The Magic Theatre of
Self there's no turning back. As fellow visionary William Blake once
remarked, "A fool who persists in his folly becomes wise." I might add that
not only is Persistence a key ... Surrender is the 10ck. .. Transformation the
doorway and Being, the way . out. Ritual theatre tends to be
psychotherapeutic as it brings to light those repressed and hidden aspects
of ourselves. This is, however; not psycho-drama,-gestalt nor encounter
group format . Herein is a complete medium unto itself, its integrity
maintained by the understanding and practice of certain guidelines called
Ritual FunctiQns, the backbone of this technology.
This book is called ALL RITES REVERSED for various reasons, one of
which is that its approach to ritual-design runs contrary tomost others by
the virtue of its emphasis on solitude. When a group meets to work in this
medium, they prepare alone for as much as two hours before interacting.
This is a device for cultivating the creative tension and individual integrity
required to ignife spontaneous offering relatively unbiased by social
obligations and insecurities. This orientation develops from the individual
first before collective interplay and even then, solitude is sustained by each
individual's contact with their internal dependence or, Source. This book is
an appendige to actual work. Bring it with you when entering your magic
circle. Show it to people from ritual expertise. Use the book until
your own ritual yoga develops and then, as a test, give the book away.
Until then, you have my heartfelt permission to die and be reborn. Ominos,
'Dominoes, 'Ear IJ{pse ana 'Eyes 'l(noUl ... 1J{p6oay 'l(noUls ...
AnteroAlli
MayDay 1987
. Boulder COLORADO USA
ALL RITES REVERSED ?!
Ritual Technology for Self-Initiation
"Magicians, especially since the Gnostic and Quabala influences, have
sought higher consciousness through the assimilation and control of
universal opposites -- good/evil, positive/negative, male/female, etc.
due to the steadfast pomposity of ritualism inherited from the ancIent
methods of the shaman, occultists have been blinded to what is perhaps. the
two most important pairs of apparent or earth-plane opposites:
ORDER/DISORDER and SERIOUS/HUMOROUS. Magicians, and their
progeny the scientists, have always taken themselves and their subject in a
orderly and sober manner, thereby disregarding an essential metaphysical
balance. When magicians learn to approach philosophy as a malleable art
instead of an immutable Truth, and learn to appreciate the absurdity of
man's endeavors, then they will be able to pursue their art with a lighter
heart, and perhaps gain a clearer understanding of it, and therefore gain
more effective magic. CHAOS IS ENERGY."
excerpted from PRINCIPIA DISCORDIA
by Greg Hill - Loompanics Press
8
All Rites Reversed
THE FIRST RITUAL
Principles of Ritual Theatre
One origin of the word ritual stems from "root." As a culture's traditions
help maintain its identity and heritage, so do its rituals sustain the
traditions themselves. Initially, a culture would develop around rituals not
only to bring people together but to honor and preserve what was sacred
and holy to the land itself. From a "geomantic" or Earth-based view,
geologically formed entities determined by the topography of
theIr partlcular planetary location. Thus, Tibetian Buddhist culture is
and characteristic of the Himalyas, as are the Yaqui Indian
trad1tIOns mnate to the Sonora deserts of Mexico. It is the Earth itself
which forms culture by its reciprocal interaction with the humans
inhabiting its surface. In this sense, the Earth evolves us and our rituals,
the articulation of its evolution through us. (See GEOMANCY)
Ritual develops with human response to signals received from the living
planetary entity (hereafter called GAIA). Ritual distinguishes itself from
"routine" in that the former serves to enhance awareness of Self/World,
whereas the latter functions to diminish it. Conscious interaction with
GAIA awakens Global or Mythic Intelligence within us (See 7th Grade in
ANGE.L TECH by the author). The function of Global Intelligence is
mutatIon through cultural transformation. This change initiates itself
when an individual becomes a crucible for the evolution of new forms and
Near the genesis of a culture, "originating rituals" emerge as
md1v1dual human response to GAIA and, through bridging these to a
c?llective, a basis for a Group Mind is formed. These originating, first
rItuals temper the bonding responsible for distinct cultures to evolve. It is in
the of. this Ritual that this text dedicates itself to and why this
book 1S subtItled: Ritual Technology for Self-Initiation.
For the greater part, ritual knowledge from World Cultures has been
reserved and coveted by some form of Church/State/Order as a
methodology for social control. This is why traditional religions have only
one pope and/or an elite corps of archbishops, abbotts and assorted
exalted To this day, there remains only one priest to a congregation
who cla1ms the authority for executing the ritual functions of
sanctification, benediction, communion, Etc .. This individual, who is
usually a man, acts as the Mouthpiece To & From God and serves as a
Middle Man between Congregation and their Sburce. This dynamic sets
up an imm diate heirarchy diminishing the Congregation's autonomous
"relations with Source. How can this heirarchy, that jams direct Source
Relations, b bypa s d ?
All Rites Reversed
9
Let it 6e /(nown tli.at every Man, Woman ana Cli.i{tf reaaing tli.ese
lines is li.ere6y officia{fy procfaimea a Pope ana/or :Jiigli. Priestess 6y tli.e
9-Eigli.est JZl.utli.ority nowavaifa6fe: :you!
A fundamental knowledge of how rituals work sets us free to access
our own Source Relations, without having to conform to externally-based
doctrines of the religious or philosophical kind. Exploring ritual without
buying into imposed dogmas invites a certain willingness to govern
oneself. This type of self-dominion forms the basis for individual integrity,
without which true group unity could never emerge. A unique group
dynamic activates with the fullfillment of each individual's personal style
of expression. This type of collective identity communicates a fierce quality
ofBeing shared equally amongst participating members. All are equal by
the virtue that each member is responsible for being him/herself.
No matter what your spiritual orientation, there are certain ritual
techniques common to, and pre-dating, all traditions which can greatly
enhance whatever ceremony you're engaged in. These are "generic" ritual
forms and they belong to nobody and everybody. Many of these are
imbedded deep inside our innate, instinctual nature waiting to be dislodged
into consciousness and put to work. There's a ganglia in the center of our
brains (the "R-Complex") governing home-site selection forming the basis
for several ritual functions, one being the task of locating a setting to
execute ceremony in. Related to this instinct is our natural talent for
making a house a home by Sanctifying its space thus, initiating a Rare
Area conducive to sacred activity. In addition, our ability to take dominion
over a space for specific ritual purposes is a direct expression of our
territorial drives . . Our mechanical tendency to project and assume
meaning onto an otherwise Deep & Meaningless Universe is inherently
the primitive phase of a very powerful ritual technique: Conscious
Projection ... the ability to intentionally energize an area outside of ones
body with "charge" thus, motivating a ritual.
An essential function of ritual is in giving form to the innate so as to
restore our contact with spiritual sources in the body. In this way,ritual is
the formalization of instinct. Ritual provides an outlet for the ongoing
Marriage between Spirit and Body, and their offspring the Soul.
Ceremony inherently activates culture within the individual, as tradition is
maintained by its extension to others. Those cultures which understood the
value of potentia or "the zero" (like the Mayans), were able to initiate an
ongoing intimacy with The Void. This rather crucial ritual technique
10 All Rites Reversed
enables us to transfonnative process far more intentionally than ever
before. :otentla, .hereafter. refered to NO-FORM, is coaxed by our
comfort domg anyth.mg and/or bemg anybody. No-Fonn is that part
of us eXIstmg constantly m a potential state in that it has not become
anything yet. No-Fonn does not have to be a goal or some kind of
"spiri.tual (as some religions would have us believe) but a highly
practical, multi-purpose tool for dissolving our identification with the
forces of one ritual so we may begin another, anew. When each ritual is
begun its central contents may develop
authentically Without the lmpOsltion of the contrived intentions that make
so many other ritual technologies but empty, rote routines. (Read ZEN
MIND, BEGINNER's MIND by Suzuki for NO-FORM Meditations)
In the. initial training phase of a generic ritual technology, the forces
evoked m ceremony are all drawn from Oneself ... what Carl G, Jung calls
"aspects of The Self ... that unified, self-organizing entity we are all
expressions of." Ritual, in this sense, is a Theatre of Self as it works to
the animating our internal landscape
With aspects like: Masculme/Femimne, The Four Elements, Order and
Chaos, Creative/Destructive/Nourishing, The Anima and The Animus,
Sleep-Dream-Awakening, Colors, Death/Rebirth, and a cast of
thousands. Each individual expresses these universal aspects in their own
way, yet we are all connected to them through our Source Relations. By
our points with these living forces within, we develop a
the empathy so necessary for reading and
respondmg to hvmg sIgnals from sources beyond our imagination
like ... other people and the planet, for example. Internal resonance,then:
lays the foundation for The First Ritual in its willingness to look within.
Like the archeologist's pick-axe, effective ritual is a tool for penetrating
the surface crust of our social persona for treasures imbedded deep within
our essential nature. This INITIATION process has traditionally engaged
some !onn of A.complete withdrawal of ones energy,
the lmmediate environment is a necessary
prereqUlslte for gomg wIthin. As we gather our forces in this way, we
mark the transition from external to internal dependence. When working
with others, this realizing your non-responsibility to them, SOcially
sp aking, so more mternal freedom can be explored and established.
Ritual work tends to evoke a dynamic relationship between a person
th if ource ... and essence. One way of supporting this
mtera H n i n uragmg an "asocial" climate wherein participants bypass
All Rites Reversed
11
ocialization and instead, stabilize their internal dependence. The release
f social obligations sets up a kind of Rare Area conducive to asocial
ctivities. A kind of interaction eventually develops as each participant
ccumulates enough personal power to have something meaningful to
share. Source relations can be clarified by searching for what is truly
acred. The sacred implies, among other things, what one lives for or
perhaps ... ones Point of Worship (POW) ... that area catalyzing revolution in
ur lives by the virtue of our lives revolving around it. Often times, the
POW is unknown and, at best, obscure and shifting in and out of focus. The
POW appears to reveal itself in- our greatest excitements and
resistances: .. areas of powerful positive and negative emotional charge.
Ritual tends to unveiUhese hot spots for the purpose of self-knowledge,
personal growth and, if they are accepted, self-transcendence.
The perpetually renewing cycles of Nature demonstrates evolutionary
process in the following maJ,lner. Fertile ground permiting, when a seed is
planted .. . it sprouts from the Earth and grows, in time, to a tree. This tree
blossoms and bears fruit which and then drops to the ground where
it breaks open, rots and goes to seed ... offering the essential fecundity for
the growth of a new tree. We might ask, "What are the necessary
conditions for conscious human evolution ?" As we are outgrowths of
Nature, we have locked away in the cellular memory of our bodies
very thing we need to know about transformative process. This
information can be triggered and released throughout the fulfillment of the
Body's most central need: TO BE FELT DEEPLY. This is why all "primitive"
or Earth-based cultures instigate ritual preparation with some kind of
physical and emotional warm-up. This time is dedicated to tuning the
human instrument so we might become more willing to be played by the
universal forces governing existence ... what Carl Jung coined as The
Archetypes. (Only when the instrument is tuned can it play music.)
In the ritual medium described and outlined hereafter, there is a 40-60
minute physical prep, wherein from meditation each participant gradually
moves through a series of objectives bringing them to a sweat. After the
Physical Warm-Up, emotional flexibility is challenged through an activity
called POLARIZTIONS. Polarity, in this context, refers to specific internal
contraries that are actually polar expressions of the same energy.
Examples include: Safety/Danger, Victory/Defeat, Right/Wrong,
Good/Evil, Pleasure/Pain, etc. These contraries are drawn from all
possible arenas: Political, Conceptual, Social, Psychic, Etc., for accessing
I rity and uniting opposition therein. The intent is in initiating
intance with our Changing Whole. Our Emotional Ego is liberated
finding out where it's stuck ... which side of a polarity it has identified
Wlth, at the cost losing touch with the other side. The Flexible Ego is one
capable of traversmg between opposites without becoming residential to
either side ... while revealing the conversion points responsible for their
overall unity (as the traditional myths of Hermes reflect).
A useful conceptual task is creating a list of charged polarities ... those
particular opposites which personally incite major resistanceand/or
excitement. Both negatively and positively charged polarities are essential
for real work, due to the interlocking functions of both currents.
Positive energy is more electrical and negative, magnetic. Together, they
make up the electromagnetic field of our whole energy or, aura.. Too
much positive excites a buoyancy that "ungrounds" us, unless it's balanced
with an appropriate level of the stabilizing negative force. Too much
negative collapses into a kind of "black hole" effect, wherein we feel
trapped within ourselves and tending to suck others into our deep, dark
predi.cament. ritual work, the process of balancing and
mergmg Opposltes contmues as a non-stop procedure ... as the universe is
always changing and calling for our continual adjustments.
During the process of POLARIZATIONS, one invariably encounters
multitudes of ideas, pictures and other "socially-accepted" ideals of what
"should be or look like." For example, there are scores of
lmages m our psyche constituting ideal Feminine and Masculine models.
The conceptual challenge is in paying attention to how these obscure direct
contact with the underlying forces, or Archetypes, of Feminine/Masculine.
Encountering stereotypes is natural to breaking through the crust of our
Sometimes, all we can do is live through our
ldeatlOns before bemg touched and moved by the wordless, intuitive
opening of direct contact with their originating source. Other times, we
are called to Drop Our Acts and personify these False Icons by suffering
the embarrassment of purging them out. This journey's destination is
through the very heart of our experience and out the other side. As we peel
away the layers of cultural bias, we find our own responses and feelings
enabling the generation our own unique culture, tradition and cosmology.
With practice, POLARIZATIONS proffer an internal cohesion expressing
the t?tality.of ourselves. A war ourselves is gradually replaced by a
conslstent mterplay of contranes, as we learn to permit the Spiritual.
Once we learn the habit of accepting both sides of our nature, a
self-support system develops ... inviting greater challenge, expansion and
growth. The , ideal conditions for human growth and renewal seem to
All Rites Reversed
13
thrive around polarizations. Alchemically speaking, our Body is the vessel
containing and mixing the opposites we experience. These oppositions are
organically dissoved within us and enter the biological crucible of change,
our LAB, (Read UNDOING YOURSELF by CS Hyatt; Falcon Press)
wherein they coagulate, ferment, distill and transform themselves into a
new substance altogether ... one indigenous and inclusive of both sides of
our nature. The fruit of this new quality is expanded consciousness and the
working knowledge of relativity, or transcendence.
Through ritual, we become aware of our participation as alchemical
crucibles for the delicate process of our personal refinement. Part of the
reason for Sanctification is to protect and respect our internal
transmutations. Consideration is also needed to guard our experiment
from the extraneous and accidental impositions of Other People's
Opinions, Useless Dispersion, and our own Personal Meddling &
Rationalization of a process best suited for Nature Herself to govern.
Especially fragile are those phases wherein nothing seems to be happening.
Here, people tend to push and contrive themselves the most in order to
make something happen. It takes a genuinely reverent attitude to not
resist the void. As a general rule, when there's nothing happening on the
surface, it's all cooking down below in the deeper recesses of our being.
Our Self-commitment is put to work by staying with whatever is
happening, despite our impatience for immediate, visible results.
CONVERSION POINTS
Perhaps the most mysterious (and fascinating) areas of ritual work
involve those triggering mechanisms producing altered states of
consciousness. From mild trance-dancing to the more cataclysmic mystical
experiences, a spectrum of conversions is awakened in our souls. These
peak moments seem to occur during an amplification of our current state
of being. An acceleration of What Is often has the profound effect of
synchronizing one state of being into a higher level of that being. There are
innumerable forms of conversion experience, several of which appear to
to this approach to ritual-making. One example engages our
definitions of control. Control usually implies: Being In Charge, Directing
Our Lives and/or Having a Firm Grip On Things. Indeed these are valid
descriptions of an evolutionary phase control takes, especially in its initial
stages of development.
c.

o @ 0
14 All-Rites Reversed
When is the best time to shape reality and when is it appropriate to be
shaped by it? If we're really in control, can we relax control when it's
appropriate to do so? We are shapers and we are the shaped. Ritual often
invites energetic intensification. In the midst of a greater energy than we
are usually accustomed, there are a variety of ways to respond: 1) Control
or direct it; 2) Fight and resist it; 3) Work to ignore it; and/or 4) Serve it.
The conversion point between directing the energy to serving it marks the
initiation of a major revelation ...
When we are in charge of determining the direction of an energy, our
source of authority/power rests in the personal will of our ego. This is
when Ego is The Boss. If we were to relax the tendency to determine the
outcome, we might increase our awareness of the energy itself and its
innate, autonomous direction. By relaxing control, space is created for
energetic expression, whereby we may rely on it to guide and inform us of
its inherent direction. This is where Spirit is The Boss. These two Bosses set
up an effective polarity for ritual work. Surrendering control is difficult,
risky business as it exposes our vulnerability. Our vulnerable, open self
knows how to be touched, moved and even broken. Without it, however,
we are as good as dead and our rituals ... mechanistic parodies of what
could've been.
One way of giving up control is in realizing the futility of our personal
efforts. When confronted with severe limitations and the growing
awareness of our immobilization, our despair and helplessness sometimes
telegraphs our need to surrender. Hitting Bottom initiates a conversion if
we don't fight being down when we're already there. Hitting Bottom
expresses an "ego-death" .. . the collapse of a self-image that is and/or was
sacred to oneself. It was sacred because of our identification with this
image. We were too busy being it to recognize its illusory status as just
another image, or creation of thought. The conversion from
ego-identification to Self-embodiment occcurs through disillusionment,
which is often the price paid for illumination, until we become responsible
for adjusting our thoughts to coincide more with the innate. Occasionally,
we dawn upon the possibility that we don't have to be anything at
alL.nobody special, in other words.
One way of telling the difference between Ego-Personality and
Essence-Self, is that the former is image-defined and the latter,
quality-expressive. When an image of a quality is in direct conflict with the
living expression of that quality, an essential friction is revealed whereby
we are living a lie. For example: The socially-accepted ideation for Positive
Energy is that it's "good" and that Negative Energy is "bad". If weare
willing to sacrifice these conditioned preconceptions, we might descend
into the nucleus of Positive Energy only to find it being a threat in doses
larger than we're used to (as with people loving us more than we're
willing to love ourselves). Negative Energy might reveal itself instructive
and stabilizing in its capacity to refer us back to ourselves. If, in the light of
new revelations, we fail to align new ideas with our fresh experience,
internal conflict is generated and, unless we put it to work, it drains our
power. To confess where we are living a lie is effective and brings results.
Self-exposure and continual updating of definitions are two prerequisites
for conscious human evolution ... a primary ritual concern.
Conversion also occurs wherever we relax the desire to create a certain,
predetermined effect and instead, open ourselves up to being affected.
Ritual is preparation for grace or, turning vulnerable to the influence of
The Self: its qualities, attributes and aspects. Without any guarantees
whatsoever, we are asked to render ourselves receptive to be shaped like
clay in the hands of Self ... to be created and directed in the outcome of Its
preference. The Self is the artist/sculptor and the ego/vehicle, its medium
of expression. This is why it's necessary for us to know why we wish to
practice ritual of this kind. The surrender required must be completely ones
own conscious choice to do so. All effective ritual prepares for this type of
coriversion ... otherwise, they become products of ego itself. Advanced
ritual practice involves a deepening service to the Self. With the help of
therefining process engaging the ego-personality, it becomes an
instrument for Self-expression. The Self, however, depends upon High
Ego Integrity for conveying Its intent. It is through the various prep phases
of Sanctification, Warming Up and Polarizations that we become
malleable enough to absorb the shock of Self-penetration without being
violated in the interim. -
The discipline of introducing ego to Self necessitates a certain
tempering of the will, so as to minimize the shock of defeat as the
experience of Self is always a defeat for the ego. Temperance can be
practiced through those activities which polarize the will. (See Directional
and Nondirectional movement in the Transitory Run of Ritual
Preparation.) A polarized will is capable of shaping reality and being
shaped by it. It is strong and flexible enough to adjust to both orientations
at will as it has defined strength as balance.. This type of will bends to
that direction serving the Greatest Good ... or the process of Waking Up to
the Self. One side-effect of a polarized will is personal transparency. Are
you willing to see through yourself?
16
All Rites Reversed
SETTING UP POLARIZATIONS
Polarization makes it possible to accumulate the type of presence
indigenous to Wholeness with the birth of a"third point" of reference. This
"third point" is demonstrated by how polarizations are set up in ritual
work. The setting is divided in half, with one side of a polarity projected
into each half, i.e., GOOD on the right and EVIL on the left. The center,
dividing line is dedicated to NO-FORM. From NO-FORM, one enters
one side and explores the consequences of being shaped and influenced by
the living forces of GOOD (whatever they may be). After !?ufficient
development, one moves to the other side and surrrenders to the living
forces of EVIL ( As stated earlier, these forces refer to those within each of
us as living realities, ie., where we're at with Good & Evil.) After EVIL,
one returns to GOOD. One alternates between GOOD and EVIL until an
awareness develops independent of them both. This "third point" is beyond
GOOD and EVIL... it is beyond polarity. It is Consciousness Itself ... a
signal from our ever-present but hardly realized constancy ... what the
enigmatic Dance Master & Philosopher G. I. Gurdjieff called the "I".
The transcendent function of ritual avails itself whenever we are given
glimpses of seeing beyond ourselves. Miracles like this can only occur when
our self-knowledge is sufficient enough to afford the total giving, or
surrender, of self. First, however, we must have a "self' before we can give
of it. The generation of this kind of self-consciousness awakens as we
become more acquainted with the multi-dimensional beings that we are.
Drawing from a multitude of polarities, trinities and other aspects of Self,
we may ceremoniously approach self-consciousness through ritual
practice. By working intentionally with these aspects, we gradually start
the arduous task of personal integration ... the tife Work weaving together
fragmented strands of ourselves towards a patchwork wholeness. The
more pieces of our puzzle we gather, the more we begin to realize what a
puzzle we really are. Even when all the pieces are placed, it's still a
puzzle ... a mystery to be lived and not a problem to be figured out.
18
All Rites Reversed
RITUAL PREPARATION
Guidelines For Entering Work
. The following guidelines form the backbone to the dancing skeleton of
rItual theatre. Its structure remains consistent for each ritual .
is found within its form by meeting the
In on.es own The overall purpose of ritual preparation is iJ
up soltd fou,nda.tlOn for the evocation of spontaneous rituals. The
of thIS foundation the accumulation of presence through: 1) Feeling
t e ody deeply 2? flexibility and 3) Awareness. Ritual arb is
to be mInImal and neutral, i.e., sweat pants, tights and
pants, t-shirts, and whenever possible ... bare feet.
Jewelry ?ets In the way as does long hair that hasn't been tied or kept back
For reasons,. not eat a large meal within two hours of
physIcal warm-up. VISIt restroom before setting up the RARE AREA
you are faIrly certaIn of maintaining sacred space while Sitting on
t e tOIlet. Here n?w. are listed the warm-up objectives to be met on our
own towards desIgmng a comprehensive ritual preparation: y
I. THE RARE AREA -- an asocial orientation for entering ritual activities
II. THE SETTING -- physical location where ritual work takes place
III. PRAYER CIRCLE -- focal point for initiating group unity and devotion
N. SANCTIFICATION -- collective service to the space of the setting
V. THE POWER SPOT -- process of finding your own space in the setting
VI. THE LITTLE CIRCLE -- cultivating self-domini .
on In your power spot
VII. THE .WARM-UP a 40-60 minute period dedicated to designin ones
warm-up by the objectives of meditation, SPin!. flex
s re c , an sweat .. . accordmg to personal style and freedom. '
VIII. TRANSITORY RUN -- jogging forms for marking transitions
IX. POLARIZATIONS -- ritual device for eXciting emotional flexibility
X. GROUP CIRCLE -- convergence of participants for reflection
THE RARE AREA
A creative state initiates itself with SOLITUDE, the gratifying element
of being alone ... without which, true development is impossible. The ritual
location is sanctioned as an Asocial Laboratory for testing our individual
integrity or, Self-Commitment. In this spirit of experimentation, a RARE
AREA functions to help us: 1) Leave the Social behind; 2) Permit internal
dependence; and 3) Challenge the core of our being. A RARE AREA is not a
place to party or come fogether for encounter or discourse about life. It is a
time and space set aside for exploring the current shape and dynamic of
our personality towards the eventual task of accessing its Source. Before
Source Relations can unfold, it is crucial to be alone with oneself. Level
One of ritual work is with establishing enough solitude to permit
self-discovery. The acceptance of our fundamental aloneness and the
realization we are working for ourselves, helps stabilize the RARE AREA.
THE SETTING
There are two potential settings, or ritual locations: INDOORS and
OUTDOORS. To initiate this training process, INDOOR settings will be
emphasized. (See GEOMANCY for Outdoor Ritual) Any indoor space will
do so long as two major distractions are eliminated: 1) Things (furniture,
mirrors, wall hengings, etc.) and 2) Interruptions (phones, visitors, etc.). A
RARE AREA can be set up from anything as localized as your living room
to a high school auditorium, just so you are in charge of controlling the
setting. The setting requires enough SAFETY for participants to take the
risks of becoming emotionally and psychically vulnerable. Room
temperature should be unnoticable, so survival signals are not excited, i.e.,
too hot or too cold. The more neutral a space is, the easier it will be to
own, sanctify and work in. The suggested lighting is on the dim side to
minimize external stimulus (warm-up cycles have done very well in total
Incense may be lit to facilitate sanctification and to make the
space yours. (Frankincense, sage, cedar and copal are effective ... see
suggested reading under Temple Construction.)
20
All Rites Reversed
THE PRAYER CIRCLE
After selecting the ritual setting, it is possible to initiate a prayer circle as
a point of focus for Source Relations and Group Unity. Everyone should
be in complete agreement to the prayer circle and if they are not, it should
be bypassed until unanimous affinity is established. If the group is ready
for a prayer circle, there are certain basic procedures to follow. A group
circle is gathered in the center of the setting. Members prostrate
themselves towards the circle's center. Since prayer is a highly personal,
internal condition ... instructions are received by simply getting down on
your knees and praying. The physical posture alone magnetizes the kind of
receptivity conducive to initiating Source Relations and/or finding out
where you're at with God. Prayer circles are used to generate power for
group sanctification of the ritual setting. The effectivenessof prayer
depends entirely on the quality and intensity of devotion felt by each
member for his/her source/god/diety within. The Heart Center (in the
uppe.r chest) and. the Source Center (located above the head in space) can
prOVIde focal pomts between which devotional intensities may oscillate.
Once devotion becomes almost "unbearable", one is ready to rise from the
prayer circle and sanctify the space with the power penetrating oneself.
The prayer circle tends to work by itself and does not need external
programs, affirmations, and/or goals beyond ones internal spiritual
resonance. (The physical gesture of prostration is powerful enough on its
own to evoke Source relations and/or resistance to same.) A group unity
develops from everybody's silent emotional commitment to God. This is
how we find our own way to the Source without having to convert others
in the interim to ones private religious procedures. Thus, a spirit of
"mutual autonomy" is encouraged and group members accepted more for
who they are than for what they believe in or worship.
GROUP SANCTIFICATION
Group sanctification means collective service to the space of the ritual
setting. After leaving the prayer circle, participants enter the surrounding
spa with the intent of instilling safety throughout. . One way this occurs
is by relating to the space itself as an entity, thus charging it with value.
Sounds, g stures, movements honoring the element of space itself initiates
the proc of sanctification. This tends to instigate a sacred rapport due
the notion that the space was there before anything else and by honOring
It, you place value on the source and origin of all things. The overall intent
is in making this space safe enough for everybody to be there: second
phase of group sanctification is owning it you are makmg It safe to
be there. In this phase, individuals are ownmg the space for the group
ollective rituals may occur there. There are a number of to do thIS
nd trial-and-error is the best. Guidelines include: 1) Makmg space holy
nough to invite spiritual presence, the space more 2)
Including the presences and energetIc dIrectIons others durmg y?ur
individual activity of sanctification, i.e., accomodatmg them by creatmg
more space for their being as you are physically approached them; 3)
Resonating sounds / melodies expressing prayer and extendmg
utward. Another useful device is designating the center of the ntual
etting as an optional Prayer Circle, so that may this
area throughout the initial process of Group SanctIfIcatIOn ... commg and
going as they wish.
THE POWER SPOT
After collective sanctification, individual members begin their process of
finding POWER SPOTS, that area in the setting where (for reasons
unknown) one feels good. There's an art to locating your Power Spot. It
has to do with not looking for it but letting it discover you and pull you to
itself. There are many ways to becoming receptive to its pull. One is
shutting your eyes to slits so you begin moving through space SEN?ING
for the area which FEELS BEST. Another is with shifting your pomt of
attention down to your umbilical and/or solar then,
moving through the space while feeling for any tmghng sensatIons m that
zone. Still another method is letting your hands act as natural "radar
canners." Move through the space letting your hands do the sensing. If
you look for Power Spots too directly, you might the task. By
glancing askance, your eyes find another of seemg: Whatever you. do
here, minimize rationalization and the analytIcal selectIon of the spot, I.e.,
by a window or next to you like. cal!ed a Power Spot for a
reason and it starts the preparatIon for The LIttle CIrcle.
/
THE LITTLE CIRCLE
After individuals locate their Power Spots, the next ritual task is with the
internal construction of The Little Circle. The intent is in generating the
ideal psychic atmosphere for ritual preparation while remaining in the
confines of ones Power Spot. This will help contain the process of
gathering our forces. The Little Circle is articulated by delineating the
boundaries of the Power spot: Physically, Emotionally and Psychically.
After the boundaries are marked, the second task is with: 1) Sanctifying its
space; and 2) Owning it completely. Like animals claim their territory, take
total dominion over your spot. Explore those ways in which you naturally
control space and take charge over it with movements, sounds and
gestures expressing this process. The "energetic intent" here is
self-condensation. The more of your presence you draw down into your
Little Circle, the more tangible the ritual material. The overall objective of
the Little Circle is in proferring the experience of being SAFE AND
ALONE. This way, everybody is responsible for generating their own
safety, energy, and concentration.
Two devices for stabilizing The Little Circle are: 1) Idiosyncratic Motion
(1M); and 2) The Four Comers (TFC). 1M is any movement and/or gesture
indigenous to our unique, singular self. These motions are idiosyncratic
because only we would move in these ways. When they carry truth, no one
will be able to duplicate them. They render us incomparable. 1M conveys
our "kinetic signature" and instills the Little Circle with the distinct energy
of our personal freedom. If it isn't fun,it's probably not working. Device
#2, TFC is more subtle and involves owning our space from a psychic level.
It starts by standing in the center of the Circle and with eyes closed,
visualizing/sensing the 360 degree peripherial boundary. Focus on a point
directly in front . of you at the periphery, then shift this point to the left
side's periphery. Now, shift this point behind you to your "dorsal"
boundary ... then, shift it to your right boundary. Evaluate which point felt
the faintest and physically go there to vivify its existence somehow. Go to
the other points and physically establish each one. As you do this, be
sensitive to potential energetic functions of these four corners. Each may
have a specific quality or inherent energy unto itself. Does it elicit a certain
response from yourself while you're there? (See WILDERNESS by Julian
Simeon in this book)
For example, one comer may evoke a defensive posture
whileanother corner excites an open gesture and still another, a form of
worship. Best not to have preconceptions save for the possibility of TFC
possessing innate energetic functions serving to bond the Little Circle. (The
All Rites Reversed
23
technique of TFC has been used traditionally for aeons to create
via The Four Directions of East, West, North and South ... each WIth theIr
various totems, allies and guiding spirits. For those wishing to evoke their
own tradition, it is suggested practice to bypass preconceptions in general
and instead, create a space to receive new information about the intrinsic
meanings of The Four Directions.)
When our individual placement and presence is stabilized in the Little
Circle, it's time to enter the PHYSICAL WARM-UP. There are four phases
to the WARM-UP, each lasting between 10-15 minutes depending on
personal and group decision meeting. (A should be within
eyes' distance or somebody appomted to mark hme mtervals WIth a sound
or word.) The four phases are called: MEDITATION, SPINAL FLEX,
STRETCH and SWEAT. Ideally, they unfold from one to the next as one
continual motion towards feeling the body deeply ... the overall objective of
the Physical Warm-Up.
MEDITATION
The intent here is maintaining any posture affording utter physical
stillness for 10-15 minutes. The quality of stillness determines the quality
of activity thereafter. Within the stillness, it is possible to .sanctify the
meditation either by entering NO-FORM and/or through SIlent prayer.
Other keys include asking oneself, "Why I here?" .an? am I
warming up and preparing for?" Another mternal task IS m
desire to control and/or determine an outcome. The purpose of medItation
is accumulating presence. In meditation, we may integrate conceptual
intelligence by simply asking ourselves to PAY ATTENTION TO ONLY
THAT WHICH IS HAPPENING AND TO WHAT WE ARE DOING.
SPINAL FLEX
From Meditation, move into a position to start start the gradual
awakening of the Central Nervous System through the gentle flexing of
the spinal cord. Don't neglect the areas located in the small of back
where vertebrae tighten together and the base of the skull. BaSIC Foot
Reflexology demonstrates how the arches in each foot are connected to the
pinal cord, whereby the area closer to the heel relates to the base. of the
pine and the area closer to the ball ?f the foot, the neck. Directly
massaging these areas helps loosen the spme.
24
All Rites Reversed
Another method of SPINAL FLEX is laying on your back with knees bent
and arms out perpendicular to the torso. By resting against the floor, lift
the bottom vertebrae up and keep lifting the spine ever so gradually ...
vertebrae by vertebrae ... all the way to your neck. Then, just as gradually,
each (one-by-one) back to the floor. Repetition of this
spmal a gentle way to loosen the spine. Breathe continuously.
The breath vItalIzes the bQdy as it circulates its energy from within.
Explore your own methods of SPINAL FLEX.
STRETCH
The intent with stretching is waking the body up. Scan the body for
wherein you either feel nothing or feel numb. Breathe and stretch
mto these dead zones. We are stretching to reclaim our bodies and
them wi.th our intent through breathing and feeling. After
ImtIatmg ,several of stretching, begin your space with the
way you re stretchmg, Recreate your boundaries if you've lost them.
Connect stretching wi.th breathing and take more dominion over the space.
the unfelt reglOns of yourself. P",y attention only to what you are
do mg. If you start "spacing out", do something immediately
to feel your b.ody .. .llke, become aware of the sensation in your right hand.
We are wo.rkmg our to being here and the degree of
self-commItment reqUIred for thIS monumental task is just short of
miraculous at times. .
SWEAT
From Stretching, into those activities generating heat
to break a sweat. ThIS IS best paced to minimize premature exhaustion.
Movements producing heat are executed within the confines of the Little
Circle while making efforts to contain ones heat rather than disperse it
when matter turns into spirit and spirit
matenalIzes. ThIS phase IS most essential as it re-awakens the intersection
between spirit and body with the Holy Water of Sweat itself. This is a time
to accelerate our physical energy.)
. RHYTHM is a ritual function for stabilizing a continuity and presence
mto our movement. Through rhythm, it becomes easier to build a sweat
and g nerate heat without premature exhaustion.
All Rites Reversed
25
ALTERING THE EXPECTED is another ritual function, or to help
Ih process of waking up the body. It starts with establishing a specific level
of energy, movement, rhythm and sound ... then, blending it or tossing
oneself into an opposite level of energy, movement, rhythm and sound.
'l'bis is a good way to start introducing polarizations ... moving between
opposites for the purpose of greater flexibility
OWN THE SPACE by the way you're generating heat. During the
WARM-UP, ones boundaries tend to shift, expand and/or contract due to
v rious energetic adjustments. SWEAT starts the end of the first major
W rm-up Cycle and it is suggested to re-check your boundaries during this
I me. (If you need to adjust your boundaries to accomodate your
( panding/ contracting presence, this is an appropriate time.)
After SWEAT, return to the center of the Little Circle and gather your
lITCes. Shrink/condense the boundaries of the Little Circle to your skin, so
11\ t your body alone becomes the Little Circle, Y01!r sacred space. You are
I\l)W prepared for the TRANSITORY RUN. The following section presents
II Umerous jogging forms. Select one or two to practice after the
WARM-UP period of each ritual session. TRANSITORY RUNS are '
" 't-ups" for POLARIZA nONS.
THE TRANSITORY RUN
THE TRANSITORY RUN is a vehicle for marking change and checking
lluillibrium. After the 4-phase warm-up, participants jog around the
p ,tiphery of the ritual setting ... sustaining everthing generated while
w rrning up. The primary intent of THE TRANSITORY RUN is furthering
IIUl' fl exibility, concentration and skill through jogging forms. There are
lIumerous shapes THE TRANSITORY RUN takes, some of which are
PI' sented hereafter. New shapes will invariably emerge once the overall
objective is understood through actual practice. Here are a series of
' I'RANSITORY RUNS:
I) hift awareness to left hand. Right foot. Left elbow. Right knee. Entire
Ill ft side of body. Right side. Let the jog be influenced by points of focus.
'I'his challenges one-pointedness of attention and the ability to shift or
III >bilize ones to different areas.
2) Gather attention to a point at the energy center, or chakra, dominating
your state of bemg. Let the jog be affected by this center, so its
energetIc influence permeat>es your whole body. Shift to other centers and
repeat procedures. Energy evaluation task.
3) Project. attention point above head; let it influence jog. Shift point
3 feet m front of you; Jog mfluenced. Shift point 3 feet below you; jog
Shi!t point 3 feet behind you; jog influenced. Shift to left, then
shift It to the nght. Now, project SIX CARDINAL POINTS: above, below,
front, back, left and right. Let them simultaneously effect the jog. Draw a
line from each'p0int converging them all into a central body location that is
not predetermmed. Jog from this central point. Let point expand, filling the
body, so eventually the whole body BECOMES THE POINT. Move
through space as the point. Align with Body Consciousness and move as a
unit.
4) Project sphere of SOURCE ENERGY above head. Draw down a column
of this energy into your crown and down through your spine and into the
earth. Jog in the center of this column. Source Relations device.
5) Visualize a horizontal plane 5 feet above head that stretches out to
infinity in all directions. Gradually, command the plane to descend to the
level of the top of your head, so this body area is awakened. Then,
gradually, let it descend down to the levels of your BROW, THROAT,
STERNUM, SOLAR PLEXUS, NAVEL, PELVIS, THIGHS, KNEES,
ANKLES, FEET, and finally coincide the plane to THE FLOOR ITSELF.
6) Project a sphere of SOURCE ENERGY above you head, as iri #4. Let the
energy therein be VIOLET before drawing it down into the column
run-down through you body and into the earth. From VIOLET, let it turn
BLUE ... then GREEN .. . then YELLOW ... then ORANGE ... then RED .. .let the
darken tp crimson, burgundy, indigo and on into BLACK. Let each color
mfluence the jog even if it immobilizes the jogging itself into the BLACK.
7) Locate area of body that feels vague or numb. Let this area become
h avy by shifting your center of gravity there. When this area is
di tin ui.shed, shift the gravity to another vague area. Repeat.
8) J i ov r your relationship with The Earth and express
Ih v 1 joggln . Determme how much you wish to participate and commit
10 III r 1\ 11 'Ion hip and let your commitment determine the direction and
tIll 11 I of Ilw J )Agln . Feel free to resonate sounds.
AU Rites Reversed
27
) Express present-time RESISTANCE via jogging, sounds, etc. until you
get it out of your system enough to move on to more commitment. .
'1 0) Expand your aura to fill the room; jog from its center. your
aura to a few inches outside of your skin. Oscillate between auric
xpansion and s::ontraction until you discover your point of balance.
'[ 1) Visualize being inside a hollow chamber with no bottom or top. Let it
amplify and contain your solitude.
12) Without changing anything, let any IMBALANCE come forth to shape
the jog and dominate it to the point of rendering you immobilized. Let the
immobilization become a "statue" expressing the outcome of that
particular imbalance. After extracting the "message" of this frozen form,
hake it loose and continue jogging to repeat this process three times ... each
time redefining your POINT OF BALANCE in light of previous imbalances.
'Discover strength as balance.
13) Jog in a semi-NO-FORM state, eyes open a slit. Project your own
onsciousness out of your body above your head, creating the effect of an
mpty Shell of a Body jogging below you. Watch youself jog from above
your body. Then, enter your croWn, owning it. Descend into each chakra,
owning each as you go. Recall those chakras you were unable to claim as
yours. Consider this information as a basis for future ritual material.
14) Pay attention to any energetic and/or social contracts impeding the
apacity to be in present time. Jog in a way to release these obligations,
nergies and agreements so you can deal with them later. Radiate any
nergy not innate to yourself .. . radiate it out and away.
15) Don't pay attention to anything in particular. Just run for the hell of it.
16) Designate each side, or wall, of the workspace as charged with the
pirit of one of THE FOUR ELEMENTS, so that each time you run along
side you are influenced by that spirit. Pay attention to the transitions
between each element and the conversion points therein.
17) Feel the bottoms of your feet from the inside, so your attention shifts
from FOOT to FLOOR contact and into "internal foot" to sale contact.
Practice GRIPPING and LETTING GO. (This connects soul-consciousness
to sole reality.)
28
All Rites
The last and perhaps most effective form of TRANSITORY RUN is the
practice of DIRECTIONAL and NON-DIRECTIONAL MOVEMENT
They are defined as such: .
DIRECTI<?NAL -- moveme.nt that is completely determined by the
personal wIll of the one movmg; elements of the jog under the movers
control are coordinates of TENSION, STYLE SPEED and
self-determined motion in its absolute sense. '
-- movement initiated by the impulses of the
mto motion by releasing the grip on ones body to "let the
ammal run ; the degree of abandonment possible without harming onesel1
and/ or others.
Both forms of movement can be reinforced throp gh sonic
resonance ... those sounds expressing the internal state of the orientation in
command. To test your capacity for both, start out in DIRECTIONAL
movement and see how much control you have over your body by
de!ermining its TENSION, STYLE, SPEED AND RHYTHM. Then, at your
pomt of peak control, let go of the grip you have on your body. Abandon
control and let body run. (This is a subtle process as there is no way of
really controllmg abandonment at this early phase ... only genuine
surrender works.) At your point of peak abandonment, follow a
random .mohon mto D.IRECTIONAL movement and design a new jogging
form wIth a totally dlffereI).t set of coordinates (new TENSION, STYLE,
SPEED and. Take more control than before. Let this new
form crystalhze. until It Just about immobilizes you, then release your grip
and fall deeper mto than before. At your peak abandonment,
a randoz:t mohon mto DIRECTIONAL again with a new set of
c.oordmates takmg even MORE CONTROL. Repeat this oscillation 3-5
when you've had enough, and then initiate a jog combining both
towards a kind of CONTROLLED ABANDONMENT. Then,
slo:w thIS down to a Pare away any excess gesturing/posturing to
a Normal Pedestnan Walk (dIscreet) yet, still expressive of your
pomt of balance.
The Transitory Run functions to mark transitions. It can be applied
betwee.n actual. rituals themselves for the purpose of restoring balance
and/or rust puttIng throu?h changes. Overall, the Transitory Run is
a device for recogmztngltntegrattng change.
All Rites Reversed
29
POLARIZATIONS
Up to this point in the ritual prep, internal emphasis has been somewhat
minimal, with the exceptions of Sanctification and owning the Little Circle.
1'1'( dominately, it has been a physical warm-up to feel the body deeply. In
I II I next phase, the intent is with emotional flexibility. The primary focus
t total reliance on an inner source of stimulus and information. There is a
I\condary emphasis on outward expression of what one is impressed by
lit 'mally. Before proceeding to POLARIZATIONS, three additional ritual
Illn tions need introducing. They are: 1) NO-FORM; 2) PROJECTION;
111\ 13) CONTACT POINT.
Without the integration of these crucial functions, the following ritual
It signs, floor plans and reference points become ludicrous and the rituals,
I fcl ess. In POLARIZATIONS, they are activated and "primed" so we may
I nter ritual work already catalyzed.
The mechanics involved in setting up POLARIZATIONS are as such:
After returning from the Transitory Run, relocate in the Little Circle to
I' ' claim and sanctify its space. Once done, step outside its boundaries
while facing the circle. Here, enter NO-FORM. From NO-FORM, we
PROJECT a charged polarity into the circle and then enter that circle to
urrender to its influence. The CONTACT POINT is that area in your body
nd/or your aura where you feel the most direct, open-ended influx of the
force previously PROJECTED into the Little Circle. The intent is locating
this CONTACT POINT and dedicating your whole self to absorbing the
force through it. This is the Self-commitment refered to earlier and it
determines the quality and depth of your work.
DRAWING DOWN POLARITY
From NO-FORM, project one side of the polarity you wish to work with
into the Little Circle. Enter the circle and give yourself totally to its
influence. Remain until it becomes an encompassing sensation wherein
that quality permeates every part of you. Upon immersion, serve the
direction of the quality by its expression through you as Sound, Gesture,
Motion, Etc. When you feel complete with it, step back outside the Little
Circle and return to the NO-FORM stance. When you have neutralized the
quality through immersion in No-Form, project its opposite into the circle
(some of the more charged qualities may be difficult to release ... breathe
and let the Earth absorb and process it for you. (see Dangers of Ritual)
After projecting the opposite quality into the circle, enter in and
surrender to its influence until it becomes an encompassing feeling. When
complete, step .outside the circle and return to NO-FORM. From
NO-FORM, see the circle before you. Visualize or sense a line down the
middle of it, creating two halves in your whole circle. Project your whole
polarity into the circle, one side to each half. Do not decide which half to
enter first. Instead, stand between both halves and let the side exerting the
strongest "pull" invite you in. (If your No-Form is true enough, you will be
receptive to the pull.) Once in, explore each side thoroughly until the
NEED for the other compels your entry into that side. Let your NEED FOR
THE OTHER determine the timing of your entries into each half. Move
between sides, alternating your "current" and raising your awareness to
new levels of each side of ' the whole. When complete, return to
(After some practice, it is possible to forgo the first part and
sImply project both sides of the polarity into the Little Circle at once).
GROUP POLARIZATIONS
The entire ritual setting is divided in half with the mid-section
THE .OF NO-FORM. Here participants line up
single file With the polanty proJected to their left and right sides. They
enter the side exerting the pull. Feel free to relate to others as a way of
enforcing the side you're in. Experiment with alternating your current and
passing through the CORRIDOR OF NO-FORM. Oscillate, as a group,
between both sides of the setting. Return to NO-FORM when you feel
complete. )
NO-FORM
The NO-FORM stance starts with any standing position supporting
yourself and affording balance. Knees are unlocked. The head rests on the
neck, which rests on shoulders resting on torso ... and so forth, all the way
down to your feet resting on the floor. This is a stance supporting total
rest. Internally, two things are happening: 1) You withdraw your attention,
n rgy and identification from the environment and connect these within
y ur elf; and ... 2) Emphasize the so the inhale occurs on its own
without your help or awareness. Close the eyes half way or to slits to
luh\hnizc external stimulus. Your body may need to go through various
til . n<1. j l'k " as its way of adjusting. You may want to shake yourself,
l de l 'I b'l' th nd do anything internally to permit nothingness. There
l 'l'{' ng. I II i I, ' on itloned resistances to NO-FORM that may emerge for
All Rites Reversed
31
your scrutiny. If you are able and willing, look at them and then, let them
go. With each breathe deep and exhale. This is the time to Drop
Your Act and fall Into the depths of your groundless being.
THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING
The OF UNKNOWING meditation serves as a bridge to
NO-FORM If you are unable and/or unwilling to be nothing. Enter the
No-Form stance as described previously and initiate your own process of
"hollowing out" or becoming nothing. Then, visualize/sense/project a
of "pure NO-FORM energy" 3-5 feet above your head. Let this cloud
be slIghtly larger than your body. Permit this CLOUD OF UNKNOWING
to hover suspended above your head, while you maintain your hollow
tate ?el?w. When you feel you've exhausted your resources for hollowing
ut, inVIte the CLOUD OF UNKNOWING down and let it enter your
rown, so just your head is inside the cloud. After a few moments,
gradually draw the cloud down to encompass your entire body ... all the
to the floor. Feel the cloud totally encompassing your body so, you are
In .a cloud of pure NO-FORM energy. Now, let this cloud penetrate your
skin everywhere and begin permeating your entire body. Feel the
NO-FORM everywhere. Become the void. Discover how comfortable you
an be by :esting in the vOid ... resting in your true nature. The moment your
IS ,!,os.t true, you are ready for charging the ritual through
conSCIOUS proJection.
CONSCIOUS PROJECTION
Two common impediments to intentional Projection are:
1) Preconceptions/premeditations; and 2) Judgment. Weare looking to
Project the pure signal of, let's say, the color "RED". If we insist on a
certain shade of red or judge the color as not our "favorite" this static will
be with the Then, you will explore your preconceptions
along the pure signal of RED. There's nothing wrong
WIth thIS per se. ThIS IS a demonstration of how we determine our
projections. We will tend to experience whatever we send in. Without
element of surprise is activated. Even with judgmental
proJectIons, the Unexpected will emerge .. .it's just that you may have to
work through your stuff first.
J
Whatever is projected refers to its current reality within ourselves. For
example,if you project LOVE/FEAR into the circle ... you will experience
how your body registers its current contact with these forces ... or, where
you're now at with love and fear. If you have a lot of ideations about
these, they will also tend to surface. If your concepts do not coincide with
your body's living relationship with these forces, you manifest conflict and
the drama of your "ritual material". Ritual work involves moving through
our ideas and into their underlying governing forces, so that we might
realign our images to synchronize with the the innate. This is what has
been refered to as the complete transformation of the mind. The process is
not easy and requires total self-commitment...dedication to finding out for
oneself the nature of the forces governing our existence, so we might live a
deeper, higher life. It is the conflict between Ego and Self, Personality and
Essence, Idea and Quality ... which provides the "food" for the formation of
a New Self and the awareness of our needs to transform.
CONTACT POINT
The Contact Point can be used with or without projecting a quality into a
circle, as previously presented. One locates the contact point with, let's say,
"that which is most true" while you are standing in NO-FORM. The
Contact Point is that area in your body and/or aura prOviding direct,
intuitive absorbtion with "that which is most true" to yourself. One internal
adjustment for amplifying the Contact Point comes with creating space
within you for the expression of the quality evoked. Upon its expression
within this space, find the most effective way to follow and/or serve its
direction. The intent of the Contact Point is with sensitizing us to the innate
energetic direction of a given quality. We are asked to permit the
autonomy of the quality evoked so it can have a life of its own.
(In context with Projection, the Contact Point is the area you feel the
quality entering you as you enter the area where your projection was
directed. Through total commitment to the Contact Point, we are growing
"true to our source" and start to recognize the feeling of this kind of
internal loyalty. With practice, this feeling grows and Source becomes
more accessible. Source Relations begin by with our steady commitment to
the Contact Point.)
POLARITIES
The following sets of polarities can be used for polarizations and/or
the basis of complete rituals unto themselves .. Underline the polarities
which excite a big resistance and circle thi:! ones creating definite
excitement. These are your charged polarities and will do much to
introduce you to your internal material, from which actual rituals can be
constructed. If you haven't already done so, you might want to list
additional polarities more personal to yourself. The more personal they
are, the closer you get to initiation.
POSITIVE - NEGATIVE GOOD-EVIL
MASCULINE -- FEMININE
CONTRACTION -- EXPANSION
INNOCENCE -- EXPERIENCE
SOCIAL -- THEATRICAL
PLEASURE -- PAIN
YOUNG--OLD
RESISTANT -- YIELDING
RADIANT - MAGNETIC
DRY--MOIST
STRONG -- WEAK
ORDER -- CHAOS
HOT--COLD
ANGULAR -- CURVACIOUS
FIXED - MUTABLE
BOTTOM-TOP
RED--GREEN
ORANGE - BLUE
YELLOW - VIOLET
GOLD - SILVER
TIME -- SPACE
HEAVEN -- HELL
COMMITMENT -- INDIFFERENCE
REWARD - PUNISHMENT
SAFETY -- DANGEROUS
HUMOR -- DEFENSIVENESS
IGNORANCE -- WISDOM
VICTORY -- DEFEAT
SULPHER -- PHOSPHOROUS
LACK - ABUNDANCE
BEAUTY -- UGLINESS
MERCY - SEVERITY
IMPORTANT -- INSIGNIFICANT
NOURISHMENT -- POISON
STABLE - VOLATILE
DOMINANT -- SUBMISSIVE
MARS-VENUS
REASON - INTUITION
HEAD--GUT
RIGHT -- WRONG
PRECISE - SLOPPY
CONCENTRATED -- DISPERSED
INTOXICATED - SOBER
SUN--MOON
CENTER -- PERIPHERY
VIRTUE-SIN
GRAVITY -- ELECTRICITY
SATIATED - HUNGRY
HEART - HEARTLESS
HEALTH -- ILLNESS
LOVE-FEAR
ISOLATION -- COMMUNION
GUILT-PRIDE
PARENT -- CHILD KNOWN - UNKNOWN
MECHANICAL -- SPONTANEOUS
GRACE -- INTENTION
DEEP -- SHALLOW
HARD--SOFT
MUNDANE -- COSMIC PETTY - SIGNIFICANT
34
All Rites Reversed
EFFECTIVE -- INEFFECTIVE
CREATURE - SPIRIT
JOY-SORROW
AGONY - ECSTACY
SACRED -- PROFANE
PERSONAL - IMPERSONAL
ROOTED -- GROUNDLESS
FREEDOM - SLAVERY
FOOL -- MAGUS CREATIVE -- DESTRUCTIVE
EMBODIED -- DISINCARNATE
ATTACHMENT - DETACHMENT
DENSITY -- CLARITY
RISING - FALLING
EXTERNAL - INTERNAL
EXCITEMENT -- RESISTANCE
OBLIVIOUS - OBSERVANT
DIFFICULT -- EASY
ILLUSION - REALITY
DIRECT -- INDIRECT
SEEING -- FEELING
VALUE - WORTHLESS
SURPRISE -- PLANNED
FAILURE -- SUCCESS
PERFECTION - FLAW
STUPID - CLEVER
DESIRE - APATHY
ENCHANTMENT -- DISILLUSIONMENT
ACCEPTANCE - DENIAL
DEAD-ALIVE
PRIMITIVE -- SOPHISTICATED
SILENCE - NOISE
SERVICE - IDENTITY
SENSITIVITY -- NUMBNESS
SANITY -- INSANITY
RELATIVE - ABSOLUTE
DEFENSIVE -- VULNERABLE
OPEN -- CLOSED
PRESSURE - SPACIOUSNESS
PRESENCE - ABSENCE
DECEPTION -- HONESTY
CRUELTY - SYMPATHY
CONTROL-ABANDONMENT
SIMPLE -- COMPLEX
CHANCE - PURPOSE
UNCERTAINTY - CERTAINTY
CALM-UPSET
REPULSION - ATTRACTION
ARRIVAL- DEPARTURE
DOING - BEING
All Rites Reversed
35
THE GROUP CIRCLE
The purpose of The Group Circle is in providing a brief period for
assimilating what has transpired so the group may proceed en masse to the
next ritual. After polarizations of the solo and/or group kind, it's often
useful to convene in the center of the setting. This has several functions,
the primary being a focused transition point between rituals. After the
emotional warm-up of polarizations, participants meet in the circle to
voice comments necessary for them to proceed with the work. It has
proven effective to keep these comments brief, direct and to the point.
Another value seems to be encouraging a spirit of non-judgment towards
self and/or o t h e r s ~ It IS simply a time to communicate What Happened for
the purpose of checking in and digesting .. . stomaching the experience.
If there is a Ritual Catalyst, this is a good time to scan the overall
energy levels of the group mind and of each individual for determining the
appropriate ceremony to enter. What we're looking for is whatever.
amplifies present-time dynamics and triggers the next phase of evolution
and development. This is a crucial point to understand. Otherwise, the
catalyst runs the risk of imposing his/her own ideals onto the actual group
gestalt. It takes a perceptive person to distinguish between the present
ongoing reality and our projections and expectations on same. (See Ritual
Catalyst section). It's also a good idea to come together in THE GROUP
CIRCLE after a particularly charged or long set of rituals. Due to the kind
of depth experience ritual often invokes, the element of TALKING is
important to help dissipate the charge often accumulated. Talking can
integrate "right-brain" experience with "left-brain" description for the
purpose of psychological assimilation. Talking and laughing also break up
fixations sometimes occuring after intense ritual. The primary concern of
Group Circles is remembering to stay close to what actually happened,
rather than spin off into philosophical discourse, personal problems or
socializing. This will minimize tendencies for inflaming encounter therapy
sessions (unless that is what you want). There's a fine line between
psychological integration and pissing your power away.
If the group is advanced in ritual work or familiar enough with
themselves, the Group Circle is a good time to determine which rituals to
proceed with based on what has transpired. Rituals can be constructed by
combining issues often emerging throughout the Warm-Up and/or selected
from the following RITUAL DESIGN section.
All Rites Reversed
37
RITUAL FUNCTIONS
An Association of Techniques
The following techniques provide adjustments for enhancing ritual
It is suggested practice to select and experiment with one
every time one enters ritual work in order to understand their combined
value. Like any disciplinary technology, the methods need to be absorbed
before their integration occurs as instinctual response, or "second nature."
ATfENTION
Interruptions tend to undermine concent'r.ation and disperse valuable
accumulated presence. Continuity of consciousness is essential for ritual
integrity. The intensity and duration of your attention determines the
quality of your work. Distractions can be integrated in various ways.
Arbitrary sounds and audio disturbance will enhance your work if you
make the necessary internal adjustments to refer to these as The
Soundtrack ... an -audio backdrop for the material. Dispersions of the
Spacing Out variety can be eliminated by training yourself to: 1) Register
when this is happening; and 2) Focus into the senation of your hand or
foot. From here, any further concentration towards FEELING YOUR
BODY draws the presence back again. Sensation is an entry point to
SPACING IN, when you catch yourself doing the opposite. PAY
ATTENTION TO ONLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Sustaining a
continuity of consciousness will eventually connect The Eternal and initiate
magick.
CONTAINMENT
Containment is a anti-dispersion device. It requires a strong sense of
personal boundaries, i.e., the borders of the Little Circle and/or your Aura
itself. Boundaries do not refer to visualized or imagined walls, defense
mechanisms or arbitrary borders. Boundaries are the outer edge of your
emanation. Discover how much space you fill and where your energy joins
the void at its periphery. Containment implies sustaining your attention
and presence within your own aura or energetic field. A way of testing
containment is through radiating your energy out to its outer limits and
letting it BOUNCE BACK to affect you at the center (of the aura). Being
affected by ones own emanation helps develop familiarity with ones own
energy. Subject yourself to being under the influence of your own
emanations.
RESONANCE
Resonance connects Source with the Personality. It is the capacity for
registering your current frequency, or energy level, and matching a sound
to give vocal expression to that level. It is not creating a sound or
determining its outcome. Instead, resonance commits itself to serving the
expression of the source, or contact point, involved. This activates the
energy center in the base of the throat and sets up communication lines
between Person and Essence. The throat is a "sacred chamber"
interconnecting The Head with The Rest of The Body. Resonating opens
the chamber doors so Spirit may pass down to join Body and that Body
may aspire to meet Spirit. Matching the energy with a sound ... (Also see
VOCAL CREATIONS section)
SANCTIFICATION OF RESISTANCE
Resistance is frozen energy. It's usually found in a specific location in the
body and/or an overall sense of tension. It's frozen energy because some
aspect of Self has been judged as being WRONG and NOT O.K. the way it
is, and so an accumulative inhibition develops around it. Often times,
resistance itself is resisted, thus generating more tension and body/psychic
armor. Sanctifying resistance means not judging it when it comes up, and
instead relating to it as a source of energy: a contact point. Surrender to
this source and let your body/voice serve its expressions, no matter how
twisted, contorted and gnarly they get. Resonating with resistance helps
break it up for accessing as well. Resistance is not different than Life and
awaits inclusion along with the rest of yourself.
DEVELOPMENT
During actual work, DEVELOPMENT is essential for ending and
/'('ginning cycles. The element of follow-through permits us to stay with
what v r is happening for the purpose of development and its articulation
of l'volutionary phases of metamorphosis. Follow-through is especially
1IIIIpfl1 1 lurin those moments where Nothing is Happening, whereby we
I I 1'1 W I II It until something new emerges. Development is a test to
1111 I o Olln 111)( nt ond overall integrity. It encourages us to stay with
lill i' II IJl p lll1 No Matter What ... even if it dies and changes on us,
W " I "I I It " IN Ith It. Ea.ch contact point contains its cycles and these
Air Rites Reversed 39
can be revealed only through our dedication to development. Through
development, we permit expression to extend and unfold to its natural
conclusions and ... potential re-emergence.
GESTURE
Gesture is a ritual function for expressing and containing the power of
peak moments. During ritual development there emerges certain
of truth which we'll call "peaks." In these moments, an ObVIOUS
amplification occurs .. .increasing intensity of energy and clarity of form.
Gesture crystallizes the essence of a quality through the whole body as a
form, posture and/or statue. Gesture frames mOJ?ents as a way' of
synchronizing mind (attention) and body mto a
direction. When the body gives itself totally to gesture, It turns mto a
living symbol encoding the contained essence into its cellular memory for
fut ure recall. A series of such gestures forms the development of
personal! collective mythology as a living code for transmitting in!ensity.
Myth is the language of essences constructed from an evolutIon, or
development, of gestures.
CONVERSION
Conversion is the transformation point wherein one distinct quality or
state turns into another. This often occurs after complete commitment to a
particular condition resulting in the conversion to its opposite. Another
onductor for conversion can be found in those rituals where the outcome
remains completely unpredictable. Our capacity for permitting uncertainty
is preliminary to transformation from one "reality tunnel" into another.
Conversion points can be discovered amidst any ritual where development
a.nd follow-through are established as constant values.
SACRIFICE
The ritual function of sacrifice releases great psychic energy. Sacrifice
means "to make sacred" by an offering. Effective sacrifice releases "what
is most dear to our hearts" and where we are identified. Sacrificial icons
ore often found in those areas where we love something or someone we
have outgrown. Sacrifice implies letting go of attachment. Before sacrifi
Is understood and expressed, the attachment must be located. Initi, lion
40
All Rites Reversed
ones Point of Worship, The Deity Within, Etc., can
thIS awareness of bondage. A key to understanding sacrifice is that
what IS usually held sacred is an image or thought about GOD, SELF
and/or. and not itself. These icons are images
falsely IdentifIed as the DeIty Withm and so they are subject to sacrifice.
attribute which is subject to offering is the will itself and our
unwlllmgness to relax our desire to control and predetermine outcomes.
I
PRAYER
. is a crystallizing the essence of our rapport with the Deity
forms postures are more conducive to catalyzing
hvmg commUnion and dIalogue with Source than others. Due to the highly
nature of these forms, none are suggested, yet experimentation is
hI?hly encouraged. To locate them, enter those rituals set up for dialogue
wIth Source and apply the ritual function of GESTURE.
RHYTHM
Rhythm is a function for eXJ?ressing patterns of energy through
movement and somc resonance. It IS a self-reference device helping to
restore our placen:ent when ritual amplification intensifies. The pulse and
breath of rhythm IS also a doorway through trance and losing ourselves.
Rhythm is also a device for magnetizing group synchronization. Either
way, rhythm articulates the current patterns of motion passing through
ourselves during ritual.
INTERPLAY
Group interplay is a ritual function when individuals remain commited
to their current contact point before, during and after interaction with
tB. It is with the interplay of forces that ritual develops on its own.
II ur as long as each participant remains true to their "vertical"
Otll' q (J y d dication to their contact points) while relating to the
"hlll'l 1.01\ ! II" rJ n of human interactions. If you are thrown off and lose
111l1t I w 11 YOIl r 5 urce at anytime, stop everything and return to
Nt) , t" , IllItI III'(q l n again.
All Rites Reversed
41
ECONOMY
Economy implies any adjustment made to eliminate arbitrary
lIIovement. .. expression unessential to conveying a particular quality. This
I lin be implemented by focusing on micro-movements .. .locating your point
1\ minimal expression during a ritual. It means emphasizing the Small,
lI,d bypassing tendencies towards dramatic display of feeling, sound and
/',1 ture. Economy is especially useful for the purpose of containment of
I Ii rgies and their re-direction through the flesh itself, instead of outward
I Idiation. It takes more awareness to exercise economy than not. ..
DESIGN
Design is a kinetic device for clarifying the physical forms evolving from
('(lmmitment to an internal contact/source. The advanced work of design
1\l\tails disidentifying oneself enough from the forces at play to recognize
Ih ir evolving forms, shapes and patterns. Design is the internal/external
, IJustment of clarifying and "cleaning up" physical directions that emerge
without killing their energetic integrity. In this way, higher dance forms
I velop from initial patterns experienced from the contact point engaged.
When these patterns are clarified, the design element is expressed and a
I horeography, begun.
CHARACTERIZATION
Advanced ritual theatre work. There are predominantly three stages of
work: 1) Experience; 2) Design; and 3) Characterization and Story. The
first phase requires emotional surrender and the complete giving of oneself
without paying attention to effect or outcome. This is the stage of raw,
ndulgent (sloppy) experience so essential for Self-Initiation. The second
tage explores kinetic designs emerging from the experience of the first
phase for their clarification and eventual choreography. The third stage
ngages character development, story and mythology integrating the
I revious two stages, so its energetic and structural integrity remain intact.
Characterization involves the extension of an internal source into the
ody to form a WALK, a MASK, and a PURPOSE. For the sake of
\uthenticity, these must evolve from the contact point and not created or
lffected by personal efforts. Through the process of INTERPLAY, the
42
All Rites Reversed
character develops an understanding of his/her myth, or story. This ofte
occurs with Source Relations first and then, is tested with other characters.
The myth clarifies as the character surrenders to his/her destiny b
realizing its PURPOSE. Purpose manifests through knowing what yo
want and how to get it and there are two levels of PURPOSE: 1) Near
and 2) Far. Near purpose is what the character wants moment-to-moment
and Far purpose, what character hopes to accomplish in the long run ... the
Big Picture. As with all INTERPLAY, participants are challenged to susta'
internal dependence via the contact point. If at any time we become overly
influenced by another person's force and/or field, it is suggested practice
to stop and return to NO-FORM for restoring your contact with Source.
SERVICE
The ritual function of service can be used amidst great uncertainty for
establishing placement in a new territory. Once ushered into a new region,
whether it be physical-emotional-psychic,there is often a confusion as to
what to do.. This is be'cause if a territory is really unfamiliar and strange to
oneself, there is no previous knowledge of having been there. It is natural
to be awkward, disoriented and inept. Service is that activity of meeting
the needs of the environment. For example, you can give yourself to
articulating the quality and force of whatever state you're in without
having to understand these aspects. Or you can mimic and learn from
those there before you who have been serving that state long enough to
have established a sense of their identity there. It is in this way that service
preceeds identity and that in order to find oneself, a certain amount of time
in service is required.
CONNECTING ESSENCES
Connecting essences is an effective technique for rituals involving
multiple facets, networks and/or inter-related regions ... Le., the House
Ritual as presented in the first level of work, Initiations. Connecting
is the process of entering one zone Get's say DREAM) and exciting
its essence in your body, then ... moving into another area (let's say
KNOWLEDGE) bringing the DREAM essence with you. Connecting these
two essences in your body evokes a new essence of both combined:
DREAM KNOWLEDGE. Connecting essences is a good way to intersect
realms and locate diversified areas of mutuality and cross 'pollination.
(The main thing to remember is wait for the essence to emerge strongly
All Rites ReverSed
43
I t before bringing it into another area and connecting them together.)
III assure the integrity of this function, make sure and frequent the
yuu wish to merge inside you, previously and separately. Before
ences, experience each for themselves first, in other words. Take .m.n
e
to
bnilate and savor the new information of the essences you are mIXmg.

44
----------
RrrUALDESI<l
Three Levels of Work
The RITUAL DESIGN section hereafter presents three levels of
work: 1) INITIATIONS; 2) DARK RITES (of the Soul) ; and 3)
ILLUMINA TIONS ... roughly paralleling Beginning, Intermediate and
Advanced ritual practice. More advanced ritual designs tend to carry
greater CHARGE, LIGHT and INFORMATION thus requiring a deeper
integrity, self-responsibility and presence to proceed scrupulously. The
greater the presence, commitment and energy generated in the
WARM-UP ... the more appropriate it is to draw upon rituals evoking
greater intensities. Thus, the intensity matches the integrity. Group &
Individual integrity levels can be detected during the ritual preparation
phases to determine the rituals most likely to amplify present-time
dynamics. The more grounded we are, the higher we fly ... integrity seeks
challenge ... stability invites acceleration ... the quality of the preparation
determines the nature of the rituals to follow.
INITIA TIONS: entry points for Self-Initiation and internal access; rituals
requiring emotional surrender and identification with forces evoked; tasks
for exciting self-reference and definition
DARK RITES (of the Soul): ceremonial encounters with the
Slladow ... fears, resistances and other blocks to self-acceptance; rituals for
exposing undeveloped and neglected aspects of oneself towards their
reclaimation; (recognizing and owning ones negative self-prOjections);
rites for testing endurance amidst intensities
ILLUMINATIONS: rituals for release and transcendence from oneself
(difficult, if not impossible, to gain entry without having previously passed
through Dark Rites); tests for clarifying form, quality and development of
personal & collective myths; spiritual and planetary ceremonies
ALL THE FOLLOWING RITUALS BEGIN AND END
IN WHEN A RITUAL IS COMPLETE,
PARTICIPANTS RETURN TO NO-FORM TO
DISSOLVE IDENTIFICATION, SO THEY MAY
PREPARE FOR THE NEXT RITUAL BY RE-ENTERING
NO-FORM.
All Rites Reversed
45
SAMPLE RITUAL SESSION
The following series of activities demonstrates a t!,pical in the
IIIcdium of ritual theatre. The Physical Warm-up penod remams th.e sa.me
ttl'r all sessions. It is suggested to form of Polanzatton
Illtore entering actual Ritual prtmartly for the purpose of
,'motional flexibility and self-catalyzatton.
I) A setting is selected and a rare area established.
) The ritual setting is sanctified.
:1) A power spot is discovered and .
A little circle is constructed. (PreparatIon for PhysIcal Warm-Up.)
r, ) Meditation. Spinal Flex. Stretch. Sweat.. .
Il) A transitory run is selected. Return to the LIttle.CIrcle.
7) A polarity is selected and executed alone. TranSItory Run on your own.
H)Group circle. Feedback and brief, to-the-point comments.
Ritual #1
Set DEITY APPROACHES up (See INITIATIONS). After moving '
through the three approaches, jog around the of the workspace
ntegrating your insights. When you are done, meet m the center. of the
l' om for Group Circle.
Group Circle
This is a brief (3-5 minutes) checking in period for comments and
questions in a non-judgmental atmosphere (See Group Circle).
Ritual #2
Set up floor plan for THE FIVE (See
the intent of self-discovery, i.e., no group mteractlOn.
xplored ALL FIVE ELEMENTS, return to outSIde the ntual
arena. (playing time 20-30 minutes) Proceed to TranSItory Run.
i'
Transitory Run
.While explore directional and non-directional modes for
locatmg your pomt of balance. Vocalize the modes while you run.
Ritual #3
participant selects an to serve. (Some ELEMENTS may
be paIred up and others be lacking altogether. If this expresses the true
of ?roup at thIS hme, go with it. The dynamics will reveal the
mnate directlOn and shape of the group mind. In other words there is no
ne.ed t.o make it "perfect" or symmetrical if this is not innate to the group at
hme.) participant enters NO-FORM outside that section
to hIs/her ELEMENT. When all are in NO-FORM, participants
enter theIr ELEMENT and absorb its influence without moving. When the
ELEMENT compels movement, participants serve its expression into a
rhythm, song, and dance. When their dance is strong enough to be
by they do so. The purpose here is in discovering
ones relatlOnship to the Whole through the various effects one has on
others and how one is influenced by others while remaining true to the
source of ones power in the ELEMENT chosen.
Integrate GESTURE to articulate the essence of this relationship to the
Whole. Experiment with a. series of GESTURES and pay attention to the
and/or story developmg. Follow everything to its natural conclusion.
Tie up loose ends ... end cycles .. .initiate beginnings this way. Be sensitive to
natural closure, so you don't have to force yourselves past it. After the
ntual, everbody returns outside of the arena and enters NO-FORM.
Group Circle
H.ere, a group. circle. might be more mandatory for integrating and
movtng on. zt non-Judgmental and expository ... no need to rationalize
and try to fzgure tYNiigs now. TIz.e. main intent is reporting what
happened. (After the group Clrcle, partlClpants may wish another ritual. If
so, one can be .constructed on the basis of the current needs of the moment.
In theatre work, entire ritual sessions are constructed on
the of offerings, usually during the Warm-Up
cycles, l.e., certam Issues may emerge whIle working out physically that
11\ Y wish further exploration . . Rituals can be co-designed through
I'ombining more than one contact point by each person)
lnd/or from a series of rites evolving along a certain theme. Sessions can
Ii t anywhere from 2-4 hours, with three hours being the average. The
Warm-Up cycles alone last about an hour.)
MUSIC
Live music is a powerful force. It is not suggested until the final ritual of
III h session and/or when it becomes obvious that the internal dependence
II ' participants is strong enough to not be broken. Musicians take note: to
j!'() olve along the spirit of this work, it is important not to impose musical
directions but accent and extend the energy expressed by, those
Ilarticipating in the rituals. It may be of great help for musicians to also
I nter NO-FORM and locate the same contact points within themselves as
I h ritual participants have. This connects everyone to the same source and
p rmits sonic cohesion. (Musical instruments that have worked effectively
II the past are: PIANO, SYNTHESIZER,ELECTRIC GUITAR, CONGAS,
PERCUSSION, FLUTE, and CHORUS.) The intent of this work is in
lltoving from an internal source. Music is introduced to challenge the
ntegrity of this intent and infuse another dimension, while serving to
Ilmplify the psychic atmospheres precipitated by ritual participants ...
Initiations
THE INTERNAL LANDSCAPE
Every moment is an initiation for those living by the laws of their innate
being. Gaining entry to the inner sanctum ofthe Self remains an enigmatic
route until, through practice, one becomes more familiar with its spiraling
path. Once one has found their way back and forth between the World and
the Soul, it is the bridge between them which needs strengthening so as to
assure our passage from one dimension into another. Initiation is this
interdimensional shift between "reality tunnels." To exit one tunnel, our
attachment to it must dissove before we are ushered into the next corridor.
So, a certain surrender and/or sacrifice is required for each initiation or
interdimensional shift. Without this willingness for internal surrender, the
secret passageway is blocked by the locked doors of our attachments,
resistances, and fears.
One of the greatest initiations humans are capable of is waking up to
themselves. One form initiation takes is in our creative response to the
unknown. A creative response is alive and real, unlike the mechanical,
conditioned reactions we are also capable of. For example, fear is a
common mechanical reaction to the unknown. Excitement could possibly
refer us to a more creative response to this same unknown. Each human
wakes up differently. Some of us pop right up with bright I's and bushy
tales. Others wake up grumpy, as if they would rather remain in bed
sleeping. Initiation always requires a choice ... to be initiated, a direction is
selected and a path is chosen and ... sometimes, it is the path that chooses
us. This may be as subtle as the willingness to relax choosing, which is a
choice in itself ... or ... as dynamic as claiming the authority to determine the
shape of your future.
Before an initiation can complete itself, the initiated must undergo a
complete transformation from one state into another .. .including the
conversion of becoming more of what one already is. Without a
willingness to participate with our whole self, initiation loses initiative and
lurns mechanistic. To participate, we are asked to leave the realm of the
W h r and enter the realm of the Merger, who knows how to be what it
I.' Illy i . The first "true" Initiation is in our willingness to merge with
N 0 - II () I' In , no ritual cc6rles alive without infusing the spark of
( )1 '" II II 1\1't Int I1i nce into its intent. This is the first thing to know about
"I It II" Il l', I I' Ill nl ", without which, there is only routine.
All Rites Reversed
49
CIRCLE OF NO-FORM
Either alone or in a group, enter the No-Form stance in the center the
ritual setting. Initiate the Cloud of Unknowing. Visualize or sense a CIrcle
round yourselves (on the floor below you) so that the of
Unknowing is contained. At the strongest. point of No-F?rm, project
Force of the Earth outside of your central CIrcle, so that thls Force has a life
f its own which fills the remaining area of the ritual space. you. are
ready, from No-Form step over the border of your ce.ntral cucle and mto
the Force of the Earth. Discover how much you can give your body to the
Earth. Discover your willingness to completely surrender to Earth and
be a vehicle for its expression ... through sound, gesture & motlOn.
omplete, return to the central circle and re-enter the Cloud of Unknowmg.
TRUTH
Mark a circle and project What Is Most True (at this time and space)
and after entering NO-FORM, step into circle .. Locate your pomt of
service to this quality by creating space for lts expresslOn.
TOTAL ACCEJYf ANCE
Locate Contact Point with the quality of TOTAL ACCEPTANCE. After
surrendering oneself to it, sanctify your space with this quality so that "all
is permitted."
THE GOD OF YOUR HEART
Locate Contact Point with the God of Your Heart, servin? Its
into a gesture communicating Its essence. Then, a dlalogue wlth the
God of Your Heart ... sound, motion, and gesture. Dlscover a new form of
prayer in this interaction.
PATTERNS OF MOTION
From No-Form, locate Contact Point with of motion" emerging
and passing through you. Serve these into expresslOn. Go cycles of
patterns, letting them die and be new deslgns. Dlscover
movement as nourishment as a method for InVltmg graceful endurance.
50
All Rites Reversed
SHAPING
Locate c?ntact point with "shapes" that come and go throughout your
bOdy. LIke "patterns of motion," shaping goes through cycles and
challenges our capacity to give our body over to these shapes. Find the
shape that resonates closest to your innate sense of who you are.
DEITY APPROACHES
Project DEITY WITHIN to a specific area of the ritual setting. Project a
path from No-Form to where the presence of the DEITY WITHIN resides.
From NO-FORM, traverse this path and simply be in Its presence .. Walk
to NO-FORM. DEITY WITHIN again, with a question and
be m Its presence wIth the question. Return to NO-FORM. Approach It
again stating a need. Return to NO-FORM.
DREAMING FORMS
Designate one side of room to NO-FORM and the opposite side to
FORM, with and equal size space between them dedicated to DREAM.
From the potential state of NO-FORM, step into DREAM ... the realm of
many possibilities, as of yet, uncrystallized and incessantly changing. Pass
through DREAM and follow one of these "possibilities" out into FORM,
wherein this possibility immediately crystallizes into Vivid, Specific
Gesture complete with its resonating sounds. FORM is a high-tension
zone where movement reaches its absouIte peak expression. After
absorbing its message, walk backward into DREAM ... dissolving the form
to.re-enter the of possibilities. Then, back into NO-FORM. Repeat
thIS cycle three tImes and go deeper each time in all three dimensions.
you are done, three gestures and connect them together as a
Aenes of tableaus while looking for the story/myth it tells.
SPINAL SLIDE
"'11111 N ) 11 RM, within the Little Circle, sense the spinal cord as one
111111' 1)\1111 IItnd 10k .. from its base and up into the skull. The top of the pole
I" Ilu d 1I,t t quality accessible b:ild the-spine's base, the densest
r I Itl J}it cov r how low you can slide your consciousness so it
All Rites Reversed
51
densifies. Then, slide up to the top to clarify awareness. Practice sliding up
and down this spinal elevator challenging your capacity for owning Top
and Bottom levels. Let your voice match their energy levels: resonate. The
intent is with creating more space within your being by stretching Top and
Bottom apart ... hence, deepening your density and heightening In
conjunction with the Spinal Elevator, select that level approprIate to
explore in-depth. Let this development include the entIre bodYi so your
whole self expresses that one level of consciousness.
THE TREE
Locate contact point with self as TREE. Sense Top and Bottom
sources ... the sun shining above, the earth absorbmg below. DetermIne
which source you need energy from to restore point of balance give
yourself over to it. Oscillate between the roots and the branches until you
realize the whole tree within you.
EMOTIONAL ESSENCE
Stand in No-Form. Project an EMOTION behind you, letting it exist there
in all its life and color. Invite it in through the back to fill your NO-FORM
until itstarts moving your body. While moving, begin paring away any
arbitrary or exess motion to arrive at its Resonate a sound ...
GRA VITYILEVITY
One side of the room is designated the HEAVIEST WEIGHT accessible; the
opposite side, the LIGHTEST. The gradations in between articulate
transitions. Start from No-Form and enter THE HEAVIEST ... movmg
towards the LIGHTEST. Pause in the center to check your balance. Move
back and forth until both sides grow equal in valu:. POLARIZE.
VIBRATION
Same as GRAVITY/LEVITY ... but replaced with the SLOWEST
VIBRATION and the FASTEST VIBRATION accessible.
CREATOR-DESTROYER-NOURISHER
a large triangle and in its center, an area dedicated to NO-FORM.
ntual works exceedingly well with numbers divisible by 3.) Project
mSIde each corner an altar to serve as a focal point for the: CREATOR,
& NOURISHER. From NO-FORM, approach the altar of
the deIty you need to devote yourself to for overall balance. Develop a
prayer, a chant and a dance of devotion to that deity around its altar
Return to. to .disengage your loyalty and then, approach
another like before. Eventually, visit all three and then ...
start. movmg dIrectly from one altar to another in a circular motion,
passmg through each devotional tone as you go. Return to NO-FORM.
THE FOUR SEASONS
Mark a large circle and quarter it, designating each fourth to a different
season. Place & SPRING in opposition, as well as SUMMER &
WINTER. DesIgnate the area outside the Circle to NO-FORM. From
NO-FORM, enter the Circle and traverse through them all until you can
accelerate the of time, wherein you pass through many years or
seasonal cycles .. m a matter of moments.
THE CROSS
No-Form, visualize a large CROSS above you. Draw it down and
be. m ItS center, where the two poles meet. Let it influence your whole
bemg. Then, expand your being to fill the cross from the inside, so your soul
takes the shape of a cross.
REINCARNATIONS
the. room into 5 associated areas so the following dimensions are
placed m a lmear cyclic pattern: NO-FORM ... BEING BORN ... LIVING ...
DYING. .. AFTERLIFE... Participants begin in NO-FORM and enter
BEING BORN. From here, they traverse into LIVING, and onto DYING.
Aft r DYING, they enter the space designated to AFTERLIFE... and
tl: r after walk back to the "Waiting Room" of NO-FORM to be born
bin. . through as many reincamational cycles as necessary. Watch for
ny onn ting currents along the way between lifetimes. Be open to
r ) I nE; with oth ra from whatever stage you're in.
THE FIVE ELEMENTS
Mark a large circle with a little circle as its center. Draw and quarter the
whole circle. Designate elements of FIRE & WATER in opposing quarters
nd AIR & EARTH in opposition, as well. The central little circle is
ledicated to the underlying, bonding force of AETHER. Designate the
pace outside the large circle as NO-FORM. From NO-FORM, enter one
of the elements at random. Once inside, give yourself completely until the
/teed emerges to enter the other elements, then, do so. Pass through the
AETHER anytime you feel like it. Frequent all the elements. Recall which
were more accessible, which were not. Return to NO-FORM. Re-enter
the circle to cultivate a deeper appreciation for the value of all five
'lements and the energetic functions of each.
THE LAND OF LOVE AND FEAR
Start with a standing Group Circle in the center of setting with everyone
facing away from center. While touching at the shoulders, everybody
nters NO-FORM. All project a sphere of PURE LOVE 3-5 feet .above the
ircle of NO-FORM. 5 feet in front of group is the periphery of a larger
ircle enclosing everybody. On the other side of this border is projected
THE FEAR ZONE. The intent is drawing down PURE LOVE from the
sphere and bringing it down through the open crown and into the Heart
Cen-ter where it generates itself. When the generation of PURE LOVE is
trong enough, participants resonate a sound to its power. This develops
into a tone ... a melody ... a song. When participants are strong enough in
their LOVE, they enter THE FEAR ZONE bringing their LOVE with them.
If and when they lose touch with their LOVE and are overcome by FEAR,
they find' their way back to the center to regenerate their LOVE. The
direction is with bringing LOVE into THE FEAR ZONE and detecting
when it's time to return to LOVE again. The "HEARTSONG" developed
earlier is a device for maintaining LOVE in THE FEAR ZONE.
THE PIT
Mark large circle with the intention of projecting dept h into it, as in a
ever-deepening pit. Then, project Creatures of the EARTH, WATER, FIRE
or AIR down in there .. .letting them squirm, swim, crackle and fly about
inside. In NO-FORM, walk around the pit's periphery sensing the
activities brewing down around in the pit. After a revolution of
NO-FORM, enter the pit and spiral down to its deep center to choose a
54
All Rites Reversed
creature to out. Choose the creature you believe has the most to
teach you. Bnnl? the c:-eature out of the pit and into an area that you
to sanctIfy. DIalog with the creature to learn how to gain its
and favors. After you are complete, bring it down
mto the pIt agam and resolve the relationship. Move out of the pit and
return to NO-FORM.
BODY OF LIGHT
From NO-FORM, project a sphere of GOLD, CHARACTERLESS
above your head. Draw down a beam into your crown, lettin it
fill you. Become the beam, so you catalyze your "light body" and letgits
essences move Resonate a sound to match its quality. After
project thIS internal "being of light" outside your body and
dIalog .wlth It an autonomous force. When you are complete, command
the bemg of lIght to return to its source in the GOLD SPHERE b
Then, return to NO-FORM. a ave.
THE THREE TEMPLES
Designate three separate regions or rooms as Temples of the: HEAD,
and. GUT. In a neutral zone, set up a group NO-FORM circle
whIle F:-om NO-FORM, journey through each tem Ie to
to ItS Pomt Of Worship (Head, Heart or Gut) and to an
altar m each as part of this process. After traversing through all three
to the Temple you need to learn most about. Go there with
mtentIon to its God by becoming a Priest(ess) of that
Temple. DIscover the ntuals, songs, prayers and meditations appropriate
to that Temple and the POW that makes these possible. When 'au
feel strong eXIt the Temple as the Priest(ess) bringing the pow;' of
that Temple WIth you and enter the previous neutral zone to interact with
the other Priests and Priestesses. Whenever you lose touch with your
, ource, return to Temple and renew your POW in order to return to
th World of InteractIons WIth your "religious power" restored.
All Rites Reversed
55
THE HOUSE RITUAL
Psychic psychologist Carl C. Jung often interpreted the symbol of a house
n dreams as representative of the Self, with each room expressing specific
nternal compartments wherein particular aspects of the psyche chose to
r side. Within the symbolic languages of both Tarot and Astrology, the
metaphor of the house also comes into significant focus. In the Tarot, the
, rd of the Magician is related to the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet
"Beth" meaning ... house. An astrological chart is divided into twelve
wedges refering to specific areas of life activity and these areas are called
I louses. There are, no doubt, countless other references to the house as
/lymbolic of something This brief introduction will suffice to invite our
participation in a ritual initiation using a real house as its setting.
The kind of house best suited for a House Ritual is one which has
been made into a home. It helps to have at least four rooms available and,
if possible, a backyard. Each of these rooms will maintain distinct functions
nd all will be associated towards the singular intent of procurring a
ertain kind of initiation rite ... one wherein the everyday, mundane
functions of each room are amplified to archetypal status. As each home is
differerit, it wili take careful observation and sensitivity to detect the
characteristic energetic of each room, so as to form the basis of the name
given to that area. For example, hallways between rooms might be
assigned as NO-FORM ZONES. Living rooms could be named THE
CHILD WITHIN, dens given to THE SHADOW, bedrooms to
NOURISHER, the office .. . a TEMPLE. Once again, each house differs and
the naming ought to synchronize with the innate feeling of each room
and, extend this into a universal aspect.
One room should be almost completely cleared out of furniture while
others can remain the way they naturally are. This will create a kind of
polarity in the setting and support overall charging of the ritual. Rooms
with furniture can be rearranged and certain props can be brought in to
amplify evocation. However, all furniture should be deSignated
and refering to a specific internal state or dimension, i.e., a couch IS
dedicated to the experience of SAFETY, so whenever anyone sits on it, they
are permeated with this quality. A nearby chair could be designated as TH.E
IMMOBILIZED SELF, providing opportunity for those who seek thIS
facet of self-knowledge.
56
All Rites Reversed
In other words, every mundane element is charged with symbolic
significance and the entire house is transformed into a multi-dimensional
chamber of magickal proportions. After the naming of all the rooms
available. to this ritual (and the hallways and transition points between
rooms), we go into the backyard to decide upon its function. If there are
paths, gardens, lawns ... use them. They can all be designated as evolving
phases along a singular unfolding journey. The wonderful thing about
including a backyard is that its orientation is opposite to the house itself
and brings another polarity into play. If there is a backyard available, it
may be most effective to designate at least part of it to DEATH, DECAY or
some form of TRANSFORMATION from one phase into another. This will
leave the house itself open for re-integrating ones new self.
Once the house and backyard have been re-named according to
archetypal forces, it is important to meet as a group in the most open
room ... the one most minimally furnished. Here, a group circle convenes
for meditation (possibly a Prayer Circle) and the introduction of ritual
intent. The group then takes a walking tour through each room while the
facilitator explains their various functions. (You may wish to place small
signs over the doorways of each room to remind participants along their
way.) After frequenting all the designated areas, participants should be led
outside ... preferably to a front porch which is designated as NO-FORM. At
this point a brief physical warm-up is suggested. Anything from stretching
out on the from lawn to several laps jogging around the block is
appropriate or, ask participants to warm-up before arriving.
The ritual, as all the others, starts in NO-FORM out on the front porch
and initiates itself with the entry through the front door and into the first
room. Participants are encouraged to give themselves over to each room,
hallway and phase along the sojourn of this House Ritual... and allow at
least two hours for everyone to complete their cycles. Sometimes,
depending on the house, this can take upwards of four hours or so.
After completion, participants should meet at the NO-FORM front
porch where some kind of light food and drink is served. This is a good time
to share the news of our initiation in the House Ritual. (As with every
ritual, a good amount of time is required afterwards in NO-FORM.) For
more advanced work in the House Ritual, see the ritual function of
CONNECTING ESSENCES.
All Rites Reversed
SAMPLE FLOOR PLAN FOR HOUSE RITUAL
Death
(garden)
[
Dream
oJ.
No-Form J
Nourisher
Temple
z
0
I
"
0
Shadow
I ~
..J
r
The Child Within
I r
1 N o - F o r ~
Porch
J
.
57
All Rites Reversed
Dark Rites (of the Soul)
ENDURANCE
59
After gaining entry to the inner sanctum of Self via the previous
III tiations section, a new level awaits those who are willing to test their
I'ommitment, integrity and endurance. Dark Rites open up shadow-related
II Rues personal fears, hates, resistances, frustrations, and otherwise
1\ 'glected and thus, undeveloped areas 'Within the Soul. These areas of
Ilf-denial are in need of attention, response and integration before any
1'(1 emblence of the Soul comes to life in the body. A particular challenge to
I hese Dark Rites seems to be with testing our capacity for endurance in the
midst of great intensity. These are trials-by-fire. Whatever the fire does
!lot harden, it will purge away ...
Dark Rites are blessings in disguise ... especially for those participants
dangling on the precipice of discovering their own Shadow. Often we are
Immobilized by the sheer lack of expressive modes available to release
these forces into conscious recognition. Dark Rites provide triggers and
forms for accessing and expressing the Shadow. They enable the
opportunity to face our fears and befriend ourselves until we are ready to
mbrace the Shadow itself. The bright side of the Shadow illuminates our
lives with its enormous vitality, without which, we over-organize and die,
spiritually. If it were not for chaos, evolution would not be possible at all.
The truer the chaos, the truer the emerging form. Dark Rites prepare us for
1l1uminations by helping us cultivate an appreciation for chaos, without
which, clarity of form could never develop.
Our Shadow aspects are but of our true qualities;
inherently, there is no spilt between our defects and our qualities. As we
come to recognize and accept our defects, we can see them transform and
convert the qualities of our innate being ... our particular "element."
Dark Rites are especially healing to individuals with out-of-control,
ego-inflating tendencies. Or those phases everybody goes through, on
occasion, where we deny anything "bad", "wrong", "evil" and/or "stupid"
about ourselves. In these phases, we tend to blame others for those
undesirable traits we refuse to accept in ourselves. This demonstrates one
way the powerful "psychic projection" mechanism loses control. The ritual
function ofPROJEc:TION is a method for regaining command of what is
innately a psychic ability .. :a capacity for "charging" an object (talismans) or
space (Rare Area) with our own energy (also called "ego-state cathexis").
Dark Rites help us become aware of our projections and as a result,
develop the psychic muscle for doing it consciously. This, in turn, prepares
our entry into Illuminations Of advanced ritual work, where little or no
projection is necessary at all. \
60
All Rites Reversed
DEATH
Project DEATH a. area at least ten feet from self. From
N?-FORM, walk mto Its tern tory and surrender to its influence. Bring
to a gesture communicating and return to original area of
o FORM. Return to DEATH agam, thIS tIme locating your CONTACT
WRITH RESPONSE TO DEATH. Develop relationship with
. eturn to NO-FORM area.
DR. DEATH AND THE WARRIOR
Ritual duet. Each individual prepares alone in their LitHe Circles 0
has Contact Point with DEATH PERSONIFIED and the other, W
WARRIOR develops a song, rhythm and dance in his/her Little Circle
while PERSONIFIED tunes into WARRIOR. When each is stron '
m their they. leave their Little Circles and enter
arena RItual intent is for these two forces to meet
and mteract. whIle remammg true to their respective Contact Points.
DEATH carnes the power of touch and can terminate WARRIOR wth t
has only his/her song, rhythm and dance
to hve. DEATH the end of the ritual by either touching
WARRIOR or refraInmg thus, granting life extension.
CHAMBER OF DEMIGODS
From the. NO-FORM stance, project a vertical tube/ column of neutral
energy runmng from above and down through your body and into the
planet below. The top of the chamber opens up to ANGELIC KINGDOM
and. the bottom, DEMONIC DOMAIN. Angels fly up above as demons
sqUIrm and shout from below. Let angels fall down through the chamber
and demons bubble up from below. One at a time, select one of each to BE
& EXPRESS, then send back to their sources. These are aspects of Oneself.
THE IMMOBILIZATION MYTH
II?mobilization Myth (how and where you are stuck, fixed and
Into an area at least 15 feet away. Visualize tunnel or hallw
to this circle. From NO-FORM, walk through its passa ar
and Into the CIrcle to embody the myth, whatever it is. Give time for i1s
All Rites Reversed
61
I velopment and then, project an altar area within this circle and dedicate
It to DISTILLATION. Upon approaching the altar, let the myth distill
Itself so you are left with its essence. Resonate a sound with this quality
\nd its shape. Give yourself over to full-body gesture as a statue
'xpressing your Immobilization Myth.
MOST FEARED THING
Project MOST FEARED THING into an area ten feet in front of self.
From NO-FORM, enter the circle while bringing with you the element of
ACRIFICE as an ally: the act of sacrificing an of self in order to
meet and respond to the MOST FEARED THING. Develop into a dance
nd song. (You may not have to sacrifice anything. It is there in case you
need to.)
THE BLACK BOX
Designate an area of the ritual setting to RESISTANCE and project into
its region, a BLACK BOX containing "that which is most valued". Journey
into and throughout the RESISTANCE searching for THE BLACK BOX.
Upon finding it, open it up. Then,relate to the RESISTANCE with what
you found inside. When done, place the "most valued" back into the BLACK
BOX and return it to its place in the circle. Exit the circle to NO-FORM.
THE BROKEN SELF
Mark a circle (this can be your Little Circle). Project BROKEN SELF or
BROKENESS into circle. Enter the circle, surrendering to the influence
therein. Devel<?p the material through sounds, gestures, words, phrases
and an eventual monologue to narrate and transmit the Myth of the
Broken Person. Return to No-Form.
THE DANGEROUS WORLD
Cultivate Little Circle for optimum safety, comfort and vulnerability.
Sanctify its space for maximum trust and permission to be yourself.
Stabilize its four corners and develop their energetic functions. When
complete, designate all the space outside your Little Circle as the
DANGEROUS WORLD. When you feel safe enough to take risks, step .
outside and explore its territory knowing anytime you can. return to
regenerate safety in the Little Circle. If there are other people, designate
62
All Rites Reversed
them as CHARACTERS in the DANGEROUS WORLD. The intent is with
sustaining your integrity and restoring your safety amidst the dangerous.
NIGHTMARE
Mark large circle. PROJECT reality of NIGHTMARE inside. In the circle's
center, visualize and project a vertical beam of GOLD ENERGY. First,
enter the circle to explore NIGHTMARE ... being under its effect, while
personifying its forces. After development of NIGHTMARE, relate to the
BEAM from NIGHTMARE. Dialogue with BEAM. Then, thirdly,
step mto the GOLD BEAM ... bringing NIGHTMARE with you. Let GOLD
BEAM influence NIGHTMARE. Return through NIGHTMARE and back
to NO-FORM.
EMOTIONAL TRINITY
Form a triangular space, designating each corner to one of the following:
SA VIOUR, PERSECUTOR, VICTIM. The center of the triangle is
dedicated to From NO-FORM, move out and explore each
corner and surrender to its influuence, letting yourself be shaped by the
forces towards developing a character who speaks, gestures and walks like
a VICTIM, SAVIOUR or PERSECUTOR. Make sure and visit all three
points on the trinity before returning to NO-FORM.
THE DIVINE COMEDY
Create large triangle as ritual floor plan. Designate each side to the
following internal states: HELL, PURGATORY, HEAVEN. From
NO-FORM, travel along each side moving through each state ... as a group
or by yourself. If there's a group, place everybody inside the triangle
except the traveler. The group functions as Greek Chorus, providing
sounds and movements to intensify the traveler's experience of each
dimension. The points of the triangle are dedicated to NO-FORM. When
the traveler makes it to one, everbody enters NO-FORM until the traveler
m ves into the next state. .
All Rites Reversed
\
\
THE JOURNEY I
(
63
Create a large circle that is also a spiral. Designate tHe outer periphery to
UPERFICIAL- SURFACE SELF and the central area/as the DEEP -CORE
SELF. The entire spiral is THE SELF with all the gradations between the
Surface and the Core interlaced with "blocks"and resistances. Start at the
URFACE area in No-Form and begin spiraling t6wardsTHE CORE.
('lind the "blocks" along the way .. ;work through/around them. When
rriving at the CORE, let its quality determine what follows.
SUFFER, DROP AND DIE
(
Select aspect of Self you wish to From t.his "self'
tand five feet behind you in. all of ItS life and color. Then, mVIte It m and let
it SUFFER, DROP AND DIE as a movement inside you. If appropriate,
conduct a funeral for the old dead self. If it happens, reincarnate.
PIECE OF RESISTANCE
Into the Little Circle, project RESISTANCE, refering to whatever
subconscious resistance is occuring. Enter the circle and become the
resistance until it forms your character. Personify resistance. Live it out
and if possible, exorcise "the entity of resistance" from your body and relate
with it. Send it to the Earth to be re-possessed. Return to NO-FORM.
HEALING CEREMONY
Locate contact point with body part in dis-ease. Give yourself over to the
virus or whatever it is. Then, after developing it as a character/energy,
disengage from it for the purpose of dialoging. Find out what it feeds on.
If you are ready, command it to leave by radiating your innate energy.
ANGELS IN HELL
In your Little Circle, project ANGELIC KINGDOM ... "the natural habit.at
of the angelic self." Enter Little Circle and make yourself at home m
Heaven. Designate everything outside your Little Circle as HELL then,
find someway to fall out of your Circle and into HELL. Explore HELL
.'
64
!
I
II
!
)
I
All Rites Reversed
while sustaining your Contact Point with the ANGELIC KINGDOM.
Find a way to returzll to the ANGELIC KINGDOM.
1
DEMONS IN HEAVEN
Same as ANGELS IN HELL but you start out by evoking the DEMONIC
DOMAIN, making yourself at home as a DEMON IN HELL. Somehow,
get pulled into HEAVEN (that space outside your Little Circle) then,
explore HEAVEN sustaining your DEMONIC INTEGRITY. If you are
converted while visiting HEAVEN, return to your Little Circle and reclaim
the DEMONIC DOMAIN in HEA VEN's name.
ANGELS AND DEMONS
Group Ritual. Divide room in half ... one side is HEAVEN, the home of
... the other side, HELL, the home of DEMONS. Participants are
dlvlded so .equal numbers inhabit both domains. Each side takes time to
develop its own individual identities (as DEMONS or ANGELS), then
each side explores activities to bond with their respective clan. (ANGELS
bond with other ANGELS, DEMONS with other DEMONS.) When both
groups are stabilized, they approach each other physically and respond,
while remaining loyal to their source. Let whatever responses unfold as
DEMONS and ANGELS interact on each other's territories.
THE ANIMA/ANIMUS CIRCLE
This is a solo ceremony based in the Jungian psychological model of the
anima (& animus) suggesting that within every man, there lives an
and erotic feminine force responsible for inspired
CreatIvlty and sexualIty. In women, it's called the aninius ... a
self-organizing, rational masculine spirit wielding high-focused, creative
and discerning powers. Besides projecting the defects of our Shadow onto
others, we also tend to project the anima/animus onto whatever external
woman/man most closely replicates the feeling/appearance of our inner
of creativity, or Soul/Spirit. This often occurs during the
experience commonly known as Falling In Love (Read Fatal Romantics of
CI lAPEL PERILOUS in ANGEL TECH by the author; Falcon Press). Of
i I nc rn here is when High-Flying Romance elicits the visceral
r p n f b lng Souless & Emotionally Vacant during the absence of The
U J V d. Who Is The Beloved ?!?
All Rites Reversed
65
The intent behind this ritual is primarily three-fold: 1) To invite The
Beloved into conscious recognition as the Anima/Animus 2) To establish
n ongoing rapport and relationship with I:Ier /Him and 3) To learn
how to magnetize members of the Opposlte sex to ourselves due to a
renewed relationship with that ,aspect in oneself .. In other a
man can associate with the Feminine Within, real-live women mstmctIvely
detect this and are drawn to the possibility of a real relationship. The
same goes for the Woman/Animus rapport .. the sexual orientation
of the author is decidedly hetero, no mentIon wlll be made
bisexual/homosexuality works in respect to this model.) Thls lS
rather potent in its capacity for more.men and/o! women mto
your life via the psychic recogmtIon It excltes. ConsIder yourself
forewarned. . ..
The ANIMA/ ANIMUS CIRCLE is suggested to whomever lS willmg
to manifest its three-fold intent. It is also very useful to those who have
ended up in CHAPEL PERILOUS as a result of losing their Soul and/or
having fallen under the spell of an Anima Attac.k. Men and women .are
possessed by their respective Anima/Animus in dlfferent ways. The Amma
attacks the man when he has neglected to express his feelings his own
and thus succumbs to "moodiness" of epic proportions. The Ammus slays
the wom'an when she neglects to control her own mind.and is to
controlling externals in a non-stop pattern of
possession can be dispersed lS Wlth dlrectly
instead of indirectly, by our ldentIflcatIon wlth It. (It s hard to relate to
someone when you're too busy being him/her.) The ANIMA/ANIMUS
CIRCLE ritual has two parts:
THE RITUAL
Part One: After a thorough preparation, mark a circle and sanctify its
space. Stand outside the cirde while facing it and enter NO-FORM.
Project everything you innately to be the ANIMA or
(hereafter refered to as ANI) into the clrcle. (You may have to call ANI
back" from wherever s/he was last projected) From NO-FORM, enter the
circle and feel/sense ANI there. Let ANI enter you from whatever point in
- your body and/or aura s/he desires. L,et.ANI fill you a.nd devoting
yourself to him/her. Surrender to ANI s mfluence and mVlte hlm/her to
possess you. (Make a conscious choice this to occur you know what
it feels like). Give yourself over to becom1Og ANI by letting ANI shape and
determine each passing moment. Create time for .development
crystallize the essence of your devotio.n"t0 10 a gesture whlle
resonating a sound/tune/song to match thls crystal.
66
All Rites Reversed
Part Exit the circle and return to NO-FORM. Spend enough time
neutralIzmg ,whatever charge ANI instilled ... the deeper the NO-FORM,
the .freer you 11 be .. When ready, enter the circle again and repeat Part One
are devotional again. Then, project ANI out of your body while
m and, start to him/her. Establish rapport. In the
relationship that ensues, fmd out what NAME s/he wishes to be called and
what slhe does best. Do this by asking direct questions. Once you know
these two things, refer to ANI by name and command ANI to do what s/he
does best. .what plays in your psyche and what your
role or pOSltI?n IS m thIS. Test your new-found knowledge
through applIed expenmentatlOn. When you figure it out and have had
enough, exit the circle after resolving with ANI. Return to a deep
NO-FORM.
%e Living :Funera{
Resurrection Ceremonies
A Living Funeral is any ritual enactment or ceremony formalizing
emotional and/or psychological death for the purpose of self-renewal. It
be as simple as a IO-minute solo polarization to a 4-hour group effort
With .prepatory phases. The primary intent behind a Living
Funeral IS creatIng the space and permission to die and be reborn. How
this is actualized, depends on the individuals present, their ritual
knowledge and willingness to be responsible for generating and sustaining
the "power field" most conducive to its unfolding. The following ritual
, are excerpted previously executed Living Funerals for those
WiShing to form a baSIS for constructing new versions.
group sits in a large circle with at least 3 feet of space between
mdiVlduals. Everybody takes turns talking about personal experiences with
any form of death. Then, everyone is asked to re-name death with a
term(s) communicating the essence of their personal experience.
2) HIT. THE DIRT ... A Children'S Game. One person is chosen as The
Executioner and everyone else are Intentional Victims. The Executioner
stands in the center of a large circle made up of the others. Loud rock'n'roll
or marching music (Joy Division has worked well) starts the circle of
Intentional moving. When one of them is ready to die, he/she
catches the attentIOn of the Executioner and communicates his/her
fantasy: how she/he wishes to die and/or be killed. The Executioner, in
tum, recreates the setting and if needed, the characters to fulfill this
All Rites Reversed
67
destiny. During the fantasy enactment, the others stop an<i watch. They
re also available to the Executioner if he/she requires more players to
omplete the scene. When done, the circle cn:other Victim
teps forth. ;\ll take their turn ... then all fulfill the ExecutIOner s fantasy.
) WHAT I DON'T WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW uF ... Another Children'S
Game. Each participant takes turns presenting a characterization to the
rest of the group in a spotlight situation. This character is the direct
xpression of the title of this task. Care be taken to as as
possible and to relate by eye-contact WIth the others durmg your time
under the spotlight.
4) SECRETS ... a confessional exercise. Participants individually approach
other members and whisper a personal secret about themselves to the
other. This secret can relate to present-time fears and/or feelings we have
towards others in the room or things we haven't told anyone before about
our personal history. The intent here is with building trus.t .. Living Funerals
require deeper sanctification due to the kind of vulnerabIlIty for
true transformation. Without a good deal of trust and safety, thIS ntual
runs a high risk of being contrived and, ineffective.
5) THE TWO CHAIRS. A circle of Paired Chairs ... Each participant has a
pair of chairs and these pairs encircle the setting. One chair is deSignated
The Seat of the EGO and the other, The Seat of the SELF. From
NO-FORM, one sits in the EGO CHAIR first and gives over to its
perspective. Then, when complete, one enters NO-FORM and sits the
CHAIR OF SELF. The task is alternating chairs so one becomes acquamted
with each perspective and the manner by which they CAST JUDGMENT.
6) JUDGEMENT DAY. Two participants start out sitting in two chairs,
one in the SEAT OF EGO and the other in the SEAT OF SELF. The rest of
the others await about twenty feet away clustered together in NO-FORM.
The person in the SEAT OF EGO calls a name by random while the person
in the SEAT OF SELF sim,ply beckons that person forward from
NO-FORM. The person called now stands facing the seated two
, the EGO casts its judgment on that person. When done, the SELF casts ItS
judgement. The person then sits in the EGO CHAIR, while that person
moves to the SELF CHAIR and the previous SELF joins the others in the
NO-FORM group cluster. The process repeats itself with the EGO calling
a name at random. (It might be appropriate to have the SELF signal the
EGO when it is ready to start the next cycle. Take your time to locate
contact points with EGO and SELF.)
68
All Rites Reversed
7) INVOKING THE DYING SELF. Participants lay down in rows, much
like cemetary plots are arranged. While lying on their backs, they all enter
. NO-FORM and Project That Part Of Me Which Is Dying or THE DYING
SELF, six feet below. Let it exist down there in all its fading life and
character. When you are empty & hollow enough, invite the DYING SELF
up to enter your body from behind, filling you with its presence. Begin
resonating a sound to match its energy. Through development, let this
sound become a word which is the NAME of the DYING SELF. While this
is happening, project the STATE OF AFTERLIFE above you and let it
develop on its own. Chant the name to send THE DYING SELF up and out
of the body and into the STATE OR REALM OF THE AFTERLIFE. Chant
the name until THE DYING SELF is gone and absorbed into the realm
above .. . then stop chanting. Be with your death.
8) After completing the previous INVOCATION and having been with your
death, project the surrounding area as THE WAITING ROOM or LIMBO
or the name best describing TRANSITION BETWEEN REALMS. When you
feel ready, rise and move into this zone. If encountering others do so as if
you are all waiting together. You are ...
9) After exploring LIMBO (#8), participants search the area within the
boundaries of the WAITING ROOM/LIMBO area for "void spots" where
the feeling of NOTHINGNESS is strongest. Into these areas, project a
CHAMBER OF NO-FORM. Enter the chamber and merge with
NO-FORM. From here, locate your contact point with your NEW SELF.
Let NEW SELF flood the chamber and determine all direction. Resonate
sounds and with development, evolve a NAME for the NEW SELF. Chant
the name.
10) INVOKING THE NEW SELF. Participants take turns laying on the
floor while others stand overhead, quietly chanting the name of THE NEW
SELF. Chant the name in as many different intonations as possible.
Meanwhile, the person whose name is chanted lies on his/her back taking
I it all in and responding. Everybody takes turns.
'Due to tlie liigli degree of vufne-rabifity required for tliis rituaf to
actuaffy w o r ~ it is absofutely essentiaf tfiat tlie 1?gre 5'lrea be deepfy
sanctified and void of any outside interruptions whatsoever. %e use oj
incense, candfes, drapes, music, scripture and otlier environmentaL
enliancers liave afso contributed greatly to the atmosplieric intent of tliis
ceremony.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~
70
All Rites Reversed
Illuminations
CLARITY OF FORMS
The primordial phases of ritual involve internal surrender to an
all-encompassing, enveloping stage of self-discovery. It is essential to
relax the desire to control how it will look and instead, simply submerge
into the total, subjective side of personal experience. This preliminary
phase, no matter how indulgent and sloppy, is absolutely necessary for
catalyzing Self-Initiation. After being exposed to the undeniable effects of
self-penetration, we become ready to advance in the work. Advanced
ritual involves the diligent process of learning how to distill from the raw,
vulnerable first stage ... seed essences, forms and movements. Within the
bubbling mix of emotional surrender there exists specific energetic
directions and structures which emerge after they have cooked enough.
From here, a kind of disidentification from the energies evoked is needed
to become more aware of them, while not disengaging completely. There
is a shift from content to form, in that we are learning to extract essences
from expression to see the material of our creation. In a way, the forms
emerging are part of us, as they have passed through the various filters
and internal gridworks of our psyche before their emergent state. On the
other hand, they are also simply forms, essences and movements
developed in the alchemical oven of our internal laboratory.
The greater the sense we have of our bodies during Source relations
and ritual enactment, the easier it'll be to detect the emergent qualities and
forms. Our body does not have to disappear. If we can feel our body as a
hollow vessel, it can enhance the alchemical sense of mixing, containing,
dissolving and distilling the essences to be extracted. There is a certain
benevolent detachment that comes with accessing the Source without
losing yourself while serving its expression with more clarity of form.
After re-claiming our negative projections (through Dark Rites of
, the Soul), spiritual ceremonies begin themselves to us. Rituals
II engaging our direct perception of the immediate environment require little
or no psychic and/or psychological projection to work. Instead, we draw
upon the inherent, geomantic properties of the setting itself to determine
the ritual designs. This can be anything from the way shadows form and
play in an enclosed room to the n'atural boundaries and zones created by a
stream or gully outside. With enough sensitivity, participants and the
rituals themselves draw upon forces and qualities already present in the
setting to motivate the ceremonies at hand. These are spiritual rituals as
t,hey are based upon what is sensed rather than imagined, projected or
postulated. The latter are tools for accessing oneself and bridges to cross
fowards self-transcendence. '
All Rites Reversed
71
BODY GEOGRAPHY
From NO-FORM, locate contact point with. Body. As The
World complete with its internal geography and chmates.
'un valleys, swamps, grasslands, oceans, lakes an flvers.
kel:ct ;hat area of the world you wish to and locate your contact
point there. Find a way to adapt so you can live there.
THE TRAVELLER
Be 'n BODY GEOGRAPHY. Once you .locate region to live in,.take
need to travel throughout the regIons. <?1ve the attribute
of changing form as a way of adapting to the vanous locatIons.
PROGRESSIVE ESCAPE
Locate contact point with What Is Real. Enter it through the of
Escaping Into Reality. Find its center and pass through to the other s1de.
DREAM CHARACTERS
Designate a specific area to DREAM. From NO-FORM, enter
with the intention of developing a character from its
until the character comes to complete fruition and d1es. Let 1t d1e an I e
reborn/ reincarnated as another character. Follow through as many cyc es
as necessary to feel complete.
AWAKENING
Desi nate area as That Part of Self Which Is From NO-FORM,
enter area and surrender to its influence. Work With DEVELOPMENT
until the SLEEP converts to DREAM ... and the DREAM converts to
AWAKENING.
COLORS
Divide setting into six related areas. Project a color into each
an evolution: RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE an ..
F NO
-FORM move between these colors. Locate the colors you reSISt
rom. , h . inl
the most. Return to them and surrender to t err uence.
THE ONE COLOR
From NO-FORM, enter an area designated for the projection of your
most difficult color. Let this area cover three phases or shades of that color
from its pastel to its medium and its darker hues. Explore the shades as
way of coming to terms with the color.
CLOAK OF COLOR
From NO-FORM, locate contact pOint with one color. After exploration
wrap its opposite color around you while sustaining the
ongmal mternal color. Relate to other(s) while maintaining both colors.
THE JW'MAN SYSTEMS
From NO-FORM, locate contact point with SKELETAL SYSTEM as a
whole and let all movement originate from here. On other occasions,
replace SKELETAL SYSTEM with the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM, MUSCULAR SYSTEM, ENDOCRINE SYSTEM:
REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM, RESPIRATORY ' SYSTEM ... exploring the
LIMITS of each and expressing their innate rhythms.
HUMAN QUATERNITY
Divide setting into four inter-related areas. Project the essences of
FEELING, THOUGHT, UNDERSTANDING and WILL into these.
Explore each to discover the current state of your internal condition.
Determine which you require more of to maintain true development ' and
balance, and move there.
SACRED FLAME
From NO-FORM, locate contact pOint with SACRED FLAME WITHIN.
Surrender to FLAME, identify with it and BE THE FLAME. After
development, disengage from FLAME and locate contact point with
GUARD to FLAME. (Let FLAME conti:l\ue as an autonomous force in
your space whIle you establish relationship with it as THE GUARD to
FLAME.) After development of relationship, merge GUARD and FLAME
togeth rtf rm THE GUARDIAN. Develop a dance of THE GUARDIAN.
All Rites Reversed
73
THE CLOUD
From NO-FORM, locate contact point with Self as VAPOR. and
I ' t this condense into CLOUD. Stay with development reqUIred to
c ndense further still .. .increasing moisture, density and weight. Develop
until you are RAINING. Proceed with whatever follows.
CREATIVE DESTRUCTION
Draw a large circle, then a circle half its size in its center. In the smaller,
enter circle project PERPETUAL CREATION OF STRUCTURE and the
{)uter circle, PERPETUAL DESTRUCTION OF .STRUCTURE. Move
between realms until each becomes intolerable by Itself and compels the
need for its opposite.
GRAVITY
From NO-FORM, locate contact point with GRAVITY AS OF
ENERGY. Give yourself to this source and develop rapport WIth THE
EARTH through it. Let this relationship develop a dance and a song.
Incorporate Gesture.
THE GARDEN
From NO-FORM, locate contact point with MOST FERTILE SOIL. After
surrendering to its density, fecundity and moisture ... become aware of the
SUN above you. Let a SEED DROP FROM THE OF THE SUN
down into the soil. Stay with SEED as a contact pomt. After some
development, let it RAIN. Let the SEED sprout and break the soil's
Feel yourself as the SEED AND THE SOIL. Let the sprout Its
ROOTS while growing towards the SUN. Let the plant mto
WHATEVER SPECIES OF FLORA IT IS. If it bears FRUIT, let It npen and
drop to the SOIL breaking open, rotting and going to seed.
CORRIDOR OF LIFE
Designate a long, narrow strip of with a small circle at each end. In
one circle project CREATURE and m the other, From NO-F<?RM,
begin by entering the SPIRIT circle. After surrendenng to SPIRIT, begm by
walking into CORRIDOR OF LIFE (the narrow strip between the two
circles). With every step, SPIRIT densifies and moves closer to CREATURE.
I
I
I
I
I
74
All Rites Reversed
Feel the gradations along the way and be sensitive to the midpoint. Once
reaching the CREATURE circle, enter it and surrender to its influenc ,
When complete, begin the journey back to SPIRIT along the CORRIDOR
OF LIFE. Move back and forth between CREATURE and SPIRIT until
relationship is developed and expressed through GESTURE and SOUND.
ENTERING THE UNKNOWN
Mark a large circle and divide it in half. Designate one side to THB
KNOWN or WHATEVER CAN BE NAMED, and the other side to th
NAMELESS UNKNOWN. From NO-FORM, enter the KNOWN. Clean it
up and develop a personal sense of ORDER there. Select items from your
life that are Most Important to you and arrange them in THE KNOWN as
properties. (These items can be possessions, ideas, feelings, people, groups,
etc.) When complete, move to the border between KNOWN and
UNKNOWN and stand there sensing the UNKNOWN before you. When
ready, enter the UNKNOWN and be influenced by its mystery. When it's
time, return to THE KNOWN and discover its relation to THE
UNKNOWN. Are the items selected still of importance? Do they need to be
rearranged? If so, re-order them to reflect the existence of THE
UNKNOWN. Fortify the boundaries of the KNOWN, as well. Then, when
complete, enter THE UNKNOWN again. Return to THE KNOWN and
refine the ordering process to reflect THE UNKNOWN.
POSITIVE-NEGATIVE-NEUTRAL
Divide the setting in half, projecting POSITIVE on one, side and
NEGATIVE to the other. Let the dividing line serrve as the CORRIDER OF
NO-FORM. Enter the side which exerts the greatest "pull": Travel
between sides, letting the TRAVELLER become NEUTRAL ENERGY.
Sustain neutrality while containirig the forces of POSITIVE and
NEGATIVE within you as you visit their respective regions.
ASTRO-DRAMA
part #1
Divide circle into 12 wedges designating each to a different House. From
NO-FORM, travel from the 11th House cusp into the 11th House and
proceed through the 12th and into the 1st and so forth, until you reach the
Midheaven. At the Midheaven, come to a GESTURE crystallizing the
essence of your evolution. (This works most effectively by superimposing
your own astrolOgical house placements according to your birth chart.)
All Rites Reversed
75
/llIrt #2 ,. .
Repeat part #1 but project the Planets placements mto the ntual floor
pi n of the Houses and enter t?e 11th again. Relate to the
1
1 nets as specific FORCES wh1ch activate once you ve entered the
I in. After moving through all the Houses, move to t?e of .the c1rcle
lind sense the planetary, positions around you and the1r relationsh1ps. ,
/llIrt #3 I
Select a major aspect. If there s an set up a :OLARIZATI?N
"tual. If there's a square, include res1stance mto the ntual. If there s a
'\ onjunction, locate your contact point with its synthesiS.
/lfIrt #4 . . ... .
Locate the placement and sign SATURN 1S m. mf0n:'atlOn
from HOUSE, SIGN and SATURN itself .. . develop a ntual to articulate
Il\d dramatize its role in your chart and your life. Play SATURN yourself.
Project SATURN outside of self. Experiment.
' THETAROT
Extract the cards of the Major Arcana into a pile. Select, at random, one
ard. From NO-FORM, locate your contact point with the archetype
ymbolized in this card. Through DEVELOPMENT, discover its myth and
tory as it evolves into a character. the colors of the card as
your internal environment. Return to a b1g NO-FORM.
76
All Rites Reversed
THE YIN/YANG CIRCLE
A Group Ritual for Men & Women. A small, centrally located circle is
designated to the YIN force and a larger circle (enveloping the smaller
one), to the YANG force. To start the ceremony, the women gather
together inside the inner YIN circle and the men position themselves
around the periphery of the outer YANG circle. Everybody enters
NO-FORM simultaneously. The women begin receiving the YIN force and
start resonating sounds to herald its presence. The men remain silent.
While maintaining their sonic resonance, the women begin giving
themselves to movement while following the direction the YIN force
wishes to rotate. The men remain still. Once all the women are following
the same direction of rotation, their circle starts turning.in that direction.
The men then begin resonating sounds and initiating movement of their
circle in the opposite direction of the inner circle.
The two circles are rotating in opposite directions. During these
contrary rotations, the YIN & YANG circles start relating with each other
while maintaining their respective integrity via sound, movement and
gesture. Develop these interactions so the YIN /Y ANG relationship
clarifies and grows more and more obvious. Stay with it regardless of
exhaustion, wherein it is suggested that you adjust your energetic output
to accomodate your pace. Find a natural conclusion.
PART TWO: Reverse procedures for men and women ... Men move to the
YIN circle and women, to the YANG circle. Repeat the ceremony as before
and crystallize the conclusion in gestures and/or group statues or forms to
communicate the essence of the relationship.
78
All Rites Reversed
EARTH SURRENDER RITES
Planetary Helixing for Men and Women
The Eart.h is a living, breathing entity that has chosen to
incarnate as this planet. Human beings inhabiting the surface of the Earth
are engaged in a reciprocal feeding process with the planetary entity.
Amidst the possibilities inherent to human interaction, there exists a
certain kind of man-woman relationship serving to generate bio-psychic
energies for feeding the planet. Not every man or woman is meant to
function in this capacity. Through a series of synchronized events,
planetary intelligence arranges for certain men and women to meet for the
ritual function of its feeding. Who these men and women are, and how they
serve the planet is a primary concern for the understanding and practice of
Earth Surrender Rites.
Within each human being, there lives a "genetic conduit" for absorbing,
integrating, and transmitting signals from the DNA matrix. Besides
articulating the genetic blueprint of Life As We Know It here on Earth,
DNA is also the native language of the planetary entity. The DNA code is
binary in structure as its signals traverse between polarities to generate
and maintain Life Itself. Humans developing internal resonance with DNA
surrender to planetary intelligence and become conduits for its absorbtion,
integration, and transmission. The man-woman relationship required for
Earth Surrender Rites is not based on personal gratification or the mutual
romance of personalities but the possibility of becoming instrumental to
planetary feeding. Through cultivating profound states of receptivity, men
and women learn to detect genetic/generic patterns of being ... those which
are innate to the bio-psychic structures maintaining our lives.
When the planetary entity coordinates meetings with a certain and
a certain woman to feed itself, there is excited an intensity that is not
emotional in origin yet the emotions may react to it. This intensity is
electromagnetic in nature and generates between the genetic conduits
previously awakened In a man and a woman. There is an all-encompasing,
self-enveloping quality to this intensity. It may have the effect of exciting
tension in the physical body until the body knows what to do with the
energy. This quality will release the depth-feeling of infinity shared
between the man . and woman as time dissolves and spiritual presence
expands. A certain freedom of being or mutual autoI).omy tends to
accompany the intensity, as well.
All Rites Reversed
79
From a psychic perspective, humans are bio-electromagnetic
It tteries and the planet is a battery:
I I charge theirs by distinguishing and . .w
1thm
Iht mselves. The purpose of setting up internal polantIes IS an
II, illation of consciousness between them towards the construction of an
11\ rgetic source, or star. This process of a thi.rd
"II' nscendent" quality which feeds the genetic condUlt. !hlS thIrd
Iu'yond polarity is pure, or generic, consciousness and Its expa.nslOn IS
I pressed as the intensity felt a man and a woman m Earth
,lIrrender Rites. When two energetic sources, or stars, generate more
'I'Onsciousness between them we have a "stellar polarity" forming the
I,rger generator from which the planetary food is produced.
When the intensity between a man and a woman reaches "unbearable
proportions", the planetary food is cooked and needs to be sent to
I dh's core by the man. Genetically, man is more of contamer. as hIS
lIl'\er essence is more feminine and so, provides boundarIes for the ntual. It
up to him to Il).ake sure the container does not break from pressure
li t m the electromagnetic power. The man learns about tImmg. Good
I ming happens when both man and woman are left with their
ntact. Poor timing occurs if one or both human batterIes are
hort-circuited and/or over-amped.
The woman's ritual function is with feeding the man while he feeds the
/I lanet. As he directs the power to the Earth's core, the woman
II( r Heart Center to his with a beam of Earth energy. The woman Sinner
I ence is more masculine, so she serves as the contained by drawing up
1\ lrth energy into her body and sending it to man heart.
This can be accomplished by connecting the WIt? earth
I nergy up through the base of her spine an? energy
throughout her body on the exhale. The re,retition this breathmg cycle
If nds to stabilize the overall electromagnetic flux as It lends the energy a
more manageable feel. (See GROUNDING CIRCLES)
This description of Earth Surrender Rites did P?ssible
psychological and emotional reactions to the shared mtenslty but
presented the underlying structure of the process. Earth Surrender Rites,
I described here, are not accessible to every man and woman and so,
ought not to be contrived to suit the curiosity of friends and lovers. The
t-up occurs by planetary arrangement whereby a man and
brought together by the power of intensity oscilla.ting theIr genet.lc
\' nduits. Sometimes, emotional and psycholOgIcal reactions emerge m
relation to this kind of intensity which often obscure the true purpose of the
meeting. Human culture has seeded human minds with images to help
contain and direct tremendous forces towards socially accepted
conventions. For example, perhaps the intensity between two human
batteries is misjudged for human love and they enter the social convention
of marriage. Planetary food is then fed to a more horizontal need
emphasizing the fusion of the two batteries rather than their mutual
service and recognition of the third node of the circuit, namely, the
planetary entity itself.
In the midst of great intensity between a man and woman, it is often
easy to identify ones emotional/psychological reactions with the power
generated between genetic conduits and thus remain deluded about the
possible true origin of that intensity. It is quite possible that a man and
woman are brought together for the sole purpose of feeding the planet and
very little else. They may meet on special occasions to work the ceremony
and then, part ways until the next time. Equally possible is that a man and
woman engaged in Earth Surrender Rites may share other activities
together, as well. However, if a man and woman start out feeding the
planet and then enter other areas of energetic fusion together only to
discover their capacity to feed the planet diminishing, then it becomes
self-evident what is happening. As the power leaves a certain couple, it
undoubtedly travels towards magnetizing another man and woman
together to accomplish the task. This power is autonomous ... lighting and
leaving on a moments notice, spiraling into its most direct expression.
Earth Surrender Rites is simply a name for one variation of many, many
possibilities in the field of bio-psychic interactions between human beings
and the planetary entity. The technology, design and basic blueprint for this
ceremony was distilled from essences experienced by the author and reflect
his bias, conceptual framework and Central Nervous System as it works to
integrate this input.
'Ilie man is a cottage
.9Lnd tfie 'Woman is a tree 6esUe tlie door.
rrhe man is a cottage
Ytna tlie woman is a tree besitfe tlie aoor.
rrhe man is a rocf(in a bouCtfer fieM
Ytna tlie woman is snow, me(ting.
Jle worsliips beauty
Ytna wants to a(( gooa tliings fruitfuL
Slie is tlie aaugliter of Spoon Woman.
Jler rap is fragrant ana soft as tunara.
Spoon Woman aves forever,
(jrowing younger ana oCtfer, younger.
Jle is (earning to atg a p1-t,
Ytna pour 6(00a into it, ana weep.
Wlien Spoon Woman is oCtfer
Jler face is barf(
Ytntf lier nair is wliere tlie river lias eaten its banf(away
Leaving mattea ana tang(ea roots.
WlienSpoon Woman is younger
Slie is vani(ra
Ytna a new(y wasliea cotton niglitgown,
Sweet from arying in tlie sun.
Jle is tlie Son of tlie One wlio Starts rrliings Vp.
Jumped by tlie (jrizz(y Man,
'Jvfeeting tlie 1Jream Man,
Jle carves stone arrowlieads
Ytnd pictures in tlie sand.
'Ta{t to tfte stars now.
Sfte says: Motfter, (jranamotfter.
:Jfe says: :Fatfter, (jrandJatfter.
Wften tfte man ana tfte woman meet -
'Eacft one as kJ:
'What souna is tftis person toaay ?'
'Toaay fte is tfte song of tfte barn swa{fow
JlLna sfte is soft rain weaving a sasft on tfte pone.
. 'Tonigftt
%e 15 tfte souna of a coyote s paw c-igging in snow
Sfte is tfte souncf of an acorn sprout '
P ~ f t i n g tftrougft tfte aamp eartft.
In tfteir bea
%e two of tftems{eep
Curfea about eacft otfter.
JlLncf that spira{
'WindS tftrougft tfte whore wor{e.
(c) 1986 Cftris %offman
All Rites Reversed
GROUNDING CIRCLES
& DREAMTIME RITUALS
by Antero Alli
83
The Grounding Circle requires two or more people to work. One
I
" I' on can practice its preparation and benefit yet the circuit completes
I 1 with another(s). To arrive at the awareness of being a planetary node
III' "conduit", we must first pass through a Concept Free Zone and enter the
I Iloim of Our Senses. The purpose of Grounding Circles rests in the
fllbilization of individual and collective energy fields.
If with a group of three, sit in a triangle; four, a square; five, a
I ntagram; six, a hexagon (6-pointed star). Any more, form a circle and
Iny less, sit across from one another. Without touching anyone anywhere,
I se your eyes and center. Settle your awareness to the base of the spine
o gravity collects there and feels like an anchor. Then, open the base of
your spine. If your feet are flat on the ground, open your arches up. Get a
tl ose of being a dark, hollow shell with these openings at the bottom.
W tch your breathing and let it be natural, so you do not hold your breath.
'I'hen, connect your breath to EARTH ENERGY. On the inhale, breathe in
i\ARTH ENERGY up through the spine's base and/ or the arches and on the
I hale, circulate this EARTH ENERGY throughout your entire body.
I peat this cycle of connected energetic breathing, filling yourself with
I(ARTH ENERGY. This type of energy may start feeling "dense". Keep
l'irculating it to discover your capacity for permitting density. How dense
n you get? (EARTH ENERGY may create a sense of being more compact.
'I'his is because it is a natural stabilizer.) If you wish to increase the flow,
breathe deeper while dilating the openings where you are drawing it up
rom. To decrease the flow, implement the reverse procedure. You are
looking for your point of Maximum Density without losing consciousness.
Now, be sensitive to being a "bump on the planet." This is called
IJump Consciousness and starts your nodal awareness. Feel that you are a
I rotuberance of the planet itself. There is no difference between yourself
lind the planet. Be receptive to its vast support and strength. Then be
oware (with eyes closed) of the other "bumps" around you resonating their
lransmissions of EARTH ENERGY. (if you're in a circle, sense a "ring of
bumps." Let your body be influenced and moved by the EARTH ENERGY.
(low much can you give your body over to the EARTH? Feel free to
tremble, shake and quiver. These are natural biological responses to a
resonant phase shift ... an acceleration of energy to synchronize with a
higher level than before.
When you are ready to move on, place your arms out in front of you
:your palms faced up (arms can rest on lap). While you are maintaining
cycle of connected breath, exhale excess EARTH ENERGY out your
and through your hands and fingertips. Then, begin resonating a
that matches the frequency of the EARTH ENERGY. (It matters not how
sounds but that you remain true to your contact with your source
EARTH ENERGY.) There's no need to control the sound or create
let the EARTJ:I ENERGY determine the tone, pitch, key, and
d1rectIon. The only thmg you need to do is resonate a sound to match
energy itself.
you feel strong enough to link up with the other bumps,
extend your nght hand (FACED DOWN) to the person on your right and
your left hand (FACED UP) to the person on your left. Keep cycling EARTH
through your body and out your hands. The intent in the link-up
1S to cIrculate EARTH ENERGY throughout the collective, whil
continuing the process of cycling it through yourself. There are two hand
positions for linking up: 1) with a gap, and 2) without a gap. Experiment to
feel what it's like to circulate EARTH ENERGY without physically
touching the hands of others but passing the EARTH ENERGY through the
gap between and theirs. Then, close the gap by holding hands to
feel what that 1S lIke. Alternate between the two positions for optimal
circulation of EARTH ENERGIES.
Circulate EARTH ENERGIES until you feel complete, then withdraw
your hands and renew your singular nodal connection. If you start to jerk
or tr.en:t
ble
the GROUNDING CIRCLE, give . yourself
to. acqu1esce to adjustments. Your body has its own ways
?f entermg h1gher frequenc1es and deeper bon dings. It needs to express
freely to feel safe enough to continue. After every body has
w1thdrawn to their own individual integrity conduits, send excess
Earth Energy to the core of the planet. The Grounding Orcle is an
effective preI:aration rite for ceremonies evoking a lot of charge, light
and/orpsych1c energy. That's why it's called a Grounding Circle.
All Rites Reversed
85
DREAMTIME RITUALS
When we go to sleep, we dream. we enter as. an
lilt Irvor' other times, as participants. It 1S through dream partICIpatIon
III It we' come to identify with our "dre,amself" and . explore the
IIlI ti tidimensional dreamtime. Now consider thIs: Upon from
ti ll oms the next morning, you are being dreamed into. eXlsta.nce by th1s
dllilmself after it has gone to sleep in the dreamtime. Is ltposslble
11/'/ either dreaming and/or being dreamed? Is there only the aCtiV1ty. of
t)" ' AM as the Buddha tells us? Dreaming Rituals are ceremomes
II v aling the bridge betwee.n the and the daydream we
I III "reality." A dreaming ntual amplif1es the contact pomts between our
I )lI lly Personality and the Deep Self of Soul realms for the of
I posing their interaction. How can.we tngger t he esse.nce.s of
IIlo conscious recognition? By creatmg an outlet for theIr dIrect
hl'ough our physical bodies as movement, sound, gesture and ntual
I II ctment.
This is a highly kinetic, non-interpretive approach to dreamwork. It
I\ volves piecing dream remnants together to mo,:,ement cycles
" pable of exciting dream memory into present-tIme .con.sclOusness. The
lIOn-interpretive approach helps projectIon of our
mbolic meanings and/or imposed behefs m exchange
1'(1 eptive to the inherent meaning of the dream itself. mtent of th1s
I' tual is at least two-fold: 1) Emotional surrender; 2)
r .. om participating with the intersecting realms of dreamtIme and daytIme.
To start the process, go to sleep with the of watching for
nd/or remembering a movement in your dream. Th1s should
tand out for its kinetic property, in other words ... not because 1t means
my thing but because for some reason, it sticks out as a movement per se.
You are not searching for meanings at all. When you awaken the
rnoming, immediately practice the movement as as poss1ble.
The power of this ritual depends upon the degree by wh1ch dream
D:l,ovement can be reproduced precisely, so, only those you
nre physically capable of. Run throug,h it mechamcally ... casually, w1thout
ny other intent than its .
Your "dreaming task" is In practIcing th1s movement the
day by stopping to intentionally do so ... three to S.lX tImes before
you go to sleep again. This weaves the dreamhme together by
onscious execution of the dreaming task. Your objective 1S to accumulate
...
86
All Rites Reversed
three movements from dreams. Practice them throughout one day or take
three days to do it. They don't have to be from the same dream, or they can.
They can be movements you saw somebody else do in your dream or
somethingelse .. .like a tree or a fish.
Once you have three separate movements, you are ready to construct a
movement cycle. Before this, however,construct a Rare Area, Sanctify the
Space, and Warm-Up to ready yourself. (See RITUAL PREPARATION)
After warming up, practice each movement separately three or four times
through each. You should be able to run through each one with eyes closed.
The intent here is building a kinetic memory of each movement, so your
body has become familiar with each one of them. Then join movement #3
to #1 by stitching the former to the latter somehow creating one extended
motion, rather than two separate ones. Practice this eyes closed until you
get it. Then, stitch this extended movement to #2 in the same manner, eyes
closed. Then, move through to #3, eyes closed. You are now ready to
execute the complete movement cycle ... #3 to #1 to #2 to #3 to #1, etc.
Practice this cycle until its repetition articulates specific rhythmic patterns.
Do it with your eyes closed. Establish a kinetic memory of this movement
cycle.
Part Two; Charging the Dreaming Ritual
If you haven't already done so, draw a circle on the ground either
mentally or literally, with a stick or rock. Let it be at least ten feet in
diameter. Step outside this circle and enter it with the intent of sanctifying
its space. Then exit the circle and face it. Enter a NO-FORM state (See
No-Form, RITUAL PREPARATIONS) and project (See Projection, RITUAL
PREPS) the kinetic memory of your dreaming movement cycle into the
circle with all of its associations with the dreamtime which originated
these movements in the first place.
When you feel empty and receptive enough, enter the circle and let
the first movement's energy structure fill your body and begin moving it
into the physical form of that movement. Let this transition into movement
#2, then on into the whole movement cycle. Feel free to move as slowly as
you like to remain true to the energy structures of these movements as well
as their dreamtime associations. Imagistic and emotional impressions may
emerge ,as dream memory floods consciousness. Stay with the movement
cycle. Don't stop to figure anything out and/or think about meanings.
Simply keep moving. As you continue along with the movez.nent cycle, be
sensitive to any story or myth that may emerge: Let the myth unfold its
message and let its energetic penetrate your heart. Let it touch you, in
other words. Keep moving through the cycle until the myth is so vivid and
the feeling so strong that there's no place else to go but to culminate in a
gesture communicating the essence of this moment. Briefly the
mythic intent penetrating your heart/soul/body and the?, step outslde the
circle and re-enter a deep No-Form state to help neutralize the charge and
bring you back into present time. If it's useful, write your dream down
and/ or speak about the experience with others. If possible, refrain from
projecting any meaning into the results. Instead, the inherent
message the Higher Self is relaying through the Dreamtime to you.
THE LAW COMES FROM THE MOUNTAIN
An Interview with Guboo Ted Thomas
Chief Aboriginal Elder of the Yuin Tribe
1987 Antero Alli
In his youth, Guboo Ted Thomas was selected from 3,500 Aboriginal
tribal members to inherit the position of chief elder of the Yuin in Australia.
After outliving five young brides, three years ago the 78-year old Guboo
chose to travel around the world teaching principles of the
Dreamtime ... the sacred heart of Aboriginal spirituality. Guboo says
Dreaming develops the mind for long-distance telepathy and other powers
that have become the norm for Aboriginal living. Guboo played a
dijeridoo, (a traditional Aboriginal instrument made from the trunk of a
certain tree that had been hollowed out by termites beforehand) before we
spoke while he was visiting here in Boulder, COLORADO, April281987 to
show color slides of Australian power spots. The interview followed a
rather participatory path as Guboo insisted I stop asking him questions so I
could read him stories written by himself. I've not included these stories as
they were clearly meant for those present at that time. You had to be
there, in other words ...
Antero Alli: Tell me about yourself.
Guboo Ted Thomas: . My name is Guboo Ted Thomas. Guboo is my tribal
name and Guboo means "good friend." So, today, I am your good friend.
As I look back in Dreamtime and see Australia, it is a land of dreaming
where the law comes from the mountain. Here, the Aboriginal people have
roamed around the bush forSO,OOO years .. .listening to the birds, animals,
Mother Earth... and She teaches us to send messages by our minds ...
hundreds of miles to our people. Up in the mountain is the place to talk to
the Great Spirit, who we call Darama. And Darama saw the
Aboriginal people were in tune with the Mother Earth and blessed them.
There has been no war on Australian soil. This is why the Dreamtime is so
important tq us .. .it is always bringing us together.
AA: Is there a way to speak about the Dreamtime, Guboo ?
GTT: Yes ... there is a way ... and then, maybe not. Dreamtime is a very
important tool for our people. Dreaming is the main way we use the mind,
you see. It starts outdoors in a very quiet place where there is no noise and
where the wind is blowing. Here, all around are Nature Spirits. You have
them around here, too. NQt where you have cleared the land ... the .spirits
go back to the trees then, to the woods and wait there. In Australia, we
take y(m to the outback and sit you down where I put red ochre on your
forehead. This means respect, like the red band I wear on my head when I
travel here in America. Then, I would talk to you and be in the spirit of the
land and bring that spirit here (gestures to interviewer's heart). After
walking in the woods for some time, you would dream and spirits would
visit your vision. Yes, you would see these spirits and they talk with yo,:.
People today know that something's going to happen, that the world 1S
going to change but we've never changed with it, we're still back where we
first started. The dreaming is 'a way to be in the change of this world ... and
, Australia is the last land on Earth that has the dreaming.
AA: Are there ways you help others enter the Dreaming ?
GTT: We need a spiritual first. Fasting on grapes for two days
will bring you more power, so will praying and meditating. We have
Dreaming Camps where we take people to the mountain ... sometimes
small groups, other times a few hundred. One thing you must know. You
come as a child and learn how to crawl before you walk. I know today you
have your education but I don't want you like that. I want you to come the
way I want you to come ... as a little child. Take every step. So, if you've
got an education, you've missed two or three steps. Listen what I
say .. . how do you touch a tree and feel the love of that tree? Sometimes,
you have to blindfold people and let them find their way around the rocks
to learn. The rocks there are like natural churches ... altars, so we don't
need no artificial churches, you see. Just stand by the rock circles on the
mountain and speak to the Great Spirit. You will feel a vibration ... you will
hear Darama, the Creator. Your words must come from the heart or it's
just blah blah blah ... this you must learn before Dreaming.
AA: What kind of tools do you use in your work ?
GTt : We have stone implements. We make our own knives, tomahawks,
and that. The Aboriginal people were stone masons long, long ago .. .50,OOO
years ... tempering the stone so they couid hit the hard wood without
breaking their tools. We know how much power is needed and where to hit
the tree to chop it down. Anytime we take something from the Mother
Earth, we pray to her first. We make killer boomerangs from wood and
hunt kangaroo. Before we hunt the kangaroo, we pray to its spirit and to
the Mother Earth. You know ... the Aboriginal people were once very
tall...seven foot tall ... big, powerful men. Look at us today ... I'm only five
foot six. Since we've been eating white man's food, I'm getting smaller.
90
All Rites Reversed
So, you see the difference? The Aboriginal food was blessed and had
vitamins. It was good for you. I think the Aboriginal people were better off
then, than they are today... There are not as many trees today. The trees
are always two together, a male and female ... that's creation, you see. You
separate them and what happens? We've lost love for the trees. "Wapoo"
means beautiful bush, or tree. I have these clapping sticks which I've
made from a prayer to wapoo and I sing to wapoo when I play the sticks. I
sing now. I know if you or the people don't listen to me sing, the birds and
animals and the trees will hear. (Pausing first. .. Gu1?oo sings, while
playing his clapping sticks. After his song, Guboo smiles and continues
talking)
Wapoo. The Aboriginal Sunrise Ceremonies are very special to our
people. It starts when the sky is black, beautiful black. When the sun's
yellow circle arrives, it turns the sky red. This is why the Aboriginal flag is
half red, half black with a yellow circle in the middle. At the Sunrise
Ceremony, I meditate and ask the Great Spirit for direction. My hands fill
with electricity. I touch you and you feel it, too. I heal people this
way ... my Grandmother did that, too. I learned all about that when I was a
young fellow. Umbarra, the Black Duck, is the special totem of our tribe,
the Yuin. We learn to respect the elders who hand on the Law. The elders
guard the Law and the Law guards the people. This is the Law that comes
from the mountain.
AA: What do you see in the future ?
GTT: I remember, one time ago, a lot of professors gathered to talk about
the world and the problems we're having today. One bloke got up and he
said, "I think we should ask the Aboriginal people what went wrong." They
would not lower themselves to come and ask an Aboriginal what went
wrong. Man don't take notice what Aboriginal people say because we've
been here over 50,000 years and what do you think that means? (pausing)
It means they mine the Uranium out of the ground and the green ants; they
leave. When the green ants leave for good, the Dreaming goes with them.
In February 1988, I am going to Ulura where there's an Aboriginal Sacred
Site ... a power point called Ayers Rock. Here, I'm getting 6,000 people
together to link hands and connect with the rest of the world through the
dreaming. We can tune into Findhorn, Tibet, America, Africa, the whole
world from this place. Everyone is welcome to come. Everyone is welcome
to link up then ... wherever they are in the world. This is how the
Dreamtime is.
92
All Rites Reversed
VOCAL CREATIONS
A Basis for Sonic Resonance
The following sonic meditations are designed to enhance the natural voice
as a resonating instrument for expressing the Self in ritual work. These
vocal aim at meeting three specific objectives: 1) FLEXIBILITY of
the VOlce; 2) EXTENSION of sound throughout the whole body; and 3)
COMMUNICATION OF UNITY from integrating three primary "centers"
called: HEAD, HEART and GUT.
Three fundamental tools are now presented as a bridge for the fullfillment
of the previous objectives. They are:
recognizing ones "point of strain" while vocalizing and
dururushmg Its fo:ce when this occurs. There is no reason why the voice
needs to constncted when a gradual, gentle development can effectively
expand pItch, tone, power and color. Relaxation expands the voice.
BREATHING: sound "rides" out on the breath and serves to energize the
InStrument and mcrease lung capacity. The breath is so fundamental that
you should be able to breathe through the soles of your feet. Breath
supports the voice.
INTl!ITION:. the of is silence. Cultivating intimacy with
sIlence IS essentIal to the motivated sound", one with a life of its own.
From the silence o.f NO-FORM, we are influenced by a force or aspect of
our nature and thIS can be expressed through vocal resonance. Intuition
connects the voice.
The following "sound ?e.practiced alone and/or in a group. If
they are collectIvely, It IS Important to emphasize the need for
self-commItment and the internal concentration to vocalize ones own
while others are doing the same. This practice can aid in the
dIscovery of one.s own vocal limitations. Before entering the exercises, it is
suggested practIce to warm-up physically, emotionally & vocally for at
least 15 minutes prior.
SOUND CYCLE #1 (standing or sitting spine erect) "HOMING"
1) I3r \ th the letter "H". Gradually voice it from wherever it emerges
m t () llll'olly in y?ur body. Now, locate the lowest region in your body it
an r n t(\ fr m, I.e., your belly, pubic bone, base of your spine. From the
lowest point, vo liz /breathe the letter "H".
2) Add the sound "OH" to make the sound "HO". Repeat the sound "HO",
starting at your lowest point and raising it as you voice the "0", i.e., start
the "H" in your belly and let the "0" bring the "HO" up to your lungs. So
the "HO" starts in your belly and ends up in your lungs. Repeat.
3) Add the sound of "MMM" to make "HHHOHMMM". Start the "HHH"
in your belly and raise it to your lungs with "OH" and up into your nasal
area with the sound "HHHOHMMM". Repeat several times. Now just
practice the "MMM" sound in the nasal region until it "buzzes" or tickles
there.
4) Add an "invisible E" sound to make the word, "HOME". Repeat step #3
and add the "E" after the nasal vibration stage by sending it (the E) out the
top of your head and into space. Watch this "E" disappear into the void.
Start the whole process over again. "HHH" in the belly ... rasing it to lungs
with "HHHOH," then up to nasal area with "HHHOHMMM", then send
that silent "E" out the crown and into space.
The previous sonic meditation serves as an ACCELERATOR and can be
used whenever our overall energy requires either breaking up and/or
raising. After HOMING, you may want to bend over (letting your head
bow and hang) to release any excess energy. The acceleration may elicit
light-headedness so, re-stabilize yourself.
SOUND CYCLE #2 (standing) Masculine/Feminine Polarization
1) From NO-FORM, locate contact point with MASCULINE. Use the
letter "H" followed by any long vowel (HAY, HEE, HOO, HO, HI) to
vocalize MASCULINE. Bring a kind of "primitive breath" into play and
move MASCULINE down into your belly if it's not already there. Primitive
is fiery, sudden and short. Repeat the "H" sound with vowel.
2) Send the sound and energy from the gut down through the legs and into
the earth. Use the "H" sound to do this. Then alternate with the various
long vowels: HAY! HEE! HOO! HI! HO! emphasizing focused breath and
directional, controlled movement. Locate the rhythm of these repeating
sounds and follow through. Make this a statement of determined and
controlled effort. (See Directional Movement)
94
All Rites Reversed
3) Return to NO-FORM, then let FEMININE drift down from above your
head into your crown. Without controlling this force, serve its expression
as a "hollow reed". Let it sway your body, especially the arms, hands, and
fingers. Start resonating a sound which matches this energetic direction.
4) At will, return to MASCULINE and HAY, HOO, HO, HI, HEE. Then, at
will, return to the FEMININE by relaxing the self-determined and highly
controlled MASCULINE grip. Alternate between both locating your point
of flexibility between the primitive breath of controlling your voice
(MASCULINE) and letting your intuition guide you (FEMININE).
Emphasize the three tools of RELAXATION, BREATHING and
INTUITION. There is no need to strain the voice at all. Be easy in the
transition point between MASCULINE and FEMININE, as there is a
natural shift and conversion there which requires no forcing. Return to
NO-FORM.
SOUND CYCLE #3 (sitting or standing) The Breaking Point
1) Discover your lowest pitch without straining ... use all three tools to
stabilize your lowest note. Do the same by finding your highest pitch.
Repeat both, one at a time, until they audibly expand your range.
2) Now, discover how long you can sustain both pitches without strain.
Once again, use the tools of relaxation, breathing and intuition.
3) Start with your lowest pitch and SLIDE up to your highest
pitch ... gradually and gently. SLIDE from highest to
While sliding up and down between each pItch, locate your breakmg
point" whereby the continuity of sound is broken. Keep sliding until you
know exactly where it is.
4) Focus on the vocal range before and after the break. Flip back and forth
between them with the break separating the sound there. Flip back and
forth between both sides of your break to.fine tune exactly what pitch xour
break expresses.
5) Invent or develop a sound to express the pitch of the break so the s.ound
bridges the gap. Relax into this new sound. Slide up and down to test its
resiliancy. '
All Rites Reversed
THE VOICE AS ARTIST
An Interview with Paul Oertel
By Antero Alli
95
This meeting with the internationally-acclaimed voice artist, Paul
Oertel, took place September 5th, 1986 in his studio in
Onstage since he was ten years old, Paul s extensIve
theatrical! dance/voice background also incorporates the study of human
anatomy. Since 1970, he has co-created with his wife, Nancy Spanier, in a
series of Inter-Media Performance pieces featured throughout the U.S.A.
and Europe.
ANTERO ALLI: Speak about the value of relating to silence and how this
relationship influences the quality of sound. '
PAUL OERTEL: The foundations of my initial work came Kristin
Linklater, an acting/voice teacher at the NYU Scho?l o.f the Arts NYC.
The bottom line to establishing vocal technique was that pomt ?f no
effort. We started with lying on our backs and observmg
breath was not being motivated by any noise whats?ever. E,:en If the mmd
continued creating noise, the actual breath was silent. This created one
open channel, so that no matter how tense I am ... this channel no! be
interfered by my neurotic habits ... psychic tenSIon.
The J>reath itself will produce commUnIcation In silence wlthout effort.
AA: When you work one-to-one with someone, what do you look for first to
find out the most about them?
PO: What happens first is that there's some sense of the
individual's gift and their need. That usually glimmers forth when they
walk in the room. Then, after that it's mostly a puzzle. .are the
overlays, misconceptions, pri::!tensions, and blocks that n:ade It dIffICult for
the person to access their gift? Then come the to
breaking up the blocks and confusIOns ... to make It certaIn
to the person that those things are not necessary.
AA: Touch upon the conversion point between sound into movement and
dance.
PO: You can sometimes use sound to unblock the issues and sometimes
movement and you can play back and forth on where the person
is most open. If the person is blocked in the phySIcal body and they ha,:e a
fairly open vocal channel, you can hook in that way. What we usually fmd
96
All Rites Reversed
most difficult in voice class is the value judgment about the resistance ...
AA: .. .the resistance of the resistance ...
po: Absolutely. So, if the person says they feel like an ugly, stubborn, stupid
donkey, then if we begin to dance out this ugly, stubborn, stupid donkey we
discover that the individual without value judgment has a wonderful time.
AA: How can one vocalize intense feeling without blowing people away?
And is there a way to contain expression without diluting its power?
PO: That's a very important question. My experience is that it has to do
with the relationship between space, flesh and emotional flow. For
example, if a person is expressing heightened anger and their flesh is
caught in it and they are totally invested in it as if that is their identity, it
tears up the body ... exhausts and debilitates the person. It may produce a
kind of catharsis but it wipes them out and they may have to go home and
sleep. It poHutes the space and they don't get much insight from the
experience because they have no perspective or point of view. Therefore,
what to do?
In the body, we found that if the emotional flow is moving up the front
of the spine but the person feels quiet and completely safe behind it then
you can let anything fly and it will flow right out through an open channel
out the body. The person is sitting there watching it with enough
perspective that this other phenomena doesn't happen. Anatomically, we
can go into the back ribs, so the person begins to feel: "Oh, there is space
back there". And as they separate that space, they begin to experience the
emotion in front of the space. Then they can actually sob and not feel
frightened because they are behind the emotion and not in it.
AA: Let's go back to the issue of containing expression without diluting its
power ...
po: It was put to me very well by an acting teather named Olympia
OeCaucous, a Greek woman in New York, and she said there was three
things you can do with an emotion. You can stuff it, you can throw it out, or
you can experience it in your flesh. Of course, the "stuffing of emotion"
produces neurosis and sickness. Throwing it out often leaves somebody
devastated ... someone who gets the energy. But if you take the energy and
actually put it into your flesh ... pour it through like a sieve, then instead of
having the emotion go to the world, it goes through the muscles. In that
process; it becomes refined, filtered and this produces insight which creates
understanding. In the audience, this works because it lets them handle the
heat.
AA: What is resonance and how does it happen?
po: Anytime you have a space closed off or muscles that are tight, it's like
filling a violin with cotton or a room with pillows. As the muscles are freed,
that area then will resonate. Another thing that is interesting is that places
in a person's body that will not resonate have no consciousness. Often,
awareness is enough. One can point to an area in the body and by
becoming more aware of the spot, its resonance will increase. So, it turns
out that one can develop a whole vocal technique that is based purely on
awareness ... where the more aware of your physical being you become, the
more your voice opens up. The flesh is really the barometer. If you look at
the flesh and it's becoming open, freer, lovelier ... you know something is
working. If the flesh is getting tighter, tenser, hardened, shortening and
space is being lost...you know it's not working. Often times people will
sacrifice their intuition for a certain effect that may be more SOciolOgically
or politically acceptable. If a person learns to trust their instincts, they
arrive at breath, relaxation and intuition ... as well as their own personal
aesthetic, integrity and individuality. They can arrive at their innate gift
and ability to be of service and of use relative to their role on the planet.
/
AA: How do you help people get beyond their concepts and closer to their
own instincts?
PO: It has to be by an experience rather than an argument. An experience
has to be created that is so sensuous, so pleasurable ... so wonderful and
undeniably real that they don't want the other thing anymore. They make
the choice. I help the experience happen. If one experience doesn't work,
then others are made. I have tried to argue people down and it's futile. The
mind is infinitely clever. Who am I to tell anybody what to think anyways?
It's none}!)f my business.
AA: How can the voice become more flexible and sensitive to conveying the
subtleties of the human heart's song?
PO: It's a question of removing fear. As the fear is removed, the human
heart's song appears. As the tensions, preconceptions and notions are
removed .. .it's like a bird in a cage singing with all kinds of locks, cotton,
mufflers and stuff around it. The whole time the bird is singing y t tlw
person can't hear it and no one can hear it because it's all buffered.
Gradually, the person starts to hear it and asks, "Is that me? Am I that
beautiful?".
AA: Talk about singing with the whole body ...
po: If a part of the body is blocked or denied, it won't have awareness. As
we spoke earlier, where there's no awareness there's no resonance and
expression. Let's say a person feels a vibration in the head and then the
emotion moves down to the buttock seeking expresion ... the voice wants to
drop down into there. If this person has a belt of tension through their
diaphragm, then the energy drops down and hits the diaphragm and the
person suddenly feels nauseous ... the expression doesn't happen. So, it's a
question of making all the tracks free and all the dams so the water can
flow freely everywhere. It's the removing of the blocks so that the whole
thing can work. There's nothing to be done or created; the creation is
already there. The whole body would work instantly if there was nothing
dividing it into fragments.
AA: How do you neutralize and dissipate the charge that often accumulates
while performing? What do you do after the show? How do you let it go?
po: That, of course, is a very important question. A lot of what will
dissipate it is being completely open so the energy passes through. I don't
lock anywhere. Any block in my body will catch the flow and I'll pick up the
whole thing. I continue to express what's going on and then, there is a
"process period". This is where I process the whole thing in movement for
maybe weeks ... months .. .if the experience is really a shocking one, it may
run right up against my issues ... then, those issues will be really hot. That's
one of the reasons I perform. The performance absolutely devastates me
and rocks my very core. After I have gone through that experience and
having been shaken to my very soul, then there are hours and hours of
improvisation where I put back together what has been destroyed in a new
way. I get all the information I need from the experience itself.
For more info, write:
PAUL OERTEL c/o The Nancy Spanier Dance Theatre
P,O, Box 4631 in Boulder. COLORADO 80306
100
All Rites Reversed
THE RITUAL CATALYST
Master of Ceremonies
by Antero Alli
The ritual catalyst is someone familiar enough with the work itself to
suggest appropriate tasks for its challenging integrity and development.
This role does not have to function as a director, teacher, guru and/or
therapist. S /he can operate quite well as an overseer pertinent
information for individual and group progress. ThIs mcludes the
knowledge of ongoing present-time moods, resistances, .energy and
the overall spirit of each meeting for the purpose of ntual
designs amplifying current dynamics. The catalyst does have to
a direction but through careful observation, reads Inx.'ate
evolving throughout the group as a whole. By servmg thIS amplIfIcatIon
process, participants and catalysts alike deeper .acces.s forces at
play and where they are going. The effectiveness of ntuallgnltIon seems to
depend on this kind of perception.
. During the time alloted to ritual the catalyst .has the
opportunity to check in on group levels- of: ReSIstance,
Attention Spans and Excitement. These four references offer gUidelines to
scanning and reading the group mind, as well individual
(Sometimes, it is useful to participate in the PhYSIcal Prep espeCIally If It
generates greater awareness of the. four previous. Since the
catalyst is, for the most part, expenenced. by as. a VOICE ...
there are certain vocal adjustments serving faCIlItatIon. It IS by verbal
suggestion that the catalyst refers participants to of Self
surrender to. In this way, a rather vulnerable condItion IS Invoked In
participants. The catalyst learns to combine words and voice them in ways
conducive to inviting participation, development and eventually,
surrender. As a ritual catalyst, we are speaking to participants as Central
Nervous Systems and the Bodies they inhabit and manage.
Any individual trained in the medium can function as catalyst
and is actually suggested practice for people to take turns domg One
skill a catalyst learns is relaxation. If you're it'll show up your
voice. Resistance excites resistance so it's a good Idea to express reSIstance
vocally beforehand and get it out of your have
enough of their own resistance to work through WIthout haVing to sort
through yours, too.) The next task is learning how to we
are looking for is present-time dynamics. A catalyst IS there to
the moment until enough bits and pieces are gathered to speak about It.
It is quite useless, and even distracting to others, to speak before
observing. Read that last sentence again for a key catalyst's The
words you use to issue suggestions and may cons!ant
adjustment to coincide with the perpetual Influx of changing informatIon.
The catalyst needs to be that flexible. 'When in doubt: relax then, look to
see.
Another skill useful to ritual catalyzation is an outlook permitting
uncertainty. Participants diligently prepare towards the ritualization of
their Source Relations and from here, their interaction amongst each
other. The catalyst is in charge of initiating an atmosphere where this is
possible. This, in part, starts with an attitude ... an aura ... the brings
to the ritual setting. Along with a non-judmental outlook (lettlrtg people
be themselves in your presence), the catalyst must posit a heightened focus
of the ritual intent. In short, the catalyst is responsible for charging the
space with a certain mixture of autonomy and discipline. One internal
. adjustment for setting this in motion is playing with a "lack of
self-investment". If the catalyst is too excited or ego-involved,
participants will pick up on it and resist his/her suggestions. As ritual
catalyst, create space for the participant's involvement by occasIOnally
removing our own. (Don't make your position Too Important.) This does
not imply a diminished but a higher degree than
previously realized because a catalyst does not require going through the
same changes as that which it effects.
In a highly sensitized Rare Area,words are mantras capable of
the bodies receiving them. When selecting words and phrases, refrain from
those which require the receiver to Think About what you said. Speak to
The Body. Use simple words and be clear arid direct. The Body tends to
resist over-definition and the imposition of structures onto a basically fluid
state. Don't spell things out too much. Experiment with letting
instructions be incomplete enough to !et participants include their own
definitions. (Generally speaking, the less you say the better.) You are here
to create a space for the discovery process excited by your initial
instructions. It is important to give participants ample time to explore and
exhaust your suggestions. The Body needs more time to experience than
The Mind does to get the picture. Patience is a catalyst's guide. On the
other hand, the pace of a ritual can be quickened by suggesting
DEVELOPMENT and/or GESTURES to help detect and frame th
emerging material.
The role of the catalyst in the GROUP CIRCLE is simply asking
participants to speak about their experience. (This is a good place to pay
attention to new information regarding proceeding rituals) If participants
start projecting judgments onto themselves/each other or speak too
abstractly about their experience, it's the catalyst's responsibility to refer
them back to PRESENT TIME ... i.e., "What are you feeling right now?"
"How did you relate to what happened ?" ETC. Here, you are a mirror to
the participants ... working to help clarify their statements ;md encouraging
them to find their own words to describe their process. ,
The tasks and contact points the catalyst chooses for the group are
most effective when they build towards a final, culminating ritual wherein
group interplay is the focus. This final ritual should incorporate previous
rituals and preps into its scope and create some obvious balance or healing.
Due to the attention given to Energy Itself in this medium, rituals tend to
excite "psycho-active states" wherein the Central Nervous System is
stimulated and occasionally "on fire." Taking this into consideration, the
final ritual can be one to help "cool off" participants into unwinding.
Besides, the more participants "try" in this work, the more exhausted they
become and more prone to resist attending.
. One way to support a gentle ending to the ritual session is by turning aut
all the lights and suggesting participants lay on the floor to assimilate
what has occured. This stabiliZing factor initiates a "settling phase" often
appreciated after the more intensive, charged ceremonies. Any
suggestions or instructions restoring planetary awareness to participants
also works well here. Sometimes, a Group Circle is required to formalize
, an ending anQ other times, none is needed at all. Like much of the catalyst's
skills, flexibility to the moment is the rule of thumb.
In review, rituals evolve metamorphically. The catalyst observes this
evolution for detecting its innate tendencies and directions. By honoring
the intrinsic direction inherent in each ritual, he/she suggests desigrts for
amplifying and eliciting these tendencies furiher still. At its most effective,
ritual catalyzation is a miqor reflecting the patterns of motion perpetually
emerging, submerging and growing out of the participant's expression.
(See GROUP DYNAMICS IN THE PERFORMANCE MEDIUM:
Interview with Keith Berger, for additional information regarding
catalyzation)
GROUP DYNAMICS
IN THE PERFORMANCE MEDIUM
An Interview with Keith Berger
by Antero Alli
Keith Berger has been a professional Mime Artist in New York City since
1972 after receiving extensive training with The American Mime Theatre
under the direction of Paul Curtis, its founder. Since then, he has toured
internationally performing his One-Man Shows, as well as writing and
performing in BROKEN TOYS, his Mime Musical, which was produced on
Off-Broadway in NYC, 1981. Currently, Keith appears in feature films
and video productions nationwide. This interview took place in
mid-September of 1986 over the telephone while he spoke from his loft
studio in New York City.
ANTERO ALL/: Speak about the role personal freedom plays in relation to
your work with group dynamics.
KEITH BERGER: Personal Freedom ... the way in which I try to engender
personal freedom from a group is to start off with getting the group in a
circle and asking them what their image of themselves is. Then, building on
that image and giving them a task of becoming more of that image or
agreeing to choose a new image for them ... and that's usually in terms of a
personal character, a role they play in life ... who they see themselves as.
Generally, it works out that something new evolves from what they are
and not from something that is outside of them. I hold them to the task of
saying things and behaving in this new image. It can't be something that
they don't agree on or I just lay on them, it's something they agree on with
me. It's usually a very exciting proposition to a group of people,
individually. It opens an area of freedom for them because they're seeing
themselves (they think) as an outside character, which allows them to be
able to do certain things they would never allow themselves to do .. , for
example, being more overt with each other or more flirtatious or more
thoughtful or taking themselves more seriously. It right away releases the
quality of personal freedom.
AA: How do you excite group morale and when is it necessary ?
KB: To excite group morale, you have to know how to have them produce
things, little things, that work extremely well. When they see these thin 9
it's almost like a little miracle that they produced, not the director. It's v ry
tricky because you can set it up so well that they'll have a feeling it Wll I
well, the director. If you are very clever in giving them as little as po IIII!
104
All Rites Reversed
to go on and leaving it to them .. . and they won't like that at first, they don't
want you to leave them alone... let's say they put together a scene or little
play and you give them ten minutes to do it, quite often what they can get
done in that little ten minutes takes hours and hours, and still doesn't look
good. Those little things, especially in the beginning, boost group morale.
Now there's another thing that starts to set in ... they get used to that, and
then there's a problem. The thing that hurts group morale is frustration,
which often turns to boredom. Boredom and frustration are actually two
very significant states of being for a group. It's very good when you reach
that but a naive group and even professional groups don't realize it.
You've got to somehow tell them and have them acknowledge that they
are in an area of boredom or frustration. Somehow, let this stew and
anticipate conflict because it'll happen.
The main thing to drum into them, and this is the only way to get
through it, is to tell them that no matter how bored or frustrated they get
to consider it as the most challenging and best time to work. Everybody is
glad to work when they're inspired ... it's easy to come up with ideas and
such. I've found that some very deep, significant ideas come out of
boredom, frustration and anger. Something's being cooked up ...
something's stewing and if you keep working .. . boom! The thing comes out
and the tables totally turn around. It's a bit of a rollercoaster ride. The
main thing is to work through it. If you keep on tryi ng to inspire a group,
you're making a mistake because you're depending on inspiration alone
and the group becomes too dependent on the catalyst, or director ... their
brains kind of turn to mush, like Kindergarten Time. So. that period of low
morale is generally significant of boredom or frustration. The only thing to
do, in my eyes, is to hold the group to working through it and make sure
that people have an understanding before this occurs.
AA: What are the rules you set down, if any, for the purpose of working
towards a product ?
KBl First of all, the very beginning of the whole process is very important.
The product should start to be realized in the very beginning even as a
vague image or as a general dynamic or quality of what the show will look
like. They may not get an image of what exactly it is. If they do, in fact, get
an image of exactly it is it may not be so good, as that makes it a little too
finite. It's important to impress upon a group that no matter how good you
think this can be, it's going to turn out to be something else. And that what
it turns out to be is better than anything you can imagine. Another rule, or
procedure, is having them all keep a log and put certain entities into it...
like observations of people they see ... thoughts ... memories amd another
page for dreams they have during the night... page. for. personal
goals. It should be like a lifebook. They should lImIt It to domg It only 10
.minutes a day. .
Another rule on this time thing. Rehersals should be confined to the
shortest time possible. In fact, one thing I've found is in giving not
enough time so it's so concentrated and they to use their mmds.
Another rule is to not betray anyone to anybody outSIde of the group. Keep
everything in-house. Try and keep you. A.n?ther rule
establishing a precedent of competItIon ... frtendly competttton. There s
always going to be conflict in a good group. Everyone should somehow
agree that this is to be an ensemble ... that the be an All
Star no-star company and think that way. I try not to thmk m terms of
rules.
AA: What do you personally try and stay away from in order to remain
true to your vision ?
KB: What I try and stay away from is pushing too much of my own
prejudices on a group. I have to find out what they're about. I have to help
them actualize a ... group animal, and a "look" that's theirs. If I impose a
look on them, they start depending on me and that's not where the best
product is gotten.
AA: How is the best product gotten ?
KB: The best product is gotten if I can take them past where they're used to
going and have them look at it. I'm their third eye. I can see when they start
to get a look. Or when they go past what's usual for them .. This someh?w
makes it become real and tangible. If I say everybody do thIS and look lIke
this, it's not as good. The best things are gotten when somebody has a
concept and we all work together to create that concept but it'll be a whole
new thing ... it won't look the way I first saw it or whoever had the concept.
AA: How would you describe "the miraculous /I and the components
necessary for its expression ?
KB: First of all, you need (and I hate to say this) talented E:r
en
if they're naive, they have to come from at least a creatIve thmk.mg
orientation. They have to be willing to work real hard and keep working.
Taking this talented group, you ha".e to start showin& th:r:' real
soon. Something's miraculous when It goes beyond therr VISIon yet It is pad
of the image they're growing on or into. It takes honing. This miraculous
thing is often raw and it takes writing skills to .make it complete and
satisfying. One has to bring out in them things theive never seen before or
they've had an inkling of. It takes a great amount of personal and group
freedom to create this. A lot of it has to do with their own surprise at what
they can do. If you can get them into that state, they don't know that they
can't be miraculous .. The biggest key, I think, is to convince them that they
can, dissolving all beliefs that they can't. One thing about a professional
performer is that while they've got obvious skills, they're not so quick to
think they can be much greater than what they're capable of projecting.
AA: How can you tell when someone has real talent ?
KB: It takes a certain willingness to be open. A lot of it is in the eyes and
quite often very introverted or shy people can be .. . you have to go by your
instincts. The best test is to really take a look at them and inside them, and
this is an experience thing. You start to develop a kind of intuition about a
person and whether they're going to ring ... there's a certain sparkle that
comes through ... 'a potential... and this is the job of a catalyst. I think a
good catalyst, or director, can recognize these signals. What to look for
exactly is very hard for me to put a finger on. It's instinct, really.
THE KEITH BERGER MIME STUDIO
579 Broadway --Third Floor. New York City. NY 10012
DANGERS?!
Perils & Pitfalls Along the Way
Unscrupulous ritual occurs during any diminshment of individual and/or
collective integrity, wherein some form of invasion or violation takes
place. There's nothing wrong or bad about this per se, unless it continues to
persist. Violation of integrity is simply a sign of being off the track and is a
mistake. Everybody makes mistakes. The ritual functions serve to protect
the integrity of this medium and require diligent practice to maintain.
These guidelines have been developed to create a safe place to play in a
High Risk Zone, where the volatile conditions of experiencing the
Unknown are tempered and contained. There are several known dangers
recorded from the ritual theatre archives and all relate to potential perils
and pitfalls of Source Relations. These dangers can be related to other
systems which explore Archetypal contact, psychology and practice, as
well.
IRRITATION
One of the effects of exposure to intensity and energetic acceleration is
over-stimulation. In its excess, there develops an overall sense of irritation
which turns into numbness if it's not caught in time. In its extreme, there is
a kind of "short-circuit" from Information Overdose. All in all, the, Info
O.D. and the psychic constipation it causes result from neglecting to permit
assimilation time for digesting the new experiences often absorbed "in ritual
work. New information can be very exciting. If one fails to recognize when
one has Had Enough, stimulation starts its conversion to irritation.
Irritation can also occur with "forced catharsis". This occurs in those
moments where we try and push expression or emotional release faster
than its natural pace. Irritation happens when we are overwhelmed by the
charged contents of our own subconscious/unconscious. One result is the
over-amping of the intellectual/interpretive circuitry, thus leaving one
helpless to describe and integrate the experience. Sometimes, in dramatic
examples, the motivation to communicate withers and eventually loses its
purpose altogether.
DISSIPATING IRRITATION
1) The function of the PHYSICAL WARM-UP is fortification. FEELING
THE BODY DEEPLY generates the essential substance to fortify our
integrity. This substance, or density, helps absorb the shocks of Source
Relations. This fortification works like insulation around an electrical
cable ... the thicker the cable, the more juice you can run through it without
the danger of short-circuiting. A good WARM-UP insulates the cable.
2) NO-FORM neutralizes charge (or that element responsible
excitement and resistance). After an especially charged contact pomt
and/or ritual, it is suggested practice to enter a deeper and
NO-FORM to dissipate its hold on you. greater the (pOSItIve or
negative), the greater the NO-FORM reqUIred for restonng balance.
3) When irritation results from too much clarity, it is to
explore rituals to access density as a value. If density IS (a.s bemg
"wrong" or from fear of losing. clarity), the ntual
accessiing resistance to denSIty. PolantIes WhICh can faCIlItate thIS
conversion: TOP /BOTTOM, EARTH/AIR, DENSITY/CLARITY,
1stCHAKRA/7thCHAKRA, SATURN/JUPITER, BODY/SPIRIT,
SEEING/FEELING.
4) To heal the mind from intellectual blow-out, design a mandala with
different colored pens and paper to symbolize the experience through
color, shape and design. Another device is in a I?yth from the
experience and writing a story describing and evoking It again.
5) Irritation/short-circuit develops with a holding pattern of becoming
attached to the intensity of the experience. Often times, attachment to the
energy/power occurs when we don't believe/feel that we are. ENOUGH
the way we are already. We resist letting go beca,:se we are of
our true self ... that, we are a piece of god and god IS enough. God IS. The
alternative to this kind of attachment can be found for oneself through
meditation, silent prayer and long walks in nature. Practice NO-FORM.
6) The ritual function of sanctification develops the awareness of a
value, thus is helpful in dissipating irritation. does so by. mmImlzmg
obsessive' tendencies often times associated WIth not knowmg when to
stop. Design rituals to deepen sanctification.
llO
All Rites Reversed
SHADOW-BOXING
. As we encounter aspects of our Self, it is natural to begin including these
mto. a "wholesome" Self-image than before. Sometimes, during the
of Self-identification (INITIATIONS), the ego or
.crystallIzes on one aspect over another at the cost of repressing
Its "alter-ego". In time, the alter-ego develops in the
subconsclOus as a Shadow figure taking archetypal forms of ... The Devil,
The and so forth. If this Shadow side is not evoked
.mcluded into the Self-image, then it is unconsciously
proJected onto lIvmg persons most resembling the personification of ones
mner Shadow, "!'ay The Shadow is a threat to the aspect
of oneself closely Idenhfied With because once it surfaces, it cancels
out that aspect via polarizations and ego-death. If we remain
ego-attached durmg the encounter with Shadow, then when our ego
we belie.ve are ACTUALLY DYING. The panic and
wIth thIS delusion is potentially very dangerous,
especIally if bIg decislOns are made during the collapsing process.
Ego trembles in the wake of a greater truth than itself.
IS a to. outdated Self-concepts dissolving from the
lDlpact of Self. It IS often Vanity.that choose to identify with one
aspect over espe.Clally If they fall In love with one which glorifies
and aggrandIzes the ego Itself. Such an ego becomes the inevitable subject
for ritual sacrifice when we learn how to UNBOX THE SHADOW.

1) a rytual for encountering the Shadow. (See DARK RITES of the
Soul m. Ritual Design Section). Dialogue with it until you feel ready to
persomfy It to embrace and become the Shadow aspect.
2) Des.ign a ritual for locating the aspect you are stuck on, then name its
OppOSIte. Set up a polarization ritual and locate your point of baiance.
Alternate between both sides until you don't have to be either one. This will
help neutralize their collective charge.
All Rites Reversed
III
re: PSYCHIC GARBAGE
In the more cathartic phases of the work, we are often subject to not only
our own emotional discharge but that of others. As we move through the
multiple layers of our conditioned responses, psychic exfoliation is
inevitable and there comes a time when people have to learn how to own
their shit, or at least understand how to process it without imposing it on
others. This area of Taking Out the Psychic Garbage is highly personal in
that everybody has, more or less, differing tolerance levels for toxic psychic
absorbtion. The more refined our sensitivities become, the more acute our
impressions of psychic dirt. The first thing to be aware of is the smell of our
own shit. Detecting the distinction between our garbage and that of
anothers is preliminary to Taking Out Our Own ... and letting others Take
Out Theirs. This can be initiated after each ritual by calling back and
reclaiming the projections used to charge the setting in the first place.
Electrically speaking, auras collect static in those areas prone to intense
concentration, condensation and/or obsession. When one energy center or
body area is over-emphasized, excess energetic residue results in that
particular region. Another way psychic garbage is taken out is by
mobilizing your energy field. Don't over-emphasize one center over
others. If, for example, the Head Center is too psycho-active ... put yourself
through Emotional Changes. If you're too emotionally involved, try
abstracting yourself Into Your Head for awhile. Putting yourself through
changes will generally mobilize auric forces sufficiently to minimize
accumulation of electrical static in anyone area of your field. If static does
collect, let your hands act like magnets and have them scan for for
the purpose of sucking it up into your palms. Then, flick off the static.
Taking showers can also cleanse away not only excess static, but other
people's energy, as well.
Electrical static can collect in the corners of a room. One ritual school
confesses tQ several sharp and loud handclaps in these corners to break up
the garbage. (This same school insisted it had to be two or four claps, for
some reason unknown to this author, yet it does carry the effect of "owning
the corners" if not anything else.) Incense like sage, cedar or frankincence
are good for breaking up stinky energies. Opening up windows and doors,
while directing the energies out as if you were sweeping the room also
seems to brighten the space.
112
All Rites Reversed
The planetary entity seems to process negative energy quite well, as
do its canine and feline ambassadors ... dogs and cats. Once again, any
relationsyhip with the living entity of Earth will excite all kinds of hereto
unknown services. Energy expelled from ourselves during ritual is still at
our command and it is up to us to command it to a place wherein it will
transform. Commanding energy down to the core of the planet for
processing is another way to maintain planetary relations while cleansing
your aura and the space around you. If you are too concerned with
polluting the planet, construct a sphere of neutral energy above your head
and let it magnetize all of your expended energy to itself ... then, connect
this sphere down to your solar plexus with a beam. Program the sphere to
start sending down the energy it has neutralized. Direct this neutral
energy into your solar plexus where it may re-distribute it throughout your
entire system again. '
Another way of cleaning a ritual space energetically is through
high-energy chanting (see the Homing Sonic Meditation in VOCAL
CREATIONS). Sonic resonance will work best when it is focused on
accelerating the overall energy in the room, i.e., resonating from the Heart
Center on up. It helps to also know what your ritual intent is ... why are you
doing this? With a strong intent, it's easier to know what kinds of energies
you're after and which ones you're looking to bypass. Without an intent,
you run the risks that come with the territory of a psychic sewer system.
After executing particularly charged rituals, some effort ought to be made
towards Taking Out the Garbage. Due to the highly personal nature of
Everybody's Shit, we are all individually responsible for cleaning up our
mess.
EGO-INFLATION
When relating to and identifying with Archetypal forces, the personal
self is known to change shape by shrinking and/or puffing up, refered to
hereafter as negative and positive ego-inflation, respectively. Inflation is
inevitable with sudden and thorough influxes of new information and
energy. In positive inflation, the ego identifies itself with BEING THE
SOURCE and puffs up with self-importance. With negative inflation, ego
negates itself through distorted comparison with Source and feels
unworthy and defeated. Both forms of inflation are necessary for
first-hand knowledge of recognizing ones own ego-tendencies. The ego
puffs up by merging with something more powerful than its secretly
helpless self in order to create the illusion of its omnipotence by
All Rites Reversed
113
association. Ego will shrink when it feels it must prostrate to an
omnipotent source that is constantly out of 1tS and commumon. Bot.h
types of inflation reflect ways we have been lookmg at ourselves. Then
dangers are two-fold:
1) Both keep us out of PRESENT -TIME our with
feeling significant and/ or diminished by a prev10us expenence;
2) Both cultivate self-doubt, fear and eventually paranoia when we
discover the World does not conform to our distorted self-image.
On the whole, ego-inflation is a necessary phase in our capacity to
identify become and TO BE. The delusion sets in when we confuse our ego
with who we are (Self)and sta.rt taking too
seriously. It is quite possible that we are not requITed to be anythmg at all.
DEFLATIONARY TACTICS
1) Inflation becomes an issue when we resist NO-FORM. <:ive yourself
permission to be nothing without it being meaningful or meanmgless, but a
neutral refuge from concept, expression and/or form. Who are you?
2) If you are attached to The Meaningful, incorporate The Meaningless
through a polarization ritual until you get them both out of your system. If
you are "puffed up", make a fool of.youself. Explore CHAOS. Laugh at
yourself, then laugh at yourself laughmg at yourself.
3) When the self is too full of itself, it needs Yo,: can take charge
of this before Universe takes over by the dev1ce of ahenation. Be alone for
awhile. Enforce a day or two of complete isolation without any human
contact, if possible. If you cannot others, go on a Talk
Fast..be silent and surrender to the solitude 1t Y1elds.
4) Occasionally, inflation expresses itself as the feeling one
is part of something Cosmically Profound and ... one 1S: However,
simultaneously, one is in the midst of Absurd1ty, as well:
Additional polarities to be explored mclude: SINCERE/PHONY,
TRUTH/LIES; SIGNIFICANT/POINTLESS; COSMIC/MUNDANE;
COMEDY /TRAGEDY.
5) The value of NO-FORM can not be over-estimated for disengaging
from one form or another of Self. For the purpose of the
ntual Itself, It IS useful to BE something but it is limiting to believe one is
simply that one aspect of the Multidimensional Self. There exists a
conversion from BEING A FORCE to PLAYING THE FORCE which
emerges with practice. PLAYING A FORCE requires no identification
whatsoever yet recalls the experience for reference. In PLAYING, the force
moves through you without getting stuck on you or versa visa. It is in this
way that the phase of identification forms the basis for advanced work.
way of telling there is a true development is in the capacity for PLAY.
approach lends mobility and grace to any ritual. Our being
IS renewed In NO-FORM. It protects us by cultivating detachment.
NO-FORM is neutral ground permitting return to deeper living by virtue
of its perspective. NO-FORM is regenerating. When we are beiRg nothing,
we are simply being ourselves. .
6) Sit with a partner and maintain eye contact. One asks the other: "WHO
ARE YOU?" as the other responds. With each response, the asker repeats
the question in a variety of intonations, always doubting the answers given
by other. Follow through until an end is appropriate and/or until you
get It. Then, reverse roles and repeat. The intent here is direct-knowledge
of our tendencies to think we know who we are thus, falling into the
hypnotic spell resultant from being convinced that we can refer to our
mysterious core by any name, image or concept at all!
7) When the self-image has become distorted enough to affect coordination
and physical balance, the ego must find ways to become the same size as
the physical body to regain its footing. One sure way of coordinating these
two aspects is by putting yourself to work at hard, physical labor, i.e.,
digging ditches, gardening, moving heavy objects, etc. It is best if your
work benefits another or a group. Service and gratitude are wonderous
antidotes to excess inflation.
8) For negative inflation, attempt the task of suspending judgment and
comparison. These intellectual functions can be replaced by your abUity to
PAY ATTENTION and SILENTLY WITNESS the wonder of unity.
Gradually and gently begin including yourself as a piece of that unity and
not as someone who "thinks" they are outside of it. Set up a polarity:
ISOLATION/UNITY; 3rd Chakra/5th Chakra; EQUALITY /HEIRARCHY;
WILL/COMMUNICATION.
All Rites Reversed
115
GRACE AS AN IMPEDIMENT
Ironically enough, grace is an impediment to some. Grace gets in the way
when our techniques become so refined and slick that we create the illusion
of our spontaneity and believe it. This is the delusion sophistication casts
not only with oneself but those naive enough to fall sway to the spell.
(Nothing can be more enchanting than being in the presence of someone
who is thoroughly under the influence of his/her own enchantment coupled
with the subtlety and grace of charm.) The mechanics of charisma are
known to but a few and among these, a choice must be made or it will be
made for us. This decision entails a social responsibility involving the
personal advancement of others. We only trip over our when we
have too much of it. Once we find the internal! external adjustments for
circulating our grace among others and catalyzing. it in are
liberated as liberators of others. If we forgo thIS SOCIal responsibilIty,the
Greater Grace of Universal Intelligence will generate power plays,
corruptions and a variety of scandals to guarantee our inevitable fall.
we reach a stable degree of self-empowerment, our next step IS
empowering others ...
CIRCULATING GRACE
1) Accept your power and wear your charisma like a necklace instead of a
ball and chain. Redefine "power" by your capacity to empower others and
excite advancement in their lives. Circulate the riches.
2) Render pleasure contagious. Be a source of uplifting inspiration for
those around you. Recognize the creative, progressive side to every sad
story you hear and refuse to buy into people's Martyr Complexes.
3) Annihilate heirarchy whenever it starts up in relation to you, especially
with those confused individuals who insist on setting you up on a pedestal
and/ or wanting discipleship. A disciple is an Asshole looking for somebody
to attach itself to. To assume is to make an "ass" out of "u" and "me."
4) With every advancement in your personal! economic/ spiritual evolution,
bring somebody else up in the same spirit you are being uplifted. Link up.
S) Explore those rituals dedicate? to as they
provide an outlet for grace ... espeCIally for those whIch are alchemIcal In
nature and are structured to parallel development in the Plant Kingdom.
,
l
116
All Rites Reversed
6) If you are already falling from grace and wish to quicken the descent,
explore the rituals integrating the biblical polarities of ANGELS &
DEMONS (see DARK RITES of the SOUL) ... as in ANGELS IN HELL and
DEMONS IN HEAVEN.
I
These have been the primary dangers recorded throughout a decade of
ritual practice and hopefully, some relevant antidotes to chase the poisons
down and out. In review, all dangers seem to result from diminishment of
individual and/or group integrity, wherein some form of violation occurs.
Most times these are unintentional and quite unexpected, yet they arise I
from the fragility of the human instrument struggling to serve its Maker.
Throughout this struggle, mistakes are made and then hopefully rectified
through adjustment. Without making mistakes, however, we can be sure
there are not enough risks being taken into regions unknown. It takes \
courage to make mistakes and absolute genius to confess them. This is
because mistakes are "God Leaks" and point the way, often times, to places .'.
we'd never even think about going.
.
1
;
Occasionally, there occurs a stage of personal disorientation so , I
profound as to approach the perilous. Chapel Perilous is a name given to
that place where souls go when they leave their bodies ... also known as the ,
Dark Night of the Soul. (Read ANGEL TECH, Chapel Perilous section;
Falcon Press) I've seen this occur in myself and others after prolonged and
effective polarization work wherein the union of opposites becomes almost
unbearable to the rational mind. Unless the intellect is trained to permit
ambiguity, uncertainty, and confusion, it may tend to "short-circuit" while
attempting to figure out the interplay of contraries occuring within oneself.
This innate confusion threatens the intellect's self-defining capacity for
comprehension. Certain phases of internal development are best left alone
and not meddled with intellectually and, this is one of them. '
One way I've minimized intellectual panic during epic disorientation is
by studying the alchemical maps of Carl C. Jung as outlined in his book,
The Psychology of theTransference.. During those moments where ego
and Self merge, there is released a good amount of light. Like the photons
released from proton/electron fusions, this illumination does not last and
the brighter the flash, the darker the afterward. Alchemically speaking,
All Rifes Reversed
117
the marriage of opposites preceeds the funeral of the "death" The
greater the union, the greater the death and eventually, the From
an alchemical perspective, the "blacker the death".:. the "whtter the
cleansing" phase proceeding it. In this light, IS refered to the
start of the "great work" and everything preceedmz It, the preparatlOn. It
is in this "black earth" death phase that most of the work goe.s underground
(into the Subconscious) to gestate. As seeds germanate only m the dark,
are asked to hang out in "a dark place" until the spro';lts of a new soul begm
emerging from our depths. (See ALCHEMY section m ANGEL TECH) .
A new level of soul-consciousness is born whenever our vision has
integrated polarity into its perspective. Soul word to describe the
degree by which we reflect the wholeness of Spmt, God. and/or ,Source.
Soul develops with the inclusion of mO.re of our and I seen
this happen through effective polarization work. the fUSlOn of
opposites goes underground to cook, the IS left al?ne. to
make sense of things. The abyss left over IS what It feels hke to be mSlde
Chapel Perilous. Emotions of abandonment are common, as are of
drowning and terror. The value of and
are paramount during these times where Falth IS worth ItS welght m gold.
From an intellectual perspective, there are no. guarantees .. The future
may feel non-existant and produce feehngs . of anxlety m a body
accustomed to following directions and knowmg where to go. If the
intellect is unwilling to surrender its habit of Figuring Things Out, it may
revert to a tyrant and attempt to control us paranoid .fa.ntasies,
delusions of grandeur and other f?r aVOldmg the
encounter with its limited understandmg. The alternative to conceptual
convulsions is the humbling process of confessing ignorance
an attitude of intellectual service as a translator rather than a creator.
Perhaps the most useful device I've during these I?ark
Nights is disidentification. Fears may run deluslOns
hurly-burly, yet we are not obliged to become any of It.
provides sanctum and refuge. To the degree we are easy wlth.not havmg
to be anybody or anything, is the degree we create mner .space
essential for the emerging soul to return and Itself. Wlthout
this space, Dark Nights have been known to take
intellect can serve (instead of inflict fearful control) IS m dlstingUlshmg
itself from the happenings, imagined and otherwise. can d? this by
working to articulate what it sees in a manner most poet.lc and/or
artistic. Once our identity is extracted from the countless ImpresslOns and
118
All Rites Reversed
images we have of ourselves, it is possible to become more receptive to
something higher, or true. (See ANGEL TECH: 7th Grade, ALCHEMY)
Polarizations work to neutralize charge. Sometimes, the Dark Night
characterizes itself by an all-time low energy level. This may express itself
as depression, apathy, lethargy and other signposts of Hitting Bottom.
This often results from having been previously identified with the charge of
the polarity being polarized. Once the charge is neutralized and
released,the ego wobbles aimlessly searching for a new definition. This is
where it can get dangerous. As a response to trauma, ego automatically _
fixes itself to something or someone to temporarily stabilize itself, thus
initiating the start of a potential obsssion. The object of obsession is not the
cause but is often selected randomly as the nearest, easiest promise of
security.
One antidote to obsession is humor; if something is really true, then
it's also probably very funny. Another obsession-disperser is going the
other way and dramatizing the Dark Night through conducting your very
own funeral. This kind of "living funeral" can be done alone, with a
Significant Other and/or an entire group willing to partake in the
ceremony. As with any ritual, preparation is everything. Gather all the
incruements like incense, candles, music, and whatever else you need to set
up a space not only to die in but to be dead in. If you like, write an epitaph
or a liturgy articulating the current state of your personal darkness. I have
executed these alone, with another and in groups with much success.
Sometimes, when somebody stumbles into the Chapel and fails to
realize where they are, it is suggested to seek professional help. One
side-effect of "being-out-of-the-body" is Accident Prone behavior which, as
we know, can be hazardous to our health. If you know anyone who is
tripping over things and hurting themselves unconsciously at an increasing
rate, do what you can to help. Jungian psychotherapists (if they've done
their homework) will know all about the Dark Night of the Soul and its
various treatment procedures. (If they don't, keep searching for those that
do. Dark Nights are not easily diagnosed by . traditional methods
unaccustomed to the process of psychic death and rebirth.) Often times,
professional help can be bypassed with the right information and several
good friends ... those who can let us go through our changes and not judge
us for leaving one "personality shell" behind for something more innate to
ourselves. These friends are the acting priests inside Chapel Perilous. A
little bit of love goes a long, long way and never underestimate the power
of a few kind words.
REFLECTIONS
The following Reflections are my own personal responses to ritual
practice as presented in this book. They are simply meant to provide a
source of feedback ... a series of opinions regarding the various aspects of
this work. Having gone through each ritual presented and many of them
numerous times, I've noticed certain repeating patterns. These are not
necessarily true for Everybody, as each person tends to come to their own
observations and truths. Yet, I have included commentary just in case
several words here or there may be useful.The obvious place for me to start
is ... Self-commitment.
SELF-COMMITMENT
To give of yourself completely to whatever you're doing at the moment
is undeniably the most valuable trait I've learned to develop in this work.
There are also times when Self-commitment is at an all-time low ... and is
most obvious during Physical Warm-up. Bottoms encountered at the start
of the Warm-up cycle are opportunities in disguise. Those moments where
it feels impossible to mobilize your forces towards being present and
feeling your body are obviously times where you've reached your limit. The
body doesn't want to go on with it. You might find yourself lying down a
lot ... or yawning often ... or spacing out. All these and more, are styles of
resistance. Once you recognize the symptoms, it's easier to sanctify the
resistance by relating to it as a source of energy. When you've hit bottom,
it's time to Bottom Out. Resistance can be expressed vocally, through
gesture, in the Transitory Run and other areas of the ritual prep. The
sooner you detect the obstacle and tap into it as a source for expression, the
sooner you free up the frozen energy and mobilize your forces. Real
Self-committment starts when you've reached your limit. That's when you
find out what you're made of. For many of us, it means going against the
grain of our lazy habits. Self-committment can even be disturbing in this
way, like someone trying to wake you up when all you want to do is sleep
late.
DISTURBANCE
Disturbance is what happens when the shock of new information goes
against-the-grain of previous indoctrination. When the mechanical,
conditioned self has a difficult time of digesting a truth, it will do
everything it can to upchuck and resist. Disturbance supports development
when the agitation is used to wake up. Such an internal adjustment
requires: 1) Hard work and 2) A willingness to wake up. Growth is rarely
omfortable unless, of course, one is learning comfort in order to grow. In
short, birth hurts ... always has.
There is a conflict arising, from the friction of disturbance, which
generates an essential substance for growth. Substance can be
accumulated by understanding progreSSive disturbance.:.how to put the
conflict to work. This conflict is symbolic of internal rebelhon whereby one
aspect of ourselves is attempting to This is the
unresolved substance drama is made of. ConflIct, by Itself, does not negate
harmony; quite the contrary. True harmony exists only in to true
discord, as only a true form emerges from chaos. Chaos, m thIS w.ay,
remains our inevitable origin of structure, direction and eventually, clanty.
CREATIVE CONDITIONS
As creation expresses itself differently through each individual, so do
ideal conditions for exciting the creative process. Each person must fmd
their own way of catalyzing a creative state. One individual's of
setting it up may be in direct conflict with w.
e
are all
for creating that Rare Area by which the creative thnves best m, lest
minds begin reading our creative process as a Disaster One
we might ask is: "What is a creative state ?" or "What
before I can trigger a creative state?". There are certam attItudes and
"blocks" which impede the setting up of a Rare Area: Unless these I
are recognized and eliminated, our creative energy will tend to turn m on I
itself and implode. It seems that a.ctivity, and
expression are intimately wtth and t;tamtatntng. a
creative state. (We create when we re alone m ourselves, Ie., at one WIth
ourself.) This starts by finding out what is most to
then, linking with these objects, symbols and actIVItIes for generatmg
personal power. It's true that too many cooks spoil the broth.
OBSTACLE ORIENTATION
One of the more frustrating responses to resistance is resisting it. we're
too involved with attacking what's eating at us, we usually lose slght.of
what we were fighting for in the first place. There's a way t.o deal w:th
resistance that's kind of like detectiv work. You learn to know tts smell, tts
track, its tension ... you figure resistance out. Once you're able to detect it,
your mobility increases tenfold. Obstacle Orientation is a progressive style
of entering a High Resistance Zone. You enter looking for the
tiger ... knowing you're a lot better off seeing ,it amidst the jungle tangle
than not knowing where it is at all. This takes a subtle kind of skill lest it
becomes another way of resisting. When a real hunter stalks a wild beast,
slhe prays to that creature, regarding it as sacred. This is the meaning
behind the sanctification of resistance. You set up communication lines
with the enemy by seeking out your secret affinity first.
THE INTERNAL CONTRACT
How commmited and devoted are you to being alive and happy on this
planet? Everyone alive is married and only death itself grants divorce. This
marriage is between none other than body and spirit, whose
interpenetration gives birth to the soul. The body, with its needs, fears and
wisdom is primarily devotional by nature in that it passively obeys
whatever orders it receives. The spirit has its intent to manifest. Without a
. body, it has no way of materializing its intent. To the degree spirit and
body. lack crucial information about the other, is the degree they are in
confhct. The soul develops from intersecting points between body and
spirit expressive of mutual affinity. The heart opens only after spirit and
body get along with each other. These are principles from which it has been
easy to comprehend the Internal Contract between spirit and body for the
development of a soul.
The soul is the means by which experience is possible at all.. The
biological instrument of the soul is the Central Nervous System ... the
intermediary between spirit and body ... physiologically, between DNA and
the muscle fibers required to execute genetic instructions. All we ever need
to know is within our body. The cells, neurons and DNA contain vast
storehouses of ancestral and past-life memory, present-time survival
information and the direction of future evolution. The soul's journey
ignites into experience everything we are capable of knowing. Before the
soul can travel, however, certain contracts have to be drawn up and
signed. . .
Self-commitment is an internal contract between Spirit and Body,
negotiated by Soul. Soul doesn't evolve until spirit and body come to some
kind of understanding. Fol;' example:: The Body's needs, essential strengths
and frailities must be recognized, heard and spoken to ... otherwise The
_Body resists. The Body is more willing to undergo immense changes when
included in the Big Picture. So, it behooves us to speak to the body. It '
benefits all concerned to know its needs, desires and fears as well as its I
rewards. The animal requires rewards to sustain the gratification
necessary for being motivated to live on this planet. What are yours? Once
discovered, don't promise youself them unless you KEEP YOUR WORD.
It's counter-productive to break promises with yourself and The Body takes
time to build back the trust after this kind of betrayal.
Spirit relates to The Body as a vehicle to manifest its intent. If the
spirit doesn't understand The Body, it may try and force its intent. As souls,
we tend to experience spiritual intent through purpose. The body's central
purpose is in BEING FELT. Spirit's purpose is in BEING SEEN. When The
Body is felt, it's more malleable and receptive to spirit's intent... just as
when spirit is SEEN, it becomes more sensitive to The Body's need to be
felt. This is one basis for stabilizing the internal contract enabling the spirit
to be materialized and t ~ e body to spiritualize. When we are FELT AND
SEEN, it's easier to be LOVED and thus, realize the Soul's purpose. We
may need to be affirmed as animals (FELT) and spirits (SEEN) before Soul
consciousness awakens within ourselves. It takes a strong ego, or
self-concept, to embrace our contraries ... the Human Being we are. To
simultaneQusly honor animal and spirit needs, a tremendous compassion
and tolerance is called for. This is impossible if we are in judgment of
either side. When both sides of our mysterious nature are allowed to exist
together, a miracle is born.
THE WARM UP
Preparation is everything. An effective warm-up is essential for effective
ritual. One question I like to ask is, "What are we warming up to?" or
"What are we preparing for?" and, of course, "Why are we here?". The
contemplation of these questions can sanctify an entire.warm-up cycle. In
some way, we are warming up to God ... to the Unknown ... to offer
ourselves to the Source. The sanctification process is especially important
as that's how the ritual begins. The motions, sounds, and gestures used to
express blessings and safety to the space also need to accomodate the
awareness of others in the room. Sanctification calls upon us to permit
being, ours and that of others. If the spirit of sanctification is strong
enough, it can be infused right into the meditation phase of the warm-up,
turning this stage into prayer itself. The spinal, stretching and sweating
phases which follow can then emerge from a sacred origin. Sweat, in this
light, is Holy water. Sometimes the warm-up doesn't go so well. P<'OpJtI
are wrapped up in their frustrations, resistances and inertias. When this
it is an. urgent detect the blocks and then begin
the resIstance by gIvmg It expression through sound, tension,
and anything to release its grip on us. It is a critical point, really.
The tIme of greatest resistance-boredom-frustration is the best time to
express the depth of your commitment ... which does wonders for morale.
NO-FORM
NO-FORM is the crux of ritual. To the degree intimacy with void
becomes a value is the extent that the rituals themselves carry life, form
and ' substance. NO-FORM is responsible for true transformation. It
ena?ies us to move. between different forms of expression elicited by the
vanous contact pomts. The word "transform" literally means to move
one form to another. NO-FORM is the bridge making this
possIble. Even though NO-FORM is important, it is also nothing special.
Those who have mistakenly identified NO-FORM as The Absolute Truth
tend to homogenize their personalities by turning Bland and Faceless. The
to this is none than exploring Life After Zen, or seeing the
relatIve nature of All Thmgs and NO-FORM is one of All Things. It does
not have to be a goal or destination to be effective. In the big picture,
N?-FORM is a ",:,ulti-purpose tool for transformation. One more thing.
It IS useless to thmk about NO-FORM. Whatever you think it is, it isn't.
Even the word "NO-FORM" is not it but a way to refer to the experience.
NO-FORM teaches dissolution. It helps us dissove our attachment
to any given form of expression. This supports the creative process by
stagnation ... the Staying In One Place Too Long syndrome. Any
!ully lived can be left behind while passing through the
of Its decay. Attachment to anything undergoing decay is pain. In
thIS .way, . NO-FORM a refuge during times of great transition. Our
to our true nature via NO-FORM deepens with each layer. of
the Journey to our center. No matter what we think we are, NO-FORM
reminds us that we are not that. NO-FORM disperses our tendency to
identify the various activities we mistake for our true identity: our
body,. emotIOns, thoughts, opinions, bias, behavior, etc. Through its
we are able t? gradually accumulate perspective. Through its
absence, we lose touch wIth our Source and fprget that it is not I, you, or it
that we are here for. No-FORM is a Spiritual Emergency Break.
NAUSEA
On occasion, individuals have complained of a physical and/or
emotional nausea from doing the work. This has come up often as a
response to NO-FORM by those individuals with little or no previous
experience with relating to Void. My understanding is that the area of the
solar plexus undergoes a mild to dramatic shock resulting in this kind of
nausea. (The solar plexus is that network of nerves in direct contact with
the intestinal tract, as well as being the power center of the ego itself ... the
personal will.) Since prerequisites for NO-FORM include relaxing the
desire to control, personal relationship with Void is often disconcerting to
the uninitiated. Once the will has been trained in the diScipline of releasing
control (to expand its power), then intestinal resistance dissipates as we
are ready to "stomach" the experience of Nothingness. To assimilate the
shock of No-Form, I suggest becoming more responsible for your
safety .. . so, you can afford to be more vulnerable. Thus, emphasize the
Rare Area, Little Circle and Sanctification in general.
TALKING ABOUT IT
Talking is a dispersion device. It releases steam ... hot air. Sometimes it's
useful to disperse pressure and other times, absolutely fatal. When one has
had significant emotional and psychic input, there is a tendency to want to
tell others ... to "share." Sometimes, when a certain experience has not
been completely digested and understood for oneself yet, 'one trips over
words trying to describe what happened. This is a sign that you are not yet
ready to talk about it. You may want to write about it or draw pictures or
play music. Another aspect of Talking About It is the element of secrecy. If
one is onto something truly of value to oneself, perhaps it is best not to spill
ones death too soon? Talking disperses power. At times, it's necessary to
vent excess energy and other times, restraint is required to stop us from
pissing our lives away ...
ON "DYING"
Initiation rituals have a lot to do with to do with what I'll call dying.
Dying occurs when the coUaps of our pretentions and preconceptions
reveals who we actually are. Dying is t he sacred task of Dropping Ones
Act towards surrenderi11g t o a deeper part of ourselves than the
personality ... the persona or "act. " It's most difficult to comprehend after
126
All Rites Reversed
becoming persona-identified and believing we are actually and literally
dying. Dying helps us disengage from our act. Dying is that empty time
I where nothing happens. Our willingness to commit to this Dead Zone is
often a good way to realize the process of psyc:-tic death/rebirth. At the
darkest, stillest moment there's a big excitement that occurs .. .like a blue
spark hitting your brain. There are absolutely no guarantees whatsoever
and every time it's a different outcome yet, there's a certainty that can be
counted on with dying and that's ... rebirth. When nothing is happening on
the surface, you can be sure that a hell of a lot is going on down under. It
only t a ~ e s time, commitment and perseverence to see it through for
yourself. Dying is like anything else, in a way. You just cook it until it pops
out of the oven.
SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS
It is natural to feel awkward around others in an asocial setting. We all
get "self-conscious" while wondering if anybody is watching us. We all spy
on others to see how they're doing. Sometimes, it's necessary to go
through this and get it out of your system. One adjustment which seems to
diminish this kind of self-consciousness is the reminder that each person is
there to work for themselves and to deepen the Self-commitment
necessary for Source Relations, If it helps, make a fool of yourself and get
it over with .... the fool that persists in his/her folly becomes wise ...
DISILLUSIONMENT
Disillusionment is the dark side of illumination, or revelation. It happens
when reality distorts our ideals. When encountering our self-imposed
concepts and beliefs about What Is, we must be prepared to die and be
reborn lest we end up eating the menu instead of the meal and lowering
our overall Intelligence with each passing moment. If our preconceptions
are out-of-sync with what's happening, then we ignore the truth and
continue living a lie or release our attachment to ego and start living for
what is most true. Sometimes, there's suffering involved depending on '
how much we resist letting go. The revelation occurs when you are able to '
answer the following question: Whd are you living for?
All Rites Reversed
127
ON BEING LOVED
Often times ritual work (as described in this book) is not always
personally and socially '''validating'' or affirming, as it emphasizes Source
Relations. People may never have the opportunity to get to know each
other socially. The format of this medium is set up to bypass personal
interaction in favor of supporting an "interplay of forces". It is important
for those who plan to work at length in this medium to .have either an
active social life outside the Lab and/or somebody to go home to and be
loved by. In this way, we are able to meet our personal needs first before
entering the Rare Area. Otherwise, various forms of "neediness" tend to
arise and take up group time which could be spent gathering momentum
for exploring Source Relations. If followed, the guidelines to this medium
will introduce an alternative form for human interaction that transcends
Encounter Group, Psycho-Drama, Psychotherapy formats and the like.
These have their place, of course, yet there's another intention here: HOW
00 RITUALS WORK? WHAT AM I LIVING FOR? WHY AM I HERE?
WHO ARE YOU?! WHEN DO WE BEGIN?
TREMBLING AND SHAKING
Due to this medium's propensity to trigger living realities, the body may
feel like trembling and shaking at times. When an energetic acceleration is
occuring, it is up to us to make it easy on ourselves. Certain physiological
adjustments help to clear the way: breathing, jerking, twitching, yelling,
whimpering, trembling, shaking, etc. These occur when we release the
grip on ourselves ... our bodies. When things get real intense, stay loose.
This is all you have to remember. Your body will do the rest for you.
Trembling and shaking are common during rapturous conversion points
wherein the organism's vitality kicks into action and your body just wants
to express itself directly without censorship, inhibition or judgement from
the more moralistic/ conceptual areas of your brain.
EXHAUSTION
Often, in the initial training period and when we break into new levels of
work, a certain exhaustion can accompany us. This exhaustion serves a
specific funciton in that it's a sign that w have more or less gotten past
"the nonsense" and are now ready to work. .. that is, we are more receptive
to being transported and moved by frees evoked. Usually this kind of
128
All Rites Reversed
exhaustion joins us right before the final, culminating ritual where some of
us might rather just fall asleep or quit. This, of course, would be the worst
time to do so due to the nature of what follows ... the regenerative powers
of the second wind.. This stuff tends to work bestwithout trying .. It
depends on your willingness to put your exhaustion to work so that you
become open and receptive to being carried by the forces evoked.
PLAYING
A certain kind of "playing" is perhaps the most advanced form of ritual.
It is characterized by a willingness to be completely subjected to the forces
evoked while simultaneously selecting not to identify with them. Instead,
there is a realization that we are not that which passes through us (no
matter how powerful, ecstatic, or brilliant it is) but simply instruments for
its expression. When the ego is not as involved, it is more free to play. A
fierce kind of innocence replaces the more "adult" tendencies of irrevocable
self-absorbtion and the all-too-serious business of (cough) ... "the Work."
Too much reverence ends up not being that reverent at all. True
sophistication results from penetrating the core of human experience, thus
releasing the innate innocence contained therein.
RESISTANCES
.Ritual excites resistance and awareness of same. I think it does this
because it's set up to . clarify our fundamental self-definitions and
resistances are one way we define ourselves. It seems the primary dilemma
of resistance is resisting it. This is why the ritual function of sanctifying
resistance is useful. Sometimes, it's possible just to drop it. Other times,
you kind of weasel around it but more often than not, you have to go right
into its heart of darkness and work to break through to the other side.
Resistance comes in many shades of grey: fear, distrust, suspicion,
boredom, despair, judgment, frustration, anger, irritation, numbness,
rapid-fire thinking, guilt, inertia, rebellion, talking, tension, expectations,
spacing out, indolence, laziness, etc, etc ... perhaps the most direct way to go
is just recognizing them when they come up so you have a choice in the
matter as to how you wish to respond.
All Rites Reversed
129
AUTONOMY
There's an anarchistic element to this work as it challenges and fortifies
participants' autonomy or, willingness to govern themselves. Autonomy
develops as more aspects of Self are accepted, integrated and put to work.
The degree of ones autonomy determines the degree by which one may
tolerate autonomy in others. If everybody governed themselves,
function of an outside governing body would turn obsolete and a new kind
of group order / gestalt/ culture could sprout. To the degree we are
autonomous is also the degree we may permit the existence of autonomous
forces, that is to say ... those with lives of their own, not subject to our
control or cohersion .. and not necessarily confined to a human body.
Autonomy is a function of our singular being and is reflective of our
Essence. Autonomy, is nothing to strive for in itself unless you're ready to
explore its dark or, hidden side .. .immobilization, paralysis and crucifixion.
Rituals challenging our capacity to permit uncertainty feed our autonomy.
INTELLIGENCE
One way I've seen Intelligence operate is through polarizations. A
"third point" comes up, reflecting an awareness unidentified with either
side of the polarity. This "third point" occurs as you move between
polarities enough times to ask the question, "Who is it that is
between the two sides of myself?" "Who am I?" Anything umtmg
opposition while transporting us beyond duality is Intelligent to me. I
polarizations even increase our Intelligence and help us become recephve
to its purpose. What is the purpose of Intelligence? I think it is to generate
more Intelligence, don't you ?
RELAXATION
When the body is relaxed, it is receptive and thus more available to be
moved by the forces and aspects of Self evoked in ritual. Without
relaxation, you will tend to exhaust yourself. The basic of
physical diScipline is in the ability to relax your body at The
proceeds by minimizing arbitrary tension: those ImmedIately
to execute the activity at hand. While standing In NO-FORM, Just use
those muscles which stop you from falling down and relax everything else
so the stance expresses rest and relaxation. Apply this to Sitting, Walking,
Speaking,Laying Down, Etc.
130
All Rites Reversed
/ When the body is in a state of wakeful relaxation, the signals traversing
from the brain via the spinal axis to the muscles are received and processed
more rapidly. Another advantage to this kind of repose is in its acceptance
of multiple shifts of the body's center of gravity ... from its concentration in
the chest to Jhe pelvic region and, in rare instances, the shifting of ones
center of gravity into the Earth a few feet below the body itself! One factor
supporting this kind of shift is emphasizing "down" and "settling" as
overall kinetic commands, especially with jumps and leaps. When jumping
up, focus on the ground and the downward motion and, let the leaping
upward take care of itself. To get solid, get down.
Guests of Honor
~ feather .9Lnderson on GEOMANCY
FUTURE MEMORY with Jose .9Lrgue{{es
Jufian Simeon on WILDERNESS
STALKING THE DANCE with Tliza6etfi Cog6urn
!l(fvin .9L. Lewis on CONSTRUCTING A TEMPLE
UNDOING YOURSELF with Christopher S. !J(yatt
All Rites Reversed
GEOMANCY
Divining the Earth's Spirit
by Richard feather Anderson
133
Since the beginning of human society, people have sought out the right
place to pitch camp, the right time to hunt or plant seeds, the purest most
dependable source of water ... as well as the places where healings occur,
where visions are received and where contact with the Creator is
facilitated. Until recently, human beings have always paid a great deal of
attention to their relationship with the Earth. Before urbanization and
industrialization, each family, tribe and/or village depended directly on the
surrounding land to provide for their basic needs. Finding the most
auspiscious time and place for each human activity and living in harmony
with the natural world were so vitally important that each culture
developed a set of principles and practices for maintaining its survival and
prosperity. Ritual was a key element in these practices, for it centers us in
the time-space continuum.
This body of knowledge is generally known as geomancy, or the Art of
Harmonious Placement. Its practice has been used for locating the right
place to dwell, come together as a community, commune with the Creator
and bury and honor the ancestors. Each culture around the world
developed its own flavor of geomancy in direct response to the geography
and ecology of its region. There are certain underlying principles common
to the various cultural forms of geomancy as all groups of people were
responding to the same entity: Mother Earth, who. develops certain
universal patterns of growth or "laws" of nature. (I prefer to describe
these as patterns rather than laws, since humans make laws, whereas
nature abides py patterns.)
Geomancy can be best described as an ancient, holistic integrated
system of natural philosophy and science once used to keep all human
activity in harmony with natural patterns .. .from seasonal cycles to the
universal proportions found in the way all organisms grow. Within the
geomantic worldview, the Earth is seen as a conscious living entity;the seat
of divinity, comprising both matter and spirit. The word geomancy
literally means to "divine the Earth Spirit", or the energies and rhythms of
a living Earth being. Geomancy's primary purpose is to maintain the web
of life and keep the Earth Spirit alive and vital. This is done by overseeing
the harmonious placement of cities, buildings and human activities. The
megalithic circles and stone rows of northwestern Europe, for example,
are thought to function as "acupuncture needles" for the planet. (Just as
acupuncture is used to stimulate the flow of ch'i through our bodies, so too
have geomantic practices maintained the flow of ch'i in the Earth's body).
Geomancy can be thought of as the mother ritual -- the primal rite of
centering and orienting ourselves within our environment, for it has been
our basic way of establishing our relationship with the land and all forms
of life for countless thousands of years. It has to do with placing ourselves
physically and psychologically within ever-expanding circles of
relationship -- with the place we call home--with the people, animals, and
plants with whom we share the land and -- with the cycles of the weather
and the seasons. And so, our predacessors sited every structure with
regard for the flowing veins of energy within the Earth's body, so as not to
sever Her arteries, and devised elaborate accurate calendars to ride the
waves of the Earth's cycles.
The first ritual of geomancy is to establish the center and boundaries of
a settlement, and to recognize the natural boundaries of the region and/or
watershed we inhabit. By declaring a center and periphery, a community's
sense of place is created. (Indeed, at the root of all ritual practice are
activities which center and orient us within our world and connect us with
the Universal Consciousness of the Creator.) It is rather uncanny to
realize that most of the ritual forms worldwide include movement in a
cross connecting us to the four cardinal directions, all that is
above our heads and below our feet and, a reference to the center and
circumference of the ritual place or Holy ground.
Looking for the origins of these patterns brings up many questions:
Why is it that most of our ancient cities have been constructed within
circular walls interrupted by gate towers in the four directions? Why are
so many nation's capitols situated on their eastern coasts? Why does the
English word orientation mean "to face the rising sun?" The answers to
these and similar questions about archetypal symbols and ritual patterns'iie
in the principles and practices of geomancy.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GEOMANCY
The Earth Spirit that geomancy seeks to define was represented in
ancient cultures by a dragon or serpent. In China, this practice of-
divination is called feng-shui, which means "wind and water", referring
the Chinese saying that the Earth Spirit is as incomprehensible as the wind
and as ungraspable as the water. The breath of the Dragon is the Life
Force of the Earth, which includes the blustering wind and the billowing
clouds as well as the biomagnetic currents running in veins through the
body of the Earth like the acupuncture meridians refered earlier.
Associated with dragons and serpents in cross cultural mythologies is a
magic pearl or egg, which legends say is created in the womb of the
dragon. The pearl represents the Moon, the tides, weather and emotional
cycles.
Cultures that practice geomancy consider the Earth to be a living,
conscious, sacred being ... the creatrix and provider of all life. The land is
named after their primary Earth Mother figure as a constant of
its sacredness. Asia, Africa and Europe are goddess-named contments.
Eire Scotia and Turtle Island are the native and mythically-based names
of Ireland, Scotland, and North America. The Gaia Hypothesis,
neo-shamanism, Goddess spirituality and the bioregional and Green
Movements are currently reviving this sense of the sacred and sentient
nature of the Earth.
. The Indo-European tribes that spread over India, the
Mediterranean, Africa and Europe carry the idea a step further m theIr
institution of sacred kingship. The sacred king was not a ruler with
executive powers. He was, instead, responsible for main!aining the l:ibe's
harmonious relationship with the land. As such, he was ntually mamed to
the land ... to the Earth Mother. The Arthurian legends are probably the
most familiar example of sacred kingship. Arthur was responsible for
maintaining the balance of nature and the fertility of the Ian? by
channeling the life force between Heaven and Earth. He was the fIgure
who ritually stood at the center of the four provinces, the womb or Holy
Grail of the sacred landscape, and dist,ributed all material wealth equally
and justly and resolved conflicts without bloodshed. If he failed to fulfill
these functions, he was removed by elders, priests or matriarchs but never
dispatched by violent means. (Spilling his blood was as taboo as cutting
the breast of the Earth Mother to whom he was united). To become
geomancers and earth stewards today, become like the sacred kings, marry
the land and follow the ancient Arthurian mandate that, "You and the land
are one."
A SENSE OF PLACE
To reiterate, the most basic way to create a sense of place is to establish
the center and boundaries of the community. In geomantic traditions, a
physical/spiritual center could be established in many ways: by setting up
an omphalos stone, a labyrinth, a sacr d tree or precinct, a village green or
marketplace. Boundaries w r rated by city walls and gates, a "no man's
land", green belts, or the rc ognition of a sacred landscape
the surrounding mountains and rivers. During the Roman EmpIre,
l36
All Rites Reversed
whenever they established a camp, fortification or town, they divined a
center, then scribed the boundaries. They enacted a ritual called "cutting
the first furrow" by plowing around the boundaries three times, sunwise.
When they came to each of the four quarters, they would lift the plow and
not sever the breast of the Earth at that point.
Socially, to become a community, ie., to create "common-unity",
everyone needs to agree on the focus and purpose (center) as well as the
extent or limits (bou.ndaries) of their common activities. Many a
cooperative business or intentional New Age community has wrestled with
unresolvable conflicts born of an unwillingness to set limits or reject people
for membership who do not agree with its fundamental principles. Lack of
a well-defined center or boundaries can lead to the feeling that there is "no
there, there", as with suburbia, the commercial "strip" and other forms of
urban sprawl. Creating a clearly identifiable edge for a settlement also
functions to contain the industrious energy of its inhabitants, preventing its
dissipation across the landscape. This is Similar to "casting the circle" in the
preparation stage of a ritual -- a procedure which contains the shared
energy of the celebrants, permitting its magnification.
A SENSE OF TIME
Until very recently, a culture's sense of time was linked with the
agricultural year and the cycles of the Moon, the Sun, and thee Stars.
Buildings and temples were oriented to function as Astrological
Some of the megalithic stone circles of Europe were constructed with their
geometrical axes (they are egg-shaped) oriented to the points on the
horizon that mark the rising and the setting of the sun and the moon at
midsummer and midwinter solstices at approximately NE, NW, S'E, and
SW, depending on latitude. Using these precise observatories, vast
numbers of physically separated people could coordinate their celebrations
to utilize the power collective consciousness has when simultaneously
focused towards a Singular purpose. Chinese villages, Indian pueblos,
Etc., were oriented to the Four Directions with windows admitting light
across central plazas at the solstices, so the group was dwelling
figuratively within the wheel of the year. All of these Earth-centered:
cultures developed complex mythologies and ritual dramas describing the
Earth's cycles, functioning to place themselves emotionally and
psycholOgically in time and space.
-' -
All Rites Reversed l37
SITING OF BUILDINGS
Greek, Roman, Egyptian temples and Gothic Cathedrals were sited to .
incorporate a sense of center, boundaries, landscape, the four directions
and passage of sacred time. The foundation stones were set at a time
auspiscious to the deity or patron saint (represented by a particular star or
planet visible or on the horizon at that time), which in turn represented the
archetypal forces necessary for the function that building was to serve. An
East-West would be generated from the morning and evening sun's
proJected from a central pole onto the perimeter of the building
SIte. ThIS created a perceptual as well as more accurate East-West axis
than possible with a compass, since the magnetic poles shift so frequently.
The shape and proportions of the building also related to its function ( e.g.,
pyramidal granaries whose shape actually helps preserve the seeds. )
All of these ancient structures on sacred sites were built according
to sacred geometry, a system of proportions based on universal ratios
found in the growth patterns of all organisms and in the harmonic
of the musical scale. These "Golden Proportions" are illustrated
m Leonardo da Vinci's famous drawing of the man proscribing a circle and
square. I think the ancient builders knew how to use the Golden Mean to
any enclosure resonate with a particular frequency which
facIhtated a chosen actIVIty. According to some researchers, the echos in
Gothic cathedrals resonate at the same frequency (Seven & A Half Hz) as
the and the human brain while in a deeply relaxed, .
medItative alpha state. As a result, these temples create a vibration that
attunes us with the Earth both phYSiologically and spiritually. .
Resonant spaces can also put a community of people in tune with each
other. Group singing or chanting in an acoustically alive place is a
powerful way to achieve a sense of common unity. When any group makes
vowel sounds in free-form fashion, without a leader or script, the
group sound WIll eventually reach a single pitch or chord. The same
occurs with or grandfather clocks -- at first they
swmg randomly, but withm 24 hours they will have synchronized
themselves. So when we participate in community soundings, we are
attuning ourselves with our neighbors.
138
All Rites Reversed
To live in harmony with the Earth, we need to develop a modern form
of geomancy and learn to apply its principles to industrial as well
agricultural contexts, combining appropriate technologies with an
intuitive sense of what is in harmony with the natural history and pattern
of a particular site. We will need to integrate and remember the commo
roots of the disciplines of architecture, ecology, geology, astronomy,
astrology, sacred geometry, music, dance, and ritual into a new geomantl
cosmology.
1987 Richard feather Anderso
Richard feather Anderson
is the founding director of the Westcoast Institute of Sacred Ecology itt
Berkeley, California, where he teaches geomancy and shamanism. Trained
as an architect, with extensive experience in yoga; ecology, astrology, and
mythology, he currently researches megalithic structures and power spot
in Europe and North America. He is also a well-known leader in th
Radical Faerie Goddess community and travels extensively sharing hi
geomantic knowledge. For info/write: 2816 Ninth St., Berkeley CA 94710
140
All Rites Reversed
FUTURE MEMORY
An Interview with Jose Arguelles, Ph.D.
By Antero Alli
JOSE ARGUELLES is author of Transformative Vision, Earth Ascending
and The Mayan Factor, as well as co-director of Planet Art Network.
When not living with his family in Boulder,Colorado, Jose travels
extensively throughout the Americas initiating "resonant core groups" and
other activities coinciding with his ongoing research. A poet, musician,
painter and art historian ... Arguelles is completely commited to
communicating his visions of Planetary Intelligence and its inter-galactic
correspondences. This interview took place at his home on the 22nd of
September, 1986, right after he improvided a melody on his shakuhachi
bamboo flute which he brings everywhere to initiate ceremonies at hand ...
Antero Alli: How would you describe the process of resonance?
Jose Arguelles: To me, resonance is being completely melted into the
situation and getting to a place where there's no barriers between what
you think you are and what the situation is. One of the ways to melt the
barrier and enhance the already existing resonance is through music.
Mostly I play the Shakuhachi...a Japanese bamboo flute. After a certain
tuning period, there's a total flow and melting into the situation. This is
what I mean by by going into the resonance and even amplifying it.
AA: The Earth feeds us. How do humans, according to your view, go about
feeding the earth? How do we make it reciprocal?
JA: That's a good way of putting it. I think the way we make it reciprocal is
going back to what I was talking "about and that's melting the barriers.
Right now, we're in a "mental house or framework" that views your
question as being outlandish. That point of view, as you know, is a brief
historical abberation. For the most part, there have been many different
kinds of people in most traditional cultures have held some kind of view
that it is not just the Earth that feeds us that we give back to the Earth. I
think the way we give back to the Earth and feed it is through" cultivating
profound states of receptivity ... where we're first of all able to listen and
really hear the resonances and vibrations coming to us and nurturing
ourselves with those so that we might give back through what I'll call right
harmonic action. This could take all sorts of different forms .. .from creating
a rock garden to playing the flute on a cliffside to conducting a ritual
ceremony that attunes a whole group of people to a particular rhythmic
pulsation of the Earth's process. The particular view I have of who we are
)
as human beings is that basically we are bio-electromagnetic batteries and
the Earth is a geo-electromagnetic battery and ... the Sun is a solar electro-
magnetic battery. So, when I talk about opening up and operating on the
same circuit, that's how we feed the Earth. When we attune ourselves
properly, we open up to that whole continuum. The feeding occurs through
understanding and regulating your circuit properly and to create a
resonance between your circuit and the terrestrial and solar circuits, so
that you have a matching of electromagnetic frequencies. That's what
keeps the whole system going ... not only the Earth but the Sun.
AA: Describe your personal vision of geomancy and its relation to people
on the planet at this time period.
JA: Setting up resonances with the three circuits I mentioned creates a
unified circuit. Now, in terms of geomancy, what that means is locating
places on the planet (most of them known by traditional peoples here and
there) that seem to be particularly " active in terms of their
geo-electromagnetic energy and the idea there is to re-activate these
places with attuned human bio-electromagnetic batteries. This is a
reciprocal activation. What I've been working towards over the past
several years is a highly practical form of geomancy to occur August 16 &
17 1 9 ~ 7 , where 144,000 human beings functioning as bio-electromagnetic
batteries to be positioned at as many of the key sacred places on the planet
as possible ... synchronized at one moment beginning at dawn of August 16,
1987. This event is refered to as Harmonic Convergence. Through a totally
open receptive attunement to the Earth conducted by 144,000 humans who
are functioning as a synchronized and unified bio-electromagnetic
battery ... and tuning into the geo-electromagnetic battery, you're going to
get a particular kind of electrical discharge. This discharge goes out and
amps the total field. This is the idea.
AA: Speak about your ideas of the function of quartz crystals in their
relation to this work.
JA: It's clear that in the last few years quartz crystals have become pretty
popular and myself am no exception. My coming into quartz crystals was
highly intuitive and was sparked by my encounter with Dyani Iwahoo who,
when meeting my wife and I, remarked that our minds are very similar and
we should be working with crystals. My work with crystals is to
co-precipitate in.formation. or what's been called "channeling". What I've
found is that crystals induce is a mild state of synesthesia or euphoria and
ecstasy. This state, which is really quite cellular, simultaneously open up
142
All Rites Reversed
nodes of information and imagery. These later will be discursively
translated into metaphors or useful information links in the work that I'm
doing. I find, at least for myself, it's like having a kind of
walkie-talkie that's helpful in facilitating analogical leaps. The relation of
crystals to geomancy ... when you're talking about crystals, you're talking in
some way about the primary vibrational structure in the universe ... the
hexagonal structural shape, a six-sided one, underlying cellular formation.
What we call matter is built up of crystalline form, so the Earth itself is a
crystal. The core vibrational structure at the center of the Earth is
crystalline in nature. We're talking about a structure and not. a
literal crystal at the center of the Earth. (Editors Note: Soon after this
interview, there was scientific evidence announced to the effect that the
Earth's core was, indeed, crystalline in nature.) Plato, who got his
knowledge from what was left over from Egyptian wisdom, that the
Earth had a geometrical crystalline type of structure. The Earth Itself, then,
functions as a mega-crystal and obviously the use of quartz crystals
becomes very handy in creating a field of attunement with the Earth. One
possibility is doing crystal plantings for enhancing this kind of attunement.
I think this has to be done very carefully. One needs to understand the
location, what's nearby and the intent involved.
AA: Can you describe the process of locating a place and the appropriate
manner of planting crystals?
JA: As far as the appropriateness of place, generally we're talking a\>out
them there hills ... wilderness and near wilderness. You have to move very
slowly and be aware of ridges, rivers and so forth to feel out where the
right place might be. The only reason to do it is to create a field of
attunement, really, with the Earth and to send a message to the Earth that
there are certain members of the human community acting on behalf of the
whole who are responsive to the needs of the Earth at this time. I think
that's the proper attitude. The .rve received for.
planting have to do with creatmg a .cIrcle and SIX
no-more-than-one-pound size quartz crystals m the form of a six-pomted
star, which is inscribed by a hexagon. At the center, an amethyst ... the
seventh crystal which refers to the seventh or ray. This is, a way,
ceremonial magick. It's another reason why thIS has to be done With a lot
of careful consideration and respect...impure motives create adverse
reactions, in other words. The reciprocal pUI70se of the people doing it is
to itlcreas th ir own bonding and kinship with the Earth. That's what is
keeping us her nd evolving us.
All Rites Reversed
143
AA: So this is a ceremony where people plant crystals in this formation and
stand around it to become receptive to the Earth's signal and respondwith
a message back to the Earth,.. so the circle is a conduit for reciprocal
communication.
JA: That's right.
AA: You've been studying Mayan civilization and their calendric systems.
What do they have to say about living on the Earth at this time?
JA: Pretty much every thing I've told you: It has nothing to do with
becoming in resonance, really. I call what I'm doing a neo-Mayan science
and the basis of that is the development of a resonant field paradigm.
Resonance and electromagnetism are primary. Matter is a secondary
derivative or epi-phenomena of these two. When you begin to consider this
perspective, you'll see it's the reverse of the prevailing scientific .system.
The psychic and social implications of this resonant field paradIgm are
quite enormous as they lead us to a lifestyle of terrestrial resonance and a
technology based on a matching of psychic/solar frequencies. The sun is
operating through what we might call a galactic program which is
generated from the core of the galaxy ... what the Mayans called Hunab Ku.
This core emits the master program that is mediated by the different stars
to the differing planetary systems. Our sun is then, continuously emiting
sets of patterns which are simultaneously energy and information. These
can be synthesized down to the readings of the binary sunspot cycles.
Certain numerical patterns are determined by these sunspot cycles ... 23
year cycles ... 11-1 /2 year cycles ... and these are all accomodated by the
Mayan matrix, the 260-unit Tzolkin calendar or mental pattern.
AA: What are some of the other "earth prophecies" you've encountered in
your work and in meeting people?
JA: One way to envision the Harmonic Convergence dates of August 16 &
17 of 1987 is like a vortex reaching its apex, or point, and then it opens out
again. This way, you have a particular kind of energy that goes to that
point there and a whole other kind of energy happening after passing
through it. As the vortex opens out, it starts another cycle where we enter a
condition where we'll be experiencing a mental re-polarization. We've
been dominated by particular m ntal fields since the 17th century (The Age
of Reason) and what we'll be seeing i that this mental field is going to be
reversed. In Mayan terms, it's the 13th baktun which began in 1618 when
144
All Rites Reversed
Decarte published his meditations and kicked the whole thing off. The
work I've been doing and that you're doing and others are doing is gettting
ready to set in place a knowledge frame to be the foundations for the new
mental house being built as this vortex starts over again. August 16 & 17
initiates this transition. By the summer of 1992, the resistance of the
collapsing old mental house will pretty much come to an end. At this point,
we enter another 20-year phase ... the very last twenty years of the entire
Mayan Great Cycle, which began in 3113 Be. In this last twenty-year cycle,
once we've got the old machine stopped we'll witness on the one hand the
final full flowering of the species we call Homo Sapiens. We're just about
done, we've done all we could. We've come up against our stupidity and
brilliance, so we're going to be given the opportunity to relax and let a final
flowering occur. By 2012 AD, when the cycle closes out, that's when we
shift to evolutionary patterns and that's when we get commpletely
interfaced with what I call the galactic federation.
AA: Terrence McKenna uses that same year, 2012, doesn't he?
J.t\: Yeah.
AA: How would you characterize this new mental house we're shifting
into during this polarization you're re/ering to?
JA: One of the terms that's around now is the new solar age which is
definitely a reattunement to the sun in all respects. What I envision tl).ere'll
1?e in the transition period is a shift from the "myth of progress" to the
splendor of synchronicity and the reality of nowness. People are going to
experience a much greater expansion of what we nowadays call "psychic
abilities". There will be a critical point around 2007, in those last five years,
where there'll be a return of the most primary, aboriginal kind of sense of
"what do we really need, anyways, to really be happy and alive?" On the
other hand, due to the accumulated 25,000 years of human experience,
there'll be an incredible 'krtowledge and sense of wisdom. It'll be a real
-Golden Age at that time and an understanding of the link up with the other
six star systems of this portion of the galactic federation. For those who
are receptive, there will be a slight disorientation not unlike the deja vu
experience. There will, in this loosening up phase, be a release of
archetypal rn,emory, genetic patterns .. . that haven't been activated yet or '
have been dormant a long time or both. A highly renewed inspiration will
occur ...
To contact Dr. Arguelles &/or Planet Art Network, write:
P.O. Box 6111, Boulder, CO 80306.
WILDERNESS: Ritual As Personal Response
by Julian Simeon
For an instant, I stood awestruck. .. my feet frozen in the sand. The moon
was to be full but there it was in the night sky, as if some devious
gods had decIded to choke the light out of it. I wanted to drop to my knees
to .pray. I was ... scared beyond rational thought. What could I do to
bnng back the light of the full moon? Suddenly I realized I was witnessing a
lunar eclipse.
I had. gone to the beach that evening to build a fire, watch the full
moon, and hsten to the pounding of the surf. I had not known there would
be a lunar eclipse. The experience leveled me. Humbled for that instant
the of God was placed in me. I thought we were all doomed. For
fleetmg moment, I was the neolithic shaman wanting to cry out for the
survival of myself, my tribe and my world. I have often thought about that
moment and my immediate response to it. It was an unknowing,
unprepared and unrehearsed reaction. It was my gut level response to the
mystery of Nature.
. It is this type of natural respose to wilderness that I
wIsh to explore further. I feel these innate reactions are the essence of
ritual. Wilderness excursions evoke a humbling acknowedgement of
the greater I am fascmated by the effect of wilderness upon us
20th mhabitants of the Earth. Driving in cars, living in houses,
shoppmg m supermarkets ... limits our interaction with Nature. I find it
d.ifficult to feel peace and gratitude while surrounded by the
chaos CIty hfe. I get caught up in commuter traffic, grocery lines, media
advertisements, nuclear fears, financial worries, job burnout and all the
:est comes along with 20th Century American life. Often my
of who I am, what! am doing, and how I am doing it, influence
the I live my day to day hfe. My response to the overwhelming chaos
of CIty hfe has been to retreat to the wilderness for solitude reflection and
I experience as a rite of 'passage, a'time
out from mner CIty hfe allowmg for these periods of reflection and
re?eneration. I fin? that the of group interactions occuring during
wIlderness expenences permIt greater competency, self-esteem and
overall trust in self and, others. All this has added up to the nurturance of
hope.
So, what happens when we go to the wilderness? As a university
student! I was enough to have found a program allowing me to
do graduate work m WIlderness Psychology. Wilderness, defined hereafter '
pristine environment relatively unscarred by the effects of
CIVIhzatlOn. Th se two-week trips would follow a simple format: No tents,
no stoves, sugar, no coffee, no tobacco, no drugs, no books, no cameras,
no paper ... no III. IIrles.
All Rites Reversed
147
We made a committment to look at our cultural addictions, our
relationship to ourselves, each other alld to the Earth. We operated on
consensus, using the group circle as a coUective stn,lcture. One consensus .
everybody agreed to was dropping our "city names". We were addressed
as "man in khaki shorts," or "woman winl brown wavy hair". This mode of
labeling continued until individuals fouttd a "wilderness name". Names
varied from "Willow" to "Feather", "Maya", "Canyon Bull", "Blood of
Hawk", "Twin Star", and "Raven". The idea was to have a name choose
us. This simple game seems to help people leave their "city selves" behind,
while allowing time to explore different Gspects of their personality.
On one Spring trip we made to the slick red rock canyons of Southern
Utah, the final group circle before entering the wilderness agreed to
discuss our relationship with "accidents" rmd our fears of "the wilds." The
notion of No Accidents was presented in the light that so-called "accidents"
occur whenever we are not in touch with Dur needs. People tend to become
"accident-prone" as ways of getting attention from others and to indirectly
demand others to meet their needs for them. A pact was made to be in
touch with our needs and to communicate them when possible, i.e., when
somebody needs a hug or needs to talk. Discussing our fears helped relieve
anxiety and sometimes dispel unnecesSlry illusions. The fears included
everything fro:tIl "taking a dump in the Iniddle of the night" to the fear of
hunters, snakes, and of the unknown, in general.
On the final night of one trip whe:e I fullfilled the role of wilderness
guide, I prepared a fire circle. Prior to l:ghting the fire, I verbally framed
my to the group. I told them }felt the most difficult part of any
wilderness journey was the return to civilization, where one is really
challenged to integrate what has been harned. I refered to the fire as an
entity that not only gives us light and Wlrms the body but also, perhaps,
feeds our spirit. I suggested that the group approach the fire as this
nourishing entity by feeding it wood. Ea:h piece of wood was consecrated
as an offering. Each person was asked tc make a prayer or wish with each
piece of wood offered into the fire. Bathhg in the light and warmth of the
fire, people asked for strength to carry Q\ in their daily lives. This simple
ceremony seemed to have a profound tffect upon the people present. It
was a direct response to the wildernes; environment and the reality of
returning to the city.
On a different wilderness excursior where only men participated, the
time came for everybody to go their ownways to explore a 3-day period of
alone time. The sun set as I built a smal fire to cook my evening meal. I
watched two deer approach the beach t) lick salt. As darkness settled in,
my own fear of the dark gradually infltenced my attention. I fed the fire
increasingly larger pieces of wood (due h the vast abundance of drift and
148
All Rites Reversed
milled wo?d ashore from numerous, sunken pirate ships, I placed
the fue). I was alone on that beach. My fire was a huge
inferno lighting up an area a hundred yards in each direction.
The fire eased I?Y fear and soon, it obvious I would vigil
thr?ughout the long on the beach. WhIle contemplating decisions
would effect my life for year to come, I made a prayer with each
of offered to the blazing fire. Feeling around for wood, I found
a pIece which felt extremely good in my hands. Upon closer inspection, I
saw I was holding. It was man-made club, a weapon, perhaps from
an old that broken bones ... cracked skulls ... or worse yet, killed a
human bemg. weapon aside too afraid to let my-mind
wander further mto Its possIble hIStOry. .
I looked in.to the fire asking, "Why are there weapons?" I sat in
silence thinking about my question. Slowly, memories from my adolesqmt
years back to me. I hung out with a street gang and we used to make
, clubs similar the weapon I'd just found. I cried as my guilt surfaced full
force. The vIOlence and anger I so despised in others was within me. I
asked from every person I'd ever thought or called a nigger,
kIke, chmk, gook, spie, honky. I thought of every person I had
or unintentionally hurt, hit or verbally abused. I fed the
fire more wood,. crymg out for forgiveness from all those people. As I sat to
the west of the fue, I felt soothed by its warm light. ..
I then had the urge to move clockwise. around the fire in order to sit
in. east. My perspective was different from there. I found myself
thmking about all the people who had ever hurt me in my life. I recalled the
times I'd been oppressed, hit, abused, and made to feel worthless. I found it
in my heart to forgive each and every one of them; whether I knew or
not,. I them. I felt something moving deep within my soul.
InstmctIvely, I moved around the fire and sat down on the south side. As I
stared at light, I found the strength to forgive myself for all the reasons
of my gUIlt. .My mood began to lift, as if the smoke and light from the fire
were cleansmg me. I felt lightened and peaceful within. I moved around
the fire and sat in the north. In silence, I forgave God for for having
let me expenence all the suffering in my life and, at the same time, asked
God's forgiveness for all my shortcomings. A cycle was completed. I prayed
for tr ngth to become non-violent. I prayed as I disarmed, world leaders
wonl 1 oleo disarm. It was a ritual emerging naturally from the
nvirOntl1ont, th fire and, myself. '
All Rites Reversed
149
Over the past several years, I've led a number of groups on
wilderness trips ... people from all walks of life. I have discovered an
ongoing bias in my approach to "wilderness work". First, I believe that the
Earth is alive. Not only do I believe it is alive, but also that it is a highly
intelligent and conscious being. I felt, in all circumstances, the wilderness to
be the healer .. the teacher ... the guide. Secondly, I feel if we listen close
enough, we can hear the Earth "speak" to us.
The wilderness works in many ways, on many levels. It is like a container
of endless potential. On my wilderness journeys, I've been able to explore
and transcend the polarities of Light and Dark, Good and Evil, Masculine
and Feminine, Known and Unknown. However, I feel it takes awhile for it
to have the deepest effect. Barring any "leveling experiences" like
unexpected eclipses, I think it takes 2-3 days for the tapes in my xnind to
slow down so I could begin to fully appreciate the surroundings. As the
journey continues, I've found it helps to accomplish various tasks. This
gives the mind something to focus on while the wilderness quietly begins to
work its "magic".
One night, while camped on the Middle Fork of the Eel River, I was
tending the fire for an all-night ceremony. The moon was full that evening.
I was out with a group of 16 men and women from the university and these
were the final days in a two-week trip. As I got up to get some wood from
the stack we'd collected, There was a strange sensation in my hand. The
wood I held in my arms seemed to come to life. I looked at them closely and
was enthralled by the lines and grain in the wood. Intuitively, I felt the time
and energy it took to create those dried pieces of wood. At one time they
were alive but now, in my anns, they felt like ancient elders .. .like the sacred
bones of my ancestors ' and I ritually danced to the fire with them,
reverently placing them inside the growing flames. I felt the "sacred bones"
. burn and transform into heat, light and smoke and that whatever
information they contained was being transmitted to those ready to receive
it.
Later that night, as I sang and played the drum, something came to me.
lt was so simple and clear. It felt like a message from the earth. All at once I
knew, "The Earth needs to hear our songs". I responded with a song that
brought tears to my eyes. I felt incredibly blessed. Again, my response was
one of complete gratitude and joy in celebration of life. Time after time, the
wilderness has allowed me to appreciate the very simple things of , life. I
think that this acknowledgement is the crux of ritual.
150
All Rites Reversed
I like to think of the wilderness an a metaphor for the human
unconscious with all its potential. When I'm out there alone, there is no
running or hiding ... there is no pretending. I'm faced with myself and
Nature. The many times I've worked through my fears and guilt have
always led me to a greater appreciation of l i f e ~ This "working through" are
my own personal rituals, rituals following no structure or beliefs but my
own. I find the wilderness to be an incredible help in evoking such rituals. I
believe the wilderness has the potential to ignite deep instinctual memories
of a time when we lived more attuned to.the earth's energies. This
evocation reminds us of our simple, sacred relationship to the earth. As I
stated earlier, I feel the hardest task of any wilderness excursion is in the
return to civilization. We are challenged to implement what we have
learned. .
The return to civilization is like re-entering a "waking
slumber" ... a state where we are awake to our daily routines but asleep to
the simple truths of living. It's as if we forget that we have forgotten the
sacredness and interconnectedness of all living things. 1 feel our task is to
wake up from this slumber, remember what has been forgotten,
then ... engage in a life inspired to live in gratitude and humility. Perhaps in
doing so, we can save our planet for the children of our children's children.
JULIAN SIMEON
is an educator and counselor in the field of human services. He organizes
and leads wilderness excursions for those interested in coinciding personal
growth with planetary harmony.
lULIAN SIMEON at 4160 Balfour Avenue. Oakland CA 94610
STALKING THE DANCE
An Interview with Elizabeth Cogburn
by Antero AlIi
ELIZABETH COGBURN is a Shamanic Qabalist who travels around
the world setting up sacred ceremonies that have developed, over the past
twenty years, from the exploration of generic ritual forms and patterns.
Working with people from all walks of life, Elizabeth's total commitment to
forging the very old with the very new has given birth to an entire ritual
technology drawing from both traditional and contemporary foundations.
This interview took place September 25th 1986, while she had some time to
discuss her work between ceremonies she was conducting on the East
Coast of the United States.
ANTERO ALL!: How have you arrived at what you're doing now?
COGBURN: For twenty years, I've been exploring the
creatIon of sacred ceremonial with the intention of establishing it as a valid
art form and a way of spiritual expression in contemporary American life.
We began with a large drum and a circle of dancers. Over the years, we've
evolved a basic form -- a dance mandala -- within which we improvise the
sound field, the dance and the dramas of our soul's Becoming. This process
and their forms have proven themselves sufficiently generic to the human
condition that I've been able to bring completely inexperienced groups to
the point of holding together the sound and the dance all night long or
towards all day dances. We've coined the name Long DanceS for these.
This training has often been accomplished in less than 24 hours. I like
the term "ceremonial" as it includes many rituals throughout the multiple
.of human endeavor while Simultaneously engaging various levels of
mtensIty. For me, a mere "routine" becomes a ritual when it is done with
conscious awareness and intention. A ritual turns sacred when this
conscious intention is carried out with reverence, devotion and service to a
Higher Power for the greater good of All Life -- not just for personal
gratification. '
Eventually, we felt a real need to become much more explicit about "the
story" we are living by which our ceremonials, in sJme sense, re-enact .. It
had become clear to us that this is the great tradition of sacred ceremonial
as transformational technology everywhere throughout all time among .
humans. These ceremonials are, in some way, the re-enactments of the
tortc; ( h or.! ,cosmologies, myths) that people live by. All of us are
spinn ng Ollt thl' tories we're living by all the time ... mostly, unconSciously.
As we bIg \1\ 10 (h,lv into the stories the New Song members were living
by, we di ('ovell" (I l11[IOY of us were students in the western, non-Jewish
All Rites Reversed
153
tradition of the Qabalah and, were in fact, members of the same training
program in the same Temple. This story of who and what we are, where
we came from, how we got here, why we are here and what happens to us
when we "die" ... all fits in with our inner sense of Truth. So, in 1984, we
declared that all New Song Ceremonials would hence forth take place on
the Qabalistic Tree of Life and that the Qabalah would comprise our map
and method of spiritual discipline and unfoldment.
AA: Describe the prepatory rites involved in setting up these ceremonies ...
EC: When I accept an invitation to create a Long Dance, I am in
meditation seeking Guidance about that Dance. The intensity of the
meditation increases as the date approaches. You could say I am tracking,
stalking and hunting that Dance ... I am courting it and cultivating its
energy field. I'm considering the season, the zodiacal period, the
corresponding Paths on theTree of Life, the planetary location, the
constellation of people sponsoring the Dance and ... what I hear from them
regarding their central concerns and their stages of development. I am
listening to and watching what is going on in the world ... what the outer
story indicates about what may be stirring in our Collective Subconscious.
As I meditate, I walk the Tree of Life or its surrounding Medicine Wheel as
they are laid out in the garden of the New Song Home lodge,
where ... directions and designs for that Dance come to me. I record and
elaborate them in my design book. Later, when I have arrived at the place
of the Dance and am in council with its co-creating sponsors, elements of
these designs are then woven into our loose score for the, Dance.
Another preparation I've done for many years is "Elizabeth's Letter to
the Co-Hearts of the Dance. " This is mailed to all our participants well
ahead of our meeting. It contains meditations on the Paths of the Tree
corresponding to this feast, along with other images, thoughts and special
concerns with which I would like people to seed their minds. This initiates
many levels of bonding to take hold by the time our eyes and hands meet in
the first circle of the ceremonial. These are written anew for every Dance,
no matter how many years we have been keeping that particular feast. If
we are living in the moment, which is the real practice of the Qabalah,
every time is always the firs t time for THAT Dance.
154
All Rites Reversed
AA: As a ritual catalyst, what are some tools you might share with others?
Ee: The universe is made of sound. Words are instruments of power. To
name is to create. To create living ritual -- that which has the power to
effect lasting transformations within the participants -- there must be
competent and inspired leadership fully honored and supported by all
present. This alliance generates something like an electro-magnetic field
drawing in, circulating and drawing out the power of the Spirit. Everyone
can then direct this energy within themselves according to their own level
of skill, understanding and maturity. This encourages and dignifies
development of the highest possible levels of skillful leadership in all
members of the circle according to their special lights and talents which
empower the rituals and the lives of all who partake in them.
AA: What are some of the occupational hazards of your work .. . you know,
the dangers of ritual-making?
Ee: There are traps along the way that we do well to be aware of.
Inflation is one of them -- leaders getting "shot up" with themselves by
personally identifying with the power moving through them in the ritual
workings. I think this rooted in the immature and erroneous assumption
that there is such a thing as "personal power" or that we humans are the
source of the power that moves through us or ... that to "be empowered" is
to have power over someone else. One avoids or outgrows this trap by
learning to identify with the Higher Self rather than the ego
through realizing, in ones bones, that there is only One Power and that we
are ALL centers of expression for this Source. We become increasingly
accessible to this Power as we acknowledge Its true Source and refine our
personalities ... our egos ... to be humble and ever more effective servants of
the One Power that creates, sustains and transforms all Life.
A measure of ones development in this regard is the ease with which
one can provide responsible, skillful leadersllip when appropriate and
co-operate with the same when that is appropriate. This is the
power-from-within, power with, win/win game essential to living ritual, a
humane sustainable culture and a vital creative process of Peace on Earth.
Perhaps the companion/ contrast to inflation would be trivialization.
I notice a great hunger and eagerness for meaningful rutual and ceremony
as I trav 1 around my circuit. As the "closet ritualists" emerge and
congregate, th r can be a tendency to underestimate the energies that are
being invoked in rio us ritual and the Skill & Training to Read &
Handle these energy fields. What is essential to the craft of a ritualist is to
know how to "call in" or "bring down" the right powers ... to know how to
contain, direct and release the energy that is generated. Eager potential
.ritualleaders who develop some forms and collect nice paraphenalia and
who proceed t o perform rituals before they have done their inner
"homework" of refining their own physical personalities Cegos) .. . before
learning how to recognize and handle energy fields .. . well, they're likely to
find themselves in the position of the sorcerer's apprentice -- generating
chaos.
Another aspect of this trivialization I see is the lack of distinction
between rituals which are really effecting transformations in the lives and
psyches of the practitioners and ... those which merely produce a pleasant,
happy emotional glow. The latter are valid and necessary but to confuse
them with the deeper process suggests unnecessary limits on the field of
possibilities for the soul's growth.
AA: How do you go about containing the forces evoked during ceremony ?
Ee: Our ceremonials are theaters for the soul. As such, we seek to provide
a safe and expansive context in which people can explore and share their
inner worlds ... designing and effecting such changes in their ways of being
in the world as they may choose. We are also courting ecstacy as a state of
consciousness beyond concept. We recognize a common human need for
ecstatic experience ranking With our needs for food, drink, elimination and
sleep and ... wherethis need is not honored and provided for in "right-hand
paths", it will always erupt in violence. We say that our Dances are
prayers. We pray by dancing, singing and drumming in pictures -- meaning
that we cultivate and hold the images of the changes we are seeking as we
create our ceremonials. To commit to the Dance, is to offer a Give-away
of yourself, body and soul, to the well being of the Greater Life. So we say,
"make your dance a give-away, not a throw-away." Ecstacy does not
imply frenzy; gross motor activity is not synonomous with high energy.
There is a great deal of spontaneous improvisation of sound #eld,
dance and drama within our form but this does not mean license -- it must
be appropriate spontaneity. That is, it must fit the Whole. You must be
aware of what is going on around you and how what you are doing fits
with the Whole. It is expected that you will go no further "out" in your
inner worlds than you can find your way back, without hurting or
endangering others in the corporate spirit of the Dance. We are courting
bliss with awareness. This disciplining of consciousness is both rigorous
and joyful.
156
All Rites Reversed
AA: Are there fixed roles or positions participants play during the
enactment of these ecstatic rites that support containment ?
EC: We have positions at various stages of skill. We have Soul Watchers
on duty on the Dance Ground at all times.They are trained to "see" what is
going on with each person on the Dance Ground at all times. They are
there to help people find their way "out" and back again, if need be and, to
see that the energy on the Ground does not get "out of hand." That is
where maturity, understanding and skill are tested. I believe that a good
Soul Watcher will be someone who has faced and made some rite of
passage with their own death and, their own insanity. People who have
not undergone such initiations tend to project their own fears on the
dancers and misinterpret situations by placing too narrow a limit on the
experience of others or by allowing delicate moments to careen into chaos.
We want to permit the widest, deepest, most varied range of experience
possible this side of chaos. Skill, in this aspect of containment, grows with
the experience and continuity of the group.
The Soul Watcher has a partner during the dance called The Outrider,
whose task is protecting the cirdefrom intrusion from the outside. Where
there is Light, there must also be Shadow. Moths are attracted to flame . .
We've had bikers, drunks, riflemen, police, and the idle curious ... to fires,
floods, blizzards, wind storms and torrential rains descend upon us during
Dances. One rule states that unless you're Outriding or Soul Watching,
you dance, no matter what, unless you are called to assist. I cannot say
enough praise of the people I have danced with over the years with respect
to their ability to handle every challenge that has come to us from either
the outside or the inside. In 20 years, we've had no accidents and no '
serious illness of either mind or body. So, we feel encouraged that we are
on the right track and have guidelines for helping us take on whatever
challenge is served up and, that we may have information to share that
might be helpful to others.
Another position I will add to this discussion of containment is that of
the Shaman. "Holding the hoop" for the Dances I lead, I am on duty and
available all the time to both the Outriders and Soul Watchers. In addition,
I am reading many levels or .dimensions of the energy field at once while
frequently initiating adjustments to enhance and contain the ground.
When th ufis trained me to drum for their zikr dances, they taught me
that th job f th drummer is to sit in the midst of the dance and (with the
drum) ground th nergy while sending everybody to heaven. That is good
instruction f r 1(' It rs f rituals.
AA: Where does "the void" of NO-FORM come into play?
EC: (laughing): Oh, my goodness ... what a mouthful! (more laughing). As
a Qabalist, I take "the void" to mean the ground of being from whence we
came ... of which are a manifestation and to which we shall return. It's
beyond name, form and gender, time, space and description. We open our
dances with a spiral coiling in around the center which we understand to
represent the Aleph Point, the No-Point, the Void ... where all old patterns
dissolve and new ones seeded. In a sense, the whole Dance happens in the
void. Since we are willing to entertain the possibility of "voiding"
ourselves, we're able in ways unnameable to particpate in this Mystery
and then... return from the Dance through the same spiral.. .renewed,
changed and made Whole.
AA: Are you refering to "ego-death" ?
EC: In Qabalah, we do not seek the death of the ego. Our task is in
educating and strengthening the personal ego to its proper function as a
humble servant and administrative assistant to the Higher Self. The ego is
there to mediate between the inner, deep knowings of the Soul that
which is "Above" -- and the immediate conditions and transactions of daily
life on Earth -- that which is "Below." People with weak egos can't carry
their own weight in the world. They are not good survivors or thrivors.
They tend to be unfocused, ineffectual, ungrounded airy-fairy bliss ninnies.
On the other hand, we have the tyrannical overbearing ego of the
adolescent hero who . always dies of hubris -- of taking upon itself glory
belonging to the gods. Rather than refering to the death of that ego, I'd
rather think in terms of transforming all of that good energy into an ego
that has learned that it is not the source of itself but a servant of the One
Source. Then, the ego recognizes it has no power of its own yet can be a
fine center of expression for the One Power that knows that truth of the
"of myself I do nothing" ... but through the One Doer, the Higher
Self ...
AA: ... the ego becomes devotional ...
EC: Yes, yes ... very much so ...
ELIZABETH COGBURN
can be contacted by writing: clo The New Song Ceremonial House
6741 Edgewood NW, Albuquerque, NEW MEXICO 87107
ON CONSTRUCTING A TEMPLE ...
by Kevin A Lewis
Anyone who has been involved with kinetic spirituality (as opposed to
gathering dust in a church) long enough to see the benefits will also find
themselves up against the problem of how to anchor it, Le., to make it
something more than an idea they carry around under their hat. This has
been a common need to all forms of ritual (religious and/or spiritual)
throughout history. How do we make it Real? So, thousands of places
have come about around the world where some aspect of the multi-varied
astral universe intersects with the material plane through human effort.
Cromlechs, pyramids, mounds, cathedrals ... all fall under the heading of
Temples. As doorways to Somewhere Else, Temples are visible reminders
that you can't get There from here but you can from Here in the Temple
and that is what we shall attempt to find out hereafter.
Individually, this translates into the fact that the only Sacred Spot. that is
completely workable is the one that most closely replicates the inner wiring
of the mind interacting with it. Or, to re-coin an old phrase, if you want the
Temple to work right, build it yourself ... This is an ideal approach for
several reasons: 1) An individual Temple requires little physical effort and
expense, as 65% of it exists on the astral plane (Le., the imagination). 2)
One is free to appropriate "materials" (thought-forms, psychic memory
imprints, etc.) from existing Temples to add to the structure of ones own. 3)
An individual Temple, if carefully built and maintained, gives a much
higher return on a spiritual investment than most operating public Temples
and, provided you don't speculate in Bad Energy, you Temple will bypass
the often ruinous karma taxes that so many investors in the Public
Vibrations Fund have to deal with.
All these considerations notwithstanding, building and maintaining a
Temple involves considerable sustained effort at first (as does anything
worth having) thus, the process of creating one may be one of the most
thoroughgoing spiritual exercises around. This might be expected, for in
the final stages of development, an individual Temple (whether at home or
outdoors) is nothing less than a "secret passage to the Universe ... "
There are 3 basic ground designs for most Temples in the world. It is
these that we'll draw on to form the foundation of private individual
construction. They are: Pyramidal, Circular, and Cruciform. (Bear in mind,
of course, that these don't necessarily apply to Tellurian Temples ... those
natural power regions such as canyons, caverns, mountains, and forests.
These places are shaped by Forces that are a power and purpose unto
Themselves. Later, we'll investigate a method for detecting these ... )
All three Temple designs have on thing in common: Four Directions. To
settle down into the nuts-and-bolts process of Temple construction, we will
start out with the Pyramidal layout. Taking a compass, mark the four
directions as they apply to your room, garage, backyard or wherever you
are. The thing we wish to know is whether the four walls of your room
more or less line up with the four directions. (If the corners of the room
align with the four directions, see the Cruciform or Circular floor plans).
The four directions coincide with the Four Elements as such: AIR -- East,
FIRE -- South, WATER -- West, and EARTH -- North. In each of the areas
you have marked, place in a clockwise motion the following or similar
items: AIR -- East: A Tibetan Bell or wind chime. FIRE -- South: A red
candle. WATER -- West: A chalice of water. EARTH - ~ North: A potted
plant or a rock or a dish of salt. (When taking your Temple apart, remove
the items counter-clockwise, starting from EARTH) The four elements are
symbolized in the Traditional Tarot as the Aces of the Minor Arcana from
which you can extract further information. In the Tarot, you will also
discover (albeit somewhat hidden) most of the surviving basic Temple
blueprints of centuries past.
There are a lot of things to add to this humble beginning but first let us
briefly touch upon the other two Temple designs. A Cruciform Temple may
be seen in any of the great medieval cathedrals of EUFope and England, as
well as the ziggurats of primordial Mesopotamia. If the four, corners of
your room align with the four directions, then the center of your space will
be seen as the central point of intersection of the four great lines of
Elemental current running through the Earth, forming a great equilateral
cross marked out by massive pillars, tornadoes, waterfalls, or .
volcanoes ... whatever appeals to the imaginative faculties. Hovyevet far
out we may eventually take our design, it is best to study layouts of a few
actual existing temples for ideas at the beginning.
A couple of fertile ideas for the design of Circular Temples can be
drawn from Stonehenge, as well as some of the great Taoist and Buddhist
structures in China. Besides the cornerstones dedicated to the forces of the
four elements, our Temple will need certain equipment; things we might
call "psionic amplifiers" or, if that sounds odd, "aids to the imagination".
One of the main items is a point of focus, i.e., an altar. The altar functions
as a sort of spiritual workbench. Candles will be necessary as a Power '
switch: When the candles are lit, the Temple is "on" ... when the candles are
out, the T mple is "off". Any sort of small exotic table will do as an altar,
although a dr s er or chest carries the advantage of storage space. The
altar should b pIc d in whichever direction your Temple is drawing its
"current" from; most altars face East and the rising sun, or North and the
magnetic pole. However, all directions are sacred at various times, so the
more your altar is rotatable, the better.
Aside from candles, an altar requires a symbol of wholeness ... not
unlike a central image in a church. This represents the particular aspect of
the Universe our Temple plugs into. The color of the candles, perhaps,
could correspond with our Intention in the rituals enacted in the Temple.
The more the items on the altar are related in intent, the greater their
capacity to infuse cohesion into our point of focus. They are all united 'in
their capacity to bring us closer to the Being/Reality appealed to. It will
also be easily seen how the various New Age/Positive Thinking toys such
as Affirmation, Crystals, etc. work much better in a charged Temple
atmosphere than merely an ordinary living or bedroom.
Now, since the very idea of a Temple presupposes the notion of
cosmological Intelligence, or constancy, it is appropriate that the operation
arid construction of one contain factors relating these ideas to the internal
workings. For example, most Eastern religions schedule their major
activities according to the phases of the Moon (as did the Old Testament
Hebrews), specifically the New and Full Moons. As far as the Western
public religions are concerned, this has fallen out of practice because
practitioners are taught to not expect anything "real" to occur from these
efforts and so, nothing does.
Our private Temples might, at least, operate according to the idea
that the "tides of the Astral Sea" are on the rise from the New to the Full
Moon and thus best for outgoing activities like water-skiing and
raquetball. From the Full Moon to the New Moon (the waning phase), on
the other hand, is more appropriate for inward reflection and meditative
activities. If we were to decide on inviting the influence of other planets
into our Temple, we will need to surround ourselves with items reminding
us of those planets, and the Forces they represent. Having covered most of
the salient points of Temple building -- and the many unfilled details and
fine points to be colored in by yourselves -- we will touch briefly upon a few
tips for effective Temple operation.
We mentioned four elements. There is a fifth, Spirit or aether, which is
found in the capstone of the Temple. The capstone is a charged area
located at the convergence point of all four directions/elements and is
located directly above the center of the Temple ... above the head, usually
several feet or more. It is charged with an originating, creative intent...a
point in space from which the four elements and directions not only
converge but spring forth from. Our personal relationship with this
potential state is the basis for our capacity for charging the capstone.
Without such a relationship, it would be somewhat futile to construct a
162
All Rites Reversed
Temple in the first place. Simply an awareness of this coordinate is enough
to proffer the necessary perspective during ritual enactment to refer what
we are doing back to its Source. Like the Source itself, there would be no
real Temple without the capstone.
Most, if not all, private Temples ultimately draw much of their
Power by linking up with various Temple Groupminds around the globe;
the idea being that a private Temple is much better equipped to screen out
most of the superstitious fear and psychic pollution the public Temples
become riddled with. As anyone who reads the newspapers or history
books is aware, there were and are Temple Groupminds that are :veritable
compost heaps of astral garbage ... the moral being, never worship
anything that prefers blood over wine .. .
A few brief words on Tellurian Temples may be of use to those
wishing to explore them. A Tellurian Temple is any land-connected
Elemental Vortex where the four Elements converge in a manner unusual
or noticeably different from generally encountered levels of intensity.
Many of the major ones have been recognized in the form of being declared
National Parks and the like. Other areas, which may only be a few feet in
diameter, are only frequented by local spirits. Friendly Tellurian Temples
(and not all of them are) may be a source of great rejuvenation, inspiration,
and, provided you only take what you're given, materials for your own
Temple use. This is the real thing and should be approached with the same
care with which you would explore an unfamiliar, dark cave. Mechanics
first: most Elemental Vortexes operate along the lines of what could be
called a Triangle Power Concourse, or TPC. The TPC formula simply
observes that in most areas of the Earth's surface, the proportions of the
four Elements are divided along triadic lines -- three Elements manifest
and one is "latent." Choosing an example at random, let's imagine
ourselves in a mountainous region: high peaks, forested slopes, and a lake
in the valley. Barring forest fires and volcanic eruptions, our operative
Elements are obviously Earth-Air-Water with Fire being latent. If we
stand on a mountain peak or ledge, the dominant Element is Air (which
may blow us off the edge or its spaciousness cause a vertigo). Air, being an
"active" element, would be placed on top.of the Triangle to look like this:
ECirth
Water
If we go swimming in the lake below, we'd have a "passive" Triangle.
Other Triangles include: !\.\ ,FI re t
The Desert", 1/
Air Earth
Using this as a loose guideline, we may gauge the approximate layout of
Elemental surface areas we encounter. Caverns and large water surfaces,
however such as "Bermuda Triangles" and their like are often not
but Biangular, increasing their intensity to the point of being
dangerous to unwary visitors and pas.serby (Elementals have to eat,
too, y'kriow). Just treat theese regIOns WIth the same respect that
would a lot of high-velocity machinery with no bars. Spottmg
Tellurian Temples is a more or less subjective expenence (some are
larger than a "fairy ring" of mushrooms a .tree) and so, we 11
conclude by mentioning several of the more mterestmg ... so, readers can
explore for themselves.
1) The Mayan Sacrificial Well at Chichen-Itza is a n.atural sinkhole lake
where the Mayans used to feed their people to the Undmes. Very holy place
but swimming is best done elsewhere.
2) Mauna Loa National Park in Hawaii is a good place to watch the
periodic mating frenzy of Fire and Earth spirits. (Not a good area for
condominium developers.)
3) The Big Sur coastline along central is a intense TPC of
Water, Air,and Earth, and is best not taken hghtly ... espeCla11y around the
Full and New moon.
4) The Blue Hole of Belize is a Biangular Power off the co.ast of
Central America where divers report that after reachmg the maxlmuI?
safe depth, one begins to develop nitrogen narcosis; in the Blue Hole, thIS
takes the form of an overwhelming urge to swim all the way to the botto?"
(A steady succession of divers have yielded and are now happIly
reincarnated as dolphins out there ... somewhere ... ) .
Kevin A. Lewis is a writer and "Temple contractor" currently engaged In
the practical side of Hermetic spirituality and magical research.
Inquiries may be addressed to: 815 Alice St. IB, Monterey, CA 9394Q
All Rites Reversed
UNDOING YOURSELF
An Interview with Christopher S. Hyatt, Ph.D
By Antero Alli
165
This interview commenced on October 31st, 1986, at the home of Dr.
Hyatt, which is also administration office for the Golden Dawn Society
and Temple, U.S.A. The actual location of this place, as well as Dr.
Hyatt's identity are to remain concealed for now at his request; he
granted this first interview under a pact of confidentiality. Mr. Hyatt's
long-term discipleship and friendship with Golden Dawn Adept and chief
spokesman, Israel Regardie, (who died March 10, 1985) contributed to
his current status as director of the elitist circle of The Golden Dawn and
President of the Golden Dawn Society and Temple. Without revealing
his identity, Hyatt struck me as a rather dynamic, penetrating presence
given to the sheer delight of articulating what is immediate and obvious
yet often unspoken of. He seemed more Magus than Mystic and
impressed me as one of the most gutsy, animated and outrageous
libertarian sorts I've coincided with to date.
ANTERO ALLI: . In sixty-six words or less, where did the Order of the
Golden Dawn originate and from your point of view, what is its current
status?
CHRISTOPHER S. HYATT: Well, I really don't have any point of view
about where it began. Historically, people wish to believe it began at the
. beginning of time. In terms of written information, it had its origins
approximately in 1887 or 1888 in England through two gentlemen named
Wescott and Mathers ... and a few others ... who claimed they had
deciphered secret manuscripts obtained from a "secret lady" from
Germany. Some people argue that this was a fact and others, that it is
not. Dr. Israel Regardie solved the entire problem, in my opinion, by
stating that it didn't really matter. What really mattered was the ethicacy
of the techniques and that in the Golden Dawn, you had a complete
system allowing the aspirant, through various meditations -- rituals --
exercises, to obtain (if you would) conversation with his Holy Guardian
Angel. Or, in more modern terms via Jung ... his Higher Self.
166
All-Rites Reversed
AA: What exactly is your function in the Golden Dawn since the death of
Dr. Regardie? What do you do ?
CSH: What Regardie wanted me to do was, if you would, to make sure
to the best of my ability that the tradition of the Golden Dawn continue in
both book form and, in temple form. You could say that I'm sort of an
ambassador attempting to bridge the ancient qualities of the Golden
Dawn with the modem interpretations and theories of current scientific
research as it relates to conversation with the Higher Self. You see, each
generation and society develops sets of language and theory relating best
to the personal neural resonance of that set or, time period. The
language of the Golden Dawn is quite archaic and many of us who do not
have its historic sense in our own neural resonance find it difficult
wading through the mass of ancient material ... the Egyptian god-forms ...
Hebraic letters ... the Enochiana and so forth. I firmly believe that this
material needs to be brought to our current age in a new language.
AA: What kind of language ?
CSH: Well, much like you've done in your book, ANGEL TECH. You've
taken a lot of ideas and brought them into the resonance of the people
who are here on the planet right now. Another, perhaps more radical,
example would be the task of updating the text of THE COMPLETE
GOLDEN DAWN SYSTEM OF MAGIC to modern scientific
terminology, which is something I'd love to see done. As young Alec said,
"Our aim is religion and our method, science."
AA: The Golden Dawn seems to have gone underground after Crowley's
reign. Do you forsee its emergence in the near future?
CSH: There is, I think, a new emergence ... at least for the time being. ,
One reason for anything to be underground, as I see it, is due to the
persecution resulting from the establishment of competing realities. The
Golden Dawn was a competing reality to the many forms of Christianity
present in England at that period. At that time the Golden Dawn was
kept "secret" and rightly so. However, I'm very distrustful of secret
societies because I think they're a form of self-aggrandizement whereby
th P opl ,individuals and'leaders elevate themselves by keeping all the
inforrn(1tion to themselves. This tends to give a kind of mystique to the
inforl1'ull()I) wh n, in fact, there may be no validity to the information
what 'J'hi is how deliberate mystification often leads to
self-delu, j(lll . I I't'plng it secret proffers a mystique and a "validity" that
All Rites Reversed
167
may not actually be there. I think by presenting it openly and publically,
for those people who are interested, we can discover the validity of any
"secret system."
AA: According to your estimation, how many "official members" of the
Golden Dawn are there at this time ?
CSH: It's very difficult to say. If we look at previous sales of Golden
Dawn books and make lots of assumptions and a few fairly good
inferences, I'd say probably thirty or forty thousand people. The Golden
Dawn had a significant influence on the sub-culture of the Sixties and
Seventies and has influenced many, many people ... like ... Alan Watts,
Timothy Leary, Robert Anton Wilson and, numerous others. The Golden
Dawn provided them with an alternative model from which to look into
and down upon the numerous competing reality systems emerging in the
Sixties and the Seventies. In a way, the Golden Dawn provided the
foundation for a lot of the Mystical Movement that has taken place in
this country's recent history.
AA: How did Robert Anton Wilson become a member of the Golden
Dawn and how have his writings been influenced by its systems ?
, CSH: Well ... I think Bob is a member of all organizations and a member
of no organization at all. I think he has been influenced by the writings of
Aleister Crowley rather significantly and secondarily, the writings of
Israel Regardie. Since both Crowley and Regardie were devotees of the
Golden Dawn, their ambiance and attitudes have rubbed Bob in this way
and then, that. This is especially true in Bob's ability to manipulate
concepts and in his experimentations with ritual magic and the use of
ones brain to influence events.
AA: from your perspective, what is the singular most vitalistic element in
effective ritual without which, it would turn into an empty routine ?
CSH: I believe this requires a suitable aspirant and suitable initiators.
We may view this in this simple way: the aspirant represents an energy
and a color and the initiators represent an energy and color. When we
perform a ritual, we mix all these energies and colors to create the
desired effect... which is to elevate and enlighten the aspirant, as well as
change the form and energy of the environment and the world we are all
living in. Most rituals are rather empty; in that the people present are
not capable of eliciting, containing, and projecting the appropriat
168
All Rites Reversed
energies and, colors to create the ne.cessary result ... the required one.
AA: Will you speak more on the ritual function of "containment" and how
it relates to keeping a ritual vital and alive ? .
CSH: I think part of it has to do with being as empty as possible ... in
order that the proper energy or color, if you would, can be generated,
expanded and manipulated to produce its desired effect. I think that most
of us are just too full of things to be a proper container for the energy.
This was the whole notion behind my so-called "outrageous" book,
UNDOING YOURSELF, where I didn't have the restrictions placed on
most authors by their publishers because ... I am the publisher. Nor was I
concerned about making money on the book. Therefore, I tried to
present, through the printed media, the best way possible to "emptying
oneself out." A spiritual laxative, if you will ...
AA: How important is the process of psychotherapy to involvement in the
magickal systems of the Golden Dawn ?
CSH: I don't like the term "psychotherapy" anymore. You see, I used to
be a licensed psychotherapist. .. officially sanctioned by the State because I
had so much education and State-approved experience. As normally
spoken of, I find psychotherapy a very restrictive, operative model.
However, like Regardie, I have to agree that psychotherapy of one form '
or another is sort of essential before one enters into the world of "energy"
expansion and containment. It gives one a certain perspective for
differentiating specific major problems such as "wish fulfillment" from
Real Work. I prefer the idea of a psycho-spiritual laxative rather than
the word "psychotherapy" due to the idea of Emptying Out refered to
earlier.
AA: How does the psychic function of "the shadow", as refered to by '
lung, relate to your Psycho-Spiritual Laxative Theory ?
CSH: I think this is the major problematic issue all of us have been
groping with who are engaged in the so-called "depth psychologies."
Very few of us have the stomach, insight, and courage ... and, the will ... to
make a Changing Whole out of ourselves. What we tend to do is reject,
both consciously and automatically, those things which do not fit into our
image of how we should be OR we reject those things we believe will
increase th probabilities of or punishment. So, in a sense,
this Shadow i oft n more real than the Person because the Shadow
All Rites Reversed
169
becomes a depository where all the unwanted parts of ourselves are
placed. It becomes a crystal, OK ? At the most inopportune times, we
find our idealized images totally shattered by this much harder crystal.
We have been taught, in this culture especially, to be hypocrites and
self-deceivers. We have been given a model and told it is the ONLY
reality and, that model happens to run contrary to our inherent potential
and nature. We have become split. .. a split culture ... schitzophrenic. The
goal of man, at this level, is to become unified within himself so he may
prepare for the next set of steps requiring individuals who can contain
lots of energy, tension, and relaxation.
AA: How do you see The Shadow emergent in current society ?
CSH: I believe we're seeing it right now in the Fundamentalist
movement, albeit, whether it's in science or religion, politics or the softer,
correlative sciences ... the so-called New Age movement, for example.
What we see here is an attempt to repair a cracking egg. The only way
fundamentalists' belief systems can cope with this is by digging their heels
into the ground and forcing "objectivity, facts and knowledge" into
opposing models by either ignoring them or ... destroying those people
representative of them. As a system is cracking, there is a growing
tendency to enforce its dogma. These cracking systems are being forced
to change by the Consciousness Movement and its interaction with High
Tech.
You see, the human brain is wonderful in what it can do in terms
of manipulating objects, creating all sorts of devices but it doesn't seem to
do very well when it comes to more primitive aspects of its nature such as
the Oral, Anal, and Sexual orientations via Freud or the first four circuits
of Leary's grid and what you're doing in ANGEL TECH's first four
grades. It is my opinion that these so-called "lower regions" are the real
area requiring the most work and this is where I am staying ... where I am
stuck. .. where I am working.This is so the first four circuits can be brought
up to match and integrate circuits five though eight, which are currently
evolving.
AA: What are some of your vIsIons regarding our future life on this
planet? And, if you recall, what were Regardie's ?
CSH: Regardie wasn't as "optimistic" as yourself and Bob Wilson. He
agreed that, what Bob talked about in PROMETHEUS RISING and
what you at in the of ANGEL TECH, would probably happen
not as q,:uckly and easlly as both you and Bob believe. I also agree
Wlth Regardle. I see that the Earth still requires some blood before it is
ready to move onto new and different areas.
AA: Rather disconcerting, isn't it? Will you elaborate?
CSH: :es, I will. like to be more popular ... I'll say that first. My
COmmItment to myself IS to speak the truth as I experience it without
sociological.consequences. In other words, it's easy to sell
tranqmlizers and, we need tranquilizers. Speaking from the
heart, I see that we are in an era of the Changing of the Guards. While
can be challenged, I'll choose to fall in that trap for now and
belIeve that the Guards of the Ancient era .. . the one dying right now ... are
not willing to give up their authority so easily. I forsee, on a mass scale,
the New.Age is not going to come into being as so many people
belIeve and Wlsh to believe. I see it as requiring a heck of a lot of blood,
disruption, chaos, and pain for a mass change to occur. However,- I do
see small pockets able to live through this period without having to
personally suffer the devastating effect of The Changing of the Guard.
AA: What are some of the deteriorating factors undermining social
structures from societies such tis the Golden Dawn to an entity as
monumental as the United States government ? . '
. CSH: I see it as a lack of In other words, we have a model and
try to make the wodd fit it, rather than going along with the data as it '
emerges. I published . my GENERAL THEORY OF DISMANTLING
awhi.le ago stated. that. all of ' the so-called "structures" simply
provIded the illUSIon of SecurIty ... Pseudo-Security Syndrome, in other
What society culture err in is that they try and superimpose a
solid structure on a flmd state. Everything changes, you see. And, they
expect, after such an imposition, that everything will remain simply
wonderful! Since everything is not simply wonderful, they paint illusions
that it is and, that's called propaganda. Or, as Bob Wilson called it ...
bovine excreta ... I simply call it bullshit while others call it worse, still.
And TI lIS is the murderer of man and all creativity ... this attempt to stifle
us with pe udo-forms which are given Absolutist A Priori status, rather
than relatlv n postiori status. f
All Rites Reversed
171
AA: Here, in the latter part of 20th Century America, do you see the role
of rituql playing a significant part with the Common People ?
CSH: I do see a need for ritual ofthe sort which amplifies our current
predicament and not just superimpose more pseudo-structures. This is
why I created the UNDOING YOURSELF system. I firmly believe that
you must hollow out first ... undo. My idea is that we need to attack the
fundamental regurgitations of people ... those values and beliefs we
haven't chosen butare simply "spouting." We need to work with those
first and use ritual to do some of the hollowing out but even that has to be
done with a person more interested in quality than quantity.
AA: What is Life After UNDOING YOURSELF like?
CSH: After Undoing, one needs to rest. You give a jolt and you give
some time. The process of Undoing Yourself is eternal. The crux and
essence of it must be functionally established and orchestrated properly.
Once that seed has been planted in the deepest part of a person's soul, the
need for further orchestration and direction is minimal. Once you are
undone and have had the first hollow space made for the seed to be put
in, then it's a process of integration. Then, you undo some more ... plant
more seeds and integrate. Undoing ... seeding .. .integration ... and so
forth.
AA: How would interested individuals go about studying material from
the Golden Dawn System of Magic ?
CSH: They can write me at FALCON PRESS, 2210 Wilshire Blvd., Suite
295, Santa Monica CA 90403 and request information on the Golden
Dawn Correspondence Course. For those people who are ready to do
more than that. and have the means -- mentally, emotionally, fin,ancially
and spiritually -- a number of us are always available to initiate the
process of Undoing. That is to say, once you are loosened up enough, if
you will, to have shaken loose from some of the dogma you've been
wrapped up in.
f
GLOSSARY
Brief Definitions of Ritual Terminology
altar -- a psionic amplifier; focal point in a Temple; spiritual workbench
usually supporting a certain symbol of wholeness, i.e., cross, spiral, star
amplification -- intensifying enhancement of any given reality for
clarifying the obvious and articulating its presence
archetypes -- powerful, numinous images illuminated and charged by
autonomous psychic forces unseen in themselves yet expressed in dreams,
mythologies, and ritual evocations
asocial -- any attitude bypassing social considerations and obligations for
the purpose of setting up a Rare Area; shift from external to internal
dependence; self-commitment necessary for ritual work.
attention -- necessary awareness for executing effective ritual; ability to
incorporate and/or bypass interruptions towards a continuity of
consciousness; degree of alertness
aura - ~ self as 1'energy field"; the particular quality present in your personal
space at any given time; amplified as "body of light"
. body of light -- those rituals affording the experience of internal
illumination; capacity for absorbing, holding and transmitting light
boundarywork -- those tasks executed towards defining the periphery of
the Little Circle and/or aura; the process of adjusting ones personal space
to accomodate ones psychic/ emotional territorial needs
breath -- connective current linking inner and outer space; self-reference
device during times of personal crisis, i ~ e . , "breathe ... "
characterization -- advanced ritual theatre work; wherein aBet of contact
points converge to convey characteristics motivated by a purpose to tell a
story and/ or myth
charge -- the accumulative point of emotional and psychic condensation
expressed positively as excitement and negatively as resistance; localized
in a specific body area and/or throughout the entire system; the !"apacity
for energizing a Rare Area, Little Circle and/or Ritual
cloud of unknowing -- internal device for setting up conditions conducive
for magnetizing NO-FORM; bridge to potential state
commitment -- the Soul's degree of willingness to embodiment
point -- internal area of direct, intuitive merging with a particular
quahty, aspect, or force; source of stimulus inside the body and/or beyond
the skin, in the aura itself .
containment -- ritual device for minimizing dispersion usually involving an .
act of subjecting oneself to the influence of ones own emanations instead of
releasing them outwardly and away from the self; see bouridarywork
conversion -- a transition point wherein a state changes into another, i.e"
the conversion fr9m directing energy to serving it produces the resultant
quality of a shift from one state into another; initiation;
darI< rites rituals designed to elicit encounters with, expression of and
in the Shadow function of the Self, primarily for the purpose
of testmg endurance and self-knowledge; evoking the vitalistic elements .
des,ign -- the patterns in a given quality, movement and/or state of being
WhICh, when detected, form the basis of choreography, movement and
vocal forms emphasizing clarity of form
d evelopment -- the commitment necessary for following any given
direction through to its conversion point and beyond to a new quality
altogether; the result of self-commitment
directional -- motion predetermined by the personal will of the one
for determining the precise outcome of movement by
mtendmg Its speed, rhythm, style and tension levels; self-determined
dispersion -- any release of charge; talking is a "dispersion device" for
dis harging excess energy accumulated throughout ritual work; dispersion
1 v Is determine what kind of ritual is possible, as we can only absorb as -
mil h (I n rgy as we're able to contain; opposite of containment
1 1 v nced ritual theatre work emphasizing intentionality by
11 111111 1 'I, "I', lI'hl l l'm:y expression; distilling essences by playing it small;
11' Il l'1I1t1 l1HI V"I1H n t11 apable of conveying/containing strong forces
All Rites Reversed
175
elements -- the autonomous forces of Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Aether or
Spirit; cornerstones of Temple construction; pieces. to a ritual puzzle
form -- the clarity by which a given shape or quality gives of itself
four comers -- ritual device for constructing a Little Circle and/or Temple;
each corner proffers distinct energetic service and function; device for
containment and boundarywork
-- the artful science of divining earth energies; reading energy
leylines, vortexes, and power spots for the purpose of understanding how
to enter and operate with integrity in these areas; capacity for detecting
planetary characteristics
gesture -- kinetic device for crystallizing the of a peak experience
or energy level; a series of gestures form the basis of myth (see Myth)
grounding -- any process serving to stabilize current energy levels; overall
connectedness to planet and gravity as a force; Earth-based activity
grou,p cir,cle -- ritual device for bringing a group together to discuss
preVIOUS ntuals, current intent and future possibilities; usually dedicated to
non-judgmental feedback and direct reports of what actually happened,
rather than philosophical speculations of what it all means
healing -- rituals quickening the innate; amplification of essence
,device for claiming ones own personal space; an
abIlIty for mstIllIng a hIghly personal signature to ones vocal creations,
movements and rituals; statement of uniqueness; incomparable
inflation -- condition of being self-identified wherein the ego is expanded
and/ or shrunk past its previous boundaries; the result of internal fusion
between ego and Self; full of self (see DANGERS section)
-- the of those rituals triggering high degrees of
uncertamty and creatIve response; transformative shift from one reality
tunnel to another; conversion points
integrity -- the self-respect necessary for respecting others; a
self-preservation device enabling endurance amidst great intensity;
176
All Rites Reversed
intuition -- capacity for direct, open-ended contact with living forces;
ability for tuning into a condition without imposing preconceptions,
judgment and/or interpretation; first-hand knowledge
little circle -- that physical and psychic area dedicated to generating and
containing presence throughout ritual preparations; personal space
magick -- personal contact with the Infinite; degree of comfort exhibited
amidst uncertainty; the capacity for being at home in the unknown; those
methodologies responsible for Initiation, Trance, and Transformation are
"magickal systems"; synchronization of external and internal faculties and
activities towards greater command over ones predicament
meditation -- first phase of the physical warm-up in ldtual theatre; physical
stillness in the position of your choice; coinciding ones attention with ones
body in time and space; paying attention and listening
music -- psionic amplifier usually applied to enhance atmospheres and
expressions of ritual participants and/or to influence their proceedings
myth -- an symbolic story animated by a series of charged moments; a
sucession of gestures or tableaus bypassing cultural bias and founded in
universality; a network of peak experiences arranged to convey thematic
direction comprehended instantly by all who witness its unfolding
no-form -- void, nothingness, the potential state; in ritual, n can be
approached through a rested standing position that initiates and resolves
each ritual by its tendency to dissolve identification; a tool for discharging
excess psychic energy or emotional investment; ego-deflation tactic; source
of all forms; state of minimal expression
non-directional -- motion dictated by impulses, rhythms and pulses of the
organism itself, usually after relaxing our grip on the body; organism's
innate direction and force often realized through abandonment,
exhaustion and surrender; innately determined
obstacle orientation -- the perspective enabling non-judgemental detection
of r sistances for their encounter, expression and release
1'". 11'111' motivating device for initiating the warm-up cycles, Le.,
rnOV(\1l.\1I111 1\ 11 asing, fun and nourishing; trance-dispersion device
'n bll Ilg I 1'1'1111' 11 I () th five senses after more psychically-charged rituals
All Rites Reversed
177
point of worsnip (POW) -- what one lives for; wherever ones Life revolves
around, consciously or not; Source relations; place where identity is
invested; ultimate values
polarizations -- ritual device for stabilizing emotional flexibility after the
physical warm-up; physical and emotional oscillation between polar
aspects producing greater energetic cohesion and balance
power spot -- that area on the floor or ground supportive of ones well
being, usually detected by intuition; the basis of Little Circles (not to
confused with a geomantic, energy vortex)
prayer -- internal dialogue and/or communion with Point of Worship;
spiritual
v
resonance; that physical position, gesture or ritual affording
communication with the Diety Within; active ,passive, & silent prayer
preparation -- preliminary activities and adjustments for setting up a
ritual(s), usually combining meditation, chanting, dancing and arranging
of the physical location to accomodate the ritual intent; see sanctification
projection -- capacity for charging a chosen area for the purpose of
activating a particular ritual; sending information and energy out of
oneself and into another area, Le., Little Circle for the purpose of entering
that area to be subject to the projected influence.
psychic -- perceptive; the domain given to energetic operation as opposed
to but not exclusive of physical and conceptual realities; capacity for
extracting usable information from energetic contact; absence of projection
psychological -- symbolic interpretation of the psychic; the personal maps
used to describe and refer to the living territories of our experience
quality -- the particular nature of a force
rare area -- space, as of yet, untouched by social projections, obligations
and expectations; prerequisite condition for inviting spiritual presence;
first task in setting up a ritual
resistance -- whatever is judg d as not being OK the way it intrinsically is;
frozen energy; sourc of imm bility and If-definition; any impediment to
direct flow of Life fore s; in rti
resonator :- a kind of internal psychic chamber developed through the
accumulatIon and assimilation of certain essential substances of ones
being, the purpose of which is to excite empathy with Forces within and
around us if we so choose;
-- kinetic, emotional and vocal device for expressing patterns of
motIon; method for stabiliZing presence and continuity;
ritual -- ?utcome of converging contact points in a particular setting
after a specIfIC preparation to do so; activities enhancing the awareness of
human relationship with the living planetary entity; the intentional tasks
executed to evoke a particular force for the purpose of its fulfillment
sacred -- holy (see Point of Worship); the sacrum; see sanctification
-- to make sacred; the offering of something dear to oneself as an
act of faIth and a precursor for psychic discharge; psychic release
safety -- necessary condition for vulnerability
sanctifica.tion -- I;'rocess. of preparing a space for ritual through its
consecratIon; heightemng value of the element of space;
self-empowerment; capacity for granting permission to be and for others
to be; vocal creations, gestures and movement forms generated for the
purpose of deepening and expanding thepresence of safety; benediction
-: resultant from honoring the integrity and autonomy
of ntual partICIpants; necessary attitude for regarding others
setting -- the actual location a ritual is to take place
shock -- sudden excited by an incongruity between personality
essence; usually resultmg from an awareness of misalignment between
of and Reality itself; a change occuring independent of ones
volItIon; t.here's a disconnection with habitual response
and an energetic acceleratIon; opportunity for self-rearrangement
social :- function governing interpersonal relations, courtship,
domestIcatIon, morality, collectivization, and group process in general
solitude element of being alone (all-one with oneself) usually
a prerequlslt t Source relations and exploring internal dependence
c
I
All Rites Reversed
179
Source relations -- interactions exciting relationship between an individual
and their source, or god; conversation with Higher Self or Guardian Angel
spinal flex -- second phase of physical warm-up in ritual theatre; dedicated
to the gentle rendering of flexibility in the spinal column thus, activating
the Central Nervous System (CNS) and neuromuscular responsiveness
spiritual -- that which is sensed; beyond words, categorization & thought
stretch -- third phase of physical warm-up in ritual theatre; dedicated to
breathing into the muscles while they are stretching to become more
malleable and receptive to the signals from the CNS
sweat -- fourth phase of the physical warm-up in ritual theatre; dedicated.
to generating enough heat to sweat; holy water
surrender -- total giving of self; necessary condition for development
talking -- psychological device for integrating emotional/psychic input
often resulting from "deep work" and usually executed during the group
circle; a bridge connecting the sacred to the social/ conceptual for the
purpose of exiting the ritual setting and entering the world outside;
dispersion device
temple -- a physical and psychic process of constructing a charged and
sanctified atmosphere conducive for evoking specific forces during ritual.
trance -- a primitive state of consciousness increasing ones sensitivity to
illumination, sound, rhythm, visions, and play in general; (see Conversion,
Initiation, Magick); gateway to the "body of light"
transitory run -- jogging forms designed to restore equillibrium between
rituals (see Directional and Non-directional)
uncertainty -- condition permiting receptivity to new information; the
capacity for confessing ignorance when one does not know; preliminary
state to transformation; capacity for the idiosyncratic
vocal creations -- sonic resonance; those sounds produced by the direct
expression of a particular contact point through the vocal instrument.
180
All Rites Reversed
vulnerabilty -- necessary condition for surrender; dropping ones act; th
strength implied in being oneself as one is ' .. .
warm-up -- the preparatory cycles of meditation, spinal flex, stretch an I
sweat for .the purpose of feeling the body deeply; necessary
prereqmsIte to evokmg archetypal forces; the act of becoming physicall
limber, malleable and mobile, stable and activated; ritual preparation
work -- any self-realizing activity synonymous with love
x (factor) -- a reference to the greater unknown; aspect of psyche whi 'I
can never be completely known, described and/or figured out; th
irrevocable mystery of our being; the delicious black hole centers of ou
spiritual origins
zen --
All Rites Reversed
181
SUGGESTED READINGS
(;I'Qmancy:
A.CRED GEOGRAPHY by Robert Lawlor ... Thames & Hudson, London,
'I'HE ANCIENT SCIENCE OF GEOMANCY by Nigel Pennick. .. Thames
,'I.I [Iudson, London, 1982
'niE EARTH SPIRIT: ITS WAYS, SHRINES & MYSTERIES by John
Mitchell...Thames & Hudson, London, 1982
IIE NG-SHUI: THE CHINESE ART OF PLACEMENT by SarahRossbach
I 11 tton,NYC
BCRETS OF THE STONES by John Mitchell ... Penguin Books, 1977
'1'r.U'/ple Construction:
I NCENSE: ITS RITUAL SIGNIFICANCE, USE & PREPARATION by Leo
V n i... Aquarian Press
( ' ANDLE BURNING: ITS OCCULT SIGNIFICANCE by Michael
Iloward ... Aquarian Press
','I IE NAME OF THE ROSE by Umberto Eco ... Warner Books
'l(REMONIAL MAGIC by Israel Regardie ... Aquarian Press
TilE COMPLETE GOLDEN DAWN SYSTEM OF MAGIC by Israel
I 1111 rdie ... Falcon Press (1,112 pgs, w. diagrams, illust.,& instructions)
) Preparation:
HNERGY, PRAYER AND RELAXATION by Israel Regardie ... Falcon Press
lJ NDOING YOURSELF with Energized Meditations by Christopher S.
l'yatt...Falcon Press, (re: SETTING UP A LAB)
ANGEL TECH: A Modern Shaman's Guide To Reality Selection by Antero
. A.lli. .. Falcon Press, 1986 (re: CONSCIOUS EVOLUTION)
ZEN MI ND, BEGINNER'S MIND by Shunryu Suzuki (re: NO-FORM)
PSY HOLOGY OF THE TRANSFERENCE by Carl G. Jung ... Princeton
PI' S ,1954 (r : ALCHEMY)
THE COMPLETE GOLDEN DAWN SYSTEM OF MAGIC (see above)
Perfonnance Ritual:
TOWARDS A POOR THEATRE by Jerzy Grotowski ... Simon & Schuster
THE THEATRE AND ITS DOUBLE by Antonin Artaud
I'"
r
[
AFTERWORDS
This book has offered guidelines to a ritual technology capable
triggering internal forces for the overall purpose of being moved fnll
within. A company of individuals disciplined in such an approach may w
to consider extending it into the public arena of performance ritual. If w
are strong and vulnerable enough to be moved, cer tainly our presen I I
real enough to move others. This simple rule of thumb forms the kind u
rapport necessary for evoking the miracle of a shared communion, II
holiness, between audience and a performing company. It is, perhaps, Ih
.highest function and offering ritual can provide.
Ritual theatre can be experienced as an entire medium unto itself and / II
a series of effective preparation rites for entering performance ceremOl1
and/or a series of devices to enhance whatever ceremony seeks gr I
intergity. The techniques of ritual theatre have been, indeed, alre Iy
utilized in theatre performance with much success. Many times rit\! I
theatre would be woven into a patchwork design of Inter-M II
performance rites with strands of music, poetry, dance, mime, metho'
acting, ballet and visual effects included to complete the fabric. Su I
performances have been carried out by both professional and "naiv "
groups dedicated to preserving a strong ritualistic quality in the fill I
product. The script material for these public performances have ot( n
developed from intensive pre-rehearsal sessions using this medium.
The shape and texture of ritual theatre has undergone many chan
since its inception in ' 1976. Participating individuals tend to exuu
idiosyncratic and learned patterns of expression which have contributed III
the overall shape of this medium. For example, dancers amplify the kin I
level while actors infuse psychological motives into the work. It's as if h
individual cuts another facet on the crystal. It is in this way that ev r
group is highly unique and each session, different from the rest.
Working with an ongoing group in this medium is the best way to find
what it's all about. For the beginning group, I suggest meeting no m r
than twice a week for several hours each time. This will more than suffi ( ,
After about three weeks of this (and if the warm-u.p and guidelines ftl
followed correctly), everyone will know if this work is for them or nt)I ,
Ritual theatre is not for everybody, by the way. However, for the right
people (those who are able to continue working), the long-term results ai
well worth their while. And what are these? For me, three distinct qualiU
have emerged as a result of continuous work and they have all changed my
life. One r sult of relating with No-Form, is that it's given me a certai n
perspective n myself. I mean, how can you take yourself too seriou ly
f
11 1\ dopp down you know you're just anotherpiece of the void? The
.til ' II () of self-commitment has had an enormous impact on my
11111)\1\ S to integrate what I've learned into my style of
1111 III'" walking, and moving. Finally, the work has
I I 1\ \bi d me to listen to and tolerate the manifestations of others a little
It III I I h virtue of my own deepening integrity.
'f'h . underlying principles of ritual theatre (especially No-Form,
I I III 1'1 Points, and Polarizations) have proven effective for breaking open
1111 III It v process in general. True artists already know there is no
I I II 11 1\ without intimacy with void. Somebody once told me that the
," I'm or emptiness and indeed creation comes through us when space
It IIIIPI\ made to serve its expression. We are, at best, interpreters rather
1111111 l ' I'i' t rs per se in that our task is translating spiritual signals or
'1111 II (\ into readable messages using the artistic conventions of our era,
III "lllln up our own. This is not always easy, especially for highly
III types", myself notwithstanding. At times, we ourselves
' 1111 nl l l' flo-called creations and perhaps do so to temporarily slow down
1111 I" O('t'flS with the inertia of our identifications. Those of us with less a
IIPI II 10 b(' me our creations bend towards the prolific, as the process of
11111 1 Oil ternal and never-ending.
IIIIIW(ully ritual theatre can amplify the ongoing dynamics within.us .so
lit It 11111' lives become more available to us. Maybe each day we can mVlte
11111111 .. pi ce of Earth inside and offer the planet a piece of ourselves. This
,""111 t" 111 make all the difference ina world. Ritual is never separate from
I II 11\ I ritual theatre, at best, is a lab for amplifying what's already
I I'll 1\ n so we can get a better handle on it. This has. been 'p:imary
II if li n for setting aside a Rare Area ... to create an arbItrary dIVISIon for
I' I I II/', better look at ourselves. Sometimes, we have to pull ourselves
11'"11 to me together in new and more engaging ways than before. And
III PI' O ss is not always easy, as those who already know can attest. In
I III 1% my hope has been to provide heuristic and actual data for
111' 1 h n our working knowledge of ritual technology relatively
I" lI'P I rI t d by the imposition of dogma, creed or religious doctrines. It
II III ware entering an era wherein our capacity for containing vast
lI\utlnt of light and knowledge is being challenged from all directions at
III \ j , Ritual knowledge, I believe, is instrumental for enduring the
Iltl 1\1 1I s at work and re-directing them to the light of day.
Antero Alli, Director
ParaTheatrical ReSearch PO Box 7513 Boulder CO 80306
About The Author
Born November 11, 1952 in Helsinki, Finland, Antero Alli hasresid
the United States since May 23, 1962. Since then, he has emerged wllh
IS-year background in the Performing Arts after having written, dir (1/ I
produced and acted in over a dozen original Inter-Media Theatre piN I
Currently, he is director of ParaTheatrical Research, a core group "
individuals dedicated to the development and practice of generic ri lll I
forms as presented in ALL RITES REVERSED. Antero frequently tour II
States presenting Lectures and Workshops from this material, as well ,
subject matter from his other book, ANGEL TECH: A Modem Sham , '
Guide To Reality Selection (Falcon Press) and The Angel 1', ' I
Correspondence Course (A TCC).
Antero is an ordained Taoist priest and the recently appoil1t lltl
Temple (of Horus) Astrologer of the Order of the Golden Dawn, USA. II
his spare time, he runs ASTROLOGIK (a Mail-Order Reading ),
writes for various national magazines, and, on occasion, free-1UI)I'"
performance work. Upcoming projects include designing the forthc mill
21st Century Tarot, writing more books, doing more theatr \11.1
eventually joining forces with people who make movies. Signed copic II'
his books, ANGEL TECH and ALL RITES REVERSED?! are availab!(1 hy
sending $11. @ payable to the author, to the address below. Inqulr' II
regarding the ATCC, ASTROLOGIK, TOURS, BOOKS & T API " ,
and ... Forthcoming Releases can also be addressed to:
ANTERO ALLI, Director
ParaTheatrical Research! Astrologik
P.O. BOX 7513 Boulder CO 80306
*******************
'.

All Rites Reversed (Antero Alli)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

All Rites Reversed (Antero Alli)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

All Rites Reversed (Antero Alli)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What are the principles of ritual theatre discussed in the text?

What guidelines are provided for entering ritual work?

Copyright 1987 by Antero Alli

You might also like