Not doing “the same ol’ thang” AGAIN!!!
Lordy, Lordy … let us not fall into the trap of “oh that worked once, so let’s just keep doing it” when it comes to ritual presentations, especially public offerings. As Priestess and Feri, when I see this occur, I wonder what actual thought is going into that sort of choice.
Yes, I DO know that it is a great deal of work to conceive, create and present something new every time, but the intensity and evolution in that work outshines what’s available doing ‘repeat performances’. There is always the risk that folks may not like what you present, or get your intention, but those risks are worth the rewards, in my experience. I can back up that opinion with 7+ years of participating, helping to plan, cat-herding, stage managing and (several times) being the concept person for large ritual presentations at Pantheacon and at the Faerie Mid-summer Barter Market. It really is scads of work, especially if you want to have a substantial group of Priests working together, props and costume pieces … all to support and present that new ritual.
The juice of current that follows thru both Priest and Participant when something new and unique is shared grows the sweet fruit of magick in every heart it touches. That experience, however ephemeral, leaves an incisive mark of change and growth. This is what doing public (and private) rituals is really about, as far as I am concerned.
Offering the Witch community experiences diluted by watered-down recycled rituals seems to engender the opposite result and we start to look like other, ‘organized’ religions that offer repetitive, hide-bound monophonic experiences.
So, here is my ‘soap box’ slogan this week:
Let us all work toward creating and sharing those experiences that grow us in all our parts.
As a good friend of mine says, “May the winds of change blow up all of our skirts!”
