Pray to the Moon when She is round,
Luck with you will then abound,
What you seek for shall be found
On the sea or solid ground.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Animas Ceremony Complaints Department: Where Am I Going with This? (An Explanatory Outline.)

Due to feedback received by the Pray to the Moon complaints department, I am adding a brief explanation for what I am sure seems (from the outside) to be a bizarre meandering about in details rather than an explanation of how a ceremony came to be.

To clarify, I am actually telling this tale in the order in which it unfolded. Really & truly. The ceremony proper was not written until long after choreographing & costuming & painting & many other things like logistics & gathering of offerings were long underway. 

This is the honest truth.

Why?

Because I don't like to write ceremony. (Actually, I don't like to write anything when it feels like an assignment.)

And because I trusted this Thing to emerge from its chrysalis naturally, at the right time. So I began all the needful preparations for its arrival & waited for it to unfold. 

cRaZy. Sometimes you just go with it.


So, in an attempt to placate the audience (which is odd, since I generally write under the presumption that I don't have one), I will provide a draft outline of Where-I-Am-Going-With-This (subject to change, of course). 


Animas Ceremony: An Invitation to Passion, Table of Contents


I. Public Animas Ceremony Part I: Breaking in the Bellwether

  • Discussion of the origins of the Animist Bellwether & its first use as an introduction to ceremony.

II. Public Animas Ceremony Part 2: Having A Vision

  • Discussion of receiving, recognizing & trusting a Vision that is True.
  • Includes formal public announcement for Summer Solstice Animas Ceremony & Ecstatic Dance Event: An Invitation to Passion.

III. Public Animas Ceremony Part 3: Communicating & Manifesting The Vision (Even Without the Written Word)

  • Discussion of communicating a Vision to others which remains unwritten.
  • Includes concept sketches of ceremony visuals.

IV. Public Animas Ceremony Part 4: Trust Your People
  • Discusses, in three parts, trusting the skills of experts to assist in manifesting the Vision.
  • Also emphasizes the importance of gratitude for these people's contributions.
  1. Public Animas Ceremony Part 4a: Trust Your People: The Costumer
  2. Public Animas Ceremony Part 4b: Trust Your People: The Choreographer
  3. Public Animas Ceremony Part 4c: Trust Your People: The Magus (DJ, that is)

V. Public Animas Ceremony Part 5: Art. Let it in.

  • Discusses the use of art as an offering as well as an aesthetic, spiritual & communication device.
  • Includes images of Art Bowls used in the ceremony.

Public Animas Ceremony Part 5b (1-8): Art. Let it in. (And celebrate the artists.)
  • A succesion of biographies for artistic contributors to the ceremony. 
  • Also a reminder that animism is about relationship & this includes our human relationships; respecting, understanding, honouring & having gratitude for those who enrich our lives.
  1. Public Animas Ceremony Part 5b(1): Art. Let It In. (And Celebrate the Artists: Anna Nelson)
  2. Public Animas Ceremony Part 5b(2): Art. Let It In. (And Celebrate the Artists: Lee Harrington)
  3. Public Animas Ceremony Part 5b(3): Art. Let It In. (And Celebrate the Artists: Joanne Harnagel)
  4. Public Animas Ceremony Part 5b(4): Art. Let It In. (And Celebrate the Artists: Bryan Perrin)
  5. Public Animas Ceremony Part 5b(5): Art. Let It In. (And Celebrate the Artists: Susan Perrin)
  6. Public Animas Ceremony Part 5b(6): Art. Let It In. (And Celebrate the Artitsts: Alica Wolter-Hausser)
  7. Public Animas Ceremony Part 5b(7): Art. Let It In. (And Celebrate the Artitsts: HPS CC)
  8. Public Animas Ceremony Part 5b(8): Art. Let It In. (And Celebrate the Artitsts: Moma Fauna)

Remaining Subjects, in Tentative Order:


VI. Public Animas Ceremony Part 6: Offerings. (More? Really?)
  • Will discuss yet more offerings including art eggs, herbals & poetry. May require multiple entries.

VII. Public Animas Ceremony Part 7: Selecting & Tending Your People
  • Will discuss the process of selecting Officiants, getting commitments, the importance of communicating their personal value & the power of relationship.
  • Will also briefly discuss the folly of the standard call for volunteers & why, imho, it does not work. Also a bit on how & when "ritual by committee" can & does work.

VIII. Public Animas Ceremony Part 8: Ceremonial Structure
  • Will reiterate reasons for hosting this ceremony as well as the intent, language & structure of ceremony.
  • Will include outline of Officiants Invo/Evoc/Invit-ation to/of spirit(s) of Passion.
  • Will include link to full ceremony document (PDF via Google Drive).


IX. Public Animas Ceremony Part 9: A Wee Bit on Ecstatic Dance

  • Whys, hows & goals around the ecstatic dance portion of the evening.


X. Public Animas Ceremony Part 10: Rounding it Out & Covering Bases. Even More Communication & Gratitude: Ceremony Programmes

  • Will discuss the value of providing a ceremonial programme, particularly for newbies & persons unfamiliar with animist concepts. 
  • Will include images of Animas Ceremony: An Invitation to Passion programme as well as a link to the full programme document  (PDF via Google Drive).



I am certain I have overlooked something. So I will continue to update & adapt here & ultimately I hope to create a Ceremony Section for this journal where all this & future ceremonial details will be recorded. However, that must wait until I complete my current work on the Nyx devotional gallery page.

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