The interactive House of Vines begins here!
Each Tuesday I’m going to post an open question for you guys to think about and respond to. You can do it here or at your own blog or wherever, but if you take it elsewhere it’d be cool if you gave a link so we can follow along.
This time around I’m going to throw out two questions for discussion.
1) Who are you?
2) What role does art play in your worship?
I look forward to hearing from you guys!
Hm. That first question is a doozy, isn’t it? Not sure I will really have an answer until about five seconds before I die – I expect I will be continuously “in process” until at least that point. I’ll think about it, though, and see if I can come up with a less glib response. :)
As to the second, though, coincidentally I gave a talk this past weekend that was partly about the role of art in my spirituality… What follows below is excerpted from that talk, and along with my old posts on idols and shrines (1, 2, 3) they paint a fairly complete picture… but there is one important point that I don’t think is really covered in any of this, although it gets a passing mention below – the most important aspect of art in my worship is the MAKING of it; the actual doing of the craft work is one of the most important ways that I do worship. (1, 2, 3)
“For me, the aesthetic and the spiritual are tied up together; and more than that, they support and enhance each other. A spiritual approach to the experience of beauty can elevate it above the mundane, and beautification of the spiritual can deepen your relationship to God, particularly if you do the beautification work yourself.
The idea of spirituality elevating beauty is best described, for me, in the modern Druidic teachings about the concept of “Awen”. Awen is a complex idea, but for the purposes of this talk you can think of it at one level as the action of Spirit that inspires creative work, and at a deeper level as the life force that flows through all things. Awen is said to flow through the bard or artist when they create or perform their works; but it also flows through the audience or the viewer – if we are prepared to receive it – inspiring and deepening our understanding and appreciation of the work, and allowing the work to take us past the gap at the edge of our normal perception and into awareness of the presence of the Holy.
As to the beautification of the spiritual, I discovered as I was doing research for this talk that I’m not the only one to believe this… Judaism has a concept called hiddur mitzvah, literally “beautification of the commandment”. As one source puts it,
“Beauty enhances the… commandments by appealing to the senses. Beautiful sounds and agreeable fragrances, tastes, textures, colors, and artistry contribute to human enjoyment of religious acts, and beauty itself takes on a religious dimension.”
This is a pretty radical idea, if you think about it – not only can spirituality elevate art, but art can elevate spirituality! That is the true power of art, and the true power of beauty. … This is also why I believe so strongly in good liturgy; the regular experience of beauty focused on holy things prepares the soul to be receptive to the promptings of Spirit, to hear the voice of God in the wind and the water and the song of the sparrow.
I’m a Bacchante dancing through life.Where the ivy grows, there go I.
Art is everything. As an intensely visual person, I can’t have a spiritual practice without it.
I’m Imbrium, who else would I be? I’m a pagan who walks with a bit of druidry, a bit of seawitchery, and a whole houseful of Hellenic gods. For a very long list of reasons, I sometimes refer to Ares as “Lord Father” but that’s a discussion for another time.
Art is our key to the universe. Art helps us to focus and unfocus. For me, artistic renderings of sacred animals or landscapes conjure up the gods’ presence in my mind more easily than anything else. In this life I’m blessed with some musical talent. When I play the flute I play a bit of magic too. When I dance at the fire with the pounding of the drums, I never dance alone even if I am the only flesh and blood being in the circle. I also view a good workout as a form of art- the human body is a beautiful thing and each pushup helps sculpt it more perfectly. These active arts are my way of connecting with the spirits and gods.
Exercise as an active art and devotional activity, I like this idea, be a much better way to connect to Herakles than just doing a sculpture of him for the home gym (still doing that though). Besides, I’ve got to get into shape if I want to join a fire department anytime soon.
You’re right, I was being too limited in my definition of “art”, above. The two single most important activities I do as part of my spiritual work are the making of music, and the practice of Aikido. Everything else – except being in nature – pales in comparison.
Ahh, if defining one’s self were only so simple! I am a student, a would-be healer, a vaguely talented (or so some say) artist in a handful of mediums, a computer programmer (blegh), a lover of the wild places, a seeker struggling hard to be a finder, a would-be warrior that must follow a different path, and a wonderfully lucky man in having someone to walk beside me until one or both of us utter those last “oh bugger”‘s before a cataclysmic (no doubt awesomely pyrotechnic) accident sends us back to ashes and dust. I’m sure I’ve missed plenty and the list will always grow.
As for art in my worship, well, at the moment it’s about the only worship that I seem to be capable of and almost all of my art tends to slant towards the gods in some way, no matter the material (wax, metal, or glass mostly). Presently the problem with that is that one of the muse’s is regularely tossing ideas at my face while another one likes to bind up my hands and oh, this just became naughty but I swear it isn’t…sort of…
I am someone who is looking for gods. I thought I could only find them through perfect ritual, and the thought of this killed any inspiration any possible way a god or muse could find me. We want to give the gods our best, and think perfection is our best. But they only desire art. Artful living, meaningful living. And art is messy.
Like Wynn, I can feel the presence of the gods when I am running, when I feel strong, when I run further than I thought I could go, further than I ever did without any substantial extra training. I find the gods when I let go. I find the gods when I am fighting of an opponent in boxing class. I find gods in books, in the arts of literature. Only today I find that a famous writer, a countrymen of mine who I admired, wrote a book called Letters to Poseidon. And inside I found exactly that. I meet the gods when I open up and shout words to the sky, first in tongues like, or profane uninspired speech, and than suddenly the words come out by themselves. The gods reside in speech too. And we all know wine eases speech, so the gods must have inspired that art too.
So maybe, I can turn ritual into an art too, which makes it far less scary.
Wow, the book sounds very interesting…
I’m Pete and I sculpt. :P
1. I am.. that’s a really good question. I am a work in progress. I am never complete but always becoming. I am Hathor’s girl, every day. I am a scientist. I am a concrete thinker who dreams of being a fabulist. I am who I am and not who I might have been, and some day I will learn to accept that without reservation.
2. I was going to say ‘it doesn’t, but that’s not true. I feel that I observe the art made by others, whether words or sounds or images or something else entirely. I am less visually oriented than I am to other senses and means of absorbing things, which sometimes makes me feel as if I can’t create art – but that’s not true either. I am reminded of a quote from Amanda Palmer not too long ago: ‘Stop pretending art is hard.’ What does this say about worship? It means I don’t create as a form of worship – I thought I might write, but I haven’t reclaimed my voice yet. I sometimes use images or statuary or music crafted by others, but even that is irregular. I think this is something I am missing, something I should listen for how to solve.
I am Del. My experiences of the world help define who I am, but the only language I can express them in is the language of labels – disabled, trans*, shaman, Lokean, Master, ordeal worker, devotee, counselor, rabble rouser, activist, etc.
Art is complicated for me. I do a lot of patronage when I’m able, because I am not so gifted in the visual or performing arts. I write a lot, as words are the medium I best know how to manipulate. Sometimes art is expression, when words are lacking in showing the depth and breadth of meaning and emotion. I practice some of the arts handed down to me, but am usually shy i n sharing the results.
Who are you?
I go by Asrik. I am an eclectic polytheist with animist tendencies living in Cascadia. I grew up on the East Coast of the US, Europe, and Asia, although my mother’s family is from this region and I’ve always felt a connection to it. My family was non-specifically spiritual and I exited childhood with the feeling that there was something more. I went to college at an alternative school on the East Coast with the vague intent to explore “stuff”. I met a small group of deeply (http://barkingshaman.com/blog/ ) committed (http://dyingforadiagnosis.com/about/ ) people, fell down a rabbit hole, and I’ve been falling ever since. After several years apprenticing with Tashlin I took vows and dedicated myself to my Boss. She is a goddess of productive destruction, of the forest fire… and She kicks ass.
I spent several years learning from and working with this group (http://www.churchofasphodel.org/clerk/charteroffaith.html ) before moving to Seattle. In that time I established somewhat less interactive relationships with other deities and got interested in working with the deities that I refer to in my head as “The Antler Brigade”. Freyr, Pan, the Green Man, Baphomet, Dionysis (sort of). These gods are emphatically NOT THE SAME but I feel that sometimes they say similar things, and they are things I want to listen to and learn about….Which is how I got to your blog. I’ve been a follower and lurker for a few years now but I have been feeling the desire to be more interactive.
What role does art play in your worship?
Part of my worship involves meditating on deity and two of the ways I do that are through music meditation (listening to music that exemplifies the energy of deity and using that to try and better understand that deity) and visual art meditation (focusing on images of deity or that reflect the nature of deity to try to better understand it).
Another part is piercing. I’ve been fascinated with the connections afforded by piercing every since I saw this movie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22gw_64AGKM ). Inspired by by people like Fakir Musafar and Lee Harrington, and by groups like Construction of Ritual Evolution (http://wearecore.com), I have started incorporating little pieces of piercing performance art into my worship. I do this both to achieve ecstatic states and to learn lessons about what it feels like to be intimately connected to something else.
I am….the Bull God? No, just kidding. I am confused sometimes then other times everything falls into place without my knowing so and I am just another one of nature’s kids and that’s just fine. I’m pretty ordinary, common and actually conservative in some areas and I’m just a nice person :P . Also, I’m an Animist (my credo is summed up in Pocahontas’ ‘Colors of the Wind’) and suck at daily praxis but I do keep trying.
Art. It’s interesting because I never thought about my own stuff in terms of art; poetry is art but I’ve never claimed my work as art. Honestly, there isn’t much art going on aside from the poetry I post on my blog which serves as a useful outlet but doesn’t seem to encompass certain artistic ideas that require other mediums for their production. At present my art seems to be, simultaneously, my worship, spirituality or whatever, if that makes any sense. And, I just remembered this, sometimes I just sing songs whose lyrics I never commit to memory because I just go with the flow as these moments are never planned.
Blessings.
http://ginandjack.tumblr.com/post/34195351920/who-am-i-im-the-second-son-of-salt-of-the
Dean Johnson, dreamer, oneiromancer and artist.
I set out to present the world of dream on a picture plane, but my hand transforms it. The resultant imagery feeds back into the dream, and I get a response. It’s an ongoing conversation, my way of engaging with the spirit world.
I am Indigo Celeste, avant-gorgeous rock-glam drag queen, sacred clown, and metaphysical midwife to the masses. I really can’t separate the two questions, as they’re really intertwined. My art is my spirituality and religious practice, and an innate part of who I am.
I serve as a mirror for others, helping guiding them into who they’re going to become. I ask people questions they don’t allow themselves to ask about their own selves and lives, because I am far weirder than most people could hope to become.
My drag is a major part of my spiritual practice. When I paint up and dance, I work to “horse” for the god–I’ve actually gotten pretty close a couple times, and have felt His presence enter a room on more than one occasion
My name is Markus Gage, I’ve been in and out of Hellenic recon communities for at least ten years. Although I still respect the gods, I now feel that I have advanced somewhat from defining my faith to specific time and place in history, just recently taking up an interest in western occultism.
My art is my life, philosophy and faith. I’ve been working as a professional artist since 2006 and haven’t looked back since. What I do is deeply personal and also very public, it can be challenging and difficult at times, yet it’s always stratifying. I sincerely believe that the artist is the shaman and that art is his magic.
Hi, my name is Castus/Quintus Iulius Nepos/Origen Iaphagos (Kamber) and I’m a Roman Recon priest for the Dii Imperii/Sebastoi, and a complete acolyte.
Art doesn’t form a significant part of my practice, or atleast not the visual arts. I use the written word as a way of expressing my devotion and connecting to the gods, but very little beyond that. I’m not really an artistic person.
Greetings everyone. I’m Ryan, and I’m a poet and a devotional polytheist. Lately I’ve been calling myself an Eclectic Hellenist, since I draw inspiration from many different traditions and feel called to honor gods from many pantheons, even though the Hellenic gods are the core of just about everything I do.
It just so happens that I made a post recently that both introduces myself and gives many examples of the influence/inspiration of the arts on my worship here:
http://paganreveries.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/where-shall-wisdom-be-found-an-eclectic-hellenists-list-to-remind-himself-what-matters/
But there’s so much more to say about art. Art (in the broadest sense – as in all forms of creative expression) is extremely important to my worship and practice. This takes on many forms, including:
1. I am actively attempting to revive the ancient Greek cultus of the Poet-Hero, and I therefore honor many different Poet-Heroes and Culture Heroes (many of whom were artists) in my practice. I have written many posts on this subject, but I introduce the topic here:
http://paganreveries.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/the-dead-poets-society-reviving-the-ancient-greek-cult-of-the-poet-part-one/
2. As a Hellenist, I cannot help but appreciate the fact that the Western artistic and poetic (and even operatic) traditions have continually returned to the Greek myths/deities as subjects. I daresay the gods (and especially the Muses) are directly responsible for the bulk of great art, literature and music in history. This has had a huge influence on what I do.
3. I think creative expression (whether that means writing devotional hymns, making images and tools, creating sacred drama, etc.) is one of the best ways we can honor the gods.
4. Finally, I think all ritual should have an artistic/aesthetic component. To me, art is ritual and ritual is art. Jane Ellen Harrison’s wonderful little book on the subject, Ancient Art and Ritual, sees ALL art as ultimately deriving from ritual practices (dancing round the bonfire leads to the theatre, ritual begets myth begets epic narrative, the chant leads to song and poetry, the sacred image and ritual mask are the root of both Praxiteles and Picasso, and so forth).
There’s a lot more I could say on the subject, but this is getting long so I think I’ll shut up now :-)
I’m Galina and I think i resonate more with the term ‘craft’ than ‘art’ per se. I fight my sometimes narrow view of what ‘art’ means. it’s always been important to me. It was training and working as a ballet dancer that gave me my freedom as a young person. it gave me an understanding of ordeal, and showed me a path of prayer that was as much ecstasy as it was discipline. I’ve learned to carry those things over into my devotional work (though the price for such k nowledge was the breaking of my body) and that work that i do: as priest, godatheow, shaman, godspouse, ordeal dancer, and a thousand other things is my craft. If i have an art beyond the weaving of words, that is it and it is all part and parcel of how I serve the Old Man so for me, it’s fundamental.
certainly…and i know i’m digressing here a tiny bit, ritual is an art. anyone who has seen one done well vs. the usual nonsense we’re subjected to can tell that immediately. To be a ritual worker of any sort is to be an artist, at least i think so. To be ensconced in devotional work is to be an artist and that is my fundamental core.
good question, Sannion.
My name is Valerie.
I am a Shaman of a Post Tribal tradition, a healer in my community. I could also be described as a Dreamer. Artist. Entirely-Over-Thinker. Chef. Philosopher. Mother. Mad Woman. Maenad. Priestess. Lover. Jaguar. Capricorn. 1. Muse. Amused. In no particular order.
The sacred act of creating art is what brought me to the Divine. So many nights spend in the throws of the bottom of the wine bottle, armed with paint and canvas. . . How I have come to view it varies piece by piece. Sometimes, it is a intimate peak into the inner worlds. Sometimes, it is a dirty secret. Sometimes, it is a inside joke. Sometimes, it is an expression of the soul for which words are completely lacking. Sometimes, it is an extraction of wounds inflicted upon the soul. Sometimes, it’s entrapment. And sometimes, it just looks cool.
Art is crucial (for my process at least) to exploring the transmissions from Divinity.
I am Elizabeth, a Lokean nun and happy house elf.
I write poetry (and other things) for my gods as an expression of my reverence and love for Them. I really wish I could draw too, so that I could share the images of the gods that percolate in my brain.
I’d love to play, but I’m holding off until after Sunday. Will chime in after then :)
evoe!
B
http://theswampwitch.tumblr.com/post/34296456668/what-role-does-art-play-in-your-worship
Hopefully it’s coherent… I’m potty-training the older toddler today, so my response was written in between hurried bathroom trips.
Looking forward to next Tuesday already!
I put my response here: http://sigilcraft.blogspot.com…
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I cannot think of the phrase, “Who Are You” without thinking of this scene from Babylon 5
But suffice it to say, I am called Alex and I am a Polytheist. Possibly Henotheist considering most if not all of my worship is given to the Goddess Hathor.
Currently my “art” consists of a Statue of Hathor on my altar. I do need to add more art as time and money allow. I also have a Sistrum which is a a rattle type instrument (like a tambourine) and it was used in ancient times in honor of Hathor. I need to become more involved in singing and dancing since she is a Goddess of both.
Who am I?
wow! I Thought I knew. For the past decade or so I have been defined by my studies. As an undergrad I study classical archaeology and ancient Greek, which interestingly enough coincide with the time that I left my pagan path and wandered around, with no connection with the Gods. Now I am 9 days away from completing my Law degree. The Gods re-entered my life in July this year and they have come back very strongly. One could almost say that I woke up one day and I was slapped in the face by (I was devoted to her when I first discovered paganism/wicca/heathenism whatever you want to call it) and then Dionysos appeared, after the affinity I had with him during my archaeology days…Cut to me setting up a shrine and having weekly devotionals and meditation sessions. I think given that I have lived such a regimented and restricted life for the past 4 years, Lord Dionysos is going to shake things up a bit.
But this still doesn’t really say who I am. And I dont think I really know who I am. I have been defined by the things that I have been involved in, completed or in the process of doing. For the first time in my life in a really long time I now find myself with time to delve into the recesses of me. Should be interesting….I’ll let you know what I find
As for art….I can’t say that I am very artistic. Once upon a time in my late teens/early twenties I was a ballet dancer, and there was a time when I felt that the gods were with me and in me as I danced. Now like many others, I feel Dionysos’ and Isis’ presence when I train at the gym, or when I am lost in scholarly pursuit (like ascertaining what law applies in a particular situation)
Here is my response! http://ariadneinexile.blogspot.com/2012/10/ivy-clad-tuesday.html
I’m Bonnie, and I’ll try to avoid too long-winded a reply :)
I am a carver and a metalsmith, and a devotee of the Elder Titaness Muses Mneme, Melete, and Aoide. My day job is in theater, where I work in wardrobe, with some wigmaking, and makeup thrown in the mix.
After practicing a variety of folk styles and hermetic/ceremonial magic for a number of years, I have come to the conclusion that all that training and magical practice has only just prepared me to take on the mantle of “artist”. I’ve been drawing and sculpting since I was young, and the marriage of magical practice and material visual art is the calling that I now pursue with all the power and resources I can muster.
My work is viewable at http://www.jackbirdarts.com (It’s a big, messy site that is in dire need of a revamp…please forgive :) Password for locked entries is khars. I’m not precious about the locked entries. They’re just locked to avoid boring the folks visiting who aren’t interested in this sort of thing.
<3 B
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