Womanhood I

O Dionysos Liknitēs,
son of Zeus and Semelē,
who brings forth life from hidden places,
look kindly upon the women
who walk the ancient paths of virtue.
Bless the mother who nourishes,
the wife who steers the household,
the daughter who honors her lineage,
the sister who strengthens her kin,
and the elder who shares the stories.
May they be honored
as preservers of tradition,
guardians of the hearth,
weavers of community,
bearers of luck and blessing.
Let their homes be well-ordered,
their words be few but wise,
their hospitality generous,
and their hearts unfailing.
As the vine requires
both root and branch,
as the earth receives the seed
and returns abundance,
so may womanhood flourish
in harmony with divine order.
Dionysos, giver of joy,
bless those who embody
the noble virtues of womanhood:
strength joined with honor,
beauty joined with integrity,
love joined with piety,
and all the rest.

Womanhood II

O Dionysos Thēlyphrōn,
who honors the hidden strength within all
who increase the number of their people,
bless the sacred path of womanhood,
Lord of Life and its Protector.
May the woman who walks this road
be crowned with wisdom, with strength,
with grace, and with steadfastness.
Grant her the courage of the lioness,
the patience of the cow,
the cunning of the weasel,
and the fertility of the hare.
May she be the nurturing heart of her home,
never want for anything— but know how to get by
in times of scarcity, find fulfillment in the fine
achievements of her children, and be loved
by a man who continually proves that he
is worthy of her submission.
Let her hands bring forth beauty,
her voice bring forth truth,
and her presence bring warmth
to hearth and community.
Honor the caregiver,
honor the defender,
honor the healer,
honor the memory keeper,
and honor the producer of generations.
May she possess both gentleness and strength,
both obedience and authority,
both devotion and dignity.
For you, Dionysos, delight
in the many forms of human flourishing,
and every life lived with wisdom
and virtue is a song of praise
that deserves singing.

Womanhood III

O Dionysos, calf in the lap of Pasiphaē,
sacred seed, unfolding potential, renewer of life,
friend of the women who dance beneath the moon,
ivy-crowned and free, hear this prayer.
Bless the women who bear the ancient mysteries,
the daughters who preserve the honor of their ancestors,
the wives who enrich their households
with prudence and love,
the mothers who bring forth life,
the grannies whose words are fountains of wisdom.
O Dionysos, generous in blessings,
grant them the steadfast heart of Hera,
Queenly and enduring;
the industry of Athenē,
wise in counsel and craft;
the fruitful abundance of Dēmētēr,
whose hands sustain the world;
the radiant grace of Aphroditē,
whose beauty stirs creation;
the fierce independence of Artemis,
who hunts alone beneath the stars.
Let them be gentle without weakness,
strong without bitterness,
beautiful without vanity,
and dutiful while retaining
a rich interior life.
For woman is not merely an empty vessel:
she is the earth that contains the hidden seed,
the moon that guides the night,
the hearth at the center of all things,
the makers of protective charms and curses.
Dionysos, lover and deifier of women,
honor those who walk this path.
May they be favored by the Gods,
be free and fulfilled in their life,
be esteemed among their people,
and be no stranger to virtue.

Womanhood IV

Dionysos, who cherishes women
as you love your own daughters
by Ariadnē, by Althaía, and by Mardöll.
Teach me to walk fearlessly in your ways,
and to rejoice in the traditions
that I have been entrusted with.
Clothe me in true modesty,
not only in my dress,
but in my speech,
my thoughts,
and the desires of my heart.
Guard me from pride,
from vanity,
and from the jealousy that
cheapens my own achievements.
May my greatest joy
be to do your will,
whether seen by many
or known only to you.
May my words be truthful,
my hands ready to help,
and my home filled with peace,
generosity, and reverence.
Bless my parents,
bless my family,
bless my my teachers,
and bless all who devote
themselves to your worship.
May I be a faithful wife
who serves with gladness,
is willing to receive
correction when needed,
celebrates with my husband
in times of triumph,
and supports him
during our trials.
May I greet each day
with gratitude,
each challenge with faith,
and each blessing with humility.
Blessed are you, Dionysos
who hears the prayers of all
who call upon you in sincerity.

Womanhood V

Dionysos Thēlymanēs, son of Thyonē,
Bull-Horned Lord of your Mountain,
Liberator of women, hear your daughter.
You who taught maidens to leave behind
the weight of fear, who replaced chains
with ivy, who gave them the power
to rend wild beasts, awaken in me
the holy madness that reminds me
what the Gods made me to be,
beyond just the property of my father
and then my husband.
Let me be gentle where gentleness gives life,
and fierce where justice demands it.
Teach my feet knowledge of the mountain,
my hands the labor that nourishes and destroys,
my laughter the medicine that restores
weary and burdened hearts.
Grant me courage to stand beside my sisters,
to protect the vulnerable, to welcome the stranger,
and to refuse every yoke but yours Dionysos.
May my voice rise in holy song,
my body become a living sanctuary,
my home a place where the ancestral Gods
will forever be honored, and my work
an offering laid before your peacock throne.
When sorrow comes, make it fertile.
When joy comes, make it generous.
When love comes, make it fearless.
May I wear the mystic fawnskin in humility,
bear the fruitful thyrsos with sacred purpose,
and carry your untamed freedom with pride and ferocity.
As the vine climbs toward the Sun without abandoning its roots,
may I never lose touch with my ancestors
and the Bacchants who came before,
nor my descendants of blood and tradition.
O Dionysos, Leader of the Mainades,
dance before me, dance beside me,
dance with me, and dance inside me.
When I reach the end of my days,
I pray my God, allow me to join your eternal thiasos,
where every faithful woman is crowned with stars,
and the dance quickens the life in our fields.
Io Dionysos Mainadikos! Io euoi! Io io euoi! Io Bakcheios!

Womanhood VI

Dionysos, shaker of the earth,
bless the woman who breaks
down boundaries,
destroys the competition,
and keeps on rising.
Give her the courage
to create where others only criticize,
to lead where others hesitate,
and to walk boldly
where no path has yet been made.
Grant her the wisdom of Athena,
the ambition of Hera,
the vision of Aphroditē,
the tenderness of Artemis,
and the endurance of Dēmētēr.
May her ideas take root,
her labor bear fruit,
and her voice carry
beyond the walls
others built to contain her.
Let her success not harden her heart,
her victories not make her forget
those who are coming up behind her,
and her achievements, no matter
how glorious, never be sufficient.
May she negotiate with wisdom,
dream without limits,
command with grace,
and transform every obstacle
into a stepping stone.
Let her be fearless and unapologetic,
confident without arrogance,
ambitious without blindness,
and powerful without compromise.
Dionysos, God of transformation,
guide her toward the fullest expression
of who she was born to become.
May she build,
may she flourish,
may she inspire,
and may the world become richer
because she dared to enter it.

Womanhood VII

O Dionysos Lyaios, Gynaimanēs, Eleutherios,
bearer of burdens, breaker of chains, bestower
of rage, you who dance beyond the laws of men,
hear this prayer! You who love wild women,
and are honored by the free-roaming Mainades
upon the mountains, grant strength to all women
who seek their voice, their dignity, their rightful place
beneath the Sun. Teach the world to unlearn its cruelties,
its ignorance and prejudices, to loosen its grip on unjust power,
to remember that no soul was born to be inferior. When society
would silence women, inspire them to speak their truths,
O loud-roaring One, regardless of the penalties imposed.
Banish fear, and pour out courage like your ever-flowing wine,
God of liberation. In lands where there is oppression,
grant them the strength and cunning to resist and bring down
those corrupt regimes, causing fathers, husbands, and sons
to stand with their women against the unjust authorities.
O Dionysos Nēpenthēs, be with those who struggle,
lift up those who are cast down, and kindle in every heart
the fire of justice, dissolver of bonds, shatterer of walls,
you who cause us to thirst for righteousness and equity.
May freedom grow like ivy— persistent, unstoppable,
and strangling all who would impede its progress.
Let every voice rise in your ecstatic cry, “Io euoi!”
And may they know its true meaning, dear Dionysos.

Womanhood VIII

O Dionysos Thēlytheos, stand beside
all women who seek freedom, dignity,
safety, and equal voice. Break the chains
of violence, oppression, and silence.
Strengthen those who speak truth
in the face of fear, and protect those
whose rights and humanity are denied.
May every woman be free to live,
create, lead, learn, and flourish
without domination or cruelty.
May justice rise where there
has been exploitation, respect grow
where there has been contempt,
and solidarity endure where people
struggle together for equality.
Teach us to build a world
where no woman is treated
as lesser, disposable, or voiceless.
And may courage, wisdom,
and compassion guide all who work
toward liberation and egalitarianism.

Womanhood IX

Dionysos Eleutherios,
friend of the forgotten
and breaker of unjust bonds,
strengthen every woman
who seeks freedom,
justice, and the fullness
of her own becoming.
May fear give way to courage,
silence to truth,
and oppression to dignity.
Let every chain be broken,
every wound find healing,
and every life flourish
beneath the gaze of the Deathless Gods.

O Dionysos Abanausos,
who pours forth gifts
according to hidden wisdom,
deliver me from the poison of envy.
Let me rejoice in another’s vision
without despising my own path;
to celebrate another’s blessing
without forgetting the gifts
you have already placed
within my hands.
Teach me that no soul
is diminished
because another shines,
for your wine is inexhaustible
and your grace knows no scarcity.
Grant me humility to learn,
patience to grow, and gratitude
for the road you have appointed me.
May I seek not another’s crown,
but faithfulness to my own calling.

Dionysos Eleutherios,
free us from hatred,
deliver us from prejudice,
and teach us to honor
your divine image
within every people.
May justice flourish,
peace take root,
and every nation
share one table
beneath the eyes
of the all-seeing Gods.

Dionysos Kalokagathos,
you have walked among
Greeks and Thrakians,
Lydians and Phrygians,
Egyptians and Syrians,
the peoples of India,
and every nation that
welcomed your mysteries.
You have never belonged
to one race alone,
for the whole earth
is your vineyard.
Teach us to see
neighbors before strangers,
kin before enemies,
and fellow pilgrims
before divisions of blood.
May every people
offer its own songs,
its own wisdom,
and its own gifts,
until the many become
a single chorus of praise
to the Deathless Gods.

O Dionysos, Lord of Many Faces,
whose divine light shines
through every people and nation,
tear from our souls
the blindness that divides
what the Gods have made one.
Teach us to behold
the deathless spark
hidden beneath every face,
every tongue, and every lineage.
Where there is hatred,
bring understanding.
Where there is contempt,
plant respect.
Where there is injustice,
raise up those who walk
in truth and courage to challenge it.
May we honor the sacred image
that lives within every human being
which your prophet Orpheus taught us to see,
and rejoice in the countless forms
through which Life reveals its beauty.

O Dionysos Xoatōr,
when I am caught in a storm
of anxious and morbid thought,
be the stillness at the center,
the one certain thing I can cling to
in a world of constantly shifting forms,
and menacing shadows that resemble
my innermost fears and doubts.
Unwind what is knotted in me.
Loosen what is clenched. Lead me
to stillness and confident resolve,
so that I may face down my worries,
and all the friends they’ve brought along,
with the strength and endurance my foes
have taught me over the years.

O Dionysos Meilichios,
Gentle Presence who is there
for us in times of peace and of
greatest stress, I call upon you,
fig-sweet Lord, for I am pulled
in too many directions,
like branches in a restless wind.
My mind will not rest,
my body will not settle,
my spirit forgets its own pace.
and though it shames me to confess it,
I am even distracted when I try
to perform the household rites.
Gather what is scattered in me,
and with your power of renewal
restore me to wholeness.
And in the stillness that follows,
may I rediscover myself,
without the glow of a screen
reflected in my eye; without
a barrage of distractions,
most of which I can’t do
anything about anyway.
And so I breathe, and I breathe,
and I breathe—
and in the moments between breaths
you, my God, Dionysos Melamphaēs,
work a miraculous healing.
Like water finding its level,
like night arriving without haste,
like breath returning after running—
you bring me back to myself.
And remind me that I do not have to
be everywhere at once, that I am not
responsible for every little thing
that does not go according to plan,
that my portion is mine to tend,
and everything else is someone else’s.
Respecting that boundary clears up
space in my head, and in my life,
to focus on the Gods and sacred things,
which brings me abiding joy and peace,
and a sense of purpose unmatched
by anything in this modern, secular world.
Let me lose myself in service to the holy,
let every action and every thought rest
upon my Gods and spirits as I straighten up shrines,
light candles and incense, recite the prayers, and pause
to reflect on them, sinking into their presence until it is
time to move onto the next shrine, and the next after that.
I thank you, Dionysos Meliouchos, that I am a polytheist
and have so many wonderful Gods, and spirits, and dead
woven into my life. I feel the last of the stress depart,
melting like wax, rising like a fragrant cloud, spilling out
like the rich, dark wine poured in libation. With all that
stress gone, I’m free to stand before you, beloved Dionysos
Mystophylax, pure and yearning to connect with you. Io! Io!
Io euoi! Io io Dionysos! May I prove worthy in your eyes.

O Wild Father,
Dionysos Oinōtres,
Lord of the lost highway,
King of the Midnight Carnival,
I call to you beneath
the moon’s electric wound.
The city is dreaming in neon,
the dead are whispering
through telephone wires,
and somewhere a lonely train
is carrying another soul
toward the edge of the world.
Open the hidden door, Dionysos.
Let me walk beyond the walls of habit,
beyond the prison of names,
beyond the mirrors that teach me
to fear my own face.
Protector of the untimely dead,
protector of maidens,
protector of the unripe grape,
whose laughter shakes the bones of kings,
whose tears become rivers of wine,
lead me into the deep country of the heart.
When I lose myself, it is in wonder.
May my suffering become a song,
and my joy a death’s head moth.
If I must die, let me die a thousand
little deaths so that I may awaken
larger than before.
The night is full of stars,
the stars are full of fire,
and the fire remembers your name.
Dionysos of the mystic, heated wine,
friend of wanderers, companion
of outcasts, rider of ecstatic winds,
break open the locked gates,
and on and on the river flows.
Teach me the language of wolves,
the patience of stones,
the secret music hidden beneath
the noise of the world,
the golden ratio, revealed through
great golden copulations.
Have you been born yet,
and are you alive?
Everything dances,
and breaks apart.
And when Dawn arrives
with her pale, indifferent face,
let me rise laughing,
dust-covered,
half-mad,
and wholly alive.
Thank you Dionysos, for your inebriating blood.
Thank you Dionysos, for the visions that mushrooms give.
Thank you Dionysos, for the smoky revelations
of your green-haired daughter.
Thank you Dionysos, and may I have
a profound and meaningful trip
and return with precious knowledge
for my people.
Watch over me, Kirkē.
Watch over me, Melampous.
Watch over me, Mēdeia.
Watch over me, Orpheus.
Watch over me, Pythagoras.
Watch over me, Empedoklēs.
Watch over me, Kleopatra Philopatōr.
Watch over me, Mithridatēs Eupatōr.
Watch over me, Jim Morrison.
Let the carnival bells ring. Let the servants sing.
Is everybody in? Is everybody in?
The ceremony is about to begin.

Euoi

O Dionysos Kerōntaios, I adore you,
you who make the streets into sacred precincts,
and transform the crowd from witnesses into participants
in the spectacle. I call upon you Joyful Stranger,
God of fantasy and the mask; invert what is false within me,
overturn the tyrannies of habit and unthinking conformity,
unseat the inner archons of fear and mediocrity.
Open my eyes to the vibrant beauty and boundless possibility of life,
the thrill of the unexpected, the terror of taking risks,
of being truly unfettered, the freedom of indulging in fantasy and play,
of acting out the parts of one’s self that normally exist only in dream
and shameful, secret imaginings. With you, Dionysos,
I cannot help but be honest; all the walls come down,
my carefully constructed personas crumble like brittle terracotta,
the arbitrary rules and structures that govern my life
are revealed to be hollow and meaningless at your arrival, my God,
and I long to take it further, to give more of myself to you,
Savage One who hunts by night,
and the best and nobler part of myself at that.
If I am to be a victim
of Dionysos the Devourer, the Eater of Raw Flesh,
I will strive always to be the best victim possible.
I will be more authentically myself. I will not hold back.
I will chase after my dreams, and believe in impossible things.
I will live fearlessly and free, taking risks no sane man would
so that I can stuff myself full of experiences to make your feast
more enjoyable. Hail Dionysos who turns things upside down,
who upsets the expected, who takes it to the extreme;
if I cannot trust in you, I cannot trust in anything,
so I give my life up to your guidance, counsel and judgment.
My heart is overflowing with love of you, Dionysos,
in all your forms and roles, and there is no part of you
that I do not accept and adore. Io Dionysos! Io io Dionysos!

Happy anniversary, Jim. Today he joined the heroes.

Since it is 2 days until the 250th birthday of the United States, and as I’ve argued before America is Dionysos’ own country, I figured I’d share this selection of prayers for freedom. Enjoy!

Freedom I

O Loosener, Releaser, Liberator,
help me break through to the other side,
beyond fear, beyond falsehood,
beyond all that diminishes the soul.
May I walk lightly upon the Earth,
love deeply, and live freely,
bowing my ivy-crowned head
to none but you, Dionysos my King.

Freedom II

O Dionysos,
Bull-Horned Lord
of Ecstasy and Tears,
You who know the madness of fragmentation
and the miracle of restoration, hear me.
For I carry burdens whose names I have forgotten,
griefs inherited from old wounds,
regrets buried beneath years of silence.
They have settled in my flesh.
They have built chambers in my heart.
They have woven themselves into my dreams.
Come among them, Dionysos.
As thunder breaks the summer heat,
break what has become rigid within me.
As the vine splits stone
and roots find water in hidden places,
find the secret pains I can no longer reach.
Bring forth the tears that need weeping,
the confessions that need speaking,
the forgiveness that needs granting,
the farewells that need saying.
Let no bitterness remain unchallenged.
Let no wound remain untouched by grace.
Shake the dust from my spirit.
Wash the old poison from my thoughts.
Carry away what no longer belongs
to the person I am becoming.
And when the sacred labor is finished,
when the storm has spoken its final word,
leave me not empty, but fulfilled.
Not broken, but restored.
Not numb, but alive.
Like a vineyard after rain,
like a forest after fire,
like a heart that has remembered
how to beat freely once more.
Euoi, Dionysos, euoi!

Freedom III

O Dionysos Lusiphrōn,
you who descend into darkness
without becoming its captive
and return having brought
peace to the spirits there.
Come now with your holy Retinue,
bringing the mysteries that loose
the soul from every bond.
Release us from the chains of ignorance,
from the intoxication of delusion,
from the tyranny of insatiable desire,
and from the fear that makes slaves of us all.
Break the invisible restraints
fashioned by pride and despair.
Untie the cords woven by grief,
by inherited guilt,
by cruel memory,
and by the restless hunger
that never finds its feast.
For no chain endures before your thyrsos.
No lock withstands your laughter.
No gate remains closed when your ecstatic
dance shakes the foundations of the worlds.
Lead us through the winding labyrinth
to the secret vineyard where the soul
remembers its true origin.
May your vine protectively
entwine itself around our hearts.
May your wine of inspiration
perpetually flood our cups.
May your ivy bind us
not in servitude, but in the sweet
freedom of divine communion.
Grant that, liberated from ourselves,
we may become celebrants at your table,
and feast with the Gods and spirits.
Hail to you Dionysos Panolbion,
whose freedom is eternal,
whose kingdom knows no boundaries,
whose mysteries admit all that are worthy.

Freedom IV

O my beloved Dionysos, whether you
prefer to be called Ereipiōdēs, Lusios,
Upistos, Oinops, Nēpenthēs, or by
another name entirely, I hail you
whose coming no fortress can withstand,
whose laughter unsettles kings,
whose footsteps make the proud tremble—
Bakcheios, you are the God
before whom every false crown
must one day fall.
No empire outlives your seasons.
No idol survives your gaze.
No throne built upon cruelty
escapes the slow certainty
of your vine.
For the vine is patient.
It enters through the smallest crack,
embraces the highest tower,
and in silence
pulls mighty walls
back into the earth.
So too, O Liberator,
overthrow every tyranny
that has taken root within us.
Cast down the despot called Fear.
Drive out the usurper called Shame.
Break the reign of Hatred.
Silence the counselor called Despair.
Scatter every false divinity
that demands our souls
while promising safety.
Teach us the holy rebellion
that begins not with violence,
but with truth;
not with domination,
but with fearless love;
not with vengeance,
but with the courage
to become fully alive.
And where others are crushed
beneath injustice,
make us their companions.
May our hands lift burdens
instead of laying them upon others.
May our words loosen chains
instead of forging them.
May our lips proclaim
that no human being
was fashioned for slavery,
for every soul bears
the hidden spark
of immortal Dionysos.
Blessed Liberator,
make your dwelling among the forgotten.
Walk beside the imprisoned.
Comfort the exiled.
Strengthen those who refuse to bow
before lies clothed in splendor.
For every earthly kingdom passes,
every oppressor becomes dust,
and every lie is destined for the fire.
But your dance endures.
Your freedom cannot be conquered.
Your vine forever grows.
The sword breaks chains;
the vine makes them unnecessary.
To you belong the unconquered heart,
the unbroken spirit,
and the everlasting feast.
Hail, Dionysos Eleutherios,
whose kingdom is liberty,
whose law is love,
whose victory is the awakening of every soul.

Freedom V

I call upon you Dionysos Euthumios,
there are tears within me that have never fallen,
words that have never been spoken,
mourning that has never found expression.
Receive them, Dionysos.
Let the locked doors open.
Let the hidden river run.
Let the old ghosts depart with dignity.
Take from me neither memory nor love,
but only the weight of grief
that keeps them from becoming beautiful.
May my sorrow become wisdom,
my anger become courage,
my wounds become places
where compassion grows.
Let tears flow if they must,
let hurts speak and pass,
let grief find its voice,
let joy return without shame.
And when the cleansing is complete,
let me stand beneath the sky
with nothing of myself
concealed from myself.
Io Dionysos! Io io Dionysos! .

Freedom VI

Blessed Dionysos Eleutherios,
King of Nysa and Prince of Olympos,
who brings release to those in bondage,
deliverance to those who suffer,
and liberation to those who have been oppressed.
Shatter every chain forged
by fear, by hatred, by despair,
by the lies we have spoken to ourselves
and the lies others have spoken over us.
You who loosened the limbs of proud Pentheus,
who taught Lykourgos that no throne endures forever,
and revealed that every tyrant is but mortal dust.
Teach us that no prison is eternal, whether built
of iron, of flesh, of memory, or of shame.
Unbind the knots of malice.
Unlock the gates of the heart.
Open the hidden roads where dreams still walk,
and lead us beyond every narrow place
into the broad country of your freedom.
May those bowed beneath unjust burdens stand upright.
May the forgotten be remembered,
the silenced find their voice,
the broken discover their strength,
and the exiled find companions in distant lands.
Grant us also the courage to become liberators ourselves:
to cut away what enslaves,
to resist what degrades the soul,
to lift up those who have fallen,
and never to make another captive for our own comfort.
For your freedom is not lawlessness,
but the wild harmony of a soul restored to itself.
Your ecstasy is not escape, but awakening.
Your wine does not make us forget who we are—
but brings to the surface layers of our self long buried.
Therefore, Blessed Liberator, I pray, unbind what
has been bound, raise what has been cast down,
and lead us, step by step, from fear into joy,
from slavery into liberty,
and from death into the unconquered life
that flowers forever in your holy mysteries.
Rejoice, Dionysos Eleutherios!
Giver of Freedom, Breaker of Chains,
Liberator of Souls, Savior of the Suffering.

Freedom VII

O Dionysos,
Breaker of bonds,
Opener of hidden springs,
what is knotted within me, untie.
What is buried within me,
raise up into the light.
Wash through the chambers of my soul
like rain through stables worse
than those of Augeias.
Leave nothing stagnant,
nothing filthy,
nothing polluted,
nothing poisoned,
nothing imprisoned.
May what is false fall away, Dionysos.
May what is constrained be freed, Dionysos.
May what is wounded be healed, Dionysos.
May what is exhausted be renewed, Dionysos.
May what is living be increased, Dionysos.
And when the flood has passed,
leave me clear as a river
after the storm, Dionysos.
Euoi! Euoi! Euoi!

Freedom VIII

O Dionysos Lusios,
loose the grief bound in my marrow,
the fear hidden in my breath,
the sorrow sleeping in my blood.
As wine is poured from the cup,
pour from me all that must be surrendered
for me to be free and whole.
Io euoi! Io Dionysos!

I put together two sets of beatitudes for the Hieros Logos, incorporating material from Euripides’ Bakchai. Such μακάριος statements were popular in antiquity (most people are probably familiar with Jesus’ collection of them from the Sermon on the Mount) especially in mystery cults which promised such blessedness through initiation.

Beatitudes I

Blessed are the dancers and those who are purified,
who dance on the hill in the holy dance of Dionysos.

Blessed are those who can laugh in the ruins,
for joy has found a place where certainty collapsed.

Blessed are those who step beyond themselves in ecstasy,
for they remember they were never only one thing.

Blessed are the undone and unmade,
the ones who have lost their old names,
for they are being shaped again by the hidden God.

Blessed are those who drink deeply of life without pretending it is safe,
for they know that the sweetness and the peril are one cup.

Blessed are those who surrender control without surrendering love,
for they enter the truth that cannot be commanded.

Blessed are those who are torn open by experience,
for they will receive not ruin, but becoming.

Blessed are those who pass through madness and return with song,
for they carry fire that can consume the world.

Blessed are those who keep a small flame of hope when everything else
goes dim, for they will recognize dawn when it comes.

And blessed are those who recognize the God in mask and stranger,
for they have seen the sacred when others were blind to it.

Beatitudes II

Blessed are the thyrsos-bearers, those who wield
in their hands the holy wand of God.

Blessed are the wanderers, the outcast, the unclaimed,
for Dionysos walks closest beside them.

Blessed are those who do not rush to be seen,
for they will learn the shape of their own soul.

Blessed are those who begin again after failure,
for they know the secret of renewal.

Blessed are those who remember that they are more
than their suffering, for their soul is older than its wounds.

Blessed are those who release illusion,
for they make room for truth to arrive.

Blessed are the ones who listen more than they speak,
for they will hear what is hidden beneath words.

Blessed are those who descend without fear,
for they will find hidden springs of wealth.

Blessed are those who endure the long inner night,
for they will recognize the coming of the dawn.

Blessed are those who wear the ivy-crown of the God,
blessed, blessed are they: Dionysos is their God!

“The headiest wine is freedom.” — Табор уходит в небо (All Gypsies Go To Heaven)

You know what’s really fucked up?

I was reading an interview with Jacqueline Lovell, and since this was at the height of #metoo the casting couch inevitably came up. She worked for Playboy, Penthouse, Zalman King, Charles Band, and did a bunch of other porn, erotica and horror shoots. None of them gave her any trouble. A couple even treated her like family, and looked after her when she had taken on a pretty sketchy project. She didn’t go further into it, but if really pressed I’d put money on it being Black Sea 213, Here’s the synopsis from Letterboxd:

They Live the Way They Love… Close to the Edge.
Mercenaries selling nuclear arms on the black market pose as models so they can set up an innocent photographer to take the blame.

Look, I didn’t say she was freaking Marlon Brando or Brad Pitt, alright? The comments on IMDB are pretty funny, and accurate. But this aside is already overlong so I can’t delve into them, or the movie itself. But if that doesn’t tell you what you’re in for, check the cast and production list, and remember that this film was made in the late ’90s.

Actually, that makes my point hit all the harder. She didn’t even have trouble on that set.

You know where she encountered the casting couch? Hollywood, when she was just starting to go mainstream. Not the “degenerates” and post-soviets, but establishment Hollywood producers, directors and in at least one case a fellow actor.

Everyone says it’s her porn background that kept her from breaking through, but what if it was Jacqueline Lovell’s refusal to trade sex for roles that killed her career? As a devotee of the God of Theater I hate what these predators and педерасты have done to, and in the name of, Dionysos’ sacred art.

For fuck’s sake, just hire a prostitute. But I suppose it’s not really about the sex but the control, manipulation, and degradation. (Totally not going to touch on the occult angle. Nope. That is one fucked up rabbit hole, and even sticking to the documented evidence makes you sound completely crazy if you connect the dots in certain ways. So we are sticking to moral outrage.)

A pox upon you, Hollywood! A pox, I say!

I’m glad that streaming has made it possible for artists like Jacqueline Lovell and Edward Nyahay to release passion projects like Krush the Serpent and Forest Bathing: Friends W/Benefits directly to the audience, bypassing the Hollywood studios. Without giving up all the money. Without compromising their vision. Without having to lick Robert De Niro’s hairy, saggy nutsack to get a speaking part on a movie no one’s gonna watch anyway because the studios are acting like all the good ideas dried up in 2012 and so have been churning out formulaic slop or endless sequels, prequels, reboots, copies, etc. and movie-lovers are just staying home. Except when an interesting, original idea slips through. Because they do still fucking exist. And as long as there are Gods of art, and Muses to inspire people, they will continue to exist.

If you were alive in 1995 (and I realize that a significant portion of my readership was not, which is kind of mind-boggling) and a consumer of pornography/erotica (which I no longer am) you are probably familiar with the model-actress Jacqueline Lovell, who worked primarily under the sobriquet Sara St. James. The year of her debut she was awarded the title “most photographed model” which is certainly a promising way to begin one’s career.

From there she progressed to commercials, background work (including films like Forrest Gump) television shows, and B movies, especially for Charles Band’s Full Moon and Surrender Cinema studio, who put her in everything they could. (Her best role probably being Loretta in Head of the Family or Sun in Femalien.) This is actually how I was introduced to her ahem copious acting talents. In all seriousness there was something about her that made her stand out from the crowd, and it wasn’t T&A or her ability to do a shitty southern accent.

After reaching the pinnacle (a couple Zalman King flicks) she stopped taking what she described as “sexploitation roles” where she had to “strip naked every 15 minutes” and relocated to New York City where she enrolled in acting classes and began appearing in the various Law & Order spin-offs, more crowd and body double work, and … that was pretty much it. (Actually, while putting this together I found her SAG-AFTRA page and she has done a lot more movie and television work than I thought, some of it quite recent. Good for her.)

She disappeared in the early 2000s, which spawned a bunch of rumors on various forums and websites. As it turned out, she met auteur Edward Nyahay in 1999 (whom she married later that year), moved to Florida where he had a bunch of family who helped raise their daughter, and eventually returned to California where she had grown up. In addition to Zyla Faustina Pelagia Nyahay the couple’s relationship proved incredibly fruitful, as they made a number of short and long-form films, released several albums together, wrote for and edited numerous industry magazines, and were active members of LA’s art scene, until 2023 when Zyla was hospitalized with a rare form of cancer, contracted several viruses and became septic, which she succumbed to on December 21.

Although Jacqueline Lovell stopped blogging and scrubbed the various personal websites she had maintained since the 2010s from the ‘net, this tragedy does not seem to have affected her faith which she had rediscovered after meeting Edward, having previously abandoned it after a difficult stint in the California foster care system. In fact the couple describe themselves as dual faith Byzantine Catholics and Occultists, which is reflected in a lot of their independent movies and music projects such as Krush the Serpent (which is about a grieving widow who makes a pilgrimage to Amsterdam to visit the shrine of Our Lady of All Nations which was largely filmed on the fly, dodging the authorities since they lacked the requisite permits) and Forest Bathing: Friends W/Benefits (which is about the Japanese therapeutic practice 森林浴 or shinrin-yoku) an episode of which featured the Archangel Zadkiel amid the usual nudity and long, artsy shots of the California wilderness.

Jacqueline currently describes herself as an Oracle, “shekinah of the Divine Feminine” and a “light-worker” which a lot of the music she makes with Edward Nyahay seems to be about, as you can tell from this song “Seidr Shift.” She has certainly come a long way from Hideous! in which she played a topless criminal in a gorilla mask (I’m sure there was more to the plot, but that’s honestly all I remember) though I’m not sure that’s what she imagined when she sought to expand her artistic œuvre.

Here is acclaimed Pagan historian Ronald Hutton giving a talk on the mysterious Mr. D. I could only get a third of the way through it because it’s Ronald Hutton but I didn’t hear anything I hated. A couple things I might quibble over, sure, but I see where he’s going with it and it’s not an uninteresting take. I will always be indebted to the man’s research because it was through Triumph of the Moon that I first learned about Ernest Westlake, Harry Byngham and the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry, which represents an important link in the chain of the modern worship of Dionysos. It is especially important within the Starry Bull tradition of Bacchic Orphism (their feast day according to the calendar of the Bakcheion is October 30th) because the whole Order of Woodcraft Chivalry thing was an application of the principles, theories, and theology of scholar and prophet Jane Ellen Harrison. (She’s honored on April 15th.) Her book was a dialogue with the Friedrich Nietzsche / Georges Bataille / Vyacheslav Ivanovich Ivanov strain of Dionysianism (sometimes agreeing with them, sometimes not; she was also having a separate conversation with James G. Frazer, Erwin Rohde, and Ulrich Von Wilamowitz-Moellendor but that’s less interesting) and was as instrumental in popularizing the deity as Walter Otto and Carl Kerényi. One could even argue that she had a wider influence outside academia than those two luminaries (who are honored on September 23rd and April 14th, respectively) since — at least according to an interview he gave — it was through Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion that Jim Morrison (July 3rd) was introduced to Dionysos. In fact he’s even shown reading from it in Oliver Stone’s hagiography/biopic. Though amusingly Val Kilmer is not holding the edition that Jim would have had in the 60s, but instead the later reprint that was in circulation at the time of filming was used. I readily admit that I am a nerd for knowing that, but this is our history, a record of the re-emergence of Dionysianism, and I think that’s worth remembering and preserving. (Even if I haven’t updated Eternal Bacchus in a coon’s age because of all the projects I’m always juggling.)

Probably my favorite production:

I’ve been listening to Jonathan Hultén a lot lately, and had to share. Think Neo-Folk meets Dark Country meets 2000s pop meets a production of Cabaret at a drag club in a shabby and slightly dangerous part of the city. This was the song that introduced me to Hultén, and it remains one of my favorites. Where Devils Weep is pretty good too. Not going to share my favorite favorite; you’ll have to find that on your own.

Instead of Nolan’s ugly travesty I would recommend watching Το βλέμμα του Οδυσσέα (Ulysses’ Gaze) by Greek director Theo Angelopoulos, which is a modern adaptation of Homer’s epic set in the Balkans during the war. It’s a pretty loose adaptation at times (a statue of Lenin stands in for Polyphemos) but unlike that other movie it actually has Greeks in it. I can’t even begin to summarize the plot; Wikipedia makes a noble effort, but doesn’t quite succeed in shooting the arrow through the axes. It’s a cinematic journey you have to experience to truly appreciate. Plus it has Harvey Keitel in it, and a beautiful score by Kim Kashkashian.

A friend and I were discussing Jewish polytheism when the Exodus came up. He wrote:

Like, here’s the thing. It’s not even comparable to Passover. Middle Eastern deities fight all the time and the Exodus narrative never says that the Egyptian Gods are unworthy of worship. It’s just a victory for Yahweh. Not to mention, Passover as a festival predates the Exodus narrative. You could totally celebrate Passover without the Exodus narrative. Might look a little different but it’s obviously something that’s possible.

To which I replied:

And yeah, the Jews and Samarians at the Elephantine fortress celebrated Passover without any reference to the Exodus. They even got instructions from the Jerusalem priesthood on the proper way to observe it at their current location and there’s no mention of the Exodus. Now either this part of the tradition was added later (which is really late) or was omitted because they lived in Egypt. And read the text again. It’s a theomachia with Yahō demonstrating his power (or Yahō and his comrades Deber and Qeteb who are frequently depicted together in the Tanakh) over the Egyptian Gods. Each of the plagues represents a different God, from Heqet (frogs) to Osiris (death of the firstborn. Some put Horus there, but it works either way.) And that’s assuming the theomachia theory is correct. I’m not sure I buy it, especially since there’s a strong indication that the nameless Pharaoh of Exodus was a member of the Hyksos dynasty who not only enslaved the Jews, but the Egyptians too, and committed atrocities against the temples and priesthoods of the indigenous Gods, not to mention aligning themselves with Apophis. Though I haven’t seen any scholars arguing in favor of this theory I suspect the plagues may have originally been sent by the Egyptian Gods working alongside Yahō to liberate the country from Hyksos rule. A later redactor (most likely E or J, or even Josiah) removed direct references to the Netjeru but didn’t know enough about Egyptian religion to conceal the nature of the plagues, which reveal their power in action. I like it because it makes Exodus an Avengers-style team-up rather than a dick-waving contest.

Everything is different when seen through polytheist eyes. I want to see a polytheist Exodus movie so bad (as long as it’s not directed by Christopher Nolan.) And seriously, fuck the Hyksos. Those guys were jerks.