Galina and I had an interesting conversation tonight about the Orphic text I posted earlier and certain parallels between the Vitki in the Northern tradition and Orpheotelestai within the Starry Bull tradition. We also discussed the history of Orphic scholarship, the major competing theories about what ancient Orphism was like and whether there were even individuals and communities of Orphikoi or if it was primarily a literary phenomenon, and the influence that Pythagoreanism and Platonism have played in our conception of it. (This, dear readers, is why I recommend marrying someone who is close to your intellectual and spiritual equal and why I would never date a normy. I’m sure there are plenty of nice, supportive and fuckable normies out there, and it’s possible to connect with a person on other and multiple levels but at some point you actually have to, you know, talk to them and my interests are pretty limited.)

And so I figured I’d remind folks what my take on these and other controversies within the field of Orphic studies happen to be. 

• What is meant by Bacchic Orphism
• On Orpheotelestai and other matters
• Why Orpheotelest?
• Various posts on female Orpheotelestai
• How does one become an Orpheotelest of the Starry Bull tradition?
• On Orphism and Pythagoreanism
• What did ancient Bacchic Orphic ritual look like?
• Pray with your dead
• Chthonic Dionysos and the Saints of the True Vine

You can also find more writings on Bacchic Orphism and the Starry Bull tradition over at The Bakcheion.