Maened Ecstatic Oracular Dance
Shamanic Divination

"Our own wives, our own sisters from their hearths are flown To wild secret rites; and cluster there High on the shadowy hills, with dance and prayer To adore this new-made God this Dionyse." Euripedes

"The orphic mystery initiate is supposedly free from this wheel of birth and death, and able to proceed to a more glorious destiny among the gods. One must avoid at all costs drinking from the Lake of Lethe (forgetfulness), but instead turn to the right, to the Lake of Mnemosyne (memory), and address its guardians in these beautiful words: 'I am the child of Earth and of starry Heaven. This you yourselves also know. I am dry with thirst and am perishing. Come, give me at once cold water flowing forth from the Lake of Memory.' Or, on meeting the rulers of Hades, one should say:'I come pure from the pure, Queen of the Underworld, Eucles, Eubouleus, and all other gods! For I too claim to be of your race.'"[1]

This rite is designed to evoke the powers of the maenads in order to achieve an altered state of consciousness so that one may open oneself up to visions. The methods used to achieve this altered state being flogging, drugs via the wine, & dance.

Altar:
Purple and green. Gather flowers, honey, pomengranets, raw meat and goat's milk on platter. Panther (Big Cat) Fetish and Symbols, snake skin, Ivy, and thyrus, Picture of the maenads, wheat, crystal penis, etc. Have Fun!

Robe:
Wine Robe, burgundy/green 3 yard chord.

Incense: Vision Incense:
Mugwort, Damiana, Mandrake, Rose Petal, Kava Kava, Dittany of Crete, Valerian

Music:
To suit. I used streaming trance acid/electronica/tekkno

###Notes: I have included some sample text however, I highly suggest you use your own or make it up on the spot. Evocations are best done in the heat of the moment full of individual meaning..

Kneel before the altar, derobe so that you are standing there naked under the stars. Self-flaggelation with thrysus eighty-one (81) times for the moon.

Step Two- Dedication as priest/ess
Dedicant holds thyrus[2] and wand in osirus position and say

Dedicant kneels before altar.

Dedicant slowly unwinds chord from thyrsus and wraps it around herself.

Places crown of ivy and green lace bridal veil on head. Veil should cover face.

Priestess then lies down before altar and places cup full of liquid between her legs. Ideally, her she should be situated so that eyes rest on altar. She then brings herself to the point of orgasm while chanting, directing energy into the goblet of wine, drawing in the power of heart and soul

Priestess lifts veil, then grabs wand and coats it with her fluids then places wand into the flame and draws in the power of fire and light,

Priestess wand consecrates the raw meat, blood, honey, flower petals, and cream transferring the power of Dionysus to the feast.

Step Three- Evocation of the Maeneds and Vision Dance
Evoke the maened sisters to dance with you in ecstasy and wild abandon to join your rite, to open the gates of vision. Call them with your heart and soul, with your passion and fire.

Open a chaosvortex in the flames for them to come through. Look them in the eye as they pass through the gates, show your respect, show them your own power. Once they have all come through the gate, tear into the raw flesh consume it Let the blood drip down your fingers.[6] Drink deeply of the rich red wine. Share your feast with them.

Dance until you feel the stars spinning around you, open your charkas and allow yourself to be lost in the ecstasy of the moment where time and space are lost and there is only you and the dance. Interact with them, ever building the power. Drink, Dance, and Feast until the energy reaches its height. Let yourself fall down onto the cool damp earth, concentrate your energy on opening your third eye, the sisters circling around you in initiation. Open yourself completely. There is the mystery of the rite which you are about to receive and can not be written. They are the initiators. At then end of the initiation one will come forward, and talk to you regarding your future. After your visions have subsided, arise and thank them, communicate with them if they are still there. They may leave independently when they are done.

Close vortex and banish with laughter

1. http://www.opencenter.org/lapis3/noframes/jgodwin.html

2. thyrsus: fennel rod decorated with ivy and topped with a pinecone, carried by the maenads. Symbol of fertility and purification

3. take off from "the bacchae" found at a temple site online.

4. From orphic talisman. Secret Stele of the initiates: "Now you have died and now you have come into being, o thrice blessed one, on this same day. Tell Persephone that Bakchios himself has set you free. Bull, you jumped into milk. Goat, you jumped into milk. Ram, you fell into milk. You have wine as your fortunate honor. And below the earth there await you the same rites as for the other blessed ones." "You will find to the left of the House of Hades a spring, and by its side a white cypress standing. Do not approach near this spring. You will find another, with cold water flowing from the Lake of Memory, and sentinels before it. Say, 'I am a child of Earth and starry Heaven, but my race is of Heaven. You know this already. But I am parched and perishing of thirst. Quick, give me the cold water flowing from the Lake of Memory.' Then they will freely let you drink from the holy spring, and, after, you will have lordship with the other heroes." http://www.winterscapes.com/dionysus/adyton.html

5. List of recorded names of Maenads:http://www.hsa.brown.edu/~maicar/MAENADS.html

6. The main feature of his worship was called sparagmos: the tearing apart of a live animal, the eating of its flesh, and the drinking of its blood.

7. At a signal all the Bacchae whirled their wands for the revels to begin. With one voice their cried aloud: "O Iacchos, son of Zeus!" "O Bromios!" they cried until the beasts and the whole mountain seemed wild with divinity. And when they ran, everything ran with them. http://www.globaltown.com/shawn/lyre3a.html

AutonomatriX
Corpus Fecundi Index