Subj : Imbolc 4001 To : All From : Rachel L. Akers Date : Wed Jan 31 2001 10:24 pm Very VERY silly [not to mention ethnocentric] );-) -------------------------- Stewart Farrar School of Religious Studies Cunningham Hall "Good morning class. I trust you enjoyed your long Crowley Day weekend and have retained at least a few functioning brain cells. Today we will continue with our study of the religious practices of the Ancient Pagans. As you recall, we were discussing the celebration of the Sabbats and had come to Life Begin. The ancients called this time 'Imbolc' or 'Ground Hog' day- the latter referring to a traditional food of the time called 'sausage.' The professor waived his hand over a crystal covered podium. A three dimensional image appeared in the middle of the dais and began to slowly rotate. The image was that of a circular structure. In the center was lush green grass with many mystical lines and symbols painted on it. It was surrounded by tier upon tier of concentric circles rising up hundreds of feet. "Imbolc was the most important holiday on the ancient Pagan calendar. While most Sabbats were held by small groups in isolated pockets, everyone in Usa, and almost the entire world, came together for Imbolc. Archaeologists have found structures similar to this one, called "ball parks" (apparently after some euphemism referring to the fertility rites held in them), near almost every sizable human settlement of the time, however this one was the largest by far." In a flash, the circular structure was filled with people dressed in all manner of wild looking clothing. Some had colorful head gear of various shapes and sizes- even feathers, some sported huge caricatures of human hands with the index fingers raised. Others raised their own fingers in like gestures. "Evidently this was some symbol of invocation.. Everyone seemed full of joy at the thought of the impending ritual as they were all smiling, laughing, shouting, singing, and dancing about. About half the group was dressed in blue and orange, the other in green and white. Some were not dressed at all, but had just applied paint directly to their bodies. Despite the fact that it was cold enough to make their breath come out in great clouds of steam, they seemed comfortable enough. "Now, only about a hundred thousand were actually able to attend the event in person, but throughout the world, people joined the ritual via something called 'teevee'- which seems to be a rudimentary form of the sensotank which only displayed a flat, two dimensional image with no smell or sensation." A gasp came from the back of the lecture hall. The professor chuckled. "Yes, it was quite primitive, but that did not keep some three billion people from joining in as if they were right there. The devices were ubiquitous. "An interesting aside you might want to add to your notes. As you recall these were very dark times, and there existed a religion that was vehemently opposed to Paganism; it even killed some Pagans in its fits of hatred and intolerance. These people were called the 'Robertsians' after the founders of the religion, Pat and Oral. Their remains are identified by the symbol of the stylized cross with the corpse attached or the strange symbols 'WWJD.' The traditional time for them to hold their rituals was each Ra's Day morning. The annual Life Begin, excuse me, Imbolc ritual was also held on Ra's Day. So powerful was this ritual that, even though the Robertsians considered the day to belong to exclusively to their god Jerfalwell, even they put aside their hatred of the Pagans, forwent their own rituals, and joined in the Imbolc celebration. It was, by the way, soon after end of the twentieth century that the Robertsian religion collapsed and the movement toward the current world harmony we now enjoy began. "On to the ritual itself. Imbolc was then as Life Begin is now a celebration of the return of the fertility of the Earth and its inhabitants. This ritual was the first outdoor gathering of the new Solar Cycle. The grass of the inner circle was of course artificial- as it was far too cold this early in the Cycle for real grass to flourish- and served as a symbol of the fertility about to return to the Earth." The image changed to that of a huge male, obviously in some sort of ritual garb. This one wore the same green and white as about half of the ritual participants. "Interestingly enough, all of the active celebrants were male. There was no Priestess in this ritual. Just a moment and you will see why. The Priests were clothed to emphasize their maleness- as you can see by this example. Note the exaggerated musculature, the oversized shoulders, the spikes on the shoes to exaggerate the height, even the obviously enhanced genital area. This was the symbol of a virile male at its finest, at the time.." The image in the tank changed to an oblong brown object It had circles around each end, and some sort of a thong or lace running up the middle. The students cooed in wonder at the site of it. Some of them even wore small replicas of the ancient symbol around their necks. "Yes, yes, quiet please. This is indeed the most wonderful symbol of our nurturing Goddess. We have all seen it hundreds of times, and we believe this ritual is the origin of the symbol. The Goddess is seen as plump and almost bursting with the fullness of her gravidity, just as the Earth promised to bring forth its bounty. The circles around each end represent her eternal nature, while the lacing up the middle is obviously a vaginal symbol. Notice that it can be opened to let out her presents, and then closed again." He let the class marvel at this ancient symbol of their faith for a few moments. "Now let us watch the actual ritual." The image was filled with what seemed to be random, chaotic movement by the participants. The crowd attending the ritual was greatly enthused at the display. "As you can see, the ritual begins by one of the priests passing the Goddess symbol between his legs to show off his manliness. He hands it to another priest who now holds her aloft to signal his intent to mate with her. Those in the same colors as he represent the multifaceted god (green and white representing life and purity respectively), those in different colors represent such things as drought and flood (this the orange symbolizing heat and blue symbolizing water) which, at the time, were the enemies of a fruitful harvest. The 'gods' battle the 'plagues' until finally they carry the Goddess victoriously out of the ritual circle. They then hurl her through the twin erect phallic symbols. Thus she is fertilized and a plentiful year is promised." The view switched to some very scantily clad women gyrating and alternately thrusting their breasts, pubic areas, and buttocks at the crowd. The crowd's enthusiasm seemed to grow even wilder at this display. "These of course are the Maidens. As you note, most of the crowd is male. These Maidens represent those who are just coming into sexual receptivity with the new season. The bold (for the times) display of their sexual parts is a sign to the males that they are willing to copulate, and it went on throughout the entire ritual. Of course this explains the excitement of the males." Now a series of written symbols appeared. Some were simple- they seemed to be merely painted on pieces of wood or cloth. Others glowed with their own light and many sparkled and changed shapes. "These symbols are obviously the names of the various deities involved. You will note the most common one is 'Bud'. This word referred to the first blossoms of the plants in Spring, so it is obviously the name of the Fertility Goddess they are honoring. Sometimes a longer version of the word is seen; this is an expression of love for her meaning something like 'the all knowing' or 'wiser' Bud. She was the dominant Goddess of the time in Usa as her name is found almost everywhere people gathered. The exception being the Robertsian ritual areas. "Now then, are there any questions?" "Sir, what is the gray metallic object in the sky over the circle?" came from a naked young woman in the front row. "Ah, that is a most magickal construct. We do not know what it was for, but we believe it was called 'Wyrd Frumar Spawnsar.' Linguists are still unsure what the phrase means, but we know this was its name as the words are always heard on the teevee just before it appears. Scientists have studied this object and are mystified by how it functioned. There were no antigravitonetic engines for almost another three hundred years. Airborne machines of the time had to move forward at a certain speed in order to remain aloft; this object can remain almost motionless. It is proof positive that magick was practiced before Billy Graham the XXII proved the existence of the Web of Life Energy and made magick available to the masses. It is obviously phallic in nature. The blinking lights salute the return of the Sun. The foot with the wing is a symbol of health and vigor. We have tried to decipher the symbols, and we believe they roughly mean 'happy season' or 'good year'- obviously a blessing on the festivities." A deep gong reverberated throughout the room. "Well, time also flies." The group began to noisily shuffle out for their next class. The professor's voice rose to be heard above the din. "Some of you owe me papers! That essay on the Why The Great Bard Pendragon Was the Most Influential Writer of the Ancients was due last week! I am going to have to start deducting points if you don't get those in!" http://home.kc.rr.com/pendragonsloft (c) 2001 The Pendragon See complete copyright information on my home page --- Msged/2 4.00 * Origin: Elfwhere - The POINTy eared POINT (3:640/531.2379) .