Rites of Eleusis
The Rites of Eleusis were a series of seven public invocations or rites written by British occultist Aleister Crowley, each centered on one of the seven classical planets of antiquity. They were dramatically performed by Aleister Crowley, Leila Waddell (Laylah), and Victor Neuburg in October and November, 1910, at Caxton Hall, London. This act brought Crowley's occult organization the A∴A∴ into the public eye.[1].
The rites
The names of the seven rites are "Saturn", "Jupiter", "Mars", "Sol", "Venus", "Mercury" and "Luna".
In print
Rites of Eleusis: As Performed at Caxton Hall Illustrated by Dwina Murphy-Gibb. Edited by Keith Richmond. UK: Mandrake, 1990 (limited edition of 1000 copies). Contains the complete scripts of all the rites, with introduction by Richmond and explanatory essays by Richmond and Terence DuQuesne. Also includes a series of adorations, "The Treasure House of Images" by Capt J.F.C. Fuller, and Crowley's "Liber O".
Crowley claimed that the Rites were designed to inspire the audience with 'religious ecstasy', and that merely reading them would help people 'cultivate their highest faculties'. The popular press thought otherwise, and considered them an immoral display, riddled with 'blasphemy and erotic suggestion.'
Contemporary Performances
Beginning in 2000, Seattle based Eleusyve Productionshas been composing original musical arrangements for each of the plays comprising "The Rites of Eleusis". Completed productions include "The Rite of Luna" in 2005 and "The Rite of Venus" in 2007.
On March 7, 2008 experimental media artist Raymond Salvatore Harmon presented a three channel video performance of the Rites at Horse Hospital Gallery London, UK, by recontextualizing them into seven abstract films containing all of the original content as subliminal content hidden within each film.
References
- ^ King, p.115
Sources
- Crowley, Aleister - Rites of Eleusis: As Performed at Caxton Hall (ISBN 1-872736-02-5)
- King, Francis - The Rise of Western Occultism
External links
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