Mundane rituals

Rituals, spells, prayer, meditation and magical acts.
User avatar
Smaragd
Posts: 1120
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2014 4:27 am

Mundane rituals

Post by Smaragd »

Observing mundane customs of Orthodox Judaism presented in a TV drama I've come to think of informal rituals that actualize the depth of being. Growing up in the safety of a secular or semi-secular upbringing and social environment that has some fearful need to destroy meaning, it has been a struggle to see the calm depth in every moment. What I mean by the 'calm depth' is this ease the meaning fulfills the moment or your worldview revealing the depth dimension of every day life. Not by feverish need to see meaning, or saturnian emphasis on the heaviness of it, but balanced(?) happening.

For me as a child this rigidity of materialism actually broke out violently with overwhelming feverish visions and panic. As if the artificial contradictions had made me ill and something had to break through to tell me about this thing I'm still trying to grasp. At this moment I'd say it's about holiness of our material existence. The secular trauma still affects as there's ladders to climb before roots have grown full. (The orthodox ways and upbringings have their own problems ofcourse, and the problem at hand isn't fully because of the secular world, for isn't secular world a symptom itself.)
Thus I'm interested of rituals you may have to sort of sew your every-day-life in to the source, those small stepping stones outside your rigid altar. I'm sure there are many ways and some of them might be meditative while some almost spell or blessing-like, some so small and plenty we may not even be fully aware of them. How do you make your reality, or are you familiar with some sympathetic customs? What possible problems is there in this kind of work?
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
User avatar
Cerastes
Posts: 233
Joined: Fri May 25, 2018 10:31 pm

Re: Mundane rituals

Post by Cerastes »

Maybe what we call "mundane" are the things we do not fully understand yet. The more I think about something, the less mundane it becomes, so after all “mundanity” might be nothing but a construct of mind, made to provide safety by hiding the mysteries.

As usual, the statements I do not fully understand right away are the ones I’m mostly interested in. Therefore I was thinking about how Fra Nefastos described himself as a “hummingbird personality” in another topic. This phenomenon could possibly be a reason, because if nothing is mundane, then everything is able to cause excitement. By finding the meaning of mundane things they might lose their mundanity because everything is somehow connected to a greater meaning that is even more real than what the surface allows us to see. As in fact mundanity seems to rule society at present the gates are hidden but not narrowed.

Pretty much everything can go from mundane to spiritual at some point. Or maybe everything is spiritual if we take notice of the dept. Reminds me of Hegels “Die Welt ist Geist” (The world is spirit).

Okay, I didn’t mention mundane rituals at all and wrote about some random association instead. Sorry about that :mrgreen:
“Granny Weatherwax was not lost. She wasn't the kind of person who ever became lost. It was just that, at the moment, while she knew exactly where SHE was, she didn't know the position of anywhere else.”
(Terry Pratchett, Wyrd Sisters)
User avatar
Smaragd
Posts: 1120
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2014 4:27 am

Re: Mundane rituals

Post by Smaragd »

Red Bird wrote: Wed Jan 09, 2019 5:54 pm Okay, I didn’t mention mundane rituals at all and wrote about some random association instead. Sorry about that :mrgreen:
I welcome these and aren't they pretty much the same thing the topic is about. If we think of our ritual work at the altar, ideally it is clear and near to the source (at least in the theurgy of our Celestial Hymns). Then these mundane rituals are like extensions of the altar clarity to more or less rough and muddy every-day struggle. Such are also these little associative and maybe semi-subconscious tracks you followed, they don't seem random to me, but extending notions circling our subject here.

A very small step away from the the usual altar I've been introduced to was a tea ceremony. The ceremony has a kind of an altar there, but maybe because it connects these both worlds of the mundane tea drinking and sincere altar presence it was really powerful for me. It was a moment of coming home while still focusing on mundane material business. Maybe I've been covered with unusually thick layer of this materialist mundane world that it's rare and hard for me to allow myself to be there sincerely — exposing myself that way often throws people off.
(I just catched myself writing about materialism and the mundane as almost synonymous things, which is an abomination!)

Here's a video of something similar to what I took part of. It may look snobbish watching it on Youtube. Additionally we had a bit more meditative approach and retrieved the water from a near spring with "proper" customs.

Apparently Orthodox Jews have these small rituals, for example when entering a room or drinking water or food, that seem to aknowledge the "source" and passing (I'm learning this from TV series, heh). Although the world I crew in was mainly secular, some customs had persisted like saying grace, which is a similar thing. But the words in the aforementioned tradition is somehow much more straight forward yet filled with meaning.
Red Bird wrote: Wed Jan 09, 2019 5:54 pmMaybe what we call "mundane" are the things we do not fully understand yet. The more I think about something, the less mundane it becomes, so after all “mundanity” might be nothing but a construct of mind, made to provide safety by hiding the mysteries.
...
Or maybe everything is spiritual if we take notice of the dept. Reminds me of Hegels “Die Welt ist Geist” (The world is spirit).
To me the small rituals and prayers are not so much like poking holes in to the fabric of the covering veil as it is seeing the different layers in the veil and deeper through beyond the edges and borders. Nearing the mysteries there in their blinding brilliance it propably induces the hummingbird sensibility as everything becomes so "dense" (ie. "fast" yet motionless in the constancy of being). But it seems one can decide on which layer to focus, meaning you can focus on the "mundane" and aknowledge the depths at the same time. Although ones gifts, work and telos usually determine the focus for you.

Writing a collection of Lesser Prayer & Rituals could be a nice thing.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
User avatar
Cerastes
Posts: 233
Joined: Fri May 25, 2018 10:31 pm

Re: Mundane rituals

Post by Cerastes »

Smaragd wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 4:12 pm Writing a collection of Lesser Prayer & Rituals could be a nice thing.
Yes, especially when they are put in a cultural context.
My grandmother from the Black Forest region (conservative Catholics) had many such small local rituals, which stood out because they did not fit into the purely efficiency-oriented time and place. While everyone tried to make things faster, better, bigger it almost seemed to be a rebellious act and therefor I liked it.

For example, it was a ritual to pick the first daisies every spring and spill holy water where they stood. Holy water could be bought in bottles in the church, the margin was certainly not bad, with such low production cost. The daisies were braided in the mane of the Black Forest horses. Black Forest horses have a wonderful long blond mane, it takes many hours to braid them like that.
Meanwhile efficiency has taken over and many traditions died with the old generation. I often thought about writing them down so they don’t get lost.
-
You may be right, it's probably at least partly in our own possibility on which layer we focus our attention. Maybe it's all about being able to make that decision consciously.
“Granny Weatherwax was not lost. She wasn't the kind of person who ever became lost. It was just that, at the moment, while she knew exactly where SHE was, she didn't know the position of anywhere else.”
(Terry Pratchett, Wyrd Sisters)
obnoxion
Posts: 1806
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 7:59 pm

Re: Mundane rituals

Post by obnoxion »

Cerastes wrote: Mon Jan 14, 2019 1:11 pm Yes, especially when they are put in a cultural context.
My grandmother from the Black Forest region (conservative Catholics) had many such small local rituals, which stood out because they did not fit into the purely efficiency-oriented time and place. While everyone tried to make things faster, better, bigger it almost seemed to be a rebellious act and therefor I liked it.

For example, it was a ritual to pick the first daisies every spring and spill holy water where they stood. Holy water could be bought in bottles in the church, the margin was certainly not bad, with such low production cost. The daisies were braided in the mane of the Black Forest horses. Black Forest horses have a wonderful long blond mane, it takes many hours to braid them like that.
Meanwhile efficiency has taken over and many traditions died with the old generation. I often thought about writing them down so they don’t get lost.
-
You may be right, it's probably at least partly in our own possibility on which layer we focus our attention. Maybe it's all about being able to make that decision consciously.
These sort of little things that take a bit of time and effort are my main practice. It is, I feel, a humble way to establish a bedrock that should stand against the currents of temporality.

I tend to find my spirituality in folk superstitions, which are not unlike your grandmother's lovely little rituals. (Catholicism is, I think, the most magical form of Christianity). In the Western world, where there is little trace of a coherent historic LHP tradition, Folk traditions is an important vehicle for LHP ingredients.
One day of Brahma has 14 Indras; his life has 54 000 Indras. One day of Vishnu is the lifetime of Brahma. The lifetime of Vishnu is one day of Shiva.
User avatar
Polyhymnia
Posts: 518
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2019 6:20 pm

Re: Mundane rituals

Post by Polyhymnia »

Smaragd wrote: Tue Jan 08, 2019 9:40 pm
Thus I'm interested of rituals you may have to sort of sew your every-day-life in to the source, those small stepping stones outside your rigid altar. I'm sure there are many ways and some of them might be meditative while some almost spell or blessing-like, some so small and plenty we may not even be fully aware of them. How do you make your reality, or are you familiar with some sympathetic customs? What possible problems is there in this kind of work?
One small way I've introduced ritual in my day to day is to take a cleansing ritual bath or shower. I make my own soap using traditional herb and crystal correspondences to symbolically align my energies to my hopes for the day. I do struggle with trying not to put selfish wants out there during this time. I leave much of my every day and overall life to Divine Will, but I also believe the spirit knows divine timing and we can actively work to cultivate what we need.

I also partake in superstitious behaviour, like throwing salt over my shoulder if I spill it, or lifting my feet when driving over railroad tracks. It's not even that I believe in them. I've just been doing them for my entire life that they've become extremely habitual, and I swear I believe in it just enough that I'll have bad luck (probably subconsciously self induced) if I don't do them. This isn't something I go out of my way to do to add ritual to my every day life, but I thought it was a fun little anecdote to throw in :D
"Limited love asks for possession of the beloved, but the unlimited asks only for itself." -Kahlil Gibran
User avatar
Smaragd
Posts: 1120
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2014 4:27 am

Re: Mundane rituals

Post by Smaragd »

Polyhymnia wrote: Fri Mar 01, 2019 10:04 pm One small way I've introduced ritual in my day to day is to take a cleansing ritual bath or shower. I make my own soap using traditional herb and crystal correspondences to symbolically align my energies to my hopes for the day. I do struggle with trying not to put selfish wants out there during this time. I leave much of my every day and overall life to Divine Will, but I also believe the spirit knows divine timing and we can actively work to cultivate what we need.
This unifying work between what we want/need and the Will, I think, is indeed in the core of the idea of these sorts of rituals. What is meant by the mundane nature here whispers of balance where every aspect of ours shares and receives harmoniously as the surroundings are forgivingly "neutral". In the solitary kitchen work or the bath there is no need for stepping on someone elses toes. We just do the upkeeping tasks. And that sort of forthright magic can be carried on from the safety of home. Reminds me of some discussions on the Finnish forums regarding the relationship of Shiva and Vishnu; behind the upkeep rituals Shiva breaths.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
User avatar
Cancer
Posts: 258
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2012 4:45 pm
Location: Helsinki

Re: Mundane rituals

Post by Cancer »

Among those of my activities that can be described as rituals are various forms of talking to myself. I often recite poems that I like, read aloud a passage that I find particularly interesting / beautiful, or speak with internal characters, either aspects of my psyche or representations of actual people (or the latter as the former). From all of these forms of solitary speech, a prayer practice could maybe be gleaned.

Interestingly, my habit of ”giving voice” was at its most frequent when my economical situation was at its worst. I had neither a functioning phone nor a public transport ticket, and had to entertain myself somehow when walking great distances in eastern Helsinki, often at night with no people around. Satan’s monologues from Paradise Lost have never since been performed in such gloomy surroundings.

Another great example of a mundane ritual is smoking. I’m glad that I’ve mostly managed to quit, but sometimes there was a genuine sense of holiness in certain moments of lighting a cigarette. Alone at four AM after writing for a long time, to punctuate a long and deep discussion... Incense smoke that gives you cancer is one hell of an image!

The significance of smoking is heightened by the fact that my mother is a heavy smoker; for me there’ll always be something calming and homely about the smell of a smoke-permeated leather jacket. (At this point all the Oedipal / atavistic things about sucking also inevitably come into mind, but let’s not go into them now, lol.) It’s kind of sad to be linked to ones childhood by a habit of inhaling poison, but such is life. It can maybe be seen as one more indicator of my positive mother-relation that even the harmful things she’s ”passed on” retain some of their blessing-like quality. After all, she was always the one to best understand my depressive episodes, self-destructiveness, and addictions, having had her fair share of the same problems.
Tiden läker inga sår.
User avatar
Soror O
Posts: 416
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2018 6:15 pm

Re: Mundane rituals

Post by Soror O »

Fascinating thread. I’ve also pondered the meaning of rituals, as my life in this secular, lutherian culture has been quite poor ritually wise. I have this longing for rituals that would feel genuine and ”organic” - in opposite of feeling as hollow ”lifestyle arrangements” or spiritual larping. For now, I have rituals… but they don’t have clear exoteric appearance or form. So usually they take place only in the inner space. My rituals are for example:

- ”Talking” to food while making it: blessing it, thanks giving, mourning
- Sauna-rituals: Communicating with the ”Löyly” (’the spirit of sauna’), contemplating the union of fire and water
- Making a beverige offering to the former residents when moving into a new house
- I also have a small ancestral statue (made out of clay, with my kids) with whom I make offerings

In my opinion everything can be turned into a ritual. The more ”organically” this transformation is made the better.
If you want to reborn, let yourself die.
Angolmois

Re: Mundane rituals

Post by Angolmois »

Ave wrote: Thu Feb 06, 2020 11:44 amIn my opinion everything can be turned into a ritual. The more ”organically” this transformation is made the better.
This is my opinion also. I have a very ritualistic approach to life, after all, the root word rita signifies order over chaos. There is no mundane or profane world, only a profane outlook. There is no "ordinary life", everything is permeated by the sacred. Everything is ritual or at least can be made to be so.

"Let thy every deed be an act of magic." - Aleister Crowley
Locked