Clik here to view.
Initiation and the mysteries within the Starry Bull tradition
As this has come up a couple times recently I figure I should say something about it. There are two ways to keep a religious secret concealed: the first is to never talk about it at all and the second...
View ArticleClik here to view.
the end is just the beginning
All initiation within the Starry Bull tradition is carried out by the Gods and Spirits. There is a human component, and not just that but a direct, physical component or else we’d be able to do long...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Zarathustra redivivus
Friends, I come before you, and citizens of the yellow city, a god wearing a mortal face and hands that are bloody. I am a wanderer upon the earth – often I wake screaming from dreams of that other...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Maskengott
Your mocking disbelief does not concern me; I am what I am, an immortal spirit trapped in flesh and subject to ceaseless transformations. Every time I die I pray it is the final time, only to open my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gegensätzlichkeit
They say that Lyaios came this way, in the days when terrible battle raged between Gods and Giants. He whose wine washes away all cares wished to avoid the fighting, and so fled to his Grand Dame’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tityroi
Those fabulous Atellans dance out on the rustic stage, pony-tailed men with paunches, swarthy and fish-lipped, their gigantic pricks swinging back and forth as they step lively and the goat shrieks,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ekpyrôsis
You want to know why we walk across the scorching coals with our feet bare and our hands bearing gifts for holy Apollo of the Soracte; I will tell you, it is an open mystery. Our fathers say that once...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kénōsis
We lost him by the promontory of Maleas. We were celebrating on the shore with a succulent pig roast – oh, I’m salivating just thinking about the fragrant smoke that wafted up, and the bubbling springs...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pop quiz
Some folks are uncertain about taking the course on Bacchic Orphic offerings. So here’s a test. If you can identify at least five elements of Starry Bull mythology in this video you should take the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pleonasm
Oedipus the king, gaunt from wandering and suffering, and now burning up with the fever that has laid waste his city, looks into the bronze mirror and says, “Mother, dear, I have your eyes.”
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fescennine verses
Panting, sweat pouring off his massively muscled frame, Hera’s glorious warrior, Alkides of Thebes, tightened his grip on the bulging throat of Kakos, stealer of oxen, to stop the furnace blast that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Coulrophobia
Oh, little dove, I didn’t see you there. Don’t mind me, I’m just putting on my face. I never feel as fully myself as when I’ve got the greasepaint on. So, how long have you been with us? No, that’s not...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Metalepsis
Pherekydes the Syrian, son of Babys, was a fabulous theologian but a lousy man. In fact, they say that towards the end of his days Pythagoras came back to visit his teacher who would only speak to him...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Boustrophēdon
Never odd or even, wholly your own person, and unwilling to compromise or conform to others’ expectations. Damn their labels and damn their rules! Everything’s constantly changing, flowing, dying and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ego is A Too Much Thing
I don’t normally explain all of the little allusions and puzzles I put into my poetry, but this one is kind of special so I figured I’d break it down a bit for you guys. First off, the title...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Community for the communityless
For all the freaks, outcasts and bah humbugs who are having a frustrating or lonely holiday season this year, be sure to swing by the Bacchic chat room this Sunday from 8:00-10:00pm Eastern time when...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Devotional art challenge #2
Next up we have: Turned inside out, nature turns into itself. Can’t wait to see what you guys create to express this.
View ArticleClik here to view.
Scripturam ex scriptura explicandam esse
The Girl made it through the maddening circulations of the labyrinth to the vine-covered cave at the heart and within she met queer and unsettling folk, each madder than the maniac before. At the head...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Prosopopoeia
To entertain the infant Liknites who constantly cries ‘Euhoi!’ the Satyrs and Nymphs of Mount Nysa one day decided to put on a show for him. The Silens constructed a rickety stage with the skene...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Blepomen gar arti di esoptrou en ainigmati
“But now that she is dead,” the Chorus intoned, bringing the play to a close. “She is queen again.” All the forest folk rose to their dance-loving feet and applauded. All but the child Bromios, prince...
View Article