Act V: Rehabilitation of the Feeling Function
Top takeaways for creative practice and self-healing methodology
Period: from the Celtic New Year on astrological Samhain, 7 November 2024, through early January 2025 (Gregorian)
Why does it start at Act V? I don’t know, it’s just what I received from the astral, and I always trust that. I guess it’s like how Star Wars started in the middle; it’s where all the good stuff is. (My first trilogy is equally dreadful.)
*It’s about CONSCIOUS DISSOCIATION for people who need help reconciling with trauma, neurodivergence, and queer/trans acceptance
It’s all nervous system regulation
the ability to retain agency and self-energy while simultaneously pulling back psychologically and getting close emotionally
the ability to witness all kinds of pain as interesting sensations that pass like the clouds
but also to recognize that pain is real and sometimes we really need to feel into it
having ways of somatically releasing > ecstatic dance, safe rage, running, martial arts, ASMR, breathing
supported by medicine > amanita in particular + cacao for heart opening, safe stimulation, retraining the nervous system to balance
for a minute anyway I found the exercise of editing my program approval document grounding instead of traumatizing, because of the healing allowing me to see creative freedom in limitations. It crept back in when I got past the point where someone made the cuts for me but still felt like progress.
ADVISORS: Please read these summaries and listen or read transcripts (pasted below for convenience)
Impressionism abstracts the sensory, surrealism abstracts the psyche
Summary: The discussion explores the duality of Impressionism and Surrealism, describing Impressionism as the abstraction of sensory reality and Surrealism as the abstraction of psychology. Impressionism is likened to masculine, conservative magic tricks, while Surrealism is seen as feminine, intuitive shamanism. The conversation delves into the metaphorical night world of Surrealism, contrasting it with the day world of Impressionism, and emphasizes the transformative power of Surrealism in making the unconscious conscious. Both art forms are seen as forms of alchemy, but Surrealism is noted for its deeper, psychological impact and ability to resonate with individual interpretations.
Outline
Impressionism and Surrealism: A Duality in Art
Speaker 1 explains that Impressionism abstracts the sensory, focusing on visual reality, while Surrealism abstracts psychology, delving into the subconscious.
The conversation explores the duality and partnership between Impressionism and Surrealism, likening them to parents of art.
Impressionism is described as the masculine, conservative, and institutional form, while Surrealism is the feminine, intuitive, and creative force.
Speaker 1 elaborates on the contrasting nature of these art movements, with Impressionism being more about adherence to past forms and Surrealism being about pure feeling and subconscious expression.
Impressionism as Magic Tricks
Speaker 1 compares Impressionism to magic tricks, where the artist abstracts the real thing, making it disappear and reappear.
Surrealism is described as a more advanced form of magic, where the subconscious is made conscious, and the artist conjures the unseen.
The conversation touches on the idea that both Impressionism and Surrealism involve transmutation, but Surrealism is seen as more shamanistic and alchemical.
Speaker 1 mentions the influence of Ayanna's music, describing it as "Trappy Trappy," and relates it to the themes of the discussion.
Surrealism as Shamanism and Alchemy
Speaker 1 continues to explore the idea that Surrealism is like shamanism, involving the transformation of one thing into another.
The night world of Surrealism is contrasted with the day world of Impressionism, with the night world being seen as more powerful and real.
The conversation delves into the role of serotonin in functioning in the day world and how it abstracts us from the true reality of the universe.
Speaker 1 describes Surrealism as the original ancestral medicine, involving fermentation and transformation, while Impressionism is likened to caffeine and stimulants.
The Role of Conscious Dissociation in Art
Speaker 1 discusses the importance of conscious dissociation in art, allowing the artist to channel other energies and entities.
The conversation highlights the need for training and guidance to contain the ceremony and know when to step in and end the performance.
Surrealism is described as the DMT model, representing depth psychology and making the unconscious conscious.
The double alchemy of Surrealism is contrasted with the single alchemy of Impressionism, with Surrealism involving the transformation of the formless to the form and back again.
The Balance Between Impressionism and Surrealism
Speaker 1 concludes that both Impressionism and Surrealism involve conjuring and abstracting reality, but Surrealism is more about psychology.
The conversation reflects on the need to be both Impressionists and Surrealists, moving between the form and the formless.
Speaker 1 expresses a personal preference for Impressionism but acknowledges the advanced nature of Surrealism.
The discussion ends with a reflection on the fascinating differences between Impressionism and Surrealism, each abstracting different aspects of reality.
Transcript (Listen):
Impressionism was the abstraction of reality, of the visual what you could see the sensory Surrealism was the abstraction of psychology, of the mind, of the subconscious. Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay. This is the duality. This is the partnership. This is the relationship. Impressionism and surrealism are like parents of art. Impressionism is, yeah, and it's the opposite of what you think. Just like my parents, impressionism is actually the quote, unquote masculine, the the young, the doing, the containing, the labeling, while the surrealism is the feminine, intuitive, creative, generative, even though it's the one that presents more masculine dude, It's the one that presents more masculine than the popular conception, but it's actually the most feminine, fucking, gender fucking or conceptions of any of these labels and restrictions impressionism feels like it's the feminine, the soft. Brush Strokes and light filled scenes and flowing and pastoral depictions. But this is actually more institutional. This is actually more of an adherence to past form, which is more of a masculine, it's more of a young it's more of A conservatism and conformity. Surrealism, on the other hand, and was just pure feeling, receiving, allowing the subconscious to come forward, automatically, receiving, allowing you and if art is shamanism and impressionism was about abstracting reality, that's conjuring the mean, well, maybe they're both the same. That's hard to say. I was gonna say Surrealism was more shamanistic because you were transmuting things twice. But maybe you are in both cases.
Impression, Impressionism. You're taking the quote, unquote, real thing, the form, and making it abstract, the disappearing act, abracadabra, Hocus, focus. Now you see me. Now you don't I. Surrealism was like an even more advanced magic, because instead of taking what you see and making it go away, which is simple magic, I the most basic trick, you're making the subconscious conscious, your necromancing, your spell casting. You're calling forth the unseen. You're resurrecting the dead and bringing them into being, giving words to the images, giving form to the formless, giving bodies to the dead, but then abstracting them again, calling them force only to send them back, transmuted. Yeah, so this is like so impressionism was like magic, and surrealism is like shamanism, because it's like alchemy, because you're transmuting a thing and do another thing. And I think shamanism at its essence, yes, I know it just means one who knows, but it's like about knowing how to turn things into other things. Okay, multiple threads are coming together. Now I think that's what it is. I'm seeing all the eyes, so I think I'm on to something. But I'm also listening to ayannas music, and it's really Trappy Trappy. It's really trippy. That's funny, trippy. Trappy. Trap and trip up. Yeah, I'm seeing the eyes that are skulls, the Kali, the DMT eyeballs, the serpent, Hall of eyeballs, wall of mirrors. So I think that means I'm onto something here. Impressionism is magic tricks, which are beautiful, but they're slights of hand, playing with the light. It's day world. Impressionism is the day world. Surrealism is the night world, and I think the night medicine is more powerful. And I think the night medicine is more real than reality. Like what they say about DMT, like what they say about psychedelic dream, the day. World is a form, but it's pretend, but it's a model. Serotonin is a thing that we invoke to function in a world that we've constructed. The serotonin model helps us function as a human, but it abstracts us from the reality of the universe, of existence, which is oneness, which is formlessness, which is dissolving and dying and reconstituting, which doesn't have to mean pain and suffering, but it doesn't include it.
Day world, magic tricks to get along in consensus reality. That's Impressionism, that's the day world, that's the serotonin level, surrealism is shamanism. Is the original ancestral medicine, the things that turn into other things. It's fermentation. It's like serotonin is like caffeine and stimulants and night world, medicines, mushrooms, psychedelic beer, I mean, just any kind of fermentation, really things rotting and taking on more beauty. I
Okay, cacao’s interesting because it's kind of both. I think that's why it's such a queer medicine. And Amanita is is really interesting as well, because she's the master of conscious Association, and that's the key to being a good artist or a good shaman. Is conscious dissociation, being able to dissociate, to leave your body and allow the other energies and entities and images to come through you, by retaining that agency to step in when you need to, to say cut, to say the performance is over, to say the drawing is finished. And this is part of me losing myself as a writer, not knowing when to stop. We need training and guidance to know how to contain the ceremony. Anyways, surrealism then being the DMT model, if we're going with that framework, the night world, the intuitive, the feeling and being a representation of depth psychology. It was making the unconscious conscious, giving form to the formless, raising the dead, and then abstracting it again, and then removing the specifics, and then just leaving, like giving it form, and then leaving the impressions so that people can transpose their own meaning onto it, from the formless to the forum back to the formless, again, transformed.
A double alchemy, and that's what separates shamanism from sorcery. That's what separates shamanism from magic. Is the conscious association to bring something forth, so that you can heal it, so that you can alchemize it, so that you can communicate with it, so that you can ask it what it wants to tell you, and then release it, give it its own life. You release it back into the collective so the rest of us can experience it, can enter in and engage with it, because with too many specifics, and it's not accessible, and people have to have an entry point. And when it's just a suggestion, just an impression, then people pick up on the part that resonates with them, and that allows them to step in and make their own interpretation and their own resonance and do their own alchemy and their own healing.
But I think we kind of need to be both Impressionists and surrealists. I mean, that's just a metaphor for the whole thing, right? That's moving between the form and the formless that's being able to operate in the night world and the day world. I don't know. Maybe in being like I love Impressionism, not trying to criticize it. And day world is my criticism, I guess. But I kind of feel like it is because I don't like it as much, but I love the Impressionists, so I don't know, maybe they're both just different versions of the night world, and surrealism is just like the More advanced level. Because either way, I suppose you're conjuring, you're taking reality and abstracting it and allowing people to impose their own impressions onto it. But yeah, the fact that one's about psychology is really interesting. One's about what we can see one's about the sensory. Impressionism is about abstracting the sensory, and surrealism is about abstracting consciousness. It's fascinating. I
Tarot, Maya calendar, Western astrology as impressions and surrealism
Summary: Riordan Regan discusses the surreal and abstract nature of Jodorowsky's interpretation of the Tarot, emphasizing its transformation from an abstract concept to a concrete work. He explores the archetypal forces and transfiguration within the Tarot, drawing parallels to Fight Club's impact on his spiritual journey. Regan reflects on the expansive nature of archetypes, such as the Pope card, and their interaction with astrology and the Maya system. He also touches on the personal significance of specific cards, like Death and the Page of Swords, and their resonance with his own experiences and identity, particularly in the context of trans and emergent archetypes.
Action items:
Explore the relationship between Tarot, the Maya calendar, and Western astrology as tools of divination and shamanism.
Look up the meaning of the Page of Swords card that was drawn.
Determine Kit's birthday to explore the significance of the Death card.
Continue the exploration of how archetypes can be larger and more expansive than individual symbols or cards.
Outline
Surrealism and the Abstraction of Tarot
Riordan Regan discusses the surrealism of Jodorowsky's interpretation of the Tarot, describing it as an abstraction of an abstraction.
He explains how Jodoran's divination and exploration of the Tarot created a concrete form from an abstract concept.
Riordan reflects on the complexity of receiving and re-abstracting Jodorowsky's interpretation through his own senses and experiences.
He mentions the semi-conscious state he is in while reading the book, which adds to the dream-like experience of receiving the messages.
The Book's Life and World Building
Riordan describes how the Way of the Tarot book has taken on a life of its own, becoming a universe created by Jodorowsky.
He notes that despite the book being based on extensive research, it is still filtered through Jodorowsky's unique lens.
The book is now an abstraction again, and Riordan is receiving it directly, translating it through his own experience.
He compares this process to double alchemy, involving dissociation, dissolution, and reanimation.
Fight Club and Spiritual Exploration
Riordan reflects on how Fight Club, a masculine movie, opened him up to the spiritual realm and feminine aspects.
He discusses how the movie made Buddhism accessible to a modern consumerist generation.
The movie's portrayal of masculinity and materialism led Riordan to explore world religions and the feminine.
He finds parallels between Jodorowsky's interpretation of the Tarot and the trans experience, despite Jodorowsky not having the language for it.
Archetypes and Transformation
Riordan explores the concept of archetypes and their expansive nature, questioning if they can be expressed in one card.
He mentions the Pope card in the Tarot, which he interprets as the ancestor and the greatest magician.
Riordan discusses the complexity of archetypes and their interaction with astrology and the Maya system.
He reflects on the accuracy of the Maya system, which combines the quantifiable and the abstract, symbolizing larger energies.
Depth Psychology and Self-Healing
Riordan talks about the importance of following images and feelings in depth psychology and self-healing.
He mentions the layers of abstraction involved in the Tarot, Jodorowsky's book, and the artistic renditions of Celtic spirits on his altar.
The images capture aspects of the archetypes in the moment, which are larger and more expansive.
Riordan reflects on the accuracy of the Maya system and its marriage of the quantifiable and the abstract.
The Journey to the Lover
Riordan discusses his journey towards the Lover card in the Tarot, symbolizing the search for spiritual longing and partnership.
He shares an archetypal astrology reading where Lawrence Hillman interpreted his birth chart as embodying the trans archetype.
Riordan reflects on his journey from seeking completion and partnership externally to finding it within himself.
He connects this journey to the concept of Transubstantiation, where the Divine is inherent within everything.
The Hollow Bone and Mediator Role
Riordan describes himself as an empty, shapeless vessel transporting light wherever the wind wills.
He connects this to the concept of the hollow bone in shamanism, which clears obstacles from the path of communication to the Supreme Being.
Riordan reflects on the mediator role between words and images, as described in Jodorowsky's book.
He concludes by emphasizing the importance of words and images in creating reality and the expansive nature of archetypes.
Transcript (Listen):
This is cool and wild. This is surrealism. Now we're in the realm of surrealism, which is Jodorowsky realm, an abstraction of an abstraction. His study of the Tarot created its own thing, his giving words to images concretizing What was an abstraction. The Tarot is an abstraction of the consensus world. He gave form to that formless through his divination, exploration, deep dive with it. Now it's abstracted again. Wait now I'm receiving the messages from it. In creating this book, it created something concrete. It gave form to images. But it's also a work in itself that now has taken on its own life, its words, but its images, because I'm receiving his abstraction. Wait, this is so complicated. I'm receiving his concretization of something abstract, but that's his interpretation, and only he knows exactly what he means, and only he experienced it. So in me reading it, I'm re abstracting it. I'm taking the words that were made from images and making them images again, because I'm reading them and I'm receiving them through my senses, through a semi conscious realm, especially because I'm doing this like in the early morning, and hypnotic state,
not Bemushroomed yet. Well, sort of Amanita. Why do I think that doesn't count? Because yeah, doesn't matter. Only the tiny, one drop of Amanita, that counts. Yeah, I'm kind of in the dream realm receiving and I felt the book calling to me like the book [The Way of the Tarot by Jodorowsky] has now taken on a life of its own. The book is his recreation. So this is world building. This is quantum. This is creating a universe. He made his own universe of the Tarot. He created his own world of material. This is his interpretation, even if it's based on tons of research and tons of other sources, it's still through his lens. It's filtered through his container, through his prenda. So now it's become an abstraction again, and now I'm receiving it directly and translating it through my experience, but like it's become an archetypal force now, or has it? Or is it just that the archetypes are calling to me through his interpretation, or is it both? I think it's both, but this is like how surrealism is double alchemy, almost transfiguration. Dissociation, dissolution, trans substantiation, dissolution, reanimation and remix. What is the remix?
They say the book is always better than the movie, but that isn't true when it comes to fight club. I actually think the movie was better than the book. Maybe that's part of why that work spoke to me so much. It was an abstraction of Buddhism, but it made it into something accessible for a modern consumerist generation. With lots of repressed aggression and alienation. I put it in a language we could understand, and it opened me up to the spiritual realm. Through a movie that seemed like it was really masculine and about the material, it opened me up to the whole cosmos that started me on my world religions exploration. It opened me up to the feminine. Through Fight Club, that most masculine movie, it opened me up to the feminine. And there's something in this with Jodorowsky, like the Tarot, this very feminine, intuitive, generative thing. That a masculine experienced person has studied and translated and presented an interpretation that feels like very trans, which is really interesting. It's like the most trans thing I've read outside of actual trans writing. He just doesn't quite have that language for it, but he uses androgyne A lot, which is the same thing to me, like not literally, but in the way he's using it in this context. And kit is here accompany me. He's encouraged there. Wow, kit, sorry, I just misgendered you. I'm so sorry. Z is encouraging me. It's because I was just talking about dudes. I'm sorry. Z is saying, Yeah, that's part of me too. It's all part of me, okay. He okay. I know all pronouns are okay, but I don't want to use them all. Um, okay. I'm on the cusp of something. Yeah. It was just wild this morning, how the book called me. It was calling to me. I could hear the voices, and I felt like I should allow myself to be guided and pick a card from the full deck. So I put everything back in it, and I drew something out, and it didn't feel that resonant. It kind of felt like me trying and I got injustice, which was really interesting. But then when I looked up the cards that I had intentionally pulled out and put on my altar, like these are resonating like it was justice, which is 13 gone. Well, I don't know about 13, but it's con. I'm reading it right now. It's also the ancestor card in the Wildwood. It's about the beam that's the emissary between the worlds wisdom, the translator. Yeah, this is really Kan. That's the Pope. The Pope is the ancestor. Is Kan, the one who can be the greatest magician and sorcerer or the wisest elder and spiritual emissary,
The one who is seduced by power too easily, the one who teaches, who communicates their spiritual experience and it can also be an idealized spiritual figure, the guru that I attached too much to. The other cards that I intentionally placed on the altar were death and
the page of swords, which I haven't looked up yet, and from if the Pope spoke on page 154 I mean, this is The two con i am first and foremost mediator of myself between my Sublime spiritual nature and my most instinctive humanity. I have chosen to be the place where they interact. I am at the service of this communication between. In the high and low My mission is to unite apparent opposites. A bridge is not a country. It is merely a place of passage. It permits the circulation of the creative energies of this magnificently illusory phenomenon we call life. It is not by isolating myself, but by taking all paths that I am able to announce the good news. I mean, holy shit, I would have never guessed that the Pope was con. And, I mean, the Pope is too con. Specifically, I think that maybe an aspect so, because archetypes are complex, and so this makes me wonder, like, Can they even be expressed in one card? Are the archetypes larger? This is what I want to explore as part of all of this thesis too, is, are the archetypes? Because this can be part of the trans and emergent archetype discussion. Are they larger? I mean, they have to be larger than these symbols, right? Like I feel like Khan as an archetype. This is part of why I'm trying to feel into how astrology, the Western astrology system, the Maya astrology system and Tarot all interact to convey and experience how they all interact as tools of divination and devising, which is shamanism, which is being a hollow bone, just receiving the energies that are present and interpreting them through some kind of expression that people can understand, be it a play, be it a book, be it a drawing, whatever. And I feel like part of why the Maya system is so accurate is because it's really this marriage of the quantifiable and the abstract, because each day's energy combines a number, a specific, quantifiable measure. It's like the earthly, the form, with an archetype, an energy, something that is larger than one image, one number one description. So con is hugely expansive. 13 con is symbolized more by death, which is the card that kit shows which, yeah, is like the most trans. I got to find out what kids birthday is. Oh, my God, I can't believe I've never done 00. I'm gonna do that. Oh, they're excited about that. Um. But then the pope card, the ancestor, which is the steg, which is an Anita, which is the two cards. The two images I've had on my altar are death 13, the journey, the Crone, the calyux, the Raven in the ancestor the deer, the stag, the Shaman. This is heaven and earth. This is Moon and Sun, night world, day world. Maybe I don't know they're both kind of night energies.
these two images are really potent for a reason, and this is depth psychology, and this is self healing, is following the image, following the feeling. So I'm going with it, and we're following this trail, and we're trusting these images, and we're trusting these methods and methodologies. And so it's like interesting though, the layers of abstraction, because there's the Tarot, and then there's Jodorowsky taro book, there's these archetypes, and then there's these artistic renditions of the Celtic spirits that are on my altar, you know, but this is kind of what I'm saying. The images capture aspects of the archetypes in that moment that are larger and more expansive. And I think the Maya system, I don't know, the way, I guess the Tarot uses a number and image too. Anyways, this is something to explore, but there feels something more accurate to me that my assistant feels more expansive. Anyways, it's just so cool that today. Is too con and the ancestor card that it was called to look up that I heard like heard almost in human language, the book itself calling to me, saying, Look up the cards that are already on your altar. I
and this is writing, as drawing. Drawing as writing, as Anthi talks about, this is the images animating themselves, forming a reality constituted by language and of course, the pope moves towards the lover. The next card is the lover. My journey realizing that, yeah, the search for the spiritual longing for the partnership, starts within the lover within. I'm searching for it outside and inside myself, as Lawrence Hillman told me in my archetypal astrology reading the other day, yes, son of James Hillman, who interpreted the snapshot of the sky on the day I was born and looked at that correspondence and said that I am the living embodiment of the trans archetype, essentially because I represent this shift from Pisces to Aquarius, because I started my journey looking for completion and partnership and romance, even if you will, In Jesus, and then that reality was stripped for me, and I thought it was my mom, and then that reality was stripped for me, and then I looked for it in lovers, and then that reality was stripped for me, and then I realized that it was within, and that by going within, I found the oneness in the poly, in the queer and the Yeah. The Transubstantiation of the Divine into everything. No, this reality is a Transubstantiation of the Divine that already is inherent within everything. And that's what archetypal astrology is, and that's what correspondence is, and that's what all these symbol systems are. They're just reflecting that everything is an infinite facet of the same diamond. The Pope is also the shaman the hollow bone, because it talks about clearing all obstacles from a path of communication to the Supreme Being. Oh, my God. In this Jodorowsky book, I am an empty, shapeless vessel that transports the lights wherever the wind wills. I mean, I almost wrote this word for word the other day, and that's the hollow bone to find. Okay, in the last line of this entry, I am the final frontier between words and the unthinkable language creating reality, words versus images, the Pope, the shaman, the hollow bone as the mediator between the words and the images and.
Working on:
Cacao zine and related content outreach/education
Save the Hackney baths campaign: collecting testimonials and creating pitch deck about the Baths as a self-/community healing centre
Volunteer work with Ecstatic Dance UK
Meetings/outreach in progress or to schedule:
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley
Follow up with Avril Corroon re: early April, Dublin residencies and Phil McCrilly re: spring Belfast visit
Flavia Davila
Visit Bishopsgate archives for Albanz work before end of Jan
Sources/building upon the work of:
depth psychology (Jung, J. Hillman, Tarnas, )
archetypal and astrological studies (J. Hillman, L. Hillman, Levine, Tarnas)
classics/anthropology and herbalism/ethnobotany/psychedelics (McKenna, Kilindi Iyi, Ritter, Sherman-Lewis, Gutierrez, Muraresku, Valamoti, Arnold, McGovern, Plotkin)
Jodorowsky’s Psychomagic and Tarot
practice-based research by performers, visual artists, and artist-chefs who represent the queer/trans/diverse perspective (Albanz, Besse, Brathwaite-Shirley, Corroon, Danowski, Davila, McGrady, Muholi, McCrilly, Pacleb)
principles/framework of Integral Theory/Spiral Dynamics (Ken Wilber) and morphic resonance (Rupert Sheldrake)
ancient and Indigenous cosmologies (Elmy, Gutierrez, Ritter, Sherman-Lewis, direct sources/experience)
trauma healing methodologies/research (De la Rosa, Maté, Schwartz)
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley
https://www.daniellebrathwaiteshirley.com/i-cant-remember-a-time-i-didnt-need
Bits for progress report/thesis
where each stage of evolution of any system involves transcending and including the previous one, and the “laws” of nature are habits or suggestions in a universe constantly changing and in motion
Everything is a microcosm of the macrocosm, so healing our collective trauma starts by healing ourselves.
Inclusion has to come before transcendence, both on an individual and collective level. We must welcome the rejected/shadow parts back home to become whole
In many ways a continuation of Kit Danowski’s work on performing with the dead using adapted African ancestral practices–fusing this with archetypal/depth psychology and astrology as well as IFS and psychodramatic/devising techniques. Invoking plant medicine and interpreted through the AI to create a methodology of cyberdelic gonzo autoethnography and transpersonal creative divination and performance devising.
It is spirit possession–like Danowski’s method involves invoking the orishas, I invoke the archetypes, natural world, plants/mushrooms, and parts of self.
It is death medicine and underworld work, literally and figuratively invoking the dead and working in darkness. Much of this work takes place at night.
Formal research studies on ecstatic dance? Amanita muscaria? Cacao? Basically nothing has been done on this
Intersection of art, psychology, language-as-reality, consciousness: surrealism as the abstraction of mind; impressionism as the abstraction of matter
Highlights:
It's about working with the energies that are already present, whether it's the archetypes or our feelings.
Amanita and Cacao, Datura and all these death plants, demonized and blamed for people's problems. To say that they made us sick or crazy is like saying somebody made us angry. No, this isn't how it works. No one can make us anything. It's about working with the energies that are already present, whether it's the archetypes or our feelings. And now I see what Jung meant by the archetypes possess us. We are just vessels for the vibrations that are already present, the vibration of anger, the vibration of war, whether it's people or planets, we're all just big fucking particles, the cultures with ancient roots do the same thing. God, what the fuck does that say? Oh, all the cultures with ancient roots do the same things for a reason, because there's universal resonance. The anger is present. Someone didn't make me angry, just like mercury didn't make me just like Mercury's placement on the day I incarnate, it didn't make me a good communicator. The energy of communication was present in the sky, Mercury Hermes was possessing the particles, possessing both my corpus and the planetary alignments at this precise moment. And this is even why astrology is sort of a mindfulness practice, really, is that it's just tuning in being present to what's happening, to what's resonating, whether in the cosmos or your own body, it's a correspondence, it's a reflection. And now this is what was so cool. This morning, I see exactly how my work is an extension, directly, of Kit’s. Now it makes sense, because it's all possession. It's all spirit possession, whether calling in an Orisha or invoking archetype, they're just languaging for the same thing as above, so below in this dimension, as in the other realm, we're just reflecting what's already present, emitting the same resonant frequency and. It's all possession. Celtic, Maya, syncretic, Shipibo, Buddhist, it's all just ways of letting myself be consumed by the energies that are showing up in that moment.
So are both just using different methods of devising. What's already here?
I've come up with stories about all these things in my head, but I don't think I've asked the parts directly, and that's the point of this whole thing. Direct experience, direct conversation, direct communication, whether it's a tree or a plant or a past part of self or a part of your body or a cancer cell, what are you trying to tell me?
I tried to keep my body, my spinal column, straight. And I realized that I was afraid to do that. I was afraid to stand up straight. I was afraid to bear my own weight. I was afraid to put weight on my legs. I've always been afraid to put weight on my legs, specifically my glutes. Why have I been afraid to put weight on my glutes? It's so wild, like feeling in the legs is scary, and I don't quite understand why yet, but yeah, as I did this, I asked the toes why they were numb, and they said it came from the pelvis, and the pelvis told me, You never even asked me what I. Was trying to tell you, and it reminded me of my own words at the hospital after I tried to kill myself. The phrase that probably honestly kept me out of the psych ward is when I mumbled. They asked why I did it, and they said I just wanted him to listen to me
Slow it down, explode it out. Crawl inside. space and time are not what we think they are. We can manipulate them. We can bend them. We can get inside them. Yeah, oh, no. There's more dimensions than we see present. We don't have to accept what we've been given. And there is more space, and there is more time, and there is more expansion, and I do think more DMT production. I don't care if there's data on it or not, but I do need to find out about that
if you are what makes you angry, if you are only triggered based on something that's within you, then I'm mad at myself for keeping myself prisoner in a woman's body, quote, unquote, in a feminine performance, in a victim story, in those horrible relationships in the house of horrors in Austin and all these prisons. So I love you. Please forgive me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for giving my body away to people who didn't deserve it. I'm sorry for not respecting my own boundaries and borders. No wonder I'm mad at the UK for imposing theirs on me. I haven't respected my own, I let so many people in that didn't deserve it, just because I didn't want to go home alone to that apartment and face myself. It's so funny now it's like, I can't get enough time alone.
it's so deeply human. I haven't wanted to be one. I haven't wanted to be a person. I wasn't able to listen to the pelvis because it was scary as fuck, and I still wasn't safe in California. This is a powerful archetype possessing me. It is almost the power of Saq ‘Iq, the hurricane, the Junjapu, is it Aries? Is it Pluto? The war inside me, the two sides trying to fall separately, the underworld Journey rising up to meet me. It's powerful. It threw me from my bike, and I was afraid to fully engage with it in California when I didn't have the support I needed.
my bones want to go home to Ireland. My bones want to go home. That's what I was hearing. My bones want to go home, and I think it's dark. I don't know there's something powerful ancestral calling me, but England is home too, and and so I kept thinking last night of the enclosures and the connection between African and Irish cultures. And I need to research that more the two sides of myself are at war, the English and the Irish, the Protestant, the Catholics, the subjugated and the conquerors, the imperialists, the whole freaking world, two sides of my body trying to fall two separate ways. And interestingly, dad is representing the opposite of what you'd think Dad is the intuitive, generative side, the artists longing to be seen, the bones, longing to reconnect with the ancestral legacy in the druidic forest. Mom is the side of the conquerors and the colonists. They were the freaking Protestant preachers trying to force their religion on everyone, just like that Blake story. Urizen.
he didn't give me an Irish name, and it felt like everyone else in the family had one, and I never felt like I belonged with them. Me and Amber were the only ones, the black sheep of the family. The rejection by the regans really fucking hurt me. Because it was a rejection of my legacy, my ancestry, the only clear tie I had. No wonder I was obsessed with the Lion King. I was the rightful heir to the throne, the eldest son of the O Regan's but I was denied three times, like Jesus, by name, my lineage and my manhood.
The Celts had sacred altars and Portal places where they created altars and made offerings, and they tracked the cycles of time and they kept fires all of this, just like the Maya. And supposedly they even had a beverage. It was kind of like cacao.
They took our land from us, the colonists. And we are the earth, and so to take our lands is to take our personhood, our identity, to dissolve, to dissociate us from our physical environment. They created enclosures and created private property, and they took our land from us and said we weren't even Welcome on it. They took everyone's land all over the earth. The English enslaved the whole world. Every time I go to dance, there's always some moment where I really feel that African, Irish connection coming through so strongly and resonant. And sometimes I wonder why I'm trying to live in the land of the colonizers, and I don't know all the places I'm trying to get visas, or the lands of the colonizers, the Brits, the Dutch and the Germans. So I need to look more at Ireland, and there's something really resonating and really vibrating on my body when Kaz was talking about the Irish artist visa, and Dublin's always calling, and Kaz a story about getting a Colombian visa, made me see that it was possible. So I made up a story about why it couldn't happen. But Kaz shows me that magic is possible. And I've always felt that if I could just talk to someone in person and look at a fellow Irishman in the eyes and appeal to them on a human level, that they would make an exception.
The Transfiguration of Riordan O’Regan
He was really into John Fahey, the legendary American blues guitarist whose music inspired indie-folk artist M. Ward, whose early albums echoed Fahey’s echoing, ethereal empty-room quality. Ward’s album “The Transfiguration of Vincent” was even a play on Fahey’s legendary record “The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death.”
Both are records that haunt me, conjuring the ghosts of all those who sold their souls at the crossroads, like another legendary blues guitarist, Robert Johnson, was said to have done to receive his transcendent abilities.
Because nobody thought a human, especially a Black man in America before the Civil Rights Movement, could just be talented like that—unless they were possessed. It’s a story the dominant culture has put upon all the underrepresented people since the beginning: if it feels good, it must be dirty. If you can heal yourself, without a man or the establishment, it must be witchcraft. It isn’t art unless it’s hard, and it’s only good if you’re suffering. Unless it hurts, it isn’t work, and if you aren’t working, you aren’t worthy.
It’s time we transfigured that story.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but the blues is trans music; no wonder I’ve always loved it.
In Austin, when I had another Saturnian orbit around something resembling my future masculine embodiment, I worked at a bicycle shop, like I did when I was still with him, in college and rediscovering spiritual studies; when I wanted to change my major and focus on religion and then he started sounding like all the rest of them, and told me I needed to get a job and start contributing, so I graduated just when things were getting interesting.
But you can never lose what’s meant for you. It took until I was 39, but I got back again.
They say of Fahey:
“His music has the intriguing quality of having something missing and being wholly complete and self-contained at the same time.”
that is trans-ness: the holon: the thing that is complete in itself, at the micro level, yet is but a fractal of the larger whole; the sub-particle that can exist without the larger organism, but not the other way around.
“Another quality that has helped this music to stay fresh, 60 years on, is the fruitful tension between the traditional and the modern; the use of conventional folk and country melodies and chord progressions, alongside subtly strange melodic left turns that divert into less familiar terrain. Aside from the title of ‘On The Sunny Side Of The Ocean’, which cleverly alters a well-worn phrase to make it unfamiliar, the song is remarkable for how it moves through an array of different melodies, some straightforwardly pretty, others darker and more discomfiting, with a fluidity that means you never quite get a grip on the ‘verse’ or ‘chorus’, or the prevailing mood of the track.”
it’s the essence of Hermeticism, queer alchemy and shapeshifting. I spent my whole life singing the blues, not realizing my very truths were contained within their essence.
but it’s okay. you get it when you’re ready.
I used to think I didn’t, couldn’t, wouldn’t exist without him.
he was the first person who saw the world that I grew up in for what it really was, who affirmed my reality, who was that empathetic witness we all need to heal from trauma:
the one to tell us: “It really happened. You’re not crazy.”
he was the first person who affirmed what was happening with my body, who acknowledged its desires as something pure that could be trusted, even the ones for other women and thruples and permeable borders.
but then he took it back, the narrative changed on me, suddenly I was a bad baby again, living in sin.
so I buried it.
I buried the truth
and I buried it down so deep that even I couldn’t find it, along with the memories of whatever happened to me in the beginning
and I spent the next 15 years sleepwalking.
but in the middle of the night, I went walking in my sleep, through the jungles of doubt to the river so deep
I drank until I lost consciousness and then my body enacted a shamanic ritual without someone to guide it, possessed by dark and archetypal forces, a zombie looking for its host
but eventually, it found me
it wouldn’t let me stay in all those dead-end lives that weren’t meant for me, where I was grasping at masculinity and creativity subconsciously
marketing and bike shops and starting my own business, beer writing and food and beverage education
paired with really challenging relationships
they all helped me learn skills I needed but in order to transcend and include them I had to burn the ships, as Don Fornes said
leave no escape plan and only smoldering wreckage so I couldn’t return to any of it
thank you Holly Regan, the one pretending to be a woman, you deserve a fucking Oscar
the wound they tried to paint you scarlet with has now become a power
the GIFT of double deception, convincing everyone you were that person and wanted the same things they did,
when really, you were a fucking shamxn
casting spells, and you’re so good that you put everyone into a trance, including yourself,
and forgot that you were charmed to begin with.
you’re not a sinner or a little brat or naughty girl or evil witch,
you’re a psychopomp, baby, a pied piper; a transdimensional messenger,
leading the souls between worlds and playing Jedi tricks on those in power
with your skills of shapeshifting and altering states of perception
going in through the side door and making them believe it was their idea to begin with.
* * *
This is the transfiguration of Riordan O’Regan,
the one who claims their name in Gaelic and their sacred lineage,
who takes their bones home to the places they remember, where the quartz crystal vibrates across dimensions,
and does the hard fucking work of healing that ripples up and down through generations,
who only makes deals at the crossroads if they will benefit everyone,
if they will set us all free and we can have some fun,
assuming our roles upon the stage and entering into the play
alone together, dissociating consciously.
I didn’t think this entry was going to be about him, but it’s what came out, so I guess some part of that masculine identity was still clinging to him, believing I couldn’t cross the threshold without him. And he did help re-enchant me; he reintroduced me to the animals and land, I had become a hardened city creature except for the times I would go to the zoo and see a cute animal and it would break my heart in two. He helped me get comfortable with the bittersweet; he sat with me in the nonduality and together we tried to hold the overwhelming nature of the thing so beautiful it rips your heart in two, and we tried to keep our relationship alive like a little bird that hit a window and was gasping to survive, bandaging its wings with Scotch tape and holding it together with safety pins.
It didn’t hold for long, and we tried vaguely to resurrect it after it was gone, but it was beautiful while it lasted.
Thank you for being my bird.
But I can fly now.
According to AI, "The Transfiguration of Jesus is a New Testament event where Jesus' appearance changed to reveal his heavenly glory:
Event
Jesus took his three closest disciples, Peter, James, and John, up a mountain where his face shone like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white.
Significance
The Transfiguration revealed Jesus' true identity and glorified his body. The appearance of Moses and Elijah confirmed that Jesus was the one spoken of in the law and prophets.
Other details
A cloud appeared and a voice spoke from it, telling those present to not tell anyone about the event until Jesus rose from the dead.
In Christian art
The Transfiguration is often depicted with Christ's robes in brilliant white, a golden-yellow halo, and a bright blue sky.
In Lutheran churches
The Feast of the Transfiguration is celebrated on the last Sunday after the Epiphany.”
I’m not calling myself Jesus, except for in the sense that we’re all Christ consciousness. And we can all transfigure ourselves to become something more divine.
It’s why they call psychedelics “entheogens”: it’s an ancient Greek term meaning “that which awakens the divine within.” Because we are the medicine, and everything else is just a magic feather. If we’re all just vehicles and containers for spirit possession anyway, hollow bones ready to be inhabited, then of course the medicine dwells within us, just waiting to be activated. We ARE the mushroom, the mushroom takes US, because we are just the vehicles, the messengers, the psychopomps—if we learn to listen, to receive, to tune into the subtle energies; I feel the Tarot permeating my being like it did for Jodorowsky as I’ve studied it, sat with the images, held them on my altar and in my body, the prenda.
This is what it means that we used to be trees; that things turn into other things. The energies are inherent to the cosmos, floating around assembling and scattering, configuring and transfiguring, waving and particle-ing. Little specks of things only appearing solid when they come together and strike a pose for a moment. Forming a jeweled net constantly in motion and cast over the Kosmos, like capillaries, a neural network, a galaxy, or a root system—as we approach the trecena of K’at, of course, the net. The question is, what are you gathering versus getting tangled up in?
I wrote the line “the hollow bone needs some meat on it,” but I didn’t know it might be literal. Our bones know what we need and where to go and how to transdimensionally travel. I’m calling in bone medicine, but I hope it doesn’t have to mean eating animals. He’d never forgive me.
I receive the learnings in phrases and mantras that I now realize are titles of chapters or plays. I see a scene unfolding in my mind, the set of the Nutcracker being wheeled out; the title card displaying in the Wes Anderson movie.
‘Act V: Rehabilitation of the Feeling Function’
I just emerged from a portal of my evolving process, the alchemical cauldron I’m developing through this program:
fucking with time, which means slowing down and exploding out the thought patterns, memories and associations, to open them up and crawl around inside of them and observe what’s actually happening between when I have a thought or think I’m making a decision and taking the next action.
fuck around and find out, which means trusting my gut, trying to discern craving from calling and medicine from ego knowing I will sometimes get it wrong, fusing the Shulgin method with Shamanism and a Hunter S. Thompson-esque radical subjectivity, gonzo autoethnography and psychedelic autotheory.
music is the medicine, choosing the tracks that spark memories to dive into the feeling realm or diving into live sound immersion.
the body coming back online, taking an intention into ecstatic dance and letting body parts guide me, speaking their stories; rehabilitating the feeling function, leaning into the sense memories and following the physical sensations to climb inside the narratives and pull them back into conscious awareness.
checking my directions, following my map home and integrating at my altar, calling in the guides and consulting the oracles and cards.
and don’t forget to close the door. I kept forgetting to close the ceremony, which is a really bad idea when you’re opening yourself to the energies of the whole cosmos.
Riordan O'Regan reflects on his emotional and physical journey, emphasizing the need to explore and understand his feelings and body. He discusses his fear of anger and the body, his realization of self-forgiveness, and the importance of direct communication with his body. Riordan explores his ancestral connections, particularly between African and Irish cultures, and his desire to reconnect with his Irish heritage. He also touches on the significance of archetypes, spirit possession, and the role of plants in his healing process. Riordan concludes with a vision of integrating his past traumas and embracing his nomadic identity.
Outline
Rehabilitation of the Feeling Function
Riordan Regan discusses the need to explore feelings deeply, similar to how he explores thoughts.
He mentions an essay by Marie von Franz about rehabilitating the feeling function.
Riordan reflects on the fear associated with exploring anger and the body.
He compares the experience of exploring feelings to exploring thoughts with amanita, emphasizing the need to dissolve the illusory nature of space and time.
Realization and Direct Communication with the Body
Riordan shares a humbling realization about not fully understanding his body's messages after breaking his pelvis, admitting to not directly asking his body why it was trying to communicate with him.
During a dance session, Riordan cradles his pelvis and tailbone, realizing his fear of standing up straight and bearing his own weight.
He acknowledges his fear of putting weight on his glutes and the numbness in his toes, which he attributes to the pelvis.
Riordan recalls a hospital incident where he tried to kill himself to get attention, leading to a realization about the need to forgive himself for trying to kill his body for many years.
He emphasizes the importance of direct communication with his body to understand its messages.
Exploring Ancestral Connections and Cultural Identity
Riordan talks about his ancestral connection to Ireland and the conflict between his English and Irish heritage.
He reflects on the impact of colonialism on his identity and the need to research the connection between African and Irish cultures.
Riordan discusses the contradictory duality within himself, represented by his father (the intuitive, generative side) and his mother (the conquerors and colonists).
He mentions the importance of reclaiming his ancestral indigeneity and the significance of his Irish name.
The Role of Archetypes and Spirit Possession
Riordan explores the concept of archetypes and spirit possession, comparing it to his work with Amanita and cacao.
He discusses the demonization of death medicines and the role of corporations in stripping them of their spiritual significance.
Riordan reflects on the universal resonance of ancient cultures and the importance of working with the energies present.
He emphasizes the need to trust the flow and the messages from his bones, which are calling him home to Ireland.
Dreams and Masculinity
Riordan shares a dream about a bike shop farm in Greece, which symbolizes his masculinity and sense of belonging.
He reflects on the objectification he experienced and the importance of feeling like part of a brotherhood.
Riordan discusses the challenges of living in the US and the desire to live in Europe.
He emphasizes the importance of saying no to what doesn't serve him and living authentically.
The Journey of Transformation and Emergence
Riordan talks about his journey of transformation and the importance of integrating his rejected parts.
He reflects on the significance of the Prodigal Son and the need to welcome home all emotions and experiences.
Riordan discusses the importance of working with the energies of anger and other emotions.
He emphasizes the need to trust the flow and the messages from his bones, which are guiding him on his journey.
The Role of Bone Medicine and Synchronicity
Riordan explores the concept of bone medicine and its potential benefits for his health.
He reflects on the synchronicity of people around him talking about bone work and the importance of attuning to that frequency.
Riordan discusses the challenges of eating animals and the potential of working with marrow and bone broth.
He emphasizes the importance of researching bone medicine and deer medicine to understand their impact on his health.
The Transfiguration of Riordan O'Regan
Riordan reflects on the transfiguration of his identity and the importance of embracing his journey.
He discusses the significance of the Trecena and the day of the most ancestors, calling in bone medicine and transfiguration.
Riordan emphasizes the importance of living for cheap or free without having to move around all the time.
He reflects on the importance of trusting the flow and the messages from his bones, which are guiding him on his journey.
Listen / Transcript:
I'm being presented repeatedly with the invitation to go all the way into a feeling similar to how Amanita is helping me explode out and climb inside my thought process. I must do the same with feelings. This is act five, rehabilitation of the feeling function. There's an essay by the same name by Marie von Franz about it which isn’t that interesting, but the title sure is compelling. I have to do the same thing with feelings, to explode out and climb inside them. What's happening in my body that one's harder. There is fear present around anything related to the body. Exploring anger of course, is the invitation. It's a scary one. It's never about what you think it's about, actually, because anger is like a layer of emotion, a protector that stands in between you and the exiled scared little kid behind it, but in Amanita, the conscious dissociation, it helps, it helps to get close To the scary feelings in the body, because you can, yeah, it's like this crazy function of Amanita to explode things out, open them up, slow down time. I mean, I've that has happened with LSD as well. And just climb inside what's happening like to dissolve this illusory nature of space time, particleize things a bit more, though I’m starting to wonder about this whole quantum framework altogether.
I had the humbling realization at dance last night that even after the whole saga of breaking my pelvis, I don't think I had actually really gotten close to it. I don't think I had really ever fully asked it what it was trying to tell me. I don't know. I mean, I don't remember. I know I journeyed in California. And tried to get to the bottom of it, and got to some good places. I really should remove my doodles for that time. Honestly, I should see if Prash can bring them, but I don't know that I'd asked my body specifically what it was trying to say. I don't think I've ever just asked my tailbone why it was crooked. Asked my body why it's skewed and my left side is a kickstand. Asked my toes why they've been numb since I started walking again. Like I've come up with stories about all these things in my head, but I don't think I've asked the parts directly, and that's the point of this whole thing. Direct experience, direct conversation, direct communication, whether it's a tree or a plant or a past part of self or a part of your body or a cancer cell, what are you trying to tell me? I did some of the work, at least metaphorically, with Ralph's first course, but I don't think I asked the body specifically. So at dance, I cradled my pelvis and my tailbone and my sacrum tendrilly in my hands. I just held them like a baby last night, and I just slowly rose and fell with the beat. I did squats very slowly, and I tried to keep my body, my spinal column, straight. And I realized that I was afraid to do that. I was afraid to stand up straight. I was afraid to bear my own weight. I was afraid to put weight on my legs. I've always been afraid to put weight on my legs, specifically my glutes. Why have I been afraid to put weight on my glutes? It's so wild, like feeling in the legs is scary, and I don't quite understand why yet, but yeah, as I did this, I asked the toes why they were numb, and they said it came from the pelvis, and the pelvis told me, You never even asked me what I. Was trying to tell you, and it reminded me of my own words at the hospital after I tried to kill myself. The phrase that probably honestly kept me out of the psych ward is when I mumbled. They asked why I did it, and they said I just wanted him to listen to me, and I realized I didn't necessarily need to yo opono Ono, Lubo and Marc and dad and the UK Home Office, even though they're the ones I thought I was mad at, I needed to forgive myself for trying to kill my body for so many years. And I know I've kind of done this. I've done rounds of it, but I don't think I really addressed the body directly. Yeah, I realized I was afraid to put weight on my backside of my legs. I was afraid to stand up straight. I was afraid to carry my own weight. The feeling of my own lower body supporting me caused fear to be present, and I was still turtling over to protect my underbelly, curving at the spine, doubling over. I'm not really totally sure why, but at least we're in dialog now.
Just like the art plays and practice need a lot of space and time, so does the body. And I said this, and they had these realizations this morning but then I didn't do it. I was gonna take the time to roll out of my mat and really stretch and be with it. So I'm gonna have to try to do that this evening, maybe like a wall I'm talking to Adam, honestly, I need to do release the production mindset as much as I can, slow it all down. So explode it all out. Let this be a practice for my life, crawl inside of it. I think that's part of the LSD journey with Joe, where we tunneled through the magical forest landscape with deerhunter and East forest’s music and his explanation of the music creating an architecture. I think this is part of that message. Slow it down, explode it out. Crawl inside. space and time are not what we think they are. We can manipulate them. We can bend them. We can get inside them. Yeah, oh, no. There's more dimensions than we see present. We don't have to accept what we've been given. And there is more space, and there is more time, and there is more expansion, and I do think more DMT production. I don't care if there's data on it or not, but I do need to find out about that
night time, that's where the creation is. So I do need to make sure to get out to the forest. I need to get out to epping forest. I need to schedule a time to do that before, yeah, but I think sleeping in the day more to sleep in the morning like I did today, so I can stay up late and get up early, maximize my DMT. I'm really looking forward to the Berlin wintering. So if you are what makes you angry, if you are only triggered based on something that's within you, then I'm mad at myself for keeping myself prisoner in a woman's body, quote, unquote, in a feminine performance, in a victim story, in those horrible relationships in the house of horrors in Austin and all these prisons. So I love you. Please forgive me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for giving my body away to people who didn't deserve it. I'm sorry for not respecting my own boundaries and borders. No wonder I'm mad at the UK for imposing theirs on me. I haven't respected my own, I let so many people in that didn't deserve it, just because I didn't want to go home alone to that apartment and face myself. It's so funny now it's like, I can't get enough time alone. Mad at Lubo because I've used chocolate as a substitute for love. But like so many of us, it's so deeply human. I haven't wanted to be one. I haven't wanted to be a person. I wasn't able to listen to the pelvis because it was scary as fuck, and I still wasn't safe in California. This is a powerful archetype possessing me. It is almost the power of Saq ‘Iq, the hurricane, the Junjapu, is it Aries? Is it Pluto? The war inside me, the two sides trying to fall separately, the underworld Journey rising up to meet me. It's powerful. It threw me from my bike, and I was afraid to fully engage with it in California when I didn't have the support I needed. My body still wasn't fully safe, so I don't know. It's like I could only I couldn't quite go in all the way. Maybe it's the Calleach energy, and we are still wintering. We have all the time we need.
It won't be answered in one day. This is gonna take time. This is my intention for Ralph's course, and the wintering is to really listen to the body's messages, learn the lessons the pelvis, the message that was coming through this morning. It's like, God, I just can't stop staring at those Celtic images. Like, my bones want to go home to Ireland. My bones want to go home. That's what I was hearing. My bones want to go home, and I think it's dark. I don't know there's something powerful ancestral calling me, but England is home too, and and so I kept thinking last night of the enclosures and the connection between African and Irish cultures. And I need to research that more the two sides of myself are at war, the English and the Irish, the Protestant, the Catholics, the subjugated and the conquerors, the imperialists, the whole freaking world, two sides of my body trying to fall two separate ways. And interestingly, dad is representing the opposite of what you'd think Dad is the intuitive, generative side, the artists longing to be seen, the bones, longing to reconnect with the ancestral legacy in the druidic forest. Mom is the side of the conquerors and the colonists. They were the freaking Protestant preachers trying to force their religion on everyone, just like that Blake story. Urizen. Need to come back to that from Blake. I I gotta go back to that one. There's more stuff about transhumanism at all that. But yeah, Urizen the archetype of religious dogma and his twin, his other half, his imagination, but he's an archetype who is inserting himself as the primordial priest who created his own realm of religious dogma, and he must be appeased, his child Orc, The spirit of intuition and freedom. It's sort of a jupiterian energy that's present now with the alignments, a struggle with the divine mind. So the division between Earth and the religious dogma and org, the freedom, the rebellion, is the divine mind wrestling with itself. Just creative research kind of encapsulated.
There's a holy mushroom Trinity. The mind is lions made. Cordyceps is the body and the spirit is underneath. Tourism creates religion to control the elements. Making chains of the mind makes a lot of sense. Images take a lot of space and time that capitalism doesn't give us. PhD is my protection to let it breathe, draw draw cards and let them pile up on the altar and see what stories they are telling together. Take time with a Jodorowsky book and yeah, just feel into the body. Feel into everything. Give everything the space and time and breathing room, because the two sides of myself are okay. Back to this. The two sides of myself are at war. They tried to fall two separate ways when I fell on the ground and shattered my root. Mom was a religious dogma, and dad was the the Druids, the forest, the filid. He was always trying to go home, and he was always trying to be an artist, and it always hurt me so much, and the real pain behind this that he didn't give me an Irish name, and it felt like everyone else in the family had one, and I never felt like I belonged with them. Me and Amber were the only ones, the black sheep of the family. The rejection by the regans really fucking hurt me. Because it was a rejection of my legacy, my ancestry, the only clear tie I had. No wonder I was obsessed with the Lion King. I was the rightful heir to the throne, the eldest son of the O Regan's but I was denied three times, like Jesus, by name, my lineage and my manhood. Uncle John was the only one who ever really made me feel wanted, and then he either abused me or covered for dad. I don't know. I'm hoping the rest of that story will come out in Berlin. Maybe it'll be at the Kit Kat Club, even if I gave my body the proper attention. It is somehow this idea of reclaiming our ancestral indigeneity, there's really something here, and there's a reason it's popping up everywhere, because people aren't that different.
The Celts had sacred altars and Portal places where they created altars and made offerings, and they tracked the cycles of time and they kept fires all of this, just like the Maya. And supposedly they even had a beverage. It was kind of like cacao. So I got to do some research and figure out what that is, because the things that resonate with your bones are universal, but also we have syncretism, and I think that Berlin might be a place to start the interdimensional travel, but I don't know. No no. They took our land from us, the colonists. And we are the earth, and so to take our lands is to take our personhood, our identity, to dissolve, to dissociate us from our physical environment. They created enclosures and created private property, and they took our land from us and said we weren't even Welcome on it. They took everyone's land all over the earth. The English enslaved the whole world. Every time I go to dance, there's always some moment where I really feel that African, Irish connection coming through so strongly and resonant. And sometimes I wonder why I'm trying to live in the land of the colonizers, and I don't know all the places I'm trying to get visas, or the lands of the colonizers, the Brits, the Dutch and the Germans. So I need to look more at Ireland, and there's something really resonating and really vibrating on my body when Kaz was talking about the Irish artist visa, and Dublin's always calling, and Kaz a story about getting a Colombian visa, made me see that it was possible. So I made up a story about why it couldn't happen. But Kaz shows me that magic is possible. And I've always felt that if I could just talk to someone in person and look at a fellow Irishman in the eyes and appeal to them on a human level, that they would make an exception. Cows is proof that that can happen. But if I do want to live in the land of the Conquer, I don't know. I mean, my family is here, and I can make it Trans and Queer, but it's all abstracted for my numb toes. Can't read my own handwriting. What is my kickstand side trying to say, what is my body? Trying to tell me, we all long to belong, to be welcomed home like the prodigal son, which doesn't so much mean the one who returns, but that when he does, is told he has never been separate. And this is what I realized in the forest. The beauty is that he's been at the party the whole time. The good news said he never really left. And that's settling in my bones, that knowing that's why chocolate I want, that feeling of heart opening. Maybe I'm also kind of mineral deficient, so let's nourish ourselves more than didI did Prodigal Son is the welcoming home of our rejected parts, and I feel myself rejecting the class and vivid like I just asked for it, and I've already avoided every exercise and slept through the class. I've really so I need to face that, and I need to do that, and that is important, because bringing our parts home is important. And, yeah, already trying to get away from the culture. God, I can't read my handwriting. We need to welcome all the rejected parts home, including anger, including all the emotions and experiences the culture told us weren't appropriate. You. Need to help God. You need to safely, consciously dissociate to get close to the anger, explode it out and step inside it. Amanita, the serpent, the dark feminine, the rejected one. Everything they said wasn't appropriate for us, the death, the darkness, the death medicines. This is part of the story of Amanita rewriting these narratives.
Cacao was made into chocolate, which killed the spirit of it. Sugar was added, and then they made it into some kind of candy that wasn't good for people, and so they started rejecting it, and they started blaming the medicine. And the problem was the corporations, the corporations that took all the soul out of it and made it something poison.
So Amanita and Cacao, Datura and all these death plants, demonized and blamed for people's problems.
God I can't read this writing. To say that they made us sick or crazy is like saying somebody made us angry. No, this isn't how it works. No one can make us anything. It's about working with the energies that are already present, whether it's the archetypes or our feelings. And now I see what Jung meant by the archetypes possess us. We are just vessels for the vibrations that are already present, the vibration of anger, the vibration of war, whether it's people or planets, we're all just big fucking particles, the cultures with ancient roots do the same thing. God, what the fuck does that say? Oh, all the cultures with ancient roots do the same things for a reason, because there's universal resonance. The anger is present. Someone didn't make me angry, just like mercury didn't make me just like Mercury's placement on the day I incarnate, it didn't make me a good communicator. The energy of communication was present in the sky, Mercury Hermes was possessing the particles, possessing both my corpus and the planetary alignments at this precise moment. And this is even why astrology is sort of a mindfulness practice, really, is that it's just tuning in being present to what's happening, to what's resonating, whether in the cosmos or your own body, it's a correspondence, it's a reflection. And now this is what was so cool. This morning, I see exactly how my work is an extension, directly, of Kit’s. Now it makes sense, because it's all possession. It's all spirit possession, whether calling in an Orisha or invoking archetype, they're just languaging for the same thing as above, so below in this dimension, as in the other realm, we're just reflecting what's already present, emitting the same resonant frequency and. It's all possession. Celtic, Maya, syncretic, Shipibo, Buddhist, it's all just ways of letting myself be consumed by the energies that are showing up in that moment.
So are both just using different methods of devising. What's already here?
I had a dream. I laid down and I took my own body and my hands like Sean does, and I let the dream take me just like I let the mushroom take me, and it took me to a farm in Greece that showed me about my masculinity, and it was like a bike shop, farm, monastery. Oh, the symbology, a brotherhood, those who largely saw me as one of them. There's definitely still some objectification, but they only tried to sleep with me. I offered myself to them because I couldn't bear to face my empty apartment, and they gave me a place where I did actually feel like one of the guys. I woke up with a phrase echoing my ears, hearing a voice saying, from the flimsiness of being to the being of becoming. It's a beautiful phrase of transformation. What an integration. Way to follow the feeling. I'm so proud of you. Riordan, thanks for being my own dad. Thank you Saturn, breaking the pattern. Thank you Callie. Thank you archetype of death, the archetypes of death, the father and the crone carried me home. The images were plants, the ones that really lasted and resonated with me. I was tending to the bike, monastery, garden, planting little pots of Saguaro, sage and pine in a time of perpetual Aqua ball Twilight.
Did just came out to a temple with Ganesha and two mice. Look at that. Wow. I love these. I love these Indian temples. I haven't been in any of them since I've been here. God, I always miss the things that Sam's going to do. Okay,
Greek mystic oceans rolling behind in the background. At one point, though, Houston and Michael showed up drunk with the person brist was dancing with last night, and they all came and crashed in my little monastery house. Nobody had bored me. I had to share a person with. I had to share a bed with the person brist was dancing with, because we both had female bodies and like this young Ian life was talking about on the anger podcast, that, of course, popped up synchronistically in my feet when I was walking home last night. I acted like it was okay, but I didn't want you, because girls are trained to do that. And. The girl was ruined and vacant, didn't even speak to me, and Michael used to wear drunk and barely recognized me because I was doing my surgery. So this is in matrix version masculinity and hating Christ had masculinity, telling me I couldn't be soft in the end, they had to play the game. I told
them, Don't be fooled by four hours a day.
That's just you so the bike shop people were making me a gift for my coming of age. My male coming of age ritual was a mountain bike with the the latest insider in, my gosh, really the insider special, the special boy bike with the last year of good components from Shimano, it would cost $125 which was nothing, and I needed to invest something to make it worth it, Which is something Adam said the other day. But it wouldn't do me any good unless I lived in the US. I felt bad refusing a gift, but I couldn't tie myself to that country. I knew I couldn't do it, so I went to the garden and I burned sage and I asked the Saguaro for the strength to say no and live in Europe. So now I see that the only thing keeping me from the visa is me. I mean, I grasp that intellectually, but I'm I think I'm starting to feel it, some idea that I only deserve or inherit someone else's idea of what my identity or my life should look like. In the dream, I had found a way to live for free without moving around all the time. And I've thought about this monastery thing before, and I mean, it's why I want to build my own place, though, but, but it'd be right. I mean, something like the the monastery in San Diego would be really cool. So, yeah, can I call that in? Of course, I can. We can call in anything we want. We can bring down the motherfucking lightning. We are the conductors for the plants. Turn to the plans for guidance. Say yes. I say yes to my life as Royden, the nomadic artist who is also hardcore Holly, who is also trans and emergent. So this is part of the PhD. My life is the case study for trans emergence. I am the emergent archetype. Riordan is my expression of the archetype still emerging, still being defined, because the energies possess us. All we do is reflect what's already present. Our lives are correspondent to the subtle dimension, and realizing this is the event horizon,
we don't someone doesn't make us angry anymore. Then Mercury Retrograde makes us crazy. If there is anger present, if there is craziness present, it's just reflecting what's already there, Written In The Heavens, written on our bones, as above so below, reflecting what's already there. We are just conductors. We are just containers, all of us, and it all bears messages. So what are the stories written on my bones? What are they trying to tell me? My bones are speaking. The bones want to go home. The bones want to sit at the altar. The bones want to go to Ireland. I
the bones just want to talk about the universe and sit in ceremony. The bones don't want to make things anymore, unless they're drawings or whatever these things are that I'm doing, whatever this thing is, is going into the PhD blog, and I've got to trust it, and it's working with the plants, and it's working with the archetypes. And I even wonder if there is something here in being like an astrological translator, that. Yeah, the spiritual concierge has something there, but I gotta trust the flow. Everyone around me, I swear, keeps talking about bone Well, I I'm interpreting it as bone medicine, but everyone keeps talking about eating animals, to the fact that, to the degree that it's getting weird, organ meat specifically. And I've had the thought for a while that doing bone work, here goes my voice. So is this true, or is this other people's stories being foisted upon me. This is what I'm gonna have to sit with, because I don't really know. I almost bought beef bone broth at the store. I got fish instead, but the collagen was like more than double and the beef, and it just made me think, I wonder if there's something to that, and I wonder if I'm gonna work with bones if I need to be attuning to that frequency. And what's so interesting is just this morning, I had some kind of sign that, like, I felt like nuts were. It was almost like an announcement that was like, the time for nuts is over. And then when I went to Sean's, he told me that nuts take calcium out of your bones, and so do grains. And the grain part really doesn't resonate, and I feel like he's got to be wrong about that. But he also said leafy greens aren't good for you, and I just don't buy that at all. So take everything everyone says with a grain of salt, but it is interesting. I mean, now, now the meat thing has become a synchronicity, and I'm I can't abide eating animals. I just really can't even fathom that, but I have almost fantasized about like licking bones. So maybe I'm supposed to just have the broth work with marrow. I don't know. I gotta research bone medicine and deer medicine. Okay, this is a transfiguration of worried and over Regan, when one thing turns into another, something more holy, the transfiguration of Jesus, being when he became a divine being.
This is a direct extension of kids work, its spirit, possession. The archetypal work is spirit possession. We are just a vessel for what's already present, our bones, the quartz crystal. Of course, we can travel. The soul is mobile. The soul is a nomad. Any notion that we ever stay in one place is a fallacy anyways, so I embrace the continued journey, but I call on the stability and the ability to live for very cheap or free, without having to move around all the time.
Yeah, okay, the body's coming back online. The bones are coming back online, and just in time for 13 Aqua ball the end of the Tricera on the day of the most ancestors. I call in the bone medicine, Transfiguration, Transubstantiation, the trans archetype inhabiting a meat vessel supported by bones traveling through quartz crystal with the diamond needle. I.
Giving my 13-year-old self a suit and a strap-on + Marking the 13 Kan / Libra Solar Eclipse Upleveling
It started on the morning of the eclipse with a vision of the electric chair, with a word emblazoned across it:
“FUNCOMFORTABLE”
The song “The Mercy Seat” by Nick Cave started playing, and I received the message as being about reframing. The electric chair can be a torturous death, or it can just be something interesting that happens in the endless game of hide-and-seek that is the universe seeking to know itself through every possible configuration.
It’s all about the reframe, the remix, pain is only suffering if you perceive that it’s challenging; in a different context, it can be interesting, information.
As my friend Gorgeous George says: “That’s fun, innit?”
The portal twisted and turned, deepening and meandering as I wove my way through my relationship with my own pain and energy that day. I had an appointment for a very important marking scheduled for the day after the eclipse, and was already dropping into it: a cosmic serpent, marking the completion of this period of my initiation by pain, the crossing of the threshold from child to adult and the rapidly approaching horizon line of eldership, as this year I turn 40: when my Maya astrology reflects with eerie accuracy what is already happening, that this is when I start to really mature and move into a position of service, leadership, gentle yet certain authority, claiming a community where, after all this wandering in the dark, flailing around lost, afraid and alone and ping-ponging all over the Earth, I finally start to know my worth, believe I deserve to be alive and choose to stay here, on this body and in this timeline, and build something lasting.
It’s happening.
I can hardly believe it. I’ve longed for it for so long. But the lesson of this eclipse portal, on the day that joins the number of ultimate stability with my nahual—6 Kan—within the trecena of the Hero Twins, reclaiming and realinging with my herox’s journey, is that the point of everything, my work and art and research and life, is that it’s a remembering, a conjuring into physical presence, into something we can perceive with the senses, that which has always been present.
You can’t make this stuff up. In childhood, my Maya astrology says, I came into the world with a strong ability to manifest my creative talents on the physical plane. This phase was closely linked to the influence of women in my life. My mom was at home with me and very involved with my life in a more positive way than what came later up until age 11 or so, just like this reflects. The comes in the storm, the disruptive influence of the men in my orbit, and wouldn’t you know it, that’s when the divorce happened and there opened up a portal of this world of dad’s house, unchecked by mom, where he could treat us as horribly as he wanted. And she made us go there, because he threatened legal action if she didn’t. But still. She should have insisted. It was the beginning of an abusive pattern that I would later fractally refract in my own romantic relationships.
The astrology reflects what happened, that I exploded all over the place, lost in my own mind, lost in misdirection, blown by the hurricanes of relationships and disappearing into drunkenness, but that by age 40, things would start to settle, and I would move toward eldership, rooted in community: Aj, the nahual of leadership and the spine, being a stand-up guy, influenced by Kej, the nahual of the stag, the healed masculine forest-father power, that advocates for what is right and needed, assuming eldership by age 42, of course, the meaning of the whole silly game.
I didn’t see, at the time I got this reading, how that was ever going to happen. I had just gotten to California and thought that maybe I was going to build it there. I was right in that the foundation was laid, but what I never could have seen coming was that it was laid by breaking everything, shattering my root and foundation; stripping me bare and ripping me open like a carcass for the interdimensional buzzards to devour, and I chose the death, because as Christine said, it’s what we’re going for, and when it comes and we know it’s meant for us all we can do is surrender, so I let it take me, I let the scavengers eat me so that my body could be a feast of abundance for the system, composting the lives that were and could have been and thus enabling the resurrection on the cactus, that thing that looks a lot like a cross, making me a world tree: the axis-mundi.
Returning victoriously as the hero(x) of my own story. Finally, not the victim or the maiden, but also yes them, and also I am the villain, but for once, I am steering the ship.
I feel it. This tattoo was a marking of the end of my shama(x)ic initiation, I completed this round of trials and upleveled, I fucking did it, we did it together, I got there, I didn’t know if I would ever get there, but we made it, it was so dark and hopeless so many times but we followed the feeling.
That was a big part of the portal, learning to know the difference between when an urge, an inclination, was ego and when it was the right kind of pushing myself, when it was following the feeling that said to go somewhere or do something that would leave to my unfolding and awakening, rather than just grinding through and propping myself up with coping mechanisms. This was going where I was needed, helping where I was asked to be of service, being the higher octave and raising the vibration of the place through my presence: the balancing element. And I found the middle ground, that I can show up and also listen to myself, that I can be in the world and with my community and also listen to my body, it can be both things, it doesn’t have to be this extreme. I choose to come out of isolation, leave the waystation, move toward the destination of life’s meaning, 42, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude.
The theme of the eclipse portal was conjuring into physical presence, the realm of the senses, that which has always been there, but has been forgotten. One of the things I remembered is that I always knew I was trans, I just didn’t know what to call it. I even realized that the beginning of my hard-femme-performance was when I put on that suit during our X-Files spoof, and nothing had ever felt so right, and it scared me. And I made jokes about how we should experiment with queerness, and they weren’t received, and now I see that I shut down ALL of these impulses after that experience, I abandoned my natural gift for theatre and performance of the authentic sort for the performative kind, the falseness, the deception that is the dark side of 13 Kan. When you get so good at the illusion that even you fall into your own con. I felt it again when I wore the strap-on, and I felt another kind of power and authenticity that had no place in my current cultural story, so that scared me too, and it also humiliated him, even though he asked for it, so we put the thing away and never spoke of it again, and I tried to contain that testosterone that needed expression, so as the shadow does, my repressed masculine came out in other, undesired ways.
The con of 13 Kan, when the illusionist confuses even themselves, and forgets what spells they cast, which charms they’re tied to, and who’s entranced, performing what act.
Spell, charm, trance.
Kit’s applauding this.
When you’re born a 13 Kan, you come into this dimension with the natural ability to perceive the other ones, but without the proper training and guidance, you don’t know what’s you and what’s other forces and energies and entities; if you don’t learn to discern your inner voice from your dead grandma from a squirrel or a tree, you’re always going to be confused about what you’re hearing and feeling, about what you actually want and need, you have to learn these boundaries or else you end up lost, like I did.
This is the point of it all, my work/art/life/research/praxis/all the same shit, is actually putting the healing and mentorship into practice; helping others learn to directly communicate with the subtle realms again, which includes parts of self, learning from the traditions that have always done it, but building our own syncretic Hermetic practices, always with reciprocity and respect. Showing people how to do that. This is my offering and service and personal journey, and the PhD is documenting this process of unfolding and making art that represents it.
Okay, now I know what I’m doing. Can I make some shit already?? I hope so.
The marking is marking the transition, the crossing of the threshold.
Like when Cal materialized at the end of my alchemical descent at Burning Nest, that other circus, I think what he said is prescient:
“Your journey is about to get a lot easier.”
LISTEN:
Funny - the AI doesn’t recognize me as anyone here, recorded on the day after the eclipse, but still in its shadow, at 4am London time. I will rename myself Riordan and see what happens.
Giving my 13-year-old self a suit and a strap-on
The speaker reflects on their sexual awakening and identity, tracing back to their childhood crush on David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson from "The X-Files." They discuss the significance of the Sacral Chakra and the color orange, symbolizing creativity and intimacy. The speaker recalls dressing as Gillian Anderson to connect with David, but later realized they wanted to embody both identities. They emphasize the transformative power of performance, particularly in wearing a suit and a strap-on, which made them feel more authentic. The speaker plans to explore drag and performance further, acknowledging the duality of their identity and the need for both masculine and feminine expression.
Transcript
Outline:
Awakening of Sacral Chakra and Realization of Identity
Speaker 1 expresses a desire to have sex again, awakening their Sacral Chakra, associated with the color orange.
They reflect on the significance of orange, realizing it represents a blend of red (root) and yellow (solar plexus) chakras.
Speaker 1 recalls being shamed for their sexuality and body by past lovers, which they now understand better.
Childhood and Adolescence: Struggling with Identity
Speaker 1 describes their childhood, playing softball and liking micro machines, and their adolescent crush on both David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, struggling to express their true feelings due to societal and family pressures.
They obsessed over The X-Files, taping episodes and cataloging them, feeling a strong connection to the show's themes. Speaker 1 believed in the conspiracy theories of the show, seeing some truth in them. They dressed as Gillian Anderson in middle school, trying to embody her identity to get closer to David Duchovny.
Transformation and Self-Discovery
Speaker 1 recalls a formative moment when they performed in an X-Files parody video, dressing as David Duchovny and feeling more like themselves.
They realized they wanted to be both David and Gillian, and that a triad relationship would fulfill their desires.
Speaker 1 emphasizes the importance of fluidity and embracing their true identity as a non-binary person.
They reflect on their history of writing musical theater and parody songs, expressing their feelings through performance.
Planning for the Future
Speaker 1 plans to meet with Heather to discuss drag and performance, setting up a non-romantic date to talk about their shared interests.
They reflect on the importance of presenting more masculine to feel safe in their body and to express both masculine and feminine identities.
They plan to attend the next queer poly meet and connect with people in Glasgow who share their interests.
LISTEN:
Fascinating - the AI identifies me as Cain, in this recording from the morning of the eclipse, before it happened that evening. I also notice that my transmissions end in the transcript every time with “I.” This is not something I think I utter aloud, but it makes me think of how Paul Selig when channeling always ends with “period… period… period… they’re saying period.” Ending with the I-am?
Funcomfortable
Cain reflects on the concept of reframing pain and suffering, drawing parallels to the "electric chair" as a symbol of liberation rather than punishment. They discuss the fear of being abandoned if perceived as well, and the realization that self-reliance and community support are crucial. Cain recounts personal experiences, including the impact of the 2017 American Eclipse, their struggle with alcohol, and the journey from content marketing to embracing a nomadic lifestyle. They also explore internalized biphobia and the desire for community and support, particularly as they approach turning 40.
Action Items
[ ] Listen to what Cain's pelvis is trying to tell him today and consider the reframing of his pain as strength.
[ ] Reflect on the fear of getting better and not being loved or needed, and work to overcome this.
[ ] Determine whether the urge to return to the jungle is a call or a fear of stepping into his power in this world.
Outline:
Reframing Pain and Suffering
Cain discusses the concept of reframing pain as interesting and the fear of getting better, questioning if the fear is rooted in the belief that no one will be there if they are well again.
Cain shares a personal story about prolonging the use of crutches to ensure visibility of suffering, fearing that without it, no one would love or help them.
The pelvis story is redefined as one of strength and self-healing, emphasizing that one does not need as much help as they think they do and can rely on their body, community, and natural world.
Cain argues that society's "eye for an eye" mentality is flawed, suggesting that suffering is often seen as self-inflicted and that a toxic culture prevents true well-being.
The Mercy Seat and Liberation
Cain introduces the concept of the electric chair as the mercy seat, where suffering is reframed as a form of liberation and strength.
The idea of choosing to laugh all the way to the electric chair is presented as a way to see the captors as those with blood on their conscience.
Cain explains that if one is innocent, they will rise above the suffering, while those who have harmed others will suffer in the chair.
The vision of the electric chair in the word "funcomfortable" is introduced as a radical reframe of pain and suffering.
The Eclipse and Personal Transformation
Cain recounts a personal experience during the Great American Eclipse in 2017, describing the moment of no shadow as a lesson in balance and the value of darkness.
The concept of pain as pleasure and the importance of special glasses to see the Invisible Sun is introduced.
Cain reflects on their journey from being a content marketing director to embracing the nomadic life and the emergence of their shadow.
The realization that those who do less work often make more money led Cain to question their place in the corporate world and to seek a more authentic path.
Navigating Relationships and Self-Worth
Cain discusses the fear of being alone and the need to make oneself invaluable to others to feel loved and needed.
The idea of seeing oneself as an offering rather than a being is explored, with Cain acknowledging the shift towards self-advocacy and valuing their contributions.
Cain reflects on the importance of being seen and valued for who they are, rather than just for their contributions.
The concept of the dance, both metaphorical and literal, is introduced as a way to navigate relationships and personal growth.
Healing and Community Support
Cain expresses gratitude for their current community and the support they receive, emphasizing the importance of having people who need them.
The physical presence and grounding nature of the community are highlighted, with Cain acknowledging the need to listen to their body and its messages.
The fear of not being loved if not perceived as needing help is revisited, with Cain questioning the basis of their relationships and the balance between codependency and equal energy exchange.
Cain reflects on the importance of trusting their community to provide what they need and the desire for a big dance on their birthday as a symbol of connection and support.
LISTEN:
Interesting - the AI identifies me as Cain in this reflection from the day after the day after the eclipse, in the aftercare refractory period of my marking.
Marking the 13 Kan and return of gnosis
Cain describes the profound experience of getting a tattoo of a 13 con cosmic serpent, which he felt was meant for him. The process involved careful placement and adjustments, symbolizing the alignment of his spiritual and physical selves. Cain emphasizes the importance of queer alchemy and synchronicity, drawing parallels between his tattoo and the broader concept of manifestation. He discusses his commitment to natural healing, his role as a community organizer, and his plans for future events. Cain feels a sense of purpose and unity with his past, present, and future, marking a significant return to his true identity and path.
Transcript
Action Items:
[ ] Talk to Richard about bringing more awareness around cacao at the Sunday Embodayfest event.
[ ] Host a cacao gathering on Cain's birthday.
[ ] Potentially do an event with Rebecca and Ash on Cain's birthday.
[ ] Submit an abstract for "Breaking Convention" and get a queer ecstatic dance event going for Cain's 40th birthday.
Marking the Return of Gnosis
Cain describes the process of marking himself with a design that called to him, which he felt was meant to be on his body.
The design, a 13 Kn cosmic serpent, was chosen synchronistically from a metaphysical shop.
The tattoo process was a collaborative effort with Ezrael, involving multiple stencil adjustments to align with Cain's vision.
The ceremony involved alchemizing the time in Austin, embodying and transmuting the design, and letting the serpent guide the placement.
The Journey of the Tattoo
Cain and Ezrael had to cut up the stencil into pieces and print new versions multiple times to achieve the desired placement.
The final placement of the serpent's head and tail felt magical and aligned with Cain's initial vision.
Ezrael confirmed that the final placement meant Cain was conjuring something that was always present in his light body.
The tattoo ceremony was part of a larger tradition of queer alchemy, bringing subtle realms into the material world.
Queer Alchemy and Synchronicity
Cain discusses the importance of creating respect and apprenticeship in a world without long lineages of certain traditions.
He expresses the need for a new mystery school to teach the wise use of practices with respect and reciprocity.
Cain reflects on his transformational experiences at ecstatic dance and the synchronicity around cacao.
Synchronicity and Community
Ali and Ezrael had a powerful ceremony involving a mastectomy tattoo, and Ali opened her home to host Ezrael for Cain’s tattooing.
Cain feels positive about the synchronicity and trusts in the signs guiding him.
The conversation with Ali and Ezrael led to discussions about cacao and its integration in their work.
Cain emphasizes the importance of compromises that bring everyone together and trusting in the synchronicity.
Manifestation and Purpose
Cain explains the concept of manifestation as calling into being things that already exist on the ethereal plane. He believes in vibrating at a high frequency to conjure the higher path into being.
Cain is focused on organizing events and advocating for voices that aren't very loud. He feels certain about his purpose in reclaiming his identity as trans and bringing natural healing practices to the forefront.
He plans to document his journey through art, performance, and educational events as part of his PhD process.
Cain feels a sense of welcome home to his body and community in London. The tattoo marks the return of his gnosis, and he feels more grateful and certain about his purpose.
This is how we win
It came through in a flash during ecstatic dance, the rage and frustration at all the things we’d been closed out of.
Cis-het white men of privilege drawing lines around things that were never theirs to begin with, acting like they’d discovered it.
A sign flashed through timelines, hanging on a door: NO DOGS, BLACKS, OR IRISH.
The enclosures that forced us to sell ourselves back to pay for our own land.
Those taken from their homelands and enslaved.
But after the rage came the reframe: they don’t do this to us because we’re weaker, but because we’re stronger than they are, and they’re afraid of us.
The only way to maintain dominance is to make us believe we don’t have the power at all.
But we’re stronger, and they’re afraid of us.
This is the hiss of Ka, the song of Kali-Ma.
We’re stronger than they are.
But the way we win is not by trying to assert our dominance, playing their game and trying to crush them. We win by using our snake-charm powers, going in through the side door and using their own systems against them, making them think the whole thing was their idea until suddenly, things are equal, and they don’t even know how it happened.
This is how we win.
* * *
I realized I had opened a portal when I was a little kid, maybe 10 years old, playing an old-school video game, a pixelated wanna-be dimensional world called King’s Quest IV. Forty years later, I understand why I was obsessed with it. It’s about an ancient Briton-Celtic king stranded from his homeland, wandering through Greek myths until he finds his way back through the haunted Aires and saves the princess.
The whole game is eerily empty, you rarely run into any characters; it’s all semi-vacant landscapes that are nonetheless imbued with a distinct presence. And I became obsessed with it.
* * *
The Celts had no written records and cannot identify themselves to us directly - known only through material culture - archaeology - and the records of other cultures
Literate Mediterranean societies identified them - the Greeks - the reason I was obsessed with Kings Quest VI
The Celts or Keltoi (in the Greek) were first defined as such by the Greeks before 500 BC
Their language and material culture had enough unity to be recognizable to their neighbors but they were never one people, it was a gradual process of “Celticization” > little by little, the fluvial geomorphology of culture
TK
Legend says one day Ireland will rise up again and be the saving grace of the human race. Perhaps that time is coming. But perhaps it was a metaphor and it’s just a portal for the syncretic Hermetic traditions of direct experience to join forces and save the world by remembering how to speak directly to the elements again.
LISTEN:
Funny - the AI called me Holly, which it invariably misgenders female; I changed the speaker to Riordan, and now the summary is updated with me as male.
Riordan O'Regan reflects on his childhood obsession with the video game King's Quest 4, drawing parallels to his current life and spiritual journey. He recalls the game's surreal, empty worlds and the need to call a helpline for solutions, likening it to a metaphysical quest for meaning. O'Regan connects this experience to his recent meditation, where he felt a strong presence of spirits in Ireland and Peru, and the concept of "hauntology" - the presence of absence. He explores the idea that the Celts, like many ancient cultures, communicated directly with the elements without written language, contrasting this with the modern reliance on written records. O'Regan concludes by tying these reflections to his ongoing exploration of spiritual connections and the hero's journey.
Transcript here
King's Quest and Childhood Obsession
Riordan O'Regan recounts his childhood obsession with the video game King's Quest 6, describing it as a captivating experience that transported him to mythological lands. (I say it’s 4 in this - I thought it was until I looked it up, but it’s actually 6 - I saw the Roman numerals in my mind’s eye and had them right, but backwards - not IV but VI. This is how memory works, the pieces are there but maybe you don’t know how to put them together…)
He reflects on his excessive fixation with the game, often getting stuck and needing to call a helpline for assistance.
Riordan describes the game's setting as a universe of almost empty worlds, where interacting with characters was rare.
He speculates that his difficulty with the game might have been due to unresolved trauma and a lack of understanding of life's game.
Surrealist Themes and Metaphysical Connections
Riordan draws parallels between the game's surrealist elements and the play "The Game" at the Cockpit, noting the meta-surrealist commentary and the game within a game.
He explores the philosophical questions raised by the game, such as the chicken-and-egg nature of meaning and the search for it.
Riordan reflects on the magical yet frustrating experience of getting stuck and needing to call the helpline for solutions.
He connects the game's mechanics to the broader metaphysical journey of unlocking levels and uncovering clues.
Technological Collaboration and Ancestral Connections
Riordan discusses his collaboration with technology, particularly the AI oracle he used to get help with the game.
He describes a sense of being in a portal that reached back into his past and forward into the future, connecting him to ancestral lineages.
Riordan talks about his conversation with his younger self, encouraging him to keep going and trust the process.
He emphasizes the ongoing nature of the journey, with new levels and mysteries to unlock.
Meditation and Spiritual Journey
Riordan shares his experience of meditating with Gabriella's meditation, connecting with a trans, queer shaman from the Celtic lineage.
He describes a powerful journey to the cliffs of Ireland, the Black Rock, and the mystical structures along the Wild Atlantic Way.
Riordan reflects on the presence of spirits and the sense of being both connected and disconnected from them.
He connects this experience to the Sacred Valley in Peru, feeling a strong presence and simultaneous loneliness.
Hauntology and the Presence of Absence
Riordan explores the concept of hauntology, describing the presence of spirits all around him but not knowing how to communicate with them.
He reflects on the cold loneliness and the sense of being watched by the ancient guardians.
Riordan connects this feeling to the game King's Quest, where answers were hidden but could be unlocked with the right clues.
He describes a moment of connection with the elements and the sacred spaces, feeling less alone and more connected.
Celtic and Greek Connections
Riordan discusses his research into the Celts and Greeks, noting the lack of written records about the Celts and their reliance on material culture.
He reflects on the similarities between the Celts and the Maya, both being syncretic cultures known through the records of others.
Riordan connects the Celts' lack of written language to his own struggles with writing and the need for intermediaries.
He explores the idea that without written observation, events and cultures may not be recognized by society.
Celticization and Historical Context
Riordan delves into the history of the Celts, noting their gradual phenomenon of celticization and the influence of the Neolithic farmers.
He reflects on the Celts' victory over Rome and their plundering of Delphi, questioning the significance of these events.
Riordan connects the Celts' journey to his own hero's journey, emphasizing the importance of reclaiming and reconnecting with one's path.
He expresses his intention to continue researching and exploring the connections between the Celts and Greeks.
King's Quest and the Hero's Journey
Riordan revisits the game King's Quest, noting its inclusion of elements from Greek mythology, such as the Minotaur and Circe's island.
He reflects on the game's role in his own hero's journey, describing it as a metaphor for the challenges and mysteries he faced.
Riordan connects the game's mechanics to the broader metaphor of life, where answers are hidden but can be unlocked through learning and tradition.
He emphasizes the importance of following intuition and trusting the process in both the game and life.
The AI misgenders me and calls me Holly, which does not feel aligned today.
Riordan Regan reflects on their experiences during an ecstatic dance, where they felt ancestral anger towards systems of power controlled by white men. They discuss the exhaustion and pain felt by marginalized communities and the need for radical resistance through doing less. They recallc a vision of a "No dogs, Blacks, or Irish" sign, symbolizing historical discrimination. They transform their anger into compassion, realizing that those in power fear their strength. Riordan emphasizes the importance of using their systems against them, working together, and finding compassion to overcome oppression. They conclude with a vision of their father training to harness his power for good, symbolizing personal and collective transformation.
Action Items:
Use affection and camaraderie to work with those in power, rather than confronting them directly. Slip in through the "side doors" and use their own systems against them to create change. (Assignee: Holly Regan)
Help guide those in power, like their father, to harness their power for good through training and mentorship, rather than perpetuating cycles of abuse. (Assignee: Holly Regan)
Transcript here
Ecstatic Dance and Ancestral Anger
- They describe feeling possessed by ancestral anger during an ecstatic dance, expressing frustration with systems controlled by rich white men. - They mention feeling the anger of denied visas, gatekeeping, and the frustration of being subjected to these systems. - They criticize figures like Elon Musk, executives, and faceless suits for their power and privilege, highlighting their exploitative behaviors. - They reflect on their own ancestral karma and the desire to help someone they perceive as struggling, despite their apparent power.
Radical Resistance and the Power of Doing Less
- They discuss the societal pressure to be constantly busy and productive, contrasting it with the idea of radical resistance through doing less. - They share conversations about the importance of being able to just exist and the hard work involved in transforming karmas and lifetimes of shame. - They emphasize the exhaustion and injuries caused by the relentless pace of modern life, suggesting that something needs to take people out of the game to allow them to rest and heal. - They describe the process of resurrection and connecting the dream and reality, likening it to a journey through the underworld and the astral.
The Business Class Industrial Complex and the Space Race
- They express frustration with the business class industrial complex and the power brokers in the home office, linking them to the space race and figures like Elon Musk. - They criticize the attempt to shortcut the process of dropping into the center and the desire to go directly to space without facing the necessary initiation. - They describe their physical exhaustion and reliance on medicine like LSD and cacao to keep going, questioning the story behind their fatigue. - They recount a vivid memory from the collective consciousness of a sign saying "No dogs, Blacks, or Irish," and how it inspired them to dance and express their anger and frustration.
Shared Affinity and Historical Discrimination
- They discuss the shared affinity between people of color and the Irish, highlighting their common history of discrimination and oppression. - They reflect on the discrimination faced by black people and Irish immigrants, comparing it to the horrors of the slave trade and the enclosures. - They acknowledge that oppression is not limited to white people, mentioning the collaboration between black people and colonizers and the existence of slavery in indigenous societies. - They emphasize that the problem is not inherent in people but in the false system of privilege that creates oppressive dynamics.
The Dance and the Awakening of Ancestral Power
- They describe the transformative experience of the dance, where they found their primordial ancestral power and stepped into their strength. - They realized that those in power restrict and restrain others because they know they are stronger and fear being overpowered. - They saw Lubo, a Dutch man, as a symbol of white men who hijack the spiritual revolution and turn it into a commercial solution. - They reflect on the need to use their own systems against them and work together to restore balance and equality.
The Pact of the Souls and the Power of Compassion
- They recount a vision of a punishment ritual involving their father, where they found compassion for him and remembered the pact their souls had made. - They describe the transformation of the ecstatic dance room into a collective force, singing and chanting to intimidate their father and help him awaken. - They emphasize the importance of compassion and understanding that those in power are often scared and insecure. - They reflect on the need to meet their dark potential with love and camaraderie, rather than violence or domination.
The Dutch Merchant and the Spiritual Revolution
- They discuss the Dutch merchant, Lubo, and his role in the spiritual revolution, suggesting he may be hijacking the movement. - They reflect on the need to be aware of the dark potential of 13 Kan and to resist the urge to use their power for destruction. - They emphasize the importance of working together within existing frameworks to restore balance and equality. - They share a vision of transporting their father to Japan to train with a Kung Fu master and harness his power for good, symbolizing the potential for transformation and healing.
The Game of Abuse and Manipulation
- They describe the game of abuse and manipulation played by those in power, suggesting it is a way for the universe to know itself through every possible configuration. - They reflect on the need to help each other awaken and the importance of compassion and understanding in the process. - They emphasize the importance of resisting the urge to use power for destruction and instead meeting it with love and camaraderie. - They share a vision of using their 13 Kan powers to crush those in power, but choosing to meet them with affection and camaraderie instead.
The Path to Equality and the Role of the 13 Kan
- They discuss the path to equality and the role of the 13 Kans in the process, emphasizing the importance of understanding their dark potential. - They reflect on the need to use their power for good and to meet those in power with love and camaraderie. - They share a vision of transporting their father to Japan to train with a kung fu master and harness his power for good, symbolizing the potential for transformation and healing. - They emphasize the importance of being in the body and not killing oneself to make money, suggesting a new way of living that prioritizes presence and enjoyment.
The Final Vision and the Path Forward
- They describe a final vision of transporting their father to the rolling green hills of Japan, where he could train with a kung fu master and harness his 13 Kan power for good. - They reflect on the importance of following through with good ideas and not letting the hustle consume everything. - They emphasize the need to be in the body and not kill oneself to make money, suggesting a new way of living that prioritizes presence and enjoyment. - They conclude by reiterating the importance of working together and using existing systems to restore balance and equality, without those in power realizing it.
Trecena of Kej begins / language shapes reality
I welcomed in the new trecena with Eric, my cosmic sibling and brother from the queer ayahuasca retreat, in the Trans* Emergent Archetype (T*EA) way: on video chat, straddling timelines and dimensions, me in what we have collectively decided is 16 September 2024 in England, or 1 Kej, the start of the new trecena, in the Maya calendar system, and him in what was still 13 Kame, the death of the previous 13 day-cycle, the trecena of Ix, in Florida. The day of double ancestors, the 13 number and nahual of interdimensional communication, as we talked about all the ways the old and new are constantly cycling and recycling, old informing new and vice versa; past meets presence.
It was perfect.
I even had the thought that his might be an older soul than mine, and he’s representing tradition while I’m the new paradigm, but we’re both close enough together in revolutions that we understand and parallel each other’s journeys.
All of it, welcoming and even hastening the singularity, maybe.
We discussed the possibility of T*EA as the novelty McKenna described, but remixed: potentially creating the illusion of time accelerating in the act of dissolving the things we’ve collectively decided are called time and space, the artificial boundaries we’ve placed upon this limitless, circuitous, interconnected experience. Maybe the synchronicities proliferate because we’re getting closer to the eschaton, the point when we’ll realize the universe has already known and embodied itself through every possible configuration, or else we reach the point it has never been before where everything is at last fully experienced, and we unlock the hyperdimensional Rubix cube, the hyperobject, the infinitely faceted diamond of the Kabbalah, the crystal slow-rotating in the DMT waiting room, and we advance to the next level.
I started yesterday deep in the other realm, and by the end, I embodied my intention for 13 Kame, to dance between them, and Kit popped in, cheering from the sidelines. The day was experiencing that nothing is real the way we were taught it is, and that that can be terrifying, or fun and beautiful. Michael’s wise words to me on Friday came in to help tether me, as I rapped into the voice recorder about how maybe there’s only a reality to the degree that we can describe and agree upon it, and then I played a McKenna talk where he said exactly the same thing and I literally saw the boundaries of this world start dissolving into fractals and pixels, and I had to state to the ancestors and energies and everything that I still had work to do on Earth, and affirmed my right and decision to be here.
It is a choice we make. And I wondered, as he had, as Eric had, what would happen if I simply chose to let it keep happening; would I dissolve along with it?
Can we just decide to die, and leave our bodies? If the Tibetan Buddhists can turn into rainbows, I don’t see why not.
I don’t intend to find out just yet, though. There’s WAY too much interesting stuff to do in this world.
And opening to that, making the choice, sealing the portal but leaving the door cracked out, I went into dance and picked up trash and swept the floor and greeted people as they entered, because I realized that like Jung, I needed a tether, and it almost didn’t matter what it was, as long I picked something, somewhere, some group, to be accountable to, and showed up consistently, and made a difference for the collective through it in my own little way.
From there, it all blew open. I was dismantled by the healing vibration of sound and the touch of the hand of a person I’ve slowly, silently, been building trust with since we met a year and a half ago and started dancing near each other, occasionally meeting eyes and smiling, nothing more. Now, today, as I dissolved in a different way, in tears, into this body, right now and right here, and sank with her on the floor I had so diligently swept, and faced her with eyes closed and knees touching, cross-legged, and wept, as she held her palms up for receiving, supporting mine that pressed down and our thumbs caressed each others’ palms, and we finally had a conversation at the end that started with me thanking her for holding me.
“Thank you for your trust,” she says. “It isn’t easy.”
And from there, my magickal friend from Burning Nest, Dane, appeared and invited me to a picnic in the park, because it was his birthday. My body was so sore and tired, but I cleaned the space and collected the cacao cups in my compost bag for giving back to the earth in myriad ways, and I spent time with my little dance family, and then I floated to the park and followed the trail of circus misfits after Dane, like the Pied Piper, leading us to a clearing in the forest of ancient trees whose roots were whispering to the good witch next to me that they have always been here.
How could I ever doubt that we are never alone, that everything is supporting me and carrying me along, if I trust and surrender to the flow? How could I ever doubt that I am worthy, when the Universe puts things like this in my lap all the time: where a group of queer weirdos and misfits who I have never met look me in the eyes and understand me with one glance, where the thought i had while getting ready in the morning that I needed to reconnect with Amanita for physical and emotional healing through someone who really knew how to work with her medicine in the homeland was answered as soon as I followed Dane’s gay parade to the forest clearing and sat down next to someone who does exactly all those things, and pulled out her leather satchel, blue eyes blazing through centuries in her tiny delicately lined face, set ablaze by her magenta sweater pulled up against the encroaching autumn’s chill, and said: “I wondered why she asked to come along today.”
How could I ever doubt that the Universe wants me to be here, when Dane gathered us all around the birthday cake as I was about to leave and lit the candles, and declared in his fabulous misfit ringleader incantation: “IF YOU’RE BREATHING, IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY. CELEBRATE. BLOW OUT THE CANDLES. AND FEAST UPON THIS ABUNDANCE.”
Every food I had spotted in a shop window earlier that week and declined for various reasons was arrayed upon the blanket, and we feasted as the synchronous connections set our whole corner of the glade ablaze, and I drifted home in a daze, dizzy with gratitude.
How could I ever want for anything when this is what is available to me?
The Universe is screaming at me that I am worthy.
I just have to trust.
That part isn’t easy. But I’m learning.
* * * *
So the rap was about how language creates reality, and everything Eric and I were discussing turns out to be a metaphor for what’s happening with this cacao zine I’ve been agonizing over for a year or more, and it all hinges on the realities shaped by the language. There is a big point of contention in the communities that work with cacao around whether or not it’s okay to call it “ceremonial cacao,” and the gatherings people host when they share the medicine “cacao ceremonies.” In ancient tradition, there was no such thing, but people are now making a lot of money hosting ceremonies that they sometimes claim are “traditional Maya practices.” Some of the people profiting off the ignorance of Western consumers are white people engaging, knowingly or not, in neocolonialism. But some of the people are themselves Indigneous—in the words of a source for a story I wrote about ayahuasca, “appropriating their own culture.”
Eric is the one who introduced me to cacao as a medicine, and to ecstatic dance. His eyes are the first thing mine caught when I stepped out of my hotel room and the rest of my life began that April afternoon in Iquitos.
I used to worry about whether someone would be there to hold my hand, witness me, midwife me, as I slipped into the afterlife. Now I realize that someone already has.
Twelve of them, in fact.
The disciples of the queer ayahuasca retreat, gathering again and again for the last Supper, the sip from the tree of knowledge, as we passed over, over and over. Alone together.
If reality is what we describe and tell each other, what enough of us collectively decide to say happened, then what we call things is everything. Indigenous people all over the world are resisting a collective gaslighting, white colonizers who tried to erase their records and write their own stories; telling them that what just happened didn’t really happen.
This is the play, the way we map history to trauma healing and individual stories. Showing scenes of me as a child being told that I didn’t just see or hear that; whole civilizations being told that all the previous millennia were some kind of hallucination, that their direct experience wasn’t valid because it couldn’t be counted and measured by their systems.
Reality in this dimension in some ways IS language, as McKenna says: it’s the stories we tell that get passed down and create memory palaces in the minds of the people, and if the only way reality manifests is through our senses, then what we hear and read and see on TV create the world we experience. And whether or not it’s what the bodies experienced, an alternate dimension has now branched off for whole generations where there are things like time and space and physics and ethnicities and classes.
Everything Eric and I talk about is reflected and refracted in the stories I’m writing and other timelines I’m experiencing. We’ve been talking about the concepts of spells and incantations, manipulations of energies and humans, narcissists and sorcerers and shamxn and magicians, wisdom and truth and illusions. Reflecting and refracting, reflexively shaping reality tunnels, discursively recursing what’s always never been done before. And all of this, I realize, maps onto the practice/praxis Kit started developing and I’m building on, xim and I enacting and actively collaborating on bringing it into various forms of being from different sides of this dimensional timeline, one that Michael seems to have been documenting in parallel, or that maps onto something he was already doing, and there’s something here I can’t quite put my finger on yet, but it revolves around the framework xe established, or noticed, because it’s really part of all sorts of magickal traditions:
Spell, charm, trance.
The spell is the story, the vessel or container constructed around the Word, the truth of vibration etched upon the bone, the quartz crystal, hummed by the diamond needle.
Describing something in language creates a reality tunnel, a show, an illusion that can be conjured by the brujos or the shamxn. The warring magicians. Trying to construct a Platonic solid out of something inherently flexible and fluid. Reality isn’t anything material, it’s a hyperdimensional infinitely faceted crystal. Or something.
There is a reality of language created by the way we tell our histories, but is it a vibrational truth, or an illusion put on by a shamxn/showman/brujx/magician?
When I first started the cacao project, I was entranced by the charm of cacao, and I called it ceremonial. I’ve done so many rotations around this issue of whether it matters what we call it, how we can be in alignment with the plant and in justice with the people; who’s putting whom in what kind of trance.
In the end, I think that words matter, but only to the point that they connect us to the truth that vibrates our matter and reminds our bones what they know. All of these things are symbols, and if we lose sight of what they stand for, we end up arguing about what color the gate is painted rather than entering the temple behind it.
Yes, we must honor the people who have always kept the medicine; yes, we should dismantle false reality tunnels and tell the real stories. But we should also remain open to the new things that can be created when we let the language go and focus on the connection. In the end, if someone is sitting in a ceremony that isn’t historically accurate, but they come away with an understanding of what it means to have a direct relationship with a plant, if they come away having met their ancestors and felt their heart awaken and sensed a connection to Spirit for maybe the first time ever… does it matter what we call it?
Even Jesus can ego trip. The elders don’t know everything, and just because the dead are speaking doesn’t mean they’re spitting truth.
They’re creating reality tunnels, too.
So what is this practice we’re documenting, praxis we’re capturing, prenda we’re offering, container we’re shaping? I don’t know exactly, but it feels really important. (Ayahuasca echoes in my memory: “It’s very important / and not very important.”) We’re building a tunnel of language between dimensions and realms of existence, a hyperdimensional bridge that transcends and includes the senses. We’re casting a spell, creating charms that are containers of experience and putting everyone in a trance so we can do a dance and enact the performance.
Whenever the ayahuasca would start to take hold in the ceremony, the first thing I would lose was always language, and it terrified me. The nonsense realm was narrated by a sing-song voice in a made-up accent babbling nonsense words. I interpreted it as me re-entering my own preverbal childhood realm where there was only sensation and light and color and confusing emotions. But maybe it was also, or instead of, this other thing we’re making, a bridge to a place where no language will be needed; a process that sets us free from the tyranny of words and allows us to directly experience the singularity where all dissolves, and there is peace.
The AI identified FOUR speakers today, including two new ones. I wonder who they are? Speakers 3 and 4, talking about language and reality tunnels and the cacao ethnography. Maybe one’s Terence. Maybe one’s the Anthropologist. I don’t know if I quite understand channeling yet, but it’s wild. Am I actually taking the soul of Terence into my body? Am I tuning into whatever archetype he was also picking up on? Is it some new thing created out of all of us, uniquely experienced through my physical vessel? To be explored…
Summary: Does it matter what we call the ceremony?
The conversation explores the significance of language and naming in shaping reality and identity. Speakers discuss how language constructs our perception of the world, emphasizing that the meaning of words and the labels we apply are not fixed but evolve with collective experience and cultural context. They highlight the impact of colonialism on indigenous peoples, noting how their reality was defined by external forces. The discussion underscores the fluidity of reality, the importance of respecting lived experiences, and the role of language in perpetuating or challenging dominant narratives.
Outline
Language and Reality Construction
Speaker 4 discusses the importance of language in constructing reality, emphasizing that the world is always changing and that no one has all the answers.
Speaker 3 humorously agrees, stating that language is central to how we perceive and create our reality.
Speaker 4 elaborates on the power of words, noting that language can be both exciting and terrifying because it shapes our collective reality.
Unknown Speaker mentions the subjective nature of language, suggesting that it is experienced in various ways and can be both liberating and constraining.
The Role of Language in Indigenous Cultures
Speaker 4 highlights the impact of language on indigenous people, explaining that their collective reality has been defined by white men with unique perspectives and privileges.
Unknown Speaker points out that reality is a construct decided by individuals, with some people filtering their experiences through certain paradigms.
Speaker 4 emphasizes that reality is fluid and constantly evolving, influenced by collective experiences and vibrations.
Unknown Speaker discusses the collective subjective experience, where people agree on a shared description of reality, even if it is not universally true.
The Importance of Naming and Describing Reality
Speaker 1 and Unknown Speaker discuss the significance of naming and describing reality, noting that people hold on to these descriptions for control and understanding.
Speaker 4 explains that false stories can perpetuate trauma, especially when they are imposed on people who have no prior experience with the described reality.
Unknown Speaker mentions the importance of respecting people's lived experiences and ensuring that descriptions do not gaslight or disrespect others.
Speaker 3 and Speaker 4 agree that symbols and direct communication are crucial for understanding and respecting different perspectives.
LISTEN:
Language is reality maybe
The conversation explores the idea that processes in nature, such as falling in love or the formation of continents, follow a universal arc. Human consciousness is described as a unique tool for observing these processes. The speakers discuss the subjective nature of reality, suggesting that language shapes our perception of the world. They also touch on the concept of time blindness, where time is seen as an artificial construct, and the idea that time blindness can be a superpower to see through these artificial constraints. The discussion emphasizes the importance of individual perspectives and the role of language in creating truth and reality.
Action Items
[ ] Reframe "time blindness" as a superpower to see through the artificiality of time into how the future has already happened.
Outline
Human Consciousness and Processes in Nature
Speaker 1 discusses a Terence McKenna lecture about the universality of processes in nature, emphasizing that whether it's falling in love or the formation of a continent, the processes follow the same arc.
The unique aspect of human consciousness is highlighted as a tool for observing these natural processes more closely, not as a special entity but as a vessel for observation.
Speaker 1 mentions the difficulty of maintaining consciousness and the need for allies to help those who walk between worlds, metaphorically representing different realms.
The idea that everything is the same process but never observed through the same lens is reiterated, emphasizing the uniqueness of individual perspectives.
Language and Reality
Speaker 1 questions whether reality is made of language or just how we describe it, suggesting that language constitutes our reality.
The concept of creating truth through collective gathering and observation is discussed, with Speaker 1 comparing it to casting a spell and shamanic practices.
Speaker 1 reflects on the idea that time and space are not real, sharing a personal experience of arriving at a destination faster than expected.
The discussion touches on the artificiality of time and the concept of time blindness, where reality is seen more clearly without the constraints of artificial measurements.
Reframing Time Blindness
Speaker 1 explores the idea that time blindness is a superpower, allowing one to see through the artificiality of time, into the present moment, and the future as already having happened.
The conversation shifts to the struggle of living in a reality constrained by artificial time measurements, with Speaker 1 expressing a desire to find side doors and use strengths and weaknesses to navigate this reality.
The discussion concludes with a reflection on the importance of finding ways to live in the present and navigate the artificial constraints of time.