wedding liturgy from Epoch 10/31/06 @ 19:00
i don't believe that i have ever participated in a more atheist/humanist ritual...
47 people were in attendance for this neophilic irreligious wedding ceremony
(Avi: acoustic rendition of Tom Waits' "Picture In A Frame")
"We quoted the Greeks by heart, took delight in the French Symbolists, considered Scandinavian literature our own, knew philosophy and theology, poetry and history of the whole world. In that sense we were citizens of the universe, bearers of the great cultural museum of humanity. It was Rome at the time of the fall. We did not live, but rather contemplated the most refined that there was in life. We were not afraid of any words. We were cynical and unchaste in spirit, wan and inert in life. In a certain sense we were, of course, the revolution before the revolution-so profoundly, ruthlessly, and fatally did we destroy the old tradition and build bold bridges into the future. But our depth and daring were intertwined with a lingering sense of decay, the spirit of dying, ghostliness, ephemerality. We were the last act of a tragedy."
These were the words of Elizaveta (Liza) Yurevna Kuzmina-Karavaeva Pilenko, who was caught helping to smugle Jews out of Nazi Germany, and died in a concentration camp in 1945. She was later canonized as Mother Maria Skobtsova, or Saint Mary of Paris.
Or, as Robert Anton Wilson might say, "Don't let THEM immanentize The Eschaton!" (Do It Yourself...)
And as Bucky Fuller said in 1983, during the final interview before his death "The most important thing to teach your children is that the sun does not rise and set. It is the Earth that revolves around the sun. Then teach them the concepts of North, South, East and West, and that they relate to where they happen to be on the planet's surface at that time. Everything else will follow."
In order to help facilitate this paradigm shift, we offer this ritual:
THE DISCLAIMER RITE, from the Corpus Index of The AutonomatriX
The Lesser Banishing Ritual of Doublespeak (LBRD)
A Really Silly Opening Rite (this is a disclaimer)
Procedure:
1. The Evocation of the "Archangels" (Using the signs of N.O.X.) Intone:
Before Me Stands the Surgeon General's Warning
Behind Me Stand the Emergency Exits
On My Right Stands Big Brother
On My Left Stand All Those Bastards Who Get In My Way
For About Me Flame all of my Dysfunctions,
and so It's REALLY NOT MY FAULT!
2. Spin in a circle widdershins & face South-East. Wave the hand-sigil of the Elder Sign in a counter-clockwise spiral inwards & Intone: Enter at your own risk.
3. Turn widdershins to face the North-East. Wave the hand-sigil of the Elder Sign in a counter-clockwise spiral inwards & Intone: Nothing is true; everything is permitted.
4. Turn widdershins to face the North-West. Wave the hand-sigil of the Elder Sign in a counter-clockwise spiral inwards & Intone: Questions are a burden to others; answers a prison to oneself.
5. Turn widdershins to face the South-West. Wave the hand-sigil of the Elder Sign in a counter-clockwise spiral inwards & Intone: We disclaim all responsibility and cannot be held liable.
6. Turn widdershins to face the South-East, again. Wave the hand-sigil of the Elder Sign in a counter-clockwise spiral inwards & Intone: Should we choose to accept our will, these tapes will self-destruct in 23 seconds.
7. Count down from 23-14 silently... @ 13, hold arms up in the air & use fingers & arms to count down to 1, at which point, do a forward somersault over left shoulder, landing back on feet.
8. Intone: Help me to banish the curse of Greyface from this Frown-Land, with laughter! ...We are now prepared to perform this marriage!
We are gathered here to celebrate the joyous union of Mr. I.Q. and Ms. J.G.
CiCi will be performing the marriage rites, but before we commence, I will leave y'all with one final blessing & caveat:
` ` In his 1534 work _Gargantua and Pantagruel,_ François Rabelais describes a sort of "humanist" abbey called Theleme, whose only rule was "Do what thou wilt," "because people who are free, well-born, well-bred, and easy in honest company have a natural spur and instinct which drives them to virtuous deeds and deflects them from vice; and this they call honour. When these same men are depressed and enslaved by vile constraint and subjection, they use this noble quality which once impelled them freely towards virtue, to throw off and break this yoke of slavery. For we always strive after things forbidden and covet what is denied us." ' '
(surprise ritual by CiCi: Mawidge...mawidge is what bwings us togewer today... Mawidge, the bwessed awwangement, that dweam wiffim a dweam... ... Ven wuv, twoo wuv, wiw fowwow you fowever.. ... so tweasuwe your wuv.. Have you the wings? ...Congwaduwations, I now pwesent to you aww, Mr. I.Q. & Mrs J.Q.)
(Mrs. J.Q. throws bouquet)
(general merriment, eating/drinking, etc.)
(Avi: an excellent extemporaneous roast of Mr. I.Q., while managing to provide a fabulous toast to both of the happy couple, at the same time)
(resume music, dining, discussion & carousing)
47 people were in attendance for this neophilic irreligious wedding ceremony
(Avi: acoustic rendition of Tom Waits' "Picture In A Frame")
"We quoted the Greeks by heart, took delight in the French Symbolists, considered Scandinavian literature our own, knew philosophy and theology, poetry and history of the whole world. In that sense we were citizens of the universe, bearers of the great cultural museum of humanity. It was Rome at the time of the fall. We did not live, but rather contemplated the most refined that there was in life. We were not afraid of any words. We were cynical and unchaste in spirit, wan and inert in life. In a certain sense we were, of course, the revolution before the revolution-so profoundly, ruthlessly, and fatally did we destroy the old tradition and build bold bridges into the future. But our depth and daring were intertwined with a lingering sense of decay, the spirit of dying, ghostliness, ephemerality. We were the last act of a tragedy."
These were the words of Elizaveta (Liza) Yurevna Kuzmina-Karavaeva Pilenko, who was caught helping to smugle Jews out of Nazi Germany, and died in a concentration camp in 1945. She was later canonized as Mother Maria Skobtsova, or Saint Mary of Paris.
Or, as Robert Anton Wilson might say, "Don't let THEM immanentize The Eschaton!" (Do It Yourself...)
And as Bucky Fuller said in 1983, during the final interview before his death "The most important thing to teach your children is that the sun does not rise and set. It is the Earth that revolves around the sun. Then teach them the concepts of North, South, East and West, and that they relate to where they happen to be on the planet's surface at that time. Everything else will follow."
In order to help facilitate this paradigm shift, we offer this ritual:
THE DISCLAIMER RITE, from the Corpus Index of The AutonomatriX
The Lesser Banishing Ritual of Doublespeak (LBRD)
A Really Silly Opening Rite (this is a disclaimer)
Procedure:
1. The Evocation of the "Archangels" (Using the signs of N.O.X.) Intone:
Before Me Stands the Surgeon General's Warning
Behind Me Stand the Emergency Exits
On My Right Stands Big Brother
On My Left Stand All Those Bastards Who Get In My Way
For About Me Flame all of my Dysfunctions,
and so It's REALLY NOT MY FAULT!
2. Spin in a circle widdershins & face South-East. Wave the hand-sigil of the Elder Sign in a counter-clockwise spiral inwards & Intone: Enter at your own risk.
3. Turn widdershins to face the North-East. Wave the hand-sigil of the Elder Sign in a counter-clockwise spiral inwards & Intone: Nothing is true; everything is permitted.
4. Turn widdershins to face the North-West. Wave the hand-sigil of the Elder Sign in a counter-clockwise spiral inwards & Intone: Questions are a burden to others; answers a prison to oneself.
5. Turn widdershins to face the South-West. Wave the hand-sigil of the Elder Sign in a counter-clockwise spiral inwards & Intone: We disclaim all responsibility and cannot be held liable.
6. Turn widdershins to face the South-East, again. Wave the hand-sigil of the Elder Sign in a counter-clockwise spiral inwards & Intone: Should we choose to accept our will, these tapes will self-destruct in 23 seconds.
7. Count down from 23-14 silently... @ 13, hold arms up in the air & use fingers & arms to count down to 1, at which point, do a forward somersault over left shoulder, landing back on feet.
8. Intone: Help me to banish the curse of Greyface from this Frown-Land, with laughter! ...We are now prepared to perform this marriage!
We are gathered here to celebrate the joyous union of Mr. I.Q. and Ms. J.G.
CiCi will be performing the marriage rites, but before we commence, I will leave y'all with one final blessing & caveat:
` ` In his 1534 work _Gargantua and Pantagruel,_ François Rabelais describes a sort of "humanist" abbey called Theleme, whose only rule was "Do what thou wilt," "because people who are free, well-born, well-bred, and easy in honest company have a natural spur and instinct which drives them to virtuous deeds and deflects them from vice; and this they call honour. When these same men are depressed and enslaved by vile constraint and subjection, they use this noble quality which once impelled them freely towards virtue, to throw off and break this yoke of slavery. For we always strive after things forbidden and covet what is denied us." ' '
(surprise ritual by CiCi: Mawidge...mawidge is what bwings us togewer today... Mawidge, the bwessed awwangement, that dweam wiffim a dweam... ... Ven wuv, twoo wuv, wiw fowwow you fowever.. ... so tweasuwe your wuv.. Have you the wings? ...Congwaduwations, I now pwesent to you aww, Mr. I.Q. & Mrs J.Q.)
(Mrs. J.Q. throws bouquet)
(general merriment, eating/drinking, etc.)
(Avi: an excellent extemporaneous roast of Mr. I.Q., while managing to provide a fabulous toast to both of the happy couple, at the same time)
(resume music, dining, discussion & carousing)