The Rite of Sol - Rex Mortuus Est
This is a draft of the "postmortem" piece I wrote for Sky's Embrace about The Rite of Sol.
The published version should be edited, but here it is in it's unexpurgated glory.
It was November of 2000e.v. when I first sat down with a guitar and the script for The Rite of Jupiter and started composing music for one of Aleister Crowley’s Rites of Eleusis. It was something frivolous at the time, a way of bringing the material into a context that I would enjoy and could relate to, and not really something I considered integral to my efforts as an initiate or as a ceremonial magician.
No one was more surprised than me when the material so seized my imagination that continuing to explore and create music around these Rites became a central part of my personal magickal practice and my life as an artist. They have become so integral to my daily life that a majority of my acquaintances have little other context for me as an individual outside of The Rites of Eleusis.
In the ensuing 12 years, I've been involved with many presentations of these Rites, in supportive roles for local O.T.O. bodies, or as a producer and composer working with volunteers to craft The Rites as rock operas, or as a student simply studying their history and symbolism. I've also taken it upon myself to acquaint myself with some of the history of the presentation of The Rites of Eleusis since their revival in 1980e.v. Many of those involved in those early Rites will attest that these planetary rituals have a profound impact on those who perform and attend them regularly, and my life has become a testimony to the truth of this.
As we’re wrapping up post production on The Rite of Sol DVD, and preparing ourselves for the response of the larger community to our latest presentation I've been considering all the effort involved in the creation of one of these Rites. After all, seeing as so much of the result of my personal magickal practice is available to the public for their entertainment or occasional disdain it seems fitting to make some record of the process available as well.
The Music
The earliest music for The Rite of Sol was certainly composed during the writing of The Rite of Venus in 2006. The Chorus from Atalanta at Calydon (Before the Beginning of Years) by A. C. Swinburne was something I found particularly moving, and as I had been exposed to another musical interpretation of this poem that I found humorous, but not aesthetically satisfying, it became something of an imperative that I craft a different arrangement with haste. This first arrangement was performed at NOTOCON in 2007, by myself with Melissa Holm and Joseph Thiebes, which was perhaps the second time it had ever been performed with an audience.
When the Swinburne piece had originally been composed I had invested a few hours reading through the remainder of The Rite of Sol, playing variations on the themes. I discovered that by simply restructuring the tempo and root chord progressions, these variations could be employed to create some simple, pleasing musical arrangements around many of the key sections of dialog. When composing Jupiter years earlier it had been my practice to try to keep some sections of the music simple and accessible, especially when the lyrical content was complex, and this practice has served me well in all of the Rites since.
Several years later, when composition for Sol began in earnest, I revisited this concept, and found these simple variations easily employed in composing the chord progressions for Hymn to the Spirit of Nature, The Leo Section of Liber 963 and No More Sacrifice. Completing this portion of the material then became a matter of working out the action on stage with Melissa, determining where the instrumental sections would be required in order to incorporate the action that would in turn fill out the narrative of the Rite.
By the time we were working this all out, recording was already well underway. The earliest recordings for The Rite of Sol, largely completed before The Rite of Mercury was staged in 2010, was the Overture combined with the aforementioned Atalanta at Calydon.
The Overture for The Rite of Sol represents a musical meditation on the stations of the Sun in Liber Resh vel Helios. The opening tones are intended to capture the slow waking of sunrise, as the efforts of the day commence. There is a crescendo (later revisited) as the individual finds awareness of self and proceeds with their appointed tasks for the day.
As the music develops the 7/8 rhythm coupled with a bass line that plays each note in the chromatic scale only once before resolving back to the opening root is intended to capture the rolling gait of the early parts of the day, still vexed by dreams but moving toward productivity. Here a saxophone is employed to good effect, wandering in and out of the obscure pattern like the breath of an athlete before he hits his stride, or the wandering of an unfocused mind.
The music of noon becomes assertive. The 4/4 time is the most natural of western music, emulating the human heartbeat. It is the sound of a strong man, rejoicing in his way. Here is a structured and repetitive ode to productivity, and the satisfaction of the artisan.
The music changes again to that of sunset, and the time cuts to half. This is a time of rest and beauty, but afford the opportunity of disruption. An intentional dissonance is written into this section, employing minor chords that quickly resolve toward a natural resting place. Here the music repeats the earlier crescendo as the self reaffirms its nature, much as a magician might practice devotion at the beginning and end of a single day. The key of A is employed, as the tone corresponds to Saturn and Capricorn, who in turn are related to Satan-Typhon in our cosmology.
There remains a fourth theme, employed later in the Rite to complete this daily pattern, representing Kephra in Hiding.
These themes, along with character themes from The Rite of Mars and The Rite of Venus that are included within the narrative, become the key to unlocking the musical structure of The Rite of Sol as it was composed. Additionally, there are rhythmic and Kabbalistic tones, beats, knocks and intervals employed throughout all these arrangements, but I’ve detailed much of that material elsewhere.
The Magick
Despite the fact that we composed The Overture long before the bulk of The Rite of Sol, and employed it in crafting much of the remaining music, Melissa and I knew we would be incorporating Liber Resh vel Helios quite early in the process. We already had a nearly completed version when The Rite of Sol soundtrack was released, and we might have waited in order to include it, but chose not to for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being that it is not a part of the script as written, and thus could be reserved for the live presentation.
More to the point, as the Overture incorporated references to the day in four part, employing the signs and energies of Liber Resh was a forgone conclusion. The incorporation of Liber Resh as a musical number within the show offered additional context for these signs, and created a point of reference and continuity. The cast received information on the solar adorations on Liber Resh in the first days of rehearsal, and we counseled to work with the energy throughout the rehearsal process.
We also made a study of some of the principal officers as they related to the stations of the Sun and the elemental aspects of the cardinal points of the compass. These meditations and conversations help shaped the characterizations of several of the principals, particularly Besz, whose place in the ritual might otherwise have been confusing. Besz is an ancient deity of the household, hearth and child birth. With relationship to Sol, who represents the Osiris and other similar agricultural Gods associated with grain, Besz can be seen as the harbinger of Venus, both in terms of the fecundity of the grave as it relates to the hearth, where the cut grain having been ground into meal is baked into bread (host) and as the deity that delivers the child once the seed has germinated. These roles are a natural bridge between the Solar agricultural archetypes and those associated with motherhood. There are a variety of similar juxtapositions of roles within this Rite, but space dictates that I leave them to the meditations of interested magicians.
Additionally, much of the symbolism from The Rite of Sol is drawn directly from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn initiation for the Adeptus Minor grade, and those familiar with their initiations will recognize parallels in our staging of the Rite. The setting of this Rite is "The Mountain of Abiegnes", which any initiate of Adeptus Minor Grade might recognized as an indication that the Passion Play that is about to unfold might be interpreted as an initiation rather than an assassination. In order to underscore this allusion we made a point of incorporating aspects of the symbolism of the initiation into the funereal motifs within our staging of the Rite.
Between the ritualized internment of Sol within the pastos, and the presence of Besz as the agent of the hearth (slow heat) and birth, we find the dramatization of an alchemical process within the Rite. A process that comes to fruition when Scorpio-Apophis is enthroned as Venus.
The Mother
Given that we've taken to completing these Rites in an order that is by no means linear, completing Aleister Crowley's The Rite of Sol, a rock opera left us standing where we were at the beginning of The Rite of Venus when we first started composing it in 2005. But rather than experiencing the fall of the Goddess, we had been granted the opportunity to explore her in her ascension.
Thus, composing music and planning staging for the close of the Sol was a particular pleasure, because we were allowed to revisit music and ideas associated with the luxury of Venus, while only hinting at the darkness beneath. In particular, the composition and staging of Nature from Orpheus was intended as an invocation and exploration of Netzach as Victory.
The composition of Nature from Orpheus revolves around the keys of G and A. G natural corresponds to Venus and Libra, who are the principal figures in The Rite of Venus, and represent the subtle transformation of the principal officers as the new paradigm is established. A corresponds to Saturn and Capricorn, which can be interpreted as a reference to the beginning and ending of the planetary cycle, which opens with The Rite of Saturn and closes with Pan, the Goat God in The Rite of Luna. Furthermore, Saturn is also a reference to Babalon, whom Scorpio-Apophis identifies with when she declares herself as "the goddess that cometh forth riding upon the Lion."
So The Rite of Sol closes with a new peace established, despite the fact that there remains something of a persistent mystery regarding the life of Sol, and the outcome of his trial.
Throughout this creative process that now spans more than a decade and promises to devour another, I have had the help of many friends and supporters, fans and volunteers, but none has been so close and integral as Melissa. While I tend to be the mouth-piece that talks and writes about the work we do, so much of what is presented comes directly from her understanding of the material, her research, and her tireless pursuit of a sublime vision of what these Rites might be. We work together, often suffering over long hours of research and debate, working out the problems as they present themselves, and occasionally suffering the nightmares that seem to ride on your coat-tails when you are doing community theater. She laughs with me when the ideas get silly, and cheers me up when dilettantes post scathing reviews of our work crafted to be more clever than honest.
So, in case I don't say it enough, Melissa Holm is my fucking hero.
Composition has already begun for The Rite of Mars, where we will be exploring other themes and ideas as we progress. We'll see you in 2014.
The published version should be edited, but here it is in it's unexpurgated glory.
It was November of 2000e.v. when I first sat down with a guitar and the script for The Rite of Jupiter and started composing music for one of Aleister Crowley’s Rites of Eleusis. It was something frivolous at the time, a way of bringing the material into a context that I would enjoy and could relate to, and not really something I considered integral to my efforts as an initiate or as a ceremonial magician.
No one was more surprised than me when the material so seized my imagination that continuing to explore and create music around these Rites became a central part of my personal magickal practice and my life as an artist. They have become so integral to my daily life that a majority of my acquaintances have little other context for me as an individual outside of The Rites of Eleusis.
In the ensuing 12 years, I've been involved with many presentations of these Rites, in supportive roles for local O.T.O. bodies, or as a producer and composer working with volunteers to craft The Rites as rock operas, or as a student simply studying their history and symbolism. I've also taken it upon myself to acquaint myself with some of the history of the presentation of The Rites of Eleusis since their revival in 1980e.v. Many of those involved in those early Rites will attest that these planetary rituals have a profound impact on those who perform and attend them regularly, and my life has become a testimony to the truth of this.
As we’re wrapping up post production on The Rite of Sol DVD, and preparing ourselves for the response of the larger community to our latest presentation I've been considering all the effort involved in the creation of one of these Rites. After all, seeing as so much of the result of my personal magickal practice is available to the public for their entertainment or occasional disdain it seems fitting to make some record of the process available as well.
The Music
The earliest music for The Rite of Sol was certainly composed during the writing of The Rite of Venus in 2006. The Chorus from Atalanta at Calydon (Before the Beginning of Years) by A. C. Swinburne was something I found particularly moving, and as I had been exposed to another musical interpretation of this poem that I found humorous, but not aesthetically satisfying, it became something of an imperative that I craft a different arrangement with haste. This first arrangement was performed at NOTOCON in 2007, by myself with Melissa Holm and Joseph Thiebes, which was perhaps the second time it had ever been performed with an audience.
When the Swinburne piece had originally been composed I had invested a few hours reading through the remainder of The Rite of Sol, playing variations on the themes. I discovered that by simply restructuring the tempo and root chord progressions, these variations could be employed to create some simple, pleasing musical arrangements around many of the key sections of dialog. When composing Jupiter years earlier it had been my practice to try to keep some sections of the music simple and accessible, especially when the lyrical content was complex, and this practice has served me well in all of the Rites since.
Several years later, when composition for Sol began in earnest, I revisited this concept, and found these simple variations easily employed in composing the chord progressions for Hymn to the Spirit of Nature, The Leo Section of Liber 963 and No More Sacrifice. Completing this portion of the material then became a matter of working out the action on stage with Melissa, determining where the instrumental sections would be required in order to incorporate the action that would in turn fill out the narrative of the Rite.
By the time we were working this all out, recording was already well underway. The earliest recordings for The Rite of Sol, largely completed before The Rite of Mercury was staged in 2010, was the Overture combined with the aforementioned Atalanta at Calydon.
The Overture for The Rite of Sol represents a musical meditation on the stations of the Sun in Liber Resh vel Helios. The opening tones are intended to capture the slow waking of sunrise, as the efforts of the day commence. There is a crescendo (later revisited) as the individual finds awareness of self and proceeds with their appointed tasks for the day.
As the music develops the 7/8 rhythm coupled with a bass line that plays each note in the chromatic scale only once before resolving back to the opening root is intended to capture the rolling gait of the early parts of the day, still vexed by dreams but moving toward productivity. Here a saxophone is employed to good effect, wandering in and out of the obscure pattern like the breath of an athlete before he hits his stride, or the wandering of an unfocused mind.
The music of noon becomes assertive. The 4/4 time is the most natural of western music, emulating the human heartbeat. It is the sound of a strong man, rejoicing in his way. Here is a structured and repetitive ode to productivity, and the satisfaction of the artisan.
The music changes again to that of sunset, and the time cuts to half. This is a time of rest and beauty, but afford the opportunity of disruption. An intentional dissonance is written into this section, employing minor chords that quickly resolve toward a natural resting place. Here the music repeats the earlier crescendo as the self reaffirms its nature, much as a magician might practice devotion at the beginning and end of a single day. The key of A is employed, as the tone corresponds to Saturn and Capricorn, who in turn are related to Satan-Typhon in our cosmology.
There remains a fourth theme, employed later in the Rite to complete this daily pattern, representing Kephra in Hiding.
These themes, along with character themes from The Rite of Mars and The Rite of Venus that are included within the narrative, become the key to unlocking the musical structure of The Rite of Sol as it was composed. Additionally, there are rhythmic and Kabbalistic tones, beats, knocks and intervals employed throughout all these arrangements, but I’ve detailed much of that material elsewhere.
The Magick
Despite the fact that we composed The Overture long before the bulk of The Rite of Sol, and employed it in crafting much of the remaining music, Melissa and I knew we would be incorporating Liber Resh vel Helios quite early in the process. We already had a nearly completed version when The Rite of Sol soundtrack was released, and we might have waited in order to include it, but chose not to for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being that it is not a part of the script as written, and thus could be reserved for the live presentation.
More to the point, as the Overture incorporated references to the day in four part, employing the signs and energies of Liber Resh was a forgone conclusion. The incorporation of Liber Resh as a musical number within the show offered additional context for these signs, and created a point of reference and continuity. The cast received information on the solar adorations on Liber Resh in the first days of rehearsal, and we counseled to work with the energy throughout the rehearsal process.
We also made a study of some of the principal officers as they related to the stations of the Sun and the elemental aspects of the cardinal points of the compass. These meditations and conversations help shaped the characterizations of several of the principals, particularly Besz, whose place in the ritual might otherwise have been confusing. Besz is an ancient deity of the household, hearth and child birth. With relationship to Sol, who represents the Osiris and other similar agricultural Gods associated with grain, Besz can be seen as the harbinger of Venus, both in terms of the fecundity of the grave as it relates to the hearth, where the cut grain having been ground into meal is baked into bread (host) and as the deity that delivers the child once the seed has germinated. These roles are a natural bridge between the Solar agricultural archetypes and those associated with motherhood. There are a variety of similar juxtapositions of roles within this Rite, but space dictates that I leave them to the meditations of interested magicians.
Additionally, much of the symbolism from The Rite of Sol is drawn directly from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn initiation for the Adeptus Minor grade, and those familiar with their initiations will recognize parallels in our staging of the Rite. The setting of this Rite is "The Mountain of Abiegnes", which any initiate of Adeptus Minor Grade might recognized as an indication that the Passion Play that is about to unfold might be interpreted as an initiation rather than an assassination. In order to underscore this allusion we made a point of incorporating aspects of the symbolism of the initiation into the funereal motifs within our staging of the Rite.
Between the ritualized internment of Sol within the pastos, and the presence of Besz as the agent of the hearth (slow heat) and birth, we find the dramatization of an alchemical process within the Rite. A process that comes to fruition when Scorpio-Apophis is enthroned as Venus.
The Mother
Given that we've taken to completing these Rites in an order that is by no means linear, completing Aleister Crowley's The Rite of Sol, a rock opera left us standing where we were at the beginning of The Rite of Venus when we first started composing it in 2005. But rather than experiencing the fall of the Goddess, we had been granted the opportunity to explore her in her ascension.
Thus, composing music and planning staging for the close of the Sol was a particular pleasure, because we were allowed to revisit music and ideas associated with the luxury of Venus, while only hinting at the darkness beneath. In particular, the composition and staging of Nature from Orpheus was intended as an invocation and exploration of Netzach as Victory.
The composition of Nature from Orpheus revolves around the keys of G and A. G natural corresponds to Venus and Libra, who are the principal figures in The Rite of Venus, and represent the subtle transformation of the principal officers as the new paradigm is established. A corresponds to Saturn and Capricorn, which can be interpreted as a reference to the beginning and ending of the planetary cycle, which opens with The Rite of Saturn and closes with Pan, the Goat God in The Rite of Luna. Furthermore, Saturn is also a reference to Babalon, whom Scorpio-Apophis identifies with when she declares herself as "the goddess that cometh forth riding upon the Lion."
So The Rite of Sol closes with a new peace established, despite the fact that there remains something of a persistent mystery regarding the life of Sol, and the outcome of his trial.
Throughout this creative process that now spans more than a decade and promises to devour another, I have had the help of many friends and supporters, fans and volunteers, but none has been so close and integral as Melissa. While I tend to be the mouth-piece that talks and writes about the work we do, so much of what is presented comes directly from her understanding of the material, her research, and her tireless pursuit of a sublime vision of what these Rites might be. We work together, often suffering over long hours of research and debate, working out the problems as they present themselves, and occasionally suffering the nightmares that seem to ride on your coat-tails when you are doing community theater. She laughs with me when the ideas get silly, and cheers me up when dilettantes post scathing reviews of our work crafted to be more clever than honest.
So, in case I don't say it enough, Melissa Holm is my fucking hero.
Composition has already begun for The Rite of Mars, where we will be exploring other themes and ideas as we progress. We'll see you in 2014.