Musings on "Downton Abbey"
Finally succumbing to the enticements of several of my friends, I began watching Downton Abbey. I devoured the entire first season in a week... this, despite the fact that there are no swords, no monsters, and no gut-churning gore. No, this is just a fabulous period piece about one of my favorite historical eras. The late 19th and early 20th centuries fascinate me because of the tremendous change that occurred then. In this way, it is much like the 1st century BCE, another period that fascinates me as well. This is the era of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which, while it doesn't mark the beginning of the Western Mystery Tradition, it certainly marks a major step in its rebirth. (The Golden Dawn was founded upon the contents of the "Cipher Manuscripts" which is the basis for the Western Mystery Tradition as well as much modern Pagan practice, although few know of it.)
As of the end of the first season, the writers have made no mention of any member of the family being involved in any kind of magical secret society (and, apparently, there were hundreds in existence during this time), but it is amusing to me that the main family's name is "Crawley" (not "Crowley"), and I wonder if we viewers who are "in the know" should be picking up on that. In addition, Highclere Castle, the site where much of the series is shot, contains a seemingly superfluous building on the east side called the Temple (aka, Jackdaws Castle), which, even though it was built before 1743, really looks to me like a building that some sort of worship should have taken place in, although most certainly that worship would have been of a nature that would not have been advertised to the outside world. Further, the main building itself is home to a yearly "Egyptian Exhibition" due to the fact that the 5th Earl was one of the discoverers of King Tut's tomb.
So, as I am watching Downton Abbey, it is quite easy to see how the occult tradition flourished during that time, with all of those people with too much time, money, and education for their own good looked for ways to entertain themselves while their servants took care of everything else. However, I am also aware that "alternative religion" (using this as a temporary term) was also taking place among the house servants. In one scene, the kitchen maid asks the cook what she is supposed to do with something (I can't always make out the accent). The cook replies "I'm going to give them to the faeries." To which the kitchen maid seems to take seriously for the moment, until the cook says "Put them on the [whatever... again, can't always make out the accent]!" This reminds me that the Faerie tradition was most certainly alive at that time, and the house servants would have all been raised with it along side their official Protestant or Catholic faiths.
So, when I say "alternative religions", what I really mean here is an indigenous, or original religion that was practiced before Christianity came and did its best to smother it. These religions are, in many ways, like Nature Herself, because every time we humans kill everything alive on a plot of land and pour concrete over it, eventually, the concrete cracks and grass sprouts up once again. So, therefore, in my opinion, if one digs deeply enough, or looks closely enough, one can see the "occult" religion (as in, "hidden") under the surface wherever one looks. In the case of Downton Abbey, I find myself thinking, surely the "occult" religion of the aristocracy was different than the "occult" religion of the servants... however, the two met in the middle with the rise of the Middle Class and formed a kind of a union, which led to what we have now.
I could write books on this. I wonder if I could get a PhD in exactly this subject? I find it utterly fascinating.
As of the end of the first season, the writers have made no mention of any member of the family being involved in any kind of magical secret society (and, apparently, there were hundreds in existence during this time), but it is amusing to me that the main family's name is "Crawley" (not "Crowley"), and I wonder if we viewers who are "in the know" should be picking up on that. In addition, Highclere Castle, the site where much of the series is shot, contains a seemingly superfluous building on the east side called the Temple (aka, Jackdaws Castle), which, even though it was built before 1743, really looks to me like a building that some sort of worship should have taken place in, although most certainly that worship would have been of a nature that would not have been advertised to the outside world. Further, the main building itself is home to a yearly "Egyptian Exhibition" due to the fact that the 5th Earl was one of the discoverers of King Tut's tomb.
So, as I am watching Downton Abbey, it is quite easy to see how the occult tradition flourished during that time, with all of those people with too much time, money, and education for their own good looked for ways to entertain themselves while their servants took care of everything else. However, I am also aware that "alternative religion" (using this as a temporary term) was also taking place among the house servants. In one scene, the kitchen maid asks the cook what she is supposed to do with something (I can't always make out the accent). The cook replies "I'm going to give them to the faeries." To which the kitchen maid seems to take seriously for the moment, until the cook says "Put them on the [whatever... again, can't always make out the accent]!" This reminds me that the Faerie tradition was most certainly alive at that time, and the house servants would have all been raised with it along side their official Protestant or Catholic faiths.
So, when I say "alternative religions", what I really mean here is an indigenous, or original religion that was practiced before Christianity came and did its best to smother it. These religions are, in many ways, like Nature Herself, because every time we humans kill everything alive on a plot of land and pour concrete over it, eventually, the concrete cracks and grass sprouts up once again. So, therefore, in my opinion, if one digs deeply enough, or looks closely enough, one can see the "occult" religion (as in, "hidden") under the surface wherever one looks. In the case of Downton Abbey, I find myself thinking, surely the "occult" religion of the aristocracy was different than the "occult" religion of the servants... however, the two met in the middle with the rise of the Middle Class and formed a kind of a union, which led to what we have now.
I could write books on this. I wonder if I could get a PhD in exactly this subject? I find it utterly fascinating.