A few questions which are bound to be asked, so we might as well answer them at the outset ...
Question :
" Hey, man, where are all of the pictures? "
Answer : There are no pictures, unless you count some of the art we have up. The other sites on this ring focus on what went on at the festivities. This is more of a site that discusses WHY certain things go on, and their meaning for some of us who embrace a happy heathen piety. Some of it is established history, some of it is informed speculation, and we hope we've made it clear which is which.
Question :
"A Happy, Heathen .... what? You guys are heathens? Like you have no respect for God?"
Answer : Far from it! We have a great reverence for the Almighty! "Heathen" is often used as a catchall title to describe Pagans who are out of step with what some consider to be the mainstream of contemporary Pagan thought, preferring a return to tradition - very old tradition - to making it all up as we go along.
Question :
"Pagan? What does Paganism have to do with this ring?
Answer : Everything. Mardis Gras, as a holiday, ultimately traces back to the Roman Lupercalia. When the Roman Empire was converted to Christianity, quite literally at knifepoint, the church and imperial authorities were left with a problem. Classical Paganism, like modern Catholicism, was a festive religion. It wasn't something that people just did on a few worship days, keeping it confined to a few well designated temple areas, but something that permeated their every day lives. One couldn't find a crossroads in Greece left unguarded by its herm (a crude head of the god Hermes, god of travellers, mounted on a pillar) or enter a Roman home without finding a shrine to the ancestral spirits. The cultures of the Empire were laced through and through with Paganism, in many different varieties. The only way the empire could have eradicated every trace of the old state religions would have been for it to abolish all festivities, which would have pushed the population into revolt, and then demolish most of their own structures.
What to do? Who is going to lay waste to his own empire? The answer was both simple, and effective, and in its own naive way, unintentionally sophisticated, we would say. "If we can't beat them , let's co-opt them", is how one might characterize the church's eventual response. Pagan festivals were Christianized, given a new Christian rationale, and so the Saturnalia gradually evolved into something we might recognize as Christmas, and the Lupercalia became something more like Mardis Gras / Carneval. We are, then, looking at the roots of this holiday. Why did it come into being, and what might it mean to some of us today.
Let's add that there's an excellent chance that more than a few of your fellow revellers are Pagans, or Christo-Pagans (a term covering those whose synchretic religions combine aspects of Christianity and some brand of Paganism, eg. Vodoun and Santeria). Understanding what some of your friends believe is a big step forward in understanding them, wouldn't you agree?
Question :
"Come on, you're yanking my chain, right? Nobody worships those old gods anymore, and besides which, I know my friend Maurice / Giovanni / Stavros / Jose, and there's no way he'd ever agree to be a Pagan"
Answer : Try this one on for size : "I know my friend Wen Cheng, and there's no way he'd ever agree to be a Buddhist". Sounds pretty silly, doesn't it? The reaction above, however popular, isn't any more rational. Yes, Virginia, there are real Pagans, and real Christo-Pagans have been with us for centuries, by the millions, and yes, we're serious, every bit as serious as you are about your own religion, whatever it may be. If you're looking for something akin to a scene out of "Rosemary's Baby", though, wrong stop. You're looking for the devil worshippers, thirty doors down. Watch your step, please.
Shall we move on to a real topic?
Question :
What will be going on, in this page? Is this for Pagans only, and if so, is it really relevant to anybody but Pagans?
Answer : No, it's not just for Pagans, and as for whether or not its relevant, we'll leave that for you to decide. What you might say is happening here, is that one of us intends to create a multifaith krewe, and see if he can get things going here in Chicago, where all Mardis Gras tends to mean at the time of this writing (late January, 2004) is risking frostbite to get a discount on pan-blackened catfish, if we're lucky.
As Pagans (Christo-Pagans, actually), we divide our observaces into three parts (yes, like Gaul), and some of this is open to all:
The actual, overt honoring of deity - usually done privately, in the silence of a small shrine, by the lone individual, with at most a handful of friends, and usually not even that.
The mysteries, in which one develops a sense of communion with the gods - an initiatory process which we won't be discussing here, closed to the public
The actual festivals themselves.
This seperation allows us to celebrate with others, and is part of what we refer to, when we speak of the unintentional sophistication of those early church officials. The real sophistication, we would say, wasn't their own, but that of God, who saw those officials work His will, in spite of themselves. Others might differ.
We're glad to see Catholic and Greek Orthodox members in our krewe, as long as they return the respect we show them, because the basic value systems really aren't that different, and if somebody wishes to think of those he honors as being saints or angels rather than gods, we have no issue with that. These are just words, coined by human beings, not really worth making a fuss over. There are some things which they might not want to take part in, such as the Lupercalia observance itself, a renewal of the event which started all of this, two thousand years back or so. It was, believe it or not, a festival centered on family life! In particular, it was attended by women who hoped to conceive children, and so hoped to win the favor of the god Lupercus (later identified with the Roman Faunus, and the Greek Pan). One would see much of the nudity we'd associate with a modern Mardis Gras celebration (more of it, actually). Were a modern reveller to be suddenly transported back to the ancient festival and then try to get "lucky", he might be in for a bit of a disappointment, though, as almost every last woman in attendance would be married, and attempting a seduction would not be a wise choice on his part. Contrary to popular images, the ancients took a wife's fidelity very seriously, and they were fond of their cutlery. One might escape with one's life, but even then, there'd be a good chance that one would be able to hit those high notes as never before.
I'm guessing that settling for that catfish at Dixie Kitchen isn't sounding too bad, right now. Obviously, our celebration isn't going to be as visceral as that old one, in any sense. The februa (ceremonial bloody strip of skin from a sacrificed goat) is likely to be replaced with its traditional symbolic stand in - a red ribbon. (Yes, that's where the tradition of putting those in valentines came from). But, the observance may not be relevant to your own life. What is more likely to be of interest are any parties which may follow, and if reading through any of this gives a visitor creative references for planning events - wonderful. We hope to hear from you, soon.
The name of the would-be krewe is "the Lupercalian Festival Gathering's Graeco-Roman Temple of Nude Drunken Debauchery", and its mailing list can be found at
Membership is crafted according to the needs and convictions of the member, and please don't think that we'll try to convert you to anything, or try to persuade you to attend anything you don't feel comfortable with. In fact, those who wish to attend something that really is Pagan will have to convince an organizer that he should go, while the organizer tries to talk him out of it! Your spiritual path is a matter between you and God, and none of us would want to get in the way of something like that; the krewe is here foryou to have fun in a positive, if open minded atmosphere. Financing is simple - we're probably looking at small parties in the beginning, so we're just talking about splitting a few small costs, evenly. Above paying the bills, and maybe setting up a small account to cover possible cost overruns at future celebrations, there never will be a membership fee. Friendship and faith are two things one should never have to pay for.
Those who'd like to learn more about the idea of the Pagan wing of this group are pointed in the direction of its starting page, especially the list of rules. As we say, this is religion, and religion must stand for something, so we do expect certain things of those who would take part. As for those just coming to the party, there is one very simple rule - give the others a good reason to be glad you came. And if you live in or are planning to visit the Chicago area during the celebration, should it ever get going, do sign up for our list. (If you aren't logged in to a Yahoogroups membership, you can use the form below; you should get a confirmation letter, which you'll need to answer for your subscription to be accepted by the system).
This page is being hosted on the Almond Jar, home of the Shine of the Sleeping Gods.
bravenet.com
Obviously, our celebration isn't going to be as visceral as that old one, in any sense. The februa (ceremonial bloody strip of skin from a sacrificed goat) is likely to be replaced with its traditional symbolic stand in - a red ribbon. (Yes, that's where the tradition of putting those in valentines came from). But, the observance may not be relevant to your own life. What is more likely to be of interest are any parties which may follow, and if reading through any of this gives a visitor creative references for planning events - wonderful. We hope to hear from you, soon.