‘The Brooklyn Mysteries’

   

Apropos of nothing, maybe just because it reminds me of this time of year, here is a photo of an untitled work by artist Martha Posner, made of honeysuckle and mixed media. I shot this photo a few years ago when the piece was one of the many works exhibited on the grounds of Boscobel, approximately across the Hudson from West Point.

It’s been several weeks already, so I better tell you about the Eleusinian Mysteries ceremony I attended at Observatory in Brooklyn last month, before what’s left of my mind loses the beautiful details.

Courtesy The Daily Green

Actually I won’t describe it in too much detail because it should be experienced; it was very well presented and, except for my own allergic reaction to a certain fruit—that I kept to myself—everything went off without a hitch. Ms. Pam Grossman began by leading us through an opening ritual, and concluded by leading us through a closing ritual, both of which I think would be recognizable and appreciated in most esoteric circles. Wholesome ones, anyway. In between those was a harmonious mix of readings and hands-on transmissions all intended to channel, if not recreate somewhat, the Eleusinian initiatory rites of ancient Greece.

The evening’s activities engaged the four cardinal directions, and several others; involved the four classical elements, and beyond; and a variety of ritual elements gratified the five physical senses, and then some. It all can succeed in, to phrase it basically, changing one’s state of mind. That is essential to receiving an initiation, which that night, was presented in the form of the story of Demeter, the central mythological figure in the Eleusinian Mysteries. You can read the essence of this here.

Courtesy deviantART

Longtime Magpie readers have come to expect detailed descriptions of special occasions, but I have to treat this differently since I was only a visitor accepting an invitation. If Ms. Grossman will host this event again next fall, I surely will publicize it here and encourage you to check it out. It’s really worth your time.