Jazz Musicians of the Theological World
Ian Vince, writing for The Telegraph, attends a Druidic Lughnasadh ritual at the Long Man of Wilmington and seems to have a great time.
“Having attended similar events before, I’m looking forward to the singing, which is odd, as I have an awful voice that I don’t usually like to bother others with. On a windy hillside, for some reason, I’m not so shy. Pagans are the jazz musicians of the theological world, however. They like to improvise, throw in some bardic ad-libs or riff a little on poetry, so there’s no set pattern to rituals beyond opening and closing the circle, calling the elements and the hail and farewells. I admire this approach…”
Vince also seems quite impressed with the closing “sacrifice” of John Barleycorn.
“The centrepiece of Lughnasadh is the symbolic sacrifice of John Barleycorn, the corn god. With his arms outstretched and fists clenched, a golden sickle is drawn across his throat. He falls to his knees and releases the ripe grain he holds in his hands. It’s hard-hitting stuff, artfully done on a hillside, but that’s the essence of pagan life.”
The pleasant thing about this short article is that it treats Pagans as normal religious adherents. He shows up, he admires and participates in the ritual, and he writes about it. No joking references to animal sacrifice, no attempt to paint the participants as weird, strange, or socially inept, and he doesn’t make stuff up to suit his preconceived notions. As Pagan religions continue to enter the mainstream, perhaps more reporters on the religion beat will follow Vince’s suit.
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