Magic Wand

Wand \Wand\, n. The wand of Hermes or caduceus, the magician's wand, the rods of Moses and Aaron, the scepter of kings which shows the force of temporal power, and the crosier of a bishop, are prototypes and antitypes of a universal principle -- the straight line, representing the masculine, active, positive power in nature. The magician may be said to possess a magic wand -- a name for the power he can wield -- and there may be various material copies of this, ranging from an actual magic wand supposedly prepared according to secret formulas, down to the humble stick or cudgel with which the ruffian enforces his will. The words rod and staff are often used figuratively as well as literally in the Bible. from theosociety.org
I am working on these wands – magic wands – made from natural materials and embellished with colored thread, beads and other things. At first I only thought of them as “the touch of… (crab, or rabbit, grass or stone – fill in the blank) and that they were about acknowledging the power of the non- human world. Then I realized they were much more.
I collect materials on my walks in various places. Materials come from Australia, California, Vermont and they all get mixed together. I take pleasure in the collecting and the putting together of sticks, stones, feathers, bones, seeds, color, and ornamentation.

Wand #2 - The Touch of Crab

I recognize the need for integrating the places where I dwell. The wands are hybrids like myself.They do not draw their source from one place. They are post colonial wands. In addition the materials and construction have complex symbolic relationships to each other. For example, it seems important the base of the wands has some sort of rock to ground the energy and the tips have lighter materials connecting with flight or life.

The magic begins in the gathering but can not fully come into the world until the wands are activated. I will devise a fire ritual to bring the power of magic alive. I believe that in this ritual I (we) enact and embody the mythical domain.

And, although I am accustomed to creating fire rituals for myself I wonder if it isn’t time for me to share this powerful art making activity with other and that a fire ritual with my community would bring the energy into the community in a positive and transformative way. It’s the making of the art that brings me new knowledge not the actual object.

Ritual

Ritual \Rit"u*al\. A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. from wikipedia.org

From Eleanor Ruckman with my comments and hers

After we met and talked about the ritual, I participated in a number of different community rituals. The combination of experiences slowed me down some about planning my own - the central question being, when ritual by its nature is a repetitive shared cultural experience, how do you create an inclusive cross-cultural ritual when the community doesn't necessarily share tradition?E>

I think that the community needs to develop it's own rituals over time. Another related question is "what constitutes community?" V>

How to do this in a way that is not exploitative or derivative but genuinely soul-derived? So different, for instance, from Aboriginal culture where the roots may have been truncated but nonetheless are deep and wide. E>

Yes I agree that perhaps the indigenous people have a closer connection to collective wisdom but I have witnessed the tremendous effort at reclaiming their shared cultural experience. I think we all experience the universality of dislocation. This is a post colonial term that I think explains the longing for connection with land and shared ritual so many of us feel. V>

I think that collective planning is part of the answer to my questions, as well as to the question about what defines community - a community can define itself (that's not the only way of course). Deep questions, more thoughts than I can expand on at the moment. E>

Although I am at the start of developing my topic, I do hope to egage a community of artists in cooperative research. I intend to expand the weblog to other bloggers and hope it will be a useful tool in creating community. I invite your comments and questions. V>

Articulate

(ar·tic·u·late) 1. divided into distinct, meaningful syllables or words. 2. endowed with the power of speech. 3. characterized by the use of clear, meaningful language.
from merckmedicus.com

My second year as PhD sudent at California Institute of Integral Studies begins with a focus on developing a dissertation topic; hopefully one that will make a significant contribution to the accademic world and more importantly to the flourishing of social and ecological world systems.

I am interested in how the practice of making art develops capacities for articulating community wisdom. I would like to explore this within the context of an “arts community” nested in the larger communities of Petaluma, Northern California and the Planet Earth. I believe that the meaning of art lays in its relation to human activity and therefore my research must be grounded in my art practice.

Local community knowledge, of ecosystems, sustainable technologies, multicultural communications, capacities for resilience, etc. must be developed so that our descendents will be able to survive the future. Much of what we need to know can not be made available through existing scientific paradigms and therefore I suggest that an inquiry focused on art practices as embodied articulation of “other ways of knowing” will be a significant contribution to the problem of “The Future” and that it must have an application in supporting the flourishing of individuals and their communities. A few years ago I realized that I did not want to die without having made a significant contribution as an artist. I can now see my way a bit more clearly.




"The Fool"
from The Voyager Tarot