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Archive for the ‘New Old Traditions’ Category

The time has come, We Revelers.

The time has come to say “Thank you” and “Goodnight.”

As of today we will no longer be posting new material on the site. It has been a truly wonderful experience, and it is definitely sad to see it end. But thems is the breaks and new and exciting projects are a callin’.

Thank you to all our writers whose unique visions and inquisitive natures have made the pages of These New Old Traditions a sparkly delight.

Thank you to all our readers, for it is because of you that These New Old Traditions carried on as long as She did.

I wish you all the best bartering may yield.

Onward and Upward.

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You may find the continued writings of our founder over at Not New York.

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"The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun," by William Blake

“We are more closely connected to the invisible than to the visible.”
—Novalis

Beginning in 1990, the [Eulessynian] Hot Tub Mystery Religion (HTMR) celebrated Greater and Lesser Mysteries in two sanctuaries, both on Silent Oak Drive in Euless, Texas, bounded by miles of dark woods surrounding the Trinity River. Fueled by Dionysian excess and theme park aesthetics, Epopts sought to create installation-variations on the ideal of the pleasure dome, inspired by the imaginations of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Moorish Luminary Doctor Jabir ‘abd al-Khaliq. Prince Krazie, Son of Yippie, a reformed COINTELPRO fink, artist and charter Epopt, described a typical rite as,

“A small speck of light and beauty in an unreal, sick world…receiving the most holy sacraments from the most high of the highest…black light…strange sounds, music…naked nymphs splashing in the rippling water.”

It was in this heady vat of high-minded fun that Forbidden Books, a local cafe and bookstore, rose to the surface, caked in luridly colored sargassum like some rubber-clad, hyper-saturated B-movie creature. ‘Zines, Re/Search, the Amok catalog, titles from AK Press and Autonomedia all found their way into our hearts and minds through that tavern of blameworthiness. It also served as a community center for the extraordinarily weird. HTMR pamphlets and samizdat erupted like wildflowers proclaiming “Big FUN!” and urging the reader to contemplate the koan: “How much fun can you have before someone tries to stop you?” Oh, how we’ve tested this axiom and its boundary repeatedly and under conditions both mad and sensible.

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Last year was a great year for These New Old Traditions, with all sorts of interesting pieces coming down the wire. Here’s a list of the top ten most read pieces:

10. PLAYING NORDIC: The fine line between honoring one’s own heritage and creepy white pride cultishness…, by Onalistus Reveler
“Conservatives befriending pagan traditions (often specifically Heathenism, also known as Germanic Paganism) hover so close to the ideas of the men’s movement, and to supposedly ‘post-racial” concepts of racial solidarity, you just wish sometimes they’d take off their Norse helmet and be like, Look. We take pride in being white. We relish in dated concepts of ‘maleness.’ And, we believe ethnic purity is a real thing that should be preserved. Instead, so many PagaCons try and hide their racism beneath the leaves on their Odin altar, burying their bigotry in notions of ‘roots’ and ‘heritage.'”

Find the rest after the jump….

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Guess what? Now we’ve got a local branch run by our very own Onalistus Reveler. The word is that he’ll be covering NYC’s vibrant (and especially marginal) spiritual scenes. Exciting! But don’t worry, he’ll be writing here still as well. All is goooooood!

NOT NEW YORK website
NOT NEW YORK facebook

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From melissadesa.wordpress.com

With none of my household being Christian, Christmas is an odd holiday to celebrate.  But as my daughter so aptly observed, “I like getting presents!”  Yes, tis the season!  Commerce has packaged December as the month of buying, whether you be Christian, Jewish, or African-American, or none of these.  Who wants to be left out of the present-getting?  (A lot of people, but…)  I most likely would not celebrate Christmas at all, if it were not for my daughter’s desire to eat sugar, get presents, and do fun creative stuff while cooped up in the house.  As a mystic reveler, it is my challenge to turn Christmas on its head.

Goodbye, Baby Jesus.  Hello, 2-dimensional Christmas.

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Outside of brochure for The Society for All

First up in our profile of new religions is an interesting little path manifest around the idea of waiting—or longing—as one might experience while waiting—or longing—for the bus to arrive. A truly urban religion if ever there was one, The Society for All is a path of wonder and devotion for the beloved (here in the form of a city bus). Adherents of the path, known as Omnes (meaning “everyone”) chant and travel this world waiting for the arrival of…. hmmm…..

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During the months of October and November I had the privilage of being witness to a number of brandy spankin’ new religions being made manifest in my “Start Yr Own Religion” class at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn, NY. I will being profiling these this week.

Stay tuuuuned….

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“There are a good many fools who call me a friend, and also a good many friends who call me a fool.”
—G. K. Chesterton

Among the scattering of winter holidays, both sacred and secular, there is nothing quite like the medieval Feast of Fools, an event once loathed by both Catholic and Protestant alike for its biting satire, ridiculous excesses and heathen trappings. This popular feast for centuries involved the occupation of a cathedral by peasants, boy bishops and livestock under the direction of a Lord of Misrule or Abbott of Unreason, usually on or about the Feast of the Circumcision (January 6). Celebrants wore costumes, cross-dressed or sported mock-clerical garb. Other features of this unusual celebration included the burning of old shoes instead of incense, gambling on the cathedral steps, and incredible inebriation. Much of the appeal of the farcical feast comes from its social and clerical inversions which ostensibly date back to the Roman Saturnalia, a week-long pageant during which slaves, at least ceremonially, ruled over their masters and everyone took a holiday. This pastime was so popular that even crazy Caligula Caesar was unable to mitigate the festivities.

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One of my students passed along a link to her documentarian friend, Phyllis Galembo’s, website cataloging ritual clothing. One image is above.

Why?

Recently, in my “Start Yr Own Religion” class we discussed the use of clothing in ritual and ceremony and the difference between “formal wear” and the “come as you are” approach. The question there being, what exactly demarcates a space as “sacred?” Is it because we name it so? What effect does having “special” clothing (robes, gowns, face paint, horns!, skycladness, etc.) have on separating the mundane from the sacred? Is such a dichotomy over-played and unnecessary? Of course, these are questions the sadhaka, the practitioner, will decide for her or his self, individually, or by consensus in community, so in some ways the question is moot. However, when we live in a world where most ritual and rite has been vacated of potency, it helps to at least take a peek at the opportunities we might have to don that headdress or rock up in PJs.

Perhaps it’s a question of urgency -vs- initiation.

[some vids after the bump jump]

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You can start your search finding more of pics like this here.

And then “friend” us on facebook here.

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Peacock Angel camp, Flipside 2006, TX*

I was a senior in high school when I first heard of the Pleasure Dome. I had just been kicked out of J.R.O.T.C. for a series of subversive pranks, and an agreement was reached with the Drama Department that I could finish out the year there and receive full credit. My drama teacher was a Rosicrucian who was having a fling with my best friend at the time, who was a sociopath. She gave me Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan” to read for a UIL competition. “I think this fits you,” she told me. I went on to give a listless reading but the poem haunted me afterward.

In the early ‘90s, I read an interview with physicist Nick Herbert in Mondo 2000 in which he suggested diverting a portion of U.S. military spending to fund a series of pleasure domes. It seemed like an inspired idea. I returned to Coleridge’s poem, finding fresh inspiration, and began to do some research, learning that the dome had actually been a large yurt, Xanadu’s Summer Palace of Kubla Khan, grandson of Genghis.

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That’s right, kiddies. It’s Harvest Moon time. And, with that brings the beginning of the Resting Tide and the downward swing of the year. Hooray!

From the New Old Hymnal of Holiday Happiness:

FALL EQUINOX: “The Birth of the Moon” (On/around September 21st)
By nightfall we will once again celebrate a birth, the birth of the Moon (ALL: Hooray!) The Sun has finally made peace with its transition and has yielded to the power of its relative. From now until the Spring Equinox the Moon will begin to regain its influence over our days and nights. Similar to the Spring Eq., the Fall Equinox is a time to celebrate equality and re-establish our connection to the seasons.

Enjoy!

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Hailing from the fashionably exquisite island of Great Britain, Rebecca L. Brown is a writer specializing in horror, SF, humour, surreal, and experimental fiction. Don’t be fooled, however, her writing often wanders off into other genres and gets horribly lost.

We’d love for you to check out her most recent posts for These New Old Traditions linked below and just after this colon:

“Spirituality of the Cat”
“Making Incense”

“Enjoying Edible Flowers”
“Lavender in the Kitchen”

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Van Gogh "Noon: Rest From Work (After Millet) 1889-90"

Hello, We Revelers.

Guess what? We’ll be back just after the first week of September. The Swelter proved to be a time to take a much needed break from the rampant posting and clicking of keys. Also I, Onalistus Reveler, will be taking a biking trip upstate to visit some Revelers and get some last ditch seasonal R&R and will be back helping to get the posts up and running soon thereafter.

Here’s some of what’s coming up:

  • Civilization & You
  • Weed Eating
  • Anarcho-mysticsm
  • Comix
  • The Upcoming Halloween Revel
  • and more….

So, stay in touch, be in touch, and touch someone you love.

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NEW OLD TRADITIONS IN THE CLASSROOM
3rd Ward, Brooklyn, NY

DIY Publishing: ‘Zine Making, Saturdays July 17, 24, 31, 2:30pm – 5:30pm
By the end of the course students will have collected material for, laid out, printed, bound, and photocopied a completed ‘zine to either keep for themselves, or distribute guerilla style to the masses. To that end we will learn about the history of ‘zine publishing, the varying ideological currents that use them, and why a person might choose to make a ‘zine over a high-gloss journal or online blog. We will look at a wide variety of examples of DIY printing including poetry chapbooks, political tracts, punk fanzines, and religious propaganda. Students will learn the art of cut-and-paste, as well as ways to generate text and imagery. We will also look at different folding and binding techniques, including a simple Japanese stitch, as well as how to make a press for drilling holes into chapbooks for sewn bindings.

More info here

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All Hail!

And thus begins the Swelter. More to come…

Go outside…

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NEW OLD TRADITIONS IN THE CLASSROOM:3rd Ward, Brooklyn, NY

Start a New Religion, Mondays June 28, July 5, 12, 19, 7:00pm – 10:00pm
In this class students will each write, design, and craft a new spiritual path (as far out or traditional as desired), to be summed up and presented at the end of the course through presentations, handouts, and booklets. Over the four weeks students will create hymns that can be used to exalt their beatitudes, define the tenets of their path so others will know what it’s all about, produce propaganda in order to call the willing to the Light, as well as explore the role of (read: draw/mold/create) deities in their new spiritual path. Using published examples from occult, as well as mainstream traditions we will look for inspiration from a variety of unusual sources. Students will be expected to play with what it means to even “be religious,” and should be prepared and willing to engage in a variety of mediums, including text, song, and iconography. Some experience with making ‘zines or other DIY publications a plus, but not required.

More info here

DIY Publishing: ‘Zine Making, Saturdays July 17, 24, 31, 2:30pm – 5:30pm
By the end of the course students will have collected material for, laid out, printed, bound, and photocopied a completed ‘zine to either keep for themselves, or distribute guerilla style to the masses. To that end we will learn about the history of ‘zine publishing, the varying ideological currents that use them, and why a person might choose to make a ‘zine over a high-gloss journal or online blog. We will look at a wide variety of examples of DIY printing including poetry chapbooks, political tracts, punk fanzines, and religious propaganda. Students will learn the art of cut-and-paste, as well as ways to generate text and imagery. We will also look at different folding and binding techniques, including a simple Japanese stitch, as well as how to make a press for drilling holes into chapbooks for sewn bindings.

More info here

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© Pat Graham

Daniel “Nomo” Higgs, along with a number of other notable travelers, is probably the biggest influence behind my willing participation in these things we call New Old Traditions. So, lucky for me, he’s got a new double album out on Thrill Jockey Records.

Here’s what I believe to be the first track.

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It is with great pleasure that I welcome two new New Old writers to the team. Hello, Blujay. Hello, Cody Meyocks.

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Blujay lives in Brooklyn. She just started occupational therapy school. Her piece on Memorial Day can be found here, while her piece on the intersection of consumerism and gift giving is here.

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Cody Meyocks is a hobo mystic poet. He writes, sings, and lives for the furtherance of primitivism, especially its relation to the spirit, and maintains the blog Ouroboros Ponderosa. Cody’s article on the segmentation of the social can be found here.

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Join Onalistus Reveler, Daisy Jane Danger, Ernistine Cabins, and Briar Reveler for this New Old Event where we will learn how to make kombucha and kimchi, discuss the history of these two mysterious edibles, and learn about some of the benefits of putting them in your belly. Below are the details:

“Kombucha and Kimchi Talk and Giveaway”

Saturday May 29, Brooklyn, NY
Sponsored by These New Old Traditions.
$5 suggested donation.
First ten people through the door get free kombucha mother.
Bring proper containers (jars) for kombucha mothers &/or some kimchi.
Please RSVP if you’d like to attend.

WHERE: The Good House Brooklyn, 599 E. 7th St., Apt. 6F, Brooklyn, NY, 11218

WHEN: Saturday, May 29, 2010

WHAT TIME: 1:00pm — 3:00pm

HOW MUCH: Suggested $5.00 donation

If you’re on The Facebook please check out the event there and RSVP. If you’ve taken a stand against such mind-numbing social networking mediums, then A.) well done, and B.) email us to RSVP.

newoldtraditions [at] gmail [dot] com

Note: You must RSVP in order to come.

So please do, ’cause we’d love to have you!

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