This year our House Festival day will be celebrated in private between House Members. Next year will be a busy one for House of the Dreaming, and for that we must prepare. Most recently, our family had some terrific exchanges in PA at the Vampire's Ball and in NYC at Endless Night, developing internal and intramural ideas that we cannot wait to put into action.
Although we may not be together for our family day of celebration and reflection, I ask that you take some time to read our section on the Rising Chimera under the Traditions section of our home page. And we ask that you collectively reflect on the following:
- A Time for Sacrifice
- Acts of Creative Alienation
- Inner and World Peace
- Our Donors and Nurturers
- Personal Evolution
- The Ancients and those yet to come
- The Complete Individual
- The Value and Hindrance of Time
- The Value of Blood
Chimera 2005 Reflections
per Wülfsunus
When Violet… …turns to Ebony as living can lead to black we take the time to reflect unwind and roll the moons off our back. Regressing a mix of seasons in these pools of salty unwinds till the toll "Reality Behold!" and we plummet from those arms so kind. Once here were coasts of contentment. Once here an endless array of motherly pearls brandishing swirls and royal from night to day. Here zephyrs came forth to give rise to me aloft the spirits gave birth to me no matter the lunge there was beautifully spun a net to capture me. But falling is all part of this the precipice, the sea where upon the rocks mistakenly drops the heart, the essence of dreams. When Violet… …turns to Ebony as living can lead to black we take the time to reflect unwind and roll the moons off our back. Regressing a mix of seasons in these pools of salty unwinds till the toll "Reality Behold!" and we plummet from those arms so kind. Once here were coasts of contentment. Once here an endless array of motherly pearls brandishing swirls and royal from night to day. Here zephyrs came forth to give rise to me aloft the spirits gave birth to me no matter the lunge there was beautifully spun a net to capture me. But falling is all part of this the precipice, the sea where upon the rocks mistakenly drops the heart, the essence of dreams.
per Madame X
This night was given onto our family as a night of celebration and sacrifice. This is a night of fire and blood for our brood. With each passing year the mystery of this night reveals itself further.
Tonight we celebrate that which has blossomed over the past year, we pay homage to the Ancients, we prepare for the coming year. The meal we share is not only for us but for those that have come before us that watch and for those yet to come that wait. In our libations we quench not only our thirst but also our spiritual hunger honoring and praising those that from the dreamlands have guided us together under one Honor, one Family, and one Dream. We not only honor the past and the future with our breath, but also the present, those that are here in flesh and bone have served us in spirit, heart and blood. Their names we utter in gentle tones, as we etch them on moon-kissed parchment, burning for the universe to bless. To them we seal our debt.
In silence we find our center; that tinny center of light that like an ember glows warm in our heart - peace. We can seek it for the world but it begins inside. A small tranquil moment, then another, and another, together many quiet silent peaceful moments multiply, and are unavoidably transmitted to those closer to us, and then from them to others close to them, adnosium. We can see a geometric progression as our inner peace grows to encompass the world. Our spirit rises to those nations big and small in need of peace: Taiwan, Tibet, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Latin America… Our spirit rises to those throughout the world who suffer in hatred: the Hawaiians, the Native Americans, the oppressed, the hopeless, the forgotten, the disoriented, the misanthropes… Our spirit rises to those individuals we know that struggle with rage, deceit, jealousy and wrath... Our spirit rises to meet each others in an offering of peace. As our embers meet, our center fire is lit.
Cleansed by ocean waters, illuminated by ancient fires, standing somewhere between the earth below and the opium laced heavens above, our mass summons the Ancients to our side and assures us everlasting continuity. Our different views, knowledge, perspectives and beliefs mesh terrifically to reveal our dream essence, our Chimera! Beyond words, our egregore is elevated to the Ancients. House of the Dreaming is an amalgam of individuals; our differences strengthen us, this night, we, as a family rise together renewed. Our Veil of the Waking Dream unites us with fire and our spiritual heritage bonds us in blood. The crisp bell ripples the air, stopping time, extending the moment: a glint of meteoric steel enters a narrow spout of crimson lush over slate.
We walk a mobius path of becoming, a path of awakening and evolution where along the way we cast off precious parts of the self no longer needed. We toss them into the flames, drown them in the tide, burry them in the soil, expel them into the air. Our processional walk of creative alienation leads us to a minimalist self. We are the Dreaming, we have been called here because of our critical appreciation of our personal reality, identity, and integrity. Our night side is strong, yet we are just as tenacious as we delve into our dayside. By nature we are isolationists, yet we delight in human contact and high-energy environments. Our duality meshes impeccably; we are both in the same; seamless. Our path is continuous, aware, self-validated; though it we become empowered: unique resilient survivors; the Dragon Wheel, the Leviathan, the Oroboros, the Rousing Chimera!
per Bholanath
Chimera is an illusion.
Life is full of illusions.
Individuality is an illusion because society and life are full of -- though perhaps unseen and often difficult to perceive - interdependencies.
As much as we might like to think of ourselves as acting on our own, affecting no-one but ourselves, every action involves everyone in both the cause in the effect. If X -- who you never met -- did something different then he/she, the chain of causality might have preempted or altered your situation or motivations. And the effects of your actions, similarly may effect both circumstances and yourself to effect the situation and motivations of Y. And thus, you, X, and Y are part of a more holistic One.
Time... an illusion caused by motion through space, accounting for the distinctions between when every object X relocating from Point A to Point B.
Time ... a relative notion, the perception of which varies for each subjective viewer's physical, mental, and emotional perspective. Also, possibly effected by the presence of dense objects such as black holes.
But as much, if not more, than an illusion, it is a valuable commodity.
It is often too easy to wish it away as one waits for a person, an event, etc. Sometimes one can't even justify the waiting with a rational better than waiting for something worth waiting for... But time is most precious, but once lost, squandered, or sold, impossible to recover.
The altruist and the saint say every moment is right for sacrificing to the worthy cause.
I prefer the wisdom of Hillel:
If I am not for myself, who is for me?
When I am for myself, what am I?
If not now, when? (Pirkei Avot 1:14)
Such are the questions I always try to answer and keep in balance.
Whether literal or metaphorical, Blood is the life force.
Though one may quibble over the relative value of individual lives, there is nothing more precious than life. Life should be embraced whenever possible.
The decision to destroy life should never be undertaken lightly.
Alienation... being made something other than the surrounding population.
Usually it is a matter of circumstance, relocation for whatever reason. Sometimes its a matter of belief, ethics, culture.
Sometimes it is a choice. Fear of getting too close, or rather getting only to loose or have unrequited the attachment that may come with proximity.
A typical example is the happy couple that suddenly finds a million reasons to quarrel when they know that their respective life paths are about to take them in two completely separate directions. It eases the pain of longing if each has convinced him/her-self and the other that each is better off without.
The world may be ours, but it is not ours alone.
It is the heirloom of the past and the inheritance for the future.
We must do our best not just to keep this world inhabitable, but to make it a paradise for our children and our children's children, and -- if one believes in reincarnation -- for ourselves when we return.
We should be grateful towards everyone who willingly provides for us, regardless of how or why. Sometimes it is too easy to neglect them, to fail to adequately express one's gratitude.
Life is full of opportunities to grow and to adapt to one's environment.
Embrace every opportunity to meet one's full potential as both an individual and as a member of society.
The complete individual is not just an individual. He has crossed the abyss that divides him/her from everything that everyone else perceives as "other". His/her Will and the Will of the Universe (of God, if you must) is unified. There is no difference between the magickal act of making the universe conform to his Will and the mystical experience of allowing himself to conform to the Will of the Universe. The ebb and flow of magick and mysticism is singularity.
There is no end and no beginning to every story.
We walk a segment of the path... it may be long or short... but the path keeps going and when one has had opportunity to follow it long enough, we see the other side of things, why every pleasure is the an opportunity for someone else's horror, why every horror is the opportunity for someone's nirvana. Walking the Mobius Strip is learning to embrace all the dreams and all the nightmares, making the most of every experience.