Steps to Bring Together Disparate Realities
There is a fracture in the fabric of reality, brought into being by human endeavour. A gulf now gapes between our anthropocentric conception of reality, and the “symbiotic real” * – the fact that we live in a deeply interconnected biosphere. The following instructions offer the opportunity to bridge this gulf and to draw together again these two realities. These instructions should be performed in a group of two or more people, and the following materials are required: a bell (or something else which produces a clean tone when struck), a basin of water, a small mound of soil, a hollowed out bullhorn (or several feathers), and a handful of berries (or some other fruit). * Timothy Morton; Humankind (Verso: London, 2017) p1
Text by Jamie J. Maule Illustration by Laura Marija Balciunaite
Begin sitting in a circle, or opposite your partner.
Wash your hands and feet with cool water.
Ring the bell.
Take some dirt in your right hand and rub it gently into the forehead of the person on your right.
Whilst doing this, say: “This is the earth from which all life springs, take it into yourself.�
Ring the bell again, take turns.
Fill the bullhorn with water and hold It out for the person to your right to drink from. (Alternatively: with a feather lightly brush three times both temples of the person on your right).
Whilst doing this, say: “Here is the spirit of the animals, take it into yourself.
Ring the bell.
Pass around the bowl of berries or fruit.
Take the fruit in your right hand and feed it to the person on your right.
Whilst doing this, say “Here is the spirit of the flora, take it into yourself.�
Ring the bell, at this final ring, sing or hum the bell’s note in unison with it.
This marks the end of the ritual.