I am psyched again about my trip to CA in early September. Going to CAW's Eleusinian Mysteries is exciting and I understand, quite an experience. I have been a little down about trying to make arrangements but recently talked to someone out there, and have a place to stay before and after, an offer of a ride from the airport when I get there, and one back to the airport so it looks like I can actually proceed with buying the ticket before prices go up any more. The only slight downer is that I have heard that it is possible that the full Mysteries won't happen unless they can get some more help to bring them off.
The Mysteries are a major undertaking with something like 10 roles within the sacred drama but each of these deity aspects needs two support people. Since the ritual is an all night ritual there are things like making coffee, or other mundane details that would pull people back to the mundane world when they needed to remain with their aspect, if they had to deal with those details. It requires a lot of help to keep it going.
I think this is important. It has been going on for 12 years now with about 15 or so people going through the experience each year. The Mystai, initiates of the Mysteries, keep the details of the experience secret. After all it is a Mystery tradition and historically the secrets were kept so well that most of the details of the ancient Eleusinian Mysteries are not known today.
One of the things that seems to me to be so important about this is that there are no requirements for joining CAW, or for being trained in a particular tradition. It isn't exclusive in the sense of spending time in a training group, working with people for a time, then being accepted, or not, into their group. This is an experience that anyone willing to be open to it and who can get there, can experience. The Pilgrim list fills up pretty rapidly with only 15 slots so there are certainly some limitations, and if you live across country there is all the expense of getting there. But a determined individual could most likely save up over several years for the experience, if they so wished. And like any special situation those people who have gone through it have something in common. They share an experience that can only be discussed with understanding with other initiates. Does this create ties of community amongst those who have experienced the Mysteries? I don't know yet:)
To maintain the Mysteries requires the help of those who have already experienced them and with some 150 initiates about it should be possible to get the needed personnel without burning people out, if only people would agree to help every few years.
Copyright © 2000 Kyril Oakwind