Entries by tag: sensuality
On my ride in to work today, I was thinking...
I made a little pun about the Carmina Burana, which led to a discussion of the piece, and the question came up of whether the lyrics (lyrics including "It is my firm intent, in a bar-room to die," which
princekermit rightly pointed out sounds like a Country and Western song) are pagan. (Not to mention the little ditties about the joys of getting rid of one's virginity, etc.)
Well, not really, and yet, in a classic sense, absolutely.
See, the neo-pagan subculture, including all those who go around saying that they are Heathen not Pagan, or Pagan not neo-pagan, has tacked its own set of definitions to the word "pagan," and even use it as a proper noun, "Pagan," where it acts as a handy catchall for all sorts of things which, if not exactly related, at least tend to show up at the same festivals and e-groups and blogs. These are modern religious meanings, often with specific beliefs or belief-types, such as polytheism or reverence for natural cycles, or the ever-vague-yet-evocative "worship of the old gods."
But up through the 1960s, the word pagan had already evolved secondary nuances of meaning-- irreligious, hedonistic, focused on pleasure. And it seems to me that hedonism used to have a more honored place in pagan religions, particularly Wicca.
The Carmina Burana is all of that-- for a collections of songs found in a monastery, surprising pagan, religiously, in that different passages speak of pagan deities, and Fortuna, who may not really count as a Roman goddess so much as a folk-deity; but also in the irreligious, sensual, and hedonistic passages. It's both majestic and fun, cynical and beautiful. I'm fairly sure that it was adopted by 1960s-1970s pagans because it was an easily-acquired, easily disguised piece of music that could be used for raising energy, that was at least pagan-ish. (Remember, Gwydion's Songs for the Old Religion was called the first Pagan album, and that was in 1975.) Yet, the Carmina Burana could be said to symbolize a spirit of paganism, and particularly of both the majesty and the pleasure that we so often forget.
I made a little pun about the Carmina Burana, which led to a discussion of the piece, and the question came up of whether the lyrics (lyrics including "It is my firm intent, in a bar-room to die," which
princekermit rightly pointed out sounds like a Country and Western song) are pagan. (Not to mention the little ditties about the joys of getting rid of one's virginity, etc.)Well, not really, and yet, in a classic sense, absolutely.
See, the neo-pagan subculture, including all those who go around saying that they are Heathen not Pagan, or Pagan not neo-pagan, has tacked its own set of definitions to the word "pagan," and even use it as a proper noun, "Pagan," where it acts as a handy catchall for all sorts of things which, if not exactly related, at least tend to show up at the same festivals and e-groups and blogs. These are modern religious meanings, often with specific beliefs or belief-types, such as polytheism or reverence for natural cycles, or the ever-vague-yet-evocative "worship of the old gods."
But up through the 1960s, the word pagan had already evolved secondary nuances of meaning-- irreligious, hedonistic, focused on pleasure. And it seems to me that hedonism used to have a more honored place in pagan religions, particularly Wicca.
The Carmina Burana is all of that-- for a collections of songs found in a monastery, surprising pagan, religiously, in that different passages speak of pagan deities, and Fortuna, who may not really count as a Roman goddess so much as a folk-deity; but also in the irreligious, sensual, and hedonistic passages. It's both majestic and fun, cynical and beautiful. I'm fairly sure that it was adopted by 1960s-1970s pagans because it was an easily-acquired, easily disguised piece of music that could be used for raising energy, that was at least pagan-ish. (Remember, Gwydion's Songs for the Old Religion was called the first Pagan album, and that was in 1975.) Yet, the Carmina Burana could be said to symbolize a spirit of paganism, and particularly of both the majesty and the pleasure that we so often forget.
- Current Mood:
nostalgic
Comments
I particularly like, "This is not a consumer event."