Rituals find their place in every aspect of our
daily life. Some of these rituals are derived out
of our patterned behavior (mindless routine) but
many of them are consciously contrived. Each ritual
system will have its own governing factors, which
determine its nature, format and objective. This
article mainly focuses on those rituals largely
concerned with non-secular ideology.
What
is a Spiritual ritual?
A spiritual ritual is a prescribed routine
that will often involve gestures, words and objects,
designed to influence transcendental entities and/or
forces on behalf of the performers’ goals,
interests and beliefs.[1]
These rituals can be elaborate functions comprising
of smaller individual rites or they can be as simple
as a short prayer. Whatever the complexity, the
real power lies in the performers’ belief.
For without this, the ritual is just an empty script.
Some examples of non-secular or transcendental concepts:
- Inernal:
psyche, mind, spirit, chi, soul, inner self,
life force...
- External:
deities, gods, cosmic force, universal
energy, higher power, destiny, karma, fate...
- Both:
the all, universal energy
Ritual
Purpose
If ‘religion’ is the paradigm
by which we define our place in the world, then
the ritual is the mechanism by which we interrelate
and connect with it. This relationship can be defined
by its underlying objectives of which there are
two main categories; cohesion and, petition
and benediction.
Cohesion:
The purpose is to solidify and reinforce the individuals
own spirituality as well as (when applicable), the
social aspect of the spiritual community as a whole.
This is accomplished through veneration, systemization
and formalization.
Veneration
- Through worship, the individual and/or social
community can express their adoration and reverence
for their divine subject. Through this worship,
social and spiritual ties are formed, creating
a shared spiritual unit and a strengthening of
belief. (Catholic mass, and Muslims’ Salat)
Systemization
- In order for cohesion to exist there must
be controls. In a community, these controls are
set forth by the community’s shared ethics,
ideology and doctrines. (Bible, Koran, The Vedas,
Tanach, and Kabbalah, just to name a few.) In
solipsistic belief structures, these controls
are created by the individuals’ personal
ethical tenets, which might be based on for instance,
societal norms or Natural Humanism.
Formalization
- The objective of the ritual is to validate
a status or change in status within a social-spiritual
community. Examples are rites of passage, birthing
and naming ceremonies, initiations, confirmations,
and weddings.
Petition
& Benediction This
purpose is self-explanatory; the objective is to
request a favor, which can be spiritual or materialistic.
Depending on the type of petition, this favor might
require a sacrifice as a part of the ritual. After
being favored, a ritual expression of gratitude
will complete the circle. Examples are purification's,
invocations, some divination's, salvation's, prays
and spells.
Another Viewpoint -- Social anthropologist, Victor
W. Turner introduces a concept called social drama.
This is a process arising from situations of discord
within society. Within these social dramas there
are four phases of which the third is the ritual.
In this stage, the ritual acts as an adjustive and
redressive mechanism.[2]
For an exceptional dissertation of Turner’s
processual symbolic analysis, check out Journal
for the Scientific Study of Religion 30(1):1-25,
(1991).
Spells
and Prayers
For the most part, spells and prayers
are just singular rituals. They are rudimental units
that can stand alone or be integrated into a larger
ceremony. Spells may use words, formulas, or objects,
each believed to attribute its own "power"
or act as a focus thereof, separate from the performer.
It is through the manipulation of these characteristics
that the objective is achieved.
How
does one manipulate the perceived power?
Does it follow the laws of physics?
Do we know all the laws of physics?
The
prayer only utilizes specially formulated words
but these words do not contain power, only focus.
They are used to communicate with a transcendental
being, which is often a god or goddess, but might
also be a deceased loved one.
Personal
comments -- If the theory behind the spell is true,
then that must mean that the power contained in the
objects, must have some sentient qualities in order
to be manipulated in a non-rational and often unrelated
manner. I remain skeptical about this concept of universal
animism but I have not totally discounted it either.
Nevertheless, interestingly enough, this animism is
still being considered within the natural science
community. In fact quantum physicist, E. H. Walker
speculated that all things in the universe may have
a discrete consciousness; discrete being the operative
word here. [3]
Signs
and Symbols
Signs generically denote an existence
or presence of something not immediately evident
or obvious. This allows for a whole range of forms,
each having their own discriminatory use; for example
a road-sign may indicate a hidden danger. Signs
are mostly indicators or pointers while symbols
are representations. The ritual will use both but
it is the symbol that is the most prevalent. The
spiritual ritual requires the use of symbols extensively,
because of its inherent transcendental and metaphysical
nature.
Symbols
are anything that represents something else either
by association, resemblance, or convention. Quite
simply, they are allegorical storage units. Symbols
are used and shared in order for us to communicate
and construct an archetype of the ambiguous and
the abstract. Symbols are multi-interpretive, therefore,
to avoid misunderstanding, the symbol needs to be
in context and the partaker needs to have a working
knowledge of this context. It is very important
that what is attempted to be shared with the "symbol"
is what is perceived conclusively. When successful,
the symbol, itself, becomes a ritual.
Question:
What does this aniconic ideogram mean to you?
What do you perceive as the context?
Something
to contemplate ...
If you had to design
or choose a symbol to represent "truth",
what would it be? |
Terminology
It can get a bit confusing, so here are
a few terms that one may see when dealing with symbols.
Semiotics-
is the theory and study of signs and symbols,
especially as elements of language or other systems
of communication, and comprising semantics, syntactics,
and pragmatics.[4]
Icon-
is any picture, image or representation. Iconic
icons are those that have some perceivable likeness
to what they denote while aniconic icons don't.
Ideogram-
is a graphic symbol that represents an abstract
idea or concept.
Pictogram-
depicts a picture
or icon representing a word or idea, for example
a hieroglyph.
Logogram-
is a symbol representing a word without expressing
or limited to its' specific pronunciation or spelling.
For example: 5 can mean fem, cinco, cinq or vijf.
Sigils-
are signs or images that are considered magical.
Personal
comments --
Spells -- I feel there is a certain value to performing
spells, but NOT as an instant "recipe for success".
Much of the success depends on the performers, the
partakers and their intentions.
I think the real power lies in the performer and less
in the objects, which, to me, are just symbols or
tools. What ever power that may exist in these objects
(and words), it is attributed to them by their user
-—Hence, why I do not do spells. My thinking
is: why look to something else, if I have the 'power'?
Is not my 'power' sufficient enough? So, rather than
depend on a spell, I believe in myself. I guess you
could say - I am my own spell.
As for Rituals – They always provide me with
a sense comfort and security, be they spiritual, physical
or social. They do this by their very nature, through
repetition, in their mundanity, and by the fact they
are in my direct control ... when so much in the world
is not.
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