ἑορτή Τρεισκουρων και Τροφιμων and Lesser Feast of 老子

Just finished the two bits of ritual study today, honoring the ἑορτή Τρεισκουρων και Τροφιμων by studying A Serpent Path Primer and the Thelemic Lesser Feast of 老子 by studying the 道德經.  Actually, I did them the other way around, which might have presented a tiny little problem.

In both instances, I offered a simple, off-the-cuff invocation to the saints and heroes at hand (and yes, Antinous, there was a god in there, too!) and sat down to share a drink and some study with them.  I shared some cherry Doctor Pepper (the perfect soda) with 老子 and some milk with the Τρεισκουροι and Τροφιμοι.  I had poured only a devotional amount of soda, but when I was pouring the milk, a moment's wander of mind caused me to fill the cup.  "Well," I thought, "there ARE five of you!"

As I read the first 37 chapters of 道德經, I felt the saint's presence, pulling my mind into a calm and receptive state, still waters that refused to strike the verses too strongly with analysis.  The very reading of it was elevating and devotional.  And, as seems to always be the case with the gnostic saints (or at least Doctor Dame Anna Mary Bonus Kingsford and 老子), I was inspired several times to post bits to Facebook as I read.

That ended and I took a short break before studying A Serpent Path Primer, which was significantly more difficult.  One reason might have been the vast difference in writing styles and the resultant shift in the action of reading, as the Primer opens with a highly-academic essay on syncretism (which is wonderful, but so far at least, seems to miss out on the obvious and potentially fertile cross-pollination of syncretism and queer theory).  Perhaps oddly, this essay on a highly synthetic-thought subject calls for an awful lot of analytical thought, so there was a bit of a clash there.

The other reason might have been that academic study, even of a subject involving them, felt a little at odds with their energies.  For one, I think Achilles wanted me to be doing much more movement than just sitting there and for two, their association with Ἡρῴδης ὁ Ἀττικός's "alphabet boys" and their association with what today might be called dyslexia might have interfered with the process as well.  Considering that March is not only the Tetrad++ month but the Ἡρῴδης ὁ Ἀττικός month in the ἐκκλησία Αντινοου, I guess I'll have time to work it out!