No title :(
This piece is heavily inspired by themes of religious madness and ecstacy, particularly in relation to Dionysus. I made this piece as a reflection on how oftentimes in Hellenic Polytheist circles, people are warned before worshipping Dionysus, and how sometimes that warning is warranted. While he isn't an inherently dangerous god to worship, he's very eager to flip your life upside down if you let him, and if you aren't ready it can be very easy to be blindsided by the chaos.In my experience with him, he's no stranger to taking things into his own hands, whether that be through driving you just a little bit crazy, or of course more tame means such as guidance through signs or dreams. If you come to him asking for help you'll get help, even if the help isn't what you wanted. He knows what's best, and worshipping him comes with the knowledge that he will guide you, and you have to trust in him.
There's also themes of religious obsession in this piece, because that's something I've experienced to an extremely high degree. Before worshipping Dionysus, I actually was a lot more casually religious. I'd pray here and there, make offerings every now and again, but it had been months since I actually had an altar set up to any god. But once I started to worship Dionysus, I became way more religious than before, to a degree I've never experienced. It hasn't been unpleasant though, I enjoy it. Becoming more religious was never really a conscious choice, it just sort of happened. When I was mainly worshipping Apollo, I had a very modest altar set up, and I never really wanted to expand or anything. I wasn't pulled to give more or do more, just what I was consciously doing already. However, with Dionysus, there's been this constant pull to give more, not out of obligation or force, but because that's what it means to worship.
In this piece, there's a lot of allusion to Bacchus, one of Dionysus' epithets, often associated with his roles as a god of madness, frenzy, and ecstacy (as well as the celebration and wine stuff, but those all go hand in hand). This is, for obvious reasons, tied to the overarching themes of religious ecstacy and madness. Fun fact: it's a common misconception that Bacchus is just the Roman counterpart! The Greeks also used that epithet for him, as can be found in several hymns!
- "Χαίρε βάκχε!" (English: "Hail Bacchus")
- "Divine madness or divine intervention?"
- "AMEN"
- "I've changed and fermented like grapes to wine / Praise to the man who grows the vine"
- "кто я? кто ты?" (English: "Who am I? Who are you?")
- "Speak through me, mad and drunken Bacchus, use me as your mortal mouthpiece"
- "No more crouching, no more sobbing" (which is a line from The Bacchae)
- In the background theres angel numbers 111, 222, 333, 444, 555, 666, 777, 888, 999, and 1111