Kink and Spirituality - Special Topic Discussion

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[Darkhawk]

In thinking about this, I realized that I pay attention to self-sovereignty, group structures, and power dynamics as part of my devotion to Horus the Elder. (Or this tendency is part of why I'm a devotee of his.) Although I hadn't considered this before, I can see this in relationship to how I look at and do D/s play. Maybe that actually falls under the domain of Bawy, the syncretic form of Horus and Set. Not sure on this one yet.

For what it's worth, I wrote a pantoum poem for Bawy and my liege at one point.  Er, sort of for my liege trying to render something Bawy communicated to me, to be more precise....

[Nyktipolos]

I associate Aphrodite with kink as well, particularly her fiercer aspects. As well as being associated with beauty, sex, love, and desire (all of which can work with kink), she also has epithets like Summakhia (Ally in War). There are images of Her with a whip and being whipped, as well as being bound as part of ancient magical practices.

I know that perhaps this idea is a lot more common than I've found... but it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who links Her with kink. Mayhap it doesn't help that she re-surged at a point in my life where kinkiness and unrequited love were involved (although the two were not directly related to each other).

Can I ask though for information on your last sentence? I've heard of a reference of a statue of Aphrodite being "fettered", but thats all I've ever heard on the subject, as well as whipping being apart of her cult? I've only ever heard of it in the Artemis Orphia cult and the festival of Skiereia of Dionysos.

[Garnet]

Can I ask though for information on your last sentence? I've heard of a reference of a statue of Aphrodite being "fettered", but thats all I've ever heard on the subject, as well as whipping being apart of her cult? I've only ever heard of it in the Artemis Orphia cult and the festival of Skiereia of Dionysos.

Now I'm curious about your other two examples of whipping.

I found out about it in the comments to this LJ entry of Sannion's, specifically the comment thread here. (I'm arianadawnhawk on there.) He mentions some sources.

[Nyktipolos]

Now I'm curious about your other two examples of whipping.

I found out about it in the comments to this LJ entry of Sannion's, specifically the comment thread here. (I'm arianadawnhawk on there.) He mentions some sources.

Ooh, I have you on livejournal! I didn't know that.   I'm rin_x_x.

Sannion touched on it with the "chaste Artemis" comment. I screwed up the name a little, it's actually "Artemis Orthia", which seems to either mean "Upright" or "Erect" (Dionysos has the same epithet, which has some sexual connotations because it seems to be most commonly linked with his festival processions which contained a very large and upright phallus, as well as a phrase uttered by Semachos [a hero-founder who introduced wine like Ikarios]). Orthia was apparently the name given to the wooden effigy where the flogging took place, and generally whenever one looked upon it they went mad. So an oracle told them to sacrifice a youth to the effigy, but that they found a way around the rite by merely flogging youths instead so the effigy still got its blood. It's from Pausanias so it seems to be implied that its a creation myth applied to an already existing right. Pausanias also compared the rites of Artemis Orthia to that of Skiereia festival in Alea Arcadia, where women are flogged in accordance to an oracle as well. The divergence is that young men are whipped at Orthia (the reason given later on is that it toughens up young men and I consider it to be an ancient ordeal rite), while women are at Skiereia.

There is also the fact that the effigy was also called Lygodesma (willow-bound), because it was found in a willow thicket, and that the effigy is also held erect by willows (or that the field it was found in kept the effigy erect, the wording of the account is kind of throwing me for a loop here). In comparison when the rites were taking place, priestesses held the image up before the participant being flogged, and made comments to the flogger (if they didn't do it hard enough), that the image was growing heavy and they could drop it. I once found a reference that compared the priestesses and the men who underwent the rites (and thus implying the women must have as well, but it wasn't a public thing) as being "willow-y" or "willow-like", but I can't seem to find it right now. :\ UPG for me implies that ungoing the rites changed them into becoming strong, but able to bend but not break (and thus be useless).

As for the Skiereia festival.. well, there's not a whole lot known. :\ Basically A) women (or maenads, or women-as-maenads) are flogged B) at the "festival of the Shade" and C) it was done because an oracle decreed it. Walter Otto claims that Pausanias compares it to the rites of Artemis Orthia. Annnd thats about it! :\ My research thus far have led me to the Skira festival of Athene/Poseidon/Helios/Persephone/Demeter and the festival of Oskophoria. But any connections right now are tenuous and UPG-ish, and right now unwritten by me because I haven't been able to make sense of it all (beyond "Heeey...").

Most of this (Artemis Orthia stuff) right now is due to web-searching and reading Google Books on the subject, and well.. Wikipedia. So far I haven't found a solid book yet on it. Most talk about it in passing as being a fertility rite when well.... really it's not. :\ There is pretty much no evidence to it being as such, and just seems to be modern authors trying to change the rite into something its not to make it more "palatable" for people.

Sorry if I rambled. :\ I didn't mean to.

[RedLori]

There was something that I kind of wanted to add, that I forgot about before (or maybe didnt realise)

I think my upbringing religion (Catholicism) had a lot to do with my attitude to 'kink' or at least the D/s side of it
(at the moment our SM practice is largely on hold but the D/s elements are a constant...)
and not in a negative way that people often associate with the Christian religions.
Rather, a portrayal of a 'god' that is at the same time 'servant' enabled me to better accept the value and dignity of 'service'.
now I am not a bottom or sub myself, because that's just not the way I am.
but that particular aspect of my childhood religion enables me to find more sense in service and submission. 
the religion's god-figure can be portrayed as a servant, as lowering themselves, that is very valuable to me in the way I perceive my partner.
Some religions are very focused on empowering the self... which is of course a good thing (and finding the god/dess within).  But its possible if too focused that way, to lose sight of the value of service (and not only to the gods but to another person).
the god becomes the servant... that's quite characteristic in Catholicism. It helps me to recognise clearly the strength in submission.

[Garnet]

Sorry if I rambled. :\ I didn't mean to.

Not at all - that was very interesting. Thank you!

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