Ecstasy

Ecstasis

Let go! Allow the wildness back into your life! The ability to freely embrace our pleasures is part of being human. Travel deeper, through joy, into profound mindfulness. Ecstasy helps us connect with the Divine.

Dance in your rites,

Unrobed and free,

Starlight upon your naked flesh,

Come swirl with me!

Solemn should not your movements be,

Healing should be your release,

Laughter be your music,

Ecstasy will never cease.

Aradia taught that worshipping Diana and the Horned God and the lares or genius loci (spirits of place) should be a joyful affair. She instructed her disciples to connect with Diana by dancing wildly together under the moonlight-and also to run through forests and wild places, as Diana once did. She also demonstrated how dancing could be used to change one’s state of mind.

Those who followed Aradia learnt there is a synergy in raising power together-joyously, with happiness and laughter- and that that synergy creates more energy than when an individual raises power alone. The energy raised communally, combined with singing and chanting, was used to invoke friendly deities and spirits for healing.

Whilst these days such a scenario is considered a stereotype of witchcraft and ritual, it is a scene very much grounded in history. Today, witches may use ecstatic dance to commune with deities and particular spirits (if this is part of their tradition), as well as to raise power for spellcraft. However, one doesn’t have to be a witch to find a kind of extreme happiness in dancing! Turning on the music at home and having a dance or going to a place where many dance such as a festival are great ways to experience the same positive energy.