Back in the mid
nineties, when The Philosopher's Stone was a paper publication we came across
a magical group called the Booze Bibbing order of Bacchus. Intrigued by the name
we contacted the heads of the order, Julian St. John and Wally Unwin, who invited
us along to one of their meetings. Not being the sort of site that turns down
the possibility of getting the low-down on an interesting group; we sent our roving
reporter Danny Lowhell along to see what this strangely named order gets
up to.
The
Booze Bibbing Order of Bacchus
First Published (on paper) 1994 in The Philosopher's Stone
FIRST SPEAKING
to Julian, the spiritual head of the Booze Bibbing Order of Bacchus, was an experience
in itself. Many of us in the pagan movement have certain ideas about what is and
is not acceptable when it comes to the philosophy of magic and the content of
ritual.
"There is a great deal of talk about not doing
ritual for personal gain, the use of intoxicants and similar moralistic matters."
says Julian, "We, however, don't go along with some of the censorious restrictions
that people often come out with. We see the conscious use of intoxicants as being
the overall driving force behind magic." Such ideas sound similar to those described
by the early Chaos Magicians where altered states of consciousness are central
to the practice, however, there the Baccans, as they are sometimes known, see
the similarity ending.
practices
They describe themselves as an open order, although they
have stringent requirements for qualifications before applications can be accepted.
Their roots go back a considerable number of years, and they now have a small
number of branches dotted around Britain. Their practices are said to be based
on ancient tradition and the rituals they perform are thought to be as accurate
as they can be with available historical texts.
On arriving
at their meeting place, a normal house in a North London suburb, Julian showed
me into the house that has a spacious garden with no overlooking neighbours. I
asked them to explain the rationale behind their practices.
"We have a set of correspondences to work with" explained Julian "which take advantage
of the known characteristics of certain intoxicants. For instance, most people
know gin is a depressant, or that brandy is a stimulant. We have carried the idea
a great deal further."
"Yes, we've done lots of research over
the years" explained Wally "particularly at parties and in pubs". Wally seemed
to be very enthusiastic about this aspect of their order.
chemistry
Julian described how, for instance, whisky can be used
as a prime mover of mood, causing dramatic and some-times unpredictable swings
of mood depending on the body chemistry of the participant. Apparently care should
be taken and it's a good idea to have a dry run with this before using it in a
ceremony, so as to ascertain the effect on the individual.
As
further members of the group arrived, they explained how they had continued this
line of thinking, having come up with correspondences for colours, seasons and
even the four elements.
"As an example" explained Julian
"we use port for Lammas, with its full flavour and abundant body, or beer
for the height of summer outside of Lammas. And as far as the elements are concerned"
he continued, "obviously water represents the element water but we don't use that
much, sparkling wines for air, vermouth with its herbs and spices for earth, and
tequila evokes the fire of the desert."
"I like that one best!"
added Wally.
Once everyone had assembled the proceedings began
to get under way. I soon discovered that I had been invited on a night with a
ritual planned (as a sneak look at the fridge confirmed), to celebrate the coming
of autumn.
Everybody robed up, in a bewildering array of coloured
robes, burgundy for brother wine, brown for brother beer, and many others that
were never explained. We moved outside to where a bonfire had been prepared and
the ritual proper began. Proceedings started with a purification of all the participants
using pure polish spirit. This is the closest any members of the group ever gets
to drinking pure alcohol which, as Wally says, is something dabblers should never
do.
Once the purification was over, the sacrament was passed
around. This consisted of a chalice of live cider, procured especially for the
purpose. This symbolised the ripening of the fruit as the seasons begin to fade
into autumn. There were prayers to their patron deity Bacchus, which drew references
to the fading of the year and the coming of winter. As the process of the ritual
continued the prayers broke into rhyming couplets and then into song.
twiglets
At this point they dedicated the proceedings to Bacchus.
This was done by each person present downing-in-one, a large goblet of Bulls Blood
wine, which was followed by a side order of peanuts, twiglets and cheese. With
Bacchus now evoked, the health of all was toasted with tequila. This way they
called upon their patron deity to warm those present with fire, so as to survive
the coming hardships of autumn and winter.
And the fridge!
From here on memories of the exact order of events becomes
slightly less clear. There was chanting, and not a little dancing round the bonfire,
and I seem to remember that a round of whisky appeared, which had something to
do with giving thanks for the successful harvest with the grain now in the store.
Things
began to get a little chaotic, with the high priest Julian stopping for a cigarette,
which is not strictly allowed as indulgences such as tobacco are forbidden by
the order, due to their belief that the body is a sacred temple and should be
treated as such. Meanwhile, Wally disappeared behind a tree for inspiration.
Taking
advantage of this break in the proceedings I made my excuses and left. I do remember,
standing outside waiting for the taxi, hearing the sound of singing and a great
deal of laughter, something about four and twenty virgins.
On
the journey home the effects of the evening's ritual must still have been with
me, as I felt the need for strong spicy food. On arrival home reality must have
shifted, as I distinctly remember a miraculous spinning of the world, followed
by a bout of scrying at the porcelain altar.
Quite what became
of the members of The Booze Bibbing Order of Bacchus I cannot say, Julian was
last seen dancing, apparently possessed by spirits, with his robe hoist above
his knees, while Wally was heard to be chanting gutteral barberous words in the
bushes nearby.
