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central altars at parties
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Acidhive
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
76
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2014
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 15:07
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And again one of my posts is misinterpreted by a lot of you. I'm agitating against all the stupid posts I've been seeing popping up on this forum. People will go a long way to drag things into this scene that do not belong here. Trance in my opinion, and any form of it, be it psytrance, progressive, whatever, is not based on any religion. That's what gives it its strength. Trance goes beyond all the cultural and spiritual beliefs and just is a form of music which cen be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of beliefs. Seems to me that altars would disrupt that idea.
  "Subconscious unravels at the point of death, and all time it has known erupts into a moment. As death extinguishes us, so we become it."
[Esoteric: Subconscious Dissolution Into The Continuum] |
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Licio2
Started Topics :
6
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149
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 15:37
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On 2005-09-22 15:07, Acidhive wrote:
And again one of my posts is misinterpreted by a lot of you. I'm agitating against all the stupid posts I've been seeing popping up on this forum. People will go a long way to drag things into this scene that do not belong here. Trance in my opinion, and any form of it, be it psytrance, progressive, whatever, is not based on any religion. That's what gives it its strength. Trance goes beyond all the cultural and spiritual beliefs and just is a form of music which cen be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of beliefs. Seems to me that altars would disrupt that idea.
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Acidhive, your post concentrates so many things I always wanted to say but never found the right words for.
I think I'll use it as a signature for my next messages!
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colon
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Posted : Sep 22, 2005 18:12
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i disagree, while i'm not in the least a spiritual person myself, i feel the spirituality is part of what makes the scene
that there's more to it than just music that it's also a way life, is exactly what has been giving the scene strength imo |
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gatsby
IsraTrance Junior Member
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17
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178
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 18:14
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I would like to get back on topic, which is the use of altars in party design around the planet.
I especially am curious if this is common in Australian and South African parties.
For me "trance" means "altered state of consciousness" and IMHO the music only gets you 50% of the way there. The rest is visual ambience, friendliness and good vibes from organizers and attendees, performance, perhaps the use of fire as a performance tool, the spoken word, food and drink, dress and costume, beauty of the indoor or outdoor setting, temperature and quality of air, everything.
So I am curious about the use of altars at parties, and any other design elements you find peculiar to a region, for example, North American parties or South African parties.
It appears from posts so far that European parties are quite different from North American, and I have heard this from friends too.
Whether or not you like altars is not what I am asking. That is a matter of taste and IMHO should be a separate topic.
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stompa
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7
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179
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 19:18
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Acidhive!!! Thank you for giving me the best laugh this week..... |
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dE.Tonatik
Detonatik
Started Topics :
83
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2374
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 19:35
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wow this is some discussion ...
great topic
and even more greater words by mubali 
personally i think , altars are there to create a feeling of positive energy among the ppl .. u czn only feel the energy if v want to experience it that way . . its a good innovative idea specially at the kind of speed v r rocketing into the future ....
it should b something which everybody can understand and share .
boom from bomB-Bay . india, EARTH
out now
http://parvati-records.com/music-shop/cd/out-of-time |
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gatsby
IsraTrance Junior Member
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17
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178
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 20:08
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This is something we discuss frequently for our parties: the need to avoid party cliches: by cliches I mean not only the use of "OM" and Hindu icons but also extraterrestrial / alien themed art, mushrooms, etc etc.
Unless it is done in a humorous or ironic way, or we just don't have enough deco materials to fill out the space otherwise.
And about "focussing more on the music", to me the party is multisensory and is much more than the music. That appears to be a matter of personal taste and we could argue about that for hours to no effect.
What inspires me is Burning Man, which cannot be boxed in by any labels; I would like our parties to be similarly indescribable and only by that way do we attain true "magick".
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On 2005-09-22 12:13, HandA wrote:
Personally I would love to see much less "cool" and "in" symbols and icons at parties and see people focus much more on the music.
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mubali
Mubali
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71
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2219
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 20:44
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Interesting perspectives on this subject... If it were completely all about the music, then we'd all sit at home and listen to this stuff on our boom boxes or computers. Any event has a major foundation in the music, (or at least I would hope so) but at the same time that's only catering to one of the 5 senses.
Honestly if it would help the energy and vibe I would be down to see an altar of old shoes... It isn't neccesarrily what is up there that matters, it's how people connect to the items that are placed there. And due to the fact that hindu mysticism was pretty integral in the formation of this subculture, it's almost only natural to see those things there... Now if you personally have an issue with the statues, that is well within your right to choose not to deal with it. Talk to the organizers and request them to perhaps move it away from being the focal point, maybe you'd rather focus your energy on the performers instead... That's more than ok, but I've never been to any trance event where any religion was actually forced upon me... Whereas I have been to a couple christian raves on accident where you'd get your hand stamped in the symbol of a cross...
An Eagle may soar, but Weasels don't get sucked into jet engines. |
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gatsby
IsraTrance Junior Member
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17
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178
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 20:56
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One way to deflate the gravity of the religious imagery and knock it down a notch is to use really cheesey pop culture religious items like Jesus lamps, light up Madonna, glow in dark Krishna. There is so much crap out there that is really funny and also inspiring in a sad/funny way if you set it up as a sacred item.
I'm all for irony. |
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exotic
IsraTrance Full Member
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200
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5057
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 21:04
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sorry i am not sticking to the topic but acidhive that first post of yours made my day..
missing plug-in |
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*Karma Cola*
IsraTrance Full Member
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113
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2314
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 21:13
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On 2005-09-22 00:12, Surrender wrote:
an altar is religious in its very nature.
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Dont quite agree. It could just be a symbol of peace or something else. Doesnt necessarily have to be leaning towards religion.
~*** You can tell By the way i use my walk, Im a woman's man, No time to Talk***~ |
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rich
IsraTrance Full Member
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103
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2184
Posted : Sep 23, 2005 00:08
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On 2005-09-22 21:13, *Karma Cola* wrote:
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On 2005-09-22 00:12, Surrender wrote:
an altar is religious in its very nature.
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Dont quite agree. It could just be a symbol of peace or something else. Doesnt necessarily have to be leaning towards religion.
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But in this topic, they are clearly spiritual in nature, containing symbols from eastern religions (I've mostly seen Buddha or Shiva as the centerpiece). I have seen quite a few (mainly in northern california) and none I've seen have centered around anything else but eastern religion.
Like it's been said by others, this is fine for people who feel a need for physical symbols, just like people need to go to church or the synagogue or wherever, to find spirituality.
My opinion – psychedelic trance is a personal journey facilitated by music. Keep the altars in your head. If you need to gravitate toward objects, gravitate toward the speakers. or if your outdoors, you have nature as your altar.
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HandA
Inactive User
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9
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890
Posted : Sep 23, 2005 00:36
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On 2005-09-23 00:08, rich wrote:
But in this topic, they are clearly spiritual in nature, containing symbols from eastern religions (I've mostly seen Buddha or Shiva as the centerpiece). I have seen quite a few (mainly in northern california) and none I've seen have centered around anything else but eastern religion.
Like it's been said by others, this is fine for people who feel a need for physical symbols, just like people need to go to church or the synagogue or wherever, to find spirituality.
My opinion – psychedelic trance is a personal journey facilitated by music. Keep the altars in your head. If you need to gravitate toward objects, gravitate toward the speakers. or if your outdoors, you have nature as your altar. |
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It's nice to finally see someone in this forum with the same opinion as I have. We are rare but we are here 
Remind me to buy you a beer if our pats should ever cross.
Cheers. |
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gatsby
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
17
Posts :
178
Posted : Sep 23, 2005 00:37
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On 2005-09-23 00:08, rich wrote:
But in this topic, they are clearly spiritual in nature, containing symbols from eastern religions (I've mostly seen Buddha or Shiva as the centerpiece). I have seen quite a few (mainly in northern california) and none I've seen have centered around anything else but eastern religion.
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Our altars have literally anything that people find inspiring or quirky. We have had African carved statues, we intend to use some Voudou symbols, I would accept anything anyone brought as an offering. A Mickey Mouse statue, a doll, something from childhood, an inspiring book, a sculpture, a fractal design, a kaleidoscope, whatever. If people bring just something associated with a classical religion, it is more because many people may still have difficulty thinking of unconventional approaches to spirituality.
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Like it's been said by others, this is fine for people who feel a need for physical symbols, just like people need to go to church or the synagogue or wherever, to find spirituality.
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How about this: music is a physical symbol.
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My opinion – psychedelic trance is a personal journey facilitated by music. Keep the altars in your head. If you need to gravitate toward objects, gravitate toward the speakers. or if your outdoors, you have nature as your altar.
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Raves in the central U.S. are often like this: speakers, dj and not much else.
Pretty blah from a visual perspective. Boring, boring, boring. I don't know what a psy party would be without deco and visual design. We have five senses, I would like to see them all explode during a party.
You are describing a kind of party that is quite common, but not very interesting to me. Again a matter of taste.
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HandA
Inactive User
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9
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890
Posted : Sep 23, 2005 00:54
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On 2005-09-23 00:37, gatsby wrote:
Raves in the central U.S. are often like this: speakers, dj and not much else.
Pretty blah from a visual perspective. Boring, boring, boring. I don't know what a psy party would be without deco and visual design. We have five senses, I would like to see them all explode during a party.
You are describing a kind of party that is quite common, but not very interesting to me. Again a matter of taste.
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Please call it a party.. Rave sound like a German Mega rave with Scooter on stage. I doubt that's how your parties are like 
Deco is surely a very important thing in a party So are Audio Visuals. But when did it ever become a law in this scene that every single party's deco have to be about religious symbols, cult symbols etc? It's not so hard to make amaizing mindblowong deco and audiovisuals without forcing religion and alternative theories down people's troats.
I am not sure how much people here are aware of that the intention with this scene when it started out (before it ever reached USA) was to keep it NON religious, free from symbols, free from racism and allow anyone inside no matter skin color, dresscode or sexual prefernces and only focus on the music that spoke to people across borders because it was universal. |
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