The Odd Duck Studios theater is in the midst of what has become a charming little district of edgy theaters and galleries on the south end of Seattle's Capitol Hill. A colorful crowd of people gathered in the sunny spring evening June 2, waiting for the doors to open and Venus' Rite to begin. It was a pleasant surprise to see so many younger people in the crowd of patrons -- proof that the magickal revival has truly taken hold in another generation. When the doors opened and the cheery director, Yuri Frater Bacchus, ushered us in, already somewhat in character with his Shakespearian voice, toga and crown of laurel leaves, we found that the theater was cozy, comfortable and quickly filled to the rafters with an appreciative audience. Several rows of cushions sat the adventurous (and the late-coming) right down in front. The stage was set with the Throne of Venus in the center (in front of a painted half-shell backdrop, whimsically outlined with holiday lights). On an altar to our right, the audience was invited to place favored artifacts to be charged with Venus love energy. To the left lay piles of fruit and bottled drink, promising the Rite of Venus would not be without feasting!
Stage participants in the rite were a good-looking lot, with many young folks as well, and they were obviously well-rehearsed and enthusiastic. My curiosity about the OTO had been rekindled in recent years after reading Sex and Rockets, the remarkable story of Jack Parsons, a founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, one-time housemate of L. Ron Hubbard, follower of Aleister Crowley, OTO official and a powerful magician in his own right. The OTO has had an almost 90-year history on the west coast of North America, and it was a treat to get a closer look at members of our local lodge and to join in moments of celebration with them.
The rite (actually part magickal rite, part play, part recitation) was based on Crowley's conception of the ancient Rites of Eleusis and is part of a larger cycle of such performance rites so conceived, containing according to the director's notes a lot of symbolism from the Kabbalah as well. The play opened with a long recitation, well-spoken but reminding us all of the good author's infatuation with words, particularly his own words. Things began to move more quickly, and gracefully, when Venus and her court took the stage. Victoria Israeli was our lovely Venus and had an engaging if not overpowering presence on the stage. Snoh Brown, as Taurus/Mercury, was more imposing in his role and for this reviewer worked the most effective magick of the evening, tracing fiery symbols in the air and eventually, if sadly for us, overthrowing Venus and bringing on the age of Microsoft. Ugh.
The Feast of Venus, coming in the midst of the performance, was delightful fun for the entire assembly. The live music (resonant cello by Gavin Borchert, at times solo, at times with oboist Frater Saturnus) was well-performed and welcome in a small performance space. Overall, this was a most enjoyable and magickal evening. I was reading in a biography of Gerald Gardner recently that he attended some of Crowley's performances when the Master Therion himself was at the helm. Dion Fortune and her tribe also launched many a theatrical ritual in her heyday. It is wonderful to see the renewal of this honorable old tradition right here in the Northwest, drawing people to other visions of how our lives may be understood and lived through brief, well-mounted and attractive entertainments like "The Rite of Venus." Horizon Oasis OTO is to be congratulated, and here's hoping for more of the same!