The Rite of Luna by Lew Finzel, 2011
Adapted by Heather and Lew
This adaptation of the concluding act in the Rites of Eleusis was reformulated from Crowley's original script and presented in a performance of the planetary cycle in Sacramento.
The Officers of the Temple
Luna, Lady of the Moon
Cancer, Lady Warden of the Holy Graal.
Taurus, Lord of the Bow.
A Nymph.
A Satyr.
Don Faun De Marco.
The Proclaimer.
The stage is set as a grand ball room filled with guests decked out in their finest costumes. The people are mingling, music is playing in the background, some are eating and some dancing. Don Faun is among them.
The Rite of Luna
The Proclaimer reciteth The Twelvefold Certitude of God, from 963. Trumpets sound.
Proclaimer (hidden):
Announcing his most noble Lord of the Bow, Brother Taurus!
(trumpet)
The Warden and Mistress of the Holy Graal, the most noble Lady Cancer!
(trumpet)
And finally, announcing Mistress Artemis, our most noble Lady of the Moon, Luna!
(trumpet)
All three in their turn enter, the Satyr and the Nymph follow behind Luna, and all remain standing until Luna takes her seat in the East. Then they all take their seats around her, on their thrones in the East. The veil is withdrawn.
Cancer
[333-333-333].
Taurus
[333-333-333].
Cancer
[1]. Brother Taurus, what is the hour?
Taurus
Moonrise.
Cancer
[1]. Brother Taurus, what is the place?
Taurus
The Chapel of the Holy Graal.
Cancer
[1]. What is my office?
Taurus
Warden of the Graal.
Cancer
[1]. What is my robe?
Taurus
Chastity.
Cancer
[1]. What is my weapon?
Taurus
Vigilance.
Cancer
[1]. Whom do we serve?
Taurus
The Lady Artemis.
Cancer
[1]. How many are her servants?
Taurus
Nine.
Cancer
[1]. Who are they?
Taurus
Three for the dew; three for the rain; and three for the snow.
Cancer
[1]. Who are the great officers?
Taurus
Thyself, the Warden of the Holy Graal.
Myself, the Lord of the Bow.
A nymph, a satyr —
Don
[1]. And I!
Cancer
Who are you?
Don
I am Don Faun de Marco. I am the greatest lover who ever lived. I have made love to over 1,000 women. I turned 21 last Tuesday. (pause) No woman has ever left my arms unsatisfied. Only one has rejected me, And, as fortune would have it, She is the only one that ever mattered.
Cancer
You seduce women!
Don
No, I never take advantage of a woman. I give women pleasure, if they desire it. Of course, it is the greatest pleasure they will ever experience.
Cancer
I command thee to honour our Lady Artemis.
Taurus
Bear the Cup of Libation!
Cancer
[333-333-333].
Don
I see beyond what is visible to the eye.
There are those who do not share my perception, that's true.
When I say that all my women are dazzling beauties, they object.
The nose of one is too large, the hips of another too wide, the breasts of a third too small.
But I see these women for how they really are, Glorious! Radiant! Spectacular and perfect!
Because I am not limited by my eyesight.
Wome react to me the way they do, because they sense that I search out the
beauty that dwells within them until it overwhelms everything else.
Then they cannot avoid their desire to release that beauty and envelop me in it.
Taurus
The Goddess stirs not.
Don
I will not linger —
Cancer
Silence is the secret of our Lady Artemis.
Don
Hath no man lifted her veil?
Cancer
No man hath lifted her veil.
Taurus
Bear the Cup of Libation!
Cancer
[333-333-333]. It is the hour of sealing up the shrine.
Taurus
Let us banish the spirits of the elements.
Performs the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram and returns.
Bear the Cup of Libation!
Cancer
[333-333-333]. Let us banish the spirits of the planets.
Performs the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram and returns.
Cancer
Bear the Cup of Libation!
Don
[333-333-333]. Let us banish the holy Emanations from the One, lest our Lady's sleep be stirred.
He banishes the Sephiroth by the appointed Ritual.
Bear the Cup of Libation!
Cancer
[333-333-333]. Brother Taurus, the shrine is well guarded?
Taurus
The shrine is perfectly guarded.
Satyr
Bear the Cup of Libation!
Cancer
[333-333-333].
Don
Kneels and takes up Lady Cancer's hand in his own.
There are some women, fine featured, a certain texture to the hair, a curve to the ear that shames the shell of which Venus was born unto. These women have fingers with the same sensitivities as their legs. The finger tips have the same feelings as their feet and when you touch their knuckles it's like passing your hand around their knees. And this tender fleshy part here is the same as brushing your hand along their thighs, and finally —
(kisses her hand in between her fingers)
Cancer
May our Lady Artemis be favourable!
Taurus
May our Lady Artemis never be awakened!
Nymph comes forward and dances her virginal dance.
Don
Of what worth is the gold in the mine?
Cancer
Be silent!
Nymph
Bear the Cup of Libation!
Cancer
[333-333-333].
Don
There are only four questions of value in life worth asking. What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for? And What is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love.
Taurus
In vain thou askest speech from our Lady of Silence!
Cancer
Bear the Cup of Libation!
Don
Every woman is a mystery to be solved. But a woman hides nothing from a true lover. Her skin color can tell us how to proceed. A hue like the blush of a rose tells how she must be coaxed To open her petals with a warmth like the sun. The pale and dappled skin of a red head Calls for a lust like a wave crashing to the shore So we may stir up what lies beneath And bring up the foamy delight of love to the surface — There is no metaphor that truly describes making love to a woman. The closest is that of playing a rare musical instrument. I wonder if the Stradivarius violin feels the same rapture as the violinist As he coaxes a single perfect note from its heart.
Cancer
In vain thou invokest our Lady of the Moon!
Taurus
Bear the Cup of Libation!
Cancer
[333-333-333].
Don
Brother Satyr, scourge forth these that profane the sanctuary of our Lady: for they know not the secret of the shrine.
Satyr dances the dance of the scourge, driving the officers down the stage, where they crouch.
Don
Goes to altar.
Brother Satyr, I command you to perform the dance of Syrinx and Pan, in honour of our Lady Artemis
Satyr
And in thine honour!
He dances the dance and falls prostrate in the midst.
Don
Have you ever met a woman who inspires you to love until your every sense is filled with her? You inhale her, you taste her, you see your unborn children in her eyes. You know that your heart has at last found a home. Your life begins with her and without her it would surely end.
(Advancing to the throne of Luna)
She is Nature's pride. Fresh and fair and unacquainted with physical love. Her beauty is not made from shapes and forms, but shines from within like a star.
After no response he flings the veil open and approaches Luna. She jumps to her feet and hides her face behind her mask. He moves in closer and she begins to run off. He pursues her, snatching her mask away. She is giggly and clearly into this game of cat and mouse. He chases her back to where her veil was and they are at last together.
The Nymph and Satyr close the veil to give them their privacy.
Cancer
[333-333-333].
Taurus
[1]. My Lady Warden of the Graal, our task is ended.
Cancer
Let us depart, it is accomplished.