Nigel Pennick

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Spiritual Power Of Masks

There is a spiritual power in masks that transports one into realms unseen and gives voice to things unspoken. Within the context of ritual, putting on a mask places the wearer at the intersection between the present and the past, the living and the dead, this world and the Otherworld. Masks make it possible to activate ancient archetypes, with the mask wearer reanimating or personifying an ancestral presence or spirit, a deity or power, an animal or a being of the eldritch world. In this illustrated study, Nigel Pennick explores the magical and spiritual aspects of mask wearing from ancient times to the present. He examines the many mask traditions around Europe, including morris dancers and mummers in the UK, Krampuslauf and Perchtenlauf in Germanic areas, the Gorgon myths of Greece, and Norse Berserker rituals. He explains how, in the Black Forest region, there's an annual rite in springtime called “Awakening the Masks,” and he looks at the origins of the Italian Commedia dell'Arte Harlequin character often seen in carnival celebrations. The author shows how mask rituals are similar to shamanic journeying and near-death experiences and can induce ecstatic states that allow the power signified by the mask to take possession of the individual wearing it. He looks at the practice of dressing up as sacred animals such as a horse or a dragon and the ancient practice of hunters wearing animal skins to signify success and prowess. He also looks at mask-wearing as it relates to ostenta, events that occur suddenly and without warning that are considered a token or sign from the Otherworld. Unveiling the sacred power of masks, the author shows how masks allow us to outwardly reflect our inner spiritual reality, embody ancestors and otherworldly entities, and connect with traditions that stretch back to time immemorial.