Searching for Spiritual Truth, A Guided Ritual, 2022

Sound, 06’20”

Examining the intersection between folk magic and religious practices, Burton explores the history of divining rods and its use in Christian faiths in early 19th century America. She found that the practice dates back to the 15th century and that many incarnations used hold similarities to prayers, referring to early saints, Jesus Christ and the three magi. During Burton’s conservative, Christian upbringing, magic was often demonised, in contrast to canonised scripture that heralds divining rods (i.e. folk magic) as working by the power of God.

The piece, Searching for Spiritual Truth, A Guided Ritual, is a reworking of a 15th century incarnation directed towards a Goddess Mother. Expanding on the Hebrew name of God, Elohim, which means ‘they’; ‘Eloah’ being feminine and ‘im’ masculine. Burton calls on the feminine, our Mother in Heaven and her high priestess power to guide us in our search. This ritual becomes a matriarchal search for spiritual truth rather than for earthly treasures (for which divining rods are traditionally used).

Transcript

Welcome to your guided ritual.

Where we will be searching for spiritual truth. Drawing on the high priestess power of our divine

Heavenly Mother, through use of the pomegranate. 

Let’s begin with a breathing exercise.  

In through the nose 

and out through the mouth. 

In through the nose 

and out through the mouth. 

And one more time.

In.

and out. 

Now reach out and gently pick up the pomegranate bell,

and ring once to begin the ritual.

In the name of the Mother, we search you. In the name of the Son, we find you. 

In the name of the Earth, we cut you.

A pomegranate shall grow out of an almond tree. 

And the Divine Mother’s power shall arise out of that fruit.

O eternal and omnipotent living Mother of Heaven 

hear us and our longing for truth.

O Mother, creator of heaven and earth 

through your divine incomprehensible, high priestess power 

that you have used since the beginning of the world, 

we ask that you listen to our prayers as we ring this bell 

and reveal the truth that we, your children, desire to learn.

O sacred Mother of eternal wisdom, 

through all the divine power that you used in the firmament of the sun, 

of the name of all the stars and of the eight planets.

Please help us, your children, 

that we shall succeed in this endeavour for truth, 

that we undertake through use of this bell.

Amen.