art is ritual, and ritual is art.
it delights me that the word “art” and the word “ritual” share an etymological root. it delights me that both emerged at the same point in history. it delights me that the forces that express through ritual are the same that express through art.
imagine the magic that happens when both are held by the same hands.
humans are innately mystical, ritualistic, creative, and weird. unfortunately, we live in a world dominated by extractive, exploitative, and oppressive social structures that are more and more rapidly killing us (as well as the rest of the planet).
i see this not as a death sentence, but as an invitation to create a different world.
ritual art is a practise of continuous relationship with the immanent (god-in-the-world) and transcendent (god-beyond-the-world). both ritual and art are trans-contextual processes integral to life.
and ritual art is the most powerful and potent catalyst for systems change.
for those who are here to bridge the worlds
of sacred and profane,
body and mind,
individual and collective,
seen and unseen—
i present to you…
the diaphanous edge—
formerly known as ‘alchemical writing’—is a monthly poetry and ritual theory group that supports artists, healers, scholars and seekers with self-exploration, creative expansion, and relational field tending. we explore ritual theory, mystical practise, meditation, and mythology as pathways for introspection, contemplation, and expression.
each session is 90 minutes long and begins with a 20-minute lecture, followed by 20 minutes of silent meditation. after a 5-minute break, we journal for 15 minutes. the last 20 minutes are open discussion time.
this group gives creative intuitives a place to percolate, evolve, experiment, and explore both practical and theoretical aspects of ritual art. all live calls will be recorded and stored in a shared google folder.
here is the schedule for the coming year:
the hollow body: death practise as creative liberation
31 july 2026 @ 6:30pm ET
it all starts with death. before we can fill with new information and learn new ways of being, we must leave at the door everything we think we already know. how will we choose to experience this precious and fragile human life? let’s allow death to show us the way.
the magic circle: invocation and the relational field
23 aug 2026 @ 6:30pm ET
what and who is in the room with us right now? the truth is there is nothing that is not in the room with us. in this session we will attempt to articulate a felt sense of relationality, reciprocity, and kinship through the practise of invocation.
what is ritual for? categories and characteristics
25 sept 2026 @ 6:30pm ET
ritual is infamous for defying neat categorisation. but contrary to popular belief, not everything is a ritual. perhaps we can begin to answer the question of what ritual is by asking a different question first: what is ritual for?
close encounters: flow, trace, and meditation as points of contact
30 oct 2026 @ 6:30pm ET
altered states of consciousness have been co-opted by the so-called ‘psychedelic rennaisance,’ fast-food spirituality, and the personal development industry. what is the true purpose of having so many different modes of orienting to reality? what is it we truly seek to contact?
place beyond place: altar tending, sacred symbols, and ritual aesthetics
4 dec 2026 @ 6:30pm ET
what is the difference between performativity and authenticity? how can the invariance of ritual forms pave the way for deeper and more expansive authenticity? let’s take a look at one of the most central ritual aesthetic practises—altar tending—for the answer.
invisible friends: metaphor and embodied imagination
10 jan 2027 @ 6:30pm ET
what is actually real? turns out that there are multiple categories of ‘realness,’ and ritual allows us to touch them all. inspired by bob samples’ categories of metaphor and john vervaeke’s four ways of knowing, we will dive into the nature of ritual practise as embodied imagination.
art salon 1
21 feb 2027 @ 6:30pm ET
come share a story, a myth, a poem, a song, a movement, or some visual art with the group! this can be something you have been working on during our time together or simply something that you find inspiring or beautiful. all are welcome who are ready to share from the heart and listen with the whole body.
being moved: archetypes, masks, and ritual performance
21 mar 2027 @ 6:30pm ET
what moves through you that is greater than you? who or what does your body belong to, and what are bodies for? come explore themes of authenticity, ritual possession, archetypes, and the transformative power of ritual theatre.
where is the edge? dynamics of the extended body
18 apr 2027 @ 6:30pm ET
as we discovered in previous sessions, there is nothing that is not in the room with us. in the words of thich nhat hanh, ‘all things inter-are.’ let’s tease out new definitions of boundary and agency as we contemplate the following question, posed by systems theorist nora bateson: where is the edge of me?
portal-between, mirror-to: the artist as an agent of systems change
16 may 2027 @ 6:30pm ET
all of these contemplations and explorations are well and good, but how do we actually take action in the world? ritual art is the most potent catalyst for systems change. how do we as ritual artists honour our responsibility to the earth and our web of kin?
swing on the spiral: towards a ritual ontology
18 jun 2027 @ 6:30pm ET
ritual allows us to touch the truth that all things inter-are. what else does ritual reveal about the nature of reality? in this final session, we’ll take a look at the work of clare graves, david bohm, and timothy morton and how it compares with various indigenous cosmologies.
art salon 2
20 jul 2027 @ 6:30pm ET
come share a story, a myth, a poem, a song, a movement, or some visual art with the group! this can be something you have been working on during our time together or simply something that you find inspiring or beautiful. all are welcome who are ready to share from the heart and listen with the whole body.
how to register
if you are a paid subscriber of underworlding, access to the group is included in your subscription. after subscribing, you should receive an invitation to the diaphanous edge group via email. message me if you have questions or trouble navigating the registration process.
if you aren’t a paid subscriber, you can easily sign up to get access to the group.
if you’d just like to drop in every once in a while, you can register per session at the drop-in rate of $30. i’ll post an article to this newsletter with the theme, date, and time of each session on the first of each month, along with a registration link—so no need to worry about missing sessions.