I have to admit, one of the things that initially appealed to me about Wicca when I first heard of it back when I was first getting into paganism and polytheism was the symbolism of the chalice, and in particular its (potential) connections to the grail mythos, which was HUGE for me in my late teenage years, since I’d had several visions and other experiences of something grail-esque before that, and before I even knew the (Christian) stories of the grail and its connection to King Arthur and so forth.
While a large part of that was a literary mystery that seemed inexhaustible, and was going to potentially be a subject for my own poetic explorations at some point, the literary mystery is pretty much solved as a result of John Carey’s work, and you need read only one book on the subject for all of the answers, full-stop.
However, the visual connections to chalices and other attractive, potentially magical drinking vessels, persists for me, I must say, and I have a few different vessels of various sorts that I use in rituals from time to time, and more in storage. But, at some point in the future, I’d love to add replicas of the following to my collection–but, would the replicas be something to drink out of, even in ritual, I wonder? Let’s see the examples first.
Since I spoke of the grail above, I must name this one first: the Ardagh Chalice, which is one of the treasures of Ireland that can be seen at the National Museum (for free!). I have spent several hours looking at it in there, and some of the other objects in that section of the museum known as the “Treasury.” Though it is a Christian object, it’s also a great example of high-status “Celtic” metalwork of the early middle ages, and one need not pay attention to the names of the saints on it or the cross in order to use it, I don’t think. Perhaps in important CR rituals, it could have both symbolic as well as practical usages. But, not unlike the medieval Irish, one might also have to provide a “liturgical straw” for it, so that people do not commit the “sin” of biting the rim of the cup while drinking from it (and no, that’s not a joke–they actually had such straws to prevent such sins!).
Then there’s this one, an object from the British Museum that I shall always connect with Antinous for various reasons, namely the Warren Cup, named for its first known owner, Edward Perry “Ned” warren (a Sanctus of the Ekklesía Antínoou), which was only acquired by the British Museum about fifteen years ago after languishing in obscurity in storerooms and such of museums too embarrassed to display it for decades. Ned Warren did write poems mentioning Antinous during his teenage years, it turns out (which I’d love to see!), and certainly would have known his story and appreciated his image greatly during his life and as he toured Europe and increased his own collections of ancient Greek and Roman art. The reason the Warren Cup and Antinous are connected for me, though, has to do with the British Museum–or, rather, the British Museum Store, specifically the one which used to be in terminal 4 of Heathrow Airport, where I spent a lot of time when I was going back and forth between the U.S. and Ireland from 2000 to 2006. I had not yet visited the British Museum itself when I went into the store and saw two different things: the Warren Cup replica they sold, and an Antinous bust they also sold (my first one, actually, which they now admit is really Hermes!). Little did I know at the time that Ned Warren and Antinous had other connections. In any case, it might be interesting to use in rituals for hero cultus and other events associated with the liturgical life of the Ekklesía Antínoou and modern Antinoan devotion.
What do you think? Replicas of these items are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, so it’s not as if I’ll be going right out to get these, even if I did have the money (there are other greater priorities meanwhile when funds become available), but if you had such objects, would you simply display them–whether on a shrine of a deity, tradition, or pantheon or otherwise–or would you actively use them for offerings to the deities concerned and other such uses? I’d be interested in your thoughts on these matters!
