Robert Johnson, or at least the mythical version of him, is pervasive in American pop culture. He is considered a “Faustian” character, which essentially means the story surrounding him involves making a deal with
himself. Deals like these typically were said to take place at crossroads, often seen as a metaphorical or actual liminal space, a place where change happens.
The legend goes that Johnson fell distraught after his first wife died in childbirth and he turned to his love of music to cope but he was horrible at the guitar with an unpleasant voice. Johnson was said to have disappeared for a length of time and then returned with great musical skill and a wonderful, mournful singing voice. At a crossroads, marked with the three guitar statue (above), Johnson supposedly met a man who gave him these abilities–in return for his soul. People point to some of his songs like “Cross Road Blues” and “Hell Hound on My Trail” as evidence that he had made the deal with the devil and the hellhounds were there to collect.
Johnson only recorded three records and died at the age of 27 in 1938 due to “mysterious” stomach pains. Of course, the legend would have us believe that the Devil had come to collect his dues. Most people, however, believe that he was poisoned (one way or another) due to flirting with or having an affair with a married woman. Either way, he died very young after putting out only a little bit of music and had only a couple of photos ever taken of him. He’s a figure shrouded in mystery due to how little is known about him but he lives on in our collective imagination, still recognized as the King of the Delta Blues.
Here they come. Dressed in black. To the hilltops and the forgotten places. Like they did when the stars were young. Before any Greek even breathed the name Dionysus. The old rite. They come for the drums. Ye gods witness this. Let’s rock.
Getting ready
I have been a Nine Inch Nails fan since 1995. At one time I owned every cd release, foreign and domestic. (I do vinyl now but the collection is no where near as impressive.)
But I have never seen them live.
I hate stadiums and will only go to festivals when I don’t really care about the band. I want to SEE Nine Inch Nails.
In three hours, that changes. Tonight, the Aragon Brallroom, Chicago, IL.
I fear no demon. I fear no god. My ancestors stand with me. A thin line of blood reaching back to the dawn of humanity. They are with me, and I am with them.
Ego Sum Legio
A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be shamanism = technique of ecstasy.
Mircea Eliade, Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy
I will always highly recommend this book, but will make a small point of clarification. I do believe that “ecstasy” may be the wrong word, and maybe this can be chalked up to English not being Professor Eliade’s first language. Because in a modern sense, ecstasy has connotations of pleasure which is not always the case. Many of these techniques involve discomfort and outright pain. From an Asian perspective the word ecstasy may have some validity in that from a certain Taoist point of view, all experiences can be judged pleasurable in the mind of the participant. But I think what comes closest is the chaos magick definition of “gnosis.” Which is, of course, a borrowed word itself and not entirely synonymous with the original meaning of the word. So English really doesn’t have a good term for what is being described, which in a general sense encompasses all altered states of consciousness.
