René Guénon: "On the meaning of carnival festivals"

The unsurpassed analysis by the French esotericist on the traditional meaning of Carnival, of the "world upside down" and of masquerades

Taken from R. Guénon, "Symbols of sacred science", chap. XXI

Regarding a "party theory" formulated by a sociologist, we pointed out [See "Etudes Traditionnelles», April 1940, p. 169] that this theory had, among other defects, that of wanting to reduce all parties to a single type, consisting of those that can be called "carnival" parties, an expression that seems clear enough to be easily understood by everyone, since the carnival actually represents what still remains of it today in the West; and we said then that, with regard to this kind of party, there are questions that deserve a more in-depth examination. In fact, the impression one draws from it is always, first of all, an impression of "disorder" in the fullest sense of the word; how come their existence, not only in an era like ours, in which one could basically, if they did not have such a remote origin, simply consider them as one of the numerous manifestations of the general imbalance, but also, and even with much greater development, in traditional civilizations with which at first sight they seem incompatible?

It is not useless to cite here some precise examples, and we will first mention, in this regard, certain festivals of a truly strange nature that were celebrated in the Middle Ages: the "Donkey party" in which this animal, whose properly "satanic" symbolism is well known in all traditions [It would be a mistake to want to oppose this to the role played by the donkey in the evangelical tradition, since, in reality, the ox and the donkey, placed on the two opposite sides of the manger at the birth of Christ, they respectively symbolize the set of beneficial forces and that of evil forces; on the other hand they find themselves in the crucifixion, in the form of the good and the bad thief. As for Christ on the back of a donkey, at his entry into Jerusalem, he represents the triumph over the evil forces, a triumph whose realization properly constitutes "redemption"], he was even introduced into the church choir, where he occupied the place of honor and received the most extraordinary signs of veneration; and the "Party of fools", in which the lower clergy indulged in the most improper acts, parodying at the same time the ecclesiastical hierarchy and the liturgy itself. ass, and this detail is not the least significant from the point of view in which we place ourselves].

How is it possible to explain that similar things, whose most evident character is undoubtedly that parody or even sacrilegious [The author of the theory to which we have alluded has no difficulty in recognizing the parody and sacrilege in them, but, referring them to his conception of the "feast" in general, he pretends to make them characteristic elements of the "sacred" itself, which not only it is a rather exaggerated paradox, but, it must be said clearly, a pure and simple contradiction] could, in an era like that, not only be tolerated, but even more or less officially admitted?

We will also mention the saturnalia of the ancient Romans, from which the modern carnival seems to derive directly, although there is no more, to tell the truth, than a very pale memory: during these holidays, the slaves commanded the masters and they served them. to the point of temporarily conferring on a slave or a criminal the insignia of royalty, with all the power that they entail, except to condemn them to death when the party was over]; then one had the image of a real one "World upside down", in which everything was done contrary to the normal order [The same author also speaks, in this regard, of "reversed acts", and even of "Back to chaos", which contains a part of the truth, but, for an astonishing confusion of ideas, wants to assimilate this chaos to the "golden age"].

Although it is commonly assumed that there was a reminder of the "golden age" in these festivals, this interpretation is manifestly false, since it is not at all a kind of "equality" which, strictly speaking, could be considered a representation , to the extent that the present conditions allow it [We mean the conditions of the Kali Yuga or the "Iron Age" of which both the Roman age and ours are part] of the initial undifferentiation of social functions; it is a reversal of hierarchical relationships, which is completely different, and such a reversal constitutes, in a general way, one of the most evident characteristics of "Satanism".

We must therefore see you rather something that refers to the "sinister" aspect of Saturn, an aspect that certainly does not belong to him as a god of the "golden age", but on the contrary as he is currently only the fallen god of a past age [That the ancient gods become demons in a certain way is a fairly generally established fact, and of which the attitude of Christians towards the gods of "paganism" is only a particular case, but which never seems to have been explained to must; on the other hand, we cannot insist here on this point, which would lead us off the subject. It is understood that all this must refer only to certain cyclical conditions, and therefore does not affect or modify in anything the essential character of these same gods as non-temporal symbols of principles of a supra-human order, so that, alongside this accidental evil aspect , the beneficial aspect always exists, in spite of everything, and even when it is more completely disregarded by the "people of the outside"; the astrological interpretation of Saturn could provide a very clear example in this regard].

It can be seen from such examples that there is always, in parties of this kind, a "sinister" and also "satanic" element, and it should be noted in a very particular way that this very element pleases the common people and excites their cheerfulness: it is in fact something very suitable, indeed more suitable than anything else, to satisfy the tendencies of the "fallen man", as these tendencies push him to develop above all the lower possibilities of his being. Now, precisely in this lies the real reason for the parties in question: in short, it is a question of "channeling" these tendencies in some way and making them as harmless as possible, giving them the opportunity to manifest themselves, but only for very short periods and in well-defined circumstances, and thus assigning to this manifestation narrow limits which it is not allowed to cross [This is related to the question of the symbolic "framing" to which we intend to return].

Indeed, if these tendencies could not receive the minimum satisfaction required by the current state of humanity, they would risk, so to speak, explode. [At the end of the Middle Ages, when the grotesque festivals of which we have spoken were suppressed or fell into disuse, there was an expansion of witchcraft without any proportion with what had been seen in previous centuries; between these two facts there is a fairly direct relationship, albeit generally unnoticed, which is all the more surprising since there are some quite singular similarities between these feasts and the sabbath of the sorcerers, where also everything was done "upside down"], and to extend their effects to the entire existence, both of the individual and of the collectivity, causing a quite otherwise serious disorder than that which occurs only for a few days reserved especially for this purpose.

On the other hand, this disorder is all the less fearful as it is almost "regularized", since, on the one hand, these days are as if cut off from the normal course of affairs, so as not to exert any appreciable influence upon it, and in any case, on the other hand, the fact that there is nothing unexpected "normalizes" the disorder itself in some way and integrates it into the total order.

In addition to this general explanation, perfectly evident when you want to reflect on it, there are some useful observations to make, as regards more particularly the "Masquerades", which play an important role in the carnival proper and in other more or less similar festivals; and these observations will confirm what we have just said. Indeed, the carnival masks they are generally horrid and most often evoke animal or demonic forms, so much so that they are almost a sort of figurative "materialization" of those lower, or even "infernal" tendencies, which are thus allowed to externalize. After all, everyone will naturally choose among these masks, without even having a clear awareness of them, the one that suits him best, that is, the one that represents what is most in accordance with his tendencies, so that it could be said that the mask, which is presumed to hide the true face of the individual, instead makes appear to everyone what he really carries within himself, but which he must habitually conceal.

It should be noted, because it clarifies its character even more, that there is in this almost a parody of the "reversal" which, as we have explained elsewhere [See "L'Esprit est il dans le corps or le corps dans esprit”], Occurs at a certain stage of the initiatory development; parody, let's say, and a truly "satanic" counterfeit, because here the "overthrow" is an exteriorization, no longer of spirituality, but, on the contrary, of the lower possibilities of being [There were also, in certain traditional civilizations, special periods in which, for similar reasons, "wandering influences" were allowed to manifest themselves freely, while taking all necessary precautions in such a case; these influences correspond naturally, in the cosmic order, to what is it lower psychism in the human being, and consequently, between their manifestation and that of spiritual influences there exists the same inverse relationship that exists between the two kinds of externalization just mentioned; moreover, in these conditions, it is not difficult to understand how the masquerade itself seems to represent in some way an apparition of "larvae" or evil specters].

To end these brief hints, we will add that, if parties of this kind are increasingly losing importance and by now hardly seem to arouse the interest of the crowd, the fact is that, in an era like ours, they have really lost theirs. raison d'etre [This is equivalent to saying that they are really no more than "superstitions", in the etymological sense of the word]: in fact, how could there still be the problem of "circumscribing" the disorder and enclosing it within strictly defined limits, when it is widespread everywhere and constantly manifests itself in all areas in which human activity takes place? Thus, the almost complete disappearance of these festivals, of which, if we limited ourselves to external appearances and from a simply "aesthetic" point of view, we could rejoice because of the "ugly" aspect they inevitably assume, this disappearance, let's say, it constitutes on the contrary, if we go to the bottom of things, a very uneasy symptom, since it testifies that disorder has burst into the entire course of existence and has become so generalized that we actually live, one might say, in a sinister "perpetual carnival».