The Rite of Atonement

The Rite of Atonement exists to allow people the opportunity to make restitution and amends for their previous missteps. The Sixth Song in the Song of Seven argues that safety is the primary function of law, followed by prevention, healing, and only then punishment. And so atonement cannot be built upon the back of punishment as imperial law has done. And thus we have the Rite of Atonement, a ritual wherein the adherent commits to make amends rather than do penance. The Rite of Atonement requires that the adherent acknowledge their missteps and accept that they have done wrong. The Rite of Atonement is built to foster a culture of collaboration and active involvement in building and rebuilding of the culture.

A Brief Digression on Capital Punishment

Traditional cultures love to exile people. Imperial culture loves to execute people. Why the shift? Traditional cultures don’t imagine that they control the whole world. To exclude somebody from their club, a traditional culture can exile them. Imperial culture imagines that the whole world belongs to them, dividing the world between its various incarnations. And so, one imperial province cannot exile its unwanted without sending it to a territory claimed by another imperial provinces. China wouldn’t like it if the United States started shipping criminals past their border security. This only worked in Australia, because there Britain was exporting its unwanted humans to a border region inhabited by non imperial peoples that the empire considers barely human.

The Hungry Empire has a human resources surplus issue. Getting rid of humans is easy for them. Traditional cultures put a lot more effort into individual humans. The populations of traditional cultures is smaller and each human is more important to them than to the Empire. And so rehabilitation is critical to traditional cultures.

Eternal Judgement

The Hungry Empire loves to use the idea of eternal judgement as part of its power structure. They promise an eternal reward if the judgement goes well. They promise eternal torment as a threat to keep the serfs in line, and as a promise of revenge catharsis for those same serfs against the people who have wronged them.

The Song of Seven makes no such suggestions of final judgement, and eternal reward or punishment. And so if there is no promise of eternal and definitive judgement, then we have to make things work as best we can in the here and now. And hence, atonement by restitution.

Performing the Rite

At least two individuals perform the The Rite of Atonement: The Atoner and the channeller. Tribes perform the Rite with many Atoners, and up to three channellers. If there are three channellers, then each channeller wears the mask of one of the three entities invoked. If there is one channeller, then that channeller wears the masks of all entities. The three entities are the Hound, the Scapegoat and the Black Cockerel.

Follow the Hound

The channeler dons the mask of the hound and leads the Atoner to the Crossroads. The two come to a crossroads. The channeler marks the intersection with the sigil of the crossroads. This begins the rite. The Atoner makes offerings to the Cockerel and the Hound. The offering to the Cockerel is a bowl of navy strength rum or gin and a candle wick. The atoner pours a shot for the channeler. The offering to the Hound is a bowl of high proof unaged spirits and candle wick. The atoner pours a shot for the channeler. The Atoner lights the candle wicks. The channeler places them at the crossroads. The channeler drinks the shots and lays the bowl of the Scapegoat before the Atoner.

Face the Scapegoat

The Atoner invokes the Scapegoat with the bowl. The channeler dons the mask of the Scapegoat. The atoner takes the bowl marked with an image of the scapegoat and fills it with coins and then shatters the bowl. The channeler names the atoner’s debts of deed. The Atoner accepts the debts of deed.

Face the Cockerel

The channeler dons the mask of the black cockerel. The Atoner marks the the debts of deed on prayer sheets and presents them to the channeler. The channeler burns the sheets upon the lit candles. The Atoner marks the debts of deed a second time and makes promises to repay the debts of deed and make amends. The chaneler turns his back on the atoner. The Atoner presents the prayer sheets. They lay them at the feet of the channeler with offerings of feast and wine and blood. The Offering of Feast is polenta and dark greens. The Offering of Wine is wine or mead or beer. The Offering of blood is either the blood of the atoning one or of a goat. More often a drop of the atoner’s blood mixed with a cup of goat blood.

Closing the Ritual

The channeler turns back and hold arms wide and declares that all will see if the atoner’s words are true. The Atoner eats the feast and drinks the wine. The channeler uses the blood to douse the candles. They then smudge the the crossroads sigil, ending the Rite.