City Magick: Urban Rituals, Spells and Shamanism - Christopher Penczak 2001

The New Urban Temples

MANY ANCIENT CULTURES, from the Mediterranean to Central America, revolved around religion. Magick was part and parcel of these ancient religious ways. Cities were dedicated to gods and goddesses. Temples lay in the heart of cities. The priests and priestesses had power in the community. Citywide celebrations lasting days or even weeks were held in honor of these deities. Such national holidays were celebrated with a passion that our modern “Monday-off” holidays lack. I wonder if these ancient people would have been as religiously zealous if they had grown up with television, radio, and video games?

In modern Western cultures, religion has been downplayed. Changes in worldview, embracing scientific paradigms, and the invention of new forms of recreation have taken the fervor out of a once strongly religious culture. The rise of Christianity was meant to be an embracing, unifying force, but it seems to have done anything but unify. Different factions have split off from its central doctrine in response to attempts at control by individual groups. Now there are so many brands of Christianity that it is hard to keep track of them. I think that this lack of unity and organization is leading to something far better-the resurgence of individual spirituality instead of dogmatic religion. We, as a society, both magical and mainstream, will continue to splinter, until everybody has his or her own practice. Each of us is finding ways to connect to the source on our own terms.

Modern society has not given up many of its religious and social customs. We, as a whole, have merely transformed many of the pagan practices and adopted them as part of our social customs, without even knowing their psychological roots. Many have destroyed the old icons, or kept relics around as works of art without understanding the ceremonial meaning of these tools of worship. For the modern gods of this urban magick, we have created new temples where we worship, petition, and work our craft.