Burning Man didn’t always have themes. For the first 10 or so Burns, the theme was “Burn The Man”, recreating the Wicker Man effigy burn rituals of the Druids.
Cult movie The Wicker Man, 1973
These Wicker Man burns had been going on in San Francisco for some time before the first Burning Man on Baker Beach.
Snake Theater Beelzebub Burn, Sausalito 1979. Image: Bruce Forrester
Timothy O’Neill (Gnosis Magazine) Wicker Man Ocean Beach burns, 1984-85. Flyer is for related art gallery exhibition, via Timothy O’Neill
The Man looked a little different back in 1986
In 1995 Burning Man dipped a toe in the thematrical waters with “Good And Evil”, then doubled down on the Evil with 1996‘s “Helco: The Inferno”
The 1996 year of Hell was also the year that Burning Man had the first of what would unfortunately be many deaths to come during the annual radical ritual.
One of the big productions that year was a live opera by Argentinian artist Pepe Ozan.
Here’s a version of the above video narrated by Paradox Pollock, a seemingly close associate of deadly occultist Derrick Ion Almena:
It has never been disclosed what happened to the goat, but Paradox Pollack’s description makes it seem like it was quite a hassle for them having to keep it alive until the performance.
Live animal sacrifices at Burning Man are still happening today. In this case I’m not talking about 2017’s terrible burning man tragedy or the crushing by Lucifer, but Google executives decision to fly live lobsters in from Maine to be killed at the Radical Ritual.
Almena got the lawyer of Hell’s Angels and Shrimp Boy (SF head of the Chinese Freemasons), Tony Serra – “the Hippie Atticus Finch”.
Serra, who took a lifelong vow of poverty on an LSD trip, said “he’s been made a scapegoat for persons or entities culpable for this tragedy…our client has been demonized“
Demonized like a goat by entities, huh? Perhaps like the Kali Yuga? These people sure have a strange way of speaking and thinking, which happens to be Aleister Crowley’s way too…but I digress.
Paradox has sp(l)iffed up his social media image since pulling down the video with Derrick that can be glimpsed in the skull-infested screenshot above.
Suit or not, he’s still promoting Evil:
He was the Master of Ceremonies and Emissary Coreographer of the 1996 Burning Man occult sub-ritual.
the music, magnificently composed and played by Chris Cunningham, was sung by Lili Oldfield, Pat Bregant, Sean Steward and Todd Nelson. The representation of this legendary true story was incarnated by Emissaries Justin Miller as Empress Zoe and by Steffanos X as the High Priest of Hell. The Devil was enacted by the goat Sussy, and His wife by WarriorGirl. Master of Ceremonies was Emissary Choreographer Paradox Pollack. The Graces of Hell were represented by CC, Shari Greenfield, Martha Thomson and Susanne Couture. Deployment Secret Services were executed by Emissaries Sculptors Morgan Raimond, Al Honig, Denzil Meyers, and Leo Nash. Messenger Coordinator was Julieta Ozan.
[Source]
Here’s Ozan talking about his operas and how he was using these elaborate rituals to gather a Satanic sub-community of about 250 people out of the broader Burning Man group (1996 population: 8000):
This particular opera featured devils, demons and insects chanting the lyrics “devils’ delight, fire tonight” while dancing around a 40-foot towered sculpture with gargoyle heads called the City of Dis, named after one of the levels of hell in Dante’s Inferno. [Source: John Law]
The Temple of Dis. Image: Burning Man Opera
This description of the Arrival of Empress Zöe is in the video itself:
“A tribal opera with a ballet of insects depicting the peculiar saga of a soul’s birth to death.
The hermaphrodite condition of Empress Zoe and her Lascivious Behavior in the Court has been revealed by Cardinal Petrocelli, one of her passive homosexual Lovers. Condemned by the Holy See to be drowned in the Bosphorous, the Empress manages to take to the waters the Light of the Casiksi Diamond which will assure her the favor of the Devils. Steffanos, the High Priest of Hell, is possessed by Desire at the sight of the Empress inciting the Jealousy of the Graces, who assist him in the Infinite Recreation of Fire.
Pretending to help in the production of the Dust of Darkness to spray the Empress out of Existence, the Graces plot the Destruction of their Rival, the Hideous Lil-llik to ascend in the Hierarchy of the Ninth Circle. Satan, embodied by a goat to please his Wife, seems amused by the events that threaten the very Balance of the Universe”
The wording has changed slightly from the original video to the official web site:
It is the year of ll58AD. The structure of power of the Fire Lingam Project has briefly shifted from Babylon to the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople. The hermaphrodite condition of Empress Zoe has been revealed by Cardinal Petroccelly, one of her passive homosexual lovers. Condemned by the Holy See to be drowned in the Bosphorous, the Empress managed to take to the waters the Light of the Casiksi Diamond which assured her the favor of the Demons. Steffanos, the High Priest of Hell, possessed by desire at the site of the Empress, incites the jealousy of the Graces who assist him in the Infinite Recreation of Fire. Pretending to help in the production of the Dust of Darkness to spray the Empress out of existence, the Graces plot the destruction of their rival, the hideous Lil-llik to ascend in the Hierarchy of the Nine Circles. Satan, embodied in a goat to please His wife, is amused by the events that threaten the very Balance of the Universe. As Chaos erupted, the Mantra singing of 50 devotees and 1000 participating audience helped to save the Universe
The seemingly minor changes – Devils to Demons, Ninth Circle to Nine Circles – could be dismissed as irrelevant, if there were no significance to them. If demons are vices, then we all have demons – even atheists. Devils is explicitly Luciferian.
As for the Ninth Circle, this is the name of a Luciferian Pedo Cult linked to Jimmy Saville, the Jesuits, the Vatican, and many world leaders which has been operating for at least 300 years.
Saturnalia was an ancient Roman orgiastic festival that encouraged gift-giving and continual partying. The god Saturn is associated with black rock.
Of course, this is all just a big farce of pan-ic art and coincidences, they’re not crazy for doing it but I’m crazy for pointing any of it out…go about your day.
The goat made it home safe and sound…but almost didn’t because on burn night when people were torching everything, someone set fire the hail bail pen where the goat was kept. Luckily she had been removed shortly before. Many of us in Pepe’s camp learned on the fly how to milk her once we realized her utter was getting overfull, and damn did we have some fresh and delicious feta that week. : )
I spent two years researching the feature length article The Lost Operas Of Burning man. They were impressive immersive theater productions with harmless caricature librettos and narratives. Pepe Ozan was a highly respected, first class artist juried into the prestigious Project Artaud in San Francisco. He created fabulous, whimsical and highly creative vehicles for participants to experience character immersion and creative effort. They were unique large scale performances where the audience became witnesses to a spectacle of experience. To imply any other intent, especially satanic or cultish themes is criminally irresponsible and self serving for those in the fear and hate business.
Did you even read the article?
Ah, those were the days. This is the freaky stuff that attracted me to Burning Man in the first place.