Trans·idio·eth·nog·ra·phy /tranz/ˈi-dē-o /eTHˈnägrəәfē/

Noun

Transidioethography-A transdisciplinary practice that engages in a multi-media study and exploration of one’s own cultural milieu through experiential fieldwork Idio-greek from idios, one’s own, personal, id·i·o·syn·crat·ic adjective pertaining to the nature of idiosyncrasy, or something peculiar to an individual. Trans- a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin (transcend; transdisciplinary, transgressive); “transverse,” in trāns (adv. and preposition) across, beyond, through. Ethnography-The scientific description of the customs of peoples and cultures

Drawn to practices that attempt to re-connect with out pre-modern roots and identify with our folk culture, The Transidioethnogapher’s research journey begins by looking at contemporary Pagan practices, Wicca, Druidry and Shamanism. Field trips involved Moots, Stone circles, Solstice celebrations, weekends camping and learning Holigral with Author and teacher Steve Saunders. The focus of the research moves towards contemporary sub-cultures appropriating or inspired by occult aesthetics, symbolism and rituals. Literature about the meaning of prehistoric cave paintings traces a link between Shamanic trance induction and contemporary rave culture, electronic music, and various forms of trance induction that involve sensory deprivation through repetitive movement, dehydration or sonic neuron entrainment.

These subcultures inhabit a space of in between, as does the transidioethnographer, that is the nature of transdiscipline. The prefix ‘trans’ becomes prevalent, denoting anything that is becoming, in a state of flux or liminality1. Infamous graphic novelist and Neo-Pagan Alan Moore speaks of the power of words and storytelling in Magic. The etymolygy of the verb to Spell traces it back to the magical noun; “To cast a Spell” Moore believes that Magic as refered to as ‘The Art’ in ancient times for one simple reason; because Art is Magic and Magic is Art. The power of words, sounds and images to change consciousness becomes a tangible explanation of Magic, employed today by advertisers and the media. In Trans-Spell, some 40 people at a Party incant a word each that starts with the prefix Trans. They invoke the qualities of liminality within the installation or the circle. The four elements of the Pagan circle are represented by the Wax figures and the sound piece and video ‘José Macabra Live’

The Transidioethnographer, the earth element, sits in the corner at her studio desk, the author claiming subjectivity and acknowledging her presence and her bias within the ‘ethnography’ or Transidioethnography. Franx De Cristal sits up high, The rebel and the Trickster from Mythology2. Franx introduces the water element to the circle. Raul Pony, the fire element, The beautiful transvestite, embodies Liminality. Gender-fluidity and shape – shifting again remind us of the trickster. Lastly, José Macabra, Our technoshaman represents the air element with his sound piece. The video shows Macabra playing his journey inducing music, which has earned him the name of Shaman in the immersive environment of lights, sounds and heat that rave culture is synonymous with.

1 In anthropology, liminality (from the Latin word līmen, meaning "a threshold"[1]) is the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage of rituals

2 The trickster is the character in many mythologies such as Hermes, Ishu and Coyote in Navajo American Indian who changes consciousness through bending reality, through illusion, trickery, and sometimes through his own failure.