When the world seems dark and hope a distant thing, we often turn to familiar rituals to find comfort: church services, holiday celebrations, a personal devotion or a time set aside to create a ritual that looks to a better time to come. History speaks of people meeting in secret during times of oppression and war to celebrate the rites of their faith together. It also speaks of public events where people gather with candles or flowers or flags to remember or to otherwise commemorate an event as an act of resistance to oppression. The art of politically motivated ritual is a delicate one. It is easy to get so wrapped up in the cause that one loses the ritual: so loud and strident that the spirit is lost in the action. Conversely, so quiet, so sensitive, that again, the purpose of the ritual is lost. Yet, in the most profound sense, in a ritual of resistance, the action is the ritual. These are rituals that empower, that move the cause forward in collective and individual action. We use symbols, symbolic actions, words spoken, song, meditations, and objects with meaning to aid in the process. This kind of ritual is hopeful and creates bonds between activists, a place to speak, to listen, and to make oneself known. There is vulnerability in the action and courage when participants come together to speak. As with all rituals, rituals in the public, political, sphere can be abused. When regimes or ideological leaders use ritual to secure their power or to enforce an ideology, or to commit atrocities and justify them, then, political ritual becomes an act of oppression and war in itself. Because of this abuse, there remain many survivors of oppression who distrust the use of ritual in either the private or public sphere. Fearful of the “crowd mentality” they eschew ritual as something to leave behind, to avoid whenever and wherever it arises in the political sphere. This distrust, fearfulness, and anger can extend into private rituals and religion. The friend or relative who won’t “join in” at holiday celebrations or family gatherings for weddings or funerals may, in fact, be wrestling with this past or the memory passed to them of a time when public ritual was abused by a government or ideological cult. All too often, in our collective history, these abuses led to atrocities and war. Rituals that empower resistance can be healing as well. These rituals are as varied and diverse as there are people who resist oppressive regimes, injustices, and imprisonment or slavery. A Yazidi woman in bondage may perform a secret devotion to remember who she is in the face of unspeakable actions by her kidnappers. This is the most personal act of resistance. In a town where civil unrest has divided the residents a gathering praying for peace followed by acts of reconciliation is a ritual of resistance. An environmental activist may stand before a certain tree or block the entrance to a building to bring attention to climate change as a ritual act of resistance. Some rituals are deliberate acts in order to bring attention to injustice, some to bring about a certain result. This issue explores music, popular culture, and political analysis within the over all contextual theme of rituals of resistance. It seems the world has grown dark and full of fear (as a certain popular fantasy series states) and we each participate in public and private resistances to counter this growing darkness and find our way through. We thank everyone who has made this issue possible with their time, energy, passion, and in monetary donations to the Society for Ritual Arts. As we move into the next phase of this project, the support of the SRA membership and those who call themselves “Friends of the Society” is ever more important. It is not too fine a point to say that you, readers, volunteer editors and peer reviewers, writers and friends are vital to the health and longevity of The Society and to Coreopsis Journal. Please take a moment to visit our web pages and explore our projects and dreams for the future of the Society for Ritual Arts. We dream of a place for artists and scholars exploring the arts of ritual creation and the ritual arts. Planned for the near future is a “mercantile” to be opened this autumn for the works of the artists here on the staff and members of the Society, a regular broadcast of music, interviews and live performances, and a gathering to present the Annual Awards and to share our art and scholarship. Become a member of the Society and join us by volunteering and/or paying membership dues: Propose a project like a membership newsletter, maintain the volunteer & membership lists, host a gathering or salon, or become an editor or peer reviewer with the journal: there is always something that needs doing and not enough hands to get it done. We promise a place for your adventurous spirit. September 12, 2019