Greater Feast of St. Priapus

[Frater Pralixus]

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

Greater Feast of St. Priapus Priapus (also Lutinus, Fecundus and Mutunus) was a Roman and Greek ithyphallic god of fertility and protector of gardens, often considered to be the child of Aphrodite and Dionysus (or Pan, Adonis, Hermes, or Zeus, depending on the source). The ass was his sacred animal. Priapus tried to rape Lotis, and she was changed into a lotus plant to protect her. In Ovid's "Fasti," an imbibed Lotis is attempted by the aroused Priapus, at which time one of Silenus' donkeys with "raucous braying" revealed Priapus' intentions and the entire party had a good laugh at his expense. To repay the donkey for the embarrassment, the annual feast of Priapus (sometime during May) is begun by the sacrifice of a donkey to the diminutive and ironic garden-god. This date of observance is extremely unofficial, and was chosen by Fra. Pralixus to immediately follow Beltane (i.e., "the start of Summer," in May) on the basis of the above tale. It is the "Greater Feast" in this case not to imply death, as with most human saints, but as opposed to the "Lesser Feast" on 27 September "Fete of St. Cosmo and Damiano" the former of whom is identified as "the modern Priapus" by St. Sir Richard Payne Knight in his report on their festival as held in Isernia, Naples (Italy).

Love is the law, love under will.