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An official patron saint of Discordianism

September 17th 2013 marked the 154th anniversary of the inauguration of Emperor Norton I.

Joshua Norton was born in England in 1818 or 1819 and was raised in South Africa. He came to San Francisco in 1849 during the gold rush with a large inheritance, which he used to invest in land holdings, making him a successful businessman and respected member of the community. In the early 1850’s, China was facing famine, and enacted a ban on exporting rice. Seeing this as an opportunity to corner the market, in 1852, Norton sold all of his land holdings and used the funds to buy an incoming Peruvian ship, loaded with rice. Unfortunately, within a few days, two more rice-laden ships appeared, dropping the market value and subsequently bankrupting the budding entrepreneur. He tried to back out of his contract with the ship’s owner, but in 1857, the Supreme Court of California ruled against him. In 1858, he declared bankruptcy and disappeared.

Norton wouldn’t be seen again until September 17, 1859, when he marched into the offices of the San Francisco Daily Bulletin and demanded they publish the following decree:

“At the peremptory request and desire of a large majority of the citizens of these United States, I, Joshua Norton, formerly of Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and now for the last 9 years and 10 months past of S. F., Cal., declare and proclaim myself Emperor of these U.S.; and in virtue of the authority thereby in me vested, do hereby order and direct the representatives of the different States of the Union to assemble in Musical Hall, of this city, on the 1st day of Feb. next, then and there to make such alterations in the existing laws of the Union as may ameliorate the evils under which the country is laboring, and thereby cause confidence to exist, both at home and abroad, in our stability and integrity.”

For some reason, the Daily Bulletin printed the decree, and they continued to publish the many exploits of the Emperor and all of his pronouncements.

Norton became something of a celebrity in San Francisco, whose inhabitants were not only amused by the madman, but seemingly deigned him worthy of their respect. The city issued him a uniform, a blue military dress with matching plumed beaver hat, and a bicycle as form of transport. They even allowed him to conduct a yearly review of his troops at the nearby military academy. He was allowed to eat at the finest restaurants for free, and had a reserved seat at the theaters of the area. When he began to issue his own currency to pay for his debts, it became accepted throughout the area as legal tender. The U.S. Census of 1870 listed his occupation as “Emperor.”

Emperor Norton I’s inventive response to bankruptcy

He was once arrested for vagrancy, and was immediately released following public outcry, along with a formal apology from Police Chief Patrick Crowley, who wrote, “he had shed no blood; robbed no one; and despoiled no country; which is more than can be said of his fellows in that line.”

The Emperor made many progressive pronouncements during his reign, which included giving women the right to vote, allowing blacks to attend public school, and a call to increase the wages of the Chinese. He ordered that Congress be dissolved, the disbanding of the Republican and Democratic parties, and proposed the banding of a “League of Nations.” His most profound directive, though, would take nearly sixty years to be realized; his plan to build a suspension bridge, spanning from Oakland Point to Goat Island, and then to Telegraph Hill. The Bay Bridge began construction in 1933. There have been campaigns to rename the bridge in honor of Norton I, which have, so far, been unsuccessful.

Joshua Norton died on January 8, 1880. There were over 30,000 mourners at his funeral, and he was buried in the Masonic Cemetery at the expense of the city. Every year on the anniversary of his death, the Imperial Court System (a gay rights group), pays homage to the Emperor at his gravesite.

The Emperor Norton I has been one of my magical heroes for years. An official patron saint of Discordianism, he embodies an idea that I’ve been obsessed with for some time; that lies, hoaxes, and fiction (“myths,” in other words) can have actual effects on the external world, erasing the line that separates reality and fantasy. Norton decreed changes in his nation that were considered mad at the time, but many have become realities since his death. He was no prophet foreseeing these eventualities, but rather their orchestrator, causing them with his will and proclamations alone.

But most important to me was his ability to create a persona and fully become it. By declaring himself Emperor and compelling the acknowledgement of his peers, he points out the fallibility of belief in a central Self. His actions argue that we are not the sum of our experiences, nor the products of history, but are whatever we choose to be.

This is similar to the argument made by many Existentialists, who say that there is no essential quality of being, rendering the universe meaningless. But unlike their gloomy interpretation of these findings, Norton’s story illuminates the freedom inherent in this situation. If existence is meaningless, then we have the opportunity to create meaning in this vacuum and decide what universe we will live in. Joshua Norton has become an example of our own potentiality, and has given us all the chance to claim the title of Emperor, ourselves.

Frater Isla

Hanging up decorations to celebrate Yule, carving pumpkins at Halloween, dancing the Maypole and more – all of these are both modern Pagan activities, folk customs and stuff that kids can get involved with. Those of us who have the honour and delight to be parents get to engage in some very interesting questions when it comes to the relationship between our own spiritual practises and our kids. So what is the context for what’s going on? In a significantly secular culture such Britain (around 25% of English citizens describe their religion as ‘none’) there is a tendency to think that spirituality (or the apparent lack of it) is down to personal choice and conscience. Britain is also a spiritually diverse landscape, the arguable origin of a number of new religious paths (as mentioned HERE). It’s also true that the social function of religion in Britain is perhaps different from that of the USA (discussed HERE). So with these considerations in mind how do we, as families, integrate our own spirituality with raising children?

Pagan family

Hanging up the Yule/Christmas/Mithrasmas/Winterval decorations is a good example. This is an embodied practise, one that we can give multiple meanings to. A ritual like this can be something children can enjoy and participate in. In my household I describe what we’re doing in, what I hope, is a very open-ended way: ‘We’re making the house look fun because it’s dark and we’re going to have a few days holiday where we can watch movies, eat nice food, and snuggle by the open fire. We are celebrating the fact of the longest night, the beginning of the New Year, and the slow return of the light’. Unless they go all Jehovah’s Witness when they get older, my approach is also I hope, broad enough that they can appreciate what we did in Pagan, Humanist, Atheist, Christian or other terms and not find it problematic. Of course they also don’t have to join in. I’m totally happy to put the tree up and install the ivy myself, but naturally they want to help.

Of course there are lots of parts of my own spiritual life from which my children are excluded. All of the esoteric groups I work with maintain policies that preclude the admission of anyone under the age of at least 18 (even in the informal world of Wicca 30 years ago it was really difficult for me to get involved in a group when I was 16). However in other cultures these things differ. Children are most certainly present at ceremonies such as the Healing Dance of the San people from South Africa. In this rite dancing and singing continues long into the night as people are possessed by spirits (an event, which in that culture is often attended by bleeding through the nose). Mothers sit on the sand with their babies and, at least before they get tired and bored, the younger San kids run around the outside of the ritual space, pretending to get possessed and generally taking the piss out of the shamans in the circle. Just as one might expect.

One of the benefits of my own Pagan spirituality is that it allows me to include my children in the public and gentle ceremonies of celebration (such as the ones that take place at St Nectan’s Glen and at many other sacred sites in the British Isles), as well as a selection of domestic traditions. Because these traditions are rooted in the flow of the seasons they are open to interpretation and elaboration in many different ways. Intelligent children (and of course my kids are really bright) readily understand this. My eldest son, many years ago, pointed out that the sun coming back from the solstice of Yule was the same as Aslan in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. And that this was basically the same as the story of Osiris and also Jesus. Personally I tend to avoid names of deities (though we all have a soft spot for Ganesh and through the medium of Marvel comics both my kids are getting more interested in Norse mythology) and instead talk about what we’re doing as people connected to the landscape we’re in. It’s all about relationships and perspectives. So at the Equinox I explain that this time is about noticing that light and dark are equal, and realising that this is one of only two days in the year where the day and night length is pretty much equal all across the whole world. No deities, no rules, do dogma, just a scientific fact that we’re choosing to notice and celebrate.

nom nom nom

As well as including our children in accessible and culturally appropriate aspects of our spirituality we can also learn from them. For Lammas this year, at the suggestion of my eldest son, we made special biscuits to celebrate the fact that the harvest had come. This has become something of a theme (I mean home-made biscuits! What’s not to like?) and so for this Equinox my children made two batches of biscuits which we shared with participants at a public Pagan ritual we attended. Chocolate ones for the dark of the year, and banana and vanilla ones for the light. And so my kids have built for themselves a family and community tradition. I only hope that they don’t follow through on some of the more grotesque suggestions they seem to be considering for their Halloween recipe!