How my experience at a Pagan Ritual aligned with the movie Midsommar

Buzz
Buzz
Nov 7 · 3 min read

Midsommar is a film in which four American kids get lured to a (gory, disturbing, violent) Pagan Ritual in rural Sweden. This reminded me of the time I went to a Pagan Ritual, celebrating May Day, for a class. For those of you that have not seen Midsommar, do not fear, the basics that you need to know are in the blog. Also, if you care about details being spoiled, stop where you are at!

  1. Midsommar takes place in rural Sweden. I did not go to Sweden for the ritual. It was in Madison, Wisconsin, which is where I live. However, I did have to walk out in the middle of nowhere to a place called Picnic Point. It is like a 25 minute-ish walk out to the spot where they did their celebration, which I guess is kind of equivalent to the four-hour car ride the kids in the movie took.
  2. The main character in Midsommar, Dani, offers up her boyfriend as a sacrifice. I did not offer up my significant other as a sacrifice to be murdered by the group. I did not have a girlfriend at the time to offer up or maybe I would have. I went with just one classmate. I did not offer him up either. He was cool.
  3. Not only did I not offer up my non-existent significant other up as a sacrifice — no one died at all. In the movie, nine people must die in the ritual that takes place every ninety years. Four outsiders of the cult (which is why the Americans were lured there), two old people (must be 72-years-old to be exact), and two volunteers. The final death is up to the May Queen. As it was, my classmate and I were the only two outsiders at the ritual. We would have been…like…really dead. Not only did they not murder us, but they also wanted us to go to IHOP with them afterward!
  4. I did not get to do any magical mushrooms. After seeing it in the film, what the fuck is the point of any type of religious ritual without psychedelics? I’m never going to Catholic mass again.
  5. There were costumes just as there were in Midsommar. Lots of costumes. Lots of colors.

6. In the movie, the ritual is days long. It’s not just all people dying. There were some happy times! They do, after all, have a dancing competition and crown the May Queen! And at my ritual, there was a May Queen! And a May Pole! And a May Pole dance! However, the May Queen was not the winner of the May Dance. I am pretty sure they had that shit sorted out beforehand. Must have a text group chat or a Facebook page. A very organized group.

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