A Brief Description of Dionysianism

By The Darkf00l

Dionysianism is a philosophy based on the dichotomy presented within the literary concept of the “Apollonian and Dionysian.” Mythically, the Greek gods Apollo and Dionysus were brothers. Apollo was the god of the sun and of reason, while Dionysus was the god of wine, intoxication, and madness. Unlike some myths where brothers of opposite qualities became enemies, Apollo and Dionysus never became rivals. It is this very relationship that lies at the core of the Apollonian and Dionysian dichotomy: the appearance of a contradictory nature which is actually a harmonious blend of opposite qualities.

Amongst the many philosophers who invoked the Apollonian and Dionysian dichotomy, it was Friedrich Nietzsche who contributed the most within his book “The Birth of Tragedy.” Within his book, Nietzsche attributes the dichotomy to the “Kunsttrieben” or “artistic impulses”. The Apollonian portion of the dichotomy represented characteristics such as the visual-plastic arts, the detached observer (or objective artist), rational/logical reason, and individuation. It’s opposite qualities, the Dionysian, represented the musical-intuitive arts, the frenzied participant (such as a dancer), the irrational/non-logical, and the dissolution of the self through the frenzied acts (in other words, wholeness).

Within my book, “Way of the Dionysian,” I take the Apollonian and Dionysian’s harmonious relationship a step further by correlating it with various concepts and with various spiritual paths and systems; particularly branding Dionysianism a Middle Path philosophy as it is comprised of both Right-Hand Path and Left-Hand path philosophies. My book will delve into the fluctuations between individuation and wholeness and how the transversal of both can benefit the individual and whichever group he or she happens to associate with. Other themes that correlate to the juxtaposition of opposite qualities as one include the life/death instinct (Freudian and Jungian), and, greatest of all, the “Zero Current” which is the universe’s own interplay of both order and chaos; causing evolution to occur on both a microcosmic and macrocosmic scale.