There is a certain poignant aspect to surreal works which, in spite of improbable and often absurd elements, strikes a visceral chord. A well-crafted piece of surrealism evokes primal responses, effecting moods which lie just below conscious, explanatory existence. Films from the likes of David Lynch, Luis Buñuel, and Wojciech Has, stories by Franz Kafka or Lewis Carroll, all are rife for critical analysis, but their real power is based in their ability to manipulate emotional states through a portal of fantastic improbability.
Magic ritual too relies upon this sort of critical bypass. One key to achieving a state of suspended disbelief is to culminate an atmosphere of fantasy, conducive to raw emotion and imagination. This is a feature found in nearly every culture's system of ritual, and is as prominent in monotheism as it is animism. While the surrealist facets of contemporary, monolithic religions are often more visually subtle (or appear primarily as a matter of doctrine), such elements are on striking display in most polytheistic or animistic systems. There is not necessarily any "right" way to incorporate surrealistic expressions into ritual; each culture employs its own distinct ritual trappings in a way that is meaningful and useful to its adherents. I myself find the aesthetics of the Navajo particularly appealing, for the emotive value discussed above. I could dissect the garb and posture, breaking them down into digestible pieces for analysis, but that wouldn't get us any closer to understanding why this aesthetic appeals to me. The value lies in something below the level of critical thought, to some primal whisper which speaks in a tongue I do not understand, but carries with it an implied power derived from some vague memory; a hazy reflection of what has passed and what is yet to be.
1. All photos by Edward S. Curtis, circa 1903.
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