Thursday Mar 20, 2025

Ecstasy, Expression, and Change: The Spiritual and Political Power of Festivals | EP17 | with Chiara Baldini

In this episode, the guest, Chiara Baldini, delves into the role of festivals as spaces for countercultural expression and personal transformation. Chiara discusses the dual nature of festivals as both entertainment venues and sites for deeper societal change, where participants can recharge and become more aware of ways to improve reality. She explores the historical context of countercultural festivals like Woodstock, which were pivotal in promoting revolutionary ideas and values.

Chiara reflects on the 1960s counterculture movements, their political and spiritual dimensions, and their lasting impact on contemporary festival culture. She provides insights into the evolution of these movements and their ongoing influence on modern-day festivals like Boom Festival.

Additionally, Chiara touches on the historical significance of the Dionysian cults in ancient Greece and their techniques of ecstasy, which included dance, music, and psychotropic substances. She discusses how these practices were led by women and maintained certain traditions despite the patriarchal context of their times.

This episode offers a rich exploration of the transformative potential of festivals, the intersection of spirituality and politics, and the ongoing relevance of ancient ecstatic practices in contemporary culture.

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Chiara Baldini is a raver, researcher, author, and freelance curator from Florence (Italy). She investigates the evolution of the ecstatic cult in the West, particularly in Minoan Crete, ancient Greece and Rome, contributing to anthologies, psychedelic conferences and festivals. She was the program curator of Boom Festival’s cultural area Liminal Village from 2010 to 2023. In 2015 and 2016 she also set up and curated ConTent, the first cultural area in Fusion Festival, Germany. She has recently co-curated an anthology called “Psychedelic Mysteries of the Feminine” investigating the intersection between the feminine principle and altered states of consciousness. She is currently a PhD candidate at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in the Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness program. She lives between Italy and Portugal and she expresses her deep love for music by often playing as DJ Clandestina.

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Viewing recommendations:

Chiara Baldini - Countercultural Festivals; Then & Now at Breaking Convention 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npah4vQCrb0

Dionysus: Ritual, Rave & Revolution

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjKkmvDmI67RidARHR0-r0sbh2Z8FbjFt

Follow Chiara:

Academia: https://independent.academia.edu/chiarabaldini

Instagram: @iamalwayschiara

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chiara.baldini.9862

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/clandestina-2-0

Book: https://www.innertraditions.com/books/psychedelic-mysteries-of-the-feminine