EPICUREAN GUILD

By Anders Sandberg

Description

This Guild was formed by members of the Cult of Ecstasy during the renaissance in Italy, mainly as a parody of the serious guilds and the traditions. Over the last centuries the guild has dissolved several times only to be restarted and reorganised again; the idea of a society for hedonists seems to have much vitality.

American cultists would probably call the Epicureans bourgeois, but the Epicureans would just point out that there is no need for being poor or outside society to be truly avant garde, and it is much more interesting. The Guild functions a bit like an old boys network, where the members pledge to help each other to live life to the fullest. The main lodge is located in Marseilles, and secondary lodges can be found in many of the major cities of Europe. The meetings are usually held either in obscure restaurants or private apartments, or at secluded villas outside the city.

Unlike the Cult of the new world, the Epicureans prefer subtle pleasures. Life is not lived for pleasure; life itself should be a pleasure, preferably with as much class and finesse as possible. Pleasures can always be refined to higher levels and the senses trained to note the most subtle details, to make even a sip of wine or the hint of perfume an ecstatic moment.

One area the members of the Guild excel in is the appreciation of fine food and drink; a perfectly cooked dish served at the right moment with an inspiring wine is a transcendent ecstasy for the true gourmet. Many members are both skilled in the kitchen and at the table, coaxing new aromas into reality and able to discern the textures of taste itself.

The Guild fights the Technocracy in its own way. It seeks to show the sleepers the beauty of the world, that through a few simple tricks in the kitchen an ordinary meal can become a feast and that love still is a force to be reckoned with. It contrasts the kitsch of the Technocracy with the quality and aesthetics of the old. Guild members have always been at home in high culture and intellectuals, and often are behind protests against new buildings, lowering of food standards or cut-backs in culture. In Italy they support the Slow Food movement, which tries to teach people to eat slowly and with relish, instead of just filling their stomachs with fast food without taste or style. In France they have ties to the wine farmers, who have fairly clear-cut views of how their regions should be handled. Also, somewhat unexpectedly, the Epicureans have some support from a group of vampires, who seem to share their interest in the aesthetic side of life.