ABSTRACT
The capacity of light and –especially rhythmic–movement to fascinate opens up some interesting questions about phenomenological experiences of light. As well as engendering a sense of communitas, rituals involving light often aim to induce an altered or transcendental state of being. The combination of light and sound is now a standard part of therapies using hypnosis, particularly in new treatments for attention deficit disorders and to assist children with learning disabilities. While neuroscience has revealed the mechanisms of entrainment, the historical ubiquity of rituals making use of light and sound suggests that human societies have long recognised the importance of affective responses to light. At the heart of the optics of Ptolemaios is the concept of the visual ray, which suggested that visual perception is accomplished by rays of light emitted by the eyes.
