Ritual of the Unknown Inhale deeply, and pass the bowl to your left. The bowl is filled with bitter herbs. The bitterness represents the bitterness of a starving, unpublished writer. The bowl is to remind you of all the suffering your people have endured. Stand to recite The Unknown. Then recline to the left to drink the wine as befits nobles who once reclined at symposia (intellectual drinking banquets). If there are no pillows on the chairs, ask the children to bring as many as possible.