As you begin your journey into the world of music festivals and raves, you’ve hopefully heard of the P.L.U.R. or P.L.U.R.R. acronyms. Stemming from around the 90s, these acronyms are the all encompassing set of principles that define ravers and rave culture.

P. – PEACE

The first letter of P.L.U.R. is P which stands for Peace. Within this community, we strive to keep peace amongst each other. We are expected to leave our problems and negative emotions at the door/gate and focus solely on discovering our inner peace. All are welcome in this community so judgment and oppression of any group is unwelcome.

L. – LOVE

The 2nd letter of P.L.U.R. is L which stands for Love. Within this community as stated before, all are accepted and welcomed as the basis. This 2nd principle teaches that we not only are accepting and welcoming of others but we spread love to them, as well. Love – is spread through acts of kindness, hugs, trading Kandi bracelets, helping others in need, dancing together, etc. The ways we spread love in this community are endless.

U. – UNITY

The 3rd letter of P.L.U.R. is U which stands for Unity. With our newfound Peace and Love here in the rave community, we also find Unity. We are united together in our love for the music and in our love for each other. Despite our differences in the outside world, we all are united here together.

R. – RESPECT

The 4th letter of P.L.U.R. is R which stands for Respect. We are expected to come together and accept each other without judgment in this community. Without having respect for each other, the rest of the principles (Peace, Love, and Unity) will all fall short. We respect each others space, opinions, choices and lives.

R. – RESPONSIBILITY

The often forgotten 5th letter of P.L.U.R.R. is R for Responsibility. With crowds upwards of hundreds of thousands of people, there is a lot of danger and risk present. Add in the possible use of illicit drugs and the risk becomes even greater. In the rave community we have the responsibility to care for ourselves and others around us. Drink water, test your “stuff” beforehand, check on people who are “sleeping” or look like they may have overdone it, call EMTs when necessary. As someone who has performed CPR on a fellow raver in need, myself, these small actions can help save your life or the lives of others.