New series about the secret life taking place in the garden at night. Because these are sleepless summer nights and I am nocturnal again for various reasons.
I am spending most of my summer working and enjoying time in our garden. Hence dedicating again the monthly theme to this topic. The new flower beds are finished at last and new plants are added on a weekly basis. The black flower theme is coming along nicely. For more visit my garden blog.
Impressions from my month of June, including my ritual for the summer solstice 2017.
View the entire Flower Devils series here.
I had the honor and pleasure of being photographed by professional photographer and photography teacher Anne Ida Helmer from Berlin.
We spent the whole day preparing and set to work in the evening, as the blue hour descended. Our meeting happened to coincide with the dark of the moon. The location is an old hollow willow tree close to the river. I refrained from a complex ritual set-up and instead focused on the act itself, burning Incense of Lilith and pouring libation of self-made pomegranate vodka for the spirits of the place. Whether we nurtured invisible specters or mainly ourselves – the religious aspect of occult ritual work is part of the complex topic explored by Anne in her ongoing series “Gravis” and “Krura“.
Anne’s website: http://www.anneidahelmer.de/
Images © Anne Ida Helmer 2017. All rights reserved. You may not copy, save or reproduce these images without the expressed written consent of the artist.
Path of petals
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Japanese Pavilion
Sakura Whispers
Dresden blue hour
Favorite time of day, dim light, overcast sky. New camera and lens. Minimal editing.
April nightfall – chill, raindrops on pale petals of daffodils and tulips, roses
The garden after dark, all the myths…
In antiquity a marriage outside one’s social class would bring shame over the family. Abductions were staged to justify such liaison.(1) Against this background the story of the abduction of Persephone appears in a new light. It enabled her to be part of and live in two worlds, which were otherwise closed away from each other. She maintained the privileges of the world of the living, but also dined with the dead in the underworld and was let into its secrets. According to legend she picked daffodils when Hades ‘abducted’ her to the underworld. Her story remains fascinating, her flowers remind us of it.
Martin Luther too staged his abduction. Believed to be dead by his foes, he used the time ‘in the dark’ to translate the bible from original sources into German language (with a little help from his friends), one of the most significant cultural contributions of mankind. His signature flower became the rose. (2)
(1) Harold Roth, The Witching Herbs, p. 48 “Kidnapped Brides”
(2) The Luther seal or Luther rose is a widely recognized symbol for Lutheranism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_rose
Besides…
I watched lots of docus on Arte +7. Yes, the one about the comet (so amazing) and the series on space time and matter. About the chief and the forests. Also earlier about the super plants. And now I am hung up on the magic garden series… eg this one about the garden as a place of initiation: http://www.arte.tv/guide/de/057898-003-A/magische-garten
Several of my artworks and one essay are featured in the now sold-out “Pillars – Perichoresis” anthology by Anathema Publishing, 2016. The book is a compilation of the first three “Pillars” journals and contains additional material that was not part of previous releases. I have contributed to all three journals and look forward to continue working with Anathema Publishing in the future.
