I didn't realize what a change these photos were from what I had been bringing to critique until it was pointed out to me. That's perhaps that's worth a whole post/ shoot in itself. But, to talk about these photos, I'm going to quote the book I use with my tarot card set- specifically the Five of Vessels: Ecstasy. I did a reading last week and this card appeared and what it said spoke to what I had been feeling and the idea behind this shoot. So here goes.
"The beat of the universal drum is heard in the soul and it is healthy to surrender for a time and to join the dance. Energy is renewed by bathing in the cosmic life force of exultant and sincere ecstasy.
"Many avenues are open to the Wanderer to commune intimately and ecstatically with great beauty or to be intoxicated by an intensely personal connection with the divine. Music, meditation, art, love, dancing or a profound sexual experience can inspire and induce the sacred trance of enlightening ecstasy.
"This powerful and euphoric awareness is utterly natural and a well established aspect of shamanic traditions. States of ecstatic trance can sometimes be triggered by extreme physical exertion or the quiescence of the superficial conciousness, so as to gain access to a deeper and more profound comprehension of everything.
"The ecstatic trance has been described as a delightful possession or a mysterious union with a timeless exuberance.
"The fusing of the spiritual being with a profound and loving universal mind elevates the soul to the space between spaces, where poetry breathes through you and exultation and stillness effortlessly exist". -The Wildwood Tarot
I kept wondering where the commentary was coming from -- thanks for the ID at the end. Did you read this before or after the images were made?
ReplyDeleteAfter . . . I had this idea for awhile and was thinking about how to describe what I felt and wanted to convey, if words would even be able to do so. The day after the shoot, I was doing tarot readings with a couple of my friends and this card appeared- I thought, hey, this is as close I can think of getting to this feeling and state of mind in words, so I decided to use it as a description.
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