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Author Topic: Aesthetics  (Read 4038 times)

Emma Eldritch

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Aesthetics
« on: January 07, 2014, 10:50:31 pm »
It occurred to me the other day as I was rearranging some things that I invest a lot in creating atmosphere. My apartment is, as far as I'm concerned, an extension of my personality, spiritual practice, and magic. I want things to look a certain way, from the decor to ritual supplies.

(I'm a Libra. This may be relevant.)

So I was wondering if this is the norm. Does your living space reflect your spiritual or magical practice? If so, what is your aesthetic? I have a friend who is very into the use of bright fabrics and sari material, and I've met others who preferred the fantasy artwork look. (Personally I'm more likely to surf Apartment Therapy for altar ideas than a pagan store, but I sometimes think I'm in the minority on that.)

Furthermore, do you think that having things appeal to you visually is an aid in your spiritual or magical work? Are there any particular objects you covet?

Jack

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Re: Aesthetics
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2014, 01:34:01 am »
Quote from: Mama Fortuna;135536
So I was wondering if this is the norm. Does your living space reflect your spiritual or magical practice? If so, what is your aesthetic? I have a friend who is very into the use of bright fabrics and sari material, and I've met others who preferred the fantasy artwork look. (Personally I'm more likely to surf Apartment Therapy for altar ideas than a pagan store, but I sometimes think I'm in the minority on that.)

Furthermore, do you think that having things appeal to you visually is an aid in your spiritual or magical work? Are there any particular objects you covet?

Our current place is an older duplex that hasn't been updated since probably the late 60s, so we went with as much of a neo-colonial vintage look as we can afford shopping Goodwill - a few nice wood pieces, my vintage Corning/Fire King collection, that kind of thing.

/hipster

I also tend to tie my wards into physical anchors, so there's a lot of art on the walls, hanging doodads, etc with various associations and purposes. I like to aspire to a kind of a Baba Yaga's 60's Vacation Cabin vibe, but I don't know that I succeed.

« Last Edit: January 08, 2014, 01:36:44 am by Jack »
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Emma Eldritch

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Re: Aesthetics
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2014, 01:58:35 am »
Quote from: Jack;135548
Our current place is an older duplex that hasn't been updated since probably the late 60s, so we went with as much of a neo-colonial vintage look as we can afford shopping Goodwill - a few nice wood pieces, my vintage Corning/Fire King collection, that kind of thing.

/hipster

I also tend to tie my wards into physical anchors, so there's a lot of art on the walls, hanging doodads, etc with various associations and purposes. I like to aspire to a kind of a Baba Yaga's 60's Vacation Cabin vibe, but I don't know that I succeed.


My apartment was built in the 40s and maintains most of the original details. Personally I love it when places haven't been overly updated. The wood is especially nice, and sometimes I wonder if more pagans don't yearn for hardwood floors and detailing.

You do not seem overly hipster to me. But then, my sister dates a banjo player and seems to have adopted 'put a bird on it' as a motto. She even owns a mason jar cocktail shaker. (Which, I have to say, is adorable.)

From the picture I have to say I think I love it. The description is awesome too. XD I so, so hope you have a bitchin cocktail/mocktail bar. And I am beyond pleased that someone besides me uses the fun filters on the camerphone - I know some people hate it, but fuck them, I love the look of Polaroids. I had one growing up and it remains utterly flattering.

The witch balls are a lovely touch, and what I see of the artwork seems cool. There's something about that tree on the right that I especially find powerful.

Sophia C

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Aesthetics
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2014, 03:14:15 am »
Quote from: Mama Fortuna;135536
It occurred to me the other day as I was rearranging some things that I invest a lot in creating atmosphere. My apartment is, as far as I'm concerned, an extension of my personality, spiritual practice, and magic. I want things to look a certain way, from the decor to ritual supplies.

(I'm a Libra. This may be relevant.)

So I was wondering if this is the norm. Does your living space reflect your spiritual or magical practice? If so, what is your aesthetic? I have a friend who is very into the use of bright fabrics and sari material, and I've met others who preferred the fantasy artwork look. (Personally I'm more likely to surf Apartment Therapy for altar ideas than a pagan store, but I sometimes think I'm in the minority on that.)

Furthermore, do you think that having things appeal to you visually is an aid in your spiritual or magical work? Are there any particular objects you covet?

I'd love to make my house reflect my spirituality more, but I live with a non-Pagan (one who is incredibly messy and likes to spread their stuff all over the place). Given that I've already taken over a room as an office and altar space, I think it's only fair that I mostly keep my religious stuff there. I do have a small shrine to Brigid in the kitchen, though, and folk magicky things get put above doors - and around some of the festivals, stuff tends to spread.
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savveir

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Re: Aesthetics
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2014, 03:45:50 am »
Quote from: Mama Fortuna;135536
It occurred to me the other day as I was rearranging some things that I invest a lot in creating atmosphere. My apartment is, as far as I'm concerned, an extension of my personality, spiritual practice, and magic. I want things to look a certain way, from the decor to ritual supplies.

(I'm a Libra. This may be relevant.)

So I was wondering if this is the norm. Does your living space reflect your spiritual or magical practice? If so, what is your aesthetic? I have a friend who is very into the use of bright fabrics and sari material, and I've met others who preferred the fantasy artwork look. (Personally I'm more likely to surf Apartment Therapy for altar ideas than a pagan store, but I sometimes think I'm in the minority on that.)

Furthermore, do you think that having things appeal to you visually is an aid in your spiritual or magical work? Are there any particular objects you covet?

 
I'd like to be able to decorate how I want to. Problem is since I'm renting, I can't put up hooks, or paint anything.
That said, It does reflect me a fair bit. But I don't know that it reflects my spirituality, I'd have to figure out what that is first :P.
I'm lucky in that the guys don't mind my having a shrine in the kitchen and another in the lounge, otherwise there's not much to speak of.
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Jack

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Re: Aesthetics
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2014, 03:47:38 am »
Quote from: Mama Fortuna;135549
My apartment was built in the 40s and maintains most of the original details. Personally I love it when places haven't been overly updated. The wood is especially nice, and sometimes I wonder if more pagans don't yearn for hardwood floors and detailing.


When we finally go house shopping we're hoping for that kind of vintage. Having it in the current place is a nice bonus. I bet your apartment has all the right fabulous details too.

Quote
From the picture I have to say I think I love it. The description is awesome too. XD I so, so hope you have a bitchin cocktail/mocktail bar. And I am beyond pleased that someone besides me uses the fun filters on the camerphone - I know some people hate it, but fuck them, I love the look of Polaroids. I had one growing up and it remains utterly flattering.

The witch balls are a lovely touch, and what I see of the artwork seems cool. There's something about that tree on the right that I especially find powerful.

 
Thanks! No cocktail bar, sadly. The neverending battle to get enough bookshelves in here means we're running out of space for things like that.

Those witch balls were actually clearanced at Home Goods right after Christmas, of all things. XD I've got a few proper witch balls and nice blown glass hanging elsewhere, I've got some found fishing floats, but I bought those just to see and it turned out that they work pretty well too. Glass is glass, I suppose. XD
Hail Mara, Lady of Good Things!
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Sulischild

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Re: Aesthetics
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2014, 04:05:20 am »
Quote from: Naomi J;135553
I'd love to make my house reflect my spirituality more, but I live with a non-Pagan (one who is incredibly messy and likes to spread their stuff all over the place). Given that I've already taken over a room as an office and altar space, I think it's only fair that I mostly keep my religious stuff there. I do have a small shrine to Brigid in the kitchen, though, and folk magicky things get put above doors - and around some of the festivals, stuff tends to spread.

 
My shared living arrangements mean there's very little I can do about my surroundings at the moment, and that's really frustrating - not only because I can't set up a shrine, do offerings or anything else of a remotely spiritual nature anywhere but my bedroom or a (hot!!!) room downstairs, but because my parents have lots of dusty clutter and shit everywhere, and sometimes it drives me spare.

When I was living alone, the house reflected my spirituality a lot - almost as much as my disability, which also affects my interior design stylings.  (Part of my parents obsession with old shit and clutter is a tendency to have boxes and bins poking out into doorways and corridors.  WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO A PERSON WITH BAD BALANCE AND POOR SPATIAL AWARENESS!  Ahem.  Sorry about that, that rant's been building up for a while.)  When I'm living alone again, one of my first priorities will be re-establishing permanent shrines etc.  In the meantime, it means a lot of stuff in storage, and I tend to forget stuff if I can't see it, so it's a bit of a struggle.

Sophia C

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Re: Aesthetics
« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2014, 04:07:38 am »
Quote from: Sulischild;135558
When I was living alone, the house reflected my spirituality a lot - almost as much as my disability, which also affects my interior design stylings.  (Part of my parents obsession with old shit and clutter is a tendency to have boxes and bins poking out into doorways and corridors.  WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO A PERSON WITH BAD BALANCE AND POOR SPATIAL AWARENESS!  Ahem.  Sorry about that, that rant's been building up for a while.)


I have similar issues, and my partner does this to me on a permanent basis. I have tried to train them, I really have. I suppose at least they look after me when I fall over something they've left on the floor :p
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HarpingHawke

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Re: Aesthetics
« Reply #8 on: January 08, 2014, 01:31:48 pm »
Quote from: Mama Fortuna;135536

So I was wondering if this is the norm. Does your living space reflect your spiritual or magical practice? If so, what is your aesthetic? I have a friend who is very into the use of bright fabrics and sari material, and I've met others who preferred the fantasy artwork look. (Personally I'm more likely to surf Apartment Therapy for altar ideas than a pagan store, but I sometimes think I'm in the minority on that.)

Furthermore, do you think that having things appeal to you visually is an aid in your spiritual or magical work? Are there any particular objects you covet?

 
I'm not quite sure that I have a style, but I'm into the whole clean look and incense smell. I make a lot of the things I use myself (hence the impractically white altar cloth that is covered in ash) and they never really go with my surroundings. The altars and shrines are usually pretty neat and even Spartan, while, the rest of the place is...cluttered...

There are a few things I covet, like my antique teacups I'm planning on using for offering bowls, and the wand that my goddess seems to like.
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." - Hemingway

beith

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Re: Aesthetics
« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2014, 04:21:26 pm »
Quote from: Mama Fortuna;135536

So I was wondering if this is the norm. Does your living space reflect your spiritual or magical practice? If so, what is your aesthetic? I have a friend who is very into the use of bright fabrics and sari material, and I've met others who preferred the fantasy artwork look. (Personally I'm more likely to surf Apartment Therapy for altar ideas than a pagan store, but I sometimes think I'm in the minority on that.)

Furthermore, do you think that having things appeal to you visually is an aid in your spiritual or magical work? Are there any particular objects you covet?

 
My roommate is very Christian, so I'm not outward about my newish religious path with him as I'm concerned it would make him very uncomfortable.  I have a small altar that I keep in a back corner of my bedroom so that it doesn't draw attention, and any work I do is confined to my room as well.  Fortunately, it is quite a large room and I have access to a balcony to add a bit of nature.  Right now I'm working on incorporating my spiritual practice into my space in a very basic way: respecting the space by keeping it clean and slowly passing on items I don't need.  I struggle with cleaning, so this is very slow going for me.

One aspect of my practice is respect of ancestors, and I have old photographs allllllll over my apartment and my office at work as well.  My most prized are some photographs from the 1880s and giant photos of my grandfather, who died a few months ago, and my father who died a long time ago.

I'm a very visual person, so I do find having my altar permanent and looking a certain way aids me in my path.  My most important objects are my bird feathers.  Birds are very special to me, and each feather I've collected was connected with an important spiritual or family event.  I also found a new item in an antique store for my altar that I really love: a hawk carved out of ironwood.

When I get to the point of living alone again, I'd love to add to the ancestral photographs with more nature-ish things: houseplants, pinecones, rocks, and feathers probably.  Some sort of an indoor temperate climate forest with ancestors around every corner and a cat roaming around.

Emma Eldritch

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Re: Aesthetics
« Reply #10 on: January 08, 2014, 05:57:18 pm »
Quote from: Naomi J;135553
I'd love to make my house reflect my spirituality more, but I live with a non-Pagan (one who is incredibly messy and likes to spread their stuff all over the place). Given that I've already taken over a room as an office and altar space, I think it's only fair that I mostly keep my religious stuff there. I do have a small shrine to Brigid in the kitchen, though, and folk magicky things get put above doors - and around some of the festivals, stuff tends to spread.

 
Ah yes, the cohabitation dilemmas! Rarely easy to navigate. At least you have some private space of your own.

I do have to ask, though, if you find the clutter distracting on an energetic level?

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Re: Aesthetics
« Reply #11 on: January 08, 2014, 06:02:43 pm »
Quote from: savvy;135556
I'd like to be able to decorate how I want to. Problem is since I'm renting, I can't put up hooks, or paint anything.
That said, It does reflect me a fair bit. But I don't know that it reflects my spirituality, I'd have to figure out what that is first :P.
I'm lucky in that the guys don't mind my having a shrine in the kitchen and another in the lounge, otherwise there's not much to speak of.

 
I am a lifelong renter. My current landlord is cool and allows paint, although I actually love the white walls and so have had no desire to change them. I've had MUCH stricter landlords before, so when I was in my twenties I did a lot of 'hang a wall tapestry' type decorating. My mother's attitude was always that if the landlord didn't live on-site, then paint away as long as you covered it back up when you moved.

Are the shrines on shelves?

savveir

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Re: Aesthetics
« Reply #12 on: January 08, 2014, 08:28:21 pm »
Quote from: Mama Fortuna;135645
I am a lifelong renter. My current landlord is cool and allows paint, although I actually love the white walls and so have had no desire to change them. I've had MUCH stricter landlords before, so when I was in my twenties I did a lot of 'hang a wall tapestry' type decorating. My mother's attitude was always that if the landlord didn't live on-site, then paint away as long as you covered it back up when you moved.

Are the shrines on shelves?

 
Most of the house is covered in bad wallpaper with smoker stains. The kitchen shrine is on a small shelf, the lounge room shrine is on a sideboard. So it works out.
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Sefiru

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Re: Aesthetics
« Reply #13 on: January 08, 2014, 08:43:12 pm »
Quote from: Mama Fortuna;135536
Does your living space reflect your spiritual or magical practice? If so, what is your aesthetic? Are there any particular objects you covet?


Excuse me while I have an interior decorating geek-out.

I live in a white-box apartment, but that gives me the freedom to put whatever I want in it. My furnishings are modern classic (ie. I shop at Ikea and Pier 1), a lot of my things are deep blue, plum, magenta and sea green. Plus I have metallic accents everywhere: gold, silver and copper.

Most of my decorations aren't spiritual per se, but most of them have some personal significance: the sea shell from a trip to the Outer Banks, a set of blocks that belonged to my grandmother, a wall hanging from when I was in Japan, etc. There are also things I've bought from local artists and artisans when I could afford it (we have a really cool annual art fair in our area). And, of course, my epic and ever-growing collection of bowls.

One thing on my shelf is a blue glass mug in two pieces. I drank tea from that mug at least once a day for more than 15 years and it went with me wherever I lived; when it up and split in half a couple of months ago, I couldn't bear to part with it, so now it's an ornament.

I have a low table at the foot of my bed which holds my altar and below it, my collection of religions books. On the wall behind it is a curtain panel with a tie-dyed pattern of bamboo on it. When I put it up I was not thinking about how Egyptian temples had plant-shaped columns in them, but now it seems appropriate.
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Re: Aesthetics
« Reply #14 on: January 08, 2014, 10:23:04 pm »
Quote from: Mama Fortuna;135643
Ah yes, the cohabitation dilemmas! Rarely easy to navigate. At least you have some private space of your own.

I do have to ask, though, if you find the clutter distracting on an energetic level?

 
Not Naomi, but another person living with mountains of other people's stuff: hells yes.  It's like drowning in treacle.  Or like trying to shout in a heavily soundproofed room - no matter how much volume you generate, it just gets soaked straight up by all the shit lying around.  Often shit that has its own less-than-awesome energy of its own - like boxes of old chequebook stubs from a failing business that folded more than a decade ago.

But I can't just move out, even if I had a secure income, because of complicated family stuff.  So my plan now is to find some sort duplex arrangement so I can still be there to look after my parents at a moments' notice, without having to actually live surrounded by their stuff.

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