View allAll Photos Tagged existential
explore 6 may 2008
so here's the thing. our old internet router broke. the new router doesn't work with the old computer (holding all my pics), so if i want to upload, i have to drag everything onto a memory stick, and transfer it over...blah, blah, blah... so i begin questioning the VALUE of the pictures... and quickly pirouette into existential angst about THE MEANING of it all. then i get my holga film developed, and i'm liking the randomness and mechanics of film again. SO i've just bought a new lens for my old, manual nikon... and am about to take a deep breath and explore what may happen. anyone else hit the photographic wall...?!
The waiter, far right, just stood, staring off into space, for several minutes, as if life had lost its meaning...
“Tell me not in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou are, to dust thou returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, - act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints
on the sand of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solenm main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.”
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Two days ago, I did something that five years ago I never would have dreamed, or conceived of, and ran an ultramarathon in the Chuckanut mountains of Bellingham. Thirty-one miles (on my 31st birthday!) and 5,000ft of elevation gain later my quads are shredded but my spirit feels alive. It was both terrible and wonderful, full of pain and elation, sadness and hope. I dug deep at times to find the will to keep moving, which is exactly the challenge I wanted, no matter how much my body fought otherwise in the moment. I did what seemed impossible to me, especially with multiple set backs that postponed training, and finished alive and well, smiling wide, happy to have finished and be finished.
Five years ago this month I started running, with the goal to run a mile without stopping. I had never really run at that point. I developed a love for it, over time, and completed a marathon, but I didn't find a passion until I discovered trail running, while on vacation on the Oregon coast. There had been a trail race, a 30k and 50k, the weekend before and the course looked stunning. The next year I decided to sign up for the 30k, not really knowing what I was getting into. By the end of it, I was beat, and questioning if I would ever do something like that again...but I found it has a way of seeping into your bones and subconscious. Despite the suffering, you ultimately want more trails, more beauty, more challenge...
Some will and do call me crazy, and maybe I am (probably!). But what I've learned is that truly challenging yourself is one of the best ways to feel alive, connecting and engaging to something much deeper inside, as you peer into the unknown. And in the end, you find yourself back amongst family and friends, cheering on your little existential journey, welcoming you back to a life where high-fives, hugs, and a chair are the best things in the world.
This photo was taken on the Amanda Trail in Yachats, Oregon, part of the course on my first trail race.
Feel free to interpret the photo [what does it mean?] in comments left below. Or feel free not to. Whatever you do, remember that you will be defining your essence by the way in which you respond. If you ignore the issue while being aware of it, you will enter a state of bad faith.* It's all up to you.
*in a state of bad faith one denies one's own consciousness or awareness in the face of changing reality
I tried, a new step forward, but I guess it isn't the right time, or maybe the step is just too big.
I felt lost. Existential doubts. It took a while to get myself back on track again. Still not there.
So I took this, just to do something, it's not good enough, but I needed to let you know I think of you flickr friends and I miss you.
I need a project, but my head is empty, no pictures, no ideas, no concepts. I guess two projects (365&52) took a lot of my inspiration. Please get back quick.
Colors have been an existential crisis lately.
Lately I've been on a film emulation kick, and it feels like everything I touch ends up all filmulated, and way too trendy. I'm wondering if there's a way to buck this.
This photograph is somewhere in the middle. While I definitely shot for something a little more vintage, but at the same time I wanted an extreme effect.
I've been realizing the thing I love the most is innovation. I really want to do everything in a new way, even colors.
I tend to prefer good endings.
Without trials and challenges life would be boring.
Seeing people overcome trials and challenges is inspiring.
I try to avoid long existential melodramas that end in bleak sadness.
Not sure of the story here, but it doesn’t look good.
The abandoned, stripped down remains of a trailer in close vicinity of the abandoned building I showed in the last shot. This part of Salton Sea Beach doesn’t look happy.
There are what appear to be occupied homes a block away.
Can’t imagine what this area would be like in the Summer heat.
Without air conditioning and lots of fresh water one couldn’t survive.
Left click on the photo and/or the two way arrows in the upper right corner for a larger view.
Thank you, your views, favs and comments are greatly appreciated!
What am I?
(May or may not be related to my existential crisis! Really.)
Shot with a Sony 90mm macro lens (at f/2.8) on Sony a7r iii. A tripod held the camera gear for this long (0.125 seconds) exposure made with natural light available.
Colors/tones adjusted in Lightroom, then cropped and saved as JPG file in Photoshop.
Best viewed in lightbox
My other half is a doctor, which means the effects and consequences of his work are tangible. It's a bad day when someone in his charge dies; it's a better day when, given limited time and resources, he's able to give his patients something approaching decent care. This palpability, this definiteness, was among the factors which led me to have a mini existential crisis about the value of my own career and work to the wider world.
I've written before that the educational choices I've made in my life were driven by the literally selfish desire to understand who I am and what it means to be me. This led me to interests and studies in psychology, philosophy and - the subject of my degree - literature. I discovered that I learned much more about myself by reading stories about other people. These choices disappointed my teachers in mathematics and the sciences, and my career in photography has surprised old schoolmates who assumed I would become a lawyer or else justify their designation of me as 'most likely to be elected to parliament.'
When I was around eleven I saw Dead Poets Society, and was so moved by a monologue delivered by Robin Williams' character that it imprinted on me a love and appreciation for the value of art. "We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race, and the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering: these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love: these are what we stay alive for."
It's easy to forget art's value, difficult to feel it day to day, even for - perhaps especially for - those who work in the arts. The first moment of doubt that I remember with any vividness was in a literature tutorial at university when, as we sat round a table discussing a novel by C.S. Lewis, the thought struck me: "What are we doing? Why the fuck are we sitting here talking about a children's book like this!?" And although I consider some small parts of my studies to have been pseudo-intellectual nonsense, I knew on a deeper level that what we were doing was important.
I don't even consider my work to be 'art': it certainly doesn't set out to challenge anyone or anything, or even to convey any deep meaning or message. Like this little essay, it's self-indulgent. I photograph the things that move me, surprise me and interest me, and if that can make someone think or discover something new - or even if they just enjoy looking at it - then that makes me happy. I'm encouraged by the occasional emails I receive from people I don't know which tell me of how my work has inspired their own, or of how it has made them realise the beauty of a city they've lived in for years; or, very occasionally - and most surprising and even frightening of all - of how it has affected the decisions they've made about their own lives.
And this is what art is for: to teach us how to be human beings, to teach us how to be here. In Other Colours, Orhan Pamuk writes about the importance of reading novels, but his words can be applied to other arts: "Reading was central to my efforts to make something of myself, elevate my consciousness, and thereby give shape to my soul. What sort of man should I be? What was the meaning of the world?…With the knowledge I gathered from my reading, I would chart my path to adulthood."
Glasgow, 2012.
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It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
- Buddha
Soundtrack : www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a76FeV2-Dw
SHE TALKS TO ANGELS by BLACK CROWES
FALLEN ANGELS ARE FOREVER YOUNG, BUT MORTALS RETURN TO EARTH
A short work of fiction telling the story of a fallen angel who fell in love with a mortal ... They lived a Bohemian existence and roamed the world together like romantic gypsies, but mortals grow old, but not always and fallen angels may or may not return to heaven … This is their ambiguous story … I am just the story teller. The interpretation is for you to decide … ; 0))
He told me he was just a simple man,
ever since the rib of Eve when life began
I found him as he wrote his Book of Ancient lore
and he caught me as I tumbled to the wine-stained floor
In retrospect, it still looks like that's all there was
A simple uncluttered, unfettered life, a rebel writer without a clause
on the outside Bohemian existence; on the inside existentially rife
I was his girl and together we lived a single life
by that I mean as one; not in any sense apart
the unspoken knowledge lived quietly
hidden deeply within our hearts
we moved from town to town on the outskirts of other human lives
avoided the lies of smallville shame-hooded scorn-filled eyes
We hitched the Dartmoor pony to the single wooden trap
I hitched my skirts and petticoats up so as to avoid the wrap
of shackles that would keep me earthward bound
and heckles that would rise from less than solid ground
shackled every long dark Winter's night to him
his heckles rose with each newly anticipated breaking dawn
so why did it take me so long to realise
the disconnection from my seemingly contented gypsy life
was it something I couldn't even fathom it ran so deep
as the deepest ocean bed, even though I was his wife
in every sense except in law but then
we never followed that straight and narrow line
the confines of suburban self-made men
never bothered us or crossed our minds
he called me his little angel; I called him my prince of men
he said I talked to angels so I must have been like one of them
I thought he talked to crows; he had them in his power
he taught them tricks and they obeyed;
but he could never teach me the hours
he said I was far beyond the ways of men
that time had somehow left me alone
escaped it's notice, freed my bones
so wings could grow and I could fly
that's why he tied me to the night
by day there was nothing he could do but cry
he kept to the shadows as that was his due
the sun would raise him down if he stepped into view
he knew I knew what he was all about
no longer simple swings and roundabouts
he knew that it was only now a small matter of time
before I flew out of sight and was gone far from him and away
it just so happened one bright and glorious sun-drenched day
the shackles rusted right through in the storm-sodden night
and his heckles began to rise
but dissipated with the morning dew
the light burned out in his dark and solemn eyes
and he could see where I was at
and I could see that he was resigned
I guess he knew this day would come
as he stepped into the blistering sun that rendered him now blind
I tried to stop him, told him not to follow me
but he insisted there was nothing left for him now to be
as he freed himself from the shadows where he had clung so long
and crumbled slowly into the dust from whence he came
I shed a tear for what might have been
but I had to follow my destiny and leave him to his fate
I flew up into the blue abyss on newly formed wings as white as mist
but always safe within my heart,
the memory of another life and love exist
- AP - Copyright remains with the author
'copyright image please do not reproduce without permission'
The capacity to be alone is the capacity to love. It may look paradoxical to you, but it is not. It is an existential truth: only those people who are capable of being alone are capable of love, of sharing, of going into the deepest core of the other person—without possessing the other, without becoming dependent on the other, without reducing the other to a thing, and without becoming addicted to the other. - Osho
These violent melodies we create
where we lie asleep we're dreaming
taken by this existential existance. a predetermined fate which captures our imagination, when imagination is all we have.
can you picture the moment;
you're blissfully alone. friends surround you, but they're elsewhere, and you're free. every slight shift of your weight creates a rustle amongst the leaves beneath you. your toes are dipped in water, as you lie by the lakeside. occasionally you swirl your feet just to watch the ripples. it's a hot night. your entire body is just warm; the last dregs of sunlight have soaked your bones, as they light the sky in an almost crimson hue, but they're gone now. it isn't dark, to your eyes at least. yet the stars are already out. maybe you know the constellations. maybe you don't. but you lie there and watch them anyway, as they shift and glitter, some lost a thousand years in history, yet still lighting our sky.
what are you thinking of? are you deliberating existance; how they formed, why you're here? are you debating your mindset; pondering your happiness, allowing yourself to enjoy the moment? are you considering the nature of chocolate moose? or just moose? or the nature of such a word, where the expected plural is entirely wrong - you're most certainly not deliberating 'meece', yet that's what you'd anticipate it to be.
are you thinking?
this is for you. this is for the dreamers. this is for all of those creative souls; the ones that consider. we quantify our emotions. we strive for perfection but meet imperfection like an old friend, because we aren't afraid to be wrong. we long to be remembered; our failures in print while our masterpieces lie unwritten, uncreated, still the very seeds of an idea. we allow others in to share our world, but they never quite understand. we sleep amidst a sea of nightmares and creation, and we aren't afraid to be afraid. we've run through so many nights with adrenaline pounding our veins and all those fields, all those trees we've climbed, and all those times we feel like we've lived
already. because we know that there's so much more ahead.
but the nature of our nature means we're damned by this existential existance. will we always be searching for what else is out there, unable to settle to anything that could resemble a reality? will we spend too long wondering what happiness is and forget to just allow ourselves to get lost in the emotion? will we question our relationships with others, and query ulterior motives to the extent that we distance ourselves from the ones we'd like to let closest?
will we ever know who we are? does it really matter?
I've been pondering life, the universe, and everything (well, mostly flickr). I'm wondering what comes next. Not that I don't love flickr... I have seen so many beautiful things, learned so many new skills, been inspired by so much creativity. I'm curious to know from my contacts... what do you do photographically aside from flickr. Is it purely a hobby? Do you photograph events for friends? Do you sell your prints or art online? Do you submit your photos to juried exhibitions or show your work? Do you take photos every day or maybe a couple days a week? Do you like to stick to one genre or do you prefer a variety of subjects? What's next. Is there life after flickr?
It is a very old trunk.
And in the end, there is no difference between it and us.
Our skin, sooner or later,
will become the same:
etched, hardened, marked.
It is not decay.
It is experience settling in.
A form of awareness no youth can yet afford.
È un tronco vecchissimo.
E alla fine non c’è alcuna differenza tra lui e noi.
La nostra pelle, prima o poi,
diventerà così:
incisa, irrigidita, segnata.
Non è decadenza.
È esperienza che si deposita.
Una consapevolezza che nessun giovane può ancora permettersi.
The magic mirror is a mirror belonging to the universe of the marvelous. He is in turn gifted with speech, capable of revealing invisible truths or the deepest wishes through the image.The Mirror of Erised is a mystical mirror discovered by Harry in an abandoned classroom in Philosopher's Stone. On it is inscribed "erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi". When mirrored and correctly spaced, this reads "I show not your face but your heart's desire." As "erised" reversed is "desire," it is the "Mirror of Desire." Harry, upon encountering the Mirror, can see his parents, as well as what appears to be a crowd of relatives; Ron sees himself as Head Boy and Quidditch Captain holding the House Cup, thus revealing his wish to escape from the shadow of his highly successful older brothers, as well as his more popular friend, Harry. Dumbledore cautions Harry that the Mirror gives neither knowledge nor truth, merely showing the viewer's deepest desire, and that men have wasted their lives away before it, entranced by what they see. Dumbledore, one of the few other characters to face the Mirror in the novel, claims to see himself holding a pair of socks he always wanted, telling Harry that "one can never have enough socks," and lamenting that he did not receive any for Christmas, since people will insist on giving him books. However, Harry suspects that this is not true, and it is suggested in Deathly Hallows that what he really sees is his entire family alive, well and happy together again, much like Harry.The Mirror of Erised was the final protection given to the Philosopher's Stone in the first book. Dumbledore hid the Mirror and hid the Stone inside it, knowing that only a person who wanted to find but not use the Stone would be able to obtain it. Anyone else would see him or herself making an Elixir of Life or turning things to gold, rather than actually finding the Stone, and would be unable to obtain it. What happens to it afterwards is unknown. In Order of the Phoenix, Sirius gives Harry a mirror he originally used to communicate with James while they were in separate detentions. That mirror is a part of a set of Two-way Mirrors that are activated by holding one of them and saying the name of the other possessor, causing his or her face to appear on the caller's mirror and vice versa. Harry receives this mirror from Sirius in a package after spending his Christmas holiday at Grimmauld Place. Harry, at first, chooses not to open the package, although he does discover the mirror after Sirius's death, by which point it is no longer functional. It makes its second appearance in Deathly Hallows when Mundungus Fletcher loots Grimmauld Place and sells Sirius's mirror to Aberforth Dumbledore, who uses it to watch out for Harry in Deathly Hallows. When Harry desperately cries for help to a shard of the magical mirror (which broke in the bottom of his trunk), a brilliant blue eye belonging to Aberforth (which Harry mistakes for Albus's eye), appears and he sends Dobby, who arrives to help Harry escape from Malfoy Manor to Shell Cottage. The Chinese magic mirror is an ancient art that can be traced back to the Chinese Han dynasty (206 BC – 24 AD).[1] The mirrors were made out of solid bronze. The front is a shiny polished surface and could be used as a mirror, while the back has a design cast in the bronze. When bright sunlight or other bright light reflects onto the mirror, the mirror seems to become transparent. If that light is reflected from the mirror towards a wall, the pattern on the back of the mirror is then projected onto the wall. In about 800 AD, during the Tang dynasty (618–907), a book entitled Record of Ancient Mirrors described the method of crafting solid bronze mirrors with decorations, written characters, or patterns on the reverse side that could cast these in a reflection on a nearby surface as light struck the front, polished side of the mirror; due to this seemingly transparent effect, they were called "light-penetration mirrors" by the Chinese.This Tang era book was lost over the centuries, but magic mirrors were described in the Dream Pool Essays by Shen Kuo (1031–1095), who owned three of them as a family heirloom. Perplexed as to how solid metal could be transparent, Shen guessed that some sort of quenching technique was used to produce tiny wrinkles on the face of the mirror too small to be observed by the eye. Although his explanation of different cooling rates was incorrect, he was right to suggest the surface contained minute variations which the naked eye could not detect; these mirrors also had no transparent quality at all, as discovered by William Bragg in 1932 (after an entire century of them confounding Western scientists). Robert Temple describes their construction: "The basic mirror shape, with the design on the back, was cast flat, and the convexity of the surface produced afterwards by elaborate scraping and scratching. The surface was then polished to become shiny. The stresses set up by these processes caused the thinner parts of the surface to bulge outwards and become more convex than the thicker portions. Finally, a mercury amalgam was laid over the surface; this created further stresses and preferential buckling. The result was that imperfections of the mirror surface matched the patterns on the back, although they were too minute to be seen by the eye. But when the mirror reflected bright sunlight against a wall, with the resultant magnification of the whole image, the effect was to reproduce the patterns as if they were passing through the solid bronze by way of light beams."
Michael Berry has written a paper describing the optics and giving some photos. In Shrek, an animated animation film brocading traditional fairy tales, the magic mirror is both gifted with speech and able by the image to reveal distant truths.
Lord Farquaad, in search of a princess to marry, a necessary condition for him to become king, interrogates the magic mirror brought to him by his men. They pull it out of a thick bag, suggesting that it has been removed. The mirror is supposed to help Lord Farquaad in his approach, but his inability to lie from the beginning is taken for impertinence and his frankness is quickly swayed by the threat of a guard, who breaks a small mirror in front of him in a gesture of intimidation. The magical mirror then responds "carefully" to save his life. He speaks with a man's voice and his expression is personified by the image of a white mask that appears in his reflection. The image of the mask disappears in a second time, remains the voice that is transformed into voiceover of the program Tournez manège. Then appear in the reflection the three princesses candidate for marriage, qualified as "Catherinettes": Cinderella, Snow White and Fiona. When Lord Farquaad, indecisive and influenced by his henchmen, finally set his sights on Fiona, the magic mirror tries to warn him against an event that occurs at nightfall, but Lord Farquaad, in his impatience, does not give him time.The title of this chapter is a quote from Cassirer. In The Myth of State, he describes theories of myth that followed Schelling's: [The old spell was never completely broken. Every scholar still found in myth those objects with which he was most familiar. At bottom the different schools saw in the magic mirror of myth only their own faces. The linguist found in it a world of words and names-the philosopher found a "primitive ophy"--the psychiatrist a highly complicated and interesting neurotic phenomenon. This may indeed be true. But there is a correlative truth-at least concerning the theories of myth we're examining here. The reflec- tion and the reflected are much more intimately related than Cas- sirer admits. If the subject of myth is a mirror reflecting our intel- lectual concerns, our intellectual mirror myth as well. The present chapter has two goals. The first is piecing together the investigative results of Cassirer, Barthes, Eliade, into a coherent pattern of explanation and description. The second goal is more ambitious. We will examine this explanatory fabric for what it can theoretical endeavors. I will articulate the ways in which the theo- ries of myth themselves exhibit the same characteristics as those authors ascribe Though changed, its function remains the same: myth can be discovered at work in our most sophisticated theoretical constructions about myth. Our theo- retical accounts of myth serve the same tales around an open fire. through 5, we examined four theories of rather straightforward way. I offered synopses of the intellectual positions of the thinkers, outlined their views of myth, and pointed out areas of agreement and disagreement among them. The analysis undertake in this chapter is more like making a quilt. will take bits and pieces of the four accounts of myth, rearrange them into a harmonious pattern, and create something new without destroying the texture, the color, or the fabric of the old. The four authors we've been studying seem to have little in common beyond the selection of myth as an important topic for Cassirer is a critical idealist, investigating the mythical for what it exhibits of the movement of consciousness out of its embeddedness in organic, biologically determined exis- tence and toward an ideal freedom, the fulfillment of the telos of Spirit as it creates symbolic form. Barthes is a neo-Marxist struc- turalist semiologist inveighing against the furtive cover-up of con- tingent, historical processes; a cover-up performed by mythical sig- nification, especially as bourgeois mythmaking attempts to stop up free, revolutionary speech. Eliade offers an account of a sacred ontology, an existential position of being human made possible and available through reciting mythical narratives and participating ritual acts. Sacred ontology allows for the erasure of the terrors history and for full freedom for human being in participating in the creation of the cosmos as a meaningful, ordered, Hillman, a or archetypal psychologist, follows the path of soul-making through mythical forms to the soul's destination of freedom from analys and misogyny, movement toward a divine" psychology. the great differences in perspective we find these theories, why have I chosen to compare them in my own work on myth? First, I am doing a "second-order" analysis, not begun at the beginning, so to speak, examining myriad examples of myth and offering an original interpretation of them. That groundwork has already been done by many other competent researchers, includ ing Cassirer, Barthes, Eliade, and Hillman, I have taken for granted that thinkers of such intellectual sophistication, despite their inerad. 166 THE MAGIC MIRROR articulate and constitute the distinction between human being and the world for human being. We can also begin to elucidate more fully the means by which myth-and theories of myth-perform this task. We can identify these by piecing together our explanatory fabric in a different wa Rather than explicating the internal organization of a theory (for example, moving step-by-step through Eliade's account of the hiero- phany) and clarifying this through comparison we can look for more subtle points of congruence across the four theories. We can find these congruences, and they exhibit a definite theoretical pattern. I will offer a schematic rendering of this pattern here, it will be examined in detail in what follows. "Myth" is a functional construct with no definite able content. The function that myth serves is to unite and separate two opposed ontological regions. Myth is irreducible to one or the other and at the same time is intimately related to each and to both. This is the paradoxical nature of the mythical, it is a kind of gateway, hinge, turnstile, or threshold. This undecidable quality of myth in service of distinguishing opposing ontological regions means to maintain its status as myth it must con- tinue in its function as the boundary between incommensurables The ontological regions delineated through the paradoxical func tiot of myth are that which belongs to human being proper and that which is other. Myth also plays an important role in deter mining the ontological priority of the region that belongs to human being (however construed). The otherness of what belongs to the secondary region determined by the mythical makes it particularly intransigent for theoretical endeavor. However, certain features of what is mythically designated as other can be transformed and recu- perated for the truly human region through a reduction of what is other to that of the same, myth works as a kind of permeable boundary This pattern of explanation is evident in each of the theories we've examined. But the same constellation of traits can be found in way that each author uses the concept of myth. We will see how concept of myth works as it alternately hides and betrays (some- times) covert metaphysical, ontological, and valuational assump tions in the theories. The concept of myth serves as a gateway or threshold, the paradoxical site or the perfect alibi, demarcating anti thetical ontological realms, one of which is honored and valorized the other taboo. The concept of myth, like myth itself, serves to mark the limit of the truly human, however construed.The Magic Mirror is owned by the Evil Queen and has been depicted in different versions as either a hand mirror or a mirror on the wall. Every morning, the Evil Queen asked the Magic Mirror the question "Magic mirror in my hand, who is the fairest in the land?". The mirror always replies: "My Queen, you are the fairest in the land." The Queen is always pleased with that, because the magic mirror never lies. But, when Snow White reaches the age of seven, she becomes as beautiful as the day and even more beautiful than the Queen and when the Queen asks her mirror, it responds: "My Queen, you are the fairest here so true. But Snow White is a thousand times more beautiful than you." This resulted in the Evil Queen enlisting a huntsman to kill Snow White and bring her Snow White's lungs and liver.
After eating the lungs and liver of a boar that the Huntsman passed off as Snow White's lungs and liver, the Evil Queen asked the Magic Mirror the question "Magic Mirror in my hand, who is the fairest in the land?" The mirror replies: "My Queen, you are the fairest here so true. But Snow White beyond the mountains at the seven Dwarfs is a thousand times more beautiful than you." This caused the Evil Queen to disguise herself as different women to kill Snow White.
After the latest attempt with a poison apple which was undone by the Prince and Snow White marrying him, the Evil Queen asked the Magic Mirror who the fairest in the land was, the Magic Mirror quoted "You, my Queen, are fair so true. But the young Queen is a thousand times fairer than you." The Evil Queen learned too late at the wedding that the young queen in question was Snow White which eventually leads to the Queen's death which varied per version.
Real-life influences
The “Talking Mirror” at the Spessart Museum in Lohr am Main
German pharmacist and fairy-tale parodist Karlheinz Bartels suggests, in a tongue-in-cheek manner, that the German folk tale "Snow White" is influenced by Maria Sophia Margaretha Catherina von und zu Erthal, who was born in Lohr am Main in 1725.[1] After the death of Maria Sophia's birth mother in 1738, her father Philipp Christoph von und zu Erthal remarried.[2] Claudia Elisabeth von Reichenstein, the stepmother, was domineering and greatly favored the children from her first marriage.[3] The Queen's iconic mirror, referred to as “The Talking Mirror,” can still be viewed today at Spessart Museum in the Lohr Castle, where Maria Sophia was born. The mirror was likely a gift from Philipp Christoph to Claudia Elisabeth. It was a product of the Lohr Mirror Manufacture (Kurmainzische Spiegelmanufaktur). The mirror “talked” predominantly in aphorisms. The upper right corner of “The Talking Mirror” contains a clear reference to self-love (Amour Propre). Moreover, mirrors from Lohr were so elaborately worked that they were accorded the reputation of “always speaking the truth”. They became a favorite gift at European crown and aristocratic courts.
Modern adaptations
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. Disney Disney's Snow White franchise
The Evil Queen with her Mirror at Mickey's Boo-to-You Halloween Parade 2010. The Magic Mirror appeared in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs voiced by Moroni Olsen. The Magic Mirror contained an imprisoned spirit who is referred to as the Slave in the Magic Mirror. In his first appearance in the film, the Evil Queen would consult with the Magic Mirror to ask who the fairest of one all was. The Magic Mirror always told the Evil Queen that she was the fairest one of all. When asked who the fairest of all is, the spirit replies that, while the Queen is beautiful, a fairer being exists. When the Queen angrily asks for the girl's name, the spirit describes her, making it obvious to the Queen that Snow White is the one being referred to. The Queen then orders her Huntsman to kill Snow White and bring her back her heart. When the Evil Queen asks the Magic Mirror who the fairest of them all was later that evening, the Magic Mirror told her that Snow White was the fairest of them all. Though the Queen at first believes the spirit to be incorrect and showed it the heart in question, she is told that she holds the heart of a pig and that Snow White still lives in the Cottage of the Seven Dwarfs.
The Magic Mirror appeared in Disney's House of Mouse, voiced by Tony Jay and seen in the lobby of the club. It would always answer questions given to him by the guests or give advice to the staff members. The Magic Mirror also appeared in Fantasmic! voiced again by Tony Jay.
The Magic Mirror appears in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep voiced by Corey Burton. The Magic Mirror first appears in Terra's storyline. As per the movie, it told the Queen that Snow White was now much fairer than the vain ruler. However, it added on that her heart was a pure light than shone bright. It was then promised by the Evil Queen usage by Terra to find Master Xehanort if he brought her Snow White's heart. However, he did not do so and told the Evil Queen he never intended to. Terra then proceeds to tell her that unlike Snow White, she has much darkness in her heart. The Evil Queen, insulted and outraged, commanded the mirror to destroy Terra. The Magic Mirror refused saying it can only answer questions. The Evil Queen's increasing rage then caused the mirror to have a potion slammed on its face sucking Terra in and fighting him. However, he is defeated and releases Terra. The Evil Queen reluctantly has the Magic Mirror tell Terra where he can find Master Xehanort. The Magic Mirror quotes "Beyond both light and dark he dwells, where war was waged upon the fells." Upon learning this information, Terra takes his leave from the Evil Queen and the Magic Mirror where the Magic Mirror's cryptic response would direct Terra to the Keyblade Graveyard. The Magic Mirror later appears in Aqua's storyline. When Aqua looks for a cure for Snow White in the castle, the still-possessed Magic Mirror drags her into the mirror for a fight, but she also manages to defeat him and is released. The Magic Mirror then disappears stating to Aqua "The Queen is gone, my service done. Adieu, oh victorious one."
In the Disney Channel original movie Descendants, the Evil Queen has retained the Mirror after her exile to the Isle of the Lost, reduced to a small hand-mirror that is passed on to her daughter Evie. Although it is still controlled by rhymes spoken by the user and doesn't have an inhabitant in it.
A different version of the Magic Mirror appeared in The 7D voiced by Whoopi Goldberg. This version is a female that serves Queen Delightful of Jollyland.
Once Upon a Time
In Once Upon a Time, the Magic Mirror started out as a Genie (played by Giancarlo Esposito) where he and his lamp were discovered by King Leopold. King Leopold feels no need to wish for anything and uses the first and second wishes to free the Genie from the lamp and to give the third wish to the Genie. The Genie expresses the desire to find true love, so King Leopold takes the Genie to his castle as he believes the Genie can find true love there. He falls in love with the King's wife Queen Regina and gives her a hand mirror. The King reads in the Queen's diary that she has fallen in love with the man who gave her the hand mirror and asks the Genie to locate him. The Queen is then locked in her room to prevent her from leaving the King. To free her, her father has the Genie bring her a locked box, which turns out to be filled with poisonous vipers from Agrabah so the Queen can kill herself. Instead, the Genie uses the vipers to kill King Leopold and allow the Queen to be with him. She tells him that since the vipers were from his country, the guards will find out that he was the murderer and flee. Realizing the Queen never loved him, he uses his wish to be always with her and to never leave her sight. This traps him in the hand mirror. As a spirit in the Magic Mirror, he is able to move between and see through all other mirrors in the Enchanted Forest. He is used by Regina to spy on and locate others.
In Storybrooke, he is Sidney Glass, a reporter for Storybrooke's local newspaper The Daily Mirror. On Regina's request, he researches Emma Swan's past to help Regina expel her from Storybrooke. After Graham's death, Regina attempts to appoint him sheriff, but the wording of the town charter calls for an election. He loses the position to Emma Swan. Regina has him removed from the newspaper staff, and Sidney goes to Emma, claiming that he wants to expose Regina as the corrupt person she is. However, the exposé reveals Regina's attempts to improve the community. Despite this, Sidney tells Emma that he will help her take down Regina, but it is revealed that he is secretly in league with Regina, who is using Emma's trust in Sidney to gain leverage over Emma. Emma later learns that he planted a bug in a vase glass after it is used to tip off Regina upon discovering a key piece of evidence that would have cleared Mary Margaret Blanchard of Kathryn Nolan's murder. Emma confronts Sidney and realizes that he is in love with Regina. Still, Emma presses him to help defeat Regina. However, after Kathryn is found alive, Sidney falsely confesses to kidnapping Kathryn and framing Mary Margaret so that he could "find" Kathryn and become famous. Later, a cell labeled "S. Glass" is seen in the hospital basement's psychiatric ward. The name "S. Glass" is visible on a door in the first season finale, suggesting that Regina had locked him in the Storybrooke Hospital's psychiatric ward after he confessed to the kidnapping. In "A Tale of Two Sisters," Regina frees Sidney Glass from the psychiatric ward to be her Mirror again in order to enlist him into helping get rid of the people that are in the middle of her happiness. Regina temporarily places Sidney in the mirror to find the exact moment in which Maid Marian was apprehended by Regina's men. Regina later consults with Sidney on how to change fate. Regina tells Sidney that the villains in the book don't get a happy ending and wants him to find the writer of the book so that she can make some changes like allowing the villains to get their happy endings. In "Breaking Glass," Regina has Sidney Glass look for the Snow Queen's hideout in order to force her into thawing Maid Marian from her freezing spell. When Emma arrives to know where Sidney Glass is, Regina states that she's too busy to tell her where Sidney Glass is. Sidney later reports to Regina about where the Snow Queen is hiding out after his failed attempt to get a leverage on Regina. Using a compact to remain in contact to Sidney Glass, Regina heads in the directions of the Snow Queen's hideout. Regina later admits that Sidney was in the mirror. Upon strong winds reaching Emma and Regina, Sidney states the Snow Queen had swayed him to her side as Elsa's ice bridge breaks. After Emma and Regina defeat a large Viking made of ice, the Snow Queen takes the compact that Sidney is and retreats. At her hideout, the Snow Queen frees Sidney from the mirror as she wanted the mirror that he was trapped in to go with her mirror that she is putting together. The Snow Queen states that she wants the mirror that Sidney Glass is in since it is filled with dark magic. Before declaring Sidney free, the Snow Queen advises Sidney to get a warm coat since it is "going to get cooler around here."
Other
The 10th Kingdom
In the TV miniseries The 10th Kingdom, a magic mirror is a key element of the plot, as protagonists Tony and Virginia Lewis travel from New York into the fairy-tale realm via a traveling mirror, which they subsequently lose and must spend the rest of the series searching for, while their enemy, the evil Queen and protégé of Snow White's deceased stepmother, spies on them with other magic mirrors. The travelling mirror that brought them to this world is destroyed in an accident, but an old mirror referred to as Gustav- which can only communicate and respond to queries made in rhyme- reveals that there were two other travelling mirrors made, with one sunk at the bottom of the ocean and the other in the possession of the Queen. With the Queen's defeat, Virginia returns to New York through the Queen's travelling mirror, although Tony decides to remain in the fairy-tale realm to enjoy his new status as a hero.
Faerie Tale Theatre
The mirror in Faerie Tale Theatre was played by Vincent Price, whose face appeared as if mounted on the top of the mirror (in reality, Price stuck his face through a hole). This mirror, as did all of the Queen's (Vanessa Redgrave) other mirrors, turned black as she found out that Snow White was alive.
Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics
The Magic Mirror appears in the "Snow White" episode of Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics. It is kept in a cabinet in the Evil Queen's chambers. Like the story, the Magic Mirror told the Evil Queen that she was the fairest of them all until the day when Snow White came of age. In this version when the Magic Mirror told the Evil Queen that the Seven Dwarfs freed Snow White from the deadly laces and that she can't be killed when she is in their protection, the Evil Queen breaks the Magic Mirror vowing to prove it wrong.
Happily Ever After
The Magic Mirror appeared as the Looking Glass in Happily Ever After voiced by Dom DeLuise. When Lord Maliss asks him where his sister the Evil Queen is and threatens it for information, the Looking Glass tells him that she has died trying to kill Snow White. After Snow White evaded Lord Maliss' dragon form, Lord Maliss consults the Looking Glass again as the Looking Glass tells him that Snow White and the Dwarfelles are heading to Rainbow Falls. When Snow White ventures to Lord Maliss' castle, the Looking Glass tells him that it will be tough for Snow White to find his castle. When the Dwarfelles enter Lord Maliss' castle and wonder where Lord Maliss has taken Snow White, the Looking Glass states that "beneath the Queen lies a secret door." After searching the area, they find a panel to the hidden door underneath the Evil Queen's bust.
The Hunters
In the 2013 SyFy film The Hunters, it is revealed that the Magic Mirror was inspired by a fabled mirror that is said to grant the wish of whoever looks into it; supposedly, the mirror triggered the Dark Ages. The mirror was sought by an ancient army known as the Krugen before the hunters- a group of scientist knights dedicated to protecting fairy-tale artefacts- acquired the mirror, breaking off four shards from the mirror and hiding them and the mirror away when destroying it completely proved impossible. The film focuses on a family of hunters, the Flynns, with the parents being experienced hunters seeking the shards to keep them away from the Krugen and their sons being forced to take up the hunt when their parents go missing. The mirror is eventually reassembled by the film's antagonist, but he is tricked into making a wish that caused the mirror to destroy him, with the protagonists subsequently wishing for the mirror to destroy itself.
The Huntsman film series
In Snow White and the Huntsman, the Magic Mirror appears as a golden gong-like mirror that oozes out a hooded robed being (voiced by Christopher Obi) whenever Queen Ravenna called upon it for information, although apparently, the being is only visible to Ravenna, as her henchmen observe her talking to thin air. The Magic Mirror first appeared where he told Queen Ravenna that Snow White was coming to the age where she will be more fairer than Queen Ravenna. The Mirror is last seen when Snow White defeats Ravenna, ending the Evil Queen's rule.
In prequel/sequel, The Huntsman: Winter's War, the Magic Mirror (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) is revealed to hold darker forms of magic. He is seen in flashbacks of Queen Ravenna's tyrannical reign, where it tells Ravenna that her sister Freya will give birth to a child who will exceed Ravenna's beauty as the fairest of them all. The Mirror also predicts that if the child was to be harmed, Freya will unleash powers, prompting Ravenna to orchestrate the murder of her own niece, both to preserve her own beauty and, in her own twisted way, help her sister. Freya, in horror at her discovery, releases icy powers that kill her lover and turns her hair white. Years later, after Ravenna's death, the Magic Mirror has gone missing while travelling to a Sanctuary where Snow White believes its evil can be contained. It is revealed to be in the hands of a troll in a forest, but Freya, seeking the mirror for herself, orders Sara- the Huntsman's presumed-dead wife- to retrieve it. Although Sara obeys this order, she tricks Freya by sparing Eric's life. Freya's subsequent attempt to use the Mirror herself reveals that Ravenna had hidden a part of herself in the mirror, restoring her to a form of life apparently formed of the Mirror's gold while still appearing human. In the final confrontation, Freya learns the truth about her sister's role in the death of her daughter (Ravenna was now the mirror spirit and was thus bound to answer Freya's questions truthfully), prompting her to aid Eric in destroying the Mirror at the cost of her own life. However, the final scene shows a golden raven flying away, suggesting that a part of the mirror - and thus Ravenna - may have survived.
Mirror Mirror
In the film Mirror Mirror, elements of the Magic Mirror are featured as a large mirror that serves as a portal to the Mirror House where Queen Clementianna consults with the Mirror Queen (played by Lisa Roberts Gillian). To access the portal to the Mirror House, Queen Clementianna would quote "Mirror Mirror on the Wall." The Mirror Queen would always advise Queen Clementianna not to use dark magic for her own gain. After the aged Queen Clementianna takes the slice of an apple she was to give to Snow White from her, the Mirror Queen declared that it was Snow White's story all along as the Mirror House and the Mirror Portal shattered.
Princesses
In Jim C. Hines' Princesses series – chronicling the adventures of Snow White with Princess Danielle Whiteshore (Cinderella) and former Princess Talia Malak-el-Dahshat (Sleeping Beauty) after their tales concluded with Snow and Talia being banished from their kingdoms and taken in by Danielle's mother-in-law – Snow White is a sorceress who uses her mother's mirror as a key focus of her spells, relying on various smaller mirrors to maintain a link to it when away from the palace; her power is commonly focused by using various rhymes as spells, although she can create other spells without speaking. The fourth novel, The Snow Queen's Revenge, reveals that the magic mirror was created by Snow White's mother imprisoning a demon and binding it to her service. The plot suggests that the mirror's role in the original story was motivated by the demon attempting to create a set of circumstances that would allow it to escape, inspiring Snow's mother to attack her daughter so that Snow would inherit the mirror and some day make a mistake that would let the demon out. In the novel The Snow Queen's Revenge, the mirror shatters after Snow tries to perform a particularly complex spell, allowing the demon within it to possess Snow while shards of the mirror corrupt others, forcing Danielle and Talia to return to Snow's kingdom in the hopes of rediscovering the secrets used by Snow White's mother to bind the demon in the first place so that they can try and exorcise it from Snow. After this plan proves impossible due to the demon's interference, the demon attempts to recreate a larger ice-mirror to summon further demons into this world, using the part-fairy blood of Danielle's son Jakub – Danielle having some fairy blood in her from her mother's side of the family – but a reflection of Snow's untainted self helps protect her friends long enough for them to destroy the demon, at the cost of Snow's life.
Sesame Street
The Magic Mirror appeared in Episode 685 of Sesame Street with the Magic Mirror's face being the face of Jerry Nelson. In the "Sesame Street News Flash" segment, Kermit the Frog interviews the Magic Mirror on which question the evil witch will ask him and tells Kermit that it is the same question where the Snow White answer "drives her up the wall." The witch who is the fairest in the land, has two beautiful eyes, is green, wearing a hat, wielding a microphone, and is in the same room as the Magic Mirror. The Magic Mirror states that Kermit the Frog is the fairest. The witch then notices Kermit the Frog hiding behind the curtain and states that he is good-looking.
Snow White: A Tale of Terror
In Snow White: A Tale of Terror, this version has the mirror a property of Lady Claudia (Sigourney Weaver). It is a wooden closet with a statue as the door and hands acting as locks. It is regarded as a family heritage artifact by her. Snow White's nanny, tries to see what's inside while cleaning it and immediately suffers a heart attack. The mirror displays a beautiful and younger version of the Queen who advices her what to do. The mirror also contains her life force and she ages rapidly when Snow White stabs the mirror and then engulfs in flame of the burning room.
Shrek
The Magic Mirror appears in the Shrek franchise voiced by Chris Miller. It is depicted as a mirror with a live spirit communicating through it, and with magical displaying abilities. In Shrek, the Magic Mirror is first brought to Lord Farquaad who asks it if Duloc is not the most perfect kingdom, exactly the same way the Evil Queen used to ask it if she was not the fairest of all. The Magic Mirror then presents Lord Farquaad with three princesses that he can marry (from which he chooses Fiona). This is done in a parody of Blind Date. It is later seen to be with Shrek's posse who in Shrek 2 use it as a television set such as announcing that the show will be back after commercials.In Shrek Forever After, Rumpelstiltskin has it and uses it on television broadcasting purposes.
Simon the Sorcerer
Near the end of the video game Simon the Sorcerer, the player can use the Magic Mirror in Sordid's tower as an surveillance monitor, using any reflecting surface like a camera.
Sisters Grimm
In the Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley, the Magic Mirror appears as a minor protagonist in the first six books, but is revealed to be the main antagonist in book seven and remains evil until near the end of book nine.
Snow White: The Fairest of Them All
Here, the wicked queen Elspeth possesses a hall of magic mirrors, and a hand mirror that displays several attributes not seen before. The Queen may command the hand mirror to terminate enemies (as she did to the Huntsman), use it as a means of transport or step through it to change appearances, even turning others into animals.
The Suite Life
A parody version of the Magic Mirror appears as a recurring character throughout The Suite Life of Zack & Cody voiced by Brian Peck. It is a high tech mirror that often compliments London Tipton's attire.
A direct representation of the Magic Mirror in The Suite Life on Deck episode "Once Upon A Suite Life" voiced by Michael Airington. It is seen when all the characters are dreaming of themselves in the classic fairytales such as Snow White, Jack and the Beanstalk and Hansel and Gretel.
The Wolf Among Us
Appearing as a magical object in the Business Office, the Magic Mirror is a minor protagonist in The Wolf Among Us. Usually demanding its request be given to it in rhyme form, the Magic Mirror is capable of showing a brief vision of its requested subject. The Magic Mirror's shattering and the search for its missing shard play key aspects following the end of the second episode.
Sinister Squad
Although the magic mirror does not appear directly in the Asylum film Sinister Squad, it is referenced as a key part of the film's backstory; when Rumpelstiltskin destroyed the mirror to prevent the forces of Death claiming it, it transferred several fairy-tale characters into our world, with Rumpelstiltskin relying on fragments of the mirror to sustain his own magical manipulation abilities until the final confrontation with Death.
Magic Mirror inspired technology
In 2017 Amazon announced Echo Look, a “style assistant” camera that helps catalog your outfits and rates your look based on “machine learning algorithms with advice from fashion specialists.
The Magic Mirror: Myth's Abiding Power
Par Elizabeth M. Baeten
Two nights ago I was pulling an all-nighter at the student halls of residence. Well, I am a night owl but this has been getting extreme of late. It was in the wee hours of the morning when I noticed myself staring at a Word document in the glass reflection and had a moment of thesis-writing-induced existential crisis...
... and stared blankly at the warm lighting from the pavement outside that was beckoning vs. the cold fluorescent lighting in the study room that seemed to hint that I was overstaying my welcome...
... and took a selfie with my phone.
A description of existentialism I found was "concerned with the nature of human existence as determined by the individual's freely made choices."
First of all, the desire to dress en femme, to present myself as a woman, is engrained in me. I did not choose for that desire to exist.
Where I do freely make a choice is to actually do something about that desire, especially going out-and-about. In a sense I am baring my soul every time people see me.
And I am happier for it!
The Timeless Tragedy of a Universe of Gods and Men - The Anthropocentric-Theocentric Theory Versus Animism by Daniel Arrhakis (2026)
The Timeless Tragedy of a Universe of Gods and Men
The Anthropocentric-Theocentric Theory Versus Animism
Greek Mythology: The Cycle of Cronus and Zeus
In Greek mythology, Cronus, fearing a prophecy that foretold him as a victim of his own children, devoured the descendants he had with Rhea: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. Only Zeus escaped this fate, growing up and forcing Cronus to regurgitate his siblings. With this, Zeus led a revolt that culminated in Cronus's imprisonment in Tartarus (*).
Humanization of the Gods: Soul and Feelings
The gods, despite their immortality and extraordinary powers, possessed a soul similar to that of humans. They felt forgiveness, benevolence, justice, but also pride, fury, and vengeance—feelings that justified the need for sacrifices in their name by men.
The Existential Dilemma of Man
Even if a god created man in his image, the dilemma remains: man feels himself to be the master of a mortal world, while depending on a creator who supports him and also dictates his destiny. With this, a timeless existential and civilizational dilemma arose, revealing itself as a tragedy for human existence itself.
Anthropocentrism, Theocentrism, and Animism
The tragedy lies in the tension between the centrality of the human (anthropocentrism) and the sovereignty of the divine (theocentrism), but this can be mediated by an animistic perception, in which everything possesses a soul.
The text captures the "Gordian knot" of the human condition: we create (or are created by) giant mirrors in the sky that amplify both our nobility and our monstrosity.
The Cosmic Error and the Legitimacy of Tyranny
By attributing faces and passions to the gods, we condemn ourselves to live in a cosmos where error is not only human, but also cosmic. If the gods are driven by fury and vengeance, man feels legitimized to act despotically.
Key Points of Reflection
- The Mirror of Tartarus: The imprisonment of Cronus symbolizes the attempt of order (Zeus) to repress primitive chaos and devouring time. However, by acting with the same violence as his father, the "civilizing god" reveals that divinity is merely the human ego on a monumental scale.
- The Paradox of Imitation: Man seeks the immortality and power of the gods (hubris or arrogance), but upon achieving them, replicates divine tyranny. The vassalage demanded by the gods becomes demanded by the "deified" kings, perpetuating the cycle of conflict.
- The Bridge of Animism: The vision of a soul in everything was the first attempt at balance. If trees and rivers have souls, sovereignty is not exclusive to man nor to a distant god, but to a vital web. Abandoning animism in favor of rigid theocentrism isolated man in his own dilemma.
The Mythical Repetition of Humanity
This dynamic transforms the history of humanity into a tragic and mythical repetition: we defeat our internal "Titans" only to become the new tyrants of Olympus, always under the shadow of a Tartarus that we ourselves have built.
(*) - In Greek mythology, Tartarus is the deep, dark abyss beneath Hades (Underworld) used as a dungeon of torment for the wicked and a prison for Titans. It represents the lowest region of the underworld, often described as a place of inescapable, divine punishment, distinct from the main realm of the dead.
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A Tragédia Intemporal De Um Universo De Deuses E Homens
A Teoria Antropo-Teocêntrica Versus Animismo
Mitologia Grega: O Ciclo de Cronos e Zeus
Na mitologia grega, Cronos, temendo uma profecia que o anunciava como vítima de seus próprios filhos, devorou os descendentes que teve com Reia: Héstia, Deméter, Hera, Hades e Poseidon. Apenas Zeus escapou desse destino, crescendo e obrigando Cronos a regurgitar os irmãos. Com isso, Zeus liderou uma revolta que culminou no aprisionamento de Cronos no Tártaro.
Humanização dos Deuses: Alma e Sentimentos
Os deuses, apesar de sua imortalidade e poderes extraordinários, possuíam uma alma semelhante à humana. Sentiam perdão, benevolência, justiça, mas também orgulho, fúria e vingança, sentimentos que justificavam a necessidade de sacrifícios em seu nome por parte dos homens.
O Dilema Existencial do Homem
Mesmo que tenha sido um deus a criar o homem à sua imagem, o dilema permanece: o homem sente-se dono de um mundo mortal, enquanto depende de um criador que o ampara e também dita o seu destino. Com isso, surgiu um dilema existencial e civilizacional intemporal, revelando-se uma tragédia para a própria existência humana.
Antropocentrismo, Teocentrismo e Animismo
A tragédia reside na tensão entre a centralidade do humano (antropocentrismo) e a soberania do divino (teocentrismo), mas que pode ser mediada por uma perceção animista, na qual tudo possui alma.
O texto capta o "nó górdio" da condição humana: criamos (ou fomos criados por) espelhos gigantes no céu que amplificam tanto nossa nobreza quanto nossa monstruosidade.
O Erro Cósmico e a Legitimidade da Tirania
Ao atribuir rosto e paixões aos deuses, condenamo-nos a viver num cosmos onde o erro não é apenas humano, mas também cósmico. Se os deuses são movidos por fúria e vingança, o homem sente-se legitimado a agir despoticamente.
Pontos Fulcrais da Reflexão
- O Espelho do Tártaro: O aprisionamento de Cronos simboliza a tentativa da ordem (Zeus) de reprimir o caos primitivo e o tempo devorador. Contudo, ao agir com a mesma violência do pai, o "deus civilizador" revela que a divindade é apenas o ego humano em escala monumental.
- O Paradoxo da Imitação: O homem busca a imortalidade e o poder dos deuses (húbris ou arrogância), mas ao alcançá-los, replica a tirania divina. A vassalagem exigida pelos deuses passa a ser exigida pelos reis "divinizados", perpetuando o ciclo de conflitos.
- A Ponte do Animismo: A visão de alma em tudo foi a primeira tentativa de equilíbrio. Se árvores e rios têm alma, a soberania não é exclusiva do homem nem de um deus distante, mas de uma teia vital. O abandono do animismo em favor do teocentrismo rígido isolou o homem em seu próprio dilema.
A Repetição Mítica da Humanidade
Essa dinâmica transforma a história da humanidade numa repetição trágica e mítica: derrotamos nossos "Titãs" internos apenas para nos tornarmos os novos tiranos do Olimpo, sempre sob a sombra de um Tártaro que nós mesmos construímos.
(*) - Na mitologia grega, o Tártaro é o abismo profundo e escuro por baixo do Hades (Submundo), usado como masmorra de tormento para os ímpios e prisão para os Titãs. Representa a região mais baixa do submundo, frequentemente descrita como um lugar de castigo divino inescapável, distinto do reino principal dos mortos.
Rovingian Animism - A Spiritual Philosophy for the Contemporary World by Daniel Arrhakis (2026)
Rovingian Animism: A Spiritual Philosophy for the Contemporary World
Inclusive Contemporary Nomadism, Respect, Tolerance, and Universalist Spirituality
Origin and Meaning
The term "Rovingian Animism" originates from the idea of "roving," an English word that figuratively refers to "wanderer," "itinerant," "nomad," "nonconformist," or "one who travels from place to place." This concept suggests that truth is not static, but reveals itself in movement and interaction with the "other"—be that other a river, a cathedral, or an artificial intelligence.
Foundations of Rovingian Animism
Presenting itself as a spiritual philosophy adapted to the fluidity of the modern world, Rovingian Animism combines the freedom of nomadism with a profound reverence for existential diversity.
Rovingianism cultivates respect for monastic traditions and all traditional religious manifestations, whether Abrahamic, Buddhist, tribal, or shamanic, recognizing them as expressions of the spiritual richness and diversity of humanity.
The fundamental difference lies in its ecocentric and universalist dimension, considering that humanity is only a part of nature and that all belong to a universal spirituality, revealed in everything that exists.
Contemporary Nomadism
- Mental Fluidity: More than just changing cities, it's about the ability to move between concepts and cultures without prejudice.
- Total Inclusivity: Accepts human progress and art as legitimate extensions of nature.
- The Traveling Soul: Existence is seen as a universalist journey of continuous learning through direct experience.
Worldview and Ecocentrism
- Human Decentralization: The human being ceases to be the "master of creation" and becomes a thread in the web of existence.
- Spiritual Horizontality: There is no hierarchy between the praying monk and the blowing wind; both express vital energy.
- Ubiquitous Sacredness: Spirituality manifests in the atom, the rock, and the work of art.
Fundamental Pillars
Rovingian Animism proposes an ethic of coexistence in which mobility and the sacredness of the whole merge, resulting in a spirituality of "open borders," both geographical and metaphysical.
- Ecocentrism: The human being is not the center, but an integral part of the natural web.
- Universalist Spirituality: Recognizes the sacred in all forms of life, phenomena, natural cycles, or objects.
- Contemporary Nomadism: A fluid, inclusive existence in constant movement, whether physical or mental.
- Radical Respect: Appreciation of monastic, Abrahamic, Eastern, and tribal traditions.
The Manifestation of the Sacred
For the Rovingian, divinity, the sacred, vital energy, or spirituality is not confined to temples, but spread throughout:
- Natural Elements: Rocks, mountains, storms, and forests.
- Living Beings: From the smallest insect to human complexity.
- Human Creations: Art, such as architecture, sculpture, and painting, is seen as an extension of nature and the soul.
Tolerance and Synthesis
- Respect for Traditions: Values monastic rigor and Abrahamic faith as pieces of the human mosaic.
- Universalism: Draws from shamanic and Eastern sources without excluding modernity.
- Ethics of Empathy: By perceiving soul in everything, harm to the environment or to others is understood as harm to oneself.
Conclusion
This vision does not negate traditional religions; on the contrary, it embraces them as manifestations of the spiritual richness of humanity.
The difference lies in the breakdown of hierarchies between human beings and the rest of the universe, replacing a theocentric or homocentric view with a universalist ecocentric perspective, in which the soul is a traveler between worlds, evolving through life, experience and knowledge, in an immortal and timeless symbiotic dialectic between matter and spirit.
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Animismo Rovingiano: Uma Filosofia Espiritual para o Mundo Contemporâneo
Nomadismo Contemporâneo Inclusivo, Respeito, Tolerância e Espiritualidade Universalista
Origem e Significado
O termo "Animismo Rovingiano" nasce da ideia de “roving”, palavra inglesa que remete ao sentido figurado de "errante", "itinerante", "nómada", "inconformado" ou "que viaja de lugar em lugar". Essa concepção sugere que a verdade não é estática, mas se revela no movimento e na interação com o "outro" — seja esse outro um rio, uma catedral ou uma inteligência artificial.
Fundamentos do Animismo Rovingiano
Apresentando-se como uma filosofia espiritual adaptada à fluidez do mundo moderno, o Animismo Rovingiano combina a liberdade do nomadismo com uma reverência profunda pela diversidade existencial.
O Rovingianismo cultiva o respeito pelas tradições monásticas e por todas as manifestações religiosas tradicionais, sejam elas abraâmicas, budistas, tribais ou xamânicas, reconhecendo-as como expressões da riqueza e diversidade espiritual da humanidade.
A diferença fundamental está na sua dimensão ecocêntrica e universalista, ao considerar que a humanidade é apenas uma parte da natureza e que todos pertencem a uma espiritualidade universal, revelada em tudo o que existe.
Nomadismo Contemporâneo
- Fluidez Mental: Mais do que mudar de cidade, trata-se da capacidade de transitar entre conceitos e culturas sem preconceitos.
- Inclusividade Total: Aceita o progresso e a arte humana como extensões legítimas da natureza.
- A Alma Viajante: A existência é vista como uma jornada universalista de aprendizagem contínua através da experiência direta.
Visão de Mundo e Ecocentrismo
- Descentralização Humana: O ser humano deixa de ser o "mestre da criação" para tornar-se um fio na teia da existência.
- Horizontalidade Espiritual: Não existe hierarquia entre o monge em prece e o vento que sopra; ambos expressam a energia vital.
- Sagrado Ubíquo: A espiritualidade manifesta-se no átomo, na rocha e na obra de arte.
Pilares Fundamentais
O Animismo Rovingiano propõe uma ética de convivência em que mobilidade e sacralidade do todo se fundem, resultando numa espiritualidade de "fronteiras abertas", tanto geográficas quanto metafísicas.
- Ecocentrismo: O ser humano não é o centro, mas parte integrante da teia natural.
- Espiritualidade Universalista: Reconhece o sagrado em todas as formas de vida, fenómenos e ciclos naturais, ou objetos.
- Nomadismo Contemporâneo: Uma existência fluida, inclusiva e em constante movimento, seja físico ou mental.
- Respeito Radical: Valorização de tradições monásticas, abraâmicas, orientais e tribais.
A Manifestação do Sagrado
Para o rovingiano, a divindade, o sagrado, a energia vital ou a espiritualidade não está confinada a templos, mas espalhada em:
- Elementos Naturais: Rochas, montanhas, tempestades e florestas.
- Seres Vivos: Do menor inseto à complexidade humana.
- Criações Humanas: A arte, como arquitetura, escultura e pintura, é vista como extensão da natureza e da alma.
Tolerância e Síntese
- Respeito às Tradições: Valoriza o rigor monástico e a fé abraâmica como peças do mosaico humano.
- Universalismo: Bebe de fontes xamânicas e orientais sem excluir a modernidade.
- Ética da Empatia: Ao perceber alma em tudo, o dano ao meio ambiente ou ao próximo é entendido como um dano a si mesmo.
Conclusão
Esta visão não anula as religiões tradicionais; pelo contrário, abraça-as como manifestações da riqueza espiritual da humanidade.
A diferença reside na quebra de hierarquias entre o ser humano
e o resto do universo, substituindo uma visão teocêntrica ou homocêntrica por uma perspetiva ecocêntrica universalista, em que a alma é uma viajante entre mundos, evoluindo pela vivência, experiência e pelo conhecimento, numa dialética simbiótica imortal
e intemporal entre matéria e espírito.
Such existential questions are waiting to be answered, and I tremble at the thought.
You and I, secret-keepers, hide meanings within words within hearts within people.
(Please do not weep over this, for you are not alone.)
I have realised the following:
Memories romanticized and sleep lost, time has this way of changing everything.
I long for violin bows and red roses. Spells and double-moons and midnight.
Encounters with foxen have left me shaken.
It is these thoughts that cause my bones to turn to dust.
Translucent under bath-water, I wither, I wither.
Growing tiny, some days a disappearance is welcomed.
What lies in yesteryear's Dreams?
Sam Harris has always been a man of precise words and razor-sharp thoughts, his voice carrying the clipped cadence of someone who has spent a lifetime considering each syllable before speaking it aloud. When I photographed him in March of 2016 at Dove Mountain, Arizona, I was struck by his stillness. He has the presence of someone who is not merely thinking, but thinking about thinking, plumbing the depths of consciousness with the same intensity a mountaineer might study a precipice before making the ascent.
Born in 1967, Harris is best known as a neuroscientist, philosopher, and writer who has spent decades interrogating the human condition. He first gained widespread attention with his book The End of Faith (2004), a fierce and unflinching examination of religious belief that won the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction. In it, Harris argued against the dangers of dogma with the kind of cool, analytical detachment usually reserved for lab reports, making the case that faith—unchecked and unquestioned—was one of civilization’s great existential threats. The book, written in the wake of September 11th, made him both a hero and a heretic, a role he seemed to accept with the quiet assurance of a man who expected no less.
His intellectual journey has been one of relentless inquiry, unafraid to step into the fray of controversy. Whether tackling free will, artificial intelligence, or the moral implications of neuroscience, Harris approaches each subject with the rigor of a scientist and the tenacity of a trial attorney. His book Free Will (2012) presents a case against the very idea of human volition, arguing that our actions and thoughts are dictated by prior causes beyond our control—a notion as unsettling as it is liberating. He moves easily between philosophy and empirical science, grounding his arguments in the latest research on the brain while never losing sight of their broader implications.
Yet, for all his cerebral intensity, Harris is not without a deep fascination with the subjective, with the inner world of experience. His book Waking Up (2014) is a testament to this—an attempt to reconcile the apparent contradiction between rigorous rationality and the profound states of consciousness explored in meditation. Having spent time in silent retreats, studying under Buddhist teachers, and experimenting with psychedelics, Harris has sought to strip spirituality of its supernatural trappings and ground it in something more defensible: the raw, unfiltered reality of direct experience.
This tension—between the rational and the experiential, the cold precision of science and the warmth of personal insight—is what makes Harris such a compelling figure. His Making Sense podcast, launched in 2013, serves as an intellectual salon of sorts, a place where he engages with scientists, philosophers, writers, and thinkers across disciplines, from artificial intelligence experts to moral philosophers. He is never afraid to challenge his guests, nor does he shy away from re-examining his own positions. In conversation, as in his writing, Harris wields clarity like a scalpel—his arguments honed to their sharpest edge, his questions cutting straight to the heart of a matter.
The man I met at Dove Mountain was much as I expected: deliberate, measured, and strikingly present. He had a way of looking at you that made it clear he was not just waiting for his turn to speak but genuinely absorbing what you said, weighing it against the vast architecture of ideas he carried within him. There was an intensity in his silence, the sense that his mind was constantly at work, peeling back layers of assumption to examine the bare scaffolding underneath.
Harris is, above all, a seeker—a man who has spent his life charting the contours of belief, knowledge, and consciousness with the precision of a cartographer mapping an undiscovered world. He does not offer easy answers, nor does he indulge in comforting illusions. Instead, he asks us to look unflinchingly at the reality before us, to question, to examine, to think. And in doing so, he invites us into the great, unfinished conversation that is the pursuit of truth.
Steven Wright quote.
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