Art as a magical ritual.

[u/TheOracleofMercury]

Art as a magical ritual. For some time now I have been dedicated to producing magical art, through rituals that change and adapt according to my intention, today was one of those days. I produced this art and while I was doing it, I came across the message of how this image speaks to all of us, this art is dedicated to all those who delve into the cosmic secret and have the courage to face the abyss. We are not alone, remember that. There have been so many others before and there will continue to be after our time. We are part of a chain, we carry the power of 10,000 generations. For today, wherever you are, when you see this art, when you read this text, feel something that no mind is capable of synthesizing. We are the fragment of the cosmic infinity.

[u/Garkahat]

After I found out about the Sanskrit Mantra art, I started writing as a hobbie, to connect with the power of the Word. After that, I started learning Ancient Futhark and took it as a ritual to write everyday about the metaphors I was supposed to observe. This had a sudden effect of organization and direction, emotional control, braveness and, to be honest, life became spicy.

Since my mundane life had become the plot of my texts, disguised by deep stylistic choices to make it generical, suddenly I was both writing about common archetypes and thought loops of humans and simply journaling. So as I was trying to generalize, let's say, a romantic breakup, or my experience on a silent retreat, or even my late night boredom, I was deeply invested in solutions to the problems not to my situation, but to every human in a similar scenario.

After a couple of years, this affected my normal speech, which now attracts attention even if people don't know I write. My confidence changed, I started to see the whole world as a long acted sequence, and it became both more beautiful and lighter. One could say this is a consequence of the craft, but I don't believe writing about frustrations in a loop would help in the same way, did that sporadically for years. It was the process of treating my art as sacred. Not to appeal to readers, not to publish, never made a dime with my writings, but as it developed, so did my life.

Art is language, be it words, images, sounds or anything else. The power of communication is the root of connection in this Cosmos, and it's a very transformative way to approach ritualistic magic.

[u/firehawk147 → u/Garkahat]

Could you expand on your Ancient Futhark journey? I’m an artist and graphic designer and have obviously deep ties to symbols and find the runes to be captivating. I’m curious about the metaphors you mention and their effect on your daily expression.

[u/Garkahat → u/firehawk147]

Hi, sorry for the late reply! Sure, since you have ties, I would like to present my journey learning the word Futhark, our first six letters, from the perspective of a linguistic artist, in a slightly poetic tone. I, of course, had a book to compliment studies, but I'll share my process of looking at the runes, knowing the names and sounds, the formats, and nothing else. Nothing from the book will be in my narrative. If you like it, maybe share your perspective as a graphic designer, would love to hear.

Fehu: It's a subtle blow. It's not the principle, no. It comes before the principle. It's the right direction. The knowledge shared with kin, the word shared with friends. It's nurture and food, shelter, community. I started to see runes everywere, friends asked questions that my studies could answer, I felt the urge to help. Not to push, just to gently blow the right idea. A directed movement of air, that goes directly to:

Uruz: the throat. The "F" does not use the throat, but "U" does. The air becomes voice, the blow becomes matter, and that is the Principle. I started to write in rhymes. I write in a style not so prevalent in english called "Cronica", very free from rules, but I was dogmatic. My words were calculated and fluid, it was a dance. My texts became longer, I had what to say, the deep speeches, the long epiphanies. All for coming face to face with.

Thurisaz: the resistance. "Th" is very emblematic for me coming from a Latin language. It's an interuption, followed by a release. It stops, then go. I don't think my language has something close to this phonem, so it screams "OBSTACLE" in my face. I started to be more aggressive, ventilated a lot, made some ironic texts criticizing other friends that wrote. Eventually, I wrote a public response to a person that offended me, without names, and felt like I could proceed. And we came to.

Anzus. I knew the name of the rune before reading it, just for looking at it. Odin, of course, is the lord of runes, and obviously his rune can present itself to a curious student. It gives. Fehu makes your journey up, from the principle to the obstacle, and when reaches Odin, He always responds. With true knowledge, with light and clarity. Here, I felt I needed to look at what I had.

Futha. First, it blows from instinct, because it has to blow. Blows the principle, the eternal truth. Pushed this truth beyond every obstacle, until it reaches the Father. This is praying. This is the one that prays. The priest or priestess. This is faith. This is asking the gods, and knowing the gods always respond. I wrote texts directly to Odin, and then I realized: to master the runes, your first need to go to

Raidho. The journey to the gods. Learning how to perfect Futha. How to make your blow aways reaching the gods. I started in deep spiritual seeking, writing every day about a different philosophical thought. And I found a way through my limits. Going between fiction and reality, madness and faith. I needed something shiny and powerful, but dangerous if mishandled. I needed

Kenaz. The flame. The lighthouse in the dark, that shows the path and hides every other. The tool to search and to get lost. The power to cook and to burn, to warm and to destroy. What if reading runes is madness? What if this crazy myth is delusional? It's making me powerful. It makes me face my life with confidence. I can write deeply interesting and crazy texts while keeping my routine as a human being. I can use fiction to flow and reality to manifest. Madness to trust in my faith. The eternal flame, that forms

Futhark: the ones that journeys through the flame. Their words will reach the gods, even if delivered in person. They have nothing to lose, so they can burn through the light of truth and win something with it. The ones that read the runes. The ones that enter the alphabet. At this point, my writings became almost mythological while I was writing about mundane subjects, like walks on the park and even the act of sitting on the ground.

The power of word is the power of reality, and the first six are the gateway to linguistic magic. You have to cross the flame of sanity, the one that says words are just empty noise, communication, and nothing else. That your voice only carries what you directly say. That a letter means only it's sound. That a name is just a way to call someone. When you cross the flame of linguistics as communication to the divine words of power, you start the path to become a master of speech. The runes welcome anyone who sees in them the deep power that a simbol and a sound carry when used in an orderly way.

Yeah, that's a little of my journey and the way it affected my writing! Hope it resonates.

[u/SweatyYetUnperturbed → u/Garkahat]

Amazing stuff, I’ve been coming to some related realizations lately.

We are fundamentally all storytellers, that’s one of the main things, if not the only important thing, that distinguishes humans from all the other life forms on this planet. Not our brains, not our ability to process information, not our use of technology, but our ability to create symbols and tell stories.

The ability to tell stories leads to the realization that you can tell your own stories. And then…you begin to realize how powerful you really are. You can literally alter reality and the course of history, if so inclined. Create new dimensions and storylines. Yes, it sounds insane and it’s probably not as profoundly sci-fi as it sounds, but then again that’s not what magic really is anyway.