♑️

⚔️⚔️⚔️

[jamesusilljournal]

Spiny Flower Mantis (Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii)

[nothing-like-the-sun-jgr]

"Moonlight seascape"(1892) by Alfred Stevens (1823-1906,Belgian)

[funstealer]

"The Decadent Idol Cathedral of Angels" by Virtu More

"A jet-black triptych altarpiece that condenses the design language of heavy Gothic architecture. At the center sits an angel relief with a serene expression; by opening the doors on either side, a hidden sanctuary—never spoken of—reveals itself.

This work was created with the themes of “decaying beauty” and “sacred stillness.” Like an altar left behind in ruins over long years, it bears a soot-darkened texture and intricate ornamentation. Though decadent in nature, it evokes a subtle sense of salvation, embodying a dark fantasy world." — Virtu More

[icecreamwithjackdaniels]

Bruno Liljefors (Swedish, 1860–1939), "Hawk's Nest" (detail), 1886. Gothenburg Museum of Art. Photo: Hossein Sehatlou.

[birds-in-posts]

Eurasian goshawk (Astur gentilis)

[pmamtraveller]

Satan Views the Whole of Eden, Gustave Dore

[hauntedgardenbook]

Raoul Hynckes (Dutch, b. Belgium, 1893-1973). The Butterfly [De Vlinder], 1935. Oil on canvas. Hans Melchers collection, Museum MORE.

[rosieandthemoon]

Qingshan Lake in Hangzhou, China

[bayzed2024]

[ars-videndi]

Osias Beert the Elder (Flemish; c.1580, Antwerpen - 1624, Antwerpen), Breakfast Still-Life with Oysters, c.1608, oil on panel, 43 x 54 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid

Here again, the fly brings in a disturbing note, as an unwelcome reminder of the destructive work of sin (compare). More specifically, since bread is a symbol for the body of Christ, the fly on the bread is a warning against sin compromising faith and inevitably leading to the death of the soul.

Oysters, due to their resemblance to female genitalia, the connection to Aphrodite, the goddess of love who emerged from the sea in an oyster shell, and to their common use as an aphrodisiac, are a symbol of lust. (More context and examples here)

The overturned/empty glass represents the brevity of life.

[oexeo]

1905 Art Nouveau perfume bottle | Kate Harris - England

[roaratorio]

El Lissitzky, Proun 1E (City), 1920

[ducissatenebrarum]

Albert Schindehütte (b. 1939) - from Edgar Allan Poe’s Poetry Album, 1982

[chaosophia218]

Gustav Adolf Spangenberg - Hexenritt (The Witches’ Ride), 1870.

[cavatas]

The stairway at the church of Santo Stefano al Ponte in Florence, Italy built in 1574 by Bernardo Buontalenti

[asapscience]

The underside of a “weeping” fungus cap. Some tree-dwelling fungi secrete a liquid when they are growing, a process known by botanists as guttation, ridding themselves of excess liquid through their pores.  Photographed by Harvey Roberts

[unhallowedawn]

[ducissatenebrarum]

Hamsterley Brass in Oddington.  It’s the only survivor of five memorial brasses commemorated by Ralph Hamsterley before his death in 1518.  It is a memento mori, showing his body wrapped in a shroud with worms consuming his body.