Other Places, Other Things @myesoterica - Tumblr Blog

life seeks to perpetuate

2022 / 2025

this is exactly how certain spirits feel to me — not fully person, not fully landscape, but something in between.

the kind of presence you would meet at the edge of the woods, half-grown from light and moss, carrying a branch like a staff and saying absolutely nothing because it doesn’t need to.

some beings are not here to be understood. just respected.

inprnt

“Mushroom Mage” by Lily Jones on INPRNT

caffedinotte-deactivated2018020

not to be a nerd but it’s so crazy how he (Bernini) really did that from cold hard stone……. truly a spectacle, truly breathtaking, an honor to behold

maddieinmanhattan

I think you should know he was 23 when he finished this and the ass gets a lot of attention but the hand on Persepina’s side/tummy is also exquisite

assignedfaggatbirth

before i saw the caption I knew that HAD to be bernini.

I try not to make sweeping statements but I think there’s a case to be made for bernini as the greater sculptor there’s ever been.

here’s his bust of costanza bonarelli

here’s apollo and daphne from the front, where she’s mostly human

from the back, where she’s mostly tree

and details

bogleech

this is the one art form I genuinely just cannot get my brain to accept as real. I’ve watched sped-up videos of it being done, read about it, seen in-progress marble statues and I still just can’t get it to sink in or stick. My mind doesn’t want to believe that any person has ever been able to start with a big block and break little bits off of it until it looks like a finely detailed person. At some point it has no recognizable shape and they still know where and how deep they should take a chip out of it that’ll still be the right decision 50,000 fucking chips later?!?

butteredtoastcrumbs

The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa has a hidden skylight for gold rays of actual light to shine down on their expressions and clothes and clouds.

kogiopsis

Hi yes I have been there and seen all of these IRL and I have some more pictures to share:

Insanely detailed feet with veins from “Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius”

Another foot from the same statue because a) he textured underside of the foot and the folds of skin in the arch and b) can you see the light coming through the thin marble between the toes?

One of the mouths of Cerberus from “The Rape of Prosperina”.

Prosperina/Persephone’s facial expression and HAIR TEXTURE

Hades’ hair as well - this man was entirely too good at making CURLS out of ROCK.

A (poorly lit) close-up on the tree textures from “Apollo and Daphne”.

Hand, sling, and rock from “David” which I think deserves to be at LEAST as well-known as Michelangelo’s. Saw them two days apart and I prefer Bernini, honestly.

Facial expression from “David” - I just love the character in this so much.

Kind of a weird angle but look at the texturing on the sling pouch!!!

We also got to see one of Bernini’s earliest works (possibly his very first) in the Uffizi; it’s not currently on display, unfortunately, but look at this:

Forgive the poor photo quality but. He was 14 when he carved this. FOURTEEN.

Man was a straight-up wizard.

In conclusion: if you get the chance to visit the Borghese Gallery in Rome (which has the most Bernini sculptures gathered in one place), do it. The “Ecstasy of St. Theresa” is in a church a short walk away from there, too, and well worth a visit. There are also several more Berninis in churches around Rome which can be visited for free or for a nominal donation! Just… be smarter than we were and make sure you’re not trying to visit them on days they have services.

greatlostcause

kateammann

inky cap mushroom + crow

spontaneousmusicalnumber

A frustrating part of the mainstream vegan “love all animals and protect the environment” mindset is the fact that things need to die in real-life ecology all the time but deer hunting season makes icky feelings and carp culls aren’t cottagecore

spontaneousmusicalnumber

The vegan “any animal death ever is morally wrong” mindset doesn’t hold up when:

We don’t have any of the large predators we used to (black bears, mountain lions, or gray wolves) but still retain large deer populations. If nothing is removing animals, they’ll quickly overload the carrying capacity of the environment and have massive losses to starvation and disease that can also pass on to livestock. Human hunters replace the large predators that our landscape can no longer support.

It’s kinder to euthanize an un-releasable hawk rather than try to find it a permanent home with humans. Wildlife rehabs have extremely limited space and resources and are usually run entirely on donated money and volunteer time. Only a few are large and stable enough to care for permanent residents long-term, and those spots are few and far between.

An invasive species poses a danger to threatened native wildlife. I will admit- Australian possums are adorable. But not in New Zealand, where they’re an invasive species that eats the eggs of ground-dwelling birds that previously had no such predators. The landowners I worked with replanting native bush, all native Maori, had no qualms about setting the dogs on them.

I don’t know how to end this except. Sometimes things just gotta die and acting otherwise just isn’t a realistic expectation.

spontaneousmusicalnumber

Highlights from the notes over the past 6 months include a lot of angry vegans saying “you’re blowing things out of proportion, no vegans actually think like this!” and a lot of people who work in conservation and education saying “Every day. I have to fight people who think like this.”

As a bonus this post was originally inspired by the vegan who called me racist for saying we should kill invasive species

fruitblush

Przewalski's horse

25/06/26 Reading

Should I make [big decision], is this the right thing, what will the outcome be.

[past] 3 of Swords. I was saddened by some unwelcome news last year.

[present] 10 of Swords, reversed. The sadness is ending. There is hope now.

[future] 2 of Swords, reversed. The end of waiting…but am I rushing in blind and seizing the first opportunity that comes my way?

[clarifying card for if I persist] The Devil. I’ll certainly make my bed if I carry on.

So looks like the verdict is…that thing I thought I really wanted? It’s not the right one.

#the fact despite all my wanting i felt a massive sense of relief as i read these cards was all i needed to know really #tarot reading

Fuck global warming and heatwaves my country doesn’t have the infrastructure for

I don’t usually involve myself in other people’s romantic upsets.

But it’s time for a fucking binding spell.

therainshallmakeadoor-deactivat

do you know a spell to bring out a persons worst qualities (increase anger, selfishness, irresponsibility, cruelty, etc)

One of my favourite spells to do - I actually have a knack for stripping someon’s glamour and reveal them for who they truly are - many an enemy have lost friends and family over it. Try this, it is simple enough. You will need an apple, a knife, some pins, and a mirror - the waters of which, as we know, are great to reveal, conceal, or send back what needs to be.

Procure a mirror large enough that you can rest an entire red apple on top of it with ease. Drop the apple on the floor, enough for it to create a bruise. Slit it open with a knife, roll a taglock of your target inside - or, failing that, a piece of paper with their full name on it, and seal it back with black thread and a number of pins. Spit on the glass panel of the mirror and form a cross with your fingers on the surface with your saliva. Place the apple there. Say : “You’re rotten to the core and to the core you shall rot / What is decaying within, I bring without.” Conceal the apple and the mirror under a black veil and leave it somewhere relatively warm for a couple days. As the apple rots away, so the qualities of the person will start to show for the world to see. When you are satisfied with the progression, remove the veil completely and sit your spell’s implements in the sunshine, saying : “The bad seed you sow, now you shall reap.” Toss the apple away when the person is rendered powerless and all know them for what they are.