#romanticism being the type of poetry popular during that time

[lunarvalleysbetterplanet]

my thoughts on 'I hate it here' and the "backlash" against those particular lyrics:

My friends used to play a game where We would pick a decade We wished we could live in instead of this I'd say the 1830s but without all the racists And getting married off for the highest bid Everyone would look down 'cause it wasn't fun now Seems like it was never even fun back then Nostalgia is a mind's trick If I'd been there, I'd hate it It was freezing in the palace

without all the racists and getting married off for the highest bid ie. she recognizes it was a shit time to live. the 1830's was the romantic era, the year Emily Dickinson was born and the book secret gardens starts in the 1830's as well. all of those facts matter in context with the rest of the song. it's about getting lost in a fantasy because things are terrible irl. romanticising your life and trying to believe everything is okay.

Her saying without all the racists is a nod to being young and immature but still recognizing that hey, things were bad then. it's not downplaying slavery or the other host of issues from that time. i am pretty sure if t.s. had managed to write about every single bad thing going on in 1830 people would just give her shit for that too. and the whole point is that she ruined the game by bringing up that things would be awful. nostalgia is a mind's trick. they're all caught up on the romanticism of the 'good' and she knows it.

she says the game wasn't even fun while she was playing it.

i remember how popular quizzes like 'what decade are you' used to be. or how many times i've heard someone say "i totally belonged in the 70's". It's clueless and tone deaf to the way real life was in the past, but that is the point.

by all means dislike t.s. but at least consider that this is false outrage. the entire lyrics are below:

[Verse 1] Quick, quick, tell me something awful Like you are a poet trapped inside the body of a finance guy Tell me all your secrets, all you'll ever be is My eternal consolation prize You see, I was a debutante in another life, but Now I seem to be scared to go outside If comfort is a construct, I don't believe in good luck Now that I know what's what [Chorus] I hate it here so I will go to secret gardens in my mind People need a key to get to, the only one is mine I read about it in a book when I was a precocious child No mid-sized city hopes and small-town fears I'm there most of the year 'cause I hate it here I hate it here [Verse 2] My friends used to play a game where We would pick a decade We wished we could live in instead of this I'd say the 1830s but without all the racists And getting married off for the highest bid Everyone would look down 'cause it wasn't fun now Seems like it was never even fun back then Nostalgia is a mind's trick If I'd been there, I'd hate it It was freezing in the palace [Chorus] I hate it here so I will go to lunar valleys in my mind When they found a better planet, only the gentle survived I dreamed about it in the dark, the night I felt like I might die No mid-sized city hopes and small-town fears I'm there most of the year 'cause I hate it here I hate it here [Bridge] I'm lonely, but I'm good I'm bitter, but I swear I'm fine I'll save all my romanticism for my inner life and I'll get lost on purpose This place made me feel worthless Lucid dreams like electricity, the current flies through me And in my fantasies, I rise above it And way up there, I actually love it [Chorus] I hate it here so I will go to secret gardens in my mind People need a key to get to, the only one is mine I read about it in a book when I was a precocious child No mid-sized city hopes and small-town fears I'm there most of the year 'cause I hate it here I hate it here [Outro] Quick, quick, tell me something awful Like you are a poet trapped inside the body of a finance guy

[linxuelian]

Let’s take a look at the XiYao fandom // Under the Magnifying Glass

As I’ve had a bit of extra time lately, I’ve put together a few small (and admittedly rather sweeping!) observations about the Xiyao fandom. I hope you’ll have fun and take it with a pinch of salt, if you identify with any of it!

XiYao: Calm like tea... on the surface

As a ship, XiYao features two very calm and controlled characters, namely Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao. Both are heads on the political frontline of the cultivation world, one born to it, and the other ascended to it.

On the surface, they invoke a very calm and refined image as a pair. If one’s been exploring the ship, they’d probably catch on to plenty of scenes depicting poetry, the arts, playing the guqin and drinking tea, sometimes sweets. Both are quite fanciful and artistic in their own way: Lan Xichen is a well-read painter in his free time, while Jin Guangyao is an amiable host of banquets, parties and the like.

This isn’t the case as one delves deeper, however. Jin Guangyao lies, murders and plots, while Lan Xichen, although he has admitted knowing about it to an extent, closes an eye to it, opting to make excuses for ‘A-Yao’, until it’s too late to turn back. Their drama unfolds only when Lan Xichen realizes the true extent of, well, just about everything. This is when it bubbles and boils over.

Cinderella Gone Wrong

XiYao, on the surface, appears to be a textbook Cinderella story. Jin Guangyao, born from humble roots and downtrodden to a great extent, is sometimes perceived as a sort of “Cinderella”, where he ascends out of his pitfalls in life into one of glory and power. He does not get there without help, of course; he rises in status when Nie Mingjue (the ‘fairy godmother’) lifts him out of it, and eventually uses Lan Xichen’s  (the prince charming’s) affections to his own gain, to an extent.

In the novel, Meng Yao (Jin Guangyao before he is bestowed a courtesy name) picks up and looks after Lan Xichen, protecting him from enemies. They later meet again in Hejian, after Meng Yao joins Nie MIngjue’s faction. In the web series, Meng Yao meets Lan Xichen in the Cloud Recesses, where Lan Xichen is seen to be extremely interested in pursuing a friendship with a humble servant.

Unfortunately, over the course of the series and novel, external circumstances color Jin Guangyao’s life, where he opts to foster deep hatred and envy, and a desire for his ambitious father’s favor, discarding the Cinderella path as a whole. This adds a twist for fans’ explorations, as they were widely left open for interpretation.

Parallels with GuanYin

Jin Guangyao is often depicted with parallel imagery of the Goddess of Mercy, GuanYin. In the novel, he erects a GuanYin temple for his mother, and is described to look like her, which the other cultivators unwittingly shame him for, after death.

In the extra chapter, Villainous Friends, Jin Guangyao is described to have a merciful look [like GuanYin] as he conducts evil, destroying an entire clan.

It is also notable that his overall downfall had been caused by the little mercies he had extended, such as sparing Sisi and marrying his sister, Qin Su, to spare her from suffering. Watchtowers created by Jin Guangyao to protect innocent villagers caused Nie Mingjue’s body parts to be discovered, ultimately leading to the uncovering of his past deeds. Gifting a spiritual dog, Fairy, to his nephew as a young boy resulted in cultivators led into the temple, exposing him further.

All these lie in both resemblance and stark contrast to Lan Xichen, who is arguably the most merciful character in the series.

The Fans

In general, the fans of the ship appear to be calm, generally enjoying discourse when they can afford it. As they tend to be of the older segment in the series’ or novel’s fandom, they tend to be the slightly more controlled types, who may enjoy intrigues and explorations. Like the two characters, they tend to lean on the artistic side as well.

This is explained further by ship dynamics that influence like-types of fans. Lan Xichen is calm and otherworldly, therefore fans who favor him and relate to him are themselves calm and may prefer dreamlike states, while Jin Guangyao, outwardly refined, attracts fans who are likewise fond of refined manners, those who enjoy discourse and parties. Coupled together, both fan types are predominantly calm by nature, and display a taste for romanticism.

In terms of self-projection aspects, there is a higher likelihood of fans who identify better with Jin Guangyao, either by physical appearance (Jin Guangyao is the shortest of the cast and often described to be ‘small’) or by personality (elegant, subservient, gentle and amiable). The physical contrasts between Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen are generally perceived as attractive.

Fans may privately harbor attraction towards Lan Xichen archetypes, mainly the gentle, protective types. Refer to [Lan Sizhui] for further examples of the trope.

Recurrent themes in fiction

XiYao, as a ship, thrives on recurrent themes in fiction, although certain external variables may greatly influence this. Listed below are a few perceived to be underlying materials explored more widely in general by its fans.

Soulmates

A very popular theme recurrent in XiYao is the theme of soulmates, which transcends time and place. Whether in reincarnation stories, or redemption stories, the idea that the two are soulmates are largely implied, with the two being whole halves or otherwise inseparable by nature.

While the theme of soulmates is not canonically discussed for the pair, it is regularly disputed in fandom that the only person Jin Guangyao had ever cared for who was currently alive was Lan Xichen, as he has been shown to have admitted it himself, placing his friend’s life above that of his own wife’s, sister’s and family’s.

This theme is applied across most stories featuring other themes.

A Path to Redemption

‘Redemption’ post-canon or canon-divergent pieces are commonly used in the fandom for this pairing. Jin Guangyao, having suffered many misgivings and acted with malice and vengeance in return, is given a chance in these pieces to redeem himself, and settle old scores.

There is a focus on Jin Guangyao regaining his older sworn brother’s graces after his lies are exposed. In the original series, Lan Xichen goes into seclusion and regrets his actions of both trusting and fatally wounding his sworn brother.

Most exploratory works in XiYao would heavily center around this incident before going beyond it, drawing it out in further detail. Others might magnify his earlier deeds such as his fatal falling out with Nie Mingjue, or his days serving the Wen Sect, where many atrocities were carried out in behalf of Wen Ruohan.

What Could Have Been

Many works for the ship also explore a “What If” scenario, branching out to Jin Guangyao escaping death at the temple, or if he had had no hand in the murders or events surrounding them.

Some stories rewrite the ending, or the middle parts, or offer an alternate universe with the same characters, only without the canonical events. There have been disputes among some fans that removing the ending scene at the temple would [sic] “remove any drama between the two”, causing an amount of dissension. Despite that, canon divergences remain popular within the ship fandom.

Reincarnation

With the events painting Jin Guangyao dead, reincarnation tropes are very popular in the fandom, be it in the modern-day era or during the same dynasty. Jin Guangyao is often either depicted as reborn shortly other the events, or summoned back after the ending, or in a modern day world where he meets Lan Xichen again.

A noteworthy number of works written with this theme in mind depicts either, or both, characters to have memories of the past, invoking other themes of forgiveness, insecurities and redemption. In some cases, none of the characters retain their memories of the past, although they eventually end up together again.

Mutual Pining

With Jin Guangyao being a married man, any prospects of Jin Guangyao ending up with Lan Xichen are crushed in canon. This allows works exploring themes of pining to be manufactured, often written in the form of character perspectives.

As Jin Guangyao is unwillingly married to his own sister, this opens up for possibilities that he might be more open to feelings for his sworn brother. This theme is often explored in conjunction with the theme of soulmates, where their feelings as a person ideally suited to the other remain unexpressed despite their desires.

When coupled with the redemption theme, it is sometimes used as a vehicle for the former attaining Lan Xichen’s forgiveness.

Marriage

One of the ongoing in-jokes in fandom are that Lan Sect men are insufferable romantics, cold on the outside and passionate on the inside. As such, works depicting marriage and weddings are quite popular among fans of the ship.

This is in reflection of Lan Xichen fans, as an insufferable romantic would often be encouraged by other insufferable romantics like himself.

The Lan Forehead Ribbon

Both like and unlike the trope in WangXian, the sacred forehead ribbon in XiYao is often used symbolically as an eternal bond. It also functions as a binding object, although notably less regularly used as such than in WangXian works.

In general, XiYao fans aren’t the kinky sort until Nie Mingjue is thrown into the picture in a PWP piece.

Modern Day AUs tend to focus on the actors

As the novel was largely popularized by a web TV series, a large number of modern-day alternate universe (modern day AU) pieces are more focused on the actors’ images in general. Characters might vary from the original nature of the novel and TV series, adopting more of the actors’ attributes while still maintaining the characters’ names and birth histories.

This theme is widely used in concurrence with themes of reincarnation or rebirth, where the soul of the character is reborn in a modern-day era and loses much of their original personalities from their past lives.

Ending Notes

All in all, the XiYao fandom is easy to slip into if you have a taste for deep discourse or angst. Since a large amount of its fans favor interactions of the characters made post-canon referencing those made in canon, the fandom thrives on post-canon what-if discussions, as well as possibilities of events beyond the original title.

In size, the ship fandom remains small in number. If you’re a new contributor (writer or artist) looking to be a content contributor in the large series’ fandom, XiYao might be a good place to start if looking for a smaller community to engage with, if you share a similar taste.

Again, I hope that these personal observations will be taken with a pinch of salt. They’re by no means facts - but a very great biased meta for it. 😉 It’s been a fun pairing fandom to engage in, from personal experience. I highly recommend it to others.

[desideratum-kayla]

Poetry is a branch of literature that conveys meaning different from the more objective prosaic forms of writing. The expression is written in verse often with some form of regular rhythm and the basis of polite expression is a heightened sense of perception/consciousness. It is also considered to be one of the oldest forms of creative expression dating back to eras of B.C. where epic poetry flourished—with Eastern religious influences as well as Western mythology.

Some of the eminent forms of poetry come from Japan such as the Tanka from the 7th century or a poem consisting of 5 lines and a 5-7-5-7-7 syllabication pattern. Haiku is also a common unrhymed poem from the 17th century which has 3 lines and a 5-7-5 syllabication pattern often related to nature.

As for the local context, Filipino short poetry existed long before the Spanish colonization. Diona is a form of tercet poetry with 7-10 syllables per line syllabication pattern. During the 16th century, Tanaga also emerged to test poets’ skills at rhyme, meter, and metaphor. This quatrain with 7 syllables per line adapted certain rhyme schemes or rhyme patterns by syllable. Dalit is also a quatrain that consists of 4 lines with 8 syllables each. It became popular during the Hispanic period used by friars as a form of promoting Catholicism.

During the 16th century, Sonnet was a prominent form of poetry that emerged from Italy since it reflects upon a single sentiment, with a clarification or “turn” of thought in its concluding lines. Some of the most popular types are: Shakespearean, Petrarchan, and Spenserian—all of which consists of 14 lines with 10 syllables each and varying rhyme schemes.

From strict patterns and rhyme counts, there in the 18th century where Blackout poetry emerged manifested a sense of freedom for poets. This art form gave liberty to create poems through existing pieces of literature by censoring and blocking some parts of the page. Furthermore, Free verse poems became more prominent from the early 20th century. These forms established a “poetic license” among poets granting them the freedom to break certain elements of poetry and even bend grammar rules that are usually prohibited in prose literature.

Some notable movements

☁️ Romanticism - favored emotion and the individual’s response to the world; prioritized imagination of writers & artists alike

☁️ Modernism – shift in literary sensibilities and how stories were told

☁️ WWI poets – showed the horrors of warfare and shattered all the romantic illusions of knights and heroics

☁️ Spoken word – performance-based poetry phenomenon that started in the 20th century; the emergence of slam poetry nights

☁️ measure – counting of the number of lines and stanzas

☁️ rhyme – words have similar or identical final sound

☁️ rhythm – a succession of accented and unaccented syllables

☁️ symbolism - used to signify ideas and qualities by giving symbolic meanings different from the literal sense

☁️ imagery – describe their impression of the topic

Like most art forms, poetry usually starts as an individual’s hobby that may become a form of passion but rarely with means of solely a source of income. Most of the time, a pen, paper, and a creative mind produce a perfect piece—especially the feelings they evoke for others and the poet themselves. However, there are also poetry books that spark inspiration for readers and get the sense of relatability of someone painting their thoughts through words.

With literature being a dynamic body of written works, poetry’s fusion with other art forms had been deemed possible for the longest of time which also ensures its immunity from oblivion. This also insinuates how forms of poetry may collide with each other—whether it’s an inspiration from a known poet’s distinct style or a combination of patterns. Some of the recent developments that remain popular are concrete poems, spoken word poetry, and collage poetry.

references:

thehaikufoundation.org

inktank.fi

[jdelme]

2008 Tumblr Vibes

Remember when Tumblr was a place to vent and just put long mind vomit that Twitter could not eloquently word without having to shrtn ur wrds cos you could only put a certain amount?

I miss the "Tumblr meetups" cos you could find people closeby who were broken too, sometimes it was a popularity contest weird flex but okay you do you honey boo boo child or you dun goofed.

It was like a new Myspace but pre-Pintrest ideas of the world of possibilities, life "quotes" of relationships or sometimes they typed something with the intention of being meaningful yet it came out to be really extra.

Aesthetics existed here before the IG simplicity of a grid, if you knew how to setup your blog to show that then you knew what was up, but you couldn't see the text posts like how the general population of Tumblr did.

Then we started to get older. Over time we developed hormones and fed into the desires of looking at what was under the clothes rather than the materialistic fashion we once obsessed with so that flooded the gates of late night Tumblr porn. From there we experimented with drugs for the culture, maybe had a phase of raving (or going to these "EDM concerts), then fell in love at some point a few times along the way, perhaps made bad financial decisions and got a dope car that we thought we were the next Fast & Furious OR we obviously put ourselves into debt with student loans cos that's we wanted to make our parents proud..

Now?

We mindlessly scroll, switching through the various social media apps; hoping to fulfill some void that became empty cos frankfully over the years we developed this understanding that we are introverted, have conditions of anxiety and depression, a skewed idea of hopeless romanticism from porn & fairy tale movies or these pictures/gifs that fill Tumblr and the occasional poetry books of heartbreak and honeymoon phases.

We are all still kids, living in a time where we are finding ourselves trying to grow up and being kids raising kids. They label us as "millennials" but we are honestly a generation of dreamers who realized that the real world is a cruel place and we just need some love honestly. Thank you for still being on here through the years, I appreciate you guys even if we haven't met. Just know that I'm here too.

Lost 6 friends this year due to suicide & I think we have much more to experience even though this shit sucks tbh. :]

Bring back AIM chatrooms, the Saturday morning cartoons, the days where money didn't matter, always be a kid at heart & don't make life make you more jaded than you already are lol.

End rant/vent whatever this was during my morning commute on the BART (a Subway train form of transportation in the Bay Area)

*Follow my other Tumblr btw for more word emotion type post cos this is my visual blog. @nxstvlgic-hxvrt

[monrougirfashion-blog]

Bohemian Jewelry History

Bohemia isn't Only an alternate literary  custom lockets and art scene, but was also a kingdom of Central Europe, which is also known as the Czech Kingdom because of its place in the Western Czech Republic. Bohemia, called after the house of the Celtic"Boii" people, was part of the Holy Roman Empire that surrounded Western and Central Europe for about one thousand years until 1806.

The land of Bohemia has a lengthy history of gems and jewelry. With respect to bead materials, 14th Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV founded Karlstejn Castle to maintain the Bohemian treasure secure, and was believed to have arranged an investigation for jasper. Significant deposits of red pyrope garnet have been found in Bohemia (Central Europe) around the turn of the 16th century. At this moment, the ruler of this region was Rudolph II, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1576 to 1612 and King of Bohemia, who suffered from depression, studied astronomy and had a penchant for collecting objets d'art. Rudolph II was the most well-known gem and mineral collector of the period, with an impressive amount of both, curated by Anselmus de Boodt, that was also appointed Court Doctor. Rudolph II had a keen interest in science and alchemy, and was a keen seeker of the Philosopher's Stone. His Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe had a nose that was partially fashioned from silver and gold after an unfortunate duel left him marginally deficient in the nasal department.

Rudolph II Inherited the name of Emperor with his father's"Habsburg Jaw"; a jutting lower jaw and large lower lip. More cherished items possessed by the Habsburg family comprised a Colombian emerald unguentarium (a bottle-like boat, see picture, left) of over 2,800 carats and a big red almandine garnet gem known as"La Bella Hyacinth", mounted in the center of a double-headed eagle; a symbol of the Habsburg family. According to rumorshe was bisexual; a possible reason for his postponing marriage. His gold, enamel, diamond, ruby, spinel, sapphire and pearl crown became the Imperial Crown of Austria.

Rudolph II transferred The court from Vienna to Prague and encouraged Viennese gem cutters, goldsmiths, including the celebrated Callegari, and other eminent artists and scholars from all over the world to take up residence near. Prague therefore became known as an important centre for culture and art. The famed garnets of Bohemia were found in the mountains to the northeast and northeast of Prague. The glistening red jewels were (and are) trimmed in Prague and then the town of Turnov, to the northeast of Prague. Turnov is a portion of the Bohemian Paradise Geopark; a UNESCO recorded nature reserve where people can discover unique geological phenomena such as dolomite caves, petrified woods, olivine balls and stone materials, such as chalcedony, opal, amethyst, jasper and garnet. Turnov has been famous for rock cutting, engraving and jewelry making for hundreds of years, the most prolific time being the 1700s. A jewelry school was established there in 1884 and two decades later, a museum has been started. "The Museum of the Bohemian Paradise" is a really interesting place for people eager to learn about gems, jewelry, mineralogy and more, particularly Bohemian garnet. Turnov's highest mountain, Kozákov is your website where deposits of garnet have been found. Indeed, the Vincenc Votrubec Quarry at the foothills of Mount Kozákov allows visitors the opportunity to search for gemstone materials, for the price of renting a small hammer.

Bohemian garnet gems are said to possess excellent clarity and innocence. Traditional garnet Jewelry from this area brings to mind the inside of a pomegranate fruit, ripe with shiny reddish seed pods. This is because the stone needed a similar shape and have been traditionally put tightly together with very little metal showing. Bohemian garnet jewelry was very popular during the late nineteenth century, as it had been worn out by Victorians. It was about this time when a jewellery college was started in Turnov. The jewelry made there did not enjoy such great recognition in the 20th century, but in the 21st century, conventional Bohemian garnet jewelry enjoyed a revival.

The beautiful Fiery, red garnets of Bohemia are showcased by the artistry of those jewellery workers who continue the heritage of the Kingdom of Bohemia. Genuine Bohemian garnet jewellery is admired by gem and jewelry enthusiasts all around the world including US First Lady Michelle Obama, who shot home a Bohemian garnet brooch after seeing the Czech Republic in 2009. Since her birthday is in January, garnet is her birthstone. For those planning to buy such pieces straight from the manufacturing supply, certification is recommended to guarantee gemstone authenticity.

The expression"goth" or "ancient" has many meanings: Germanic people of the early Christian era (Goth/Gothic), an unrefined or barbaric individual, or even a follower of a particular type of music and fashion. Gothic stone is an alternative sub-genre which developed after punk in the 1970s. Religious motifs, particularly Celtic crosses and ankh signs are popular gothic motifs. Very similar to rock design, these may be worn out as occult symbols. Gothic rock is characterized by darkness, introspection and romanticism. Typical goth styles are pale skin, kohl-lined eyes, dark clothes, hair and nail polish, and red or dark lips. The clothes could be seen as a mix of Victorian, Vampire films and punk style. Colours favored by goths include deep red, electric blue, purple and green. Lace and velvet are very popular fabrics when it comes to goth-style clothing.

Gothic style Isn't all about Death and darkness, goths also adopt romanticism, particularly the 18th century literary and art movement, which focused on intense emotion, and includes the poetry of William Wordsworth, Lord Byron and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. These merge terror with romanticism. Such functions may be the inspiration for gothic style, which combines the medieval with romanticism and terror, using motifs such as bats, skulls and roses. In reality, improved motifs can be frequently seen in ancient jewelry, whether they're carved diamonds, enamel work or metal. These may be black, red or another color and therefore are attractive when used as necklace pendants, earrings or in bracelets.

Filigreed silver designs are popular goth-style jewellery items. Filigree is intricate metalwork that is made by twisting silver or gold wire and soldering it, making it appear like lace. While filigreed jewellery was created for over 2000 years, it became popular in Europe during the era; the period of the development of the"gothic novel". Filigree jewelry takes several forms, such as necklace earrings, rings and bracelets, where a central bead is surrounded by delicate metalwork.

Chokers, such as those worn by Queen Victoria are among the favorite gothic necklace fashions. Chokers can be made from metal or might simply be a ribbon using a brooch attached in the front. A popular Victorian design is really a ribbon choker with a cameo in the center, following the style of Queen Victoria. Mother-of-pearl and agate are substances often used for the carving of cameos. Alternately, obsidian and ruby-zoisite are intriguing and special alternatives for gemstone cameos. Ribbon chokers may be made more durable and appealing by procuring the ends into grip fittings. Since chokers are close-fitting, the throat of the wearer should be quantified before the length of the choker is decided. For people who do not enjoy cameos, opal, rutile quartz or other interesting cabochons could be a modern interpretation of this design. Color of selection, black alloy is suitable for gothic-style jewellery settings. The most affordable solution is shameful rhodium-plated jewellery, but that can be subject to wear and tear, and might require replating from time to time. When it comes to black diamonds, there are quite a few choices. Jet was a popular gemstone during the Victorian era, when mourning jewelry was worn and was carved into cameos and other contours. However, this is not very durable and also not widely available nowadays. Some good examples of affordable black lady stones are black tourmaline, black spinel and melanite. When it comes to cabochons, agate, black star sapphire, cat's eye scapolite, celebrity garnet and jasper are suitable for black gemstone jewellery. With regard to black gemstone material that could be carved, black jade and onyx are possibilities.

While goths inhabit a particular Fashion niche, it is not essential to be regarded as a goth to enjoy the above mentioned jewelry. Goth-style jewelry may be an alternative embellishment to any outfit without engendering a particular stereotype. In reality, labels can split, but jewellery could be appreciated for its inherent beauty, as opposed to be worn to become part of a specific subculture. Thus, individuals who are pleased to be themselves ought to wear the jewelry, rather than letting the jewelry wear them.

It took The diamond industry a long time to set up the diamond engagement ring as an important part of the culture of marriage. In fact, that the De Beers consortium mounted a concerted decades-long advertising effort, beginning in the late 1930s, to firmly ensconce the association of diamonds with love, courtship and marriage, under the now familiar slogan"diamonds are forever". The effort was probably one of the most prosperous feats of social engineering in the 20th century.

More recently, On the other hand, the diamond ring tradition has started to weaken. Many couples have strayed in the tradition and began to look intently at coloured stone engagement rings instead. There seem to be many reasons for this. Another reason is that some consumers have become conscious that diamonds are now not rare and that the high costs are maintained by a cartel that controls the distribution and supply. Still another reason is that colorless diamonds do not show much individuality; they are in fact commodity products which are made by the millions. Unless you've got a whole lot of money, it's quite difficult to purchase a really unique diamond engagement ring. photo engraved necklace   

Along with These reasons, an individual can't discount the effect of the famous blue sapphire and diamond engagement ring that Prince Charles gave to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. His brother, Prince Andrew, continued the trend when he introduced with a'pigeon blood' ruby and pearl ring to Sarah Ferguson upon their participation in 1986. Consumers now had both pro and anti-establishment reasons to move them toward colored stone engagement rings.

The jewellery Industry has not been very effective in advertising colored stones for engagement rings, and undoubtedly the diamond industry has exerted pressure on the trade to keep retailers at the diamond camp. Thus many couples that select an engagement ring with a coloured gemstone do it as a job that entails selecting a rock and then a ring design and setting. The outcome is typically a truly personalized ring.

Since engagement Rings need to be very durable, the most popular colored stone for this objective Are sapphire and ruby, since they have exceptional hardness (9 on The Mohs scale) without a cleavage. Other good options include spinel, aquamarine and Some very popular Colored gems, such as tanzanite, are Not a good choice for engagement rings because of their lack of durability.wikipedia

[emmagreen1220-blog]

New Post has been published on Literary Techniques

New Post has been published on https://literarytechniques.org/motif-in-literature/

Motif in Literature

Examples of Motif in Literature

Motif, in essence, is a recurring element, whether a concept, a phrase, an image, an object, an event, or a situation. This element can reappear within a single work, but also across many works written by one or numerous different authors (not always consciously imitating each other). Modern scholars tend to distinguish these two meanings of the word “motif” in literary studies by labeling the recurrence of elements in a single work with the German word leitmotif (“leading motif”)—borrowed from early analyses of the music of Wagner—and by referring to the repetition of concepts and themes across literary works with the rather old term topos (pl. topoi; “(common) place”)—borrowed from ancient rhetoric. So that you can understand better this distinction, below we provide examples of both topoi and leitmotifs, i.e., the two different types of motifs.

Across Many Works (Topoi)

Example #1: Ubi Sunt

“Ubi sunt” is Latin for “where are… [they]?” and it is one of the oldest and most pervasive motifs in world literature. It is a melancholic comment on the transience of life, usually made through a series of rhetorical questions concerning the fate of the most exemplary people of the past, be they the bravest, the wealthiest, or the most beautiful. Sometimes, ubi sunt can also take the form of a nostalgic yearning for “the good ol’ days;” in this case, the mood it tries to convey approximates the one captured by the numerous variations of another widespread motif: the “golden age” motif.

The Bible

You can find one of the earliest appearances of the ubi sunt motif in the Book of Baruch (33:16-19), a deuterocanonical book of the Bible (meaning: it is considered to be part of the Bible only by Catholics and Orthodox Christians). In fact, the expression ubi sunt is derived from the Latin translation of the first two words of this passage:

Where are the rulers of the nations, and those who lorded it over the animals on earth; those who made sport of the birds of the air, and who hoarded up silver and gold in which people trust, and there is no end to their getting; those who schemed to get silver, and were anxious, but there is no trace of their works? They have vanished and gone down to Hades, and others have arisen in their place.

Medieval Poetry

Medieval poets attempted to bring to mind this feeling of fleetingness pretty often, and you can find the same motif expressed in numerous poems written in many different languages during this period of time. Thus, the Old English poem Wanderer asks “Where is the horse gone? Where the rider? Where the giver of treasure?/ Where are the seats at the feast? Where are the revels in the hall?” and 13th-century French trouvère Rutebeuf sings “What has become of my friends/ That I had held so close/ And loved so much?”

One of the most famous evocations of the ubi sunt motif can be found in another French poet of the Middle Ages, the notorious François Villon. In his “Ballade of the Ladies of Times Past,” he sings that all the most beautiful maidens in history have disappeared just like last year’s snows. The poem contains perhaps the most imitated and alluded-to refrain of this kind: “Where are the snows of yesteryear?”

On a more positive note, the well-known academic commercium song “Gaudeamus igitur” contains the verses “Where are those who trod this globe/ In the years before us?” but only so as to inspire those who listen to seize the day, which is another prominent literary topos sometimes associated with the ubi sunt: the carpe diem motif. But we’ll get back to it later.

Renaissance and Romanticism

Shakespeare revisits the ubi sunt motif in the “Alas, poor Yorick” speech given by Hamlet in the fifth act of his most celebrated play, as does James Macpherson in his pseudo-translations of Ossian, Fragments of Ancient Poetry: “Where is Fingal the King? where is Oscur, my son? where are all my race?”

From the Romantic period come two more personalized and, thus, more devastating manifestations of the ubi sunt motif. The first one can be found in Goethe’s “Dedication” to Faust, in which he bemoans the fact that the people he wrote his poems for can no longer read them:

They hear no longer these succeeding measures, The souls, to whom my earliest songs I sang: Dispersed the friendly troop, with all its pleasures, And still, alas! the echoes first that rang!

The second example comes from Charles Lamb’s brief poem “The Old Familiar Faces” which opens with this heart-rending tercet:

I have had playmates, I have had companions, In my days of childhood, in my joyful school-days, All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.

We can list many more examples, but we guess the above should suffice. As you can see, all of the works quoted here essentially say the same depressing thing—namely that life ends and that even the most remarkable among us will eventually die. Because of this, they can all be considered variations of the same theme, in this case labeled the ubi sunt motif.

Example #2: Ars Longa, Vita Brevis

Ars longa, vita brevis is another Latin phrase which is used as a common designation for a recurring theme in literature. Meaning “art is long, life is short,” this motif is essentially the optimistic other side of the ubi sunt coin. It says that even though our time on earth is short, and our beauty, bravery and wealth mean little when death arrives, our artistic creations remain long after we’re gone and can outlive us by centuries; death may conquer life, but art triumphs over death. The phrase is most frequently used with reference to the timelessness of the written word, or more particularly, poetry.

Ancient Rome

Interestingly enough, the antithetical phrase “ars longa, vita brevis” is a misinterpretation of an aphorism by the Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, who actually says (as translated by Chaucer): “the life so short, the craft so long to learn.” It is in this manner that Seneca quotes him in On the Shortness of Life from where the Latin phrase originates. However, the word “ars,” which originally meant “craft” or “technique,” in time came to mean “the fine arts,” which inspired many poets to reinterpret this initially pessimistic quote into the much more hopeful idea that art outlasts its creator.

The most celebrated ancient meditation upon this ars longa motif is the final poem of the third book of the Odes by Horace, in which the poet confidently—and correctly—predicts that, through his poetry, he has built himself a monument as enduring as time itself (tr. Sidney Alexander):

I have erected a monument more durable than bronze, loftier than the regal pile of pyramids that cannot be destroyed either by corroding rains or the tempestuous North wind or the endless passage of the years or the flight of centuries. Not all of me shall die. A great part of me shall escape Libitina, Goddess of Death.

William Shakespeare

If that first line from Horace above rings any bells, it is because you’ve probably already read it rephrased into English by none other than Shakespeare in his Sonnet 55: “Not marble, nor the gilded monuments/ Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme.” However, as he informs us in the second stanza of the same sonnet, Shakespeare is interested in the timelessness of poetry not because of his own fame, but because of the beauty of his lover:

When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

Shakespeare restates these feelings several times, most famously in the closing couplet of Sonnet 18, which, referring to itself, claims that:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Romanticism

Far from being the only one, Shakespeare is merely one of the hundreds and hundreds of poets who adapted Horace’s ode and generated their own variation of the ars longa motif. Alexander Pushkin directly imitates Horace in “Exegi momentum,” and both Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and Shelley’s “Ozymandias” comment upon the timelessness of art in connection with the brevity of life—though in a much less confident manner. One of the most popular Romantic poems which uses this motif is certainly Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “A Psalm of Life” which, among others, contains these verses:

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.

Example #3: Carpe diem

Of course, in addition to producing artistic creations which may outlast you, there’s another way for you to confront the brevity of life; and that is by living it to the full. Made famous by the 1989 movie, Dead Poets Society, this motif is most succinctly referred to as the “carpe diem” motif, which is Latin for “seize the day” and which, once again, comes from Horace (I.11): “Even as we speak, envious Time is fleeing./ Seize the day: entrusting as little as possible to tomorrow.” Horace himself has written quite a few verses expressing this very same feeling, and who knows how many poems written after him are no more than variations of this motif! Here are just a few.

Pierre de Ronsard, “Sonnet to Helen” (II.43)

Pierre de Ronsard was the first French poet to be called “a prince of poets,” and it is only because he wrote in French that he is not that famous in the English-speaking world. Few of his poems have, nevertheless, reached a wide audience. Famously adapted by W. B. Yeats under the title “When You Are Old,” the most famous of Ronsard’s numerous “Sonnets to Helen” is undoubtedly one of the most memorable expressions of the carpe diem motif in any language. In it, Ronsard warns Helene that one day he will be dead and she just an old crone, sitting by the fireside and regretting the fact that she had once scorned the advances of one who loved her and thought her beautiful; however, the poet doesn’t want Helene to recognize this as a reason for concern, but as an invitation to enjoy the pleasures of life (tr. Humbert Wolfe):

And since what comes to-morrow who can say? Live, pluck the roses of the world to-day.

Robert Herrick, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”

Writing a century after Ronsard, English Cavalier poet Robert Herrick voices the very same opinion in the 208th poem of his lifework, the collection of verses, Hesperides, with language which obviously echoes his French predecessor:

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today To-morrow will be dying.

Andrew Marvell, “To His Coy Mistress”

In the last stanza of Herrick’s carpe diem masterpiece, the poet urges the virgins to “be not coy, but use [their] time” while they still can. Written probably just a year after “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” was published, “To His Coy Mistress,” Andrew Marvell’s most famous love-song, is merely a modification of this advice, in this case, addressed to one particular lady.

In the first stanza of the poem, Marvell explains to this shy maiden that if they had “but world enough, and time,” he would have courted her for millennia, praising her eyes for at least a century and adoring each of her breasts for twice that time. However—he goes on in the second stanza—he can always hear “Time’s wingèd chariot” behind him, making him fully aware that, before too long, his lust will turn into ashes, and his beloved’s “long preserved virginity” will be tried by worms.

And if that is the case—Marvell finally gets to the point in the third stanza—then why all the coyness? “Let us sport us while we may,” the poet urges his beloved, “and tear our pleasures with rough strife/ Through the iron gates of life.” That way the two will have nothing to regret when they die because they’ve made the most of their lives:

Thus, though we cannot make our sun Stand still, yet we will make him run.

In a Single Work (Leitmotifs)

Example #1: William Shakespeare, Macbeth (1606)

Back in the time when there were no computers and Ctrl+F shortcuts, an English literary critic by the name of Caroline Spurgeon managed to diligently index every single image and metaphor in all of Shakespeare’s plays.

“It is a curious thing,” she notes at the beginning of Chapter XV of her pioneer study Shakespeare’s Imagery and What It Tells Us, “that the part played by recurrent images in raising, developing, sustaining and repeating emotion in [Shakespeare’s] tragedies has not, so far as I know, ever yet been noticed. It is a part somewhat analogous to the action of a recurrent theme or ‘motif’ in a musical fugue or sonata, or in one of Wagner’s operas.” And then she proceeds to trace “the recurring images which serve as ‘motifs’” in each of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, after having done the same with his histories, comedies, and romances in the previous three chapters.

Spurgeon singles out Macbeth’s imagery as “more rich and varied, more highly imaginative, more unapproachable… than that of any other single play.” However, among the several motifs she registers, one seems to stand out—that of Macbeth’s ill-fitting garments. Shakespeare makes recurrent allusions to this humiliating image of “a notably small man enveloped in a coat far too big for him.” First, it is Macbeth who brings attention to it, after he is named the Thane of Cawdor in the third scene of the first act (I.3.108-9):

The Thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress me In borrow’d robes?

Just a few moments later (I.3.144-6), Banquo explicitly calls it to mind by claiming of Macbeth that:

New honours come upon him, Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mould But with the aid of use.

And when Lady Macbeth later scolds her husband for his hesitation in relation to the murder of King Duncan, she admonishes him with these words (I.7.36-7): “Was the hope drunk/ wherein you dress’d yourself?” Macduff also resorts to clothing imagery in an ironic comment on Macbeth becoming the new king just as he sends Ross to the coronation in Scone (II.4.37-8): “Well, may you see things well done there: adieu!/ Lest our old robes sit easier than our new!”

Shakespeare returns to this same motif twice more in the second scene of the fifth act when, first, Caithness describes the already shaken Macbeth as someone who “cannot buckle his distemper’d cause/ within the belt of his rule” (V.2.15) and, furthermore, when Angus, just a few verses later (V.2.20) “sums up the essence” of Macbeth:

now does he feel his title Hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe Upon a dwarfish thief.

The motif of Macbeth’s “ill-fitting garments” is probably not something one is capable of noticing at first or even third reading; however, as Spurgeon demonstrated, it was always there in the verses, appearing over and over again across the play, so as to serve as a sort of a soundtrack for its main protagonist; just like a Wagnerian leitmotif.

Example #2: William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury (1929)

William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury is one of the indisputable masterpieces of 20th-century modernist literature (though Wyndham Lewis and Vladimir Nabokov would probably disagree). Similarly to a few other books which share comparable reputation—think Proust’s In Search of Lost Time—Faulkner’s novel deals prominently with the topic of subjective vs. objective time. Faulkner uses several motifs masterfully, not only so as to periodically suggest and hint at the theme (mainly that of arrested development), but also so as to provide some unity to his highly experimental work.

And this is especially evident by Faulkner’s prominent use of motifs in the first two parts of his work, which are narrated, respectively, by the intellectually disabled Benjamin “Benjy” Compson (who acts as if he is 3 even though he is 33 years old) and the depressed and deteriorated Quentin on the day of his suicide. Since both of these parts are presented in a stream of consciousness fashion, it can be difficult for the reader to make out the chronology of the described events or detect any intelligible storyline. However, by saturating Benjy’s and Quentin’s accounts with sporadically reappearing motifs, Faulkner successfully compensates for this lack of narrative clarity, transforming the first half of his novel into a sort of a lyrical exposé, rich with refrains and repetitions.

Think of these Faulknerian leitmotifs as conspicuous cues planted in the text so as to remind the reader from time to time that it is still the same story he’s trying to get to the bottom of, even though occasionally it may not seem like that. To understand this better, just consider how the word “caddie”—often uttered at the golf course—reminds Benjy of his favorite sibling’s name and stirs his mind into a whirlwind of unrelated associations of his sister Caddy. The word “caddie” itself doesn’t stand for anything here, i.e., it is not a symbol; it is merely a cue for a stream of connotations, a motif Faulkner spins out into something more important for the overall theme: the brothers’ relationship with Caddy.

Another thing that Benjy is passionate about is fire. It is an image he is fascinated and calmed by, and it often comes to his mind for no apparent reason whatsoever. A few examples should suffice: “I liked to smell Versh’s house. There was a fire in it…;” “There was a fire in the house, rising and falling…;” “He was just looking at the fire, Caddy said”… The fire-motif here works the same way choruses work in songs: reemerging from time to time to create a lyrical pattern. It is difficult to say whether the fire is meant to represent something: to Benjy, it is probably a friendly element and, just like caddies, it seems to have some kind of a warm connection to Caddy.

However, the fire-motif is infused with other meanings when it reappears in the second part as in this meditation by Quentin:

If it could just be a hell beyond that: the clean flame the two of us more than dead. Then you will have only me then only me then the two of us amid the pointing and the horror beyond the clean flame.

In Dante’s Purgatorio, poets are purified by passing through a wall of fire; it is what Dante has to do in order to see Beatrice. However, Quentin’s love for his sister seems something beyond purification, which is why he associates fire with both “clean flames” and “hell” at the same time: on the other side of the “clean flame” there is no Paradise, but “pointing and horror.” The phrase “amid the pointing and the horror beyond the clean flame” reappears four times in Quentin’s musings, thus becoming a sort of a sub-motif which always recalls and points to something more than what the phrase itself contains.

It is difficult to say here more without getting into unnecessary details with regards to our keyword, but, if you are interested, an excellent place to go on with your research is Sartre’s exceptional essay “Time in the Work of Faulkner”: large parts of it treat some of Faulkner’s time-related motifs, mostly in Quentin’s part (reference).

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12 Spiritual Retreats In India That Will Enliven Your Soul

The epitome of marvellous festivals that may hook your soul to linger for longer, India is often considered one of the go-to-countries to have a spiritual holiday. It is such a destination where you’ll be bound with a bag full of holistic experiences and it will not surprise you if we say this blog contains pilgrimage sites…only…it does not. In fact, this time I have mishmashed a number of 12 best festivals and mass-gathering events that may lift your spirits, maybe a notch higher. And as they say, ‘expect the unexpected, well, that’s what, you’ll surely experience seeing the other side of India during your tour here. So come on, let us find out the events that are lined up for you this year and perhaps years to come.

[ Grab Best Deals on India Holiday Tour Packages ]

World Sacred Spirit Festival: To connect with your inner self listening to the sound of soulful music

Surrounded by the stunning royal ambience of the popular tourist destination Rajasthan at Nagaur and Jodhpur, the World Sufi Spirit Festival is one of the most sacred events that is held every year. During a week-long festival, you’ll be surrounded by various artists from across the globe offering their melodious voice through soulful Sufi songs and music. This cultural exchange program invites artists from countries like Mongolia, Iran, Pakistan, India, Egypt, China and many other places. Offering a plethora of rich heritage, this cultural extravaganza also present you with folk dances, theatre and lots of poetry. Experience nights of romanticism with some of the renowned Sufi artists at the World Sacred Spirit Festival.

When: February 12, 13, 14 at Nagaur and 16 and 17 at Jodhpur Where: Nagaur Fort in Nagaur and Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, Rajasthan

Note:: Sadly, this event has already passed in 2018 since it took place on 17 February but don’t frown because you can plan for next year, you can keep checking their website for more information.

Also Read: End Your Quest for Spirituality at These Sacred Places in India

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Osho Spring Festival: To feel the sheer abundance of peace through the teachings of Osho

Quite a transformative festival with the abundance of healing techniques through the help of laughter and dance. This spring festival features the rebellious spirit, teachings and wisdom of Acharya Rajneesh, better known as Osho. With an amalgamation of art in healing, you’ll get a taste of Osho spiritual activities like meditation, heart and shakti dance, biodanza, Tibetan pulsing, breathing work, yoga, tantra, Sufism and zen. If this is not enough, get involved in a one-on-one interaction session with the healers who have been following Osho for years.

When: March 20 to 25 Where: Zorba – The Buddha, Delhi

Also Read: Top Spiritual Journeys in India You Must Not Miss to Participate

Osho Satsang – A White Robe Gathering: To eradicate the evil forces through spiritual dance and intermittent music

Like the spring festival mentioned above, this auspicious or rather I’d say a unique event contributes to flowing positive energy around as you dance to the rhythm of the night. A white robe gathering is one of Osho’s teachings that involves lots of spiritual dancing activities. Osho believes that it is the best way to express your thoughts is through dance if not words. Basically, this event starts with pre-work meditation activities that is followed by the dance, but you need not worry because dancing is not mandatory, you can always sit and live in the moment surrounded by soothing ambience listening to some intermittent music.

When: Every Wednesday Where: Zorba – The Buddha, Delhi

Also Read: Yoga Destinations in India to Rejuvenate Your Body, Mind, and Soul

Goa Tantra Festival: To self-explore through various spiritual practices of yoga, meditation and interaction

A festival of intimacy and finding bliss in little things, the Tantra Festival is for all who seek peace, tranquillity, meditation and yoga, basically everything spiritual. This festival is organized by Love Temple every year in Goa and it is joined by travellers from over 100 countries. This festival in Goa has a variety of activities throughout the festival with dance and music and lots of Goa fever underneath the stars and sandy Arambol beach. The drum circle is played with over 20 drummers that beat playful beats, it will almost enlighten you, like literally. Various types of yoga classes are held like tantra and acro yoga along with various forms of dance that may make you experience spirituality like the contact dance. A partner dance that helps explore yourself and the significant other through movement improvisation.

When: January 6 -10 Where: Love Temple, Goa

Note:: Although it is done for 2018, you can plan for next year

Also Read: Top Things to Do and See in Goa India

International Spiritual Festival: To partake in healing activities and delve into a holistic experience of wellness

Organised by one of the best NGOs by Life Positive Foundation, International Spiritual Festival is a three-day long event where you can have a holistic experience of wellness and spirituality. During the festival, you’ll be surrounded by soothing ambience where Sister BK Shivani, one of the prime spiritual gurus will introduce us to a number of spiritual leaders and their techniques of healing. The International Spiritual Festival offers a day to day healing activities like vibrational healing, ayurveda, naturopathy, colour therapy, radiant health, pyramid meditation, shakti pravah, transgenerational and also a process that helps understand karmic cycles through our past life regression.

When: March 16 – 18, 10:00 – 18:00 Where: Zorba- the Buddha, Delhi

Also Read: Top Must Have Spiritual and Holistic Experiences on Your India Trip

Kumbh Mela: To learn about the meaning of devotion and the power of humanity

This auspicious event needs no introduction because it is one of the most famous festivals in India and largest mass-gatherings in the world. Returning to the same grounds after every 12 years, the next Mela is going to take place in Prayag, Allahabad in the year 2019. Millions of devotees from across the globe visit Kumbh Mela to take a dip in river Ganges and wash away sins. Besides being spiritually aroused, you can witness miracles performed by Sadhus, think of pulling trucks with their genitals. Nevertheless, if you prefer not partaking in any of such acts, you can least experience the power of humanity and mass belief of the superior.

When: January 15 – March 4 Where: Prayag, Allahabad 2019

Also Read: Everything You Need to Know About Kumbh Mela

Bhakti Festival: To surround yourself with nature and spiritual ambience in a festival dedicated to music

A three-day event filled with devotion and Sufism, Bhakti Festival or Sangeet is solely dedicated to music. The word bhakti itself describes devotion thus, you may get a fair idea what you can expect from this event. There will be devotional songs and a religious gathering in one of Delhi’s popular places at Nehru Park in Chanakyapuri. What’s even amazing is that you will be surrounded by nature making the entire even more spiritual.

When: To be announced for 2018 Where: Nehru Park, Delhi

Also Read: Classic Travel Hubs in India – Dances, Music and Art

Sufi Zikr: To be enlightened by Sufi teachings by spiritual guru, Shaykh Burhanuddin

Spend an enlightening evening with Shaykh Burhanuddin and learn about the Sufi paths of Islam and spiritual maturation. But who is Shaykh Burhanuddin? He is a deep soul reader who is a mystic and spiritual teacher from Germany and also an author of three books on Sufism. He was taught about Sufi practices by one of the grand masters of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, Mawlana Sheikh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani. During the spiritual event of Sufi Zikr, there will be dance and music with lots of chanting divine prayers or phrases. You’ll certainly feel energetic power surrounding you making you open up to your inner self.

When: February 23, 6:00 – 20:00 Where: Zorba – The Buddha, Delhi

Also Read: Top Must Visit Places for Every Muslims in India

Matho Nagrang Festival: To learn about the predictions of the future performed by different oracles

Celebrated on the 15th day of the 1st month in the Tibetan calendar, the festival of Matho Nagrang marks to be an auspicious festival in Ladakh. The event is held every year in the only Buddhist Monastery belonging to the Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism. What you can witness in this festival is traditional dance performed by monks by wearing colourful yet dramatic looking masks depicting different forms of Gods. This two-day event’s main motive is to ask for future predictions by the monks/oracles and this alone excites the locals and even travellers to be a part of this event and hear about the future happenings. And what is even more thrilling is that one can get a one on one interaction to seek advice.

When: March 1- 2 Where: Matho Monastery, Leh in Ladakh

Also Read: Prominent Buddhist Pilgrimage Sites in India

Shakti Festival: To explore self as a woman and learn about one’s capabilities through multidimensional ways

What makes Shakti Festival different is because it focuses on a powerful circle of women where the divine feminine can express her inner self through multidimensional ways. It unveils the practices of Sufi, Tantric, Taoist and Shamanic through which one can explore sensuality. Basically, this women festival allows one to awaken the inner Goddess in every individual. To think of it, Shakti Festival revolves around mysteries, transmissions, healing and therapists. There will be silent meditation, conscious touch, devotional singing and dance performances.

When: To be announced for 2018 Where: Zorba – The Buddha, Delhi

Also Read: Pilgrimage Getaways in India that are Hard to Access

Ambubachi Mela: To witness an auspicious and unique fair that denotes the cleansing of Goddess Kamakhya

This annual Hindu Mela is considered one of the most important festivals celebrated in the capital of Assam, Guwahati at a temple that bleeds, Kamakhya Devi Temple. It is believed that during this festival, the Hindu deity, Devi Kamakhya goes through her annual menstruation cycle, thus the temple door shuts for three days. During the three days, no worship of other idols are allowed no any farming work is done. On the fourth day, after the idol of the Goddess is bathed and various rituals are executed by the pandits, the door opens for the pilgrims. On this day, you’ll witness a melange of pilgrims coming from far and wide to seek blessings as it is when the Goddess is considered to be in her most purity form.

When: June 22 – 25 Where: Kamakhya Devi Temple, Guwahati

Also Read: Most Popular Temple Fairs in India

Tattva Festival: To let out all the impure energy and invite positivity through dance, music and interactions with like-minded people

Tattva which is a Sanskrit word basically meaning reality or truth, it is a celebration of letting out your negativity and impure thoughts. Basically, this festival is all about inviting the pure elemental form of yourself and dwelling at the moment. This three days Tattva Festival gives an opportunity to an individual to express feelings and make connections through various activities like dance, yoga, art, food, cooking, pottery-making, painting and lots of music. This festival is open to all individuals coming from different walks of life like students, working people and homemakers. Here’s a chance for you to indulge in a joyful experience at Tattva Festival. Just for your information, Tattva Festival is an alcohol-free event.

When: March 1 – 4 Where: Zorba – The Buddha, Delhi

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Wow! Never knew India also has such soul-searching events, all thanks to Zorba and other spiritual platforms to host such interesting festivals. But there are also similar events around India in places like Goa, Ladakh to name some. I am sure you’ve set a goal in your mind to attend such fests before you die, well, you have to! In fact, if you are planning to visit India, you can contact us at (info@tourmyindia.com / +91-9212777223) for best holiday deals and tour packages. Also, give us a big like and follow for more travel blogs on India.

The post 12 Spiritual Retreats In India That Will Enliven Your Soul appeared first on Tour My India.

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Melancholia

Melancholia (from Greek: µέλαινα χολή, melaina chole), also lugubriousness, from the Latin lugere, to mourn; moroseness, from the Latin morosus, self-willed, fastidious habit; wistfulness, from old English wist: intent, or saturnine, was a concept in ancient and pre-modern medicine. Melancholy was one of the four temperaments matching the four humours. In the 19th century, "melancholia" could be physical as well as mental, and melancholic conditions were classified as such by their common cause rather than by their properties.

The name "melancholia" comes from the old medical belief of the four humours: disease or ailment being caused by an imbalance in one or other of the four basic bodily liquids, or humours. Personality types were similarly determined by the dominant humor in a particular person. According to Hippocrates and subsequent tradition, melancholia was caused by an excess of black bile, hence the name, which means "black bile", from Ancient Greek μέλας (melas), "dark, black", and χολή (kholé), "bile"; a person whose constitution tended to have a preponderance of black bile had a melancholic disposition. In the complex elaboration of humorist theory, it was associated with the earth from the Four Elements, the season of autumn, the spleen as the originating organ and cold and dry as related qualities. In astrology it showed the influence of Saturn, hence the related adjective saturnine.

In his study of French and Burgundian courtly culture, Johan Huizinga noted that "at the close of the Middle Ages, a sombre melancholy weighs on people's souls." In chronicles, poems, sermons, even in legal documents, an immense sadness, a note of despair and a fashionable sense of suffering and deliquescence at the approaching end of times, suffuses court poets and chroniclers alike: Huizinga quotes instances in the ballads of Eustache Deschamps, "monotonous and gloomy variations of the same dismal theme", and in Georges Chastellain's prologue to his Burgundian chronicle,[11] and in the late fifteenth-century poetry of Jean Meschinot. Ideas of reflection and the workings of imagination are blended in the term merencolie, embodying for contemporaries "a tendency", observes Huizinga, "to identify all serious occupation of the mind with sadness".

Painters were considered by Vasari and other writers to be especially prone to melancholy by the nature of their work, sometimes with good effects for their art in increased sensitivity and use of fantasy. Among those of his contemporaries so characterised by Vasari were Pontormoand Parmigianino, but he does not use the term of Michelangelo, who used it, perhaps not very seriously, of himself. 

In the Encyclopédie of Diderot and d'Alembert, the causes of melancholia are stated to be similar to those that cause Mania: "grief, pains of the spirit, passions, as well as all the love and sexual appetites that go unsatisfied."

Art Movement

During the later 16th and early 17th centuries, a curious cultural and literary cult of melancholia arose in England. In an influential 1964 essay in Apollo, art historian Roy Strong traced the origins of this fashionable melancholy to the thought of the popular Neoplatonist and humanist Marsilio Ficino(1433–1499), who replaced the medieval notion of melancholia with something new:

Ficino transformed what had hitherto been regarded as the most calamitous of all the humours into the mark of genius. Small wonder that eventually the attitudes of melancholy soon became an indispensable adjunct to all those with artistic or intellectual pretentions.

The Anatomy of Melancholy (The Anatomy of Melancholy, What it is: With all the Kinds, Causes, Symptomes, Prognostickes, and Several Cures of it... Philosophically, Medicinally, Historically, Opened and Cut Up) by Burton, was first published in 1621 and remains a defining literary monument to the fashion. Another major English author who made extensive expression upon being of an melancholic disposition is Sir Thomas Browne in his Religio Medici (1643).

Night-Thoughts (The Complaint: or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality), a long poem in blank verse by Edward Young was published in nine parts (or "nights") between 1742 and 1745, and hugely popular in several languages. It had a considerable influence on early Romantics in England, France and Germany. William Blake was commissioned to illustrate a later edition.

In the visual arts, this fashionable intellectual melancholy occurs frequently in portraiture of the era, with sitters posed in the form of "the lover, with his crossed arms and floppy hat over his eyes, and the scholar, sitting with his head resting on his hand" —descriptions drawn from the frontispiece to the 1638 edition of Burton's Anatomy, which shows just such by-then stock characters. These portraits were often set out of doors where Nature provides "the most suitable background for spiritual contemplation" or in a gloomy interior.

In music, the post-Elizabethan cult of melancholia is associated with John Dowland, whose motto was Semper Dowland, semper dolens("Always Dowland, always mourning"). The melancholy man, known to contemporaries as a "malcontent", is epitomized by Shakespeare's Prince Hamlet, the "Melancholy Dane".

A similar phenomenon, though not under the same name, occurred during the German Sturm und Drang movement, with such works as The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe or in Romanticism with works such as Ode on Melancholy by John Keats or in Symbolism with works such as Isle of the Dead by Arnold Böcklin. In the 20th century, much of the counterculture of modernism was fueled by comparable alienation and a sense of purposelessness called "anomie"; earlier artistic preoccupation with death has gone under the rubric of memento mori. The medieval condition of acedia (acedie in English) and the Romantic Weltschmerz were similar concepts, most likely to affect the intellectual.