(un)conventional wisdom

ATHENA, the Greek goddess of wisdom was represented or accompanied by an owl in mythology. 'Little Owl' (Athene noctua) was her ever-watching "mascot." Large numbers of owls were said to nest in the Acropolis in Athens, which is the temple dedicated to Athena. As her symbol, the owl accompanied Greek armies to war, gaining the mystique of being seen as a protector.

FLIP SIDES | Rather than being emblematic of a deep connection with wisdom and intuitive knowledge, much traditional folklore places the owl as a messenger between the living and the dead—or even as death's messenger-in-chief. A less morbidly superstitious belief has them simply representing a metaphorical shift in perception, providing insight and wisdom to something we haven't seen or considered before—an (un)conventional wisdom, as it were. In ancient Greece, this coin (right) was the most influential of its time. The Athenian Owl featured Athena on one side and an owl on the other (shown). Nicknamed "Owls", these coins were in circulation for well over 300 years (c. 430 B.C. to c. 99 B.C). It is also the first widely minted coin that placed a 'head' on the front and a 'tail' (an animal image) on the back.

SOME CULTURES associate owls with sorcery and evil (Aztecs and Maya), while others consider owls as bad omens (Arab mythology), but the association with wisdom, art and scholarship (which all have their roots in Greek mythology) is the most resonant in Western culture.

PART OF THE MYSTERY surrounding the interpretation of the owl as an animal symbol lies with the longevity of the species. Dating back as much as 60 million years, the owl has been found in prehistoric cave paintings as well as ancient fossils. This span of time over millennia, no doubt, contributes to the owl's mysterious nature and is further amplified by its nocturnal habits and eerie call, giving its nighttime appearances an otherworldly demeanor.



SYMBOLIC MESSENGERS | This fantastic Owl Totem tree topper inspired this tree and was found last season at Star Provisions in Atlanta, but you might find one online at Terrain (or not). They seem to be very popular and hard to find. 



OWLS HAVE BEEN represented in the market—more and more the past few years as decorative items and ornaments. You can find them everywhere if you haven't noticed. This paper tree displays the collection of owl ornaments I've gathered, lending a mysterious quality perfect for Halloween. The owl totem topping this Halloween tree is a paean celebrating the owl's mystery and the good and bad of its generational (as well as cultural) history. In Indian American traditions, the owl is referred to as the Night Eagle. The owl totem has a special connection with the night and the moon which is a perfect symbol for the change in the airspace that mysteriously blows in with the autumn season.

THIS HALLOWEEN (and first days of autumn) signal the return of my blog after a much-needed hiatus. Taking time for the important things in life, I have found an amazing new partner, a new job and a new lease on life (as well as a new camera). Just as the owl represents transformation and change, my intuition tells me that this renewed creative flight is a protective symbol of what's to come. The owl has played a diverse and fascinating cross-cultural role in myth and folklore and its intuitive wisdom surely holds lessons for all of us. It allows us to explore the unknown in such a way that can uncover the magic that we might otherwise miss in keeping a watchful eye and listening for the eerie call of "whooo."

CANDLELIT MYSTERY | This owl and tree branch candlestick sits atop a frog which sits atop its base—very witchy indeed. The crown-shaped candle bases denote the nobility of the mysterious owl. Velvet fabric stuffed pumpkins sit amongst real ones and a diminuitive brass candleholder with curvy legs looks as if it could animate and walk amongst the pumpkin patch.

PUMPKIN GLITZ | This monogrammed and glittered faux pumpkin sets the tone for a real grey/green pumpkin with a glittered stem, alongside another velvet stuffed pumpkin and a small white pumpkin.

©2014 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

collecting, photography and styling by Darryl Moland.
 

valentine mythology

VALENTINE'S  DAY  is ripe with symbolism. A lot of people think that it's just a day dreamed up by greeting card companies to sell cards or by florists to sell flowers. It may have very well become that in modern times, but the storied mythology behind the holiday goes deeper and is richer than chocolate, roses (along with their dangerous thorns), and all the inherent saccharine sweetness of the modern holiday combined.

THIS  DAY  MEANT  for lovers has direct ties to Greek Mythology. In one such mythological tale, it seems that Apollo (Phoebus) insults Cupid (Eros) for playing with bows and arrows, boastfully asking him "What, wanton boy, are mighty arm to thee, great weapons suited to the needs of war?" Cupid was an impishly coy god of Love though, and took out his arrow and shoots Apollo with an arrow poisoning him with love for an unsuspecting wood nymph named Daphne, while also poisoning Daphne with an opposite, but equal revulsion for Apollo. Smitten with new love for Daphne, he pursues her. Of course Daphne wants no part of it and flees until her father, a river god, takes pity on her and turns her into a laurel tree, where she becomes rooted to the ground and sprouts the qualities of a tree. Apollo is undaunted and ceremoniously wears a branch that he broke from the newly transformed Daphne-as-a-tree, consecrating the tree to himself and declaring a certain victory in his plight.

IN  AN  AGE  of ecological crisis, one might assign an allegorical importance to this story by having Apollo stand in as mankind, while Daphne becomes the natural world. Our relationship with nature becomes predatory and when we fail to find harmony with it, we break off a piece of it to symbolically herald our dominion over it—wearing the laurel wreath like a champion—all the while forgetting that Mother Nature rules us, not the other way around.

THIS  VALENTINE  tree with its crumpled paper/discarded love letter background is adorned with fragile glass hearts. The beaded wire tree itself stoically rises from a faux stone. Stone hearts and chocolate heart confections vie for attention. Green roses are combined with rosemary sprigs to hold the memory of the simplest truths of love. Victory is not inherent in such a tableau, but if the ingredients are measured carefully, the combined chemistry might grow into something amazing.

ONE  MIGHT  also remember that love isn't blind and bent on a path of "having," but with finding a certain harmony in our relationships (whether it be with a person, animal or something in nature). It all happens organically, literally and figuratively. It's easy to forget that when we are consumed with an unhealthy desire to "hold" something that is constantly changing and growing. Love in its truest form helps position our deepest natural longings with a certain tempered understanding of our place within it. In this scenario, love truly does conquer all.

TREE OF HEARTS | (Top) A beaded wire tree anchored in a cement faux stone from Sundance is simply decorated with small mercury glass heart ornaments in shades of silver, violet, pink and red. Roses and rosemary sprigs in a Hotel silver trumpet bud vase stand in for the natural world. 

APOLLO CONSUMED | (Painting, 2nd from top) Apollo Chasing Daphne by Carlo Maratti, oil on canvas, circa 1681. In this painting Daphne's hands are changing into a Laurel tree while Apollo is in hot pursuit after Cupid slings arrows of love and revulsion to Apollo and Daphne respectively. Click on the portion of the painting shown here to see it in its entirety.

CONFECTIONERY HEARTS | (Third photo) I've tied this pleated foil-wrapped chocolate heart (made by Madelaine Chocolate Company) with a horizontally-striped ribbon in hues of pink and tan. The heart-shaped key lime truffle with a pink heart decal in the white chocolate coating is distributed by CVS Pharmacy, Inc. as part of a box of Absolutely Divine label premium truffles.

LOVE ON A PLATE | (Bottom) This melamine vintage graphic-printed dessert plate is by John Derian for Target. The stone hearts appearing in all of the photos are handmade Haitian stone hearts distributed by Pottery Barn, the proceeds of which go to funding the Haitian relief activities of HAND/EYE Funds Artisan Grants Program. HAND/EYE Fund works in Haiti to help artisans recover from the life-challenging loss of shelter, equipment, workshops and income due to the catastrophic earthquake.

©2011 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Photography, collecting and styling by Darryl Moland.

tree of souls, tree of life

TREES  are symbols of life in the most profound ways. After all, they are the oldest living things on Earth. I was struck by the importance that a single tree in the movie Avatar took — The Tree of Souls. The movie could have been pure poetry. Visually it was astounding, but the dialog was cringe-worthy more often than not. Ultimately, it's one of those movies that sets a precedent for many new things to come in the movie-making industry. I've never seen a more flat-out, unapologetic and ecologically reverent/ anti-war movie. The most basic concept of the movie is about the struggle of our physical selves with the divine. It's definitely a movie to see, but don't strain too hard to listen. The symbolism is quite profound if you let your mind wander with the visual aspects and broader concepts of the movie without listening to some of the inane chatter.

THE   TREE   OF   SOULS, which grows as the alien Na'vi's sacred space in the movie Avatar, represents the eternal, where The Home Tree (symbolizing the Tree of Life) represents the temporal. The temporal things that are usually seen, and the eternal things that are not seen are pushed out-of-the-box in this movie. The movie's sacred Tree of Souls with it's willow-like luminescent strands allow the Na'vi to "link" by actual physical connection with their ancestral souls through "mother nature" represented by the tree. The Home Tree is just that — a home for an entire clan. Pandora, where the movie takes place, is a lush, Earth-like, moon of the planet Polyphemus.

IT'S   OBVIOUS  that the name of the moon is taken from the name of an ancient Greek goddess — the first mortal woman, Pandora. She was given something by each of the gods in Greek mythology including the well-known box she was told not to open. Of course Pandora's curiosity got the best of her and she opened the box, releasing all the evil and mistrust of the world. When Pandora looked at the bottom of the box, all she saw left was hope. Maybe this movie signals a shift from patriarchy back to matriarchy by its focus on a tree. Mother nature and war surely don't benefit from each other. There's definite hope in that concept.

THE   TREE   OF   LIFE  is a widely-interpreted metaphor used in science, religion, mythology and philosophy that illustrates that all life on earth is related. To me, the souls of trees resonate throughout nature and give a sense of life to many things, providing food and shelter, both physically and metaphorically. No one can dispute how important they are to all of us. Our place as a part of nature depends on this reverence. 

TREE ORNAMENTS | (Above, right) A delicate iridescent-glittered tree on a large clear glass globe contrasts with an extremely rare German ornament, known as a "Julekugle" made previous to WWII. Julekugles were decorated with Teutonic runes or symbols. This particular Julekugle has two different sides.The side pictured above is an apple tree, the symbol of life. The other side (at right) is a shield with a sun in the center as a symbol of the universe (or Eye of God). After 1942, recommendations made by the Nazi party regarding tree decorations used these Julekugles because they were symbols of Germanic ideology. Of course, all references to God were deleted. This is a piece of history that is rarely spoken about.

AVATAR | (Above, left) In a still from the movie Avatar, the two main characters (from left) Jake Sully (in his Avatar body) played by Sam Worthington and Neytiri, a native inhabitant of Pandora, played by Zoë Saldana.

TREE OF LIFE | (Left) This painting is one of the most beautiful representations of the tree of life I've seen. It combines an organic tree along with the mystical geometry of the Tree of Life. Painted in 2008 by Richard Quinn in Berkely, California, a print of this painting can be purchased here. The artist's statement about this painting says it best:

The Tree of Life is a mystical diagram representing the process by which the universe was created from nothing and a path back to the creator. It comes from the Kabbalah of esoteric Judaism. The Kabbalist seeks to know the universe and himself as the expression of God. 

I have incorporated this spiritual symbol into a living tree. Ten Sephiroths, here represented as spheres, express aspects of the Divine, such as The Divine Crown, Wisdom, Mercy, Justice, Beauty, Glory and Eternity. Also present in the symbol are 22 Paths or Relationships linking the various Names of the Divine.

The initiation of the Creation is at the top and flows through the various Sephiroths down into the condensing of the physical universe. It is then thought that the Divine energy reverses course and begins the ascent up the Tree to the origin from whence it sprang. Each Sphere or Sephiroth is associated with a particular color representing its energy or quality.

I believe the “Tree of Life” is one among a number of inspired attempts to express the profound mysteries that are inherent in the quest to gain insight into the nature of the origins of the Universe and ourselves and perhaps the much more daunting task – the nature of the Creator that brought into being such a Creation.  

—©2008 Richard Quinn

Tree of Life painting by Richard Quinn

 Avatar movie still distributed by 20th-Century Fox 

©2010 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

ornament photos: collecting, photography and styling by Darryl Moland