Orientation of the Rose
come sit on the ground for a moment with me
My Path Here
It means much to me that you are meeting me here now! I had been struggling for a while with how I wish to present myself on the interweb. I have been sharing on social media apps for a while now and still find them to be appealing mediums in several ways. They allow me to share little beats of my heart, my world, my manifesto. An opportunity to reach a multitude of humans with their various colors. However, the apps fall short for me in other ways.
As someone who has long grappled with phone addiction, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of hypocrisy in using such addicting platforms such as TikTok to gain an audience and teach of the glories of overcoming escapism – of being present in this human body, when I haven't yet achieved that myself. And in all honesty, making miniscule videos on topics that I could write about forever has felt inauthentic and less than satisfying. Especially when I haven’t even been dedicated to my writing in the way I want to.
Truthfully, part of my soul simply wants to just dance around in cute outfits and lip sync to my favorite songs like the other girlies on the app. Share my personality, and occasionally share little snippets of poetry and personal insight of course. Besides, I feel like adding to the information overload on that app may contribute even more to the idea that if you don’t keep using it you might miss out on something important. I know there are many things I am grateful for discovering there, however, there must be a balance, and most people are far from it.
It wasn’t until recently that I discovered substack through a lovely person I had been following until she decided to leave the apps herself. She has been a great inspiration to me in my spiritual journey. Learning to live life as a ritual of adoration in the body of the Goddess through our own experiences. See svātmārāmā if you are interested in the Śākta tradition and philosophy within the fascinating umbrella that is Sanātana Dharma. <3
My discovery of this platform has helped me imagine a space where I can truly establish myself as a serious writer of the things I care so deeply about. It gives me motivation to dive deeper into my writing practice as a devotional. And it’s a more intentional way of building community around the art of word.
I want to contribute to this alternative in terms of sharing art. Embracing the internet as a means of enriching our lives as opposed to escaping them. Eliminating the pitfalls and uplifting the wondrous potentials the digital world has to bring people of all backgrounds together.
Now, about this place...
The Fellowship
This February I read the book “The Way of the Rose” by Perdita Finn & Clark Strand. I found love for their description of praying the rosary and worship of La Madonna. It helped me reconcile my beliefs with the religious past of my recent ancestors. This has in turn helped me stand strong in my truth and accept its presence even within the often-upsetting distortions of love found in our world. I found wonder in seeing the rosary like the sacred garden of the universe. Each bead a seed. A cycle of life and death at the beginning and end of each Hail Mary. Every person, every star, every animal, all life dancing in the palm of the Cosmic Mother.
I found solace in knowing that amidst the distractions and ever-changing ups and downs of the world, that there is a place you can always return to. Despite the veil of ignorance that has been thrown over her through the ages, the unconditional power of the Goddess’s love prevails in every atom and in every space in between. She is the portal of all creation. All possibilities.
I realized then that a rose, however cliche, is the perfect representation of what I wish to encourage. It has a romantic and spiritual potency. It connects both a passionate sensuality + fantastical nature with the deep esoteric wisdom of the Ancient Mother who has been offered garlands of flowers for eons in prayer. In sacred ritual.
I knew I wanted to name this collective after the chapter “Fellowship of the Rose”. A place where we can tend to the gardens of our hearts. A means of weeding out the infestations of illusory technology and draining thoughts. Each word will be a seed of knowledge you can nurture. It’s where you can learn the joys of just lying in the fertile dark soil of silence and stillness. Where you can plant a new rose of intention in every moment, connecting to the intimacy of this Earthly relationship. Know the rich color, the soft petals, the sweet smell of the life you grow by hand.
This virtual temple is dedicated to people, women especially, who yearn. Who dream to be freed of the shackles of escapism. To reclaim their feminine power. Who wish to make their lives a work of art through a deep relationship with their body and a Divinity that embraces them. Who wish to live through the heart and all it desires.
Here in the garden, the following themes will find home…
reclaiming the wisdom of the ancestors and ancients
escapism: phone addiction, daydreaming, rumination, media consumption…
ritual
glamour
fantasy + imagination
animism
confidence
womanhood
mother earth
sensualism
creativity
aestheticism
goddess worship
spirituality
folk magic + tradition + culture
the art of weaving your fate
romanticizing your life
love
poetry
analysis of art pieces (film, literature, music etc.) through the lens of the various topics mentioned
I came upon a poem quoted in the instagram caption of one of my many sources of inspiration, @ classicnymph .
“February roses are like flames that warm the cold moon on a winter night…” - Bing Hua
This struck me deep and I knew in my heart this would be a month of newness. A birthing of something from within me that encapsulates all I wish to share. The first spark of my new life in this winter as the sunlight grows slowly but surely.
Something which is truly at the core of all.
She’s always there. She is the relationship between all things. Between us.
Love <3