>p> Apropos the sex and magik - they have always been very closely inter-related methinks.
HW> Watching too many films P...  they are not inter-related.....   

Hi HW,

Thanks for returning.

I'm afraid I don't watch many films at all on television - and never go to the cinema (unless there is a new James Bond film out - and I missed the last two.)

So, magik is the only area of human activity which does not link to sex? Because I cannot think of another.

I would submit there is much evidence that sex and magik have been and, indeed, are related. I am not saying that one cannot practice magik without a sexual side - some people are capable of doing anything without a sexual side - but in many cases they are related I would contend.

One of the greatest stories of magik we have is the Arthurian tales - and there is plenty of sexual involvement there.

Here's one Wiki link to sex in magic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_magic

It mentions Crowley - one of our most famous magicians.

Here's an article from The Pagan Library: (in which the author complains about the rubbish written about the subject and argues there is sex in society, so not surprising magic has sexual links):

http://www.paganlibrary.com/reference/sex_and_magic.php

Searching, I found Isaac Bonewitts' book (on Google Books p118) he talks about the links.

Again, the links between sex and Christianity (and other religions) and between sex and science - and, come to that, sex and writing / visual arts - are legion - why should magik be different? After all, it does seem that we are programmed to survive to reproduce - the survival of the species. Indeed, it appears to be animals' main drive on Earth.

Sorry, I would take a lot of convincing that sex and magik (or, come to that, sex and anything else) are not inter-related.

>HW> looking at the original - mirroring would have given an interesting effect with some distortion maybe - without the water.   

Thanks - But would it still carry the symbolism, I wonder? (Water is a vital part). Part of applying a water effect is actually applying a mirror - horizontally, they are the same effect as a base. Then one distorts the mirror to make water. So I have seen the mirror-effect. (One tweaks the water intensity, seemingly for ever, to arrive a the effect one wishes. Flat-calm is a mirror.

Appreciated, p.

Hi Nas,

Thanks so much for re-visiting; appreciated.

>N> I see what you are trying to achieve but I think you lose something of the impact with the water effect.

OK.

>N>  I think with just using mirror you would get a stronger image and keep the vulva symbol, though personally it's not an image I particularly like and gives too sexual a feel to have many magical properties.

The problem with "simple" mirroring (a technique I also use quite often) is that the whole water aspects are submerged. (Sorry!)

Apropos the sex and magik - they have always been very closely inter-related methinks.

>N> I really wonder what the religious people were thinking using that symbol  because it speaks the opposite of "virginal" to me.  Perhaps they were frustrated celibates.

ROFL Maybe - and I suspect that is true. However, with the picture of the Virgin Mary in the middle, there is no way through (unlike my image which has a passageway - perhaps I should have put Sir Lancelot, atop horse, charging through?)

Thanks again, Nas. Much appreciated. Good to know not just I am failing but more specifically where. All taken into consideration for this and future work.

Appreciated, p.

Hi Nas, HW,

Thanks both for your comments. I sort-of agree and don't. Firstly, the unedited image (save rotating and exposure-correction) is (I think) very interesting. Indeed, that view is what drew me to take the photographs (I took a moderate five of this scene). Shown in this post is one of those originals with a human for scale.

Apropos the image I posted for crit...

The intention was to create something magical, unworldly - the title was trying to guide one to King Arthur...

The reflected arch-shape makes a symbolic vulva (as used in many religious shields - e.g. Presentation Brothers. The symbol is used to represent the Virgin Mary there. Here I was simply alluding to the affair between Sir Lancelot and Guinevere (King Arthur's wife).

Water is important because of King Arthur's links to the Isle of Avalon and Glastonbury - which was an island looming from the Somerset Levels. Also, Arthur's Castle was at Tintagel on the Cornish Coast and something of an island itself. (It is the most likely candidate for the real Camelot).

The photograph is of a neo-cloister (the left side is the Cathedral; the right its flying buttresses) taken in one of Arthur's Wessex cities (Winchester). It is in Winchester that Arthur's" Round Table resides - though it is actually a later (medieval) "copy." (We do not even know Arthur really existed).

So I do agree the original(s) are fascinating and brill - they attracted me. But I also like the revised version with its intended magical properties and symbolism - I am just sorry I was unable to convey those with this effort. Back to the drawing (photographing?) board!

Thanks again,

p.



Image (C) Kapulco, 2008

Hi P

This would be a very interesting picture even without the water mirror effect.  In fact I wonder if its presence takes away a little of the impact of the depth of  the corridor stretching to infinity.