I dream of writing a book. The idea right now is to call the book, Pagan In Plain Sight. It would be a survey of European art from a pagan point of view. This is stupid, but I'm also calling it, "Virginia's theory of everything." I mean this research is an octopus. No, it's a millipede -you know, it has a million legs going every which way (very bad witch pun.)
I think that I can draw a line of research from these 2 books [Goddess Embroideries by Mary B. Kelly, and The Dancing Goddesses by Elizabeth Wayland Barber] that goes all over everything European - and ties it all together in one big explaining story about pre-Christian European cultures.
Seems like I'm insane because this story would explain why firetrucks are red, why our flag is red, white and blue, why Harlequin wears patches, and why Santa Claus flies through the sky. It explains all the flowers in medieval manuscripts, why we have dragons, and why the decorative arts exist. I'm trying to tie together also why we have stripes, polka dots and flowers on women's clothing. It explain the Baroque and Rococco art of the 1700's - so far, I have not been able to find an art history book with a decent explanation -where did Baroque come from, why does it exist, what did it mean to people? Paganism - that's what Baroque art is. Up until recently, I think, you could not say that as an art history scholar.
I'm tying together opera and carnival rides, zoos and ballet. It all fits together. This is the story of a world-view that was everywhere hidden in plain sight. It was so obvious that people did not need to write it down nor explain it, until sometime in the last 100 years most people forgot about it. And then, all the efforts to prevent traditions from dying out... all those Ministries of Culture and Tourism were unable to say why the traditions exist.
I see why we have American quilts with the same patterns as Norweigian sweaters -- the same designs are found in traditional art from the Netherlands to Palestine to Kazakhstan, and Iceland to Iberia/Spain and Portugal.
I see continuity across time from the Stone Age to the Victorian Age and beyond. I see a connection between Slavic Goddesses, Mother Goose, and country ducks wallpaper from the 1980's. I see people everywhere today repeating the handicraft motifs of the past - and most people not understanding the symbols that they are using. People are still knitting the sweaters with the Auseklis 8 pointed stars but they don't know what that star says anymore. People are still stitching quilts with pinwheel designs (kolovrati, the swastika now a rejected symbol) or just quilts with patchwork flowers - I see meaning in almost every quilt design but I'm almost certain that most quilters do not understand these symbols. Tell me if I am wrong about this.
I don't have time to explain it all now. But I'm putting just about everything I have into this blog. This blog is my book about pagan symbols. -Virginia Miller, Campton, New Hampshire, 18 May 2018
I think that I can draw a line of research from these 2 books [Goddess Embroideries by Mary B. Kelly, and The Dancing Goddesses by Elizabeth Wayland Barber] that goes all over everything European - and ties it all together in one big explaining story about pre-Christian European cultures.
Seems like I'm insane because this story would explain why firetrucks are red, why our flag is red, white and blue, why Harlequin wears patches, and why Santa Claus flies through the sky. It explains all the flowers in medieval manuscripts, why we have dragons, and why the decorative arts exist. I'm trying to tie together also why we have stripes, polka dots and flowers on women's clothing. It explain the Baroque and Rococco art of the 1700's - so far, I have not been able to find an art history book with a decent explanation -where did Baroque come from, why does it exist, what did it mean to people? Paganism - that's what Baroque art is. Up until recently, I think, you could not say that as an art history scholar.
I'm tying together opera and carnival rides, zoos and ballet. It all fits together. This is the story of a world-view that was everywhere hidden in plain sight. It was so obvious that people did not need to write it down nor explain it, until sometime in the last 100 years most people forgot about it. And then, all the efforts to prevent traditions from dying out... all those Ministries of Culture and Tourism were unable to say why the traditions exist.
I see why we have American quilts with the same patterns as Norweigian sweaters -- the same designs are found in traditional art from the Netherlands to Palestine to Kazakhstan, and Iceland to Iberia/Spain and Portugal.
I see continuity across time from the Stone Age to the Victorian Age and beyond. I see a connection between Slavic Goddesses, Mother Goose, and country ducks wallpaper from the 1980's. I see people everywhere today repeating the handicraft motifs of the past - and most people not understanding the symbols that they are using. People are still knitting the sweaters with the Auseklis 8 pointed stars but they don't know what that star says anymore. People are still stitching quilts with pinwheel designs (kolovrati, the swastika now a rejected symbol) or just quilts with patchwork flowers - I see meaning in almost every quilt design but I'm almost certain that most quilters do not understand these symbols. Tell me if I am wrong about this.
I don't have time to explain it all now. But I'm putting just about everything I have into this blog. This blog is my book about pagan symbols. -Virginia Miller, Campton, New Hampshire, 18 May 2018
