Burnt Hope

There is a subset of Jungian Psychology centered around Alchemy. A lot of people now dismiss alchemy as pseudo-science - which it is now. That doesn't change the fact that alchemy was part of the basis for science and chemistry, however false it's conclusions at the time were.

Jung, however, approached Alchemy not from the sense that it was testable and provable, but more from the assumption that what people create often reflects their inner reality and goals in life. Alchemists, he theorized, inadvertently wrote about the purification of the spirit in an attempt to transcend base matter and achieve holiness and perfection. Their writings could be used as a complex, multi-level metaphor for the human mind/soul (when Jung was writing, the German word for both was the same word).

All of the work in Alchemy happens within the container - the retort or vas. Pressure builds within the retort as heat is added, causing changes in the internal contents. Sometimes the top needs to be unstoppered to release some of the pressure or the retort will crack.

I found one of my ways of unstoppering the retort. Unfortunately, it leaves me really sore.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Kei Cream
Eyes: Adam n Eve, Winter Garden
Cheeks: La Malvada Mujer, Simple Line Blush
Lashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5
Ears: Illusion, Mystic Ear
Hair: Raspberry Aristocrat, Jes - Blonde Bashful
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle Wings
Dress: Le Momo, Allure - Donate for Japan Relief
Ring: EarthStones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Knot Wedge Sandal - white

Pose: Just A Pose, Forever Alone - Know No One at Party

Location: Darkness Falls
Light Settings: TOR, DUSK - Burnt hope
Water Settings: Murky

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only