Today is the first full day that the Sun is in Virgo. In German, the word for Virgo is Jungfrau — simply, young woman. We don’t know if she’s a virgin. Virginity itself is elusive; it’s more an idea than a reality, or at least we can say that it has many definitions. Unless she is pregnant, whether a young woman has or has not made love is something that she alone might be privy to.
Virgo, a mutable sign and an earth sign, is traditionally associated with grains, food store houses, and dairy: in essence, with food. Her time of year is the time of the harvest, so this would make sense. In modern astrology we associate Virgo with healing, mental activity, concepts, ideas, people who like to work and who work well, and with service professions such as teaching, nursing and alternative medicine.
The mythology of this sign is more complicated; the myths that surround the signs are often the oldest and most cryptic. Wikipedia sums up the chaos, or is it unity: “Who exactly Virgo was considered to represent is uncertain; in history, it has been associated with nearly every prominent goddess, including Ishtar, Isis, Cybele, and Athena, as well as with Mary the Mother of Jesus. Virgo may also feature, along with Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor, as part of the source of the myth of Callisto, either as Callisto herself, or as Hera. Persephone (who in some mythologies, notably the Eleusinian Mysteries, was considered to be a form of Demeter) is often mentioned as well, Virgo being visible mainly in the spring months when she was believed to have risen from the underworld.”
Today it’s Virginia.
Eric, I respect your work/life/?…. I know you will do these gals well. Your OPEN conversation space is where I take heart. You’re doing something I think very little of the industry is doing. (and yes, this is a disclaimer/claimer for my opened mouth). She’s beautiful, and I want her to go far within her beauty, to the space she understands herself…. it freaks me out to see young girls tossing themselves away at an industry (Modeling) that will chew them up (in polite terms) and spit them out.
I know, Understand, You, Eric, are a good dude… I apologize for throwing my own baggage into your realm…
(The disclaimer is… I’m just trying to work through all the crap I’ve been privvy too in this lifetime.)
I do Love you friend. You’re a terrific dude! Please continue.
J
This is a lovely photograph of Virginia. Her reflective gaze resonates with me, a fellow Virgo. I “know” that pondering; that intense desire to understand “life, the universe and everything,” in all its naked glory.
I remember reading somewhere that the virgin reference was less to do with the physical and more to do with the spirit. A passionate white hot desire for justice and equality that I have had to put ALL my energies into integrating – I mean it has been really demanding to be me, many lifetimes over. Personally speaking, that virgin desire for purity of soul translates to a complete inability to understand conscious meanness in the world. Like a child, I always ask the simple question “why?” when confronted with it. Why do people choose meanness when they could create a much healthier world with peace, and love and understanding?
Yep, I am Virgo AND a child of the 60’s who readily absorbed those lyrical aspirations crooning out of my tiny transistor radio, nestled beneath my pillow each night. That world made sense to me, though finding my way in it has been relentlessly arduous. Thankfully I am older and wiser now and have learned to tone down my “intense intimidating” Virgoan mind…….she says with a chuckle! 😉
Dude, I’m so into the book of blue, it’s hella cool!!! Women realizing! That’s bad ass. That IS what I speak about though. I’m on a limb man and I understand the concept that womyn get lost in, I’m a dude who will desecrate my own being to show one what love is. That’s not a cool thing. There HAS to be equanimity. I can’t go destroying myself, OR I can show these gals what it truly means to be an honest reflection of the beyond!!
You’ve that capacity. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.
Love ya,
Jere
Jere,
Prospective models are interviewed, and the project is explained over a series of meetings. A visit to the book’s website is included in the interview process. There is often a conversation about the social physics of the work and its role as a living piece of art. Each model who participates advances the ideas and interacts with my perception. Part of the fun is enjoying a clear understanding that my role is to see them, and that their role is to be seen. Gradually I have been building the talent base around the core affinities of the project.
Virginia isn’t nude in this image – she’s slipped out of the strap of her tee-shirt. We are actually on a public stairwell. The mystique round nudity in photo studios is exaggerated and the privilege of witnessing it is understated – this direct line of sight to beauty. Posing nude has been standard fare in art studios for as long as they have existed. What makes my work worth doing is the gradual disrobing of the psyche. The exploration of an understanding about existence.
Dein jungfrau madchen ist herrliche! Habst du denkst sie marrkes es?
You have some beautifuls some times, I wonder how you manage to get the gals to strip down…? That’s not my bag. I’m cool with it all but, DO THE YOUNG GALS KNOW THE TRIP THEY’RE ENTERING? You, (Eric) are beyond this sheisse but, You also perceive the capacity in which people lock-up…
First thing I saw was a PETA commercial… Virginia, You’re a gorgeous gal. There are a lot of reasons/capacities in which you can utilize your beauty… if print is your bag, I apologize for my inference,(but support your run, man). I respect your decision completely, and mutely. And, I wish you well!
Random thoughts.
Jere