0 The Void -
"If there were a little more silence, if we all kept quiet...
maybe we could understand something." Federico Fellini
KEY WORDS
Origin
Waiting
Foundations
Patience
Faith
Receptive
VIDEO
MEANING
The great silence is neither comforting nor threatening, it simply observes, and waits. The void is an essential stage before any beginning can happen, we must prepare a blank canvas. Before we can build relationships, we must confidently exist in and of ourselves first. For life, there must be flow and movement. The timeless empty receptive moment before something begins. The void is listening attentively for the first spark.
We must hollow-out the cup before it can hold liquid. We must set aside our assumptions before we can learn something new. We must fall silent so we can listen. We cannot hope for something that we haven't made space for. We can trap ourselves in the luminous darkness if we listen only to our fears. There will be a natural time to take a step out of The Void onto solid ground, and the courage to begin something positive will be rewarded.
OBJECTS
Planet (Earth) Even in chaos there is always a home waiting for you.
Star (Light) Look for even the tiniest dots of wisdom you can use to navigate.
Fish (Water) The current may carry you off-course, but you can choose: swim with it, or against it.
Note (Air) Make space around beautiful sounds and music so they can be heard.
Spider (Dark) The spider must build its web before it can feast. Investing in your foundations will be rewarded.
Flower (Earth) Embrace the beauty in being vulnerable, honest, naked.
THE MAGIC SEAL
THE ART
To represent the concept of this philosophical card I took inspiration from science. The Void is the the void of deep space, a multiverse in the moment of its self creation.
The big bang is represented as the opening of a cosmic eye, the instant when everything comes to exist.
The opening of the Eye is like the beginning of the cosmic consciousness, its first act of self recognition as a living being. Void does not mean empty, but 0, the empty set, the number that originates all the sequences...
AUGMENTED REALITY
The video shows the cosmic Eye (a reference to Oracolarium Eye, the Eye that sees everything) inside a triangle (the eye as the eye of the universe, the universe as the body of a godlike creature) of light giving birth to the universe and bringing life to it. We see the video of a cell dividing, the pulse of life. Energy, explosion, colours, light!
THE MUSE
At the heart of Oracolarium is a mystical all-seeing eye which watches over humanity. Curiously an eye inside a triangle has manifested in the most obscure centres of esoteric knowledge around the world. Sometimes called the eye of providence, this eye has made its appearance in every culture since before records began. The Oracolarium is not omniscient, but it knows a lot.
You will notice this eye represented in many places, and it is seemingly following your every move. Is it watching you? Or is it representing your own eye, reflected in the mirror?
THE MUSIC
The Void represents primordial chaos and yet also a patient silence, so the initial temptation was to compose a soundscape of intense noise and/or emptiness. Over time I found myself increasingly drawn to the uncertainty, the potential, the mystical, and the rawness of The Void.
A time-signature that doesn't yet seem fully-formed dances with harmonies that feel unsettled. I have included references to Science Fiction compositions in the selection of archetypical space-age synthesisers which converse with a fragmented gamelan melody that is only just starting to find its feet. According to Javanese mythology, the first gamelan gongs were forged from brass to be sounded together to send complex musical messages that would summon the gods.
Drift in the music of the spheres and listen out for the big bang (and the big crunch!).
LINKS TO GO DEEPER
The Void talks to us about creation, and about what happens just before things begin. To go deeper, explore the stories about how the world began. Explore the Big Bang for ideas. Marvel at the cosmic dance of Shiva which begins with creation, through preservation, destruction, illusion and emancipation.
Enjoy a zen moment during your daily rituals - whether during your morning coffee or during an afternoon break. Learn from the world around you.