Cintamani is an Ottoman motif. The meaning of the motif is not certain. The word itself means jewel; perhaps it represents the third eye, evolving the point of one’s self-actualization. This cardboard gilt frame was inspired by the cintamani motif which I developed inside of the larger context of Oracle. The Oracle has long fascinated me and it’s study presents the question, “Where is the Oracle of the 21st century?” Alas, there are no prophesies for the greater good these days. I would suggest:
1. We do not have a developed understanding for the need of ritual
2. If there were a true oracle, they would stay quiet.
Then there was the mirror. Our reflection seemed an appropriate arena for exploration inside of Oracle. You are the oracle. And, if you choose no, you may just sit and gaze and ask “Who is the fairest?”
Encyclopedia Mythica will expand: “In ancient Greece, the oracle was a place where these divinely-inspired prophesies of the future were passed down to mortals…To be an oracle, the place needed to have a variable and periodic attribute that could be subject to the interpretation of the priesthood. The priests would then ascribe both the event and the interpretation of the event to their patron god or goddess…the ancient oracles of Zeus were areas where priests could interpret the wind rustling through the trees…The most famous oracle was that of Apollo at Delphi, discovered as a fissure in the side of Mt. Parnassus emitting a gas that would cause seizures among the goats that grazed nearby…The Pythia was the priestess of this oracle who was crowned in laurel and seated on a tripod perched over the cleft that produced the intoxicating vapors. Her utterances while under the influence were usually so disjointed that additional clergy were needed to provide interpretation.”
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