Belwickett - Dripping With Alchemy

Jan Frans De Boever (1872–1949) - “Astarté”, 1933

oil on paper on cardboard

Dark Prince

— by Betty Jiang

Aphrodite loves trans people!

She thinks you deserve to be loved!

Aphrodite loves trans bodies!

She wants you to love yours too!

Aphrodite blesses trans people with endless beauty!

She wants you to feel as beautiful as you are!

Rose

A Hymn to Aphrodite

Come, Lady Aphrodite of the golden tresses

Swan drawn and sailing on sunset clouds

She whose bed is the paradise of affection

Whose touch upon our lives ignites our hearts like flame

Universal goddess, source of all life

You who makes meeting and parting

Beloved are you by all who receive your blessings

Sea-foam born goddess of passion

At once heavenly, ineffable, and pure

But likewise in the mundane, intimate, and physical

Fragrant goddess, enthroned in all three realms

Even the gods are not immune to your charms

Bedecked in ocean spray and sweet oils

Your skin like gold and gemstones, glittering and radiant

You give shape to primordial desire, giving form to universal forces of attraction

Cyprian goddess, Syrian queen, with fluttering eyelids like petals

Look upon me with grace and favor, and fill my heart and soul.

With incense and libation I propitiate you

May I never be without your delicate touch

and warm, gentle breath upon my back.

O goddess, adorned in the jewels of the sea, I honor you

On the wings of doves send your blessings down through the heavens

And avert evil and loneliness from my path.

(Last night I had a dream that I was in a competition to write a hymn for Aphrodite, so when upon waking up I wrote this. I gave it to Her at my shrine this evening.)

Maria Sibylla Merian (German, 1647–1717)

Madison Brown for Selkie

The full Fall/Holiday 1995 'Sanctuary' catalog by Cher (1995)

Incredible mail-order catalog started by Cher in 1994; this is the 1995 edition. Unfortunately, it seems the venture ended after the 1995 issue. According to a 1998 article, this was due to mismanagement & order-fulfillment problems.

Luckily found a copy available online, then scanned & cleaned-up this wonderful relic of 90's Renaissance Revival & Whimsigothic fashion & design!