The Honest Tales of Florence
Everyone knows Florence + the Machine. All the hipster say they dislike them because Florence is “too mainstream” for their taste and all the pop lovers worship them because Florence is “different than the rest”. Whether Florence + the Machine are indie or hip or pop is irrelevant in reality, though. What is important and interesting is the band’s tremendous success.
Florence’s lyrical honesty and ability to embed mysticism in everything she touches - from appearance to writing songs - is what sets the band apart in the industry. The real jewel of the ginger artist is her honest relationship with the listener - she does not reveal too much in her lyrics - they are universal and everyone can relate to them, and yet everyone interprets them differently and adds a different meaning to her music. In her blog she is completely honest about how she makes her music (often drunk or hungover) and what she feels like sometimes (breaking hearts, tables, glasses). I selected a few quotes from her blog that made an impression and mixed them up with her beautiful photos to depict Florence the way I see her - mainstream and hip, quirky and fun, a curious and enduring character that teaches us an important lesson in life.
“I want my music to sound like throwing yourself out of a tree, or off a tall building, or as if you’re being sucked down into the ocean and you can’t breathe. It’s something overwhelming and all-encompassing that fills you up, and you’re either going to explode with it, or you’re just going to disappear.” - Florence Welch
“You’re lucid, but you’re not really there. You’re floating through your own thoughts, and you can pick out what you need. I like those weird connections in the universe. I feel that life’s like a consistent acid trip, those times when things keep coming back.” - Florence Welch
“I feel things quite intensely, which is why the music has to be so intense. I’m either really sad or really happy, I’m tired or completely manic. That’s when I’m at my most creative, but it’s also dangerous for me. I feel I could write some good songs, or break some hearts. Or tables. Or glasses.” - Florence Welch
The Traditional Bulgarian Wedding
A Modern Tale of Magic and Myths
“Marriage is the main goal/theme in many Bulgarian tales, and the main characters are those who are ready to get married. The traditional Bulgarian wedding is almost mythic in action, and rich in symbolism. It provides the key to several enigmatic elements in these stories.
Bulgarian wedding rituals are concerned with ensuring a successful and fertile marriage. During the wedding period, the bride and groom are at the centre of the cosmic drama of creation that has been enacted over and over again since the beginning of time. The young couple are imbued with a special life-giving power that bestows blessings and fertility upon the whole community, guaranteeing the future. The consummation of the marriage on the wedding day becomes an act of magic.
Symbolism of the Wedding Banner
The wedding banner consists of a flag attached to a pole that has been ritually cut from a tree. The banner is topped with a red or gold foil-wrapped apple symbolising the sun and fertility, and decorated with flowers, ivy, strings of popcorn and chilli peppers. In some areas, the bride and the groom have a separate banner, with a white flag for the bride and a red flag for the groom. In other areas the groom’s family prepare a single banner with both red and white flags upon it.
Braiding and Shaving Rituals: the Comb and Razor as Magical Objects
On the night or the morning before the wedding itself, two important rituals take place. The bride’s hair is braided and the groom is shaved at their respective homes. Both rituals are accompanied by special songs and ceremony. After the wedding, the bride will not appear again in public with her head bare or with her hair loose like a wild samodiva. She will always wear a headscarf. The groom is no longer a boy, but a man ready to take on responsibility. The hair is tamed; the wild years of youth will be put aside and a new life will begin.
In the language of fairy tale the comb and the razor, the tools of braiding and shaving, become symbols of initiation into sexual maturity. They take on magical transforming properties and represent the transition from one stage of life to another.”
For the full text and the rest of the photos visit:
Photo source: http://vassilnikolov.com/ or Facebook album
Text Source: http://www.spellintime.fsnet.co.uk/Folklore.htm
