Satanic Rituals

I know I'm meant to be seeing the new Star Wars movie in 3D which will be good for my social life, but I went out yesterday and I am quite tempted and content just to spend the day in my home, alone and writing up articles on my blog. It seems next week will be a frenzy of activity as well so I want to enjoy the last few days of holiday as well as computer trolling while I can, but maybe I would enjoy myself by coming out with the girls and doing something enjoyable. Do I begin to ease myself into a busy and social schedule once more with people and in situations I'm familiar with or do I go out with a fight and resist the social future by hiding in my cave behind a computer screen all day? I know I prefer the no-mess and little work needed to maintain my appearance in private... but I really should go out again today since I have work tomorrow and I'll earn the money back anyway.

I've put together a little collage of satanic and creepy photographs and I think the saddest thing about this one and it's caption is the hopelessness of the situation and lack of faith in the human race. I was very much once so drowned in the anguish and dim-reality of depression and despised everyone around me. I radiated heat and felt it at the back of my throat trying to rush out my mouth at times when I was angry and upset. I'm quite glad that's all behind me now.

The largest rituals I would be willing to perform are those which involve feeding a black cat and possibly collecting rosaries- but never in my life would I dream of reattaching them inverted and make a mockery of their symbolism. Shown upside down and above, Jesus on the cross held by a black cat with big golden eyes filled with big black pupils may seem foreboding for those that are the religious type, but I'm afraid for someone of my upbringing it's fairly mundane.

As well as the odd satanic rituals, there's just good old images which evoke the 1960s such as floral wreaths and long blond hair being shaken about in the wind. My childhood lacked a religious and spiritual outlet but that never really bothered my before- in America the Australians were met with the Christian culture shock as well as some who attended church with their host families. I could have been one of those lucky few, but luckily they chose to attend the children's soccer game instead. That was the temple and the prayers and songs were replaced with the helpful but intimidating banter of an Angry Soccer Mom.

I would make a terrible candidate for satanic rituals and being sacrificed in the name of some god- for one thing I can imagine the whole ordeal being very cold and impersonal and I get self-conscious easily. I can't sleep without any clothes on unless I've taken refuge under the covers and wrapped myself in a neat little cocoon of blankets. The candles and crosses would be a nice touch for scenery but I'm afraid my days of burning candles obsessively, tending to the flame and wax levels are over. I think I may develop an unhealthy and costly obsession if I decide to buy another one...

I prefer to think of myself as the hapless victim dressed in white dress, lying on a beach somewhere and becoming victimised by my 'saviours' trying to work off a thousand year old debt. Fortunately I'm not in a movie, don't wear white if I can help it and also don't own a pair of thigh high stockings to tease the boys. It's not stocking weather yet anyway and so I usually prefer black when it boils down to giving my legs a little extra warmth and layers to protect them from the cold. White is just such a naughty nurse stocking colour to wear... not very classy these days.

Although there are many colourful and delightful clubs to join at my university as well as volunteering positions it seems that none of them include chanting in a pentagram, surrounded by colourful wisps of incense, droning in an ancient language without any clothes. I wonder if the photograph above was staged or indeed if some hapless art student stumbled across this scene in his local park and decided to get a snap of it. I would predict staged though, the angle of the scene is above, indicating the use of a tree branch or step ladder to elevate one's position from the ground and create an angle for the photograph.

Rosary

Ever since the post-exam celebrations and traditional holiday undertaken by year twelves in Australia and I encountered my first two plastic rosaries I've been pretty obsessed as of late. I found out that they two I bought in a small and gypsy looking shop in Phillip Island are called 'prison rosaries' because they're cheap and plastic and therefore can't be used as a lethal weapon in a strained situation. My brother inherited one of my grandmother's rosaries and I think my father has a few stored away in his wardrobe but I dare not wear those as a piece of jewellery- it seems disrespectful in that sense since I'm not particularly religious.

There's many great and cheap treasures online including this silver rosary necklace with moonstone beads that I adore- they're the perfect shade of lilac. I wouldn't mind wearing something like this against a black jumper that's loose and comfortable during the Winter season and while on my first trip to my university campus a high school girl wore a large plastic and over sized cross necklace I loved. Rosaries are just a little more common to find on the online market I find and I know exactly what I'll be seeing when I pop in the phrases into a search engine.

Plastic rosaries are my favourite of all the religious pieces since there's something so childish about them and they're in bright and colourful shades. I have light pink and purple but there's plenty of more available on the market. At a few dollars each, when my AdSense money comes in I may treat myself to one or two or splash out and get the moonstone rosary. The good thing about getting lots of little cheap things is that it usually prevents me from buying the few expensive things which will save me in the long run so maybe getting hooked on plastic rosaries isn't all bad.

From my knowledge of rosaries made in plastic (limited as it is) it seems that those which come in two different colours are the most unusual but not necessarily rare. Any way you look at it this black and green rosary would look great against a striped jumper or blouse, big horizontal stripes or even a plain and neat blouse. My mild obsession is partially due to the influence of Tavi Gevinson and her love of the culture of 'The Virgin Suicides' and her own rosaries scattered around in her room- a strange fascination for a practicing Jew. Maybe for someone without strong spiritual belief and belonging having a few rosaries here and there wouldn't be so blasphemous.

Finally, I present something rustic and antique made of wood, a rosary described as being used for ones room with carved wooden beads as well as hearts and a small cheap metal Jesus on the cross in fine detail. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on this baby, were it not for the small fact that i feel bad enough about breaching my bank account this week in spectacular fashion and being down some three hundred dollars. Hopefully the eBay listings I have at the moment will eventually pay off for me and I'll get to see a little more revenue and get rid of some junk in trade for some more rosaries and vanity space for more jewellery.

Pamela Love Jewellery

I've kept the name of Pamela Love under my little directory of cool, grungy, Gothic inspired silver jewellery for about two, nearly three years now and it's time I shared just a few of her pieces with you! Previously, I had written about the collaboration with Pamela Love as well as opening Ceremony as inspired by the movie (based on children's book) Where the Wild Things Are. It seems that she's also had another collaboration with Opening Ceremony featuring beaded skull necklaces on dangling silver chains which you can see by scrolling further down but here are some of the golden oldies and her newer pieces.

  

Above is a mock raw crystal necklace in decadent grungy silver and matched with silver nail polish. It would make a hell of a knuckle-duster; I myself favour wearing heavy set rings in case of a scuffle and fight in which I can find a weapon to defend myself with readily. I've never needed to resort to those measures though...

In a guest blog appearance for the Opening Ceremony website,Pamela Love showed off some of her inspiration and trinkets collected from the duration of her life including a friendly looking snake charm carved in wood. Perhaps that was inspiration for this coiled snake around a thick and chunky piece of amethyst coloured quartz? Well I just love it and the tinted colour as the stone gets darker towards the bottom of the gem and I do like snake motifs but I am rather picky and pretentious about their execution. They can't look too skinny or fat and they mustn't look threatening is my criteria- I also prefer that they have a  friendly smile.

This style of necklace has been much imitated in online stores far and wide on Etsy but I do love the design of sharp little daggers offered by Pamela Love in her collaborating with Opening Ceremony in a range of colours. My taste in fashion and jewellery is wide, varied and undisciplined and this is one of the few tribal looking pieces I am attracted, but who could say no to those little grinning teeth and big empty eye sockets? These necklaces make a great statement piece when worn below a coloured shirt buttoned up all the way.

 

The silver cross necklace that seemingly ensnares your finger in a small cage has been a favourite among fashion bloggers and has been sold through quite a few popular online stores in the past including Net-A-Porter. It's one of the rings that really mesmerised me and drew me into the collection as well as Pamela Love's other large chunky silver rings. I still have a soft spot for them after so many weeks and months- they hold a little bit of nostalgia for me I guess in that sense.
 

 

Another heavy set ring featuring a cross that is a 'crowd favourite' as it were is this large and detailed beast with oxidised black top as well as detail on engraved scripture and shoulder motifs as well.The last time I saw this ring on eBay the seller was asking for close to $800 AUD, so if you happen to own this ring, or indeed, any of the jewellery pieces shown here or created by Pamela Love, count yourself a very lucky person. I bet modern day witches would be all over the silver goodness of her collection and the oxidised detail and style of her jewellery.

Believe it or not, but this silver ring above is my favourite ring from across all her collections and ranges. The moon phase ring, featuring a large rectangular tablet shaped face and four moon phases in engraved and oxidised finish to give off this black look. It too costs some few hundreds of dollars and has been one of the more rare rings to track down from Pamela Love so if I had the money and managed to sell, oh, say half of my wardrobe on eBay I may get this little beast of a ring right after I pop out and get myself an iPad. However all this is wishful thinking and with university orientation coming up I'm going to have to save money to pay for a small laptop for notes as well as keeping money aside for functions for first year students. The next few months will be busy and busier!

The final thick and juicy rectangular tablet shaped silver ring from Pamela Love that I adore is this sword ring- I actually like the detail and pattern on the band on this ring more than the moon ring but I still love the motif of the moon phases a bit more than the sword. It must be all my study of Literature, there are constant suggestions that the moon is feminine, soft, passive and is a representation of the night; whereas the sun represents the day and is supposedly active and masculine. Phoebe, Diana and Artemis are the goddess' of the moon and are named after woman so maybe as a creature of feminine whiles and grace I favour the moon as an unconscious decision?

The artist and jewellery designer Pamela Love has as of late, been favouring crystal's whether they be fake or metallic and I absolutely adore the trend but the structure of the rings seems a little dubious to me. The necklaces in the shape of a crescent moon and arch are gorgeous and so is the copper coloured metal used- very chic and unusual.

I still don't own a skull necklace by Pamela Love and I swear they've been in store for months now! Slack on my part, but maybe I've just been waiting for the perfect colour to come along, such as this bright cherry red shade of skulls as well as little daggers hanging out of their smiling craniums.

An Outsider look at Pamela Love

I find myself continuously back-flipping between glamorous vintage style jewellery and dark Gothic pieces made of silver and worn by creatures of the night. What's worse is that there's now the vintage and kitsch domestic inner  goddess longing to break free and buy everything possible on Etsy. One thing that seems to stay constant is my attraction towards this dark grunge style of jewellery from Pamela Love, as well as fangs necklace from Perks And Mini and now Bloodmilk Jewellery as well. As hard as I try to turn my back on witch-like jewellery, the harder it draws me back in with it's allure and I am not complaining at all. I love the crystal necklaces, silver crosses as well as bone motifs and Ouija board pointers.

Sometime later today I will begin to clean my room again and put some clothes back I took out for my outfit posts; I can't wait to move out of my old room and move into a more adult setting where I'll have crystal agate/ geode book ends as well as small glass bottles and Polaroids made of felt about the place. For such a creative release it should get both sides of my brain working since I'll be studying science for the next three years at least. I'll need the occasional creative workout too as well as logic. That's another reason I'm itching to join clubs at university and meed people who actually decorate/ want to live in a similar manner to myself.

The designer of Pamela Love knows just what's right to showoff her pieces to their best ability teaming them up with long locks of tangled hair tumbling down in large waves as well as black and white filtered effects for photography and grungy, old-worn shirts. Although the clothing is very basic and minimalist, the jewellery such as this heavy signet ring strung on a silver chain, the snake charm and earrings have a dark gypsy quality about them. I bet the pieces she creates would look so good with ear cuffs.

Here is my model hero, Alexa Chung pictured on the right with the designer of the silver jewellery range Pamela Love; at the back you can see some of the thicker set silver crosses from the range as well as dream catchers and cowboy boots. I love what Alexa is wearing (no real surprise, I always do) the pattern looks so good in the black and white filter and both the lovely ladies eyes are outlined by thick mascara too.

As well as crosses, claws and talons have also been recreated in silver for their jewellery range which looks great when layered upon another Pamela Love piece such as this cross? The snakeskin patterned blouse as well as purple streaks through the hair above ooze character and charisma and the tan skin peaking from the unbuttoned shirt is an interesting and surprising quirk as well.