FACING HYACINTH - piercing the mysteries of existence

Name                   Facing Hyacinth
Team                     Philip H. Wilck and Tiia Vahula (UTOPIA blu)
Period                   01/2024-10/2024

Photography        Josefien Hoekstra
MUAH                   Joyce Spakman / Candy Makeup Artist
Model                   Tiia Vahula

"Hyacinth und Rosenblüthe" is a short, poetic fairy tale by Novalis that delves into the themes of love, nature, and spiritual transformation. At its heart are two figures: Hyacinth, a young man embodying the ideal of pure, transcendent love and spiritual aspiration, and Rosenblüthe (Rose Blossom), a young woman symbolizing earthly beauty and the enchanting power of nature. The tale is deeply symbolic, weaving together the longing for higher truths with the allure of the natural world.

In the golden days of their youth, Hyacinth and Rose Blossom bask in the radiant glow of love, their hearts entwined in blissful harmony. Yet, their tender idyll is shattered when a mysterious, aged wanderer arrives, spinning tales of distant lands and wondrous secrets for three long days. After this fateful visit, Hyacinth is consumed by the bittersweet ailment of melancholy, that poetic sorrow often sung of in the annals of literature. His soul sinks into solitude, drifting quietly through the shadows of his own thoughts, until an ancient woman in the depths of the forest whispers to him the secret of healing.

Guided by her words, Hyacinth leaves the comfort of home and ventures into the wild embrace of nature, seeking the elusive veiled virgin. At first, the natural world seems strange and distant, but as he wanders, it softens, revealing itself in ever more familiar and intimate ways. At last, his journey brings him to the sacred temple of Isis, where he rests and drifts into a deep dream. Within this dream, he lifts the veil of the goddess and beholds the higher self of his beloved Rose Blossom, a revelation that mirrors his own spiritual awakening. From this moment, he is transformed, and happiness flows back into his life.

Through the transcendent power of love, Hyacinth pierces the mysteries of existence. He undergoes a profound metamorphosis, and in the end, he achieves true understanding. The divine and the earthly merge as Rose Blossom and the goddess become one, a union of dream and reality. In this enchanted tale, the unknown saint dissolves into Rose Blossom, and she, in turn, is exalted into the divine.

This fairy tale, the very essence of "The Apprentices of Sais," beautifully blurs the lines between the human soul and the natural world. The unfamiliar and the known are but reflections of the same substance, and love is revealed as the highest form of knowledge. Perfect understanding of nature is, at its core, self-realization.

The tale follows the romantic triad: an initial state of unity is torn apart, leading to alienation, only for a new golden age to emerge. In the end, Hyacinth and Rose Blossom are reunited on a higher plane, their journey forming a spiral of growth and enlightenment.