![]() ![]() I'll start with the "female" and "male" tools: Molly has the broom for all it's association with protection and controlling influence, Griffen has a distaff as she is the storyteller of the two. The base of the pillars are decorated with the mystical representation of each character's celestial object, interspersed with the stage in the poppy's cycle the best aligns with each Molly is the Bloom, Griffen is the Seeds. The symbol in the top left corner of Molly's is an electrical notation of "ground" which pairs with the on in Griffen's upper right representing "fuse." The symbol in the lower right of Molly's is for salt and Griffen is blocking hers for for sulfur. The squares in Molly's represent Earth and the triangles in Griffen's are for fire. The dominating center symbol represents their place of origin: Molly is from Korsevei, which means crossroads in Norwegian and Griffen is from Aaleth, an arctic-like planet which has an artificially created green space around the equator named the Ouroboros for obvious reasons. The symbols contained in square plaque that begins the shaft of the pillar are very character specific. I chose the egg-and-dart pattern because of the variety of interpretations I have heard of its meaning: life and death, male and female, symbol of Aphrodite (to go with the symbol of Hermes of the top bar) and so on. Molly's character is rou, a root of flesh, a carcass cut open Griffen's is gua, a root of bone, representing a skull and vertebrae. The base of the capitals is an egg-and-dart pattern with a kanji symbol in the center. ( The Sacred Bee by Hilda Ransome will give all the particulars) The bee is associated with Griffen for its link to speech and thought as well as the ritual uses of honey. Molly's insect is a beetle because they are associated with secrets and cycles of awareness. The celestial symbols are due to their essential presence more than any implication of gender roles or primacy. Topping the Green Men are the Moon and a Beetle for Molly and the Sun and a Bee for Griffen. I made the decision who got which on who seemed unhappier throughout this Book (it was close). ![]() The aspects of Comedy and Tragedy aren't really that character specific, they mostly are announcing a story. ![]() (As this dissection of the frontispiece will be lengthy as it is, I will explore why this figure fascinates me in some other time and place.) Molly's Green Man is comprised of Hawthorne, Griffen's is Alder implying all the further symbolism tied up in those trees. Green Men make repeated appearances throughout the entirety of Dicebox there have already been three in this first book. The capitals (or crowns) are Green Men which also form the masks of Comedy and Tragedy. I paired the symbolism on this page evenly between them in categories, sometimes it's classically opposing aspects, sometimes they are items the same category, and sometimes they are two parts of an equation. (I did make an entry in my Process Journal which illustrates and somewhat explains how I've organized the four Books of Dicebox and why.)īefore I list the symbols that are Molly and Griffen specific, let me emphasize that they are not opposites they are partners. Hence the black background, the idyllic summer landscape with a prominent mountain and so on. This is Wander, the book of Earth and Plants, the Black book, South, Summer and so on. Obviously much of it relates to Molly and Griffen but all of it is influenced by the particular Book of Dicebox it fronts. I will be creating a new frontispiece for each book which will then take up their traditional place in the printed collections. Since Dicebox was started as a way for me to process stories throughout my life and since the earliest way I remembered getting stories that meant something to me was through books, this was a natural choice for the story's homepage. Note the pillars in each example this is a reference to an architectural frontispiece which "constitutes the elements that frame and decorate the main, or front, door to a building especially when the main entrance is the chief face of the building, rather than being kept behind columns or a portico." (definition courtesy of Wikipedia)Also note the pair of framing figures in iconic clothing surrounded by all sorts of symbolism. The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton Here are some examples from books from the 1600s: First off, that is exactly what I based my design for the Dicebox homepage on, the frontispiece of a book.
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