The Birth Of Venus (2019). Version Edit By  @laitdecocostudio. For New Collection 2019.

George Barbier - Illustrations for Les Liaisons Dangereuses

"Daughter of great Protogonus, divine, illustrious Rhea, to my prayer incline,

Who drives your holy car with speed along, drawn by fierce lions, terrible and strong."

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Orphic Hymn 14 to Rhea

Mothers have martyred themselves in their children’s names since the beginning of time. We have lived as if she who disappears the most, loves the most. We have been conditioned to prove our love by slowly ceasing to exist.

What a terrible burden for children to bear—to know that they are the reason their mother stopped living. What a terrible burden for our daughters to bear—to know that if they choose to become mothers, this will be their fate, too. Because if we show them that being a martyr is the highest form of love, that is what they will become. They will feel obligated to love as well as their mothers loved, after all. They will believe they have permission to live only as fully as their mothers allowed themselves to live.

If we keep passing down the legacy of martyrdom to our daughters, with whom does it end? Which woman ever gets to live? And when does the death sentence begin? At the wedding altar? In the delivery room? Whose delivery room—our children’s or our own? When we call martyrdom love we teach our children that when love begins, life ends. This is why Jung suggested: There is no greater burden on a child than the unlived life of a parent.

—Glennon Doyle, Untamed

dark academia movies + books:

this post is from my personal tbr and to watch lists so i haven’t seen and read everything on this list but most are talked about in the dark academia community, it’ll help you understand the aesthetic better/immerse yourself in it. also some of the movies are absolute rubbish but they’re nice to laugh at so :) enjoy 

movies:

loving vincent (2017)

only lovers left alive (2013)

the dreamers (2003)

mary shelley (2017)

wilde (1997)

wuthering heights (1992)

the beguiled (2017)

picnic at hanging rock (1975)

another country (1984)

the riot club (2014)

the oxford murders (2008)

kill your darlings (2013)

dead poets society (1989)

stoker (2013)

the talented mr. ripley (1999)

little women (2019)

portrait of a lady on fire (2019)

the goldfinch (2019)

maurice (1987)

the picture of dorian gray (do Not watch the 2009 one, it is very cursed)

books:

paradise lost by john milton 

if we were villains by m. l. rio

the secret history by donna tartt

the goldfinch by donna tartt

the little friend by donna tartt 

the picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde

the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde by robert louis stevenson 

killing commendatore by haruki murakami

the bell jar by sylvia plath 

ariel by sylvia plath 

the book of disquiet by fernando pessoa 

inferno by dante 

who killed mr. chippendale by mel glenn

and then there were none by agatha christie 

the winter of our discontent by john steinback 

the lake of dead languages by carol goodman

wuthering heights by emily brontë

the master and margarita by mikhail bulgakov 

brideshead revisited by evelyn waugh 

the song of achilles by madeline miller 

circe by madeline miller 

a separate peace by john knowles 

the well of loneliness by radclyffe hall 

maurice by e. m. forster 

among the bohemians by virginia nicholson 

jonathan strange and mr norrell by susanna clarke 

the greek myths by robert graves*

the twelve olympians by charles seltman*

mythos by stephen fry*

heroes by stephen fry*

the count of monte cristo by alexandre dumas 

the magicians trilogy by lev grossman 

ninth house by leigh bardugo 

interview with the vampire by anne rice 

the talented mr. ripley by partricia highsmith 

lords and ladies by sir terry pratchett 

memoirs of hadrian by marguerite yourcenar 

spqr: a history of ancient rome by mary beard*

homosexuality and civilisation by louis crompton*

house of leaves by mark z. danielewski 

the iliad by homer

odyssey by homer

metamorphoses by ovid

the oresteia by aeschylus

*these books are more like research sources

if you want more specific lists like gothic books, mystery books, magic/fantasy related, etc. let me know!

Any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.

Homer, The Iliad

Details: Leuchtturm im Hafen von Neapel bei Mondschein by Josef Rebell, 1827

"When you stare into the abyss the abyss stares back at you."

-Friedrich Nietzsche

How to feel more DA from the comfort of your own home:

> Touch up any makeup or put on some of your finest red lipstick

> Light a candle & put it on a windowsil (or anywhere it won't catch something on fire)

> Read something challenging during the day (Shakespeare, James Joyce & my boi Edgar for example) & something easygoing in the evening (Agatha Christie, Huxley, Stevenson)

> Make a cup of coffee or tea either in a delicate teacup OR a real heavy duty mug (it's impossible to look even slightly suspicious if you're holding a normal sized mug ¯\_(ツ)_/)

> Listen to antique records on vinyl. If you don't have a player, there are some amazing Spotify playlists to use!

> If you're feeling uninspired, change up your outfit! I always feel my lowest when I'm in my pajamas all day, so I will usually put on a pair of corduroy trousers with braces & match it with a spiffingly hefty blouse

> Look at Instagram or other tumblr posts on DA and see what you find! create a mood board on Pinterest if you so wish!

> Learn to raise one eyebrow- if feeling like a pretentious scholar is your goal, this small action is a must!!

> Reach your daily goal on Duolingo- while you're doing it, it may not seem very DA, HOWEVER, when you're done you feel accomplished & smart, which is perfectly on brand. Plus, you get to learn a little more of your chosen language every day- & one of those days you'll be fluent!

> Style your hair- if you have longer (and straighter) hair, I recommend an updo such as a Gibson Tuck. Styling your hair makes you feel elegant & improves your mood heavily! Nowadays it's rare to see me without my hair up

> Reorganise/ decorate your space- even if it's just a little change, such as moving the plants around your room, it's still a breath of fresh air & allows you room to think about more permenant changes such as new paint or furniture

> Carry a book with you anywhere you go- even if it's just to the kitchen, this action will totally make you feel more book smart! A spiffing one to carry with you is "Schotts Original Miscellany" as you can read about almost anything, from identifying cloud types to commonplace Latin. Its super useful to have in your pocket- almost like a pre-written notebook just for you :)

> Practice a creative skill- like an instrument, writing or drawing. This improves your DA levels for sure

> Improve your humour to be witty & sarcastic! You can pick up tricks from basically any witty (or British) show like Sherlock or Doctor Who, & when you have sarcasm and wit up your sleeve, you aren't just unstoppable, you're also turning into that pretentious scholar you've dreamed of becoming! :,)

I hope this helps some people! Have an amazing weekend everyone & if you have any queries feel free to comment- happy Dark Academia-ing :)