(in case you wanted to know because i fucking love this language)
ad astra per aspera - to the stars through difficulties
alis volat propriis - he flies by his own wings
amantium irae amoris integratio est - the quarrels of lovers are the renewal of love
ars longa, vita brevis - art is long, life is short
aut insanity homo, aut versus facit - the fellow is either mad or he is composing verses
dum spiro spero - while I breathe, I hope
ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem - with the sword, she seeks peace under liberty
exigo a me non ut optimus par sim sed ut malis melior - I require myself not to be equal to the best, but to be better than the bad
experiential docet - experience teaches
helluo librorum - a glutton for books (bookworm)
in libras libertas - in books, freedom
littera scripta manet - the written letter lasts
mens regnum bona possidet - an honest heart is a kingdom in itself
mirabile dictu - wonderful to say
nullus est liber tam malus ut non aliqua parte prosit - there is no book so bad that it is not profitable in some part
omnia iam fient quae posse negabam - everything which I used to say could not happen, will happen now
poeta nascitur, non fit - the poet is born, not made
qui dedit benificium taceat; narrat qui accepit - let him who has done a good deed be silent; let him who has received it tell it
saepe ne utile quidem est scire quid futurum sit - often, it is not advantageous to know what will be
sedit qui timuit ne non succederet - he who feared he would not succeed sat still
si vis pacem, para bellum - if you want peace, prepare for war
struit insidias lacrimis cum feminia plorat - when a woman weeps, she is setting traps with her tears
sub rosa - under the rose
trahimir omnes laudis studio - we are led on by our eagerness for praise
urbem latericium invenit, marmoream reliquit - he found the city a city of bricks; he left it a city of marble
ut incepit fidelis sic permanet - as loyal as she began, so she remains
push yourself to get up before the rest of the world - start with 7am, then 6am, then 5:30am. go to the nearest hill with a big coat and a scarf and watch the sun rise.
push yourself to fall asleep earlier - start with 11pm, then 10pm, then 9pm. wake up in the morning feeling re-energized and comfortable.
get into the habit of cooking yourself a beautiful breakfast. fry tomatoes and mushrooms in real butter and garlic, fry an egg, slice up a fresh avocado and squirt way too much lemon on it. sit and eat it and do nothing else.
stretch. start by reaching for the sky as hard as you can, then trying to touch your toes. roll your head. stretch your fingers. stretch everything.
buy a 1L water bottle. start with pushing yourself to drink the whole thing in a day, then try drinking it twice.
buy a beautiful diary and a beautiful black pen. write down everything you do, including dinner dates, appointments, assignments, coffees, what you need to do that day. no detail is too small.
strip your bed of your sheets and empty your underwear draw into the washing machine. put a massive scoop of scented fabric softener in there and wash. make your bed in full.
organise your room. fold all your clothes (and bag what you don’t want), clean your mirror, your laptop, vacuum the floor. light a beautiful candle.
have a luxurious shower with your favourite music playing. wash your hair, scrub your body, brush your teeth. lather your whole body in moisturiser, get familiar with the part between your toes, your inner thighs, the back of your neck.
push yourself to go for a walk. take your headphones, go to the beach and walk. smile at strangers walking the other way and be surprised how many smile back. bring your dog and observe the dog’s behaviour. realise you can learn from your dog.
message old friends with personal jokes. reminisce. suggest a catch up soon, even if you don’t follow through. push yourself to follow through.
think long and hard about what interests you. crime? sex? boarding school? long-forgotten romance etiquette? find a book about it and read it. there is a book about literally everything.
become the person you would ideally fall in love with. let cars merge into your lane when driving. pay double for parking tickets and leave a second one in the machine. stick your tongue out at babies. compliment people on their cute clothes. challenge yourself to not ridicule anyone for a whole day. then two. then a week. walk with a straight posture. look people in the eye. ask people about their story. talk to acquaintances so they become friends.
lie in the sunshine. daydream about the life you would lead if failure wasn’t a thing. open your eyes. take small steps to make it happen for you.
The Never Was # 5. Another little burst of words that was on its way to somethin, but never got there. Turned out to be somethin anyway. (at Helena, Montana) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIrPLj5lDWw/?igshid=cl1vaps73rb9
Chunky flakes
“If you inherently long for something, become it first. If you want gardens, become the gardener. If you want love, embody love. If you want mental stimulation, change the conversation. If you want peace, exude calmness. If you want to fill your world with artists, begin to paint. If you want to be valued, respect your own time. If you want to live ecstatically, find the ecstasy within yourself. This is how to draw it in, day by day, inch by inch.”
— Victoria Erickson
you have a place in my heart no one else ever could have 🍃
F. Scott Fitzgerald
ADAM DRIVER as Phillip Altman This is Where I Leave You (2014) dir. Shawn Levy
Wanna go with me~?🥺👉👈
Baroque plaster meets ancient mosaic in the baptistry of St. John Lateran, Rome.
“She lives the poetry she cannot write.”
- Oscar Wilde
academia
actually study! study the things you love, the things you like, the things you know nothing about — the pursuit of knowledge lasts a lifetime, and there is so much to learn
visit your professor’s office hours! it always helps to make yourself known to your teachers (i’ve been given grade bumps and had great conversations with my university lecturers)
avoid and check yourself for the pretension that can often accompany academia — it hurts no one to be kind and mindful
delve into the realm of philosophy (for starters: metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics) it will broaden your mind
stay late at your university library studying (if you can do so safely, preferably with a friend). university campuses feel magical in the evening
style
wear darker, muted colours
plaid coats, pants, or skirts
button-up shirts (Peter Pan collars are a bonus)
turtlenecks
tie your hair with a bow
accessorise! a vintage watch adds sophistication to any outfit. try wearing it with a ring or three
practice good posture — standing tall creates an air of elegance, confidence, and if paired with the right amount of nonchalance, mystery
media
films
dead poets society
cracks
the dreamers
thoroughbreds
breathless (à bout de souffle)
cléo from 5 to 7 (cléo de 5 à 7)
handsome devil
tv shows
gilmore girls
chilling adventures of sabrina
black mirror
the good place
the politician
books
the secret history
the picture of dorian gray
the goldfinch
the line of beauty
persuasion
the collected poems of oscar wilde
ovid’s metamorphoses
music
listen to classical music as you sleep/read/study
you can check out this dark academia playlist for inspiration
aesthetic activities (think of this as a little checklist to get you underway as a fledgling aesthete)
make yourself tea in pretty teacups (you can find plenty in secondhand stores!)
light candles in your bedroom, and read by candlelight
dry flowers for your room/desk
explore secondhand bookstores for old, pretty editions of novels you may or may not have heard of
give handwritten letters to your lovers/friends/yourself
wake up before the sun rises to watch dawn break
brood during a thunderstorm, and write extravagant, flowery poetry on parchment
join a secret society
exist in the real, with your books and art, and your turtlenecks and plaid coats, as a mystery. social media can give too much of you away
host an unceasing bacchanal for you and your pals
I hope this serves as a nice little guide for some of you wanting to get more into the aesthetic! There’s no real right or wrong way to go about it, these are just my suggestions from my own experience and perception of and within the community.
Enjoy,
Juniper x
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 :)
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!
nature series 3/∞
please, like or reblog if you save/use.
Crème
•please like or reblog if you use
jan 22/2019
having a little break before i go to a house viewing! i am not even sure if you say it like that in english but i figure you understand what i’m trying to say :)
have a lovely day!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoGy2Q5g_gh/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=f7tmfhi148k5
i got a bit of reading done, while this little cutie rested. finals are right around the corner, but instead of finding this as an excuse to work yourself to the bone - just breath. and do not forget to take care of yourself, because you deserve it.
instagram @estudialey
“Pay attention to the things you are naturally drawn to. They are often connected to your path, passion, and purpose in life. Have the courage to follow them.”
— Ruben Chavez
Pulp Fiction (1994), dir. Quentin Tarantino
27.12.18 being my own barrista has its perks
studygram: @procrastinationlikeapro
House of Brinson