Tag Archives: Valerie Herron
The Book of Starry Wisdom
The Book of Starry Wisdom, edited by Simon Berman and illustrated by Hermetic Library Anthology Artist Valerie Herron, has arrived at the Reading Room, the result of a successful crowdfunding campaign.
Strix Publishing recently started to tease a crowdfunding campaign for a follow-up companion volume, The Book of Three Gates, that will be starting up in early October.
Welcome to Night Vale Listening Party at The Lovecraft Bar on Feb 15th, 2014 in Portland
There will be a Welcome to Night Vale listening party at The Lovecraft Bar, on Feb 15th, 2014 in Portland, co-hosted by Hermetic Library anthology artist Valerie Herron. This is apparently intented as the inaugural Lodge meeting of The Hooded Figures, Portland chapter for what could become a planned monthly event.
“The Welcome to Night Vale Listening Party is happening THIS SATURDAY! You don’t want to miss it. Hosted by Matthew Carr and myself, hang out and listen to the 2 latest episodes of WTNV on the stellar sound system of the Lovecraft Bar. There will also be a raffle of official WTNV swag.
A bit of background info for those of you scratching your heads: Welcome to Night Vale is a brilliant podcast. Influenced by the writing of H.P. Lovecraft, conspiracy theories, and community radio, WTNV is a hilarious and beautifully written production. Narrated by Cecil Baldwin as the Night Vale community radio announcer, WTNV illuminates the strange happenings in the desert town of Night Vale. I recommend it highly, so highly that I think you should listen to it in a group setting!” [via]
I’m Back! Get ready for consistency!
Hermetic Library anthology artist Valerie Herron posts about her work on the art and design for Magick, Music and Ritual 5, the Fall 2012 anthology album, and a few nice words about the process, at “I’m Back! Get ready for consistency!“.
“As a follow up to my last post, I completed the cd cover illustration and the cd packaging design for the Hermetic Library’s 5th anthology album. John Bell (the Librarian) was really great to work for. He was very nice, knew specifically what he wanted, and has great design sensibilities. All of these things make a world of difference when trying to communicate with clients via email. I would love to do more work for The Hermetic Library in the future.” [via]
Magick, Music and Ritual 5 artwork and design
This cover for this issue was designed and illustrated by Valerie Herron. When I think of the top heaviness of antlers, I actually think of the looming ominous canopy of fall trees in the dark with their skeleton arms and fingers sloughing off leafy skin. I also think of the way that the tree of life looms large above the single point at Malkuth, such a long, tall and precarious spectral ladder to the stars … a place, perhaps, where the dark romance of both old school esotericism and new American Gothic meet.
“For the cover art of this anthology, I wanted to create something that was in the spirit of the Hermetic Library project, as well as something that honored this time of year. Autumn is the season of rot, and the process of death and decomposition is apparent in every direction. Leaves wither off the trees, the days grow darker, and the chill of encroaching winter begins to creep into our lungs. The veil between the worlds is receding, and the gaze of otherworldly things is palpable. I wanted to interpret this seasonal ambiance into a dark composition accompanied by the simplicity of line.
A grim icon that truly seems to resonate with people right now is the deer skull. I have seen it in numerous places lately, appearing to have surfaced from the collective unconscious with great purpose. I felt it was an appropriate memento mori for this image. The bind rune is a glyph that is representative of the mythical Wild Hunt: a phantasmal cavalcade, tracking and claiming the lives of mortals. Lastly, the leather book texture is a nod to the Hermetic Library itself.” [via]
Valerie Herron is an illustrator, conceptual designer, and fine artist. She works with the visual language of symbolism, gleaning from the vocabulary of mythology and the human condition, modern esoterica, and the wordless understanding within the subconscious. Valerie’s work is intensely colorful and macabre, an exercise in storytelling through poignant imagery.
Valerie works in a wide range of media, including water color, ink, acrylics, and digital. She continues to venture into third-dimensional work throughout he occasional transition of painting to artifact.
Valerie is pursuing a degree in Illustration at Pacific Northwest College of Art, where she is currently working on senior thesis work. She is also an intern for Faerieworlds LLC, and works as a freelance illustrator and fine artist. Valerie also spends her time writing fiction, filming & editing video art, and designing costumes.
Follow Valerie Herron via
Website
Blog
and
Anthology Profile
Hermetic Library Anthology Project – Magick Music and Ritual 5
The Hermetic Library Anthology Album – Magick, Music and Ritual 5
The Fall 2012 album from the Hermetic Library Anthology project is now released at The Hermetic Library Anthology Album – Magick, Music and Ritual 5 for immediate download! Physical CDs of this Fall 2012 issue are also available as a pre-order.
Please join the Hermetic Library in thanking and promoting these artists who have contributed their work to this benefit anthology album project by picking up this release. Please also spread the word to people you think may be interested in the work of artists who combine magick, music and ritual.
Be sure to also check out the previous issues of the Hermetic Library Anthology and look for a call for submissions to the Winter 2013 anthology album on Dec 15th!
The full track list for this Fall 2012 anthology album consists of 16 tracks with over 2 hours of music:
Part I – Arrival
- Shams93 – Wahabibi (Part 1) 04:21
- Shams93 – Wahabibi (Part 2) 04:00
- Anantakara – Unlock an Immortal Seal 09:20
- Apollon – Juxtaposition of the Shadow Traveller 06:25
- Troy Schafer – Blue Death 01:22
- Ophwurld – Spontaneous Involuntary Feeling 07:18
- y3mk – Shalicu 07:16
- Mahatma Dalí – Elephant Graveyard 11:21
- Exomène – Doom 04:49
- Dr J Cephei – Mystic Prophecy 04:27
- (m) – Izmir 02:24
Part II – Departure
- Ikipr – Orbits (Reprise) 03:41
- Machabray – Empty Room (Part V) 04:25
- (m) – Dark Liquid Replicating 02:38
- David B Metcalfe – Fields of Light – Lumen Siccum 24:50
- Kim Cascone – Ros Crux – Alchemisphere Zero 34:09
This fifth album from the Hermetic Library Anthology Project is being released on Samhain in Fall 2012, at 15° Scorpio. This fifth issue completes the first full year of releases, one on all four quarters in 2012. Magick, Music and Ritual 5 brings together 16 tracks by 14 artists with over 2 hours of music which spans 2 physical CDs.
Two parts of this playlist seem to have developed for me a ritual structure, or at least a passage through liminality. The first part is an arrival which is also the departure from normal place and time and the second part is a departure from a place of imagination but also a return to world, having perhaps changed ourselves and world in the meantime. Beginning with a two-part track that develops from a mostly unadorned oud playing a lament and then unfolds in the second track to reveal a heavily processed and altered dirge; thus the circle of the ritual is cast. We move further into liminal place and time with a series of tracks leading deeper into the unknown, offering a self-reflection with mysterious overtones. This is an unfolding descent into a metaphorical and allegorical darkness that paradoxically reveals us to ourselves. The ritual progresses to a lacuna between parts, a space where in ritual one might do a specific working. You may decide each time you listen to take advantage of this place and time between parts to interact with this playlist by enacting your own work here in the space prepared by you and these artists. The second part of the playlist lifts us back through an ascent that returns us, not ourselves the same nor to the same world from which we departed but to see with new eyes a place slightly different than before. We have polished our vessel through travel into the self and have become better prepared to share our specific gifts with the world. Like the long delayed return of Odysseus, we are entering a season of increasing darkness from which light is inevitably liberated.
This cover for this issue was designed and illustrated by Valerie Herron. When I think of the top heaviness of antlers, I actually think of the looming ominous canopy of fall trees in the dark with their skeleton arms and fingers sloughing off leafy skin. I also think of the way that the tree of life looms large above the single point at Malkuth, such a long, tall and precarious spectral ladder to the stars … a place, perhaps, where the dark romance of both old school esotericism and new American Gothic meet.
The Hermetic Library at Hermetic.com has an overall vision of Archiving, Engaging and Encouraging the living Western Esoteric Tradition. I started the benefit anthology project to help promote newer works in the Western Esoteric Tradition to the audience of the Hermetic Library and beyond. The anthology project also further raises awareness about the corpus and culture of magick and ritual.
I encourage you to check out the Hermetic Library at Hermetic.com, if you aren’t already familiar with it, as that’s the reason this project exists and may also offer inspiration to you. The site was started in 1996 and has ever since consistently been an extremely popular resource for students and researchers interested in the Western Esoteric Tradition.
Please join the Hermetic Library in promoting these artists who have contributed their work to this benefit anthology album project. Please also spread the word about these anthology albums to people you think may be interested in the work of artists who combine magick, music and ritual.
Hermetic Library
Hermetic Library Anthology Project
Hermetic Library blog
Hermetic Library audio pool
Production by John Griogair Bell
Artwork and Design by Valerie Herron
Mastering by SickTanicK of SKR
All songs used with permission. All rights reserved.