When I was younger I REALLY liked magic rocks, also known as metallic salt crystals. The magnesium crystals are grown with a sodium silicate solution, and stretch to the sky in a castle-like way that calls back stories of lost cities like Atlantis and Shambala, or memories of kingdoms we created in our heads while building drip castles and fairy homes. Today it has reminded me of pictures taken of the universe by Webb , cliffs of dust and gasses battling radiation and openings into other worlds. Elements like hydrogen and iron create ethereal images that only the universe can imagine up. I felt a deep connection with humanity while watching the images being released, and the tears in the scientists eyes as they revealed the ineffable photos of distant solar systems. For a moment maybe we all felt the “overview effect”.
“The overview effect is a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from outer space.[1] It is the experience of seeing first-hand the reality of the Earth in space, which is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life, "hanging in the void", shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. The effect may also invoke a sense of transcendence and connection with humanity as a whole, from which national borders appear petty.[2]” -Wikipedia.
I try to remember the things that made me believe in magic when I was a kid, because life IS magic, and it’s important to remind our adult selves that we still believe in the mysteries and wonders of the universe. Its hard to explain how I feel right now, amongst the daily doses of horror we are fed each day, I feel hope and wonder. If you haven’t seen the new images of the universe, please take a moment to feel just for a moment anything that comes up.
https://www.nasa.gov/content/first-images-from-the-james-webb-space-telescope
Kingdoms grow, water evaporates, and civilizations crumble. This is the natural cycle of things. Sometimes we can see the past, and other times it is seamlessly swallowed back into the earth. Just because we don’t see it, doesn’t mean they didn’t exist, and maybe its not even earth. These images are of the ruins of crystal castles, dehydrated and incredibly fragile.
Please enjoy a selection of images I took of grown and dried magic rocks through the lens of a microscope.
