owen cyclops
@owenbroadcast

in the mid 1800s the shakers (no sex having american fringe christians) started having so many visions they called it the ‘era of manifestations’

some people started drawing them, which was wild and extravagant by their normally humble standards

theyre called the gift drawings:

some of the aesthetic is pretty unique.

this one is called:

A Sacred Sheet Sent from Holy Mother Wisdom by Her Angel of Many Signs (1843)

i became of aware of these years ago. i knew an artist who told me about them - but he had the wrong name and misremembered the story, so i didnt find them until around a decade later

cant find a large version of this one but you can see the aesthetic. very ‘mystical americana’:

does not having sex cause you to make bizarre centrally oriented mandala-esque visionary images with basic colors? fascinating theory from twitter user Thousands. lets check in on hildegard von bingen

two shaker jams i clipped in this thread btw:

Sep 23, 2023, 5:57:00 PM