Tala Völva - number oracle

Added 1685133186 by Rebecca Tun.

Photo and digital manipulation by Twisted Fox.

Shot in Birmingham, December 2021.

Thank you Twisted Fox for the incredible hard work and vision you put into creating this spectacular character.

~

I love the cerebral nature of this image. The text-like markings near the halo suggest the magic of this sorceress relates to words, logic and data - a type of magic that literally exists in our lives.

Twisted Fox said he was going for an oracle vibe. It occurred to me as I happen to be writing from Iceland at the present moment, that the Icelandic word for computer is tölva, a feminine noun put together from tala (number) and völva (prophetess).

I actually think of computer programming as a real and true example of a magic spell! I'll try to explain. In computing there's a causal relationship between symbolic input and the physical behaviour of an inanimate system. Isn't that literally what witches and wizards try to do? They must express the symbols precisely correctly in order to influence the inanimate world in the way they intend. Yes, you might say, but it's not because of the meaning of the symbols that the computer behaves that way; it's been set up that way by humans so they can program it. True...but as far as I'm concerned, that IS a magic spell! We and all of the things that we make are as much a part of nature as anything else. As part of nature's hilarious tendency towards consciousness, we humans have made objects we can talk to and which talk back. I find this very funny and very awe-inspiring.