HIS portfolio is a roadmap of how to begin a magical journey of purpose, defeat our demons and return with with the treasure to heal our kingdom and the land. This journey is the Master Map that defines the way all people and cultures engage with the challenges of the unknown. An understanding of this vital psychological framework allows us to powerfully and skillfully navigate the unavoidable adversity of life with purpose, passion and everlasting success. This is esentially my genuine universal map of how to create a lasting legacy, re-enchant my environment (as well as the minds of people) with sustainability and skill in the Arts. This is the Map that defines the simple and often misunderstood sequence of transforming oneself into a master of its craft (in alchemy this is understood as transforming base metals into gold or finding the philosophers stone). This universal structure sits at the core of the early practitioners of magic, druidry and also divination. The Map outlines the vital components of alignment which transforms artists into magicians and materialist five-sense-based culture into reciprocal magic-based culture. Hacking into the codes of reality and implementing this formula helps individuals follow their bliss and achieve their goals. The Map and the Polaris of human imagination and relationship is most strongly expressed though ancient archetypes and mostly importantly through the act of creating meaningful works of Art. These archetypes are the most ancient and powerful structure that holds our society and species together. This transformational system defines the unique and specialized roles that we all have a role to play in our lives as well as inside our families, friend circles, tribes and communities. The way these archetypes interact with each other creates the ability to maximize probability and adaptability. Understanding and utilizing these archetypes allows us to:

🞭 Shape an environment of engaging with animism and the more-than-human world

🞭 Use intuition and imagination as an internal compass

🞭 Navigate obstacles skillfully and successfully

🞭 Craft a vision and model of the “North Star” of our true potential

🞭 Avoid the resistance of fear, anxiety, distractions, depression and loss of meaning and purpose

🞭 Find and engage with human and spiritual allies and gain wisdom to overcome seemingly impossible challenges and quests (sometimes there are double XP bonuses)

🞭 Face our biggest fears and use them as our shield

🞭 Implement the four pillars: Magic, mythology, folklore and the fantastical

🞭 Establish the values that guides the behavior of the aritst toward his/her own true will and vision

🞭 Be wiser, healthier, insightful, productive and self-reliant cosmic rebels

🞭 Define our true will and potential and commit to it on all possible levels


This portfolio includes most of my drawings, photographs and graphic designs as of August 2018, and I decided to dedicate a fraction of my free time to assemble together an extensive list with the idea to put all of my creative work into a nice single and tidy place. Yes everything that I post on my DeviantArt and ArtStation pages can already be seen there,  and there are even awesome categories with cool stuff and it looks quite neat and all that jazz, but a section in what I see as my most important place for expression (this blog) — where I pour out my imagination both by writing and by creating artistic visual work — is by all means quite a necessary and handy feature to have. So without further ado, let's get into my world of magic, myth, endless possibilities and the unseen. I will be constantly updating this portfolio, because obviously I'll be adding more of my new drawings, photographs and graphic design works and the rest of what I do creativly. Thanks for taking this tour and I promise that it will be worth every minute of your time. Have fun!
- Borislav

Drawings

I will begin by posting the most early drawing, to the most recent one. Then i’ll be posting my photography and after that my graphic design workS.

Kundalini

An alternative mirror version that I did with some obscure Occult symbols and sigils:

“Yoga is the intentional stopping of the spontaneous
activity of the mind stuff”

— Joseph Campbell

Skuggsja – A Piece for Mind and Mirror

I love this project and everything about it. It was directly inspired by the original front cover of the album, along with some motives and details from the booklet. The Runes were completely spontaneous and my own personal idea.

f4.bcbits.com/img/a0357143203_

Pencils on A4 printing paper + Photoshop tweaks here and there.

From their website:

Skuggsjá is a musical piece written by Ivar Bjørnson and Einar Selvik. Arranged to be performed by Enslaved and Wardruna and was originally initiated as a commissioned concert piece for the 200th anniversary of the Norwegian Constitution and premiered in September 2014 at the Eidsivablot festival, Eidsvoll where the constitution was written. Shortly after its debut Skuggsjá was announced as one of the headliner acts of the 20th edition of Roadburn Festival 2015.

www.skuggsja.no/
skuggsja.bandcamp.com/

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I did this one in 2017

It took me a while to finish this one, and I still think it is not quite done, but it was supposed to be a sort of quick drawing or a sketch, and it turned out to be something else in the end, but it looks quite well. I am very, very pleased with the final result. The dragon runes on the bottom are actually saying “SKYRIM”. The dragon logo of The Elder Scrolls series has a very special place for me. Both as a gamer and as an artist. It goes without saying, but The Elder Scrolls franchise, and especially Skyrim are probably the greatest form of art in video games of all times. Including the masterpiece soundtrack by mister Jeremy Soule, I think it is quite hard really to find weak spots there. Now, off to new adventures! …but without taking arrows in my knees.

Fus-Ro-Dah!

Gaming and Art

I’ve been a gamer pretty much through my entire conscious existence on this planet, and I have the fuzzy feeling that I’ll remain a gamer for the rest of my days (in one way or another). I remember that I always had a strong passion for few things in life. First and foremost, it was music (all aspects of it, as well as the creative process), than fantasy literature and cinema (Tolkien’s books primarily and of course Peter Jackson’s adaptation of TLOTR), and after that, like everyone else interested in books, writing and languages, my curiosity for History was quite crucial and it came quite naturally. Books in general are the “stuff” of life for me, and drawing stuff is the one of the most important aspects of life itself, and oh yes, yes, drawing is… its food for the soul! …and we all know how a souless person can be. Then last but not least, video games. I always felt and I continue to feel attached to the idea and the feeling what a virtual environment can evoke in you. RPGs are absolutely excellent to dive into and admire the beautiful design, the gameplay and the levels and gain experience, level up and all that, but the most excellent RPG is to explore the natural world outside and role-play your own way while living. I think there is no better RPG than life itself! Explore life and level up! Thank you for spending time to read this.

Wardruna – Runaljod – Ragnarok

My homage to Wardruna and their third installment in the Runaljod saga-trilogy. Don’t need to say or describe anything about the music or the album. Each song speaks of itself and it is quite hard to describe perfection in simple words anyway! I did this drawing in a manner of a few days and I also came up with the idea of the 24 Rune-Elder Futhark encircling the actual logo. This drawing is inspired by the official artwork of the album
www.rarelyunable.com/wp-conten…
and very much of the music as well and the concept ot Wardruna. Full circle means new opportunities. There is no end to the cycle, only never-ending death-rebirth scenario until infinity!

Rúnar munt þú finna
ok ráðna stafi,
mjök stóra stafi,
mjök stinna stafi,
er fáði fimbulþulr
ok gerðu ginnregin
ok reist Hroftr rögna.

Ouroboros

Version One

ouroboros__1st_verison__by_thenewoath-dcf6lti

Final and finished version:

Very much inspired by John Howe’s sketch:
www.dana-mad.ru/gal/images/Joh…

The Ouroboros

My latest endeavour into the world of the occult. I did this one as a sort of a tribute to Carl Jung and the illustrator John Howe. It is very much inspired by all sorts of natural as well as supernatural things of life and philosophies, but the major and central theme is ART and SCIENCE. For both Art and Science create what we term, MAGIC. In reality what MAGIC actually is and represents is the SCIENCE and ART of causing CHANGE to occur in conformity with WILL. The meaning of the Ouroboros is always open for interpretations though. As Carl Jung wrote:

“The alchemists, who in their own way knew more about the nature of the individuation process than we moderns do, expressed this paradox through the symbol of the Ouroboros, the snake that eats its own tail. The Ouroboros has been said to have a meaning of infinity or wholeness. In the age-old image of the Ouroboros lies the thought of devouring oneself and turning oneself into a circulatory process, for it was clear to the more astute alchemists that the prima materia of the art was man himself. The Ouroboros is a dramatic symbol for the integration and assimilation of the opposite, i.e. of the shadow. This ‘feed-back’ process is at the same time a symbol of immortality, since it is said of the Ouroboros that he slays himself and brings himself to life, fertilizes himself and gives birth to himself. He symbolizes the One, who proceeds from the clash of opposites, and he therefore constitutes the secret of the prima materia which […] unquestionably stems from man’s unconscious.”

White Tree of Gondor

Skeched with a pencil and then covered with a black drawing pen on white A4 printing paper.

White Tree of Gondor

The White Tree of Gondor stood as a symbol of Gondor in the Court of the Fountain in Minas Tirith. Its predecessor was a seedling of Nimloth planted in Minas Ithil, that was destroyed before the end of the Second Age.

The White Tree also appears in the Livery of Elendil, as a motif upon Gondor’s flag.

History

First White Tree

The first White Tree of Gondor came from a fruit that Isildur, at great personal risk, managed to steal from Nimloth the Fair, the White Tree of Númenor, before that one was destroyed at Sauron‘s insistence. He suffered many wounds at this mission, and he came near death, but when the first leaf opened in the spring, Isildur was healed of his wounds.

This sapling was brought to Middle-earth on Isildur’s ship, and it was eventually planted in Minas Ithil before his house. But when Sauron returned to Middle-earth, he launched a sudden attack in S.A. 3429 that captured Minas Ithil, and he burned the White Tree. Isildur escaped taking with him again a sapling.

Second White Tree

In the T.A. 2, Isildur planted the seedling of the White Tree in Minas Anor in memory of his brother, Anárion.

This White Tree lasted until T.A. 1636, when the Great Plague hit Gondor, killing among many others King Telemnar and his children.

Third White Tree

A third sapling was planted in T.A. 1640 by King Tarondor and died in T.A. 2872 with the death of the Ruling Steward Belecthor II.^[2]

Since no seedling was found, it was left standing after its death.^[2] When eventually replaced in T.A. 3019, it was placed in the Tombs of the Kings with royal honors.

Fourth White Tree

When Aragorn became king he discovered (with Gandalf‘s help) a sapling of the White Tree on the high hallow upon the slopes of Mindolluin, high above the city, which he reverently planted in its place. In June of T.A. 3019 the sapling bloomed.

Flammarion Engraving Detail

I really like medieval woodcuts and engravings. I’ve also been quite interested in Occult topics sinse my early teens, and Alchemy has always been a very curious subject to me. From Galileo to John Dee and Aleister Crowley. Everything related to the “unseen” and the Super-Natural is welcome in my radar.

Alchemists and sages, wizards through the ages and supreme mages!

Latest drawing! …or simply call it a sketch. (Sketches are good, but I like finished drawings more) A detail from the Flammarion engraving.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flammari…
I did this one pretty quick, and it may be used as a very nice bookmark, if done properly of course.

Drageornamentik – Detail from a Swedish Runestone

Version One

Version Two (the final design)

I’ve been working on this drawing, in and out, in a span of a few weeks. Kept adding more and more and in the end, there was no more space left. As you can see, the paper is divided in two, because I started on A4 format printing paper and later noticed that I might need more space to complete the Runestone. This is reconstruction and detail of an actual, existing RUNESTONE, found somewhere in Sweden. You can find more in the book “Nordboernes gamle religion – fortællinger fra edda, saga og kvad” by Carsten Lyngdrup Madsen

Tools used:
Pencils, drawing pens and printing paper

Duration:
Nine days and nine nights

Location where the drawing took place:
Under the branches of Yggdrasill

OuroBoris Book Reviews

(Secondary Channel Logo)

ouroboris_book_reviews_by_thenewoath-dc29gqn

An alternative version of a logo that I drew for my secondary YouTube channel, which deals only with books reviews. It’s a game of words. My first name is Borislav, but people call me Boris. So Ouroboros becomes OuroBoris. I have a modest, but proper small book library. A lot to review. So many books I wanted to review along the years, and now I may the chance to do it. If time allows and if fate dictates.

Very much inspired by John Howe’s sketch:
www.dana-mad.ru/gal/images/Joh…

My channel can be found here:
www.youtube.com/channel/UCbrps…

Celtic Knot Letter Motive (Cruachan inspired)

celtic_knot_letter___cruachan_by_thenewoath-dcg8p7b

Pencil on a sticky note. I am not kidding!! 🙂 I wanted to make a bookmark inspired by the logo of the Irish lads from Cruachan and I just had one of them sticky notes flying around. Here’s what came out of it. I quite like it. I use it for my books. It’s quite handy too.

Band

Cruachan is a folk metal band from Dublin, Ireland that has been active since the 1990s. They have been acclaimed as having “gone the greatest lengths of anyone in their attempts to expand” the genre of folk metal.^[1] They are recognised as one of the founders of the genre of folk metal. With a specific focus on Celtic music and the use of Celtic mythology in their lyrics, Cruachan’s style of folk metal is known as Celtic metal.^[2] The band named themselves after the archaeological site of Rathcroghan in Ireland also known as Cruachan.

Rathcroghan

Rathcroghan (Irish: Ráth Cruachan, meaning “fort of Cruachan”) is a complex of archaeological sites near Tulsk in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is identified as the site of Cruachan, the traditional capital of the Connachta, a term used to describe the prehistoric and early historic rulers of the western territory. The Rathcroghan Complex (Crúachan Aí) is a unique archaeological landscape with many references found in early Irish medieval manuscripts.

Located on the plains of Connacht (Mag nAí/Machaire Connacht), Rathcroghan is one of the six Royal Sites of Ireland. This landscape which extends over six square kilometres, consists of 240 plus archaeological sites, sixty of which are protected national monuments.

These monuments range from the Neolithic (4000 – 2500 BC), through the Bronze (2500 – 500 BC) and Iron Age (500 BC – 400 AD), to the early medieval period and beyond. These monuments include burial mounds, ringforts and medieval field boundaries amongst others. The most fascinating of these are the multi period Rathcroghan Mound, the mysterious cave of Oweynagat, the Mucklaghs – a spectacular set of linear earthworks, as well as the Carns medieval complex.

There are many interesting historic references to Rathcroghan (Ráth Crúachan) recorded in early medieval manuscripts, including the 12th century Lebor na hUidre. Rathcroghan is recorded as the location of one of the great fairs of Ireland, as well as being one of the island’s three great heathen cemeteries. It is also the location for the beginning and end of a national epic tale – an Táin Bó Cuailnge, and the royal seat of Medb (Maeve), Connacht’s Warrior Queen.

Uniquely, Rathcroghan possesses an entrance to the Otherworld, described in the medieval period as “Ireland’s Gate to Hell”, located at Oweynagat (the Cave of the Cats). The cave has associations with the pagan festival of Samhain, Halloween, as well as being described as the “fit abode” of Morrigan, a Celtic Goddess of pre-Christian Ireland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruachan_(band)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathcroghan

Pine Tree Sketch

Pretty recent sketch that I did (early summer, 2018) , while roaming around the local woods and exploring the unexplored. Black pen on white notebook paper.

Sacred Trees of the Celts and Druids

The Pine tree is an evergreen, its old title was “the sweetest of woods.” It was known to the Druids as one of the seven chieftain trees of the Irish. Mix the dried needles with equal parts of juniper and cedar and burn to purify the home and ritual area. The cones and nuts can be carried as a fertility charm. A good magickal cleansing and stimulating bath is made by placing pine needles in a loose-woven bag and running bath water over it. To purify and sanctify an outdoor ritual area, brush the ground with a pine branch.

Old Log Sketch

Pretty recent sketch that I did (early summer, 2018) , while roaming around the local woods and exploring the unexplored. Black pen on white notebook paper.

The Spiral

The oldest symbol known to be used in spiritual practices. It reflects the universal pattern of growth and evolution and represents the goddess, the womb, fertility and life force energy. Reflected in the natural world, the Spiral is found in human physiology, plants, minerals, animals, energy patterns, weather, growth and death. It is a sacred symbol that reminds us of our evolving journey in life. When used as a personal talisman, the Spiral helps consciousness to accept the turnings and changes of life as it evolves.

www.whats-your-sign.com/spiral…

The Masks of God

Pencil on a sticky note!
A study of the human face and its features. I did those four back in 2016. They can be wonderful bookmarks. (if they behave themselves)

“The child’s world is alert and alive, governed by rules of response and command, not by physical laws: a portentous continuum of consciousness, endowed with purpose and intent, either resistant or responsive to the child itself.

This infantile notion of a world governed by moral rather than physical laws, kept under control by a superordinated parental personality instead of impersonal physical forces, and oriented to the weal and woe of man, is an illusion that dominates men’s thoughts all over the world.

The sense then, of this world as an undifferentiated continuum of simultaneously subjective and objective experience (Participation), which is all alive (Animism), and which was created by a superior being (Artificialism), may be said to constitute the frame of reference of all childhood experience no matter where in the world.