.Where Soul Meets Body.

Hey! Do me a favour. This image was made for this song! Soul Meets Body by Deathcab for Cutie ->>> [link]

Here are the lyrics to this song! The description, if you read it, will make a whole lot more sense after reading these lyrics: [link]

For most people just browsing, suffice it to say this is merely a dragon, reading outside/inside a cemetery, reminiscing about life, in the autumn. And you can interpret it any way you want!

This image goes hand in hand with Viva la Vida, located here: [link]

No need to read further unless you just want to know more about why this was created and about me!

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So, this is MY interpretation. I created this with a very vague idea in mind, and as I started ironing out the sketch, the reason behind it became clearer and clearer. Everything is this image has a reason for being there, and a lot of it can be interpreted in different ways. And here is the breaking down of it all:

First, let's talk about the song. The meanings behind it are both vague and specific - you get this sense of either friendship or long lasting love that you hope to retain until you meet the grave, or possibly that you understand what you've got until you lose it - digging deeper, potentially about finding a completion to your soul. I know some beleive that you never complete yourself until you find that one aspect, whatever it may be. The overall feel is melacholy, but not depressing, which is difficult to capture in a song. It has a sense of resignation, but almost a plea for something more. I can never quite put my finger on it.

The dragon, one of the versions of Asyd, is situated outside or inside of what appears to be a graveyard. So it's vague in this sense, because I didn't want people to assume it was either inside or outside this place. This represents the reason I chose this song;
Where Soul Meets Body. Where does the soul meet the body? When you're born? When somebody else dies? When you die? When you realize your sense of self? When you find the person you want to share your life with? Who knows. I certainly don't, and I've always wondered. She is facing the gate for a reason, which I'll get to later.

The second aspect is the vegetation. It takes place in the fall, a transitioning season between the vibrance of summer's end and beginning of winter's desolation. The burning bush, as located right behind the sign, was actually taken right from my own yard in Tennessee...while every bush in the state turned a brilliant burning red and died promptly after, our bush remained green until almost the very end of fall. I wanted to put that in here...for no other reason than it reminded me of home. The trees there intercepting the walls bridge the gap between the manmade and the nature we've overtaken. I thought it was a good allusion, even if a common one, to put in this image, because a lot of people feel really strongly about the earth we live on, including myself, and preserving it's luster for everyone else after my generation.

The stairs are referenced from this stock, and I thank cat-in-the-stock for uploading it and giving us permission to use it as reference: [link]
They represent a pathway into the unknown. I don't know if this path leads into the cemetery or out of it, or if it takes me somewhere new altogether. I wanted it to be worn, and old, and mossy - this symbolizes that even if we make a new path, we're following everyone else that came before us. In some way, we're all doing what out ancestors have done - if not in the same form or fashion. The gravestones there in the background go hand in hand with the last bit - how we follow our ancestors.

The gate. Okay, so this is where the subject goes further than the surface implications. XD If you were bored by the above, then totally ignore the rest. It's purely personal and philosophical.

So, I know a lot of people, including myself, that feel as if they should have been born in another time and place, or that they know they've been in different eras, or that they belong not in this body but one they can never be in [at least not in this reality anyways...] So, the gate represents that wall, that thing you can feel and even see past - but you know you'll never be able to get there. For some people, they know they will never be complete until they find this place, or are a part of it. For others, they are content knowing they have this life to give, and will make the most of it. Some never get a chance to live it, and others live their whole lives not knowing it existed. This aspect ties in all the other minor details that made this image; the uncertainty of the afterlife, why the meaning of life matters to the individual, and the decisions we make in the meantime. Which brings me to why I chose for my character Asyd to be facing this gate...I see myself right on the cusp, in between two places, searching...I don't know where I am, or why I'm here - wholly in the figurative sense. Why am I reading? To understand, to find that reason. Someone has written it for me somewhere, even if it's written in between the lines so to speak. I left the book blank on the outside, so you yourself can relate to whatever it is you feel will give you the answer, and because I don't think I'll ever find my answers even in death.

A lot of people find autumn depressing. Not everybody, but a lot of people I know. Well, I was born October 12th, right in the center or end of autumn in most temporal deciduous areas. I might be pretty biased, but I've developed an affinity for Fall over the years, not only for the colours, but for the atmosphere. Every season has its own scent, but the smell of wet, decaying leaves and that melodramatic voice of the wind...it all has a tune of it's own that I can relate to more so than any other season. Of my childhood, I remember the autumns the most, and especially how they felt and what was going on. I'm going to miss them when I lose my memory with age. So I also wanted to recapture that feeling of impending doom with the overcast skies and frightfully vague lighting, meant to be interpreted a lot less dramatic than that statement says. XD So I needed a song that captured the feel of Autumn for me, and a song I could relate to in more ways than one. So, Soul Meets Body by Deathcab for Cutie fulfills all of these aspects - on top of being a generally good song.

(And, just for being clever, I have to compliment myself on using this German style old calligraphic font, called Blackletter. And I have lots of roots in Germany - in fact, my Dad's entire family is from Germany. Yays for relevence! A thanks to Arimah for making me think of the importance of our typefaces. <3 [link]ld_English_typeface.svg)

And there you have it - the novel behind the image. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and indeed - this text is just below a thousand words. Go figure...

Take it easy y'all, and hopefully we'll all find the place where soul meets body some day.