#thyrsos

When you upgrade your thyrsos.

Hellenistic amethyst intaglio depicting a maenad holding a thyrsus in one hand and a phallus in the other, dated to the 2nd century BCE. The intaglio is set in a modern gold ring. Image found on pinterest, but ultimate source unknown.

A thyrsus or thyrsos was a wand or staff of giant fennel (Ferula communis) covered with ivy vines and leaves, sometimes wound with taeniae and always topped with a pine cone. The thyrsus, associated with Dionysus (or Bacchus) and his followers, the Satyrs and Maenads, is a symbol of prosperity, fertility, hedonism, and pleasure/enjoyment in general. It has been suggested that this was specifically a fertility phallus, with the fennel representing the shaft of the penis and the pine cone representing the "seed" issuing forth.

Thyrsos WIP pics. Wood chip has the alchemical symbol for wine and spirits. Stones are amethyst, nuummite, rainbow moon stone, labradorite, and the arrow head. I'm gonna paint the clay, but don't know how/with what yet.

#thyrsos