The Blindfolded Seeress (1)

The starting point for this series of photographs was Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi, but I've also been researching Veleda (possibly a Latin rendering of Veleta), a Bructerian Seeress mentioned by Tacitus (the Bructeri were a Germanic tribe in Roman imperial times).

The blind seer/ess is a common mythic archetype – including the Graeae, who had just one eyeball between them, Tiresias the prophet of Thebes, and Odin who sacrificed an eye for wisdom. The general explanation seems to be trading normal sight for second sight.

A high-resolution version of this photograph is included in Paul Watson’s 2016 book of artwork Myth and Masks, available exclusively from our online shop.

A 13ʺ × 10ʺ giclée print of this photograph is also available now.