Natural Partners.

Since I’m still in thrall to the novel existence of a scanner in my very own office, I thought I’d post my two favourite pictures of castles – Bamburgh and Warkworth in Northumberland.

What I find interesting about these two is the pictorial weight given to the presence of water. It’s something I’ve always felt – that castles need water in order to look right – and I’ve often wondered why. It’s nothing to do with moats, however attractive they might be. I finally decided that it’s to do with the balance of energies. Castles are icons of control and conflict, both of which belong in the yang realm, whereas water is the ultimate expression of yin. Ergo: balance.

And maybe this is why I also associate the castle and water theme with the Romantic tradition, which is largely about the balance between good and evil, dark and light, chivalry and aggression. I assume this is why the Romantic tradition is so important to me – because it offers a more balanced view and is therefore closer to perfection than mundane reality. And maybe it’s all a matter of perception. And maybe I’m falling prey to pretention. What a lot of Ps.