Arcanum
by Daniel Yates
illustrated by David S. Herrerías
Arcanum serves as a photographic exploration of its namesake, a journey into the other through the vision of another. In a world shaped by textual forms, Arcanum aims to delineate expectations and to open a window into a more fluid and dynamic world where interpretation is truly left to the beholder.
“Everything from colour, form, concept, and action must be allowed to unfold, to manifest in the way it wants to present itself to you. Exposure to the multitude of occult streams that have revealed themselves can make this act more difficult as these influences promote specific ideas, images, colours, and forms that apply to the work they do, much like language.”
—Daniel Yates
This work aims to challenge the accepted norms of how the occult is perceived and rendered in image. By passing light through the forge of the lens, Daniel Yates teases out from the shadows a world that lies hidden in plain sight, exposing concepts that are often elusive and intangible, yet ever present. Each image in this work is a window into a much deeper stratum of awareness and understanding; the contemplation of the image over time will reveal to the onlooker an arcanum that is purely their own.
“Through such contemplation the images observed become transformed, and whilst each viewing yields new insight, others remain yet hidden – so it is that the living image remains forever familiar yet unfamiliar, known but unknown, worldly yet ‘other’.”
—Martin Duffy, from the foreword
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Table of Contents
Foreword
Martin Duffy
Aspectu
To glimpse a sight beyond the known
To Enter the Hall of Two Truths
Embracing the psychopomp
Philosophicus
Concept as image
Icons of Nature
The embodiments of Elphame
Praxis
Methods unto the arte
Emanations
Creation descending
Spiritu
Those who stand before us
Masks of Misrule
A light upon the faceless
Crwca
To walk upon the crooked path
Odyssey of the Compass
The transfiguring landscape
Inspiration
Bibliography, etc.
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Photography by Daniel Yates.
Illustrated by David S. Herrerías.
Paperback Edition
200 pages. German Binding. Gloss (Scuff Free) finish, and Silver Foil Stamp on cover, spine, and backcover. Full Colour interior. Fine typography, printed on EuroArt 200M (thick) archive-quality paper.
ISBN: 978-1-989339-02-2
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Press, reviews, endorsements
Book Overview on the BiblioSophia channel - watch on YouTube here
Interview with Daniel Yates on the Thoth Hermes podcast - watch on YouTube here
“Arcanum is a book almost entirely made up of images, of stunning macro-lens photographs taken by the highly talented Daniel Yates. Arcanum is also an assassin, as it perfectly understands the sequence of experiences it needs to take us on: From allowing us entrance, to slowing us down, to stilling our gaze, to drawing us in, to showing us a glimpse of the threshold its images can be, to finally pointing into the darkness beyond by means of its illuminating titles and chapters…”
Paralibrum - read the full review here
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About the Author
Daniel Yates is a theology researcher, folklorist, and occult photographer who has spent over twenty years dedicated to grassroots research into witchcraft practices in northern England. His current postgraduate research is focused on ritual practices in pre-Roman Lancashire. This background has informed a lot of the photographic work he has undertaken, which has seen publication in his book Arcanum alongside PILLARS: Circling the Compass (both under Anathema Publishing) and Wyrd Vol 3 (Three Hands Press). An extensive collection of his work is featured in the Ritual Space and the Crooked Path Beyond series (Atramentous Press).
About the Artist
David S. Herrerías is a self-taught artist born in Mexico City. The media he harnesses is broad and dynamic which stretches from oil, wash and charcoal to clay, carving on wood, stone and bone. His works have been released as album covers and he has illustrated several books through the years. His work has been exhibited in Paris, Los Angeles, Copenhagen, Seattle and Gothenburg. He moved to Sweden in 2006 and has been working and living there since.
