Gruia is the only living goddess
from the ancient land of Transylvania.
Her cult is a fascinating phenomenon of contemporary devotion, a reaction to troublesome international events and a plea for self-love, self-irony, understanding, and peace. The monograph “Goddess Gruia” aims at analyzing the various aspects of this cult, its traits and iconography, employing the most advanced methodology and a deeply inter-disciplinary overall approach. It aims at providing a solution to the stand-still in contemporary art and the general disarray of feelings.
The cult of the goddess is brand
new.
It all started on July 22nd 2016 when she revealed herself to herself in a dream. This initial epiphany can be assimilated to the ancient ex vissu manifestations of the supernatural, similar to some of the ancient cults. Just like many of the ancient Roman cults, this one is syncretic, displaying a mix of features from other personalities, spiritual leaders and goddesses. For example, goddess Gruia is depicted with the third eye just like Shri Mataji, and just like the latter she can support meditation by the worshiper concentrating very hard on her third eye, on the forehead. As a typical trait, the cult of goddess Gruia has an added element of difficulty, meant to test the viewer, as one’s attention is sometimes drawn from the third eye to the grain of beaute on her upper lip.
Goddess Gruia is the epitome of
femininity
... hence the iconographic conflation with goddess Artemis of Ephesus who is depicted with numerous breasts. One can also note fleshy curves and wide hips, an even older influence that can be traced back to Venus of Willendorf. The large, beautiful, all-seeing eyes of goddess Gruia betray the influence of Punic depictions, as in Ancient Carthage many glass beads have this charming feature.
Goddess Gruia is the patron of:
modesty,
asymmetry,
self-love and self-irony,
peace,
women museographers,
hypochondriacs,
slave reenactors,
women artists,
fat ballerinas,
small business owners,
tile stoves
and many other groups of people, abstract concepts, and things !
Goddess Gruia does not discriminate, but she dislikes color blue.
The mere interest in her cult will make you want to enrich your vocabulary. You might have been tempted to look up a couple of words already just by reading this book.
Believers all those who own contact relics, i.e. art works touched by the goddess. Owners of one work are “happy ones”, owners of two artworks are “twice happy” and so on. Those who own more than 10 contact relics can subscribe to become priests/priestesses of her cult.
The benefits of worshiping goddess Gruia are
many.
For one, if you are a true believer, you will love and accept yourself, with a touch of self-irony, naturally. You will feel peaceful and curious, creative and forgiving. You will never be able to draw a straight line, but OCD shall never touch you. You will feel like visiting history of pharmacy museum and starting small creative businesses. You will work hard for small money, but that shall not dampen your spirits. You will never be promoted, but the world will seem a happier place nonetheless. Pray to the goddess and your tile stove shall never malfunction and the world will generally seem a happier place!
The supernatural being in question also benefits from being worshiped, as the sale of contact-relicts and cult images help cover the expenses of her Etsy temple (www.etsy.com/shop/GoddessGruia), of her Sancta Sanctorum (the art studio in Cluj-Napoca), and of the other related expenses, not least among them those required by the preservation of her bodily features.
At the current state of research, the iconography of goddess Gruia includes no narrative scenes. The only known depictions are iconic, either as simple cult images or as representations of the goddess with one of her many attributes: a tile stove, a painter’s palette and brush, a dictionary, a slave’s collar, and an apothecary jar. There are also amuletic depictions, small, simplified, sketchily renderings of her divine figure, to be worn folded against the body or in small glass jars hung around the neck. All of these can be acquired for her online Etsy temple at a reduced price, for the benefit of all current and future believers.
https://issuu.com/anamariagruia/docs/gg_carte_tot_mic