briefly: Vanity Project

I wrote back on my post about the Dierne that:

…he is the one I would most easily call modern. He’s chic and fashionable and fancy, and he’s vain and shallow and self-absorbed. the Dierne is all about beauty and excess. 

So, it fits that one of my devotional projects for him is called the ‘Vanity Project’. I’ve gathered a fair amount of makeup at this point, and my wardrobe is slowly receiving a makeover. The next step is picking up my exercise routine and dropping a few pounds, as well as eating better. It really is all about looks.

And there are a thousand reasons I could give you as to why reclaiming just being pretty and cute and femme is super empowering. There are a hundred reasons I could give you why getting a manicure is a religious experience and brings me closer to my gods. I could tell you that there’s more to it than appearances. (There is.)

But that sort of takes away the power of the project I’m working on. To be pretty just for beauty’s sake, to learn what my personal style is, and to feel gorgeous – that’s what I’m doing for the Dierne. Those all fall very clearly into his dominion, and by beautifying myself I can better act as a servant to him. This project also teaches me dedication – self-care is a lot of work.

The hardest part has actually been consistently drinking enough water every day, which is one of the best ways to stay healthy. I’m more of a caffeine boy, but I’m getting better at sucking down more water than coffee these days.

A lot of the power I’m finding in this devotional project, which helps me become a better servant, improves my own relationship with my self, and also brings my god and me closer, is that it really enacts one of the Dierne’s aspects in the world – beauty to be beautiful. Because of his faery connections, there are heavy elements of radical beauty, a glamour that challenges traditional gender roles or commonly held ideas about beauty, but it’s still pursuit of beauty just cause it feels good.

And today, I’m feeling pretty dang good.