Square One

Notes from the Threshold

I will not assume it is all a game.

I will not guess the beginning, but draw it from the collection of games.

And I have just contradicted myself.

So, let’s begin from square one.

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Many inspiring ideas have crossed my path over the years.

Many emotions and sensations waved at me from the outskirts of the Astral Field.

All those experiences—and my interpretations of them, however foggy or overprocessed—have contributed to this project.

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At the moment, I feel like I’m being someone else.

Some other actor in this interwoven web of existence, trying to play a role that doesn’t quite belong to me.

But fine. All the roles, all the personas—they can live under one roof now, within the portal of Astore Faber Projects.

✦ On Names and Other Necessary Inventions

Speaking of Astore Faber… how did I come up with that?

I’ve used other aliases before. Every time a new creative persona shows up on my imaginary horizon, I feel the need to name it. One that stuck for a while was NIKOXXII. It came to me in a vision: I was on a stage (a dream shared by many youngish want-to-be-famous musicians), and the crowd was chanting “NIKO something-something.” I added “XXII” later. It felt cryptic enough to be meaningful. It stayed with me for a while, but eventually, it started to feel like a placeholder for something I hadn’t quite identified yet.

Then came Astore Faber.

Astore arrived in another vision. Later, I learned it means “hawk” in Italian—more specifically, a type of goshawk. I’ve always had a thing for hawks. I don’t subscribe to any particular belief system regarding spirit animals, but the symbolism has given me comfort. Every time I saw one, it felt like a quiet nod from the universe. So I adopted it.

Why did an Italian word fly through the gates of my psyche? I suppose someone left the gate open. But truthfully, words from many languages have drifted through my mind over the years—some linger, some vanish. So when another slipped in, I welcomed it.

Faber was a mental construct. I wanted something that reflected the creative process. After a brief internal debate, I settled on the Latin word for “maker” or “craftsman.”

I pronounce the name in a slightly contradictory way—“Astore” as in Italian, “Faber” as in English. It’s fine. I’ve made peace with it.

✦ On Brewing, Bottling, and Tarot

I’ve had several stories brewing in my mind for years.

Eventually, I decided I wanted to bottle them and place them on metaphorical shelves for others to try.

They all had different flavors, and I wasn’t ready to mix them—until now.

So here we are.

I’m mixing and bottling them all into one project:

SOHAIP — Stories of Hope and Inner Peace.

And the bottles?

They’re Tarot cards: my vessels and guides.

Not just any cards, but a deck I created myself, years ago.

They comforted me when I felt I couldn't commit to a long-term project. After all, the deck was a massive undertaking, and I successfully completed it.

All the cards were hand-drawn and painted.

It may not sound like a big deal, but it was.

I’ll probably talk more about it in a future post.

Why the brewing metaphor?

No idea.

It’s just the image that showed up, so I went with it.