Body of the Goddess

Photography by Taya Mâ

My people take pictures. My grandpa Jack was a White House photographer for FDR and eventually worked for the Red Cross, flying into natural disasters to photograph them. My great uncle Sam is credited with bringing the 35 mm camera to the U.S. from Europe and took the famous photo of the Hindenburg exploding. My great uncle Joey was a photographer to the stars, working with Hollywood icons like Marilyn Monroe, Joan Crawford, and Sophia Loren. I dreamed of becoming a photographer in their footsteps. My grandpa, who found the life of a photographer to be a constant hustle, highly discouraged me from pursuing this path, and I put my camera down.

Flash forward thirty years. Deep amidst pandemic lockdown, I began getting roses delivered to help me feeling supported, connected, and immersed in beauty. I began taking close ups of the bouquets each week, particularly moved by them as they faded. Falling in love with their petals, their nuances, their vulvic qualities: Goddess revealing in rose form. Before long, I got a macro lens and began turning it toward everything I saw. I’m astounded by the beauty, the sacred, the portal that flowers are and reveal. Their petals and leaves call me home and into a new way of perceiving what is right in front of me. I am excited to share with you this magic as I encounter it.

May these flowers bring you inspiration and be a reminder that the Goddess is everywhere, including in you.