Eras and Easter Eggs: The Spirituality of Being a Swiftie
Symbolism, art, and the shared experience of being human
God and symbolism
I was talking to someone about symbolism in the scriptures that are meaningful to me. I mentioned how interesting I found it that the tree of life is an eminent symbol at the beginning of my religion’s scripture, and it was also a notable symbol of the ancient Israelite goddess, Asherah. The question was brought up about the historicity of the scriptures, with the question of its actual source.
While understanding why the question of scriptural historicity is important and relevant, I explained that for me personally, that wasn’t really the point. As I struggled to explain what I meant I found myself reaching for the most graspable metaphor at the moment and saying,
“God to me is like…Taylor Swift. He or She or They are the mastermind of the universe sprinkling easter eggs all over for fans simply because She or He or They love them.”
Even if scriptures aren’t historical texts, it isn’t unbelievable to me that a human could have put in a “tree of life” either by coincidence or inspiration or something in between, with the result of it still having a spiritual impact on people, and be a little easter egg for those interested in a female version of God.
Whether it’s a historical record, a fictional story, or a work of art, why can’t God still inspire someone to sprinkle some godly easter eggs in there — whether the person creating is aware of the significance of it or not? Can a fictional work by a human have divine truth in it?
I recently wrote about how in the Barbie movie, I was moved by the emotional scene of Barbie witnessing the human experience and the focus on a tree in the scene. I didn’t know if the movie creator knew of the connection of trees to ancient goddesses, but it was touching to me just the same.
What I see God doing is weaving symbols and easter eggs into our human life experiences. Symbols might have different meanings to different people, or the same meanings to different people, but either way could be God, or the universe, or whatever is out there making a connection, saying hello.
You know who else does that?
Taylor Swift and symbolism in art
My girl Taylor Swift is notorious for weaving symbolism through her music and has always used easter eggs as secret messages for her fans. It started with the methodical capitalization of her lyric booklets in CDs, followed by subtle signs in her music videos, and then hints in Instagram posts.
She uses numbers, colors, and all sorts of symbols to hint at new music, album re-releases, and upcoming announcements. I personally find even more enjoyment in her tightly interwoven symbolism throughout her music. She uses rich imagery of crowns, chess/games/dice, gardens, snow globes, clocks and time, weather, snakes, fairytales, classic stories, and more to shroud her messages in mystery and connect them across time and albums. Luckily for us deconstructing Christian Swifties, her latest album is rich with references to religion.
Symbolism in art isn’t isolated to Taylor Swift’s music — many great artists use meaningful symbols. Think about Pixar’s and Marvel’s easter eggs across movies, the way books pull from mythology and other classic fantasies, or how elements of a painter’s personal life can be pointed out in their work.
Religious folks who spend time in scripture or spiritual texts will also attest that those works are rich in symbolism as well — maybe from God, maybe from the human authors, but present and layered in different meanings just the same. Jesus himself taught in parables that can have a myriad of interpretations.
Life easter eggs
Many people believe in “signs” from God or the universe, prompting them in a certain direction or bringing a sense of peace. An easter egg I recently received from the universe was The Tortured Poets Department being released on my late dog’s birthday.
I realize that might sound silly, but in 2023 I lost my dog, my first pet as an adult, which was a very heavy yet spiritual experience for me that tugged at the depths of my soul. Weeks later, I found myself lucky enough to be at The Eras Tour with some good friends, which was an incredibly moving and memorable experience. To have an album drop on my dog’s birthday the following year felt like a secret wink and a reminder that the things of my soul are important and real.
Eras and being met where you are
Taylor Swift’s music has meant different things to me at different times in my life. There is something beautiful about the concept of eras — how life changes and each of us as individuals change, but there are elements of us that stay consistent and connected throughout time. Each life era we experience is part of our story that’s in the process of being written.
It’s been mostly pretty easy for me to vibe with whatever Taylor Swift’s current era is, considering I am a female near the same age as her, and in many ways have “grown up” with her. I started listening to her music as a teenager — when she was a new artist and a teenager herself. I’ve experienced different versions of love, heartbreak, faith and hope, friendship, realization of dreams, phases of rebellion, deconstruction, unmet hopes, and even anxiety and mental health struggles that her music is somehow able to beautifully encompass.
I believe in divinity that meets you where you are and blesses you right then and there, much like Taylor Swift’s music.
In The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr, in explaining a statue of St. Francis in Italy where St. Francis is looking down into the dirt, Rohr says:
“God is hidden in the dirt and mud instead of descending from the clouds…What we first of all need is here!”
The human experience: what we all share
Although much of Taylor Swift’s songs are about her personal life, she has said (including during the folklore portion of her Eras Tour) that some of her songs are stories she created in her mind. However, even the fictional stories I can’t help but think probably contain even small parts of her personal life in them.
Even though her songs are personal, they somehow resonate with a fan base of millions. It’s truly incredible to me. Again, the same goes for art in general — we as humans find something in our souls singing when we see, or hear, or read a piece of art that we resonate with.
The main character in the book The Maid by Nita Prose says:
“It feels good to eat. It’s something so human, so satisfying. It’s something we all have to do to live, something every person on Earth has in common. I eat, therefore I am.
Humans all experience hunger, satiation, loss, fulfillment, sadness, joy, love, and hurt, among many other things.
The messiness of The Tortured Poets Department
Taylor Swift’s newest album “The Tortured Poets Department” is a freight train of beauty, emotions, and messiness. It’s highly emotional and loaded with dramatic lyrics about heartbreak, death, and unrealized life hopes.
There are so many things I love about the album — her several references to other artists, further memorializing them with her fame. Her nostalgic cultural references to the time in life when she (and I) was in high school. The way she reaches for the simplicity of youth. The way she allows the album to be uncomfortably dark in many places. Her references to Greek mythology and philosophy. Her religious nods and biblical references.
The religious nods are the ones that absolutely screamed at me upon my first listen — are you surprised? I know I’m not the only one for whom the religious lyrics stood out. Religion and culture have shaped many of us for better and for worse, and as many of us have broken away from the cages society has built around us, we are both more confident and less sure. We are stronger and more scarred. What we’re left with is messy but it’s REAL.
The Tortured Poets Department feels like that. It feels messy, raw, and uncut. It feels real.
Just for fun: churchy & biblical references in TTPD
- Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best//Clutchin’ their pearls sighing “What a mess” (But Daddy I Love Him)
- What if I roll the stone away?//They’re gonna crucify me anyway (Guilty as Sin?)
- But your good Lord doesn’t need to lift a finger, I can fix him//No, really, I can (I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can))
- In your suit and tie, in the nick of time//You low-down boy, you stand-up guy, you Holy Ghost, you told me I’m//The love of your life (loml)
- I would’ve died for your sins//Instead I just died inside (The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived)
- Devils that you know//Raise worse hell than a stranger (The Albatross)
- And it was written//I got cursed like Eve got bitten//Oh, was it punishment?//…But I looked to the sky and said//Please//I’ve been on my knees//Change the prophecy (The Prophecy)
- When the first stone’s thrown there’s screaming (Cassandra)
- Words from the mouths of babes//…And I won’t confess that I waited//But I let the lamp burn (Peter)
Just for fun: deconstruction lyrics
- I just learned these people only raise you to cage you//…I just learned these people try and save you ’cause they hate you//…I’ll tell you something ‘bout my good name//It’s mine alone to disgrace//…God save the most judgmental creeps who say they want what’s best for me//…You ain’t gotta pray for me (But Daddy I Love Him)
- What if the way you hold me//Is actually what’s holy?//If long suffering propriety//Is what they want from me//…I choose you and me//Religiously (Guilty as Sin?)
- You wouldn’t last an hour//In the asylum where they raised me//…You caged me,//And then you called me crazy//I am what I am cause you trained me (Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?)
- When your impressionist paintings of Heaven turned out to be fakes//Well, you took me to hell, too//…Dancing phantoms on the terrace, are they second-hand embarrassed//That I can’t get out of bed ’cause something counterfeit’s dead? (loml)
- Was any of it true?//Gazing at me starry-eyed//In your Jehovah’s Witness suit (The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived)
- It’s hell on earth to be heavenly (Clara Bow)
- Cross your thoughtless heart//Only liquor anoints you//She’s the albatross//She is here to destroy you (The Albatross)
- A greater woman has faith//But even statues crumble if they’re made to wait (The Prophecy)
Did I miss any?
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