PHILOSOPHY
“When one chooses only a single side — be it darkness or light — one inevitably enters into conflict with its opposite. Such is the law of duality: by affirming only one part of the self, one rejects the other, stepping onto the path of perpetual inner opposition.
Yet true wisdom and harmony lie in the recognition and unification of both opposites. Only when light and shadow coexist in balance does true wholeness emerge.
The Serpent and the Rabbit, as symbols of distinct facets of the soul, are not adversaries, but equal archetypal forces within the architecture of Life’s Cosmos. And only by embracing both can one attain the inner alchemy where opposites do not clash, but complement — leading to harmony and true unity.
It is precisely in this act — the fusion of the irreconcilable — that the Alchemy of Creation takes place. For one can only create from wholeness. From a world where all within you has returned to its rightful place.”
“The Pythia Diaries. The Voice of the Gods.”
DARIIA GANAGA
THE SERPENT &
RABBIT
Philosophy of Inner Union
Within every human being live opposing forces — softness and strength, light and shadow, purity and passion, fear and wisdom. The Lady with Rabbits project embodies this philosophy through two powerful symbols: the rabbit and the snake.
The Rabbit is a symbol of tenderness, vulnerability, gentleness, innocence, and purity. It is sensitive, receptive, timid, and open. Yet at the same time, it carries the energy of bohemian sensuality, desire, physicality, pleasure, and hedonism. It lives through sensation — it is beautiful, aesthetic, present in the here and now. It loves light, touch, and freedom.
The Serpent is a symbol of transcendent wisdom, power, intuition, depth, and metamorphosis. It is ancient. It sees what is hidden. It is the embodiment of awareness. But it also holds danger, fear, coldness, dark passion, destructive instinct, and venom. The snake hypnotizes, frightens, and evokes awe.
The rabbit and the snake are archetypes that appear incompatible. One is trembling, the other — commanding.One is of the air, the other — buried in the earth. And yet, if you look deeper, they are alike. They both live on the edge. They are both pure expressions of power — simply of different natures. When the rabbit and the snake embrace, it is a sign that your inner parts are no longer at war.
That you no longer divide yourself into right and wrong. That you are ready to recognize your wholeness.
THE LADY WITH RABBITS
Is a philosophical art project by Dariia Ganaga, where art, the symbolism of alchemy and archetypal soul transformations are intertwined. This project is a profound journey of the soul through the layers of consciousness and time, expressed through the language of art — books, paintings and fashion.
PYTHIA
Serves as an archetype of the human Soul — a guide between epochs, states, and elements. She undergoes a transformative path through the four alchemical stages: Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas and Rubedo, in order to reach the fifth and final stage — Aether — the state of pure creation and wholeness.
The project unites ancient wisdom with modern identity. It is a symbol of the transcendent self, of inner alchemy, and of the return to true power through the art of creation.
Lady with Rabbits is the inner alchemical journey of the Pythia archetype — a soul moving from dormancy into the awakened power of creative expression.
STAGE I. Nigredo
Archetype of the Pythia: The Keeper of Time
Element: Earth
Symbolism: The Serpent attacks the Rabbit. An inner split.
This is the point of origin. The moment the soul first becomes aware: there are two beings within her.
And they are not in union. The Serpent — the guardian of power, darkness, instinct, intuition, and ancient memory — suddenly rises.
It senses its superiority, it despises vulnerability. It strikes. The Rabbit — the embodiment of light, sensitivity, tenderness, and love — doesn’t understand what’s happening.
It trembles but steps forward. It does not know this is an attack. It only senses danger. Thus begins the great inner split. The Soul divides into two: one part reaches for the light, the other descends into darkness.
This is Nigredo — the blackening of alchemy. Disruption. Dissolution. The destruction of the old identity.
At this moment, the Pythia — the Soul — becomes the Keeper of Memory.
She feels everything long buried rise from the depths: fears, traumas, betrayals, unprocessed pain.
These are not just memories — they are the voice of her pain and her shadow.
Externally, this stage manifests as upheaval: destructive relationships, abuse, betrayal, crisis, loss — all that shatters the familiar worldview.
A split occurs within the self: who I was and who I’ve become, the light self and the dark self, the real and the imagined.
Earth, as an element, pulls us back into the body — forcing us to remember who we are, where we come from, who we were before all roles and masks.
This is not a fall — it is a descent into the unconscious, where the alchemical journey begins.
Here starts the dark night of the soul, where the old must die so that a new unity may begin to take form within.
At this stage, one lives inside an illusion — an illusion so real it becomes harder and harder to let go of. Whoever passes through this inner split may one day reunite the Serpent and the Rabbit. But for now, they are enemies.
And only the awareness of this war — within and without — offers the first chance to begin the work of inner alchemy.
“Nigredo is the night of the soul.”
STAGE II Albedo
Pythia Archetype: The Sensitive Pythia
Element: Water
Core Theme: Cleansing, forgiveness, acceptance of vulnerability, emotional awakening
Albedo is the dawn after devastation.
It is the moment when the soul, having passed through darkness,
chooses not power — but tenderness. Here, the Pythia — the archetype of the soul — lifts the rabbit from the ground. She does not reject him, does not hide him, does not shame him. She gathers him in her arms, this trembling, fragile being, and holds him close to her heart.
The rabbit is her vulnerable self — the part that was once denied, the part that feared feeling.
But now — she sees him. Not as weakness, but as a treasure.
The tears that fall in this moment are not of pain — they come because the soul no longer runs from herself. Albedo is cleansing by water.
But this water does not just wash away — it embraces, like a warm hand. It allows feeling — without collapse. This is the first act of self-love. The first forgiveness.
The first “yes” to emotion. Here, the Pythia stops being the one who fights. She becomes the one who embraces.
Stage III — Citrinitas
When the Pythia — the soul — turns away from the serpent,
when she chooses only tenderness and fearfully rejects her own wisdom,
the serpent remains unacknowledged.
And in that exile, he becomes Python —
cold, sharp, dominant, disconnected.
In life, this manifests as a person who is deeply intelligent, analytical,
perhaps even charismatic —
but cut off from their emotional center.
They become:
Harsh in thought, rejecting vulnerability in themselves and others
Controlling and hyper-logical, needing to dissect and define everything
Emotionally distant, unable to truly empathize or soften
Cynical, sarcastic, often belittling anything too “emotional”
Aggressive or manipulative when feeling threatened
Constantly tense, unable to fully relax or trust
They may succeed.
They may be respected, even feared.
But deep down, they never feel truly loved —
because they themselves have never allowed their heart to be seen.
And it all began the moment their soul — their inner Pythia — chose the rabbit and left the serpent alone.
One part of them now lives in fear, the other — in rage. And until they meet again, the self remains divided. The mind becomes a weapon. And the heart remains silent.
Archetype : Python
Element: Fire
Symbolism:
When the Pythia — the Soul — chooses the Rabbit, when she holds her tenderness, fear, and softness to her chest, she makes a sacred choice: to live through feeling.
But in that same moment, the Serpent is left alone. Yet the serpent is not just a creature. He is the carrier of ancient wisdom, the one who holds truths beyond time. The Serpent is an Oracle in potential. He senses, he sees, he knows. But without the soul beside him — without the one who gives that knowledge meaning — the serpent begins to change. He becomes Python in his most raw and untamed form — driven by fear, the need to dominate, and the desperate instinct to protect himself.
Stage IV — Rubedo
Element: Air
Pythia Archetype: The Witness, The Conscious One, The Integrated Self
Core Theme: Choice, awakening, union of opposites
In the stage of Rubedo, awareness arrives.
This is the moment when the soul sees itself fully —
not in fragments, not in reflections, not through fear or fantasy —
but directly, honestly, and deeply.
The Pythia sees within her two forces:
the vulnerable — the Rabbit,
and the wise — the Serpent.
And with this knowledge comes a choice.
She may remain on the side of one.
She may continue to live in the world of the Rabbit —
in softness, sensitivity, and the constant hope of being rescued.
Or she may choose the side of the Serpent —
in knowledge, control, and proud solitude.
But in both cases, the reality becomes an illusion.
The world is built around just one part,
and that part begins to rule all.
The person appears to live —
but only within a single role.
Rubedo is the moment of truth.
The moment when you realize:
Only when you embrace both sides
do you truly become yourself.
At this stage, the Pythia unites.
She rejects neither the Serpent nor the Rabbit.
She draws them both into herself
as two powers
that together give her voice,
vision,
clarity,
and the right to create.
For the Serpent is the Oracle,
and Python is the true, ancient nature of the Pythia.
Stage V — Aether
Element: Aether
Pythia Archetype: The Creator, She Who Lives in Flow
Core Theme: Creation, wholeness, the eternal Now, life beyond time
At the fifth stage, the Pythia makes a conscious choice:
the choice of integration.
She embraces both forces — the vulnerable and the wise —
not as opposites,
but as the source of her wholeness.
The Serpent is no longer exiled.
He is the Oracle,
and his ancient wisdom now flows through her —
calm, deep, and clear.
The Rabbit no longer hides.
He lives in her heart —
a symbol of life, tenderness, purity, and light.
The Pythia protects him,
not as a weakness,
but as a sacred truth.
Now, she is no longer merely a witness to her path —
she is the creator of worlds.
She lives beyond time and space,
because everything she needs
is here and now.
The past no longer exists.
The future has not yet arrived.
There is only the moment of pure being —
the magic of creation
born from the undisturbed flow.