Gateway to the Caverns of Universal Knowledge (Seraph Mandala)
30" x 22.5" Watercolor, Ink, Gouache, Acrylic and Graphite - November 4, 2021 to Oct 31, 2022
- Seraphim - I have been making these symbols (supernatural angelic beings) for years and didn’t know what they were. A friend posted a seraph charm or medallion? and it was clearly the image I had been making over and over. Mine were cats or serpents with feathers bursting out, like a flower shape, a wild-flower, but the silhouette was the same. A seraph is the guardian to the seat of a holy presence. A burning spirit barrier with golden wings that protects the holy but also blocks your path to finding it. It is a warrior. They appear in Judaism, Christianity and Islam with origins in Egypt in the “Uraeus iconography”. When the Uraeus cobra (with the universe in its hood) has additional wings... It becomes a seraph-like figure.
- This mandala is topped with wild and endangered French Camargue horses. A seven headed horse, Uchchaihshravas, the king of horses, is a steed of the king of the gods in Indian myth.
- Guarding grottos and deep space - places we have to enter to find the hidden gems of ancient knowledge - spaces within, not spaces out there, in heaven or hell. They are guarded, until you are ready to mount your steed and ride in, willing and ready to fight dragons or demons or whatever awaits.