|
1/21/07 If you have found you way here you
will be looking at both the newest and the oldest version of the
Mary-el Hierophant. I have repainted, and been tortured by
this card for many years as anyone who has followed my journal
knows! My solution today is to reclaim the oldest
Hierophant, which I have always loved, and fix the problems that
were with it. I added the key and added the tetragrammaton
to the stained glass window behind. I'll come back and add
more details about the included symbolism later but wanted to
point out now the order of the Hebrew letters and why.
This is the 5th card and the symbolism is
arranged in a pentagram. If you were to draw a pentagram
the upper point would start with the Hierophants head then come
down to the lower right point which would be Yod and equated
with Fire, the lightest of the 4 elements. It would then
progress through the elements in order of density, moving up to
the left corner with Vav/Air, across to the upper right to
He/Water and back down to the lower left with final He/Earth and
then back to the head again. In this way the elements
aren't arranged in a square but a pentagram.
Notes on the painting: I want to draw your
attention to a few areas in particular:
This is why I love oils thinned in turpentine!!! See those
little striations? Those little tiny pools of color, doing
their own thing but making a fantastic, perfect whole image?
That's why!! Up close it looks like a mess but far way it
is calculated. And you can see the light bouncing off the
white ground and the little flakes of color suspended in their
little rivers, LOVE IT. Ok, so it will soak into my
unbroken skin and poison me, who cares? I'm just kidding
really, for the sake of my kids who don't need to be poisoned I
will wear gloves and ventilate, but otherwise, what small price
is a little toxicity to meeting ones destiny? |
