Aquarius – Agastya drinking the Waters of the Ocean
13 November 2023, pencils and photo work
Eastern scriptures describe how the sage Agastya drank the waters of the oceans in order to save humanity. There were demons hiding under the oceans. At night they came out and ate the humans. The devas felt helpless and asked Agastya to help them. So Agastya absorbed the waters of the ocean for six hours. This enabled the devas to kill the dark forces. The Master then released the waters and the ocean was filled with water once again.
This story is an allegory about the ascending path of the waters. When the Sun moves again northwards after the winter solstice, the warmer rays cause the water to rise up from the oceans. The drinking of the oceans is associated with the evaporation of water, which occurs through the activity of Aquarius.
In the Age of Aquarius, humanity, which has sunk deep into matter, is lifted up again to spirit. Agastya, the cosmic Master Jupiter, releases the energies of Aquarius and thus, contributes to the upliftment of the earth. Symbolically, Agastya drinks up the oceans to help overcome the demons of the lower regions. Agastya always comes to help the earth in great crises.
For the design of the picture I worked with an old Indian drawing of Agastya's feat and with photos of the Iguazú Falls in Argentina/Brazil.
Aquarius - The Manu and the Spirals of Time
1 November 2022, pencils and photo work
The principle of the cosmic mind is called Manu in the wisdom teachings. He is the archetype of man, "The Man in the Heavens". The Manu decides the nature of our development, our bodies and where we are born. He gives the law of human evolution and its spiral movement through the cycles of time. This law is called the Law of Manu. The stages of evolution are called Manvantaras.
According to the Eastern teachings, there are 14 Manvantaras. These are great cycles of time, over each of which a Manu rules. The ruler of the present Manvantara cycle is the Manu Vaivasvata.
On the planet, the Manu acts as the planetary mind; but he also lives as a person on Earth. The Manu shapes the new models of the bodies that suit the Aquarian Age. The new energies emanate from the stars of the constellation Aquarius. The symbol of Aquarius as a man with a vessel has its origin in the Vaivasvata Manu of the Indian scriptures.
For depicting the Manu I used a photo of a statue from the 7th century of a pensive Bodhisattva Maitreya from the National Museum of Korea. I designed the background on the basis of a NASA photo of a galaxy. I fused it with elements of a photo of a plant with spiral leaf patterns I had taken in a botanical garden in Berne in 2010.
Aquarius - Cooperation in Goodwill and Light
12 November 2021, pencils and photo work
Group energy is of great help for our spiritual progress. In a group meditation there develops a flow of energy. We are recharged and we can more easily experience a higher consciousness and a greater presence of spirit.
The energies always flow from the higher to the lower. The sun rays are streaming from the Sun to the Earth. The higher energies work through us when we feel the needs of others and respond to them. These energies strengthen the group consciousness, and they help manifest acts of goodwill in the world. Group work brings the inner light to the outside and intensifies the connection to the higher circles.
To illustrate this cooperation, I arranged in the lower part of the picture a group gathered around a table by joining pictures of two different groups. For visualising the influx of higher energies, I used a photo of a dahlia, elements of a picture of the earth, created with the software WorldWind.earth, as well as a picture of a star in the upper part of the picture. I designed the downpour of light with photos of a glass crystal held in front of a lamp. The light of the star shines through the earth globe and is reflected in the hearts of the group members.
Aquarius - The Spiral Hieroglyphs of Ages
28 October 2020, pencils and photo work
The constellation Aquarius is called 'The Man in the Heavens'. The Masters of Wisdom recognised him as the archetype of man and called him Manu. The Heavenly Man has descended into the forms of the many human beings. As Manu, he leads mankind to perfection in accordance with the spiral movement of evolution. Master EK describes this development as spirally moving hieroglyphs.
In Aquarius it is recommended to meditate upon the glittering body of the Heavenly Man and how the stars of the constellation emanate forth the light of spiritual realization. Within us, the light pours down through all centres from the point of Aquarius at the top of the forehead.
The picture shows the light streaming down from the head of the Heavenly Man. A spiral comes forth from his heart. The background of the picture shows the hieroglyphs of a piece of the Tabula Smaragdina (Emerald Tablet). In this text Hermes Trismegistos taught the relationship between man and the Heavenly Man with the words "As above, so below".
The predominant colour of the painting is between deep blue and violet. It is described as the colour of Aquarius. The actual colour appears as colourless to the human eye, since the human eye cannot recognise this colour. At the upper left corner, you see the stars of the constellation Aquarius and on the right side the Aquarius glyph.
Aquarius – The Magic of Creation
10 October 2019, pencils and photo work
Before something appears, it is potentially present. Aquarius stands for the manifestation out of a potential state. Aquarius is the point of transformation where the invisible becomes the visible and the visible becomes the invisible. The symbol of Aquarius shows waves in space; the vibrations pour forth from the pot of Aquarius as the waters of life. The constellation Aquarius is called the Heavenly Man. During the month Aquarius he showers down a stream of spiritual light from his water jar. The Masters of Wisdom called this cosmic man the Manu, the prototype of man. He guides mankind through the cycles of time. In the present Age of Aquarius, spiritual evolution is accelerated to an unimaginable degree. Rishi Agastya, called Master Jupiter in the Theosophical circles, is the ruler of Aquarius.
For the figure of the celestial man I reworked a statue of Agastya from Java (Wikimedia: Photo Dharma) and merged the face with a picture of Master Morya. In his hands he holds the glyph of Aquarius with waves swinging like lightning. The zodiacal arch with the figure of Aquarius was created from a photo of the astrological clock of the ‘Zytglogge Tower’ in Bern. In the upper left corner, you can see the contours of the Aquarius constellation. The star in the hub of the wheel indicates the point of origin of the creational cycle; the play of colours of two Gothic window rosettes with twelve spokes stands for the variety and rhythm of cosmic unfoldment.
When I looked at the picture for several days, I realized that the figure with the Aquarius glyph looks like a magician. Aquarius is also the month of magic - to manifest something out of the apparent nothing. In Sanskrit, the month of Aquarius is called Magha, which means magic. The wheel of creation with its many colours is Maya in essence, an illusion that hides the truth of existence.
Aquarius – The Flow of Spiritual Light
4 October 2018, pencils and photo work
The symbol of Aquarius is a man who carries a water jug. From the opening of the jug, water continuously flows out without new water flowing in. We only see the water existing as a potential at the moment when it manifests itself. These are the waters of life that bring forth new unfoldment every moment.
The figure of the Aquarius in the picture was created with the help of photos of a fountain in Valencia, Spain, and the head of a statue of the Sun God in the Capitoline Museums, Rome. Water and stars emerge from the jug and glide into the waters of space.
Various NASA and ESA star images were used for the background. The constellation of Aquarius in the upper left corner resembles a lightning bolt or an electric fire: The energy of the Aquarius flashes like a lightning. On the right, Uranus, the regent of Aquarius, appears in the waters of the space in which countless suns move.
Aquarius - The Lord of the Eye
17 october 2017, pencils and photo work
According to the Eastern wisdom teachings, the whole creation is brought forth through an impulse coming from the background of existence. It is described as a light emerging from the “Eye of Shiva”. At the end of one creation, all is again absorbed into this eye of the lord of divine will until the next creation is brought forth.
The passage of emergence and mergence is called the point of Aquarius. In the human body, it corresponds to the higher third eye at the top of the forehead. When this “Eye of Shiva” is opened in us, it is like a lightning expressing the divine will and passing through the whole system. This eye can create and destroy; therefore, the knowledge about it cannot be given to the present humanity which is selfishly oriented.
To visualise the first impulse I fused images of ripples on a water surface, of a galaxy and of sunrises. I transformed a photo of a statue of Shiva (Wikimedia: Kachnar City, author Shivam S.) holding a trident with a drum and a mala, symbols of the vibration of sound and of the ether. The serpent around his neck represents the kundalini energy lifted up to the creative planes. From out of his third eye, the impulse of electric fire penetrates all planes of existence.
Aquarius - The Aquarian Pot and the Eternal Dancer
8 October 2016, pencils and photo work
The Wisdom Teachings describe the process of manifestation as a tunnel, where on one side there is the creation and on the other side there is a seeming vacuum, the potential space. This is illustrated by the symbol of the Aquarian pot. It has two openings: from one side you see a continuous downpour of water, but on the other side there is no water coming in. It seems that it is coming from out of nowhere and that some magic is giving birth to the creation.
The waves of the ocean of space are coming from that source in rhythmic, dancing-like movements. The Lord of this vibrating principle in creation is Shiva as the eternal dancer called Nataraja. If he concludes his dance, the creation comes to an end.
For the image, I took the photo of a statue of the dancing Shiva in my study room and created an Aquarian pot with streams of water pouring down. The pot is glowing in violet and blue - the colours of Aquarius. The surrounding arc of flames stands for the sphere into which the manifestation is happening. Shiva is dancing in the flow of waters which unfolds into the spectral colours. He is surrounded by serpent-like forms on a starry background symbolising the vibrations of space. The rhythmic pulsation of space is represented by his little drum on the left side. The globe in the lower background is representing the earth receiving the Aquarian energies.
Aquarius – The Aquarian Passage
12 October 2015, pencils and photo work
The Eastern Scriptures describe in poetical form the birth of matter and the passage of its formation from the space as a river flowing through all the planes. The apparent creation comes from seeming nothingness and the bridge between these states is called the Aquarian passage: on one side there is the creation and on the other side there is the seeming vacuum which in reality is everything. The point of the emergence of existence expresses as the deep blue of space. From out of the deep blue all other manifestations happen. Blue is but pure white in its depth. To the spiritual eye all colours exist in blue.
The point of the Aquarian passage in us is the Eye of Shiva, the Divine Will. This eye is on the top of the forehead and is far superior to our third eye. Through this centre energies can flow from supra-cosmic spheres to all the planes of creation. This passage is used to absorb all that exists or to let new energies pour in for a new creation. The Scriptures say, “When Shiva opens his eye, all can be destroyed.”
To visualise the Aquarian passage I placed a dark blue field at the very top followed by a field of brilliant white. Below I shaped the third eye of Shiva and two closed eyes - symbolising the focus within -with the help of the image of a wooden statue of Shiva, which I worked out in golden yellow. From the third eye there is a downpour of white light to Earth. It is received on top of the White Mountain, the Mont Blanc. I took the picture of this highest mountain of the Alps during a flight back from Spain. In the background I fused another photo of the blue sky with an image of a torrent of the Iguazu Falls located between Brazil and Argentina. It is emblematic of the waters of space containing all potentials of creation.
Aquarius - Apollo and the Song of Light
16 October 2014, pencils and photo work
On a very subtle plane, colour and sound converge and become one. This plane is related to Aquarius and to a supra-cosmic musical intelligence whom the Vedas call Vena the Gandharva. The Vedas say, he merrily sings the “song of light”. The Greek Apollo is no other than Vena; through his influence the sound- and light principles of the higher planes are expressed in identical scales.
Meditating on these correspondences, an image arose in me of Apollo with a musical instrument super-imposed on his face and light pouring down from above.
For the painting I chose a black and white photo of a head of Apollo and converted it into light yellow. I found the picture of a beautiful classical instrument, the “Viola d’Amore” (Viola of Love). It is used like a violin and has a sweet, warm sound. There are 6 or 7 playing strings on the top and the same number of “sympathetic strings” below – a beautiful symbol of the 6 pairs of signs of the zodiac or of the 7 planes of creation in the manifest and in the subtle spheres. I placed the instrument on the face of Apollo so that the upper part with the pegs and the head is like a stair towards the spheres of light. There is a second viola merging with the face of Apollo and a part of a nearly invisible third one surrounding the head like an aureole.
For the background, I first took a photo of Uranus and merged it with another one of a star cluster from the constellation Aquarius. Though you don’t recognize these elements anymore, they are there in the “background” of this painting. And the light coming from above looks like pouring down from out of the nearly invisible Aquarian pot.
Aquarius – Agastya and Sirius
30 September 2013, pencils and photo work
The Wisdom Teachings speak of Agastya or Master Jupiter as the oldest member of the Spiritual Hierarchy. Since time immemorial, he has been a great sage on the earth and his deeds have been described in the Puranas. In South India, he is also called Agathiyar and worshipped as a Siddha having his abode in the Nilagiris or Blue Mountains. He is closely linked to the energies of Sirius and on the zodiacal level he presides over the sign Aquarius.
The creation of this picture was a paradox for me: I pondered upon it for few weeks. There was the initial impulse for the image of Agastya but I thought it must be something else – and no thoughts came. I felt frustrated but finally followed the original impulse to do the picture with a photo of a statue of Agastya. For the background, I took a photo of the mountain in the Nilagiris which is said to be the location of the ashram of Agastya. Then I integrated a photo of Sirius. Using the computer and pencils, I worked on the colours and details of the expression. When the picture was ready I was thrilled about its radiance.
Aquarius – The Twin Gods and the Downpour of Cosmic Energies
25 September 2012, pencils, crayons and photo work
The painting shows the downpour of cosmic energies down to our planet. At the top you see winged horses, the Ashwins, the Vedic twin Gods. Below there are the two seers Vasishta (on the right) and Agastya (on the left). They are guiding spiritual Hierarchies on our earth. In the centre of the upper triangle there is the pot of Aquarius from where the waters of life are pouring out incessantly. In the centre of the lower triangle there is a picture of Uranus who receives the energies for our system. And below you see a triangle of mountains surrounding a huge lotus into which the energies are received. You see the Blue Mountains of the Nilagiris in the front, Mount Kailash in the right back, and the “Swiss Himalayas”, the Matterhorn at the left. And if you look closely, you see in the centre of the downpour a Deva figure.
Aquarius – The Mother with the Aquarian Pot
01 October 2011, pencils, crayons and photo work
Traditionally Aquarius is presented as a man bearing the pot from which the waters of life pour down. For this image I chose to take a female figure for the water bearer. I came across an image of a Madonna by Botticelli. I added an Aquarian pot instead of Jesus, and created a downpour of light from a sunset. I also integrated golden rays and a NASA picture of the earth. At the end I created an opening on the backside of the pot, as a symbol that the energy is pouring out into manifestation on one side, but on the other side there seems to be nothing coming into it.
Now the Mother is blessing the earth with the Aquarian energies.
Aquarius – Eternal Flow of the Sound of Life
30 October 2010, pencils, crayons and photo work
Aquarius is the manifestation of the eternal flow of life out of the unknown source. The waters are flowing out of the Aquarian pot, from seeming nothingness on the other side. The sun god Apollo with his seven-stringed lyre illustrates the musical vibrations bringing forth the Creation. Here you see Apollo with his lyre and the Aquarian pot. The pot in his hand becomes the sun from where the musical vibrations spread through space. From out of the pot there is a continuous flow of lotuses, the principle of unfoldment. On one of these lotuses you see CVV, the Aquarian master, floating on the expanse of the waters of space.