Aries – The Fire of Life
04 March 2011, pencils, crayons and photo work
Aries is the most powerful sign, the beginning of a new annual cycle with spring equinox. The vital force is seen everywhere at work in nature. The energies of the sun bring a fresh impulse, and this is symbolised by the horse. There are seven rays of the one light, depicted as seven horses. You see them in the picture as coming out of a giant glyph of Aries which starts from the colours of dawn of the rising sun. Aries also rules the Head Centre, so you see in this picture the lotus of the Head Centre above the horses in radiant colours. Profound silence and highest dynamism at the same time are the contrasting elements of this image.
Taurus – Receiving the Milk of Wisdom
11 March 2011, pencils, crayons and photo work
At Taurus full moon there is a downpour of energies from cosmic centres down to earth. Spiritual Astrology says that these energies are coming down via a brilliant star near the constellation of the Pleiades, Aldebaran. It is also called the eye of the bull. You see this star at the top of the picture. Buddha is the representative of this energy on earth, so you see him between the two horns of the bull. They represent the “antennas” for the reception of the energies of Divine Will. In Eastern symbolism Shiva is the embodiment of the Will aspect, and he is visualised in form of a Lingam. The bull Nandi is his vehicle, and it is always placed looking at Shiva in form of the Lingam.
At the lower centre of the image there is a black Lingam. A waterfall is flowing over the it. All around the Lingam are the many images of the Masters of Wisdom. In the centre of it you see Lord Maitreya, Master Morya, and Master Kut Humi. They are spreading the light of wisdom. It is said that the Masters milk the cosmic cow and nourish humanity with this milk of wisdom.
Gemini – Union beyond Duality
16 April 2011, pencils, crayons and photo work
According to the ancient Indian tradition, Gemini represents a pair of supplementaries, subjectivity and objectivity. Subjectivity is called the Lord and objectivity is called the power of the Lord in relation to his Lady. Gemini is worshipped as the temple of the Lord, at the entrance of which there are two pillars. The picture shows on three planes, between and above the pillars, Lord Krishna and Radha as a symbol of duality and union.
On the physical plane they are surrounded by an aura of light. On the solar plane you see them in the network of the energies linking the planets. And on the cosmic plane they are one with the far-away stars.
Cancer – The Crab, the Tortoise and the Beetle
Cancer – The Crab, the Tortoise and the Beetle
08 May 2011, pencils, crayons and photo work
Master EK explains that when the earth begins to tilt back from the highest point of the summer solstice, the Sun appears to travel sidewise from North to South. Hence Sun is described as a crab while passing through this sign. A branch of symbolism represents it as the beetle which can transform a worm into a butterfly. This marks the transformation of matter into mind, the passage to spirit. The picture illustrates these aspects of the symbolism of the sign.
I took a photo of a crab running on a beach, between water and land, i.e., the physical and emotional plane; another of a turtle swimming in the waters. The turtle is a symbol of the man who has learnt to withdraw from the outer to the inner and to come out again when needed. The swimming turtle is elegantly floating through the waters, for it has mastered the emotional plane. And above you see three ladybird beetles flying. They represent the stage where the soul has liberated itself from the dense matter of the three lower planes and is ascending into the vast worlds of the spirit.
In the centre you see the moon shedding its light on the surface of the water. Moon is the ruler of Cancer, and the reflective light stands for the illusions created when you see only the reflection and not the original. There is a movement of reddish veils around the moon for which I used a picture of a rose, representing the heart governed by Cancer. The rose also stands for the intuitive and mystic nature of the sign. In the left upper corner, you also see the symbol of Neptune, the higher ruler of Cancer, and the glyph of the sign in the right upper corner.
Leo – The Mother with the Lion
11 June 2011, pencils, crayons and photo work
In eastern wisdom it says that one of the forms of the Divine Mother is the shape of Saila Putri. She is regarded as a form of Parvathi and is also called the Daughter of the Mountain, the personification of the Himalayas. She is said to exist even today and to live in the form of an 18 years old woman accompanied by a white lion. From time to time she gives her presence to the initiates in the Himalayas through the roar of the lion which accompanies her.
For this picture I didn’t want to use an Indian-looking woman. I searched for a lady with royal posture and I found a figure of Elisabeth of Thuringia, queen of Hungary. It is said that once when she was threatened by her husband, a transformation of bread into roses happened to protect her. I gave her a huge rose as the symbol of the Heart. In the background I fused the pictures of a sunrise above Mount Everest and a panorama of Mount Kanchenjunga. And the white lion lies in his fiery cave, which is the symbol of the Heart Centre.
Virgo – Purity and Holiness of Virgin Nature
19 June 2011, pencils, crayons and photo work
Virgo is the sign of the original nature, which is also called the virgin nature. She is an expression of sublime purity and transparency. She is the guardian of the spirit descended into matter and ripening there in silence and secrecy. So you see her represented as a woman radiating light and purity. She is sitting amidst withering flowers indicating that the heat of the summer is over and that the seeds are ready to fall down and go into the ground. She is holding an ear of corn in one hand and a flame of light in the other, the symbol of the light of consciousness, which is brought down by Mercury, the messenger of the Gods. He is the ruler of the sign of Virgo.
Libra – The Mother with the Tiger in the Jungle of the City
11 July 2011, pencils, crayons and photo work
In many of the pictures I use symbols of the east and transpose them into a western setting. For this picture I took the inspiration of Durga, the impermeable mother with the tiger, who is ruling the time of Libra. It is considered to be the time of the descent of the spirit into the life in densest matter. In this phase of life you can easily get lost on your way and forget the purpose of your life.
I visualised this life in densest matter as the life in a metropolis and took a photo of a street canyon in New York. For Durga, I used a painting of an English Pre-Raphaelite painter illustrating nature and transformed its position, colours and expression. I added a sword and a lotus – the sword as a symbol of strength and the lotus as the symbol of unfoldment. I used a picture of a Siberian tiger which is about to jump. I then worked out the etheric movements of city life as the movements of the energy which surrounds the figure of Durga.
Scorpio – The Dark Mother and the Consequences of Blindness
01 August 2011, pencils, crayons and photo work
The qualities related to Scorpio are hidden activities, power, as well as the loss of consciousness and death.
I used a photo of the burning oil platform Deepwater Horizon, which has sunk in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, surrounded by fire-fighting vessels in their futile attempt to save the platform from sinking. I arranged a black-and-white drawing of the Kali, representing the dark and fearful aspect of Nature as part of the divine, and integrated it into the image. It thus becomes a symbol of human arrogance exploiting Nature and thinking that they can escape from the consequences. Kali holds a sword in one hand and a stab with a skull surrounded by a serpent in the other – symbols of the vital energy of Kundalini. The serpent can bring death, but can also resuscitate consciousness to ascend to the higher spheres. Between her feet you see the Yantra of Kali, the power which keeps man in the clutches of desires and sex as long as these energies are not directed towards ascent.
The fire of the burning platform becomes one with the fury of the Divine Mother, the halo mingled with the dark clouds of the burning oil look like an apocalyptic beacon of destruction.
Sagittarius: The Tree of Wisdom and the Waters of Life
03 September 2011, pencils, crayons and photo work
Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, representing the teacher and the search for wisdom. In the Eastern teachings the cosmic Jupiter is symbolised by Ganesha, the elephant-headed God, the incarnation of divine wisdom. The principle of the Teacher on the cosmic plane is Lord Dattatreya, the higher potency of Lord Maitreya, who is worshipped as the world teacher. Dattatreya is illustrated as a youth with 3 heads. The tree related to Jupiter, wisdom and meditation, is the Ficus Religiosa.
I started with a photo of a statue of Ganesha reading a book of wisdom. Behind him there is the trunk of a Ficus Religiosa. In its crown there are the three heads of Lord Dattatreya. Above you see the eyes of Lord Narayana. Looking into these magical eyes leads you to the inner dimensions. The brilliance of the higher energies is visualised in the white flame between the eyes, hinting at the third eye, the divine opening.
I created with crayons the movements of the ascending and descending etheric flow and the flames surrounding the heads of Dattatreya. I was fascinated by the innocence of the childlike looks that are full of divine peace and radiance.
As for Lord Ganesha, he seems to enjoy sitting there under the Ficus tree and reading the book of eternal wisdom. Everything is a part of the flowing movements and the mystery of Creation.
Capricorn: Aditi – the Mother of Light and the Birth of the Twelve Lights
11 September 2011, pencils, crayons and photo work
In the Vedas Aditi is the original light, the light of the world, from which the 12 basic qualities of light emerge. They are the 12 sons of Aditi, the qualities of the 12 signs of the zodiac. In spiritual astrology the qualifies of the signs are not identical with the constellations, but are the great thought forms that impregnate the space around a globe and shape the energies of the beings into certain specific qualities. I visualised the 12 qualities as 12 radiant energy centres around the Mother holding a child, like in the presentation of Mother Mary with the infant Jesus Christ. I took the inspiration from a picture of the Hungarian painter Franz Dvorak.
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.
Pisces – The Mother Blessing the Earth Through the Grace of her Looks
22 October 2011, pencils, crayons and photo work
In the Eastern wisdom Meenakshi is the Mother who blesses the earth through the grace of her looks. For the Mother I took an illustration of an Indian goddess, but replaced her eyes by bright blue eyes. For me, they symbolise the unfathomable depth of the motherly love. Her light radiates from the centre of her forehead. Beside the earth you see the hands of Meenakshi; they hold and bless the earth, whose aura thus becomes a radiant blossom.