Balancing Dark and Light

I see spring colors coming out in my work, new greens, bud pinks. Everything feels so peppy, but I need some edge so I turn on music by Massive Attack ~ "Mezzanine".

I am balancing dark and light all the time. Be wary, Lightworkers, for we too are of the dark, the compost, the fertile, fetid, furious realms, of Persephone, of Hades, of Pluto, "cause ya can't have one without the other" (try singing this last line!)

It's the tension between light and dark where art grows. As I paint, I'm aware of painting to stay open, flexible, not letting the piece settle, formulate, coagulate in any 'one way', but to allow freedom to reign. That way I can turn everything upside down (literally) more easily.

Today is windy and my thoughts are blowing away, my feelings searching for a place to land. My to-do list is a mile long, but none of that matters now, just the process,the painting, the music, the passion and back to work I go...

Grainne Mhaol is coming across the ocean, With armed soldiers as protection, Neither French nor Spanish but Irish, And they will scatter the invader.

My greatest wish would be to see, Even if I died within a week of seeing it, Grainne Mhaol and her mighty warriors, Proclaiming banishment to the invader.

From the song "Oro, Se Do Bheatha 'Bhaile" by Sinead O'Connor

In process - acrylic, charcoal and pastel on masonite - 48" x 48"

Musical Ambiance: Sinead O'Connor ~ Sean-Nos Nua, Sinead Lohan ~ No Mermaid, Bjork ~ Vespertine, Massive Attack ~ Mezzanine.

Nobody's Perfect

Nobody's Perfect - acrylic, charcoal and pastel on masonite - 48" x 48"

I can breathe again! It's been a whirlwind three weeks with the opening of my new eCourse and lots and lots of soul readings, but today I go back to painting - a steady diet is required!!

I can feel my body melting into joy.

"This guy has prayed for me And I have prayed for him This guy was made for me And I was made for him... I have no regrets There’s nothing to forget All the pain Was worth it."

Lyrics from "I Deserve It" by Madonna

I'm learning more about singletons, missing functions and elements in an astrological chart. These kinds of things can relate to areas that erupt out of nowhere in one's life, transforming us in explosive ways. On the other hand, we may overcompensate in these areas, becoming an expert. One can't tell from studying the chart which way things will go - that part is up to the individual. A great book about this subject is by Richard Idemon ~ "The Magic Thread, Astrological Chart Interpretation Using Depth Psychology". Richard comes from an acting/drama background and love to infuse archetypal meaning and mythology into a chart interpretation. He turns the planets into actors, the signs into the roles they play and the houses into the stage.

Musical Ambiance: Madonna ~ "Music".

Fire Bird

Fire Bird - acrylic, pastel, charcoal on masonite - 48" x 48"

Investigating commitment within the painting process - sometimes everything feels too open-ended.

"The first cut won't hurt at all, The second only makes you wonder, The third will have you on your knees, You start bleeding, I start screaming."

From "Jewelled" by Propaganda

I express my feelings through my art.

But, I'm finding that when I get involved in rectifying an astrological chart, I'm not using my intuition, it's strictly analytical, very mental, thinking-based, in-my-head, and so I have a hard time telling whether it's true or not. I think chart analysis is more about conversation, interactions.

This month's Full Moon is in Libra and I'm delving into an exploration of taking on my power and claiming space. That's why I'm identifying with this painting, the Fire Bird - she is a combination of air and water and the cardinal element (leadership, centrifugal forces, going outward). Everything is astrology these days, it's a whirl of archetypes, process, interaction and depth psychology.

Art gets me into my body, my physicality, my heart - it is a hands-on experiential process.

Musical Ambiance: Bjork ~ "Vespertine", Dead Can Dance ~ "Into The Labyrinth", Propaganda ~ "Wishful Thinking"

Women of the Shadows

In Process - acrylic, pastel, charcoal on masonite - 48" x 48"

Nothing can hold us back now. We are women of the shadows, free to know, intuit and dream the darkness - to heal, empower and blaze our trails, phosphorescence and moonlight guide the way. Chiron, Medusa, Hekate, Pythias, and Lilith we accept and allow Her wisdom to light our way.

Into the shadows we grow, our fear night-blooming, making us strong, powerful, magical. We are women at one with the void, the wolves at our heels, we lead the way.

"For no special reason I am leaving you for awhile tonight I'm flying far above you Still love you You made things right."

From the song "Candlebright" by Stevie Nicks

Musical Ambiance: Trouble in Shangri-La by Stevie Nicks

In Her Clutches

acrylic, pastel and charcoal on masonite - 48" x 48"

Astrology takes over. Within her clutches (they feel very Saturnine as well as Uranian) I lose my sense of self, boundaries dissolve, my head fills with mythologies, depth psychology, Jungian archetypes. It's hard for me to feel when astrology is my focus.

Musical Ambiance: Propaganda & Pat Proud.