2013
Capricorn – Varaha and Varuna
Image of the Month of Capricorn For several weeks, I meditated on the symbolism of Capricorn but no complete picture came up. There was just an idea but I thought that the complex symbolism cannot be depicted in an appealing way. However, the impulse for the painting continued. And during the work on the picture it slowly manifested. Its symbolism is not easy to be understood by a Westerner. In short: The earth is lifted up from matter to spirit. At the bottom you see the head of Varaha, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu as the White Boar. The Puranic lore describes how he lifts up the earth from out of the depth into manifestation, and from matter to spirit. Varaha is particularly worshipped in Capricorn. This month is the dawn of the solar year and also the dawn of the great time cycle of…
Sagittarius – Pre-Dawn Meditation
Image of the Month of Sagittarius The two hours before dawn are considered to be most propitious for deep contemplation, where the awareness can easily link to the subtle planes. At this time nature prepares the new day and we can receive plenty of vital energy. In the annual cycle, Sagittarius is said to be the "two hours before dawn” and very beneficial for the spiritual aspirants. For the painting I took a photo of a pre-dawn sky taken from an airplane I fused two photos of wooden and ceramic statues of Buddha. I placed the figure into the centre of the structure of a double pyramid surrounded by a circle. It is the symbol of transformation, a diamond enabling protection of the meditator, of a group, a nation or even the globe. It is also called a temple, from where positive energies…
Scorpio - The Tree of Life and the Androgynous Man
Image of the Month of Scorpio In the 15th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says: “The whole Creation is an inverted tree. The roots are up above, the branches are down below”. The branches (manifestations) of Nature are downward, towards the gross matter, and the roots (causes) are above, in the subtler planes. The wisdom teachings describe the downward movement into objectivity as female (Nari), and the ascending movement as male (Nara). Both movements together form the cosmic person, Narayana. As a starting point of the painting I took a picture of snow-capped Tibetan mountains reflecting in a lake, and I digitally warped the mountains into a downward u-form. At the top I placed a tree as the original “idea” of the tree. It is projected downwards into the lake, the inverted…
Libra - The Ascent of the Soul from the Abyss
Image of the Month of Libra In the symbolic journey through the zodiac, Libra represents the illusions into which the soul loses itself when it gets disconnected with the thread of Light. I visualised it as a ravine and superimposed on it the structure of a labyrinth, depicting the windings of our intellect, our brain. There is a bridge of Light leading over the gap, and in the background there is the light of a huge unfolding flower of consciousness. A pilgrim, symbol of the eternal part of the soul, is standing at the left side and looking down into the abyss. At the left rock face, you see the volumes of a library, representing the great masses of knowledge where you can get lost in concepts. An old man is sitting in front of the wall of books, absorbed in studying. A sage with a rod…
Virgo - The Sons and Daughters of the Virgin
Image of the Month of Virgo The book “Spiritual Astrology” is a storehouse of profound concepts of wisdom, which let images come to my mind’s eye. Thus when reading the chapter on Virgo impressions came to me of purity and virginity, of the world saviours as the Sons of the Virgin, of the rainbow of creation, the veil of the Mother of the World. I wanted to give a new perspective to the often misunderstood concept of the Virgin and to replace the child with a group of great messengers of God and World Saviours. I used a painting of Fra Angelico for the central figure of the Virgin. I added a helix galaxy structure and a rainbow in the background above her head, forming the Eye of God. The head and the halo of the Virgin at the centre symbolise that the World Mother is the first emanation…
Leo 1 - The Entrance
This year there are 2 full moons in Leo, this is the picture to the Leo Full Moon 1. In symbolism Leo is connected with the transformation process in the inner cave of the heart. With the help of respiration you enter into the “cave of the lion”, the Heart Centre, where you can encounter the higher self, when the lower self is well adjusted. The cave also symbolises the inner ashram, of which an outer ashram is the externalisation. The image illustrates this entering into the ashram. The painting shows a circle of 12 stars, symbolising the 12 signs of the zodiac. A woman is climbing a stair, entering through the circle of the “gate of stars”. The point in the centre is represented by a door leading to the Sanctum Sanctorum, and so the entry is a path from the circumference to the centre.…
Leo 2 - The White Island
This is the painting for the second full moon of Leo - the "blue moon". The Eastern wisdom teachings describe the most sublime plane of our planet as a field of radiant light. It exists in us as the plane of pure existence, the diamond consciousness in the head centre. It is also called Sweta Dipa, the White Island, full of divine brilliance and splendour. Another name for it is Shamballa, a hidden place on the etheric plane of the Gobi Desert. Sanat Kumara, the Lord of the World and the highest being on earth, lives there, and within his forehead there is the beautiful gem of Chintamani, the philosopher’s stone of heavenly origin. He and his team of sublime beings incessantly assist the evolution of the beings on earth. I tried to depict the White Island in an ocean of bluish light,…
Cancer: The Descent of the Solar Angel into the Body
Image of the Month of Cancer Cancer is the sign of the return of the soul into a physical body and thus it is related to the process of reincarnation. The Moon is also the symbol of the generative life which gives birth to forms, which I tried to depict. In the upper part of the image you see the Moon and behind it the glow of the Sun. Two angelic figures, solar angels, observe the descent of a soul into the embryo in the womb of the mother. You see the embryo head downwards behind the descending soul. Another name for the soul, the I AM, is the Solar Angel. It is the eternal part in man which in the cycle of evolution goes through series of incarnations. The body is also called the Lunar Angel; it serves as a vehicle for the incarnation of the Solar Angel. For the left angel I chose an…
Gemini: Pulsation – The Song of the Swan
Image of the Month of Gemini Pulsation is a fundamental principle in creation, which I wanted to express with this picture. Before my mind’s eye I saw a huge white swan with outspread wings. Hamsa is the Sanskrit word for swan, and it is the symbol of the centripetal and centrifugal movement. At the centre of its heart you see an open flower which is white inside, the pulsating centre. The ballerina sitting on the beach symbolises the moment of contraction, the one flying high symbolises the climax of expansion. I merged photos of several waves to visualise the pulsating movement of ebb and flow (behind the swan). I used very light colours at the border of reproducibility to give expression to the delicacy of pulsation.
Paintings at a Yoga Festival in Berlin
In June 2013some friends from Berlin had a bookstall at a Yoga festival in Berlin. I sent them 8 of my pictures, which they hung up there. None of the paintings was sold but it was the first time the pictures where showed this way in public. My friends are now looking for a place in Berlin, where the paintings can be exhibited for a while. If you know opportunities to exhibit, I would be happy if you contact me.
Aquarius-Painting in the House of Friends
Aquarius – The Twin Gods and the Downpour of Cosmic Energies Friends of mine, a doctor and his wife near Barcelona, Spain, have two of my paintings, in their home and in their practice. I took a photo of the Aquarius painting during a visit in their apartment in June 2013. The painting harmonises well with the strong yellow of the wallpaper. They got the paintings produced on canvas - the paintings produced by me are otherwise on aluminium dibond plates. The painting finished on 25 September 2012 belongs to the Zodiacal Cycle 3.