Solve et Coagula: The Grid

The symbol repeated here represents a great deal for me, but the basis of it is the alchemical formula of Solve et Coagula.  Dissolve and Coagulate.  Expansion and Contraction.  Pushing away and Drawing to.  Increase and Decrease.  It is the essence of Duality within the spirit.  The pump of the Heart.  The Rhythm of Sex.  

The single image on its own is kind of my take on the eight pointed star of Chaos Magick.  However it resonates more strongly with Solve et Coagula, but both can be true.  ;-) The longer I have the image around the more I keep finding new meanings attaching themselves to it.  Somehow in my head this is connected with Robert Anton Wilson's and Timothy Leary's views on reality tunnels.  I haven't worked all the bugs out on that one yet so I'll have to get back to you on that.  I suspect this symbol will be with me for awhile and possibly showing up in other works...so there's time. 

This was my desktop for awhile, but it is a little challenging to look at day in and day out.  However, if you enjoy optical effects, make it your desktop and stare at it for awhile and watch what happens.  :-)  Be sure to look at the larger version of this...the jpg thumbnail that blogger created seems to have blurred a bit and upset the contrast of the original image.

{created in Adobe Illustrator}

From the Archives: The Man of Colour

This is what happens when I'm still very connected to an aspect of my personality that has outlived its usefulness: mental dysphoria and emotional dissonance.  This emotional state is very akin to what I was experiencing in the Blue Man drawing, but not quite as much dismay and depression.  That was very active, whereas this piece feels more static and reflective.

This also seems to be the state that precedes an emotional rebirth for me...a shedding of the skin of personality.  It is often a period of confusion as it is difficult many times to tell the difference between what is no longer functional and what needs to stay in my life.  The pull of the new versus the pull of the past.  Tearing apart with me in between.  Although worth it in the long run, during these times I often feel very lost.  This separation, it is the price of the Alchemy of spirit.

{Created in Photoshop}