Planetary Mandala

I recently started work on a new series the I have been thinking of as planetary Goddess mandalas. I suppose this might seem astrologically influenced, but not exactly. More shamanically attuned / intended.

The original notion was to work with a double exposure technique using the Goddess bodies overlaid by sacred flowers, tree branches and leaf textures. In the heart of each mandala appears the particular astronomical body. The Goddesses hold court in each image - 4 in the Solar mandala, 3 in the Gaian mandala, 2 in the Lunar mandala, and 1 in the Venusian mandala. Additionally, various associated birds and power animals appear (Earth -> owl, Moon -> hummingbird, Sun -> hawk, Venus -> bat and rattlesnake).

Gaian Goddess Mandala

Lunar Goddess Mandala

Solar Goddess Mandala

Venusian Goddess Mandala

These pieces are current on view in the "Double Exposure" exhibit at the Blue Door Gallery in Yonkers thru April 27th. www.bluedoorgallery.org

Starry Night

Incredible Timelapse Video of the Night Sky Recorded Using a Fisheye Lens.

French photographer Stephane Vetter captured this outstanding time-lapse of the night sky using a Sigma 8 mm fisheye lens, meaning that what you see in the video is a true representation of the entire visible sky. Titled Leonid and Zodiacal Light, the brief but jaw-dropping clip was shot November 17th of this year and includes a five-hour star trail and Vetter even takes time to label signifiant stars and other objects visible in the sky. Make sure you watch it full-screen.

 Originally posted on Colossal.com.

Venus Transit - 3 Minutes of Wonder

Memory Recalls... Venus Transit 2117

An email received from my cosmic astrologer and Ecstatic Body Posture instructor friend, Marianne:

After watching Venus/Sun events live from a web broadcast on Tuesday, I wondered "what will the NEXT Venus passage over the Sun look like, in 2117?"

Curiosity is a strange thing...when I pulled up the picture of the heavens for that day, I was stunned to see that the position of the Sun/Venus way in the future will be "just a claw away" from where the Eclipse of the Full Moon happened in the constellation of Scorpio just 30 hours before this current Venus passage in 2012! Talk about fore shadowing!!

It also makes me wonder what effect this day in our history will have for future generations to "recall"? Is it the shadow cast by the influence of hidden financial manipulations (Scorpio's realm) in politics, the likes of which this country has never "seen" before until this day in Wisconsin (re: failure of recall election)? 

And will the memory of our future "selves" in 2117 be searching for "clues" from our generation as to what we did to overcome the darkness and hopelessness that many are feeling about "who is really in control" of what sustains life here on Earth?

Read more ->

Conjunction Celebration

Jupiter Venus Conjunction ©2012

In late March and early April this year there was a series of conjunctions between the moon, Venus and Jupiter in the western skies at sunset. I took photos of these and thought that I would create some art to commemorate the energy exchange. Then, I came across a fantastical photo on my Pixable feed. I don't recall now who took this image nor who posted it. But it caught my fancy and I decided that I would use the planet catching meme in my own piece. Below, I have posted these original source (inspirational) images - the found photo is on the left, my photo is on the right.