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Creation or Lucifer Descending
The image was born of a tribute to two of my favorite authors: Salvador Dalí and Gustave Doré.
The Lucifer/Prometheus is portrayed like Dalí's "Christ of Saint John of the Cross", here dividing the Absolute in the first moment of creation. The descent into matter is shown in a whirlpool of light, as in Doré's "Celestial Rose" (illustration for Dante's Divine Comedy).
The image is a metaphor for the interconnection of creation/destruction, alpha and omega. The peacock feathers on Lucifer's wings, as the ram's horns, represent the fiery power of passion and will - in other words, Water and Fire, the Elements of Creation, which, by themselves, describe how everything happens after the Self enters the realm of Matter. The Ouroboros on Lucifer's back, simultaneously forms the zero (0) and the lemniscate/infinity (8) - as if saying "between One and the Other, there is only movement". Or, between the All and the Void, there is only the thread of consciousness. Hence, the Lucifer/Prometheus is the First Other, created in the image of the One at the primordial moment of awakening.
Consciousness is the moving force of the universe. The condition of being One (something other than being multiple) and the circumstance of being absolute brings forth the act of consciousness: to say "I am" is enough to imply a difference between "one" and "the other", in other words, division. To realize that there is mySelf and something else - or even the lack of it - always translates into a limitation of the absolute. The chain-reaction that follows manifests precisely this.
The planet causing the eclipse, at the top, is not the Moon but the morning star, Venus, shining even under the utter splendor of the Sun. Venus is the emotional body, which translates into passion and will, the original impulse for solution. Lucifer/Prometheus has been described as being a "Bearer of Light" and, ultimately, the personification and manifestation of divinity, inside the world of matter. In fact, he is the practical solution for the divine condition. The nature of infinity is unstable, and the reaction of infinite division/manifestation is the natural way out of this problem.
The Hanged
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​This tarot card commonly relates to ideas such as self-sacrifice, surrender and patience, but also to contemplation, detachment, inner balance and enlightenment. Here, the Hanged is represented by a red-haired female figure, suspended head-down on a pole. A large serpent is wrapping itself around her, both looking at each other, at the bottom of the scene. Their facial expressions are of calmness, even entrancement, and they are surrounded by a bright blast of light. The top of the pole consists of a four-headed eagle, crowned by the holy flames. The fourth head of the eagle is, indeed, hidden in the back by the ones in the front. The spheres of the Moon and the Sun appear on each side of the pole, and the Elemental Triangles of Fire and Water – the Elements of Creation – can be seen at the top and at the bottom, respectively. A golden ring floats in the background, containing the words: “The Moon includes the Sun; the Sun includes the Moon; with Fire and with Water”.
Three of Spades
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A figure sits alone in the middle of stones, next to a bowl containing a severed heart. The floor is covered with blood and the scissors that were used to cut out the heart can still be seen, standing upright and menacingly casting their shadow over a thread, as if they were alive. This thread apparently leads to a solution, but it is very thin, so everything hangs in the balance. Above the scene hovers a strange structure of spikes, thorns and eyes – these are the many viewpoints of an over-rationalizing mind, each of them pulling into a different direction. The Three of Spades usually depicts suffering on a very intimate level, but much of this pain is caused by the opinions of the ego.
Queen of Disks
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​The Queen of Disks is portrayed as a regal and horned figure, crowned by the rays of the setting Sun, standing between a pyramid and a hole in the ground. Growing from both sides are rose bushes, covered with golden blossoms, which form the shape of the Queen's wings. The scene is somewhat inspired in the miracle of the roses, as presented in various hagiographies and legends, such as the one of Queen Elisabeth of Portugal, in which bread is magically transformed into rose petals and buds. Here, the miracle goes the opposite way: the roses are turning into golden grains of wheat, which fall from the Queen's lap into the Earth. The pyramid and its shadow stand for the elemental triangles of Fire (the spirit) and Water (the heart), which are overlapping their counterparts, Sky (the mind) and Earth (the body). The Queen is an avatar of Prometheus/Lucifer, walking the material realm with a crown of light and bare feet, thus joining the inspirational power of the upper Elements with the harsh yet blooming qualities of earthly manifestation.
The Devil
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The Devil appears as a semi-decomposed hermaphroditic figure, kneeling and exposing the innards, while reaching up to crack the Cosmic Egg. His skin is being pulled off by chains connecting to the spinal cords of two human figures facing the darkness of the background. Each of them has half of an apple, still with its seeds. At the edges of the image, two naked trees, connected by the roots, extend their branches into the night sky. There are serpent-like shapes, wrapping themselves around the structure of the trees. They also spiral along the devil’s lower chakras, eventually assuming the shape of an atom, when reaching the tip of the genitals. The serpents appear to be going in a certain direction, but neither the heads nor the tails can be seen. Above, in the darkest part of the image, are seven shining stars.
The Devil is the Great Divider, who provides human earthly experience with the necessary tensions and pains, such as separation, ignorance and fear. While being the embodiment of every foul manifestation of the One, the Devil is also the one who makes the Path of Reunion possible.
Ariadne Castro Artwork