In A Mermaid's Tears

In A Mermaid's Tears                          2011

Last summer, a friend commissioned a small work to represent her "journey to wholeness and balance." Knowing the story of some of her life's pains and pleasures, I looked to her astrological birth chart for additional clues on what visual imagery might best resonate with her. Additionally, she told me that following a relatively recent life passage, she had become very interested in mermaids.


Without getting too technical, I hope, there was a stunning juxtaposition of the Sun and the Moon in her chart. In astrology, the Sun rules the sign of Leo--fiery, fixed and aggressive--the Sun also represents the "outer-self" in a chart. Conversely, the Moon rules the sign of Cancer--watery, fluid and nurturing--and represents the "inner-self" of the person. In her chart, these two placements are exactly reversed -- Sun in Cancer -- Moon in Leo -- and each is egged on by other planets in conjunction with them. So here was a pretty obvious imbalance, setting her up for issues and lessons to learn. This became the imagery focal point for the four corners of the piece.


Working toward the center are obstacles and pathways in diagonal mirror image comprised of diverse elements--various types of glass, stone, shell, wood, copper and feathers. The central eye contains a perfect heart-shaped shard of sea glass, offering a place of peace and balance from which to operate.


I feel a bit of Divine Intervention was at play since the majority of the work came together on 11/11/11--World Meditation Day!