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Author Topic:   Johfra Zodiac Paintings Part Two
Donna
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posted June 17, 2002 05:22 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote


Pisces, The Fishes, is a negative (feminine) sign and the last of the water signs. It is ruled by Neptune (formerly Jupiter). Pisces is the last phase in the path of human development. The charateristics are synthesis, resolution and liberation. Jupiter expressed the generosity and nurturing aspects of Psices, but Neptune explains the self-sacrifice and resolution in the sea of life of the mystic. Life, once born from the primordial ocean, returns to water, aware and rich in experience. The circle is closed.

The sign of Pisces was originally illustrated by one fish. In Mesopotamia it was shown as a girdle with which the two fish were tied, swimming in opposite directions. Here this idea encompasses the Yin/Yang symbol of absolute balance and male and female interaction. The girdle binding the two parts shows the 12 signs which have passed.

The red fish, which represents the active part of the person, points downward. The blue fish, the passive part, represents the outside world because man has no more interest in the world of phenomena. The symbolism of the fish also refers to the first disciples and Christ.

Only symbols for Neptune, Saturn and Pisces are shown here as no magical correspondenses have been attributed to Neptune.


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Donna
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posted June 17, 2002 05:26 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote


Aries, The Ram, is a positive (masculine), fire sign. It is ruled by Mars. The development through the 12 signs starts with Aries. Therefore, the primitive ram is depicted running blindly, oblivious to his surroundings. The warriior is Mars, god of war. His sword is sheathed. He has not come to destroy: instead he bears a torch, kindling the fire of enthusiasm. He is Prometheus. There has not been time for experience, hence the figure of Avidya (ignorance). She can see nothing yet she wears the green cloth of hope. As a counterpart, the Magician of the Tarot is a high-level Aries. He has become the ruler of the four elements depicted on his altar. He stands in front of a closed door in the rocks which bears a circle of 12 stars, signifying the 12 signs of the zodiac that will start behind the door.

A lizard-like creature (the Basilisk) sits in the foreground. Its look could destroy all life. The Cabbala has this creature as a symbol of Geburah, the sephira associated with Mars. It corresponds to the Salamander in alchemy. The pentagon refers to Mars, being associated with the fifth sephira of the Tree of Life. Five is the number of Mars.

The following magical signatures can be seen, going around from the bottom left: the signatures of the planetary archangel Samael, the sign of Mars, the seal of the planetary spirit Pharos Phaley, the seal of the planet Mars, the sign of the planetary intelligence Graphiel and the three signs belonging to the planetary intelligence Barzabel.

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Donna
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posted June 17, 2002 05:35 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote


Gemini, The Twins, is a positive (masculine) sign. It is ruled by Mercury. The accent is on dualism and how to achieve union through interchange. All positive elements are on the right, and the negative are on the left. The dualism between the poles resolves itself in a bridge. Red is positive, blue negative, and the union between them is golden yellow. The red pillar Jachin is crowned by a budding staff, symbolizing fire. The Sun, bringer of life, shines above it. The left-hand feminine pillar Boaz bears a silver goblet in which to receive the Sun's powers. The perfect man points to the heavens, and the perfect woman points to the earth, so uniting their natures. They hold the staff of Mercury, the caduceus. The staff is crowned by a winged mirror because Hermes rules over the intellectual faculty like a mirror that reflects all things while it stays clear.

A lion and unicorn also show opposing principles. In ancient India, Gemini was presented as a lion and unicorn guarding the gate to the Holy City. Between them sits a dog-faced baboon, the cynocephalus. In Egypt, it was the personification of Thoth, the equivalent of Hermes. He also represents lower analytical intelligence. The octagon represents the eighth sephira, Hod. Two Tarot cards, The Fool and Temperance, are shown. There are two alchemical dragons which represent polarized power. They retain their colors up to where their necks entwine. The Androgyne rises from the fire.

The magical seals starting at the top, going from left to right are: the planetary seal of the angel Ophiel; the signature of the archangel of Mercury, Raphael and the seal of the Olympic planetary spirits of Mercury. Under the red dragon is the seal of the planetary spirits that are subordinate to Ophiel, and under the blue dragon is the signature of the planetary intelligence Tiriel. The six signs on either side of the staff are the secret alchemical signs from Mecurius sublimus.


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Donna
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posted June 17, 2002 05:39 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote


Scorpio, the Scorpion, is a negative (feminine), water sgin. It is a time when the plant kingdom turns in on itself preparing for winter. In this painting Mars, rather than Pluto is used as the ruler.

Scorpio is a battlefield of instense psychic collisions and deep experiences. In ancient India, the scorpion is referred to as the 'dark serpent'. It is also the seven-headed dragon that Hercules killed; Apep, the snake of darkness, killed by Horus, sone of Osiris; the dragon killed by St. George; the snake of paradise who brought death and the knowledge of good and evil; and the eagle.

The nature of this sign is awareness of the most fundamental facets of life and the transformation of the primary forces. Scorpio is about the libido, the power of creation, as well as love, birth, death and resurrection. The astrological symbol of Mars is placed in the dodecahedron. It is made up of 12 pentagrams (associated with Mars and the fifth sephira) and symbolizes man's voyage along the path to consciousness through the 12 phases of the zodiac. Here he is in the phase of the scorpion. He strives to find out what state he has reached but can only see his reflection on the surface of the sea of his consciousness, which changes as his emotions change. He must become a yogi, a mystic, to transform the basic powers inside him through self-discipline. He will then rise like an eagle as the old self dies and a new person is born as a child. The cup of the old life is drained and knocked over. It is replaced by one in which the light of the Spirit will go on burning.

The planetary seal of Phaleg, belonging to Mars, is in the top left, and the signature of the intelligence Graphiel is in the top right.

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Donna
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posted June 17, 2002 05:43 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote


Leo The Lion, is a positive (masculine), fire sign. It is ruled by the Sun. The accent here falls on the relationship between self and non-self. The lion, like the Sun, shines out over good and bad. He shares the center of the composition with the ruling Sun. He is the Royal Heart. Like all of the Sun heroes in mythology, he has to fight both the lion in himself and conquer other animals (as Hercules did). In the right forefront, Hercules or Samson is battling his own negative Leo power. If he wins, he will become the Sun god Apollo who bewitches the whole world with the music of his lyre. Palms, cypresses, citrus bushes, sunflowers and oak trees are all Leo plants. The hollow oak involves one of the deepest mysteries of virtually all religions: the birth of the self-sacrificing Sun God. All of these stories concern a rison being, born of a human and absorbed into a godhead. During his trials, the godly portion of the being seems to die, yet it lives on eternally, forming a bridge to reconcile different worlds.

The Sun occupies a central place on the middle pillar of the Tree of Life. It is Tiphereth, the sixth sephira, also known as the 'Sun Fire'. The cartouche in the top left corner bears the seal of the Sun. The large cartouche on the right contains (middle) the seal of the Olympic spirits who control the domain of the Sun, (top) the sign of the gnostic spirit Sorath and (bottom) the sign of the planetary intelligence Nakhiel. The smaller cartouches contain various signs which the alchemists used to illustrate gold.

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Randall
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posted June 22, 2002 09:16 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Randall     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Moving these to the top!

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"It is never too late to become what you might have been." George Eliot

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Donna
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posted December 07, 2002 08:14 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
To the top!!

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