What a difference a {week} makes
One week ago today was the Mid-Winter Solstice and the long awaited, much anticipated 21 December 2012, the 'end of days', regarded as the end-date of a 5,125 year long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count. The start of a new time and a new way of being in the World.
I had been listening with interest to the words of Ac Tah, a direct descendant of the Maya, who had been selected as a messenger of the knowledge and information encoded in the Mayan glyphs and at sites that are sacred temples to his people throughout Mexico. He spoke of the planetary alignment that would be taking place over the three days of 21st, 22nd and 23rd December, and suggested that the best way for people to capitalise fully on the transformative energies coming in to the planet during this time of awakening would be to have a pen and paper ready, because he said "Many ideas will occur to you - so write them all down, so you can later figure out which ones are useful and use them. And we need to act on these to make them happen".
This Solstice felt rather important and meaningful, so my partner and I scheduled three days of Holiday from work to coincide with this time. Three days of introspection and dreaming awake and simply 'being'. And gently celebrating the dawning of this new World Age.
On Friday 21st after a luxurious lie-in, we headed into the City of Bath and hung out in a cafe for a leisurely brunch. I had my camera with me and my Turquoise Filofax on hand - like a journal with binder pages - to map-make my year/s ahead. To record down any insights as they came. I found myself taking note of many impressions and thoughts that came in over those three wonderfully super relaxed days.
I also found myself doing a mind-map of associations around my 'one little word' for 2013 (more on that very soon in an upcoming blog post!)
I was surprised to find answers to some questions I've had on where I am going with my art. Having re-visited my very early paintings again over the holidays I suddenly realised there is a common theme of a narrative or story happening within my images, they are all story-telling imagery, open to interpretation by the viewer. I'm actually more of an illustrator! I had somehow forgotten all of that.
And I'm strongly compelled to go back to my natural medium - watercolor. Only this time, I've learnt anything goes and I can make it a 'mixed media' with paper elements and acrylic if I want.
It's taken me a long time to be able to see what was there all along. It's amazing what messages from our wise-Self come to the surface when we give ourselves downtime and space to think and dream clearly!
Catherine Athena xo