Archive for the ‘Empath’ Category

Symbolic Archetypes in the Native American Mural at the Mission Dolores

Tucked away behind the baroque wooden altar of San Francisco’s oldest standing building, the Mission Dolores, is San Francisco’s oldest known mural. Painted in 1791 by the indigenous Native Americans of the area, the Ohlone; it was partially preserved from the ravages of time by the wooden reredos which was placed over it. The mural depicts a series of geometric designs and swirls which are broken by two yellow circles, one at either side of the mural; each containing a pierced heart. The heart on the right is pierced by a single sword. The heart on the left is pierced by three spears or nails in an image inexplicably reminiscent of the classic Three of Swords card from the Sola Busca and Rider Waite tarots, which form the symbolic base of most modern tarot decks. The Three of Swords, one of the few cards within the Rider-Waite deck not to feature a human figure of any kind: is a card of loss, of betrayal, and of injury to the spiritual heart and passion. And though it is unlikely that the designers and artists of the mural had the tarot specifically in mind; the symbol’s presence in a church hints at a subconscious and spiritual meaning which the symbol of the pierced heart embodies and which mankind recognizes at its deepest levels.
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I decided to create an exercise that was a bit of a mundane-to-magickal wordplay. I began by considering the word reflect as well as it’s other iterations. I began by looking initially what their meaning was from the viewpoint of everyday usage in our spoken or written expression.

Reflect: to consider, to look back
Reflection: mirror, a result (ie: “this is a reflection of her work as a…”)
Reflecting: to turn or look back, remembering, impacting

Next I considered the words and then began to shape them into power words that hold meaning for me magickally and could aid me in impacting the world around me through my intention.

In my mind the word “reflect” in magickal terms is one of mirroring.

From that perspective, “reflect” also brings up the word “deflect” in my mind. When we deflect, we are placing a guard up that deflects all manner of responsibility, fault, or blame away from us. This can be both self-defeating as well as harmful to those around us. It could also be considered a powerful tool for protective shielding, however for me I find it a less empowered way for me to control exactly what I want and what I don’t want to come inside.

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