Rising Above Ageism

Spring!  The excitement of seeing the first crocus open, of spying a wild iris, of rejoicing in the sturdiness of the daffodils emerging from under a February snowfall, their bloom tips ripening from green to yellow.  We are weary of winter.   We are yearning for spring.   The world reawakens before our eyes. What happens after we die?   In my images of the Harvest Queen (autumn) and the Crone (winter) we saw the fullness of a woman maturing from mother to queen, as age lines began to emerge on her face.  Her expression from queen to crone became somber, then sad as the despair of the inevitability of death became real to the crone, and then, full acceptance as she slipped into the peace of the final sleep.  Where did she go?  That is the great Mystery, isn't it? In this image for the maiden, the comforting hand of the crone is upon the head of the infant ... the transfer of life energy is being completed just before the maiden awakens.  And...

Harvest Queen  The  Harvest Queen  represents the Autumn Equinox, also known as the celebration of Mabon.  The light and the dark are in balance on the equinox, and as the days unfold the darkness begins to overcome the light.  We celebrate our harvests, and then come the days of contemplation.  Wisdom emerges from our depths into our conscious minds, and if we fully accept this upwelling of knowing from within, we enter a time of new strength, preparing ourselves as we become, day by day, one who understands grace.    Celebrating the Autumn Equinox    She who has matured through her seasons, from infancy and childhood to maiden, thence to mother, and as she ascends her Autumn Throne, her crops are fully grown.  She has earned her crown. The left half of the painting represents the end of summer, and the fullness of nature, and that of a woman fully matured. The right half of the painting represents the beginning...