The fiery serpent comes from Marion Woodman and Elinor Dickson's Dancing in the Flames. I drew this to express how it is necessary to risk pain and injury, even death of the old life to get what is worthwhile in our lives, represented by the flaming rose.
artifact: Rose Snake pastel on paper

Personal Transformation Reflection

Ninhursag represents all the facets of Women/Goddess: the Virgin, the Mother, the Midwife, The Crone who both curses and heals. This image comes from my reading of Marion Woodman’s Dancing in the Flames, which speaks of the Virgin of Transformation, of the infrared of the physical and the ultraviolet of the archetypal. It is the job of the Virgin to transform the self into the Self, and this image is my interpretation of that process. I am in the process of transformation.

artifact: Ninhursag Virgin Crone digital image

The layers of this image reflect the integration that a person must undergo during the second half of life. The right side is shaded red to represent the infrared of the body energy and the concretization of the symbols when one tries to act out or make "real" unconscious messages. The broken tablet in the background represents the fragmented self, the imcomplete stories we tell ourselves. The pink goddess, the Maiden, is made of stones, stiff and unable to respond. The center image of Ninhursag the Mother, the birth goddess, emphasizes shadow and highlight peeking through the birth canal, the literal and physical vulva of life. The purple snake goddess represents the ultraviolet of the High Self, the eternal part of us that is dark only due to the limitations of our physical senses to detect her energy. The rainbow represents the visible light spectrum that links the body to the spirit, the medium that brings the message of the unconscious to the Self. The immanence of the rebirth is indicated by the glowing shadow of the serpent. This image was done in Photoshop with a wacom drawing tablet, and incorporates images of Sumerian art from various web sources. Ninhursag's name is spelled out in Ugaritic cuneiform font.