The Changing Goddess under the Wiccan Moon - Goddess Within Series, 2nd Painting.

 

 Changes within women and how they are perceived.

 

How often have I heard these words?  "Well she is a woman of a certain age now"; & "she is at that time of life; & "yes she is a funny age now". It always amuses me because I believe that every age in both sexes can be deemed as funny ones but there is no getting away from it, there comes a time when the body starts to go into overdrive & there is nothing that can be done about it.  In particular, women's issues with the menopause have been highlighted and because we are able to bear children, maybe these changes are more evident than they are in men.  After all, after a certain time, women can no longer have children whereas men do not usually have the same issues & some men can still produce sex cells in later life.  Yet they too, go through changes & these are no more "funny" then they are for women.

The Changing Goddess under the Wiccan Moon is about the peri-menopausal and menopausal woman.  This painting was actually inspired by a tree I saw in 2006 near a Morbihan town called Saint-jacut-les-pins.  When I first saw this tree, I had no idea of what I would create and what it would be about, I just knew I had to paint it.  

This  tree drew me, I loved the fact that it was so hollowed out but still very much in the land of the living.  In truth, I have seen more hollowed out trees that were still alive but it was so seductively alive, almost come-hither & for a tree, I thought this quite an achievement!   So I took the photo and trundled off home, my baby daughter in her pram, pondering about its significance and what I would create.

Take into account that at this time we were living in a mobile home &  a huge old barn that was in desperate need of renovation, there was no chance of painting.  Everything was either covered in mould or dust as there was tons of ancient straw & hay in the grenier & it rained through the holey roof.  Images tend to haunt me until I do something with them so I drew a version  of what I wanted to do then put it to one side.  We then sold the barns and moved into a house and I sketched a more detailed study & blocked some of it in.  This time for me, was when the creative processes really started flowing but for this particular painting, they didn't start straight away.

For 4 years that study went untouched but one day, I awoke with the thought that it was way past time, I needed to paint that tree & this is what I produced.

The Changing Goddess under the Wiccan Moon - Trac Davies©

This one tree illustrates what takes place with a woman's body & psyche in menopause.  It is autumn, a harvest moon (or Wiccan moon) hangs behind the tree but all the leaves are on the ground, they carpet the earth with gold, red and brown. Therefore depicting the autumnal years in a woman's life but these leaves also represents the eggs that have been released but not fertilised & so die over the years.  The Wiccan Harvest moon hangs low and signifies three things, it underlines the connection with autumnal years, blood that encompasses the monthly cycles of birth & death and feminine knowledge coupled with instinct. 

For some women, the connection is very strong with the intuitive side at this stage of life so if you wish, our natural inner witch comes out; (http://tracdaviesartist.blogspot.fr/2014/12/the-inner-wild-woman.html this also covers our intuitive side). In fact, if you look at the third branch along, you will see there is a hand pointing towards the moon, the tree itself is pointing out what is to come & every woman KNOWS that this time will come, whether it is desired or not.

At first glance, the red carpeted stairs are obvious, as is the light bulb but when viewed again you may think, why stairs & why such a brightly lit light bulb, the physiology of this is all too familiar and obvious but where do those stairs lead, & why so well lit?  Each woman's journey into this stage of life is an individual one, nobody knows where it will lead but the knowledge that the change will come is clear and brightly lit.  however, it is an uphill journey into a destiny that only the individual will discover.  

The sleeping cat is based on my own cat Shadow & depicts feline contentment with oneself & stage of life.  The wine glass, & spilled red wine portrays the blood lost and gained over the years but now the roots are prominent because it has been ripped out from its environment. It is a dying ovary, that has produced many eggs & kept the hormonal state stable in its time but now, after serving its purpose will produce no more eggs and the chemical side will diminish. 

The tree itself has hidden aspects, there is an owl for hard-earned wisdom, a fairy for flight from old habits & mischievousness -  because the body and mind plays a lot of tricks on the individual menopausal woman & a small set of stairs hidden within the roots & on the tree itself.  These roots are very prominent & they are everywhere, such is the network of the hidden woman & her world.  She goes down deep & reaches for the sky as she digs down.  She has no shame of her body, with its honourable scars of life, death and rebirth as well of those that lead to a good life, whether children have been born from that body or not & nor should she.

Please also see blog: 
http://tracdaviesartist.blogspot.fr/2014/12/the-inner-wild-woman.html

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Trac Davies - Artist ©