The Watchtowers - The Watchtower of the North.

The Watchtower of the North - Life, Death & Rebirth from the Frozen Wastes.

The Silver Lady in this painting was insistent that I paint her as the Northern Watchtower and she haunted my dreams incessantly. I slept very little in this period but once I completed this painting, I did not see or dream of her again. She walks towards us but is enclosed in a golden sacred space.  She is always there, always walking towards us, to protect and guide if necessary.  Her hair flies in a wind that we cannot feel because her dimensions are very different from that of ours, the golden light illustrates that it is not one that can be seen OR understood by mere mortals. Her dress is see-through, reminding the viewer that where she is, material belongings have no value & although she appears as a woman, she could be any shape or colour that she chooses.  In truth, how she appears is how we see her.  Her eyes are deep and black, illustrating the infinite void of eternity.

All places that house spiritual beings are sacred and in some cases might be spiritual beings themselves. Here 2 angels, created from light enclose the Watchtower of the North. One is female and heavily pregnant because the form of these beings were created by human minds. They both represent the conception and birth of humankind which is both a physical and spiritual event but never an immaculate one. They are the source for the well-known phenomena the Northern Lights, which emanate from their bodies. Their wings form an arch which encloses and embodies the sacred space of the Watchtower of the North. These light-beings rise from the snowy land-scape, which represent the Northern quadrant of the Elysian fields.

 

Because the North is often associated with Frozen landscapes, this painting represents life, death & rebirth.  The angels are like ice, fashioned by the winds of time in the likeness of humankind.  They appear fixed to the frozen landscape underlying this connection; (as above, so below).  They act as both conduit and reservoir and people can relate to them because they appear so human in many ways.  However, they are not, they are also of the landscape, of spirit & remind us that all beings & places are sacred as well as all states of being.  

The Arctic circle, where we admire and gasp at the magnificence of the northern lights, can mean death to many species that are indigenous to the area.  Especially when winter is at its most cruel and bitter but there is also enchantment.  Here in this sacred space of life, death and rebirth there is great beauty because these give rise to different states of being leading to a rebirth of the individual concerned.  Therefore, when we feel we are immersed or even stuck in a frozen wasteland in life, we need to remind ourselves that this is a necessity for further growth and expansion of body, psyche and soul.

The grim bite of spiritual winter affects us all at some stage in our lives.  As humans, we often deny that this is happening or going to occur.  We try and grasp onto the blissful states of being & deny the other state, that being of death and decay.  The Northern Watchtower reminds us that winter is after-all a season, all things are transient, nothing lasts forever & the most bitterest, coldest times can give rise to the most beautiful, verdant spring once we emerge, changed but strengthened by our experiences.

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Trac Davies - Artist ©