The Watch Tower of the West - Or how mere mortals feel the Call or the intense pull from; *That feeling we get when we look to the west.*
The Watchtower of the West was the first in this series of four. I completed this painting in July 2010 & it is the one Watchtower that most calls to me, pulling both heart and soul towards the place I have painted.
I first envisioned this painting when completing the Flight of the Hamsters & was going to call it The Eye of the Needle. However, when I started the painting, I kept thinking that the 'needle' looked like an elemental being & decided against calling it by its original name because it didn't fit the painting. I realised that it reminded me of one of the Watchtowers of Paganism, thus the Watchtower of the West was born.
In Paganism, Watchtowers are the Spirit Guardians of the four cardinal points, although some believe that they are the abodes of the Guardians. I have included a link to Wikipedia for a further, more thorough explanation of the Watchtowers, for there are many versions of what they are but Goddesses, Gods, spirits, animals and angels have been Watchtowers for the cardinal points.
Westwards always speaks of the sea to me, of rocky shores, of coastal paths, of arches in cliffs but there is also a feel of travel with the western watchtower. Of journeys that have started or ended, of ones that are being undertaken, of outer and inner journeys, of the shamanic or spiritual path. The West to me also lingers in echos of freedom and spirit.
I have various feelings about the cardinal points, for instance the South is heat, fire, energy etc; but I have always felt the pull of attraction West. Perhaps human beings are much like homing pigeons in that they hear or feel the magnetic fields & physically navigate towards where their heart & soul feels it should go.
Every journey, whether internal or external needs a guardian but the Western Watchtower is disguised as a pinnacle of rock. This elemental being always feels female to me but that could be because I painted it & am one myself. Her "arms" are in a somewhat protective position, which is indicative of self-protection, which in any journey we need to have, but they also look like they have something in them. This "something" is the secret of success for each person that looks upon the Western Watchtower and so what she hides is secret but personal to each person. The Watchtower is camouflaged and has algae on it so to a casual observer looks like a craggy needle but her "needle's", ever-open eye sees everything but she is silent, says nothing and keeps your secrets and is watchful over you on whatever journey you are on.
This Watchtower, if one looks into the distance, faces a corresponding pinnacle. This pinnacle will be the total opposite, a male to her female for example, thus depicting balance & equality but it also serves another purpose. It is a natural gateway for travellers to depart and return through. The sea is choppy for no journey in life is ever completely smooth and if one is you can expect a rougher time of it with the return or next voyage for circumstances, like the sea are in perpetual change.
The archway signifies different dimensions, these could be a different place or mind set, but it also signifies permanence. When we travel to different places in body, mind and soul, we travel through permanence. The Western Watchtower and her counterpart are indicative of this but so is the archway & the cliffs. Different states of being are birthed from actual conditions that we live in, our body houses mind and soul but it has to experience the permanence of this world before any changes to the inner or outer states can occur.
I first envisioned this painting when completing the Flight of the Hamsters & was going to call it The Eye of the Needle. However, when I started the painting, I kept thinking that the 'needle' looked like an elemental being & decided against calling it by its original name because it didn't fit the painting. I realised that it reminded me of one of the Watchtowers of Paganism, thus the Watchtower of the West was born.
In Paganism, Watchtowers are the Spirit Guardians of the four cardinal points, although some believe that they are the abodes of the Guardians. I have included a link to Wikipedia for a further, more thorough explanation of the Watchtowers, for there are many versions of what they are but Goddesses, Gods, spirits, animals and angels have been Watchtowers for the cardinal points.
Westwards always speaks of the sea to me, of rocky shores, of coastal paths, of arches in cliffs but there is also a feel of travel with the western watchtower. Of journeys that have started or ended, of ones that are being undertaken, of outer and inner journeys, of the shamanic or spiritual path. The West to me also lingers in echos of freedom and spirit.
I have various feelings about the cardinal points, for instance the South is heat, fire, energy etc; but I have always felt the pull of attraction West. Perhaps human beings are much like homing pigeons in that they hear or feel the magnetic fields & physically navigate towards where their heart & soul feels it should go.
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| The Watchtower of the West - Trac Davies© . |
Every journey, whether internal or external needs a guardian but the Western Watchtower is disguised as a pinnacle of rock. This elemental being always feels female to me but that could be because I painted it & am one myself. Her "arms" are in a somewhat protective position, which is indicative of self-protection, which in any journey we need to have, but they also look like they have something in them. This "something" is the secret of success for each person that looks upon the Western Watchtower and so what she hides is secret but personal to each person. The Watchtower is camouflaged and has algae on it so to a casual observer looks like a craggy needle but her "needle's", ever-open eye sees everything but she is silent, says nothing and keeps your secrets and is watchful over you on whatever journey you are on.
This Watchtower, if one looks into the distance, faces a corresponding pinnacle. This pinnacle will be the total opposite, a male to her female for example, thus depicting balance & equality but it also serves another purpose. It is a natural gateway for travellers to depart and return through. The sea is choppy for no journey in life is ever completely smooth and if one is you can expect a rougher time of it with the return or next voyage for circumstances, like the sea are in perpetual change.
The archway signifies different dimensions, these could be a different place or mind set, but it also signifies permanence. When we travel to different places in body, mind and soul, we travel through permanence. The Western Watchtower and her counterpart are indicative of this but so is the archway & the cliffs. Different states of being are birthed from actual conditions that we live in, our body houses mind and soul but it has to experience the permanence of this world before any changes to the inner or outer states can occur.
My work can also be viewed at:
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http://tracdavies.deviantart.com/
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*Taken from: Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
Link to explain Watchtowers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchtower_%28magic%29
Link to explain Homing Pigeons & Magnetoreception: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetoception
Link to explain Homing Pigeons & Magnetoreception: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetoception
Trac Davies - Artist ©
The Watchtower of the West was the first in this series of four. I completed this painting in July 2010 & it is the one Watchtower that most calls to me, pulling both heart and soul towards the place I have painted.
ReplyDeleteI first envisioned this painting when completing the Flight of the Hamsters & was going to call it The Eye of the Needle. However, when I started the painting, I kept thinking that the 'needle' looked like an elemental being & decided against calling it by its original name because it didn't fit the painting. I realised that it reminded me of one of the Watchtowers of Paganism, thus the Watchtower of the West was born.
In Paganism, Watchtowers are the Spirit Guardians of the four cardinal points, although some believe that they are the abodes of the Guardians. I have included a link to Wikipedia for a further, more thorough explanation of the Watchtowers, for there are many versions of what they are but Goddesses, Gods, spirits, animals and angels have been Watchtowers for the cardinal points.