Our Lady of the Desert Spring: Prayers in the time of Drought

 

"Numinous".......Personal Icons

She will rust us with blossom

She will seal us with Her seed.

Robin Williamson

The first deities of Rome were agricultural.
Before they became an empire or adopted Greek mythologies, the Romans called their deities  "numen",  which roughly translated meant "spirits of place", the "mind of place". These early deities included Pomona, goddess of the Orchards, and many other local deities concerned with the well being of trees, springs, deer, rivers. and caves.

I've been looking at many of my personal "Icons" lately, and I realize that, like the early Romans, so many of them are about the Numinous in nature, the felt prescence, the the intelligence and conversation experienced in the garden, or at the top of a mountain for that matter as well.  My  personal Icons return always  to the intelligence of nature, the "numinous".  


When I was younger  I remember  conversations I had with beaches and stones and butterflies, the world was full of Talismans to be found and treasured, magical signs and portents.  There are still places I can go, where those  mysterious voices are heard.  The divine is beneath our feet, in the roots, the cracks, the dragon trails of wind and rain moving across the expressive faces of the day.

In the past I was fascinated with the ubiquitous "hand and eye" symbols found among the prehistoric  peoples of early America, the mysterious Mound Builders.  Also exploring in my art the equally ubiquitous stories of the Great Weaver, the Spider Woman, I began making hands with eyes myself, and called my project "Spider Woman's Hands".    The  eyes mean to me that immanent presence and intelligence in nature.  The eye in the hand also means to me, personally, the divine manifesting and creating in this world, through all natural processes, and through the works of our hands as well.  

And the roots are the Web, the sustanence and interdependancy that unites us with all Beings of the Earth.   The Body of the World, our Body.  
  

16 million tons of rain
are falling every second

on the planet,
an ocean
perpetually falling
and every drop
is your body
every motion, every feather,
 every thought

is your body

time is your body

every leaf, every river,
every animal,
your body

Drew Dellinger

Icons for the Earth

Study for "Numina"

I can't believe that in a month I'll be heading west again, back to Tucson. I wish I could remain on the East Coast, see the snows and the spring come. I left my heart in the East a long time ago, and can't seem to drag it entirely into the arid lands.

My sculpture Weavers is laid out on the floor of the studio, and will soon be finished and mounted at Wesley. I was amazed to see that after I assembled it (it's about 9 feet tall) it had a cohesive story within its structure. Of course, I had to lay it out to see that! More later, when I have some photos.

The first deities of Rome (before it became an empire, and before it adopted Greek mythologies) were called "Numina", roughly translated, "spirits of place", or the  "mind of place". These early deities included Pomona, goddess of the Orchards, and other local deities concerned with the well being of trees, springs, deer, etc. As I thought about creating my personal Icons, I returned to the intelligence of nature, the invocation of the  "numinous".


Sometimes I see that the Deity I felt in the woods as a child, the conversations I had with beaches and stones and butterflies, are not entirely lost to me. There are still places I can go, where those friendly and mysterious voices still invite me to join the conversation. The divine is beneath our feet, in the roots, the cracks, the dragon trails of wind and rain moving across the expressive faces of the day. I like this image, I think the eyes mean to me that immanent presence I feel in nature.

16 million tons of rain
are falling every second

on the planet,
an ocean
perpetually falling
and every drop
is your body

Drew Dellinger