Thursday, March 19, 2009

The Morrigan: The Dark Mother

The Morrigan: the Dark Mother
After six months of work, the painting "The Morrigan: The Dark Mother" is complete. This painting was an exploration of the dark side of life. By dark, I do not mean evil, but simply the negative aspects that when combined with the positive, complete the whole. I chose the Irish goddess The Morrigan to represent this exploration and added both archetypal and personal symbols to further represent the dark aspect of life and spirit.
The Morrigan, ancient goddess of the land, of fertility and death, became associated in more "modern times" with war. In triple aspect she was accompanied by Nemain (Frenzy), Macha or Badbh (Battle Crow). In her war aspect she appeared over the battlefield, inciting the warriors to become crazy with war-lust, and thus, causing their own demise. The Morrigan was not death herself, she was the harbinger of death, and so the Ban-Shee or the Washer at the Ford, became associated with her. She is the Kali of the Irish pantheon, the Dark Mother to whom we must respect deeply.
The Morrigan, represents the dark aspect that we all experience and possess. Everything emerges from the dark, the child from the womb, the day from night, and The Morrigan’s power exists within this place of potentiality. We also end the cycle by returning to the dark, day gives way to night, our bodies return to the earth, and so The Morrigan blesses us by releasing us from her realm and calls us back when it is time.
The dark aspect is not something to be feared, for to fear the dark, is to be afraid of our own nature. It is to be understood as part of a natural cycle of rise and fall, expanding and contracting, reaching out and turning inward, etc. The Morrigan offers us a way to understand and navigate the dark paths throughout our life, if only we overcome our fears and reach out to accept the “fruit” of knowledge she offers us.
DoAn

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DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. 


All artwork and text © Copyright 2005-2009 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really like this painting. If it were on the cover of a book, I'd totally buy it. It just draws you in.

libramoon said...

Mother Night

Darkness is not about
the absence of light.
Shadow does not demand substance.
Darkness is a place of germination.
Mixing water, air and earth
to create the fire of life renewed.

Quiet here,
enclosed in silence,
a tiny heartbeat starts,
sending out waves,
reverberations
rippling through the earth.
Under water caves
feel the pulse, the beat, the becoming.
Time, space, and impulse converge.
Innocent and ancient,
taking up the tune
to play riffs,
singing the structure of images,
moving through the night
eerie demonic counterpoint
to pure essence
straining through.

A thousand petals open
to reveal the heart of the lotus
luminescent
mother of pearl.

(c) March 27, 2006 Laurie Corzett

Antony Galbraith said...

Thanks Laurie for sharing this...it is beautiful and the perfect companion to my painting! You understand the Dark Mother so well!

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