Spiritual Evocation

Ravi Zupa - Dance of Death.

NGC3486

Ravi Zupa - Chhinnamasta. Chhinnamasta (“She whose head is severed”) is a Hindu goddess. She is one of the Mahavidyas, ten goddesses from the esoteric tradition of Tantra, and a ferocious aspect of Devi, the Hindu Mother goddess. The nude self-decapitated goddess, usually standing or seated on a divine copulating couple, holds her own severed head in one hand, a scimitar in another. Three jets of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her severed head and two attendants. Chhinnamasta is a goddess of contradictions. She symbolises both aspects of Devi: a life-giver and a life-taker. She is considered both a symbol of sexual self-control and an embodiment of sexual energy, depending upon interpretation. She represents death, temporality, and destruction as well as life, immortality, and recreation. The goddess conveys spiritual self-realization and the awakening of the kundalini - spiritual energy. The legends of Chhinnamasta emphasise her self-sacrifice - sometimes coupled with a maternal element - sexual dominance, and self-destructive fury.

Sveta Dorosheva - The Alchemist, 2013.

Hieronymus Bosch - Christ’s Descent into Hell, 16th century. Bosch’s fiery hell scenes remained enormously popular throughout Europe in the sixteenth century. A vast, desolate landscape with a burning city at the right and the river Styx at the left is the setting for this nightmarish vision, in which Christ breaks down the gates of hell to rescue the souls of the just. Gesturing in supplication towards him, Adam and Eve kneel on top of a ruinous tower. Behind them, Old Testament figures climb the winding stairs from the depths of hell, among them Abraham and Isaac with the sacrificial ram, and Noah with a model of the ark. After the Crucifixion, Christ descended to the gates of Hell and demanded with a voice like thunder and wind, “Lift up your gates, Princes of Hell… and the King of Glory shall come in.” With these words he rescued the souls of the just, the patriarchs, and the prophets from their torment. Christ is illuminated by a divine light that contrasts with the darkness of his surroundings. Demons try to prevent the gate from opening, in keeping with the apocryphal account in which the prince of Hell ordered his army to bar Christ from entering. The view is from above, allowing for a full expanse of the highly detailed landscape with a burning city at the right and the river Styx at the left. Certain details, such as the owl and the flames, are traditional symbols of evil.

La Lune, c.1920

Shiva as Bhairava - The Destructor Artist: Giridhar Gowd Rayana (via Indian Red)

Acrylics and ink on paper, 21 x 11 cm

York Museums Trust

Cristina Francov

The Sun is Passing the Sign of Scorpio, Mikalojus Ciurlionis, ca. 1907.

Arch of Constantine by Robert Macpherson. Scottish, 1850s. Albumen silver print. J. Paul Getty Museum. 

Orbis Sensualium Pictus (1705)

Anonymous: Las Penas del Infierno (Penances of Hell), 18th Century.

©Penabranca

©Penabranca