Saturday 7 September 2013

Medusa - The Snake & The Mask - Part 2 - My Medusa Painting!

Copyright Laura Daligan 2013

Hail Medusa ~ Serpent Queen
Goddess of Life
Goddess of Death
And the Roads In-between

Force of Nature
Door Keeper
Snake Healer
Blood Bringer

Mysteries Unfold
To those who Dare to See
Behind your Mask of Old
The Keys to Restore the World.


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So here She is my painting of Medusa! I hope you like Her, and I hope you feel inspired and empowered by Her. The paining is 16.2 X 11.5" Acrylic on wood.

Thanks for everyone's comments and interest, on here and on facebook. I always love to hear your ideas, meditations, knowledge and feelings.

Last night I went to the National Gallery here in London with a friend, and whilst looking through some of the old masters, and some of the frankly weird religious icons and themes,  I saw a painting by Luca Giordano, entitled 'Perseus turning Phineas and his followers to stone':


There's no denying it's a classic, masterfully created. But let's look a bit closer at Medusa's death mask -  Her disembodied head being carried around as a defence weapon. Head: using intellect without bodily power. The oracular head, living on after death is quite a common theme in many myths. Bran the Blessed -  which basically means Blessed Raven, but that's another story - kept on chatting way after his head was removed from his shoulders.

Medusa's head was carried around by Perseus for a while - turning his enemies into stone, before She was returned as a gift to Athena, who placed it on a shield, to protect Greece from it's enemies.

Returned to Athena -  like we were talking about in my last blog, Athena and Medusa were once thought to be two parts of the same deity.
This is Perseus's poem about the affair...

'Medusa was once an exceedingly beautiful maiden,Whose hand in marriage was jealously sought by an army of suitors,According to someone who told me he’d seen it, her marvellous hairWas her crowning glory. The story goes that Poseidon the sea godDefiled this glorious creature inside the shrine of Athena.The daughter of Zeus screened her virginal eyes with her aegis in horror,And punished the sin, by transforming the Gorgon’s beautiful hairInto horrible snakes.”                        - PERSEUS RECOUNTS THE TALE OF MEDUSA

But more from her African - Libyan - Egyptian past, She was thought to be one of a triad of Moon Goddesses, collectively called, Anatha.

Medusa representing the dark moon aspect, (this painting was done over the waning to dark moon). Anatha's maiden/new moon aspect was called Athene and the Full Moon/Mother aspect was Metis.

An ancient African inscription from this Moon Goddess is meant to have reads: (I have only seen this online, so I need to do research to find out more!)

“I have come from Myself. I am all that has been and that will be, and no mortal has yet been able to lift the veil that covers me.”

Would lifting that veil be death/turned to stone for the uninitiated? Medusa's scary mask was thought (again in her pre classical self) to be there for those who were unready and uninitiated to see her true self?

I'd love to read your thoughts and findings. There will be a Medusa video when I have my research more solidly in place!

Back to more worldy issues, if you would like a print of my painting to inspire, empower and to speak to you they are now available in my etsy store.

Thank you for reading and looking :)


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