Death, Anticipated, Is Immortality Painting

Inspirations for this artwork range from the Egyptian culture of the pharaohs and the secret serpent order, to yoga, Buddhism and Hinduism, to Gnostic Christianity and the Ancient and Mystical Order of the Rose Cross. The skeletal entity (portrayed with charcoal and white pastel) is seated in meditation on a lotus flower with the yoga mudras on both hands. his spine is lit with fluid energy reaching to the crown of his head where the cross meets. Below we notice an Egyptian cartouche with the Monad, a crown and scarab inscribed. As the title might suggest, the meditator dies and contacts cosmic intelligence with each breath in lotus position. The surging energy reaches his crown and hence forth illumination occurs. He becomes king, with his body as his temple or kingdom. The scarab is symbolic of death (mediation, a quiet mind with no ego), the crown is for his kingdom (the body) and the Monad is the indivisible oneness of the individual with the collective consciousness and Cosmic awareness. The lotus flower has always been a symbol of strife and persistence through diligence no matter how difficult the situation, as it blossoms in nature even through mud and dirt. A red background is organically painted across the canvas complementary to the color of the sacred Rose.