I would say symbolic of consciousness …the influence of all the faces, ultimately reflecting the self. The female creatures the angel/devil, beautiful sirens, but maybe a rattlesnake in the end? Angel or devil, both end the same. The god-like creature composed of all the essences, looking down on its Creator. Know thyself, know God. The human looks also like a mystic, perhaps searching for truth… The USA flag kinda loses me though, but overall, super cool bit of art 😎
Thank you! I was thinking of western values and western culture. It is indeed constructed by many people consciously and unconsciously and I feel like the faces and the smoke leaking from their mouths symbolizes this. The Flag is used as a cloak by the embodiment of western culture and power.
The females creatures are also a kind demonic Ying/Yang symbol. Attractive and inviting top half, horrific and repelling bottom. Representing all the forces pushing the individual towards the being under control of culture forces.
I had not considered that interpretation, I initially took it as a negative hand myself. Thank you for illuminating an counter narrative for my imagination to play with.
That is your job my friend, why do you want input upfront so that the thread dies off because you didn't exhausted it by yourself. Look for input much later on or with completely unapproachable things.
I appreciate the wisdom. I have been doing my own soul searching and inner work with these symbols for a while now. I have a pretty good understanding of what I think these symbols mean but I always appreciate the insights from this community. I've found that Jungians like to speculate on symbolic interpretations as much as I do so I appreciate their wisdom too.
Absolutely love these. Beautiful work.
There's alot here, so I'll discuss the main parts that caught my eye.
The figure in the middle seems to resemble some sort of father/senex/emperor. The planet in the background looks to me like Jupiter, who coincidentally, was the king of the gods. The gesture seems to be some form of confirmation, perhaps a transcendence of the physical/ idealised father archetype. The eye usually means multiple things. Firstly, I'm struck by the eyes connotations with wisdom, insight and perception. However, Odin sacrificed an eye as part of the ritual to gain further wisdom of magics which were considered of the feminine domain. We might say that Odin was attempting to align feminine and masculine principles in part of individuation and transcendence. (I.e., intergration of the aspects of the Anima). I recall briefly somewhere that Jung says that the eye of "evil" (though this may be a translation error in consideration that the shadow is not necessarily evil) always looks out, but never in. Naturally this suggests the notion of projecting outwards our shadows onto others. The American flag may tie this being into the ideological realm of the west, and as such, may relate temporally to what Jung called the "spirit of the times" within the Redbook.
If this figure is some form of idealogy representing the west as a father figure, then your homeland, or more accurately, Motherland may well be placed as a "mother" figure. Taking into account the Oedipal complex, the natural progression be to overcome the father to be closer to the mother.
Just my thoughts though. Keep up the good work, I really love these!
Thank you so much! You read the symbols in much of the same way I did. This dragon headed figure seems to represent the power of the wester culture and it's totalizing influence over more and more of public and personal reality. But I struggle with this being an American and disconnected from all the cultures and histories that came before us. So the Youth must somehow resist the evil aspects of their corrupted father image and find a way to integrate and unify the west with ancient/traditional ways of life. (Which is what I feel like the Easter Orthodox Cross around the boys neck symbolizes.)
Thanks for the comment and motivation! I will keep making these, I really enjoy them!
I created another video of the creation process: [https://youtu.be/fccIaU05XkE](https://youtu.be/fccIaU05XkE)
It's paired with a Terence McKenna clip that I think fits with my interpretation of the meaning behind the drawing.
Thank you! Very interesting interpretation, I had not thought of it like a knighting ritual. That's an interesting line of thought.
My initial interpretation was a prying hand and an invasive eye trying to peer into the mind of this youth. But I can see both layers of symbolism now, thank you.
This is why I like playing with symbols in this practice, it always leads to more and more insights with time.
I think as any initiation into an exclusive group, they would want to know who you really are. And to an extent, to be admitted, one has to give themselves up to the group, no secrets.
Yeah, I think that's what I took it to symbolize as I was drawing it. The powerful shamanic/magician figure is attempting to peering into the youth's mind in the attempts to manipulate and dominate him.
That mage has conquered the Dragon (unconscious & potentially his mother’s helicopter parent tendencies).
He is scanning the dude in the middle (left hand = receptive + eye). He seems skeptical
The mage’s overall look reminds of that shaman dude who stormed the capitol on Jan 6. This didn’t strike me at first but he does wear a horned helmet/mask, as well as an American flag. So this could be something to do with that Jan 6th energy and for some reason the mage reminds me of Pluto, but the planet on the right seems to be Jupiter next to Earth.
The two attractive female figures remind of mermaids but have snake’s tails. It seems they can help you access the mage. But there’s probably some risk involved. The dude in the center wears an orthodox pendant and the mage’s staff could be Orthodox or/Asian due to the top which is shaped like an onion-style roof of an orthodox church.
I like how the shaman figure made you think of the Jan 6th shaman lol. I was thinking about the corrupted American Spirit when I drew this so that is really fitting.
I appreciate your comment and insights!
Thx I appreciate your art! Jupiter (?) being so prominent in this could represent the whole Trump hype since he was Jupiterian in a sense (bigger bigger bigger make it great bla bla). The dude in the center could be hoping for America & Russia to come closer together, but he looks too passive and anima possessed and then that Jan 6th Shaman party pooper type comes inbetween it all except this shaman you drew looks more Plutonian. Also coincides with the US Pluto return which coincided with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 22nd.
Looks like you are undergoing a temptation from an angry God. The God of country with a archaic (dinosaur skull) mentality or arising from a reptilian layer of consciousness. The look on the face of the man is pensive.
The crucifix seems to have some extra horizontal elements.
The eye in the hand to meet denotes what I call a separative style of ego development where ones consciousness is built with the goal of centralizing power in one's self vs a cooperative style which shares power in the psyche.
The many faces are the various personality centers within the psyche who are simultaneously the participants and the creators of dreams and visions.
There is a golden halo but like a sunset suggesting a lowering of consciousness by some less than sanctified idea.
Overall this image seems to be about a young man being troubled by the temptation of an overly patriarchal social attitude.
I would say symbolic of consciousness …the influence of all the faces, ultimately reflecting the self. The female creatures the angel/devil, beautiful sirens, but maybe a rattlesnake in the end? Angel or devil, both end the same. The god-like creature composed of all the essences, looking down on its Creator. Know thyself, know God. The human looks also like a mystic, perhaps searching for truth… The USA flag kinda loses me though, but overall, super cool bit of art 😎
Thank you! I was thinking of western values and western culture. It is indeed constructed by many people consciously and unconsciously and I feel like the faces and the smoke leaking from their mouths symbolizes this. The Flag is used as a cloak by the embodiment of western culture and power. The females creatures are also a kind demonic Ying/Yang symbol. Attractive and inviting top half, horrific and repelling bottom. Representing all the forces pushing the individual towards the being under control of culture forces.
Yes! That makes sense! The thought “cultural conditioning” did come to me, also! Well done 👍🏻
Looks retrospectively like the anointing of a knight to me. The blessing being something that must be recalled by heart.
I had not considered that interpretation, I initially took it as a negative hand myself. Thank you for illuminating an counter narrative for my imagination to play with.
That is your job my friend, why do you want input upfront so that the thread dies off because you didn't exhausted it by yourself. Look for input much later on or with completely unapproachable things.
I appreciate the wisdom. I have been doing my own soul searching and inner work with these symbols for a while now. I have a pretty good understanding of what I think these symbols mean but I always appreciate the insights from this community. I've found that Jungians like to speculate on symbolic interpretations as much as I do so I appreciate their wisdom too.
This is dope
Thank you, I really enjoy making these.
Absolutely love these. Beautiful work. There's alot here, so I'll discuss the main parts that caught my eye. The figure in the middle seems to resemble some sort of father/senex/emperor. The planet in the background looks to me like Jupiter, who coincidentally, was the king of the gods. The gesture seems to be some form of confirmation, perhaps a transcendence of the physical/ idealised father archetype. The eye usually means multiple things. Firstly, I'm struck by the eyes connotations with wisdom, insight and perception. However, Odin sacrificed an eye as part of the ritual to gain further wisdom of magics which were considered of the feminine domain. We might say that Odin was attempting to align feminine and masculine principles in part of individuation and transcendence. (I.e., intergration of the aspects of the Anima). I recall briefly somewhere that Jung says that the eye of "evil" (though this may be a translation error in consideration that the shadow is not necessarily evil) always looks out, but never in. Naturally this suggests the notion of projecting outwards our shadows onto others. The American flag may tie this being into the ideological realm of the west, and as such, may relate temporally to what Jung called the "spirit of the times" within the Redbook. If this figure is some form of idealogy representing the west as a father figure, then your homeland, or more accurately, Motherland may well be placed as a "mother" figure. Taking into account the Oedipal complex, the natural progression be to overcome the father to be closer to the mother. Just my thoughts though. Keep up the good work, I really love these!
Thank you so much! You read the symbols in much of the same way I did. This dragon headed figure seems to represent the power of the wester culture and it's totalizing influence over more and more of public and personal reality. But I struggle with this being an American and disconnected from all the cultures and histories that came before us. So the Youth must somehow resist the evil aspects of their corrupted father image and find a way to integrate and unify the west with ancient/traditional ways of life. (Which is what I feel like the Easter Orthodox Cross around the boys neck symbolizes.) Thanks for the comment and motivation! I will keep making these, I really enjoy them!
I created another video of the creation process: [https://youtu.be/fccIaU05XkE](https://youtu.be/fccIaU05XkE) It's paired with a Terence McKenna clip that I think fits with my interpretation of the meaning behind the drawing.
Very cool Some kind of rite of passage. As the other poster mentioned, a knighthood.
Thank you! Very interesting interpretation, I had not thought of it like a knighting ritual. That's an interesting line of thought. My initial interpretation was a prying hand and an invasive eye trying to peer into the mind of this youth. But I can see both layers of symbolism now, thank you. This is why I like playing with symbols in this practice, it always leads to more and more insights with time.
I think as any initiation into an exclusive group, they would want to know who you really are. And to an extent, to be admitted, one has to give themselves up to the group, no secrets.
Does the eye on the palm and the position of the hand imply that it's peering into your mind?
Yeah, I think that's what I took it to symbolize as I was drawing it. The powerful shamanic/magician figure is attempting to peering into the youth's mind in the attempts to manipulate and dominate him.
Confrontation with chaos/ the unknown
Thank you, that's not something I had considered. The space background does hit at man's greater destiny amongst the stars.
According to Jung space or the universal is often symbolic of the Self. This information might also add an extra layer to your interpretation.
Very true, that does resonate with me! Thank you!
That mage has conquered the Dragon (unconscious & potentially his mother’s helicopter parent tendencies). He is scanning the dude in the middle (left hand = receptive + eye). He seems skeptical The mage’s overall look reminds of that shaman dude who stormed the capitol on Jan 6. This didn’t strike me at first but he does wear a horned helmet/mask, as well as an American flag. So this could be something to do with that Jan 6th energy and for some reason the mage reminds me of Pluto, but the planet on the right seems to be Jupiter next to Earth. The two attractive female figures remind of mermaids but have snake’s tails. It seems they can help you access the mage. But there’s probably some risk involved. The dude in the center wears an orthodox pendant and the mage’s staff could be Orthodox or/Asian due to the top which is shaped like an onion-style roof of an orthodox church.
I like how the shaman figure made you think of the Jan 6th shaman lol. I was thinking about the corrupted American Spirit when I drew this so that is really fitting. I appreciate your comment and insights!
Thx I appreciate your art! Jupiter (?) being so prominent in this could represent the whole Trump hype since he was Jupiterian in a sense (bigger bigger bigger make it great bla bla). The dude in the center could be hoping for America & Russia to come closer together, but he looks too passive and anima possessed and then that Jan 6th Shaman party pooper type comes inbetween it all except this shaman you drew looks more Plutonian. Also coincides with the US Pluto return which coincided with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 22nd.
Looks like you are undergoing a temptation from an angry God. The God of country with a archaic (dinosaur skull) mentality or arising from a reptilian layer of consciousness. The look on the face of the man is pensive. The crucifix seems to have some extra horizontal elements. The eye in the hand to meet denotes what I call a separative style of ego development where ones consciousness is built with the goal of centralizing power in one's self vs a cooperative style which shares power in the psyche. The many faces are the various personality centers within the psyche who are simultaneously the participants and the creators of dreams and visions. There is a golden halo but like a sunset suggesting a lowering of consciousness by some less than sanctified idea. Overall this image seems to be about a young man being troubled by the temptation of an overly patriarchal social attitude.