Murals in my garden – Queen of Wands and Queen of Disks

The mural on the left represents the Queen of Wands (after the Motherpeace Tarot). I thought it was time to paint a proud African woman. The lioness at her side is her friend and protecting spirit and symbol of her royal simplicity. She is alive in her animal passion and untamed. She channels these instincts in her work of magic. Rain is already falling out of the clouds. The wand in her left hand is a pierced bone, a ceremonial object related to fertility. When she touches something it starts to grow.  It can also work like a divining rod discovering subterranean fields of force.

The mural on the right is an homage to artist Frieda Harris (1877-1962), who, when aged 60 (my age now), became an associate of the occultist Aleister Crowley. She is best known for her design of Crowley’s Thoth tarot deck. My favourite is this, her ‘Queen of Disks’.

What could represent my current situation better than the painting of this card? After a long laborious walk through the desert (background, the past, cold old Europe) she has arrived at greener, fertile pastures. She is sitting calmly in an over-dimensional pineapple (foreground, the present, Africa), enjoying the revitalising oasis and has plenty of time to look back. The crystal wand and the curved horns can be interpreted as clarity for her advanced perception. She is holding a globe in her hand. The Capricorn (Europe)/ billy goat (Africa) is her animal; tenacious, persistent and independent.

In the foreground, dhow furniture makes a nice centre point for BBQs with friends. Tanzanian carpenters have begun to use reclaimed hard woods from the old dhows, traditional Arab wooden sailing boats. It is made from different kinds of hard wood. For hundreds of years these boats have been used for trade and travel between the Persian Gulf and East Africa transporting goods.