While I was wondering what might be appropriate for the two corners at the bottom of the quilt,
the raised hands of the Dove Goddess came into consciousness. I remember symbols of a persons actual
hands used by indigenous peoples as a symbol of identity, particularly to mark
a rite of passage such as initiation, to adorn, and to recognize being in the
presence of the sacred, embodying the ancient idea of being able to “see” the invisible and inexplicable with
our hands. It occurred first to use my own handprints on fabric, then perhaps
to ask Rob to put hers onto fabric for the quilt, not an impossible idea – but messy! I’m thinking
back to the activities done in pre-schools of little children making
handprints; I still have the one from Leo, which is kept in my treasure trove
of childhood memorabilia.
Instead, I send
a message to Rob, asking her to draw an outline of her two hands and send them to me.
After they arrive by post, simple pencil outlines (I suspect made with the help of her
precious young grandson, Zaimiri), it is up to me to decide how to represent
them in fabric, and transport them into the quilt’s space. They are obviously traced
with palm down, but I’m now wondering about the possibility of
inserting them palm up. The palms facing out represent welcome, peace
and openness. This way they would replicate the position of the palms of the
Dove Goddess, giving honour to the phases of the moon, thereby to herself and
herself in others. And I am beginning to feel there might be
need to include further symbols.
Choosing the
fabric by which to best make the hands manifest was the next issue (manifest being
a word formed as a conjugate of the Latin for ‘hand’). I didn’t want anything connected
to racial/skin colours. A lovely pale green floral that continued the theme of
flowers looking almost like henna designs seemed perfect. I had thought I might draw the
symbols by hand onto the fabric with oil pastel (a technique I had learnt from
a recent DVD by Sue Dennis), but decided in the end to go the perhaps
more laborious way of making paper stencils from which
to
print. It would be the first time I had used this technique of priniting on fabric.
Hands as symbols
Apart from being
a means for confirming personal identity, hands hold the energy centre of the chakra
points in the palm, connecting the hands to the heart of the healer, and
thereby ‘convey the wisdom and energy needed for healing’.[1] They also
contain the all-seeing, compassionate eye in the Hindu and Buddhist practices. Palms
facing up indicate to the beholder that there is no weapon – the origin of the
friendly wave. Palms opened in such a way are welcoming, inviting and accepting
of the other, offering a listening to and understanding of shared experiences,
and inviting peaceful and unconditional friendship. A friend who looked at the
quilt, hands included, said that they reminded her of a menorah. Considering
the hands of the Dove Goddess, open and raised in worship, could she have been
bearing in a gesture of her body, the ‘menorah’ that represents light and
wisdom gained through divine (intuitive) inspiration. It may assume such
significance for some. (This is also far too big a topic to pursue here, but an
interesting enough comment to include here, I thought).
When I check
online, the image that attracts my attention is that of the healer’s hands, of
the shaman’s hands, consisting of a spiral in the palm, representative of
curative powers. Envisioned as being embedded in the hand, the energy of the triple spiral emits healing energy to others through touch, such as in the healing practices of Reiki. It seems
appropriate for all these reasons that hands be included on Rob’s quilt as a
very powerful symbol of that part of her life’s journey: that of the bringer of
peace and healing. Just as the roses I have cut out make me think of all the
people she has touched in her life with loving, caring and healing energy,
hands provide the means to show respect and offer an expression of sharing.[2]
Symbols on
the hands
On the left palm
there is a single spiral. The single spiral is one of the most common symbols
of the Celtic culture. This symbol stood for the radiation of ethereal energy. This single spiral is also the symbol of the healing hand. The power of the
spiral as a symbol that aids inner ‘gnowings’, an intuitive way of experiencing
our own truths and healing has been passed down over millennia. To me it
represents the admonition of the Delphic oracle to “Know thyself” - really a
life-long journey. There are however many different meanings of the single
spiral. Some of the most prominent ones are: expansion of (self)consciousness, through both its
perseverance and the gaining of personal understanding and knowledge…not so
different to being true to yourself, which was the way my father interpreted
the Delphic oracle.
On the palm of
the right hand there is a triple spiral. Believed by many to be an ancient symbol of pre-Celtic and Celtic beliefs, the triple spiral appears in various forms in both pre-Celtic and Celtic art, with the earliest examples having been carved on Neolithic, pre-Celtic stone monuments. Sometimes known as the ‘triskele’, the symbol can be found on a number of Irish Megalithic and Neolithic sites, most notably inside the NewGrange megalith, on the entrance stone, and on some of the curb stones surrounding the mound. The three-way design of the Triskele (or Trefoil, as it is variously called), allows for multiple interpretations for making meaning and seeing the cyclical nature of life in process: mind, body, spirit; creation, preservation, destruction; past, present, future; father, son and holy ghost…and so on. It can also be read as the inter-relationship for life, between earth, sky and water. In Celtic tradition has been understood to represent the threefold stages manifest in life of childhood, adulthood and the wisdom gained by age – or perhaps the triple aspects of the life-force as physical, emotional and spiritual. For the Celts it represented belief in the interconnectedness of life and maybe the future as eternity. For me, it represents the three stages of a life for women: maiden, mother and crone, ever repeating through each generation. They are interwoven inextricably, because although we do separate them out according to the menses cycle, they are intimately connected through stages of change, progression and repetition.
[1] Rachel
Naomi Remen M.D., 2002ed, Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories that heal, Pan
Macmillan: Australia
[2] http://www.ancient-symbols.com/
http://www.ancient-symbols.com/symbols-directory/healer_hand.html
No comments:
Post a Comment