Stepping into Spring

We celebrated the first full day of spring in the City today. After awakening yesterday to a snow-covered grounds while there was nothing but a promise of a warm and sunny day in the forecast, I wished for no more surprises. The spring equinox brought morose to my being, and my intention was to get over with it and step into the spring with a proudly raised head.

We went to the Neue Galerie in New York to see a recently opened BRÜCKE: The Birth of Expressionism. It was an unforgettable experience, for both the colors of the paintings and the language of our tour guide were very much in harmony with my heart. The words she used made my friend to comment that our guide must have read my website... Meanwhile, the paintings created a hundred years ago in the chill of German winters were shining at me with the colors and spirit of a tropical island. I felt at home.

At the end of her tour, the guide gave us a detailed analysis of the Gustav Klimt's legendary Adele Bloch-Bauer I. You can read a lot about this piece and the woman herself, but what suddenly became apparent to me was the Beauty. I have to admit it was the first time I really appreciated this painting. And as I looked at the portrait with an open heart, I began to see the power of the Feminine depicted there embraced by shimmering background of gold, and yet more luminous than any precious material surrounding her.

I began to see many shapes that were talking to me: I have been seeing a lot of those lately. Spirals, triangles, squares, Egyptian symbols of sacred eye, and soft lines depicting dynamic flows were in front of my eyes. And the moment I realized the many aspects I was looking at, our guide started to talk about those shapes, one by one. I was in bliss.

She mentioned that a master who made the frame for the painting was obsessed with the perfection of a square. So, he made a square frame creating, however, an adjacent one as a border under the painting. The reason? Same as was used for icons within altars: A goddess cannot stand on the floor.

I recalled reading about initiation rituals in the Temples of Isis:

The floor is the foundation upon which one stands. When we set something to be secure, we place it on the floor. So, the floor was used as a type of slang within the Temples, referring to the very basic piece that is required.
…

Essential to the female Initiate is the authentic feeling of safety and love, or appreciation at the very least. When these are in place, something within her being lets go and allows the alchemy to occur … this causes the female to open her magnetic floor. [1]

The painting is of a goddess. And it is too obvious that the woman she was never found the appreciation she deserved. She never grounded her magnetic floor.

“Was she the artist’s wife?” my friend almost asked, but instantly laughed at her own words. “But, of course, the one who lived with her had no idea who she truly was. The artist, in contrast, was able to see and reflect her true nature in his painting. Who can possibly live with a goddess, knowing?”

Her words echoed with a piercing pain. Could she be wrong?

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Ref: [1] Kenyon, T. & Sion, J. The Magdalen Manuscript, Sounds, Boulder, CO, 2006, p. 285.