Description:
This painting represents healer, healing process, and healthy integration of body and spirit. It was inspired by a friend who practices therapeutic massage but the modality is not important here.
Many traditions associate butterflies with the unfettered spirit, soul, femininity, and all that is beautiful and ephemeral. Lakota teachings say that butterflies flutter near girls and women, often landing on their shoulders, in order to convey knowledge regarding the location, harvesting, preparation and applications of botanicals. This lore contributed to the inspiration of 'Butterfly Healer.' Below are some exerpts from my notes about this painting.
"The hand is rendered in undulating ribbons of indigo and black, illustrating dimensions and shifts within space and time. This ribbons also symbolize pathways and conduits by which invisible energy such as heat, electricity, cold and sound travel through what appears to be solid, opaque, or empty space. The white spots are patterned after the border of a monarch?s wing and here symbolize woman?s innate affinity with butterfly medicine. They'ves other meanings as well; stars in the night, providing yin to the sun?s yang (balance). I incorporated this imagery because I interpret healing as restoring someone or something to harmony by re- establishing balance. The 'white spots on dark' concept occurred one day as I held my hand before the sun studying the way its shape was cast into deep shadow, almost a silhouette. The sun flashed between my parted fingers and for a few moments afterward miniature suns danced across my field of vision, even when looking into the shadow of my hand.
The two fingers glowing blue at the tips represent healing energy transferred by healer to client. The blue light is positive intention, conscious purpose, the place from which a healer draws power and luminous sky washed clean and purified by summer thunderstorms. The hand is dark (yin), it greets and touches the sun, source of warmth and light (yang). The tiny yellow flames are energy flicking off the fingertips, a sensation reiki and theraputic touch practioners often expereince.
The Blue circle in the palm of hand is the void from which power is drawn. It is infinite, like the sky above. It is the womb, the future, the past and the present moment. The swirling circle of orange is inspired by the patterns on a monarch?s wing, representing movement, new life, the birthing process, creation."
If interested in purchasing the original, I offer pay by installment with no interest or fees for missed payments. When the balance is paid, the art is shipped. Much better than a credit card!
Text and image copyright Helena Nelson -Reed. Please do not use without permission.
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