Joanna Elizabeth Read
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • BACKGROUND
    • CV
  • Art
    • E M E R G E N C E Oracle Cards
    • SHOP - ART PRINTS, YOGA MATS, & ORIGINALS
    • PERFORMANCE ART
    • SILK PAINTING
    • MURALS
  • BLOG
  • Programs & Events
    • ARCHIVE >
      • GLOBAL ART MOSAIC
      • Creative Flow Fridays
      • YOGA & HIKING: MOUNTAIN PROGRESSION TRAINING
      • EVEREST BASE CAMP 2018
      • Holiday Art Fairs
      • Summer Fitness & Yoga Retreats!
      • WHITE MOUNTAIN RETREAT OCTOBER 4-6, 2019
      • Women's beginner climb nights
  • Shop
  • E M E R G E N C E Oracle

Honoring Our Ancestors

4/14/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Imagery of hands offering support in all directions has been evolving with me since the beginning of the pandemic.

As so much of the world that I knew, and the facades I identified with, began to drop away, I became inexplicably drawn to the circle and the color indigo as a means of self-soothing. Meditating on this singular shape and color was a way for me to establish a sense of certainty within myself, to feel anchored within the chaos and not-knowing that felt so overwhelming.

The circle is one of the most ancient symbols used by humanity to communicate; it was utilized long before written language came into existence. As such, connecting with the circle connects us with the very roots of our evolution as a species: a sense of deep interconnection and belonging that has been with us long before we arrived.

While the wisdom of the circle is both ancient and timeless, Carl Jung was the first westerner to observe and document how people naturally gravitate towards circular shapes during times of upheaval and transformation. He began working with the mandala as a means of understanding his own individuation as well as that of his patients.

Resting within the mandala (Sanskrit for “sacred circle) allows both the viewer and creator to access a sense of calm within chaos; it is a powerful tool of the subconscious for calling back fragmented parts, of inviting wholeness and a sense of timelessness.

Ancestral Study no 13, 7”x7” acrylic on paper. Influenced and inspired by late mentor Richard Yarde, a connection who years later is my greatest gift from my studies at Umass Amherst.

This particular image is a representation of all 1024 hands that comprise the 7 generations of the 512 people that have formed and shaped your unique genetic imprint. You exist in the center of the golden Vesica Piscis.

It is a portal into ancestry both past and future, spanning seven generations in both directions of linear time.

Working with this imagery connects the viewer with the whole of humanity and what’s known as Seven Generations principle: a sacred philosophy honored by many indigenous cultures, a vital code of ethics that is crying out to be remembered.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Joanna Elizabeth
    ​Read

    artist | adventurer | yoga teacher | life coach
    ◊ community 
    ◊ creativity 
    ◊ connection

    Archives

    June 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    November 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    July 2017
    February 2017

    Categories

    All
    Adventure
    Ancestral Healing
    Animal Medicine
    Art
    Chakras
    Collaborations
    Commissions
    Denali
    Driftwood Adventures
    Epigenetics
    Expressive Arts
    Florals
    Interviews
    Journaling
    Ladies Climbing Coalition
    Mandala
    Nature
    Nepal
    Philosophy
    Phoenix Rising
    Podcasts
    Reflection
    Shadow Work
    Trekking
    Wellness

    RSS Feed

CONTACT

hello@joannaread.com
© COPYRIGHT 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
SITE BY M I N T

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • BACKGROUND
    • CV
  • Art
    • E M E R G E N C E Oracle Cards
    • SHOP - ART PRINTS, YOGA MATS, & ORIGINALS
    • PERFORMANCE ART
    • SILK PAINTING
    • MURALS
  • BLOG
  • Programs & Events
    • ARCHIVE >
      • GLOBAL ART MOSAIC
      • Creative Flow Fridays
      • YOGA & HIKING: MOUNTAIN PROGRESSION TRAINING
      • EVEREST BASE CAMP 2018
      • Holiday Art Fairs
      • Summer Fitness & Yoga Retreats!
      • WHITE MOUNTAIN RETREAT OCTOBER 4-6, 2019
      • Women's beginner climb nights
  • Shop
  • E M E R G E N C E Oracle