Watercolor and pencil on illustration board,
13 x 20
2009

Ascension is about love and its power.

Anahata is the chakra located in the heart region. iI has 12 petals and it is connected to the capacity of loving deeply and also to the feelings of compassion and empathy. It is generally depicted in the color green, but in my mind it appeared in luminous yellow with hints of red. It is through the anahata chakra that we can contact universal love. It is the main point of contact to the so-called “inner Christ” and the upper planes.

Other symbols I used to represent the same concept are the water, running upward in a straight blue stripe across the picture, and the fish. The fish is connected to the Pisces sign and also to the primitive Christianity message. Both symbols are related to universal love and compassion. The skull means that loves transcends even death, and leads to a deep transformation. It also has the meaning of the XIII arcane, Death – things that die to give place to other ones, a deeply alchemical experience.

The upper figure is representative of a state of ecstasy and bliss conduced by deeply spiritual experiences. When we are able to achieve a full state of love, even for brief moments, we feel like we are connected to something bigger and higher. Experiencing love is also a totally libertarian thing, which I wanted to show through the hawk with open wings emerging from all the violet at the top. It’s only through love that we can transcend our material condition and achieve perfect happiness and fulfillment.