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Art and Mystery

Invitation to Explore art and Mystery

 

Cosmic Mother by Angela Raincatcher

 

“art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist.”

– Rene Magritte

 

Hidden at the heart of our dealings with the spirits and our devotions to the gods lies Mystery — that ineffable quality that thrills through our blood and subtle bodies, that races and raises the hair on our skin and our blood. The Mystery of the core experience of the divinity of the universe, the riddle and the meaning behind life. The Mystery that is not an answer but is ever more questions — Why? How? What if?

 

No one can tell you what the Mystery is nor is it learned from a book. Mystery has to be directly experienced.** People who sincerely work with the gods, ancestors, fae, and nature spirits — the greater than human — for any length of time have tasted this Mystery. Those who have sat alone, silent, and listening have heard a faint whisper. Those who walk with intent on the surface of our Earth Mother have felt the heartbeat rhythms of Mystery thrumming through the trees and stones, accompanied by the cries of animals unseen.

 

As an artist, I take those tastes, whispers, rhythms, and the visions seen with the inner eye, and I use my hands to evoke Mystery into the concentrated form of a painting. Poets, sacred in many ancient cultures, do the same but with the written or spoken word. In fact, all artists who open themselves to the influence of Mystery serve that Mystery by creating invitations for others to more easily and fully experience the Mystery that lies hidden right in front of our face — so close we do not see or recognize it.

 

As someone who engages with art in its myriad forms, I seek those works that resonate with my soul. They hold up a vibrant, precious jewel that illuminates the Mystery of the universe we live in. These works explore the depths and heights of the human condition. artists, musicians, writers, poets, and dancers give form to the formless and unseen that transform and mould the physical and spiritual realms.

 

In this new monthly column, “art and Mystery,” I want to explore the crossroads where art meets spirit and becomes a sacred place or portal between the seen and unseen, the physical and spiritual, and the mundane and Mystery. I hope to introduce you to artists whose work evokes Mystery and serves as a conduit for the Divine’s call to humanity.

 

I invite you to join me on these explorations and to engage in dialogue. Let us invite the gods into this world through the artist’s hand. Let us touch Mystery together.

 

With a full and open heart,

Angela Raincatcher

 

**I want to thank Katrina Messenger for her teachings on how to be present and open to experience Mystery in my life every day.