The
Transit of Venus
The transit of Venus is a rare astronomical event where the planet Venus passes directly between the earth and the sun. This event is laden with spiritual significance. Venus orbits the sun just over 3 times in the time it takes the earth to orbit twice, thus passing between the earth and the sun roughly once every 19 months. However, there are at most 2 transits of Venus every century. This is because Venus and the earth orbit the sun at a slight angle to each other. When we watch from below, Venus appears to pass above or below the sun rather than crossing it.
The transit of Venus which took place in 2004 and will happen again in 2012 is believed to have an impact on the world artistically and spiritually. Historically these transits have often seen great advances in civilization with women taking center stage. It is a time where some believe that celestial beings come down to help heal the world. It is also believed to signify the unification of the masculine and the feminine. Venus rules art, beauty, love, grace and desire. She is central in directing our cultural evolution here on earth. Venus insists that in order to grow one must connect, interact and share. She links the spiritual to the material. It is imperative now that we work harder at connecting our minds to our hearts.
My painting, The Transit of Venus is my interpretation of this event. Celestial beings descend from above as a butterfly, symbol of the soul flutters in the center of a giant cutout of a heart. Within the wings of the butterfly ethereal images of a man’s and woman’s faces float. A statue of an infant, hand broken off reaches up imploringly as if beseeching the divine to heal him.
