In the Womb of the Rose - goddess/archetype

All over Europe in the middle ages pilgrims travelling from cathedral to cathedral could tell the stories in the window because they could recognise the characters in the Bible stories from common symbolism and iconography.

In this spirit you are asked not to try to invent your own goddess for this window but to use a historical/religious images from an archaic tradition. The images will then be recognisable across different contexts from their historical references.

Level 1 - Archetype/goddess

There are the seven archetypal 'Goddess' figures that relate to the seven ages of woman. Kali at the top represents change at its most dynamic, that of death and rebirth. These panels should all have blue backgrounds and be single half figures as in the example of Kali - in the red panel at the top of the circle. The small satellite circle can contain any abstract or figurative symbol you wish relating to the subject of the panel.

Other suggestions here are:

Yellow - Artemis is the autonomous virgin girl.
Orange -Aphrodite/Venus is the lover.
Green - Isis, the mother.
Cyan - Kuan Yin the nurturer of the world. Design for Artemis - IBM Paintbox 1988
Blue - Cybele - the Great Queen.
Purple - Hecate - the old crone who sees all ways, past present and future.

Other archetypes are welcome as long as they fit within the general idea of the panel.

Artemis - original IBM paintbox image
1988

Design notes for Kali

Kali with geometric lines to show the construction of the design

Kali detail

In Kali the controlling geometry governing the proportions of the figure and facial features is centred just below the open mouth. All of the figure is contained within a square inside the circle.

The flat colour and strong decorative detail of the original made this a comparatively easy image to transform into glass. The decorative features of the original are rendered in Flash glass that has been etched, stained and painted. The figure is also outlined in clear, etched glass as white for greater legibility.

For more information see Kali

For further information

Moore, A. C. (1977) The Iconography of Religions, S.C.M. Press Ltd. London