Honour the Ancestors - by NomeArt

A4 Giclee Art Print on 16 x 12 inch Mounted Board by Nomeart
Old Gods Collection
 
This was originally a commission piece for a man living in America, to reflect and express his calling as a psychopomp. He had been asked by his guides to have this done and it was the perfect piece for the time as there were many souls leaving to cross the veil. We discussed back and forth our different visions of the piece and elements to be used in order to express its magick and purpose, but it wasn’t until the first dark moon of 2021 when everything fell into place.
 
On this dark moon in the darkest of hours of lockdown, in the deepest part of winter I wandered into a new forest I had not explored before where I met an old oak tree, and further up the hill behind the Oak I discovered a cairn among a ghostly copse of silver Birch. I sat there and cried for all those who had lost the battle to breathe and left this realm. After I acknowledged the sorrow which had covered this dark moon I sat with the lovely oak and he enfolded me with his deep peace and whispered to me ‘all things pass and will return again’ so says the wise old one of the woods and I felt the shift. The sorrow remained, but tempered with acceptance. This piece is in response to all these experiences and a reminder to always ‘Honour the Ancestors’
 
In the image the horned shaman, who is also Cernunnos the ancient god of nature, holds space in honour of our lost loved ones. He sits in the cradling branches of the Oak, a cloak of moss on his shoulders his crossed legs absorbed into the trunk of the oak, connected to all things living, just as in the cradle of his antlers he holds space for the dead. Between the great god’s antlers on the left side the Fae Queen helps souls streaming from the mouth of a barrow to the source above, just as the angel Baraqiel does on the right, together they bring balance of the divine feminine and masculine. They shepherd the souls as Cernunnos below holds space with dignity and strength. The six ravens guard the oak and the rune Algiz also protects the sacred space. The triskele at the centre of the image pulls everything together, Cernunnos, the fae queen and the angel… life, death rebirth. The cycle is never broken and our ancestors, us and our descendants always and forever connected.
 
Psychopomp: A guide of souls to the place of the dead.