18 Feb Artwork: Asterion

 “The bull” is one of the oldest and most noticeable constellations in the sky, with descriptions of Taurus going back as far as the early Bronze Age. The Taurus constellation is best known for its Hyades & Pleiades star clusters.

The brightest stars of the Hyades are depicted here as the configuration of 5 flies about the face and mouth of the model. The Pleiades (Seven Sisters) is depicted as the seven fence posts.

The Hyades is depicted here as the configuration of 5 flies about the face and mouth of the model. The Pleiades (Seven Sisters) is depicted as the seven fence posts.

The ’Bull-man’ is branded on his neck with an ancient Labyrinth design: a 7-course, ‘Cretan’ design popular in the early bronze age. Together, these symbolize the ancient Greek myth of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth, which was popular in the Minoan culture of the time.

In recent history, however, the myth has morphed into an archetype of the psyche, signifying the obscure and treacherous path leading to the centre of one’s being.

At the centre is the Minotaur, half bull, half man, a symbol of the dark inner world that is our unconscious—a place unknown to us, hidden from the world, a place that holds our most fundamental fears. 

The Minotaur represents these fears and our nature: a mix of animal, human, and god. We are rational, irrational, spiritual, instinctual, good and evil. To confront the Minotaur is to confront who we are at our foundation and face the sum of our fears, of our aggression, rage, mortality, and sexuality.

Imagine a thread that ties together our birth and death, a thread that flows through our lives. One that cannot be seen or felt, but we strive to keep it close, so it brings safe passage in and out of life’s Labyrinth, to bring us to the Minotaur so we can conquer it and then return.

How do we know that we are following the thread?

There are objective indicators: relationships are running well, work-life improves, love is found, creativity flourishes, luck comes in good time.

Generally, things begin to fall into place. Life shows signs of synchronicity, what Jung described as meaningful coincidences. But all the while, trial and error are still necessary; mistakes and misfortune still happen; in these cases used as prompts to inform us we are away from the thread.

Ultimately, the journey in and out of the Labyrinth provides a sense of purpose and meaning, as if we are guided by a power greater than ourselves.