Iovis de Somnio: Coniunctio Solis et Lunae (“Jupiter’s Dream: Conjunction of the Sun and Moon”)

oil on canvas

56 x 72”

2018-2020

Signed

"The sigil for the planet Jupiter (♃) combines the lunar crescent and the cross of matter, symbolizing the power of the imagination to form reality. Jupiter is a planet of possibilities, expansion, fortune, and big dreams. Here, Jupiter is dreaming of the reconciliation of opposites, and the expanded awareness that comes with it. 

The opposites are most often signified alchemically by the Sun and Moon, King and Queen, sulfur and mercury, or the colors red and white. The hieros gamos, or sacred marriage, is the union of these opposites, which we experience as the active and passive energies of life, or masculine and feminine, light and dark, fire and water. Their conjunction results in a return to unity and the birth of the divine child that carries the qualities of both yet transcends them altogether. 

What this painting attempts to capture is the moment when the inner battle comes to an end, and the dream of conjunction is becoming a reality. The unicorn, with its crescent horn, is the lunar creature of the mind, spirit, and imagination. On the other hand, the lion represents the solar nature, the fiery passion of the soul. Both have been wounded by the other, and both are transforming and taking on aspects of their opposite. 

The unicorn’s phallic horn resides in the middle of the forehead, energetic center of the third eye. It is a symbol of a fertile imagination and unified vision toward the Above, the divine or macrocosmic world. The tip of the horn, or lunar crescent, drips with the blood of the lion, who sustained an injury upon its arm in the fight. From this wound, the inner darkness is released in the form of two ravens ready to fly into the distance. The unicorn’s heart has been ripped open, but now blossoms forth in a red rose, opened by transcendent love. 

Waters of spirit, the elixir of immortality, flow from the unicorn’s mane as union brings remembrance of eternal essence. In turn the fierce lion sheds tears that emerge in streams of Jupiterian clouds. Its mane is flowing with autumn-gold oak leaves, a tree sacred to Jupiter. Through the union of the lion and unicorn, the fountain at the foot of the oak flows, bringing life and renewal to the parched landscape of the inner world. 

A golden serpent emerges from the lion’s tale and ascends the cross. Blood spills like the red tincture from a wound on its side, flowing down and merging with the water. The roots of red and white roses are thus nurtured, growing over and through the royal pair. As the serpent ascends, like the kundalini energy rising up the spine, it receives the acorn of truth and is thereby reborn." - Marlene Seven Bremner

Marlene Seven Bremner is a self-taught oil painter, working in a surrealist and allegorical style. Her work explores esoteric themes arising from her study and practice of Hermeticism, alchemy, magic, astrology, and mythology. She is the author of Hermetic Philosophy and Creative Alchemy: The Emerald Tablet, the Corpus Hermeticum, and the Journey Through the Seven Spheres (Inner Traditions, 2022), and The Hermetic Marriage of Art and Alchemy: Imagination, Creativity, and the Great Work (Inner Traditions, 2023).