"She Contains Multitudes" Limited edition print

The latest of my ‘running wolf’ paintings, in this piece I seek to capture something of the Goddess residing in our beings. I chose to have the rider in a squatting position rather than standing as in all my other paintings containing the running wolf motif, because I wanted her to feel grounded, and powerfully ‘in her body’. An echo of the idea that we are all made of stardust, her body is also made of stars, she ‘contains’ galaxies. The white serpent she bears is a symbol of transformation, inner power, working with our shadow aspects to better understand, and elevate ourselves as beings. The lunar phases are a nod to the cyclic shifting of our energies and the phases that we cycle through in our lives, both the menstrual phases and the maiden-mother-crone transitions that women experience. The mountains represent the many and multifaceted challenges we will encounter on our journeys. The bones beneath the feet of the desert dog/wolf (I’m not even sure what animal it is!) represent the connection to the ancestors, both human and non-human. 

While deciding on the title for this piece, I conferred with my husband – the choice was between “she carries multitudes” and “she contains multitudes”, and we agreed that the former suggested she carries a multitude of ‘things’ perhaps placed upon her by society, whereas what I want to convey is the multitudes she carries/contains WITHIN. The many versions of herself, the creative and life-giving potential, the ancient wisdom of the stars.