Cancer, the first water sign of the zodiac, symbolises the descent of the souls into matter. When matter prevails, we tend to forget our true nature and get conditioned in the ever-changing world of forms. Moon, the Lord of Cancer, represents the reflected state of the soul in the form and also the inconsistent movements of our emotions. We as souls are beyond reflection and are essentially light. But we tend to forget. A teacher who is also a yogi reminds us of the essential identity of the Soul with the Spirit. And he teaches us how to consciously relate to the origin. For this reason, it is an ancient tradition to worship the teacher during the full moon hours of Cancer and to reinforce the discipline of relating to the light of the soul.

The symbolism of Cancer is visualised in the twelve Cancer paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

Cancer is ruled by the Moon, which reflects the light of the Sun. Cancer is a water sign; it symbolises the impermanence of our mind, which, like moonlight reflected in water, is constantly moving. The original light of the soul, on the other hand, is stable and constant like sunlight. Through the mind, the three higher principles within us are reflected in our three lower aspects, the personality. In the wisdom teachings, the Sun is considered the Father, while the Moon represents the Mother. Through her, the souls originating from the energies of the Father are drawn in, nourished and born through the lunar principle. The sunlight is golden, the moonlight is silver.

The half of the year from Capricorn to Cancer is symbolically represented as a golden bowl; in Eastern wisdom it is called the divine arch or the arch of light. With the solstice at the beginning of Cancer, the descent of the souls into the bodies takes place as an annual drama. The half of the year from Cancer to Capricorn is therefore called the silver bowl or the royal arch.

In the centre of the picture, you see the figure of the divine Mother, created with the help of a statue of Quan Yin. She is surrounded by the Moon and a field of stars shining in the darkness. In the lily pond below lies a silver bowl. Inside it shines a white and silver triangle with three water lilies blooming at its corners. Above the Mother’s head is a golden bowl in which a golden triangle shines. At its corners there are three golden shining stars.

The bowls were designed with the help of a photo of a late antique Roman silver bowl, taken in 2007 during a visit to the museum of Augusta Raurica near Basel.

The symbolism of Cancer is visualised in the twelve Cancer paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

A friend sent me the following pictures about “identifying some of the places in the Himalayas (in Kullu valley and Lahaul) portrayed in some of in Nicholas Roerich’s paintings. It touched me very much to see the paintings together with the real physical places. Since decades Roerich has impregnated me and I have blogged about him and his paintings a number of times. I tried to trace the source of these pictures on the web to give reference but could not find – so they might be copyrighted. Just enjoy.

A friend sent me the link to a page of the website of Van Cleef & Arpels, a French luxury jewelry, watch, and perfume company. The page is about their vision of Poetic Astronomy® with planetarium wristwatches. They write about the “Midnight Planétarium watch“:

“…the Midnight Planetarium watch captures Earth and five of its neighbors in the solar system (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) as they revolve around a rose gold Sun. Each planet, represented by a meticulously fashioned ornamental stone, moves at its true pace relative to the Sun: Saturn will take over 29 years to make a complete circuit of the dial, while Jupiter will do the same in just under 12 years, Mars 687 days, Earth 365 days, Venus 224 days and Mercury 88 days. The wearer of the Midnight Planétarium watch can also choose his lucky day: on the selected date, Earth will move to a position directly below the star engraved on the sapphire crystal.”

The website is very well done, with poetic video presentations, even if the prices of the astronomic watches probably will be “in the stars” for you – and me. The two pictures are from their videos (copyright Van Cleef & Arpels) And have a look at their videos – excellently done.

Such watches might also be spiritually understood not just a beauty accessory but as visualising the macrocosm reflecting in the microcosm, and keeping the relation visually present. It is the Science of Correspondences which is at the basis of our relation to the universe.

When seeing the 1838 “Map or Physical Tableau and Astronomy Chart” of the French cartographer Charles V. Monin in my collection of zodiac illustrations, I noticed that most of the representations depict the zodiac in an anti-clockwise direction, while in this map the signs were arranged in a clockwise manner. So, I selected Monin’s chart to depict the “reversing of the wheel”, which is worked out by an advanced disciple on the path of spiritual ascent and liberation.

I transformed the design of the chart and arranged it over a photo of a sunrise. In the centre of the zodiacal wheel, I constructed the triangles of the four elements, placing the air sign Gemini at the top. Air is considered the subtlest of the four elements, followed by fire, water and earth. In spirituality, there is a fifth element, space, being the foundation of the other four. In the chart, it is represented by the surrounding space.

At the bottom of the image, I inserted elements of a painting by the 18th-century English artist Joseph Wright of Derby. You see a group of people around an armillary sphere, an astronomical device for displaying the movement of celestial bodies. It is a symbol of the relationship between the microcosm and macrocosm, and of studying the cosmic interrelations.

The symbolism of Gemini is visualised in the twelve Gemini paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

Taurus is the first earthy sign of the zodiac. It belongs to the fixed cross and provides form and stability. Venus rules over Taurus and gives beauty to the form. Subtle forces radiate through a beautiful form bestowing splendour on it. This splendour is an expression of the subtle beings of light. At Taurus full moon the light descends in a great measure. Since ancient-most times, the Masters of Wisdom and their disciples assemble at the time of this full moon in the Vaisakh Valley of the Himalayas to receive a fresh impulse of energies of Will and to distribute them on the earth.

The symbolism of Taurus is visualised in the twelve Taurus paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

Beauty expresses itself through many and various forms – a work of art, a beautiful flower. Beauty shines through the form. On the subtle planes the limitations of the material form fall away and beauty shines more radiantly. Beauty in the form is governed by Venus, ruler of Taurus. In our body, Taurus rules the lower part of the head and the neck. There are seven etheric centres above the neck related on the solar level with the seven stars of the Pleiades. They are also called the seven mothers who nourish the disciple after his spiritual birth with glandular secretions in this region in the body.

In the centre of the image, you see Apollo, the solar God, holding his seven-stringed lyre, symbol of the seven planes of creation. He is surrounded by flowers expressing divine beauty. From below, a serpent is lifting up its head. Apollo is raising the currents of the Kundalini energy to flow upwards and reach the Ajna centre. There, you see the shining star of the awakened centre.

Above the neck, there are seven stars linked to the seven stars of Pleiades. On the left side, in the vastness of the night-blue sky, you see a golden globe surrounded by a sphere of light and flowers. I created it with the help of a photo of Venus, from Nasa. For the figure of Apollo and for the flower meadow I worked on photos of friends.

The symbolism of Taurus is visualised in the twelve Taurus paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

Aries is the first sign of the zodiac and from the standpoint of light it is celebrated as the true beginning of the year. It is the sign of the birth of a new idea, which starts unfolding its activity. Each time a planet enters into Aries, a cycle is completed and a new one begins.

Aries is the highest point of enlightenment and at spring equinox the sun is also at the highest point at the equator. In our body, Aries is in the upper part of our head, it is the radiant light of the head centre. In the Vedas Aries is also worshipped as the head of the cosmic person called Purusha.

The symbolism of Aries is visualised in the twelve Aries paintings done between 2010 and 2020. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

In Aries the Sun is exalted. Aries represents the midheaven and the midday where the Sun gives the brightest light. Aries is considered the head of the sun signs and also Aries represents the actual head of man. The highest solar centre in man is the Sahasrara, the head centre. When we stand vertically on the Earth, our head aligns with the midheaven. When the Sun is at the midheaven at noon, we can line up with the Sun. In this way we can align with the light in our head and connect with the greater centre of the Sun. This helps us to rise up from personality to soul consciousness and connect with divine consciousness.

The picture shows a group of people gathering at spring equinox and aligning and connecting to the higher energies. The circles around the Sun indicate the three planes of the Sun, the physical plane, the soul plane and the spiritual plane.

The colour of Aries is red. The shades of red along the central axis outline the figure of the solar angel through whom the energy pours down. The arced horizon line was designed with a photo of the Bernese Alps as an expression of the inner striving upward. At the top right you can see the Aries constellation and Mars, the ruler of the sign, and its glyph is at the top left.

The symbolism of Aries is visualised in the twelve Aries paintings done between 2010 and 2020. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

Nine days ago, there was the first spring day with clear blue sky. A week before it was ice cold and snow on the fields. Now the temperature had jumped up. We went out for a walk around Schlosswil, a little village in the surroundings with a castle from the 13th and 16th century. Here are some impressions for you to enjoy.

On the website of the castle it says that there are almost 400 paintings distributed throughout the castle. The apartment corridor is decorated with a cow picture gallery (18th/19th c.) with 31 paintings.