| Mystical Projection is a religious belief which proclaims that we can pass from our earthly realm into the spiritual realm. That is, it is a belief which states that people living on earth can journey to the celestial or underworlds which lie on the other side of the grave. Of course a persons body does not journey to the spiritual worlds; it is only their soul which makes the journey during a meditative moment. In this religious belief, the soul always remains connected to the body through the 'axis mundi.' It is by way of the axis mundi that the soul also projects from the body and returns to the body. The axis mundi can be depicted using a variety of symbols: a black hole, tree, pillar, staff, cord, snake, door, bridge, stick, etc, can depict the axis which links the soul to its body during Mystical Projection. This religious belief is held by many American Indian tribes...the Shamans (medicine men) of the tribes, claim to have the ability of projecting their soul from the body and journey to the spirit world through the axis mundi. Many occult schools also hold this belief, or a version of this belief, even today.
In this exquisite and dynamic oil painting, we see a depiction of Mystical Projection. The artist, depicted in the picture and represented by the face, has projected his soul and is passing through a spiders den located in the underworld. He is passing along the axis mundi which is symbolized by both the black hole and the stick. He will journey up the axis mundi (stick) and return to his body and everyday world after his visit is complete.
VanJohnstone
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