Gemini Has Japan On Its Mind

Originally created this when I was putting together Babalon Babes issue 4. Otherwise known as the Astrology issue, I drew this around mid-late 2009.

After watching news footage of Japan, I remembered this piece. So I’ve posted this up in honor of that country.

Gemini. Draw by Michele Witchipoo, late 2009. Originally self-published in Babalon Babes issue 4 (Astrology Issue)

It’s a mixture of the Thoth (Crowley/Lady Frieda) tarot deck, and the old Godzilla movies. Today some of you kids call it a “mash-up.”

Since the Lovers represents Gemini, I took elements from that card. In the background you can see Godzilla and Mothra. As in “Mothra Vs. Godzilla.“

Now some people are probably wondering – “What the hell does Godzilla and Mothra have to do with Gemini?”

I’ll explain. Do you see the twin girls in the front of the illustration? They were known as The Shobijin. The Shobijin could be described as deities, priestesses or faeries who would call to Mothra with either song or prayer. The twin imagery also corresponds to the Gemini sign. The twins is the symbol for Gemini, and it’s element is air. The twins shown here communicate to Mothra with words and song. Air signs deal with communication.

As for Mothra and Godzilla…sometimes they are allies, sometimes they are in conflict with each other. A contradiction of sorts, which can describe Geminis a bit.

In March 2011, I recalled doing this piece. Seeing Japan with the tsunami effects and the nuclear crisis, figured I would post this. It’s not only my tribute to the Japanese monster movie genre, but to Japan as a whole.

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Memories (Crowley)

Continuing with the trend of uploading old work…

For those who don’t know about mercury in retrograde, it’s basically this: the astrology’s version of murphy’s law. What can go wrong. Mercury rules the intellect, communication, learning. So when mercury is in retrograde, expect things like miscommunication, crossed signals, etc. For example, computer crashes are more likely to happen during this time. Oh, and even though we’re going forward, with the merc in retro it seems as if everything is going backwards. Not all is hopeless though. When mercury is in retrograde, it can be used as a time to reflect. Don’t be surprised if an old long lost buddy emails you out of the blue. The past is often reflected on, a time to look back and review.

With that, here’s two old pieces:

Crowley pencil sketch, circa 2002. Basic Crowley pen & ink circa 2002. Kinda cheesy when I look at this now.

Basic Crowley pen & ink circa 2002. Kinda cheesy when I look at this now.

Looking back at the Crowley pen & ink piece…makes me cringe now. To me it’s a bit cheesy. I mean, the inverted pentagram inside Crowley’s eyes? C’mon. Eh, maybe Kenneth Anger would be proud, dunno. Other than that, it’s still not that bad. Speaking of cheesy, you know what is cheesy? That Ozzy song “Mr. Crowley.” A better anthem would be Current 93′s “Crowleymass.” So don’t give us no sass or we’ll kick your ass.

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Memories (Sowilo)

I’m not one to look into the past. It’s not something I normally like to do. Living in the present is a personal preference because as they say, yesterday already happened, and tomorrow may never come. I’m not the same person I was ten years ago, seven years ago, or not even three years ago. My point of views have changed dramatically in the course of a decade. Hell, it’s changed dramatically since a year and a half ago.

Having said all of this, I suppose it’s important to archive. Unfortunately, some really neat pieces I’ve done are now forever lost. Which is why now I normally don’t like to sell or give away originals. Perhaps I shouldn’t even pine over lost work. After all, I’ve really grown as both an artist and as a person. Contrary to what former ‘friends’ might say about me.

Still, it would’ve been nice. I had illustrations of Ganesha, Shiva, and Alister Crowley for example, circa 2003-2005. There was some basic Goddess and ‘Wiccan’ illos from that same period. There was two watercolor pieces I did as gifts to friends. One was a Norse related item, based on the Sowilo rune. Don’t regret giving away those, after all, they were intended as gifts. Luckily, I still have some of the JPG files.

"Sowilo" based on Norse Rune. Pen, ink, watercolor.

Since Mercury in retrograde is going to happen very shortly, I’ll use this time for reflection. Expect to see some old work within the next few days.

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