Aries Rough Drafts
Video Transcript: Four years ago I started working on a research and art project based on astrology. This is my design for Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. I’m actually not an illustrator, in fact one of the intentions of the project was to challenge myself and improve my drawing skills. These are all of the rough drafts I have for this sign. I have around a hundred versions saved which is probably the most in the series. With Aries being so energetic I feel like this is pretty fitting. This sketch gave birth to the final design but for the first couple of years Aries looked more like this… I thought it was too complicated and wanted to simplify it, so I did. At first I didn’t want to share ANY of these drawings but now that I’m releasing all of the signs as limited prints I can look back at these sketches and appreciate them for what they are.
Up is Down Podcast: Episode 91
I had the pleasure of being on the Up is Down podcast recently with my friend Dean Reiner. We talked about Polar vs. Solar symbolism which I plan on making content about in the coming future. You can check it out episode 91 right here.
Let’s Talk About Mars…
Let’s talk about Mars, the planet most commonly associated with Aries. Most people know it to be a red, warring planet. It’s hot, fiery and packs a punch. Its symbol is phallic and active. It’s not as common but some people have used this symbol to represent Mars. It’s the upside down Venus symbol which is the planet considered the compliment of Mars. Mars is where we get the word “March” from. As in the month where Aries begins or march as in what soldiers do. The Ancient Romans had a large area dedicated to Mars known as “Campus Martius” which translates to “Field of Mars”. I wasn’t surprised to learn that military exercises were performed there. Mars is associated with Fire, Tuesday and Iron. Iron revolutionized industry and warfare technology. Generally, men have more Iron in their blood than women. The Greek God of War was named Ares which is what they also what they called the planet Mars. The Roman God of War was literally named Mars. I also have Mars to thank for my name, Mario. This card, from the 15th century Sola Busca deck, is martian in nature and corresponds with the red planet.
The Symbol of Aries
Video Transcription: In symbolism everything is related and this little spider plant reminds me quite a bit of Aries. It looks a lot like the symbol for Aries which you can see here in my poster. And you’ll notice that I put other plants in there kind of giving off the same vibe because I noticed this connection a while back. Most people, when they look at the symbol for Aries, they’re going to think of the ram horns and they’re definitely not wrong but I think it means so much more than that. As simple as it is there’s a lot that can be said about this symbol. As an example you’ll notice here that the symbol for Aries fits snuggly within a heart. This is not a mistake because our heart has a magnetic field around it called the torus field and you’ll notice lines emanating from the center and splitting off, just like the sprout. Not only that but the earth has a magnetic field around it that does the exact same thing called the magnetosphere. I’ll be getting into this and other related topics in future videos.
Aries 2021: Print Now Available
Video Transcription: Hey guys, these are my black binders. I’ve got 12 of them, one for each sign of the zodiac. I’ve been studying each astrological sign during the sign itself and have for the last 4 years. So right now everything is about Aries now that we’re in spring. For reference here are some of my books that I refer to on a regular basis, I’ve got a lot of books on mythology, symbolism, kaballah, etymology, things of that sort. As you can see up here I’ve got a handful of tarot decks. I’m at the point now where I want to start showing you guys some of my artwork. This is an early sketch of Aries and just recently I printed up this guy. This is my 2021 version of Aries. I printed up 100 and they’re available on my site. If you’re interested in mythology, symbolism, astrology, tarot… anything along those lines give me a follow. I’ll be dropping a new poster each month for the next year.
Scorpio 010 (Sexuality)
Video Transcript: Here’s another illustration that shows you where the astrological signs are placed over the human body. It comes from Italy and is from the 15th century so it’s pretty old. Appropriately enough, you’ll see the scorpion over the genitals here. One interesting detail is the fact that not too far from the stinger you’ll see blood coming out of the penis. To me this is a reference to genital mutilation rituals of all kinds… of which there are many. There’s castration, there’s circumcision, there’s female genital mutilation. I’m aware of a ritual that comes out of the Dogon tribe of Africa where the clit was referred to as a stinger and when it was cut the blood was referred to as poison. To me this is pretty clear indication that the ancients were aware of the Scorpio - sex connection. What I’m learning is that Scorpio not only corresponds with human sexuality but also sexual trauma and some of its associated rituals.
Scorpio 009 (Sexuality)
Video Transcript: Scorpio is a very, very deep sign as you guys probably know. Too deep for 1 minute videos but I’ll try. I’ve talked about Scorpio’s symbolic relationship with death but I have yet to talk about its symbolic relationship with sex. For those of you who are unaware you can place each astrological sign over the human body and there’s a different body part that corresponds with it. It’s a really interesting system. Here at the very top you have Aries with the ram and if you move all the way down you’ll end up at Pisces with these two fish at the feet. Scorpio is right here over the genitals which I think makes perfect sense. There’s a whole hell of a lot you can say about this but very quickly I’ll say, if you research Scorpio — especially its esoteric myths — you’ll come across goddess symbolism, gateway symbolism, primitive sexual symbolism, I came across circumcision rituals and womb symbolism as well. There’s plenty more to say about all of this which I’ll get into in upcoming videos.
Scorpio 008
Video Transcript: Destruction, or Death, is actually the first part of any creative process. In order to build a house you need to get the raw materials, right? Which means you need to harvest lumber. In order to make some omelets you need to crack a few eggs. Death is but the first part of creation… and I think this is beautifully illustrated when you look at these two cards. Here is the 13th card, Death, ruled by Scorpio followed by the 14th card, Art, ruled by Sagittarius (which is the next sign). It kind of reminds me of Baphomet. Baphomet has two words on its arms, solve and coagula, dissolve and coagulate. Meaning there are really only two things that happen in this universe, things break down, the Death card… and things come together, the Art card. To me, death isn’t negative, although it gets a bad rap by most everyone. It’s really just the beginning process or the first process of art and anything creative.
Scorpio 007
Video Transcript: This entry comes from The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols by Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrant. Many Africans use a euphemism for the scorpion since, like the hyena, the insect is evil and to use its true name would be to release its powers against oneself. Is this why then the card that corresponds with Scorpio, the Death card, is a lot of times unnamed and you won’t see a name or title on the card? Is it because you don’t want to invoke death by saying it’s name? I don’t know, something to think about. According to a Malian legend, the scorpion said: I am neither an elemental spirit nor a demon. I am a creature which brings death to whoever touches me. I have two horns (or claws) and a tail which I brandish. My claws are called savagery and hate and the dagger in my tail is called the avenging stabber. I give birth only once. Pregnancy, a sign of increase among all other creatures is for me the signal of forthcoming death. I saw this death after birth myth repeated several times in my books but I couldn’t verify it at all online. Either way I think it’s curious given the true nature of Scorpio.
Scorpio 006
Video Transcript: In the last couple of videos I read some excerpts from Manly P. Hall regarding the various aspects of Scorpio, including the scorpion, serpent and eagle / phoenix. In Aleister Crowley’s Death card he displays all of these in the artwork. Down here you see the scorpion, right here you see the serpent and then up here you see the eagle / phoenix. This is more than appropriate given the fact that the Death card has the alternative, Hermetic title of “The Child of the Great Transformers”. Here we’re going to look at The World card from the Soprafino tarot deck. Each of these four creatures represents one of the different fixed signs of astrology. This lion represents Leo, this bull represents Taurus, this angel represents Aquarius and this eagle / phoenix represents Scorpio. Here you can see some fire and smoke giving it that phoenix-y sort of vibe.
Scorpio 005
Video Transcript: More excerpts from The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall. ‘The eagle was also the Hermetic symbol of sulphur, and signified the mysterious fire of Scorpio–the most profoundly significant sign of the zodiac and the Gate of the Great Mystery. Being one of the three symbols of Scorpio, the eagle… was an emblem of the theurgic art and the secret processes by which the infernal fire of the scorpion was transmuted into the spiritual light-fire of the gods.’ Regarding the Great Seal of the United States he says, ‘Careful analysis of the seal discloses a mass of occult and Masonic symbols chief among them, the so-called American Eagle — a bird which Benjamin Franklin declared unworthy to be chosen as the emblem of the great, powerful and progressive people. Here again, only the student of symbolism can see the through the subterfuge and realize the American eagle upon the Great Seal is but a conventionalized phoenix. The eagles of Napoleon and Caesar and the zodiacal eagle of Scorpio are really phoenixes, for the latter bird — not the eagle — is the symbol of spiritual victory and achievement.’
Scorpio 004
Video Transcript: So there’s a few different aspects to Scorpio that you may or may not be aware of. In order to help us flesh out this concept I’ll be reading from Manly P. Hall’s ‘The Secret Teachings of All Ages’… which if you’ve never checked out I would highly recommend it, it’s a fantastic resource. Referring to scorpio he says ’This sign has three different symbols. The most common is that of the scorpion, who was called by the ancients the backbiter, being the symbol of deceit and perversion; the second (and less common) form of the sign is a serpent, often used by the ancients to symbolize wisdom. Probably the rarest form of scorpio is that of an eagle. The arrangement of the stars of the constellation bears as much resemblance to a flying bird as to a scorpion. Scorpio, being the sign of occult initiation (which is very interesting and important), the flying eagle - the king of birds - represents the highest and most spiritual type of scorpio, in which it transcends the venomous insect of the earth.’ I’ll be digging into the eagle symbolism, as it relates to scorpio, in the next video.
Scorpio 003
Video Transcript: So I think I figured out what’s going on with this gigantic head here. In my Star Names book it says ‘The Scorpion, was the reputed slayer of the giant, exalted to the skies and now rising from the horizon as Orion.’ The Dictionary of Symbolism says ‘Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, sent Scorpius to kill the mighty hunter Orion, and they were both translated to the sky. This is why, whenever the constellation Scorpio appears in the eastern sky the otherwise undaunted Orion flees below the horizon.’ So, essentially, I think this is an astro-mythological story explaining the relationship between two constellations, Scorpio and what we now know as Orion. Notice Orion’s proximity to Taurus, so when Scorpio rises Orion falls. When Scorpio rises Orion, which would be right here, is falling. So the card, essentially, is showing the slaying of the great, giant hunter Orion.
Scorpio 002
Video Transcript: I’m back with more insights on Catone, the 13th card of the Sola Busca. The little booklet that comes with the deck mentions the myths of Perseus and Medusa as potential influences for the card. That’s interesting but I believe it’s actually just an older, veiled rendition of the death card which is always the 13th and corresponds with the Scorpio constellation. As I mentioned last time, this spear as it’s penetrating this head looks to me like it’s making a subliminal scythe with this shield. Let’s look at a couple of other Death cards and see if we notice any similarities. Here’s the Death card from Tarot of the Ages which was made in the early 90’s. See the scythe and two heads in the corners. And then this is the Marsailles Death card with the scythe and two heads in the corners. This was made in the 1500’s. So, in the next video I’m going to be breaking down exactly why that head is there and why it’s so large.
Scorpio 001
Video Transcript: Hey guys, Happy Halloween. I hope you’re doing well today. I’ve been intrigued by this card over the last 2 or 3 days, I’ve been studying it pretty heavily. It comes from the Sola Busca which was made in the 1400’s. People say this deck is very mysterious and malefic and that it’s associated with black magic. As such, I think it’s the perfect tarot deck to study during Scorpio. Scorpio is my focus right now, I study each sign during the sign itself. And when I was looking for all of the scorpio related cards in my tarot decks this one popped out at me and I started noticing things that I had not noticed before that I wanted to share with you. These older decks have all sorts of subliminals in them, hidden information that the novice would not see. As an example, this spear here, I believe, is making a subliminal scythe just like most traditional Death cards. So if this is your thing stay tuned for more videos, I’ve got all sorts of secrets I want to share.