a digital alchemy collage by
Shelley Sophia Crawford


“Cleopatra is like a work of art, and like Venus,
goddess of love;  she outdoes divinity, nature and art.” - Catherine Belsey,

 
Description:

Venus Queen is an ode to Venusian Majesty and Feminine Power.

From time immemorial, the celestial dance of the Planet Venus has influenced humanity, inspiring a rich mystic tradition, steeped in the mythos of the Goddess, a living continuum of wisdom, inspiration, and distinctly feminine encodement.

Venus in her “enduring symmetry,”  continuously makes the pattern of the five-pointed rose star in her eight-year journey with the Sun and the Earth. I believe this celestial rose dance has a profound effect on Earth.

In turn th the energy of the Sacred Feminine or “Goddess” continues to manifest on the planet, as a living continuum of feminine power and rose consciousness. This transference is pervasive and ever evolving.

The “Queen” poised in this collage is from a painting called “Cleopatra” by Frank Havland.

Delving a bit deeper into Cleopatra and her connection with the Goddess Venus, I learned some interesting things that confirmed for me why I felt so strongly to work with this painting, in this collage.

As Queen, Cleopatra made a point to identify herself with Isis, reinforcing her divine status and connection to the Egyptian people. During Cleopatra's time,  the Roman and Egyptian worlds were very intermingled, where Isis, the Egyptian goddess, was also equated with Aphrodite/Venus.
 
Naturally, Cleopatra also styled herself as an incarnation of the goddess Venus, particularly it is noted that she was depicted in Venutian glory,  in a statue placed in the Temple of Venus Genetrix, in Rome.

These Goddess associations sanctified Cleopatra as a Symbol of Feminine Power,  which in turn reinforced the connection between her feminine allure and political power.  A Queen whose power and influence continues to inspire and confound us today, just like the planet Venus, in her mystic patterning.