LIFE IS A CONSTANT CEREMONY
NOT JUST
ONCE IN A TURQUOISE BLUE MOON
Painted stories are the weavings of the threads of art & healing into a magic carpet of possibilities.
O r i s h a S t o r i e s
Historias de las Orishas
Tarot Card III~Daughters of Yemaya
And it was on the waves of the ocean
that I released my sorrows to Iemanjá
And I learned to trust
that they won't last forever
And that peace is a seed that I need to sow
And on this horizon of such an infinite sea
Iemanjá welcomed me
And showed me a much more beautiful world
I opened my heart,
She held out her hand
And I gave my camino to Iemanjá
(The "Hand of Fatima" (khamsa) is a water whistle,
by which Iemanjá calls home her children. )
Tarot I~The Magician (O Babalaô)
The priestess casts the cowrie shells.
Though the beginnings of many paths might be clearly open before us, their continuation lays shrouded in mist and mystery. Divination is not a promise that the path will be easy, but a map to aid us on our journey in choosing how we walk forward on the river of life. She is born of divine wisdom from the gods, ancient and ancestral, past, present, and future, a living breathing being.
Strings of beads, a chain of connection to the divine, a reminder of our path that we have chosen or that has chosen us.
Tarot Card XVII~Daughters of Oshun
Oshun, deity of river waters, also seen as the embodiment of love, beauty, and fertility. She represents the joy of life and in many ways, what makes life worth living. Her influence is gentle and loving and she teaches humanity that the secret of life is love.
Tarot Card XII~Daughters of Ossain,
Orisha of Plant Medicine& Healing
Asking for a healing, is a first step to healing, a gift we give ourselves, to accept, to receive, to stand fully in our power.
This is the story of a daughter of Ossain, receiving a ritual cleansing.The staff, by connecting her to the earth, helps the kundalini energy rise up, also in our body. The cup contains the ingredients of a floral bath, & also the wind, which carries the vibration of song, symbolized by the shell & the "mouth" on the cup. The eggs, the sacred bundle of Basil tied with red thread, the mortar and pestle containing honey and other ingredients, & of course Water, without which no healing is complete….
The painting is also the story of my studies with traditional healers.
Tarot Card XIX~Daughters of Olorun
Olorun is Sun, Lord of the Heavens, the All-knowing, the Orisha that represents vitality, life-force, and universal energy. Associated with success, love and serenity.
For the Candomblé practitioners, the ultimate goal of life is to live in a way that connects one to Olorun and the energy of the world
Olorun does not accept offerings, as he is the creator of everything, he has power over everything and there is nothing he does not have. There are no shrines or sacrifices dedicated directly to him, although followers can send prayers in his direction.
Tarot VI ~ Daughters of Oxóssi
Shapeshifting and Seeing the Energy Connecting All In the Forest
Oxóssi is the Orisha guardian and hunter of the forest, providing abundant sustenance for all living creatures. Hunter for food, for righteousness, for love, for union and for “Ashe”, that vital energy needed to realize and accomplish. This painting is also about shapeshifting into our more powerful vital selves, so that we can have all the Ashe that we need to realize our dreams and our life’s path. Oxóssi is also considered an Orisha of contemplation, lover of the arts and beautiful things. In other words, he is an Orisha who seeks good influences and positive energies for a person and the community in which she/he lives.
Tarot XIV Daughters of Oxumarê
Daughters of the Rainbow
Between heaven and earth, Oxumarê, the rainbow-serpent Orisha walks, diluting and undoing what is not positive, she brings the strength and vital energy of the rainbow colors in to our lives. Ending painful cycles and offering a fresh start. Acting verbs: restore, brighten, transformation.
Creating an Empowering Portrait or Self-portrait
Creando un retrato o autorretrato empoderador
When the Goddess Has Your Back
In this portrait, I wanted to honor both the Goddess Isis & Mandela, my cat that journeyed with me for 20 years. She continues as guardian to all cats that have come to me since. It seemed fitting to me that she appear as Bastet.
The bird on the right is the bennu, (Egyptian phoenix). We dye in small and big ways, letting go of what we knew life to be, and discovering what life can be within the possibilities offered and created by us.
"These breaths I release to the wind, make me one with the wind. I come and go out of the fire unchanged. I am air and flame, water, and dust. I am a wick burning in a blue bowl of oil, a fiery sun rising in a tranquil sky. I am the phoenix. I am light. I come forth." ~ Normandi Ellis, "Awakening Osiris.."
Acrylic on canvas 20" x 16"/ acrílico sobre lienzo 50.8cm x 40.6 cm
Would you like to commission for you or as a gift an empowering portrait or self-portrait? Feel free to contact me for more information.
WEAVING SACRED LANDSCAPES
Tejiendo paisajes sagrados
The Healer's Journey
The healer and the healed, one and the same, walking between worlds- one foot here, one foot there. The temascal, a place of birth and rebirth, a place of healing. Medicinal plant tea according to the needs of the patient is poured gently over the red-hot stones, rising-up to create a fragrant steam. The body relaxes, and the soul feels cleansed.
Acrylic on canvas 24" x 18"/ Acrílico sobre lienzo 60.9cm x 45.7 cm
Being Woven by the Place of Flowers
In this 3rd year of my plant spirit apprenticeship everything I had learned was woven together, in a sort of magical tapestry. Each week, as the flower of the week appeared, her essence & energy ware added to the painting, and then everything was woven together with bee medicine..
Acrylic on canvas 14”x14”/ Acrílico sobre lienzo 35.5cm x35.5cm
Trusting the Outcome
Petition a Divine Being for help or guidance, make a request, and then let it go, into the hands of Spirit. Trust that the outcome will be what needs to be. Let the offering flow with the River of life.
The women on the right have come to the sacred waterfall of Oshun to ask for guidance.
Acrylic on canvas 20" x 16"/ acrílico sobre lienzo 50.8cm x 40.6 cm
In the Land of Maya
You are the dream of all of your ancestors~ Chiapas
Adorned from head to toe, incredibly beautiful embroidered blouses and skirts and woven beads, an endless parade of human peacocks, the Mayans walk the streets, speaking in their sweet tongue.
Acrylic on canvas 14” X 11”/ acrílico sobre lienzo 35.6 X 27.9 cm
A Living Despacho ~Breath as an
Offering In the Dance of Life
Breath in, breath out
a despacho (offering) is being created
In this dance of life, what will we offer?
Our best self, our best intentions
Not so important the actual physical ingredients, or even how it looks
We offer ourselves, our best intentions, our deepest breath
And the universe responds
This image was birthed after a workshop in the art of creating despachos, with my teacher Joan Parisi Wilcox.
Acrylic on canvas 14”x 14”/ Acrílico sobre lienzo 35.5cm x35.5cm
Weaving Sacred Landscapes
Sacred landscapes, places my mind wanders when I feel the need to go somewhere else. As I breathe deeply cool air, under a diamond studded full moon sky, up into the forest green hills, wading barefoot in the turquoise blue streams, dancing in the ultramarine blue water in front of the secret portals of the goddess, while I gaze in wonder at red ochre petroglyphs, who tell me what they meant to those who painted them, and leaving me to ponder what there meaning is to me now.
acrylic on canvas 16" x 20"/acrílico sobre lienzo 40.6 cm x 50.8 cm
Through The Eyes of Condor ~ Song for Apu Ausangate
There are several Andean legends about Condor and Hummingbird and the Sun. This painting was guided by the vibrations of one.
Acrylic on canvas 16" x 20"/ Acrílico sobre lienzo 40.6 x 50.8 cm
The Waters of Amduat
Participation in a group journey through the Amduat with Betsy Bergstrom resulted in the shifting sands of this painting.The Amduat, or "The Book of the Hidden Chamber", describes the journey of regeneration of the Egyptian sun god Re, the from night (death) to sunrise (rebirth). For Re, a constant recurrence, for Ancient Egyptians, a journey towards their eternal life. The middle part of the painting is the pyramid from the outside, unpainted, undecorated, every changing with time and wind. Life -death occurred inside the pyramid, deep down in the underworld. For us, those who participated, it was death, dismemberment and rebirth, like the Sun....
acrylic on canvas 16" x 20"/acrílico sobre lienzo 40.6 cm x 50.8 cm
The Song of the Amazonian
Dolphin
There is something so healing about swimming with the dolphins- the soothing song of water, and their magical open-hearted presence. I am the shell, echoing the water's song, I am the water gently touching the skin of the dolphin, I am the song, sung by the dolphin's beating heart. I am that vibration. I am.
acrylic on canvas 10"x 8"/ 25.4 X 20.32.cm
Pamukkale,
Where the Mothers of the Waters Meet
In the land of non-ordinary reality, all is possible. In my dreams, once upon a time, Oshun, Yemaya, and the Egyptian goddess Isis meet by the beautiful waters of Pamukkale, Turkey (Pamukkale means "Cotton Castles") at the magical hour of sunrise or sunset. Only they know the songs that were sung ...
Acrylic on canvas 27.5" x 27.5" /69.85 cm.x 69.85 cm
The Spirit of Tobacco
They say Tobacco came from the stars.
Her flowers reside in the Heavens, her dancing leaves and roots deep in the fertile earth.
Portals, doors of entry into liminal spaces of power, into the unknown. Guardians, letting pass those chosen, cleansing, keeping watch.
In my paintings, I like the power of the vibration that words add. Sometimes the words are woven in to the painting, remaining unseen, but still felt. Here " حب", the arab word for love, vibrates through the walls of the portal, creating a song that continues to echo outwards.
Spirit of Tobacco, who asked to be painted, dancing guardian of the portal.
Acrylic on canvas 14”x 14”/ 35.5cm x35.5cm
Rue Medicine Mandala
In my plant spirit apprenticeship with my teacher, Jean Schneider, we were a group of 15. Each week, as we began work with a different plant, and I asked how I could honor that plant, I was asked by the plant to be painted into the mandala- weaving us(the students) and them, (the plants) together. It's the medicine way...
Honoring the Plant Spirits ~ It is the Medicine Way
Acrylic on canvas 12" round/ 30,48 cm. redondo
Reach for the Stars
Life is what it is, but seldom what we want it to be. To live to the fullest exactly where we are at in a given moment and in that still pause between breaths, continue reaching for the stars, dreaming, and knowing the stars are within reach of our fingertips.
In the waters flow gifts of gratitude. The 3 animals present are the power animals of the 3 worlds in the Andean tradition. The jade-colored faces within the body of the woman, are our ancestors. We carry their knowledge, blessings, and wisdom with us wherever we go. Life is a circle; the painting is a circle of life.
Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18"/ 60.9 x 45.7 cm
What is really behind a mask?
Often in shamanic traditions, the healer wears a mask as part of the regalia, weaving between the space of ordinary reality and non-ordinary reality, undetectable behind his/her mask...
We all wear masks, in one way or another, hiding our pains & insecurities, putting on a happy face for the world, putting on different masks for different people ...
And so we might ask,"What mask do we want to portray to the world? What Is Really Behind A Mask?"
Acrylic on canvas 10"x 8"/ 25.4 X 20.32.cm
It Is The Same Moon
My dream has always been of a floating house, somewhere in the Brazilian Amazon. Home and flowing with the river of Life.
Acrylic on canvas 36” x 24” /91.44 cm x 60.9 cm
Yemayá's Sea Glass
By the sea of Salvador da Bahia I walked,
every morning and evening. And on every walk, the sea gifted me sea-glass, cobalt blue, turquoise, milky green and amber. I would daily change my altar, creating a new design with the sea crystals that Yemaya had gifted me, wondering what stories each piece of the sea glass could tell me if they were to decide to speak. When I left, I returned all the sea glass, with gratitude to Mother Yemaya, so that she could continue sharing them with someone else, and creating more stories.
acrylic on canvas + textured medium 20" x 16"/50.8 cm x 40.6 cm
Scrying, the Other Side of the Obsidian Mirror
Through the Obsidian Mirror
doorways to other worlds open up.
Acrylic on canvas 14" x 11"/35.56 cm x 27.94 cm
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If You Are Happy In A Dream
Setting an intention for myself, and then setting it free. If it is meant to be it will happen. For if I were to hold on to my intention, it might become entangled in its own threads. And so I paint a picture and place it on my altar, to continue to breathe a breath of life in to it, while my dream is carried onward, being and becoming
the place I am meant to be.
Acrylic on canvas 14”x 14”/ 35.5cm x35.5cm
Spirit of Angelica
The liminal space between water and air,
the pause between one breath and another. Divine connection to the Angels, a tube filled with light, leading up from earth to heaven, movement always upwards.
Often when I begin working with a plant, and I ask how I can honor them, they ask to be painted. With Angelica, it was different. First a relationship was woven. Angelica often volunteered to assist in healings, both for me and for clients. Only then did she whisper, that she would like to be painted, that it was time...
Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18"/ 60.9 x 45.7 cm
Spirit of Olive
I have been dreaming of an ancient olive tree that I met a few years back in Magdala, on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. The wise and compassionate Olive, who has seen so much in her lifetime, asked to be painted, and to be painted with Dove.
Acrylic on canvas with crackle paste 14”x14”/ 35.5cm x35.5cm
Angels of the Crows
Letting the picture paint herself, by following the cracks that appear. It's the cracks that let the light in, afterall.
Acrylic on canvas with crackle paste 14”x14”/ 35.5cm x35.5cm
Sold Creation Stories
Copies can be made through Fine Art America. Please contact me if you do not find the image there at Fine Art America, and in most cases, arrangements can be made to upload image. https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/jacirendi-xakhar
Song for Apu Ausangate
The camino that leads to Apu Ausangate, a pilgrimage, a chakana (part of Andean cosmovision) and a couple that makes this spiritual pilgrimage, walking in Munay, together as equals.
Acrylic on canvas 16" x 20"/ 40.6 cm x 50.8 cm
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A Bedouin Story of Creation
All cultures have their own story of creation. In a dream I was shown a Bedouin Mother Earth, spinning and weaving life into existance.
Acrylic on canvas 16" x 20"/ 40.6 cm x 50.8 cm
Cappadocia Tree of Blessings
Wishing/Blessing trees are found in many cultures. Although rituals and beliefs differ, what all blessing trees do have in common is that of being a place that allows people to reconnect with what truly matters to them. This blessing tree is in Cappadocia, a place that continues to call to me in my dreams. Where is your special tree?
Acrylic on canvas 16" x 20"/ 40.6 cm x 50.8 cm
Spirit of Blue Vervain
Whenever I meet a new plant spirit, after the initial meet-and-greet- getting to know you, I ask, "how can I honor you? How would you like me to express my gratitude? What offering can I make?"
Many times the plant spirit will ask for an exchange of breath, and then that I paint them. Afterall, the plants don't have hands, so they can't paint themselves...
Acrílico sobre lienzo 14”x 14”/ 35.5 x35.5cm
Íròkò, Orisha of the Trees
Íròkò, connects between Heaven & Earth, stepping out of his tree, alongside offerings made to him.
My roots were planted before time was born
And before the opening of the eras
Before the pines, and the olive trees
And before the grass grew
~ Mahmoud Darwish
Acrylic on canvas 11" x 14"/27.94 cm x 35.56 cm
Day of the Jaguar
As Above, So Below
Acrylic on canvas 14” X 11”/ 35.6 X 27.9 cm
Song for Oxossi
"Song for Oxóssi", is an offering to Oxóssi, who hunts good influences and positive energies, who is responsible for the Axé, the power to concretize a dream that it may come true.
Acrylic on canvas 9”x12”/ 22.8 x 30.5 cm
Song For Oshun
Songs are a kind of ceremony to honor another being and ourselves.
Oshun, the African River Goddess embodies the love of a mother, the blessing of a crystal-clear river and the sweetness of honey.
Acrylic on canvas 11" x 14"/ 27.94 cm x 35.56 cm
Song for Yemaya
Yemaya, Ocean Mother, Goddess of love, aids us in reclaiming and reactivating our power. Her song is like the sound of waves in a seashell.
Acrylic on canvas 12" x 12"/ 30.4 cm x 30.4 cm
Song for Ossain
Ossain is the orisha of all plant-life, healing and magic. Plants are both physical and spiritual beings, without which no ceremony would be possible.
Acrylic on canvas 11" x 14"/ 27.94 cm x 35.56 cm
Remembering Our True Self
The Ancient Ones say that we come from the stars. Our true self resides in our heart, that part that comes from the stars.
Remembering who we are and where we came from.
Acrylic on canvas 14”x 14”/ 35.5cm x35.5cm
Song for
Casa de Oxumarê
Once upon a time, I was blessed to witness ceremonies of Candomblé in Casa de Oxumarê, in Bahia.I wanted to paint all the beautiful light & incredible energy I witnessed there. The view is as if viewing the ceremony from above. Obrigada (thank you), Oxumarê for opening both your home and hearts, making this experience possible.
Acrylic on canvas 18" x 24"/45.7 cm x 60.9 cm
The Light That Shines
From Within
There are the quiet ones, the ones that shine brightly from within, but because they are quiet, their light often goes unperceived.
"The light which shines in the eye is really the light of the heart..
The light which fills the heart is the light of Creator..." ~ Rumi
Acrylic on canvas 8" X 10" / 20,32 cm X 25,40 cm
Magic Carpet of Love
Whirling Dervishes & the Blessing Tree
Whirling and spinning, spinning and whirling , until the outerself is lost, and all that remains is the oneness with Creator.
Art dedicated to Gabbeh, (one of my favorite films) and the nomadic magic carpet weavers of Iran, for whom this film is named after.
Acrylic on canvas 16" x 20"/40.6 cm x 50.8 cm
Full Moon Ceremony
Walking in the Land of
the Ancestors
Once upon a time, our ancestors gathered in ceremony when the moon was full.
In this painting, the women from all lineages are on their way to a special cave to celebrate the moon.
Acrylic on canvas 18" x 24"/45.7 x 60.9 cm
Dancing With Rumi
The lover's heart is filled with an ocean,
And in its rolling waves the cosmos gently turns. ~ Rumi
acrílic on canvas 12" x 12"/ 30.4 cm x 30.4 cm
Winds Between Worlds
*There are winds that gently carry us to other worlds, showing us the magic that lies hidden inside of us.
*“Instead of falling, I am dancing with the wind.”― Laurie Nadel, Dancing with the Wind
*There are winds that bring prosperity and winds that cleanse. Energy always follows intention. What will you ask of the wind?
*Acrylic on canvas 11" x 14"/ 27.94 cm x 35.56 cm
Munay ~ A Yeminite Love Song
Ravi Shankar said: “In love, you don’t expect anything. If you want something in return, don’t call it love.”
Munay is that love, given unconditionally, not only to others, but to ourselves. It is a work in progress, stitch by stich, like a beautiful Yemenite embroidery.
Acrylic on canvas 18" x 24"/ 45.7 cm x 60.9
Where Heaven
& Earth Meet
For people who are rooted in the desert, where the dry heat is ever present, a garden means so much more - it is literally paradise on earth and water is Creator's merciful gift. Thus gardens become the meeting place of heaven and earth.
Acrylic on canvas 24" x 24"/ 60.9 x 60,9 cm
Viewing Life Through The Windows of a Mashrabiya I-IV
“Listen, open the heart’s window
and keep looking at the Beloved.
The task of love is to open that window
so the heart can be illuminated by His Beauty.
Gaze incessantly at the Beloved's face.
That is your power, my friend”― Rumi
acrylic on canvas 8" x 10"/ 20.3 x 25.4 cm
Viewing Life Through The Window of a Mashrabiya I
Through the window, you see hurrying passers-by, but you are unseen. You dream a love story, while contemplating a flower and a window open to the unknown.
acrylic on canvas 8" x 10"/ 20.3 x 25.4 cm
Viewing Life Through The Window of a Mashrabiya II
In her absence I created her image:
out of the earthlythe hidden heavenly commences.
Leave the windows open for the house sparrow to enter your dream.
If it weren’t for the mirage I wouldn’t have walked to the seven hills ... if it weren’t for the mirage!...
~ Mahmoud Darwish
Acrylic on canvas 8" x 10"/ 20.3 x 25.4 cm
Viewing Life Through The Window of a Mashrabiya III
Stop the words now.
Open the window
in the center of your chest,
and let the spirits fly
in and out!
~ Rumi
Acrylic on canvas 8" x 10"/ 20.3 x 25.4 cm
Viewing Life Through The Window of a Mashrabiya IV~Blue Poppy Flower
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
~Rumi
Acrylic on canvas 8" x 10"/ 20.3 x 25.4 cm
In the Valley of Love, Cappadocia
"I know who opens the door to the jasmine tree as it makes our dreams blossom for the evening's guests. And as clouds ease the butterfly’s burden from my fugitive soul,
I know that nothing will take me away from the butterflies of my dreams" ~ Mahmoud Darwish
Acrylic on canvas 16" x 20"/40.6 x 50.8 cm
Ancient Memories of the Sea of Galilee ~ Walking with the Ancestors
Imagine, waking at dawn, descending to the edge of the Sea of Galilee. Mist covers the nearby hills. A strong wind blows. The sun creates sparkling diamonds across the sea's surface. You can walk for kilometers without seeing a living soul. Not even a boat. Just you and the Sea of Galilee.
*Acrylic on canvas 12"x 24"/ 30.4 x 60.9 cm
Seeing With the Heart ~ Icaro for Love
“Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” ~ The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
Acrylic on canvas 12" round/ 30,48 cm.
Weaving New Ancestral Songs
The songs of our ancestors sing in our blood. Their stories, their wisdom, and their experiences, both good and bad, are stories that sing to us, from within us. By carefully choosing both which seeds we plant, in rich fertile soil, we are birthing our own internal garden. Which ancestral songs need listening more closely, which ancestral stories need healing? And then in me, through me, these new bright vibrant threads continue to weave the tapestry of life. *Acrylic on canvas 12" round/ 30,48 cm.
Dance Inside of Me
In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art. ~Rumi
Acrylic on canvas 8" x 10"/20.3 x 25.4 cm
Return to the Dream Cave of the Ancestors ~ Receiving the Gifts that they offer
I enter the Cave of the Ancestors. Their stories, their dreams, their secrets, have been absorbed into these walls. I see their palms, the deep red sacred ochre, and place my hands in front of them. I ask permission, and then sit with my back to the wall, close my eyes, and breathe deeply. Breath in, breath out, I offer my breath and receive theirs, their gifts in return. *Acrylic on 2 canvases 10" x 8"/ 25.4 X 20.32.cm
Mother Oshun, Love Sweet as Honey
Mother Oshun resting by a waterfall.
Acrylic on canvas + Golden Fiber texture,
5” x 7” 12.5cm x 17.5cm
With A Little Help From My Friends
Helper is not for sale