The Bard

John Martin

A battle cry against civility, against progress and technology, against domination by others – the Bard is a celebration of the primitive, the natural, and the spiritual. As King Edward I’s forces march on to conquer Wales, they are stopped by a Welsh Bard who curses the king, conjures his victims and predicts the rise of Wales and a new dawn of language in Britain – that of the Romantic Poets. Martin’s painting is inspired by the poem of the same name by Thomas Gray, capturing the drama of the scene and power of the bard, his proportion inhuman compared to the landscape and the invading army. Yet Martin captures something the poem could not: a breadth of beauty within the landscape, imposing and magic it unfurls ahead of us and dwarfs Edward’s men. The Bard, however, fits right in, his flowing robe mirrored in the rocks, trees and clouds around him. It is clear that this is his land and Martin deflty shows us why it is worth protecting. “Enough for me: with joy I see / The different doom our Fates assign. / Be thine Despair, and scept'red Care, / To triumph, and to die, are mine." / He spoke, and headlong from the mountain's height / Deep in the roaring tide he plung'd to endless night.”

Thursday 11th June

The Moon begins in the watery constellation of Pisces, before crossing the threshold into the fire of Aries. In biodynamics, Pisces is connected to the leaves of the plant: the soft, breathing parts that receive moisture, light, and atmosphere. As the Moon moves from Pisces into Aries, the mood begins to change. We move from water into fire, from receptivity into action, from feeling into impulse. Aries brings a more instinctive, passionate force, one that can help us meet the garden with courage and direction. In the garden, this transition reminds us that growth needs both softness and strength. The plant needs water to soften and expand, but also warmth to rise. In life, we too need the Piscean capacity to listen deeply, but also the Aries courage to act from what we have heard. Perhaps today asks us to honour both: to be gentle enough to receive what is growing, and brave enough to move towards what is calling.