Liberty Leading the People
Eugène Delacroix
“If I haven't fought for my country, at least I'll paint for her.” And France should be grateful, for Eugène Delacroix’s magnum opus became one of the land’s greatest historical images. The anthropomorphised figure of Liberty strides forward, both rugged everywoman and godlike allegory. She leads a radically varied depiction of the July Revolution’s crowd; bicorned students, top-hatted bourgeoisie and pistol-toting revolutionary workers. Delacroix completed the painting before the year of revolution had ended. The father of French Romanticism rejected the emphasis on precision of the academic art of his time, instead concentrating upon colour brushed with abandon. The Phrygian-capped figure of Liberty was based upon a Dutch portrait of the pirate Anne Bonny; an apt manifestation of King Charles X’s bloody downfall.
Monday 17th August
The Moon deepens into the earthly constellation of Virgo, which would ordinarily turn our attention towards roots and the life of the soil. Yet today another rhythm moves across this influence, as Mercury in Cancer forms a water trine with Saturn, retrograde in Pisces. In biodynamics, such planetary relationships can become strong enough to overlay the usual quality of the Moon’s passage, bringing the watery, leaf-forming forces more strongly to the foreground. It can therefore be a favourable day for watering, transplanting leafy crops, tending salads and brassicas, and giving attention to plants that need moisture and renewed growth. The heavens are never still or governed by a single rhythm. Biodynamics asks us to notice how these different movements meet, strengthen and sometimes transform one another, just as the life of the garden is continually shaped by many forces working together.
41 Loss (Pouring Out) - The I Ching
Losing? Have faith...
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