The Seven Gates

I was captivated by her hair and chose to paint her in encaustic, knowing that the wax medium was the perfect choice for the halo of curls.

Throughout the ages, women have conformed (willingly or not) to the cultural conventions of what their hair “should” look like – even to the point of losing its true beauty in the never-ending attempts to straighten, curl, bleach, dye, style, braid, cover and ornament it.  

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I went there of my own free will.
I went there in my finest gown,
With my rarest jewels
With my Queen of Heaven crown.
In the Underworld
At each of the Seven Gates
I was stripped seven times
Of all I thought I was
Til I stood bare in who I really am.”

Excerpt from” The Goddess Oracle” by Amy Sophia Marashinsky