Here's my interpretation of the wyrdly AL-chem-I-C(ee)-ALL photo from way back when that my mum found recently. Thought I'd share some of the pretty stunning symbolism contained within.
When I first saw it I thought that the hedge had a mirror and youngun was peering with interest at his own reflection. "Very flash for an 80s garden", I thought.
But soon I realised that it was a hole in the hedge and it's a little girl of the same age I'm probably winking at. I Later confirmed through my mum that it is a little girl.
Look at the way the shadow is cast over her, over my anima; my unconscious and feminine counterpart.
The shadow divides me in half, symbolically revealing the now dual nature of the prodigal son. Though, unlike Eden this garden isn't literally walled, there is an exit through the hedge, which it looks like I'm about to venture forth from... is Eve the one saying "come on you boring little bastard, you're dressed as if you're off to an 80s athletics practice anyhow".
Also interesting to note (to me anyway) is that it's a perfect division of the body that is shown. The head (heave-N) is in the Light of The SUNSON, where it is received through our optic thalamus.
The equal split of light (masculine) & dark (feminine) also matches those same archetypes (M & F) in my natal chart. I have Mars (M) and Venus (F) conjunct, which usually gives a fairly balanced energy concerning typically masculine and feminine traits... Not telling you in which sign or house though, you nosey parkers (and any dark sorcerers that may be reading).
The Great Work, the Philosopher's Stone, or becoming Christed occurs through this balancing act of opposing forces. A man must seek his anima to assist this alchemical process; I'm looking right at her.
Perhaps the orange flowers that are in the dark are a clue as to how you go about this path of individuation (and wholing) on a practical level... The flowers are orange, the colour of the sacral chakra all things associated with it. Here we are interested in the wise use of the sexual energy, most experienced through the sacral chakra. Wise use of which may be the generative force, as well as the protection for - as balance is lost through wasting said sexual energy - the Chrism oil.
Seemingly sprouting from my crown is 1 of 6 big purple and white flowers.
The 6th and 7th chakras correspond to purple and white, respectively. There is also an even split of white and purple flowers, showing that the way to raise the Light, the Chrism within is to seek balance in all things; the Middle Path. The even split is 3/3 (between purple and white, as well as 3/3 (33) in terms of arrangement, again pointing to Chrism and The Way. Christ "dies" at 33, is crucified (meaning to amplify by 1,000) at the 33rd vertebrae, before it is heaved up to Heave-N*.
That there isn't a S-Eve-N-th flower suggests that there's a wee bit of alchemical work to do. So who's got the Bunsen burners?
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*N shows us the path of both the chrism and of a lightning strike , before which the Earth first fires up (definitely not technical terminology!) a path, down which the bolt travels and grounds ; hence why we need to Earth/ ground as part of our balancing and wholing process. It is through YOU, as a Christ/ Buddha/ Krishna/ Mithras etc, that Heaven and Earth are again united and duality transcended. If not for your entire experience here in Middle Earth, then at least for brief moments.