Legend says this arrogant young seamstess once challenged the goddess Athena to a weaving contest. Athena, being the patron of the art, defeated the girl of course! Arachne was punished for her excessive pride and turned into a spider so she could weaving forever more.

“Merry we meet and merry we part...”

The original is 11" x 17" and is the 2nd poster design from a set of 3 I did last summer (the same set “Gothics” for the “What is Beauty in Darkness” contest came from.) It depicts my witchy interests with only vague touches of Gothdom... of course I don’t seem to be able to draw anything without that dark Gothic feel!

I tried to show symbols/tools of the trade; a cauldrom, sword, staff, pentacles plus other elements of tribal/nature covens: “witch, woman, warrior... the Way... blessed be...”

This is a solar goddess surrounded by symbols of the planets. She is smiling, inviting and definitely a warm creature. She is light set in black and white! Some of the “universe” goddesses from various cultures include the Japanese Ama-terasu, the sun goddess (queen of the universe); the Egyptian sky goddess Nut; and the Roman Mother goddess, Gaia.

I find that my goddess drawings are always filled with more happy, hopeful creatures than my usual dark creations. It is also interesting to touch the divine through art, making these illustrations a kind of spell casting all their own!

Bast (or Bastet) was originally a lion goddess symbolizing the fertilizing force of the sun’s rays. She became the cat goddess, the patroness of the domestic cat and the home. She is often seen in human form with the head of a cat and holding the sacred rattle known as the sistrim. Bastet is also associated with the eye of Ra, the sun god, and acts as an instrument of his vengeance. She ruled over pleasure, dancing, music, and joy.

“Rich in gifts” and the Eve of Greek legend. She was a woman presented to man by the gods. She came with a secretive box which mortals were never to open. Pandora broke this sacred vow, unleashing terror, sorrow, and suffering into the world. At the bottom of the box, there was one final gift for humanity: hope.