The Gate As A Guiding Image

 One night this week I couldn't sleep

and so I was doing some visualizing/meditation

exercises that usually relax me to a nice drowsiness

that eventually leads to dreams.

I had in mind the question of where to take my art work

when I heard quite clearly the word "GATE".

It certainly got my attention, as I function best visually,

but this time, my hearing sense trumped the image.

I have been giving much thought to the word 'gate' since then

as a guiding metaphor for 2012:

*an open gate for the new year,

* a symbol for a welcoming, (if mysterious)

entrance, 

*communication between one world and another,

 *entrance to a fortress of defense and protection,

* protective sheltering aspect of the Great Mother,

* and magical, break through entrance where, if one believes,

a gate will appear when faced with a wall

of dense and unmanageable proportion.

I painted the first image, and then altered the photo

for the others using Paint Shop Pro.

I plan to continue to explore the gate symbolism

and what it might mean to me personally,

where I might follow it in the days and months ahead.