New painting, "I AM"

I AM, 18" x 24", acrylic on canvas panel
© Rick Jacobi 2015

The title of this painting refers to God's reply to Moses when Moses asks God what his name is. God, appearing as a burning bush, tells Moses that his name is "I Am That I Am" (also translated as "I Will Be What I Will Be").

There are a number of symbols in this painting. I have used the alchemical/tarot symbols for fire (upward-pointing red triangle) and water (downward-pointing blue triangle); these of course also represent male/female. Earth and air are also present, rounding out the four basic elements of alchemy and tarot. While this is not an image of a seraph, the six wings could be somewhat suggestive of that. The snakes form a vesica piscis. The glyphs on the winged triangle spell out "I AM" in "Enochian script", as developed by the 16th century English occultist John Dee. The eye in the triangle is often referred to as "the all-seeing eye". It has recently in popular culture become pretty well-known as a symbol of the Illuminati. However, it has historically been known as the eye of God, and is referred to as the Eye of Providence by the Freemasons.

We also see a number of UFOs in this painting-- this refers to the possibility of extraterrestrial "help" in the creation of life on earth, particularly human life. There is a mysterious glyph on the bottom-- this is something I came up with a while back-- it does not have a specific meaning that I am aware of, but it's one of those things that the viewer can "read into". I think it may have to do with the expansion and reaching out of the creative force, or something like that, which would make sense given the theme of this painting.

And finally, the eye in the center: this was not part of my original sketch, but it came to me late in the process. When it hit me, it totally made sense-- this radiant eye represents the all of everything that exists, the universal creator, a.k.a. God.

The Opener of the Way

New painting, just completed (8/8/08).

(click on image to enlarge)


Jacobi, The Opener of the Way, 18" x 24", acrylic, 2008

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The Opener of the Way
Psycho, Anubis

The Opener of the Way is the title of Robert Bloch’s first book, a collection of horror and fantasy stories, published by Arkham House in 1945. Bloch would be familiar to most people as the author of Psycho, from which Alfred Hitchcock’s movie of the same name was based. Bloch was also a member of the “Lovecraft Circle”. In Bloch’s story, the opener of the way was the jackal-headed Egyptian god of the dead, Anubis.




Robert Johnson at the crossroads, Muddy, and Jimi

The opener of the way; the gatekeeper at the crossroads. Legend has it that bluesman Robert Johnson “made a deal with the devil at the crossroads”. In the voodoo tradition of Haiti and New Orleans, the deity Legba is the gatekeeper of the gates to the spirit world, the opener of the way for the gods to possess their devotees. It is likely that the “devil” that Robert Johnson encountered was actually Legba (so the story goes). Johnson’s song Crossroads was popularized by Eric Clapton with the group Cream on their 1968 double album Wheels of Fire.



Voodoo has not been an uncommon theme in the blues. From Johnson, to Muddy Waters singing "I got a black cat bone, I got a mojo too, I got a John the Conqueror root, I’m gonna mess with you..." in the song Hoochie Coochie Man, to Jimi Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile, there is a powerful magic in this music.


The painting

This painting came about in a very spontaneous manner. I had nothing specific in mind when I started it, it just sort of unfolded on its own. (It started with a sketch, which can be seen on a post I made back on May 15.) As it progressed, I looked at it and thought, what is this thing? I pictured myself standing out in a field somewhere, encountering this strange entity that just materialized out of thin air. An apparition, an inter-dimensional being, or what? The legend of Robert Johnson came to mind… the crossroads… Legba, the opener of the way. Somehow, it fit. Legba is often depicted as an as an old man on a crutch or with a cane, wearing a broad-brimmed straw hat and smoking a pipe, or sprinkling water. If this is a picture of Legba, he could be “shape-shifting”, or perhaps this is just one of his many faces.

Then again, this painting could be about something altogether different…

Note: included in this painting you will find the all-seeing eye, the alchemical symbols for fire and for air, and the golden ratio a couple of times (appearing once by chance [to my surprise, when I realized it], and once by intent[inspired by my discovery]).