The first higher understandings that came through me were in the form of archetypes. I was working with them long before I knew what the word meant. I could identify the properties of energy that express through many containers. I practiced articulating their code in my work. I was bringing forth poetic thought-forms from my abstract mind and expression, weaving intriguing associations and relationships with a simple image—representing a concept that would otherwise take chapters or books to explore in a linear way. I like shortcuts.

The triumphant arch is a visual portal for protection and safety; it is also how you move from one dimension to the next. The symbol is a tool for our subconscious to actualize the wisdom of our higher consciousness. I have used the arch many times—creating and dismantling windows that I open and/or close to keep the creative inspiration flowing. When I’m finished, I close the window.

The artwork Threshold’s purpose is to introduce the most important concept my mother taught me. I painted it while visiting a friend, as a way to support my creative practice while I was at her house. I had to create a field of safety. This painting tells the threefold story of the arch, the throughway, and the threshold. My mama, F. Diane McNeal (an artist, weaver, textile designer, printmaker, dollmaker, and papermaker), taught me these spiritual principles as a child. She took me into the basement and, as she stood under a doorway, she said, “During an earthquake, this is where you want to stand. It is the strong part of the house.” Its many associations grew from there. They are imbued with the collective consciousness of symbol and energy.

My mom taught me all kinds of hoodoo, although she wouldn’t appreciate me calling it that. Hoodoo is an empowering word that describes the indigenous spiritual practices, philosophies, and canons of African-descendant people in the U.S.—a people deeply connected to the Most High, expressed as Hoodoo. These workings are an integral expression of the Black Church. More appropriately, it’s referred to as working in the spirit: praying over, bringing forth, calling forth, rebuking, binding up, casting out, setting forth angels and prayers and commands.

Diane was an artist with all kinds of spiritual talents. Nothing simple about her complex nature; she was fire, and she was water. Her presence on Earth—at the time and place she embodied—was something her community wasn’t prepared to receive. She came from another spirit. In a future post, I’ll talk more about the characteristics of her archetype and her gifts to humanity in bringing forth a specific frequency of creativity.

The second artwork is a woodblock print by F. Diane McNeal, created in 1996. Notice the use of the arch again, as a spiritual concept of protection. Note the difference between the figures extending their hands to create the arch, and those who stand under it. This is a very important symbol that has now passed through three generations.

I invite you to join my Facebook Group Creativity As A Spiritual Practice on Facebook to learn more about our process and practice.