(30” x 24”) Oil on canvas 2020

This painting was based on my fascination at a time with the number twelve from a spiritual context, a symbol of divine completeness. Across spiritual traditions, scripture, and ancient mythologies, twelve appears repeatedly as a sacred number representing cosmic order and wholeness.

The Vitruvian Man is at the center of the painting, depicted with gold skin and situated between the square and the circle. He epitomizes the “universal man,” representing humanity’s highest potential and perfect harmony between the earthly and the divine.

The Tree of Life displayed on his body is reinterpreted with twelve spheres based on the Kathara Grid rather than the traditional ten found in Qabalah. This expanded framework also reflects a multidimensional understanding of consciousness and spiritual anatomy.

Additionally, the Ouroboros is located along a cosmic wheel, but it is deliberately broken. In this case, rather than the serpent consuming its own tail, it is severed. This is supposed to symbolize liberation from the endless cycle of reincarnation. In certain esoteric traditions, the Ouroboros represents the perpetual loop of birth, death, and rebirth within the earthly realm. Its rupture here is meant to represent ascendancy, an intentional departure from cyclic existence toward a higher state beyond this material plane.

The twelve astrological signs are enclosing the Vitruvian Man as well. Each are positioned within a cosmic wheel alongside the twelve jewels of the High Priest’s breastplate from biblical tradition. These symbols reflect similar configurations from other stories, too. Examples are the twelve Apostles of Jesus, the twelve Labors of Hercules, and the twelve Knights of King Arthur, all of which point toward spiritual mastery and a higher divine purpose.

The light that rises from the Vitruvian Man’s head similarly alludes to this ascension into higher dimensions of consciousness. The bottom of the painting also includes an eight-pointed star, representing cosmic balance, regeneration, and divine order.

My intention with this work is to illustrate the latent potential within all humans to attain higher consciousness and how transcending the cycle of reincarnation within this realm should be a divine aspiration for humanity as a whole.