Saint Peter & Mary Magdalene
St Peter and Mary Magdalene
(Liminality)
Superata tellus sidera donat
And the Earth Transcended brings us the gift of the stars
Boethius *
This predominately blue panel shows St Peter in a small boat, looking up and beyond the Pleiades star cluster to the infinite and unknowable universe. His small vessel contains him and he is gently rocked by the sea, symbolising the unconscious aspects of the self.
The horizontal line of the holy mountains draws the eye upwards and emphasises the distinction between the Earthly and Divine realms. Here we meet the Feminine principle, Mary Magdalene and the many forms of unconditional love we receive daily, without necessarily being aware of.
St Peter is associated with liminality and holds the role of the Gatekeeper. Hence at the bottom of the panel, we find the key, containing within it the active principle.
Peter is a guide to help us navigate the various thresholds we must all pass as we expand our experience, understanding and perception.
* The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism by Henry Corbin
Commissioned by Adam John Munthe in memory of his late father Malcolm Grane Ludovic Martin Munthe, for his chapel at Southside House, Wimbledon.
Both designs are contained within a mandorla, an ancient sacred geometrical symbol, symbolising union and the intersection of two worlds. St Peter and Mary Magdalene’s mandorla is held within six-fold geometric symmetry whereas St George and the Dragon within a five-fold geometric pattern.