The fourteenth door in my Divine Doorways Series is actually a “porta-portal.” Someone commissioned me to paint a canvas board in the same style and with the same Runic coding as the larger doors. I wasn’t sure what would manifest, but in the end we both loved the way it turned out. The board allowed me to paint and code both sides, just like an actual door, and I designed the front to look like an archway, so the image maintains an “entrance” or “gateway” feeling.
Temperance by Laura Bruno
The fourteenth card in the Tarot, the Temperance Card, presented itself as the one for this project. This motif usually depicts a woman or angel with one foot in a pond and one foot on land, symbolizing both the subconsious and conscious realities, joined and working together. The woman commissioning this painting really loves Door Number 11, though, so she requested more of a faery feel to Temperance. She looks kind of like a psychedelic rock and roll flower child faery, with orange and black, Celtic butterfly monarch wings (edged in silver) and a yellow heart halo.
Water features heavily in this card, not just in the pond, but also because the woman/angel/faery traditionally pours water from one vessel into another. Ideas of balance, flow, harmony and fulfillment come to mind. The water is all coded with Runes for Flow. and the mountain has an extra UR Rune on it, suggesting the moving of mountains. To the upper right there is a downward pointing triangle and then a Rune, which is associated with Zion. That one just insisted on being there, so I put it in. It’s called Anis and also symbolizes: “Stand Still and Movement, Still Point in Heart, Zen, Zion, Pulsar Star, Falcon, Hummingbird, Parting the Waters, Walking on Water, Pulse, Transistor.”
In addition, I added quotes evoking overflowing cups, and an excerpt from Psalm 23 on the back amplifies this effect:
I got rid of any negative references to enemies or struggles and wrote out this:
“The Lord is my shepherd,
I have everything I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths…
You prepare a feast for me…
You welcome me as a guest,
anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love
will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
Forever.”
(I also turned the 3 in 23 into an Om.)
The coding down the sides of the “threshold” says in Runes: “Have you beauty that leads the heart [down the left side, and heart is an actual heart-shape] to the Holy Mountain” [down the right side] … This is extracted from a Kahlil Gibran question, but I’ve written it as a command, and ended it with a Wunjo Rune (which looks like a P), thus anchoring it as a spell. Wunjo is sort of like saying, “So be it.” So the threshold is “commanding” the subconscious to have beauty that leads the heart to the Holy Mountain. Wunjo also stands for fulfillment and joy. I was happy to hear back from the patron that the “door” is already having that effect in her life:
“I wanted to mention that I also have some great, unplanned, spur of the moment pics of the kids admiring your painting. It was so sweet; I was in the kitchen doing dishes and hear them chatting away and I come to peak into my office to see their two cute bottoms facing the picture and touching it gently and discussing what is happening with the woman, etc… SO ADORABLE! I just took some pics of them. Some got posed when they learned I was there but it was so beautiful with them checking it out and the fall leaves and fall scenery in the background. A vision I will always remember…so special!”
I coded the Sun in the card with Runes for passion, spark and heat. The grass has flowers that are Runes for “create a new universe” and “power to move forward.” The grass itself is textured with Runes for “prosperity” and “movable wealth.” I put in stars, which are a repeat of the “create a new universe” Rune, as well as a Cho Ku Rei symbol in the sky and a giant Rainbow. I clothed the faery angel because the patron has young children, and her dress is covered in Runes and hearts. You can’t really see the Runes in the dress, but the subconscious registers and responds to them.
The bottom quote is also by Kahlil Gibran: “And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.” Both quotes are from The Prophet.
I thoroughly enjoyed painting my first porta-portal and recognize this as a way of opening up more opportunities for people to receive customized “doors,” whether I come in person or just customize from afar. In either case, I love using my intuition to find just the right images, Runes, quotes, intentions and symbols to bring forth what the patron most wants and needs and also to offer these gifts as larger intentions for the world. Many thanks to this family for requesting such an unusual project. And Happy Birthday! 11/11 marks a very special birthday for the patron, so this portal arrived just in time for that portal birthday. Namaste!
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