Javid Jah Thelesma (Talisman)

Bronze, polished stainless steel, aluminum, steel & LED lights. 36" W x 36" H x 36" D (72" H when hanging from the ceiling)

The word "talisman" is derived from thelesma, which can be defined as "miraculous work." In the world of traditional cosmology - a lineage dating back to Hermes Trismegistus - a talisman is a "symbol into which something of the power of its prototype has entered, the symbol having been fashioned in a particular cosmic situation (constellation) and with a corresponding spiritual concentration." (Titus Burckhardt, 1967)

In lay terms, this sculpture operates as a talisman, consecrating the essential principles of the zodiac through form and material. The 12-star tunnels are perforated with the vibrations of their associated elements - Fire (triangle), Earth, (square), Air (circle) and Water (pentagon). The sculpture acts as a tool of correspondence between the visible form and invisible prototype of the "houses" of the zodiac - the set of constellations through which the Sun travels during the course of the Solar year. All that remains is a theurgic action on the part of the viewer to enliven the talisman, fermenting the transformation between the invisible influence of the constellation and its condensation in the corporeal state of the human being.