In this painting the figure has become stone; she is suffering. She wants to give expression to her instinctual side but this means being subject to it.

This rock is composed of hematite, which means blood-like stone. Her eye is a star, the planet Venus. Below her is the jewel, the diamond (see detail). The moon hovers like a watchful presence. The moon is the inner mother. It is another symbol for the feminine side of God.

In alchemy we are told a planet, which symbolizes the soul, is imprisoned in the earth by God. For the purpose of transformation, the soul is fixed in the earth so she cannot flee. It is a kind of seizure by the deity or sometimes a voluntary seclusion. In one story she is locked up in a mountain. There is a similar idea in the Grail legend where it is said there is a mountain where Venus lives in the Grail.

The Grail is also the blood or spiritual essence and here that is expressed by the blood stones. The Sophia energy as the blood and the Grail connects it to the heart. It expresses the healing or whole-making effect of a certain kind of Eros or relatedness. It is an Eros or love combined with insight and understanding.

This understanding or awareness is essential because there are times when one must simply suffer and do nothing, especially when it is a question of redeeming the feminine. But you must be aware of why you are suffering, what the value is in it. Redemption of the feminine means redemption of the divinity of the instincts, seeing their Sophia wisdom. It is seeing what they are trying to offer you, the jewel, and, at the same time, not being overwhelmed by them. In her non-action, she becomes a sort of container, a Grail.