My mom is pretty into the Virgin mary, from what I understand, and may have written some sort of book or pamphlet about the whole thing. She’ll do that sometimes, my mom, writes books or pamphlets about things. She may or may not have one about saints in general coming out soon. I’ll get back to you.

So, on my walk home from wherever every night, I often notice this weird religious painting, painted on one of those things, those things that people pull down over doors and windows to protect them. They are like slats of metal. They don’t use them anywhere as much as they seem to use them here. Plus, they sometimes will have a weird metal bar in front of them too. I think this is so that you don’t try and drive a truck through them, and steal all the valuables inside or whatever.

Okay, but I didnt come here to write about breaking and entering. I, in fact, came here to write about this Virgin Mary stuff. So, I have been seeing this painting on this metal thing, and its of the Virgin Mary. Its like all kinds of splotchy and hard to make out. Like they never quite finished it really, so the details are really hard to make out, and my mind just sort of invents them when I look at it, and its dark out, so its all pretty easy.

Today, I imagined her to be standing on the back of a dead bird. Specifically, the kind of bird that you would get those old style sailor tattoos of. A sparrow I think. Which, according to my little bit of research, was gotten as protection, and looking towards shore and stuff, cause you start to see birds when you get back towards shore.

So anyway, I was like, damn, thats really cool that she would be standing on the back of this dead bird. Seemed really interesting to me. I have actually looked at this painting a bunch of times, and gone home with the intention of drawing something including this sort of Virgin Mary-esque figure, clothed in the sky. But today finally spurred me into action.

In my initial sketch, she’s standing on this big dead bird, and in her right hand is a bottle with a cork in it, full of sparks. She is holding it in front of her, and I guess the sort of symbolism is implied about her being a vessel of the divine spark. Although it wasn’t my intention originally, but whatever. I joined it with this idea of a girl standing outside at night, holding a bottle of sparks, so thats where it came from. I might still do that version of the picture too, where its just a little girl, you know. Totally innocent, totally mundane seeming. Well, no, just not like this sort of high-handed over the top obviously religious symbolism. Its the cartoon version of that.

Right, so I was like, what will she be holding in her other hand, you know? I figured a weapon would be appropriate. I auditioned mentally a sword, but that seemed all wrong. And then I started drawing, and she was holding a bow, and that was just awesome. And then, I put some arrows clutched also in her fist, and that just fucking cinched it for me. Thats what she’s holding, a big bow and arrow off to the side and kind of behind her. Perfect!

Oh, and there are five stars floating in a circle around her head also. Hm, something about all this actually just reminded me of the Great Seal, you know, on the dollar bill, with the eagle clutching the arrows, and I guess the olive branch (from the official description: “holding in his dexter talon an Olive branch, and in his sinister a bundle of thirteen arrows, all proper, & in his beak a scroll’). Its almost like this Goddess figure has come down and squashed the Great Seal, turned it into a dead sparrow, and stole his arrows. And also, she kind of reminds me of Diana/Artemis. I really like the idea of turning the Virgin Mary into a kind of Cosmic Warrior Queen. That just seems fucking fantastic. I think that must be what she’s supposed to really be. At least part of her maybe.

Anyway, yeah, I’m writing all this to help myself work the symbol out and through me, cause I don’t know what is calling me to it, and have only done some initial sketches. Theres a lot more to be said here. I can tell.