north-east

Direction: North-East
Element: Earth and Fire
Concepts: hope

Earth and Fire have shown me and given me the gift of having hope. When Pandora opened her box, which within contained all the plagues of humanity she quickly struggled to close it. When she did finally end up getting it closed, the only thing kept in the box, was hope. It was noted through this that thankfully Pandora kept hope. For if we lose hope, then all is lost. I have learned and therefore I strive to keep hope alive and strong in my personal life… and when I can… in others.

However, I have also learned not to have blind hope. When a Cheetah is hunting a Zebra it only has a certain chance of catching that prey. If the Zebra outruns or evades it, then the Cheetah has lost that chance. Nature in this teaches us not to keep chasing the same Zebra that keeps escaping our clutches. For even the mighty and fast Cheetah gives up hope in catching it when it learns it can’t. For while the Cheetah may have hope in catching her prey, she also knows when to give up, otherwise she will die herself. Learning when to give up and let go is a very hard lesson I have had to learn quite a few times through different methods in my lifetime. A painful one, but one I am glad to have finally learned, for I have been close to killing myself over the hunt many times as well.

The symbol for the North East panel therefore is that of the constellation of the Phoenix. The Phoenix is also known as the firebird. A mythical bird of rebirth who consistently died, but though though the power of fire was always reborn. The Phoenix for me symbolizes hope, as hope is eternal and always reborn. However, given conscience, it knows when to make the appropriate choices and take the appropriate actions. Therefore showing while hope is eternal, it’s not stupid. The Phoenix also fits well within this location of Earth and Fire; for through Fire it is reborn, but like Earth it is stable, strong and eternal.

The constellation was chosen instead of an actual portrayal because stars are a secondary symbol of hope for me. Within each star, like each grain of sand (Neverending Story) is the hope of the entire universe. Each star, each moment, each second, has infinite potential.

technical info
dimensions: 2.5” x 2.5”