Challenge 130: Zodiacs: Virgo Libra
I struggled a lot with this one. I'm not very into astrology or the zodiac, given that I didn't identify much with my sign, Libra. I read up on this quite a bit before coming up with an idea, and apparently if you're following the zodiac properly, there is a 13th sign and that adjusts everyone else a little, making me instead a Virgo. I was right on the line anyway, and because I was born late, I'm pretty sure I was supposed to be a Virgo. So, I combined the both of them in this simple illustration of a woman with a headdress of wheat (Virgo) and the sun and moon in a scale, coming from the headpiece.
The decorative bit at the base is inspired by Babylonian art, since the Zodiac originated there. Fun fact that I ended up not using in the art: the constellation we now know as Virgo was originally associated with the Babylonian goddess of wheat and compassion, Shala. She carried a double-headed mace and/or scimitar (sword) and sometimes was riding two lionesses. From one culture to the next, her name has changed (Demeter, Ceres, Virgin Mary) but a lot of the traits associated with her have stayed.Libra was associated with the Babylonian sun god Utu, later known as Shamash, who rode his chariot across the sky each day... sound familiar? It's incredible how each culture poaches these concepts from the ones before it and acts like it's a totally unique concept. Anyway, my art has nothing to do with that but I thought it was interesting!
Caitlin
