This is a work of digital medievalism – a “rose window” constructed by ancient geometric principles (in CorelDraw, as it happens), incorporating digital camera images of actual roses instead of stained glass.
I have written an article (Constructing a Digital Rose Window) which sets out step-by-step how I did created this piece.
After I had made the piece I realized that parts of it were quite “fiery”, and therefore suitable for a dedication to the Celtic saint Brigid. I had been thinking about making an icon of Brigid because, not long before, I had performed a ceremony for myself which used the symbolism of Brigid (along with Mary and the archangel Michael, three favourites of the collection of Scottish prayers known as Carmina Gadelica), and had found it significantly healing.
The rose window (or the symbol of a rose generally, particularly if it is white) is often associated with Mary; the roundness also has a feminine association, and my ceremony dealt with my relationship as a male to the feminine.
You could think of the inner section (the three white roses layered on and within one another) as relating to Mary, the fiery squares and trefoils to Brigid (whose triple nature was as smith, poet and healer) and the outer, protecting golden elements to the guardian Michael. The Trinity is, of course, woven in there too in the recurrence of the number three.
I may yet do the icon, but in the meantime, I dedicate the Rose Window in a prayer based on the style of the Carmina Gadelica:
In the light of the Creator,
In the love of Christ,
In the life of the Spirit,
I dedicate this window.
To Mary the Mother,
To Brigid the Healer,
To Michael the Champion,
I dedicate this window.
Under the moon gentle,
Under the sun generous,
May the light shine through me,
And may I blossom like a rose.
(Originally created in 2006)
Mike Reeves-McMillan lives in Auckland, New Zealand, the setting of his Auckland Allies contemporary urban fantasy series; and also in his head, where the weather is more reliable, and there are a lot more wizards. He also writes the Gryphon Clerks series (steampunk/magepunk), the Hand of the Trickster series (sword-and-sorcery heist capers), and short stories which have appeared in venues such as Compelling Science Fiction and Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores.
