Jacob and the Angel

A little East of Jordan,
Evangelists record,
A Gymnast and an Angel
Did wrestle long and hard —

Till morning touching mountain —
And Jacob, waxing strong,
The Angel begged permission
To Breakfast — to return —

Not so, said cunning Jacob!
"I will not let thee go
Except thou bless me" — Stranger!
The which acceded to —

Light swung the silver fleeces
"Peniel" Hills beyond,
And the bewildered Gymnast
Found he had worsted God!

A little East of Jordan by Emily Dickinson

Feather Pelvis, ink on Japanese paper

Feathers and bone

A feather

A bone

Fragile yet strong

Feathers and bone, ink on Japanese paper

The poison circle

Witches inhaling the smoke from smouldering henbane seeds in mediaeval times reputedly caused the sensation of flying.

Ink on Japanese paper

Belladonna II

In 16th-century Italy, women applied eye drops prepared from deadly nightshade because it dilated the pupil, which was thought to make them look beautiful. Atropine eye drops are still used by ophthalmologists when they dilate a patient’s pupils to get a good view of the retina during an eye exam.

Ink on paper

Belladonna

Belladonna means ‘beautiful woman’ as it was used by Renaissance women to dilate their pupils. Atropa is in reference to Atropos, one of the Three Fates in Greek mythology who snipped the thread of a person’s life and decided their death.

ink drawing on paper

Deady Nightshade or Belladonna

Deadly nightshade is a perennial plant with long, thin branches.

Leaves: oval-shaped, untoothed with smooth edges and pointed ends. They grow on stalks in an alternate pattern and are poisonous.

Flowers: bell-shaped with purple and green colouration, around 2.5–3cm in length.

Fruit: shiny black berries with five sepals visible where the fruit attaches to the plant. The berries are also highly poisonous.

Belladonna, henbane and mandrake plants, ink on Japanese paper