The Alchemical Sovereign
Reading from The New Jerusalem
Article voiceover
This evening I will be reading to you. The work below by Leonardo da Vinci was my inspiration. I saw it myself before it was auctioned and stood before it alone, and these words came to me which I am reading to you.
Wishing all a good evening.
Here you are again with a beautiful reading, and your timing couldn’t be more fitting. I’ve been listening to this in a loop as I’m receiving an infusion of a not easy medicine and having a bad migraine.
Thank you so much, Patti, and thanks to everyone here for sharing in the alchemical reaction.
As ever,
Robin
Having just finished reading The Divine Comedy this morning, 'the holy city is within us' particularly resonated with me. Walter Isaacson, in his biography of Leonardo, points out that the sphere doesn’t distort what is behind it in the way a glass circle would in the material world. The sphere is perfect and helps reveal the perfection of Leonardo's Jesus. Your line 'staring into the sphere of crystal, we beheld ourselves' speaks to this work perfectly. Alchemy is the making of gold from baser materials, of pure spirit from mortal flesh. Your poem sings of that liberation. What an inspiring start to the evening.