Alchemy is the Transubstantiation of Matter back into Spirit. The Rose Window, in the vessel of the Cathedral, is the locus of the Opus - the Athanorian furnace within which the transformation can take place and where the Universe "which neither exists entirely in the slime of the earth nor entirely in the purity of Heaven" can "by the grace of God be transported from this inferior to that higher world." The center of such places is what Danté called "the point of rest," the Punto Fijo, the G-Spot - typologically speaking - it's the Little Man in the Boat. Which in its Profane sense needs no explanation but which in its Sacred sense connotes both "self awareness" and "self delight." In the center of the universe, both macro & micro, as in the center of the Cathedral - its Rose Window - lies the creative force of the Cosmos - here offered as a juicy gift to those who understand and who can still reunite the place of emergence with the grave truths of destiny.

On a beautiful 45th Parallel kind of Autumn day we hung the finished piece on the beach near a long cool bay. We had to erect a pole first from which to hang the window & JackyO painted the Monkey & its Peach & then suddenly it was done. So we had a party and many people came and marvelled. Though some may have been more intoxicated than actually marvelling. All that's left to do now is to find a place to hang it & a means to hang it by. We plan this for the summer of 2004.

The Sevillian woman is holding a savagely textured Gold & Emerald Green plate from Sevillarte. The Peacock plate is Italian. Both now hang on Skippy's walls. In the Post-Post Modern world art has colonized our spaces like a virus. The argument rages on whether or not this is good for art or us.

Fulcanelli, in his book "Le Mystère des Cathédrales," reminds us that "All churches have their apse turned towards the south-east, their front towards the north-west, while the transepts, forming the arms of the cross, are directed to the north-east and the south-west. That is the invariable orientation, intended in such a fashion that the faithful and profane, entering the church by the west, walk straight to the sanctuary facing the direction in which the sun rises, i.e. the Orient, Palestine, cradle of Christianity. They leave the shadows and walk towards the light."

IwoJima is the Tip of the Spear for Kenny La Roche. He's our hard-charger. More than once he has trampled poor Skippy because he had stopped to breathe. IwoJima does our Chainsaw Art & he also makes finials from diverse materials to crown our creations. He's an excellent Musician as well and currently plays keyboards with the band Pocket Groove. Like the Captain, IwoJima lives off the grid in a house he is building himself (this year he's added heat and no longer has to sleep thru Michigan winters in a Blue Box). He's also the father of the Celtic Girls who run Kejara's Bridge, one of the best venues for Folk & Alternative Rock musicians. Sometimes IwoJima investigates disasters for FEMA and that gives him his Black Irish senses of humor.

Continue to Page 8 Rose Window Mission