The Myth of the Ninth Wave .......!

Sea Swell Swoosh

Watching the movement of the sea, tides ebbing and flowing is hypnotic and fascinating, I could watch it for hours. 

As a Celt I love the idea of the Ninth Wave, which when passed is the entrance to the Otherworld realm of gods, kings, shapeshifters and fairies. The notion of the Ninth Wave (or Seventh) is also to be found in seaman's lore; sometimes known as the Captain's Wave, it is believed that waves flow in series, the ninth being the strongest, it poses a challenge and when mastered is the passing of a threshold. The Mayan culture is also familiar with the Ninth Wave, the Ninth Wave of consciousness. The Tsunami made people aware of the massive and destructive power of the sea and the idea that "rogue waves"  (powerful, tsunami-like waves) which are believed to be caused by this build up of sets of waves, is common lore, though also acknowledged by some scientists.. The surfer scene is also familiar with the idea of the "Ninth Wave" being the strongest and most powerful. Coming full circle, when painting my pastel painting Sea Swell Swoosh (try saying that after a gin or two!) I was listening to Kate Bush (she always gets me into the zone!) and guess what ........ there are a set of tracks on the Hounds of Love known as "the Ninth Wave", they are my favourite. 

This pastel painting is framed and hanging in my living room, I mentioned in the past wanting to plop a pastel painting into a frame and flat bang onto the glass to see what happens! In a year I'm going to open the frame and see what effect this type of framing has had, until then I'm sure a lot of ninth waves will have to be passed.