Saturnus Equisetum • Planherbarium linocut paper print

These botanical prints are all part of research done between 2016 and 2018, called Planherbarium: it studies the relationship between plants and planets in astrology, medicine, mythology, usage and folklore.

Saturn, the great oppositor. In the symbolism of the body it corresponds to the liver (where together with Jupiter it performs the alchemy of solve et coagula), the bone system and the knees. Ruler of Capricorn in astrology; known as the great trial, the wise, the austere, the melancholic, the greedy, the conservative, winter and inner frost its reigns.
Horsetail, also known as horsetail, is a plant that is a real living fossil. It is one of the earliest plants on earth, approximately 300 million years old. It grows in earthly spaces of light and air, the stem is criss-crossed by channels filled with air and water, and is held together by a strong mineral sheath; all the elements are thus brought together in a single plant.
Its occult power is to allow the spirit to rise by dissolving psychic rigidities. Since on the physical plane it is also a bone-strengthener (which stands for Saturn), on the soul plane it acts in the same way: it helps to strengthen emotional, spiritual unions and acts on the ruptures caused by rancour, resentment and rivalry. Horsetail possesses the firmness to stimulate the mind, through the soul, to detach itself from thoughts of fear, rancour and greed in order to abandon itself to lightness, which is not superficiality.

This print measuring 35x22cm circa, and is printed in dark green Caligo ink on Favini Materica 250g printmaking paper.
All prints in this limited edition are handmade and handpulled on a press, and each print is signed and numbered.
This a limited edition of 10 prints that will never be reprinted due to the extreme wear and tear of the blocks.

Due to the slightly structured texture of the paper, this print is a bit difficult to print, and is likely to have a bit of "lino noise" and slight variations. This is not to be considered a flaw, but is inherent to the handmade nature of the artwork and process, and a welcome reference to the particular tradition of printing it stems from.