With this piece, “The Ophanim”, I return to my collagist roots. It is a good thing to dip into the well once in awhile, and see where things are going…

I have long been interested in what many call, “Angelic Beings”. These beings have been recorded across cultures around the world, time out of mind. Often, they are shown to have wings, which is probably symbolic on multiple levels. There are reports that they intervene in matters human, during times of crisis and the like.

I am not religious, but I respect the spiritual drive found in most people. One does not have to be religious to have a spiritual path, or viewpoint.

What I find interesting is the symbology, and what it evokes in us collectively, and individually. I would posit that there is a template in all of us that responds to these images found throughout his/herstory, and that there are deep currents running through us all.

Bright Blessings,
Gwyllm

From Wikipedia: The ophanim or ofanim (Heb. “wheels” אוֹפַנִּים ’ōphannīm; singular: אוֹפָן ’ōphān, ofan), also called galgalim (galgallim, גַּלְגַּלִּים – “spheres”, “wheels”, “whirlwinds”; singular: galgal, גַּלְגַּל), refer to the wheels seen in Ezekiel’s vision of the chariot (Hebrew merkabah) in Ezekiel 1:15-21. One of the Dead Sea scrolls (4Q405) construes them as angels; late sections of the Book of Enoch (61:10, 71:7) portray them as a class of celestial beings who (along with the Cherubim and Seraphim) never sleep, but guard the throne of God.
These “wheels” have been associated[by whom?] with Daniel 7:9 (mentioned as galgal, traditionally “the wheels of galgallin”, in “fiery flame” and “burning fire”) of the four, eye-covered wheels (each composed of two nested wheels), that move next to the winged Cherubim, beneath the throne of God. The four wheels move with the Cherubim because the spirit of the Cherubim is in them. The late Second Book of Enoch (20:1, 21:1) also referred to them as the “many-eyed ones”.
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