John baptizing Christ 

Claricia crafted this illumination of ‘John Baptizing Christ’ around 1200, a dance of ancient symbols rendered anew. At its heart, the dove, a timeless messenger, descends. Note how this image echoes through epochs – from the doves of Aphrodite, symbols of love and rebirth, to its Christian guise as the Holy Spirit. Observe the fish teeming at Christ’s feet. In these waters, we see an early echo of the Greek word "ichthys," an acrostic for "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior." In early Christian art, the fish served as a coded symbol, a secret handshake amongst believers. Consider the hand of God reaching down, a motif that surfaces again and again, across cultures, signifying divine intervention. Its persistence speaks to our collective yearning for connection with a higher power. Symbols, you see, are never truly born or dead. Like the waters of baptism, they are in constant flux, rippling through time.