The Serpent in alchemy is associated with Mercurius, Kundalini, the Secret Fire, and the Life-Force energy that creates and sustains all of creation. To awaken this energy is to raise consciousness out of matter and to reconnect it with the Divine--to be embedded in and embraced by the Divine.

The dragon, or serpent, does not directly represent this Living Spirit. Instead, it is the vessel in which the Secret Fire is contained--us. Only when the dragon devours itself and dies, our ego-self dissolves, is Spirit released in the form of dragon's blood, which is the sought-after Philosopher's Stone, and we merge back into the ocean of wholeness.

The sub-title was inspired by the song "2 Oceans" by Trevor Hall x Marieme. It came on in the studio just as I was finishing the painting. And I thought, 'yes, that is the meaning of the painting'.