Picasso's Guernica

Sunday I was shown Picasso's Guernica and I have to say that it is one of the most amazing things that I have ever seen. It has left me speechless and awestruck. I have never really been a huge fan of Picasso's work before but that is definitely changing. When I look at this famous painting, I see a representation of the Dionysus and his Bacchae, specifically during their initiation practices.  In this picture, I see pain, suffering, and wailing women. Those are some of the basic imagery that comes to mind when reading about Dionysus and his followers. However, when this was painted Picasso was trying to portray war but I think that war and initiations are very similar. Both are a fight between two parties, there is always a victor, there is always pain and suffering, and after it is over, something new has been created. To go through an initiation is to go through a war within oneself to create a new level of existence. In Picasso's work, I can see that it is the middle of the war but that the new world/existence for the wailing women is getting closer. This representation of war is a beautiful piece of work, though it is gruesome and terrifying. Ancient initiations are the same way. There is beauty in all of the rituals and ceremonies even when they are horrifically painful and terrible to watch. The beauty comes through the knowledge that after the process is completed, something wonderful will be there. We have discussed the birth as a type of initiation. People always say that it is one of the most beautiful natural events in the universe. But it is also bloody, painful, and not that much fun to watch (I'm guessing). At least it isn't until the end when you know that it is almost over and everything that had been worked for and fought for was about to become a reality. It is the same with initiation practices. Initiations manage to be horrifically beautiful as is war and birth.