BY MANO SOTELO

The search for peace has long been expressed through images. Long before philosophical essays or theological debates emerged, humans carved divine symbols into stone and painted their visions of the sacred on cave walls. These expressions were never mere decoration; they externalized inner yearnings, fears, and existential questions, making the invisible visible. Art became a language that connected humanity to the divine, reflecting spiritual quests that words alone could not capture.

For the artist today, the creative act can remain a deeply contemplative process. By creating symbolic art, the artist transforms internal conflicts into visible forms, offering the possibility of resolution. In my own journey writing and illustrating The War in Heaven, I discovered how mythology, philosophy, religion, and art intersect to create a space where the visible and invisible converge, offering both reflection and revelation.

Between Faith and Ideology

Symbolic art, however, is never immune to distortion. While it can inspire devotion, images can also be manipulated and used as tools for propaganda. The line between faith and ideology is perilously thin. Faith opens toward mystery, toward what transcends human grasp, while ideology closes around certainty, using symbols to promote fixed ideas instead of inviting deeper understanding. Sacred imagery has often been misused throughout history to advertise, justify, or enforce power.

In creating symbolic art, the artist must be vigilant not to reduce symbols to mere slogans. The artist’s responsibility is not to deliver answers but to open spaces for inquiry. Mythic structures are not scripts to be blindly followed; they are invitations to wrestle with profound questions of good, evil, suffering, and hope. Just as the biblical Jacob wrestled with the angel “until the break of dawn” (Genesis 32:24, New American Bible), the artist too must wrestle with the image, refusing to let it settle into an easy cliché. In this wrestling, faith resists becoming ideology, and art retains its ability to awaken rather than indoctrinate.

Archetypes as Mirrors of the Soul

Mythic structures endure across cultures and generations because they offer patterns that resonate with the universal human struggle. Archetypes—whether angel, demon, trickster, or hero—embody facets of the psyche that might otherwise remain hidden, representing both the light and shadow within us. Carl Jung argued that archetypes are “the living system of reactions and aptitudes that determine the individual’s life in invisible ways” (Jung 87). By drawing on these mythic figures, artists do more than reproduce symbols—they make visible the internal psychological battles we face.

In The War in Heaven, the conflict between two brothers embodies this archetypal struggle. One seeks indulgence while the other longs for peace. Though framed within the mythic battle of angels and demons, the true conflict takes place within the heart and mind. The fallen angel is not merely an external adversary; it embodies inner turmoil—pride, desire, and despair.

Symbolic art, then, functions as a mirror, helping both the artist and viewer recognize their own conflicts refracted through mythic imagery that speaks directly to the soul.

Art as Contemplation

To compose an image is to slow down and observe form, gesture, and symbol with intention. Each line becomes a mark of attention, and every choice regarding light and shadow is an act of discernment. In this way, drawing becomes not just an act of mark-making, but an act of contemplation. The artist pauses, observes, and reflects on what is being drawn, both on the surface and beneath it.

This meditative process allows the artist to engage with the ineffable, seeking answers not through words but through the abstract language of form. As such, creating symbolic art becomes a sanctuary for introspection, enabling the artist to explore questions of self, faith, and meaning. For example, sketching archetypes—such as an evil spirit—might offer an opportunity to confront one’s temptations, while drawing an archangel could inspire reflection on strength and courage.

As Thomas Merton observed, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time” (Merton 65). This dual process reflects how symbolic art, like the act of drawing the divine, involves both surrendering to mystery and grounding the artist’s attention in the present discipline of the hand. It is through this paradox—both discovering and transcending the self—that the artist finds deeper meaning in their work.

The Image as Bridge

Symbolic art occupies a unique space between the personal and the metaphysical. On one hand, each drawing reflects the artist’s own psyche—their fears, desires, and beliefs. On the other, the image transcends individuality, resonating with viewers who find their own stories within it. This relational aspect of art makes it uniquely suited for moral and spiritual inquiry.

When a viewer encounters an image, such as a drawing of an angel, the experience is never confined to the artist’s intention. The angel may evoke comfort, judgment, awe, or skepticism, depending on the viewer’s own inner landscape. The meaning of the image unfolds in the dynamic exchange between artist and audience. As Joseph Campbell noted, myths “are public dreams, and dreams are private myths” (Campbell 19). Art transforms the private dream into a public myth, where the search for peace becomes a shared endeavor.

Searching for Peace

Peace, in this context, is not the absence of conflict but the capacity to integrate conflict meaningfully. The archetypal struggle between light and darkness persists, but through symbolic art, the conflict becomes bearable, even transformative. By giving form to the formless, the artist externalizes interior turmoil, making it visible and possible to engage with. The act of drawing becomes a gesture of hope—that what is divided may be reconciled, and what is fragmented brought into wholeness.

For me, The War in Heaven was never simply a narrative about angels and demons. It was an exploration of how symbolic images could serve as both mirror and map—revealing inner battles and pointing toward transcendence. In tracing the mythic structure of conflict and redemption, I was also tracing my own search for peace. The images became a prayer, intended to move me beyond both personal and universal human struggles, to a place closer in union with the divine.

In the end, drawing the divine is less about capturing God than about being captured by the attempt. Symbols gesture toward the ineffable, always falling short, yet always pointing beyond themselves. To draw is to acknowledge both limitation and possibility at once. The peace that emerges is not resolution in the conventional sense but a contemplative acceptance that the mystery remains larger than the image. Drawing becomes an opportunity to be in that relational experience.

Works Cited

Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth. Edited by Betty Sue Flowers, Anchor Books, 1991.

Jung, Carl. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Translated by R.F.C. Hull, Princeton University Press, 1981.

Merton, Thomas. No Man Is an Island. Harcourt, 1955.

The New American Bible, Catholic Edition, Thomas Nelson, 2011.

Bio:

Mano Sotelo is a visual artist, author, and educator with over 20 years of experience teaching art in higher education. His artwork has been exhibited in museums across the United States and has received recognition in competitions hosted by The Artist’s Magazine and International Artist Magazine. He has presented at spirituality and arts conferences at the University of Oxford, Harvard Divinity School, and Sapienza University of Rome. For more, visit: www.sotelostudio.com