Surrender (II): The Language of Symbols
This drawing started as a thumbnail sketch during a brainstorming session: a woman lying on a riverbank, her hair flowing in the water. Unconsciously, I drew her surroundings as a safe, secret haven, a place guarding her while she lay vulnerable, eyes closed, lost in a meditative state. The image took hold of me, sparking excitement. I knew the mood and atmosphere I wanted to create.
What I didn’t know yet was the depth of symbolism it held.
I’ve always been fascinated by the way our minds work. Even without clear intention, meaning found its way into this drawing. When I began looking into it, I discovered that the symbols I had intuitively drawn - the flowing hair, the water, the stars - carried layers of ancient connections.
“Surrender” is about that threshold between fear and trust - between unraveling and renewal. It’s a reminder that peace often finds us only after we release the need to know what comes next. Real change asks for acceptance.
For me, this drawing is about embracing the uncertainty of change. It taught me patience, to trust my intuition, and to fear a little less.
Details
A4 size (21×29.7 cm): Limited edition of 50 prints. Print size: 18.7×27.7 cm, for a 30×40 cm frame, 20×28.7 cm passe-partout
A3 size (29.7×42 cm): Limited edition of 35 prints. Print size: 26.5×37 cm, for a 40×50 cm frame, 28×38 cm passe-partout
Printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® 308 gsm, 100% cotton paper
Acid and lignin-free, museum quality for highest age resistance
Signed and numbered on the front of the print
Includes a signed Certificate of Authenticity
Shipping
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Estimated delivery: please allow 10-20 business days for travel time depending on your location.
Local pickup available in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Important Notes
Please note that colors may vary slightly due to different screen and device settings.
Hair and water
Hair, in many traditions, is a thread to vitality, identity, and the soul, a bridge between inner and outer worlds.
Water is life and cleansing, but also the element of dreams, intuition, and the unseen.
Together they become a conduit for transformation.
In Greek mythology, water nymphs are often depicted with long, flowing hair that resembles water streams. Their hair is sometimes described as symbolizing their connection to rivers, lakes, or springs, where they reside.
Rusalki are water spirits in Slavic folklore, often depicted as women with long, flowing hair who dwell in lakes or rivers. Their hair is seen as an extension of their watery nature and is said to hold power, sometimes symbolizing their ethereal or haunting beauty.
The goddess Ganga, the personification of the sacred Ganges River, is often depicted with her long hair representing the river itself.
In Shinto traditions, washing the hair in flowing water is a symbolic act of purification and renewal. This connects hair, water, and spiritual cleansing, linking personal renewal to universal cycles.
In Navajo tradition, hair represents life force and personal identity, with rituals surrounding hair care that often involve water. Washing or braiding hair is symbolic of cleansing and aligning oneself with natural cycles, connecting the feminine power of hair to water and the broader balance of the universe.
The cosmic river
In some Indigenous cultures, the Milky Way has been described as the flowing hair of a celestial being, connecting the heavens to the earth. The strands of stars resemble hair, cascading across the Universe.
Many cultures view the rivers on Earth as mirrors of cosmic rivers or celestial currents. Long, flowing hair in myths often bridges the earthly and the divine, symbolizing a thread of connection to the universe’s fluid, eternal nature.
In Egyptian mythology, the goddess Nut, who arches over the earth adorned with stars, is said to carry the night sky in her hair — an endless veil between the known and the unknown. Her flowing hair becomes the threshold between worlds.
In Diné cosmology, the Milky Way is called the Path of the Holy People, representing a sacred highway in the universe. It was created by Black God during the formation of the cosmos, who spread stars across the sky. The glittering trail of the Milky Way is said to guide spirits and beings through the universe.
Hair plays a symbolic role in Diné tradition as well, representing spiritual alignment with the universe. The act of braiding hair is likened to weaving harmony within one’s life.
The embodiment of Nigredo
In alchemy, Nigredo marks the beginning of transformation — the stage of blackness, decay, and dissolution. It is when everything familiar disintegrates, and the self is reduced to its essence. The alchemists saw it as a necessary death: the breaking down of form so that something new could eventually emerge.
It’s not a comfortable phase. It feels like losing direction, identity, even meaning. But this darkness isn’t a void, it’s a fertile ground, where the old dissolves to make space for the new.
Nigredo asks us to release the illusion of control and to accept the unknown.
The Lesson of “Surrender”
“Surrender”, to me, has become a guide in the past months, teaching me the courage to stop forcing outcomes, to let things unfold in their own rhythm, to accept the uncertainty of change.
This lesson of acceptance has shown up in my life in so many ways lately that I’m starting to believe it’s refusing to let me move forward until I truly embody it. I’m still working on it, but I hear it loud and clear!
I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into the symbolism behind my drawing.
Until next time, with love,
Adina 🖤
