### Oil, Egg Tempera & 23.5k Gold Leaf on Linen by Aloria Weaver 
[![aloria krabjab 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmS5opzunV1rqcX1fSXdU7vUQVosqA7A7PQVRiBGo1MLoV/aloria%20krabjab%202.jpg)](http://aloriaweaver.com/narrative/)
*Featured image for the Modern Symbolists exhibition in Seattle, WA in August 2017.*

**Integrity is a state of being whole** *(from the Latin, integritas / integer, meaning intact and complete in itself)*, but can also denote being honest or having strong moral principles.  There’s a somewhat antonymous or antithetical implication here: that one who has been pierced (whether physically or metaphorically) is, in a sense, made more whole, more of an autonomous sovereign being, having been liberated from the projections of external perceptions.  This is self-referential authenticity, a state of being in accordance with, or in integrity with the self.  The veil of obscuration; the concealing cloud of confusion, uncertainty and un-truth which seems to define the modern era, can be penetrated by a dedication to personal integrity and truth.

The ouroboros (the serpent devouring its own tail) is a symbol of wholeness and completion, but also represents an alchemical process of transformation from the One Thing, to its higher or more rarified state of being.  It denotes unity, just as the eastern symbol of yin and yang illustrates seemingly diametrically opposed forces, yet they are not not contradictory, as each is contained within the other, in a perpetual cycle of death and renewal which is ultimately balanced.

[![AW Integrity Alicia 1 copy.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeWCHs5iUQjZVrAFUxKvqoyxwterrvrSki9eMWg9ME9EN/AW%20Integrity%20Alicia%201%20copy.jpg)](https://steemit.com/@luminousflux)
*Finished drawing & gilding*

[![AW Integrity Alicia 2 copy.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSvoiG4be4pspbnvbY98HDUZ4pGNNKEfJvYXRceTT4r3S/AW%20Integrity%20Alicia%202%20copy.jpg)](https://steemit.com/@luminousflux)
*Monochrome underpainting*

[![AW Integrity Alicia 3 copy.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmevhQJJgFroWK31mTpvCmHomxRHXg3pdCYbn2Hdr6dcVr/AW%20Integrity%20Alicia%203%20copy.jpg)](https://steemit.com/@luminousflux)
*Finished painting: 22x28"*

### [More Art & Commentary from @luminousflux on Steemit](https://steemit.com/art/@luminousflux/mona-prima-integration-of-opposite-approaches-to-painting)