Remedios Varo

Who They Were

Spanish-Mexican surrealist painter whose mystical, alchemical, and deeply symbolic works explore transformation, the feminine, and the quest for transcendence. Fleeing fascism and war, Varo found in Mexico a home where she could paint the landscapes of the soul—laboratories of the spirit where women alchemists, astronomers, and travelers navigate between worlds.

The Alchemical Painter

Historical Context: Born in Spain, Remedios was trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid. She became involved with surrealism in Barcelona and Paris, fleeing to Mexico in 1941 during WWII. In Mexico City, she found community with fellow surrealist exile Leonora Carrington and began her most significant work. Her paintings feature alchemical laboratories, mystical machines, transforming figures, and voyages into unknown dimensions.

Core Teachings: Remedios' alchemy teaches: 1) The laboratory as soul-space—her paintings show rooms where alchemical transformation occurs. The internal is externalized; the invisible is made visible. 2) Process of transformation—figures in her work are often mid-transformation: becoming birds, emerging from walls, weaving themselves into existence. Nothing is static. 3) The hermetic worldview—her paintings assume correspondence between above and below, inner and outer. They are visual Hermeticism. 4) Feminine alchemy—her alchemists are usually women. She reclaimed alchemy as feminine work—transformation, nurturance, creation.

Esoteric Significance: Remedios' art reveals: 1) Visual occultism—she painted what esoteric texts describe: the Great Work, astral travel, psychic transformation. Her art is illustrated hermeticism. 2) Exile as initiation—driven from home by war, she transformed exile into opportunity. Initiation often requires displacement. 3) The feminine magician—her women are not passive but agents: spinning, building, navigating, transforming. Feminine power is creative power. 4) The imaginal realm—her paintings depict what Henry Corbin called the 'imaginal'—not imaginary, but the objective realm accessed through imagination.

Practical Applications: 1) Study her paintings—let them work on you visually. What transformations do they suggest for you? 2) Visualize your laboratory—what does your inner alchemical space look like? In meditation, explore it. 3) Honor exile—if displacement has been part of your life, see it as initiatory. What wisdom came from being uprooted? 4) Create transformation art—if you make art, consider making process, transformation, and becoming your subjects.

The Feminine Quest: Women Voyagers and Seekers

Historical Context: Remedios' paintings frequently feature women on journeys: navigating mysterious vehicles, climbing towers, sailing through space, arriving at destinations both strange and meaningful. Unlike much surrealism where women are objects or muses, Remedios' women are subjects—questers, scientists, magicians, explorers. They have agency; they seek transformation.

Core Teachings: The feminine quest teaches: 1) Women as seekers—her paintings affirm that the spiritual quest is open to women. The heroine's journey is as valid as the hero's. 2) Travel as transformation—the journey transforms the traveler. Movement through space is movement through consciousness. 3) Vehicles of consciousness—her strange boats, carts, and machines are vehicles of inner travel. The mode of transportation matters. 4) Arrival and departure—her figures often arrive somewhere or depart from somewhere. Life is navigation between states.

Esoteric Significance: The feminine quest reveals: 1) The heroine's journey—Maureen Murdock and others have articulated the heroine's journey as distinct from the hero's. Remedios anticipated this visually. 2) Inner dimensions mapped—her paintings are maps of inner geography. Where she shows, you can travel. 3) The solitary feminine—her women often journey alone. Spiritual development may require solitude, even from intimate relationships. 4) Return from the quest—some paintings show arrival, homecoming. The quest completes; the traveler brings wisdom back.

Practical Applications: 1) See yourself as quester—whatever your gender, claim the seeker's role. You are on a journey. 2) Consider your vehicle—what practice, tradition, or method is your vehicle? Is it appropriate to your journey? 3) Honor solitude—spiritual development may require times of being alone. Don't fear solitary passages. 4) Anticipate arrival—the quest has a goal. What would arriving look like for you?

Friendship and Female Creative Community

Historical Context: In Mexico City, Remedios formed a deep creative and spiritual friendship with Leonora Carrington, fellow surrealist painter and exile. They explored occultism together, invented private mythology, supported each other's work, and influenced each other's art. This friendship was central to both women's greatest creative periods. Together they studied Kabbalah, alchemy, Gurdjieff's teachings, and other esoteric traditions.

Core Teachings: The friendship teaches: 1) Creative partnership—their friendship enhanced both women's creativity. Collaboration amplifies individual capacity. 2) Shared exploration—they explored occultism together, learning and discussing. Spiritual education can be mutual. 3) Feminine art communities—they created a space for feminine creativity outside male-dominated surrealism. Women supporting women. 4) Play and seriousness—their relationship included playful invention alongside serious study. Lightness and depth coexist.

Esoteric Significance: The friendship reveals: 1) The spiritual friend—traditions recognize the kalyana mitta (spiritual friend) as essential. Remedios and Leonora embodied this. 2) Shared gnosis—together they knew more than either knew alone. Knowledge can be genuinely collective. 3) Creative magic—their playful mythology-making was magical practice. Imagination shapes reality. 4) Women's lineages—their friendship created a feminine artistic lineage influencing many later artists.

Practical Applications: 1) Find your Leonora—seek creative and spiritual friendships. Who might be your co-explorer? 2) Create together—collaborative creation can exceed individual effort. Make art, explore ideas, invent with others. 3) Be playful—serious spiritual work includes play. Remedios and Leonora invented games, languages, stories. 4) Honor creative friendship—recognize how your friendships have shaped your development. Acknowledge your influences.