Twelve Zodiacal Animal Deities and Fragmented Thoughts on Nine Cows

Cow’s cry at the dawn of 2021 (Year of the White Cow) was quite piercing. The outcry of the beloved and cherished spiritual animal felt strikingly different this year compared to the past five thousand years. The disparity in the outcry is not unrelated to the rampant pandemic raging all over the world, birthed by modern convenience and prosperity. What is the cow trying to communicate to mankind in the present moment? This article contemplates the history of East Asian twelve zodiacal animal deities and the meaning of the second animal, ‘cow’, in the twelve zodiacal animal deities through nine ceramic artists at Seoul’s “Space Shinseon”.