The Atlas · every figure, ground and sky AION draws

The seven figures — what the inscription is

The intent chooses the figure, and the figure is the subject of the plate. An earlier version of this system had it the other way round: time chose everything and meaning got a colour, so a love letter and a notarised contract were the same picture in two hues. Each figure carries its own silhouette, because twelve radially symmetric discs read as one shape from across a room. Every plate below is the same moment and the same seed — only the meaning changes.

TO THE COSMOS — a burst of rays that runs off the edge of the plate — **TO THE COSMOS**a burst of rays that runs off the edge of the plate intent 0 · TO THE COSMOS

TO MY FUTURE SELF — two circles — one solid, one dashed — facing each other across a gap — **TO MY FUTURE SELF**two circles — one solid, one dashed — facing each other across a gap intent 1 · TO MY FUTURE SELF

TO MY LOVE — a vesica, two circles overlapping, with a small body orbiting each — **TO MY LOVE**a vesica, two circles overlapping, with a small body orbiting each intent 2 · TO MY LOVE

TO MY CHILD — an open dome sheltering a single small light — **TO MY CHILD**an open dome sheltering a single small light intent 3 · TO MY CHILD

A VOW — a woven knot with no loose end — **A VOW**a woven knot with no loose end intent 4 · A VOW

NOTARISED — a ruled tablet with a struck seal at one corner — **NOTARISED**a ruled tablet with a struck seal at one corner intent 5 · NOTARISED

STAR MAP — a field of stars over a horizon, crossed by the ecliptic — **STAR MAP**a field of stars over a horizon, crossed by the ecliptic intent 6 · STAR MAP

The twelve grounds — the moment it was made in

The month chooses the ground: the field the figure is set into, drawn from the Achaemenid vocabulary the whole project takes its face from — an astrolabe, a ziggurat seen from above, a Persepolis stele, a cylinder seal unrolled. Every plate below is the same figure under the same sky; only the month moves. Look closely, and expect to. The ground is deliberately the quieter layer — the figure is the subject and the ground is the room it stands in, so it is drawn faint and behind. It is shown here through the smallest of the seven figures for that reason; under a Cosmos burst most of these are invisible.

ASTROLABE — concentric rings, ticks, a bearing hand — **ASTROLABE**concentric rings, ticks, a bearing hand month 1 · January

SPIRAL — a single line winding out from the heart — **SPIRAL**a single line winding out from the heart month 2 · February

MANDALA — n-fold petals — **MANDALA**n-fold petals month 3 · March

ZIGGURAT — stepped terraces, seen from above — **ZIGGURAT**stepped terraces, seen from above month 4 · April

ORBIT — nested ellipses at inclination — **ORBIT**nested ellipses at inclination month 5 · May

LATTICE — a woven tablet — **LATTICE**a woven tablet month 6 · June

ECLIPSE — two discs and a corona — **ECLIPSE**two discs and a corona month 7 · July

COLUMN — a Persepolis stele — **COLUMN**a Persepolis stele month 8 · August

RIPPLE — concentric arcs, struck off-centre — **RIPPLE**concentric arcs, struck off-centre month 9 · September

CROWN — rays of alternating length — **CROWN**rays of alternating length month 10 · October

CYLINDER — an impressed seal, unrolled — **CYLINDER**an impressed seal, unrolled month 11 · November

CONSTELLATION — the field itself, nodes and edges — **CONSTELLATION**the field itself, nodes and edges month 12 · December

The twelve signs — the constellation the sun stood in

In the top-left corner of every plate is the creature the sun was standing among when the declaration was made. It is taken from the month and the day, because a sign does not begin on the 1st: the plate for 22 October carries Libra and the one for 23 October carries Scorpio. Two other versions were drawn and thrown away — the abstract symbol, which reads as a typeface, and the real star pattern, which is true and costs a tenth as much but says a constellation rather than the ram. Bodies are outlines and appendages are fills throughout, which is what makes twelve separate drawings read as one family.

ARIES — The ram, horns sweeping low and wide with the tips curling back up — **ARIES**The ram, horns sweeping low and wide with the tips curling back up top left · 04/04

TAURUS — The bull head-on, horns lifting off the brow and out — **TAURUS**The bull head-on, horns lifting off the brow and out top left · 05/05

GEMINI — The twins, mirrored and joined at the arms — the joining is the sign — **GEMINI**The twins, mirrored and joined at the arms — the joining is the sign top left · 06/05

CANCER — The crab, claws held up and forward where they can be seen to be claws — **CANCER**The crab, claws held up and forward where they can be seen to be claws top left · 07/06

LEO — The lion inside its mane, and the ears that keep it from being a sun — **LEO**The lion inside its mane, and the ears that keep it from being a sun top left · 08/06

VIRGO — The maiden, and the ear of wheat that Spica is named for — **VIRGO**The maiden, and the ear of wheat that Spica is named for top left · 09/06

LIBRA — The scales, the beam hung rather than welded, the pans swinging — **LIBRA**The scales, the beam hung rather than welded, the pans swinging top left · 10/05

SCORPIO — The scorpion, segmented, its tail arched over its back to the sting — **SCORPIO**The scorpion, segmented, its tail arched over its back to the sting top left · 11/05

SAGITTARIUS — The bow at full draw, the string bent where the arrow sits — **SAGITTARIUS**The bow at full draw, the string bent where the arrow sits top left · 12/05

CAPRICORN — The sea-goat: a goat's head and beard, and the fish tail curled below — **CAPRICORN**The sea-goat: a goat's head and beard, and the fish tail curled below top left · 01/05

AQUARIUS — The water-bearer's amphora, and the water beneath it — **AQUARIUS**The water-bearer's amphora, and the water beneath it top left · 02/04

PISCES — Two fish swimming apart, tied at the tails by a cord — **PISCES**Two fish swimming apart, tied at the tails by a cord top left · 03/05

The twelve skies — the hour

The hour chooses the palette, two hours to each, midnight round to deep night. Nothing else in the system changes colour: the metal, its soft highlight, the three sky bands and the starlight all come from here. Every plate below is the same figure on the same ground; only the hour moves.

MIDNIGHT — metal #8fa3c8 on #060911 — **MIDNIGHT**metal #8fa3c8 on #060911 hours 00:00–01:59

THE WAITING — metal #7f8fd0 on #080a19 — **THE WAITING**metal #7f8fd0 on #080a19 hours 02:00–03:59

FIRST LIGHT — metal #a897b8 on #0c0a1c — **FIRST LIGHT**metal #a897b8 on #0c0a1c hours 04:00–05:59

DAWN — metal #e0a08c on #150b14 — **DAWN**metal #e0a08c on #150b14 hours 06:00–07:59

MORNING — metal #e6bd7f on #150e09 — **MORNING**metal #e6bd7f on #150e09 hours 08:00–09:59

HIGH SUN — metal #e8c877 on #161108 — **HIGH SUN**metal #e8c877 on #161108 hours 10:00–11:59

ZENITH — metal #f2e2b0 on #1a1810 — **ZENITH**metal #f2e2b0 on #1a1810 hours 12:00–13:59

AFTERNOON — metal #d4ad4f on #151008 — **AFTERNOON**metal #d4ad4f on #151008 hours 14:00–15:59

GOLDEN HOUR — metal #e09442 on #180d07 — **GOLDEN HOUR**metal #e09442 on #180d07 hours 16:00–17:59

DUSK — metal #cf7a52 on #160a13 — **DUSK**metal #cf7a52 on #160a13 hours 18:00–19:59

EVENING — metal #a98bff on #0e0a1e — **EVENING**metal #a98bff on #0e0a1e hours 20:00–21:59

DEEP NIGHT — metal #7fb0c8 on #050a13 — **DEEP NIGHT**metal #7fb0c8 on #050a13 hours 22:00–23:59