The past few weeks have been intense for many people. I have seen posts about ‘feeling stuck in the Underworld’ and I myself have become intensely aware of seeing an increase in distraction around me. So much so that I decided to decrease all my creativity and I even felt called to suspend my research on the Black Madonna tarot deck and to rather focus on the practical activity of packing my bags for my upcoming pilgrimage.
My dreams have been intense and vivid although the core message remained unclear. The Golden Light has been increasing and becoming more and more intense. I tried to manifest and make visible to the world the intensity of the golden light.
Contained within this Light is the balance between mind and heart; soul and body. On a physical level it inspires you to bring the health and welfare of your body into alignment with your soul. Emotionally it asks that you clear out, in other words, that you forgive the past, cut the cords and let go of all the old baggage. The more you can let go of, the more beautiful will the resurrection (more on this) be.
Then the Diamond Light started to become more and more visible. A certain clarity and also a ‘cold light of day’ started to enter. You may have experienced this as seeing things more clearly all of a sudden and you may be pleasantly surprised by new perceptions. But mostly, you will feel the squeeze of being pushed to decide what it is that you really want. You will feel the intensity of having to decide when actually all you want to do is to hide you head under the blankets and shout ‘leave me alone’. A re-balancing of the mind and heart is happening. The sacred marriage is being called for, over and over. Is the feminine present? Do you know what your heart wants or is your mind so dominant that you can no longer feel the yearning of your passion and desire? Have you given up hope and do you feel that you cannot get what you want?
Maybe being born under the sun sign of Capricorn and being a visionary artist (one that sees the imaginal in the physical) my body is my biggest interpreter of cosmic consciousness and the changes in the Divine Cosmos. This can be quite tough at times and on my ordinary life, but maybe that is the idea!
I have shared some of my painful and enlightening experiences before, such as the spider bite and the wasp sting. Each one of these have opened up energetic centers in my brain which has allowed me to download vivid visions and understanding as to what is happening in the Cosmos. I share these with you as it is an integral part of life and it reminds us of the bigger picture and not to sweat the small stuff. It has become the mainstay of my life and the ground of my being and I invite you to firmly root yourself into the Tree of Life which spans heaven and earth. Pay attention to what is happening around you. Free your mind from mental clutter and on-going conversations and rather keep the screen blank so that your senses can wake up. We are part of a much bigger story and lots of what is happening around us is just entertainment and advertisements for others’ selling their wares. You have a special mission and purpose and you are receiving communication from the Cosmic every moment of every day.
This week my garden was invaded by bees – thousands of bees. They churned around in my sacred Mary garden outside my bedroom. During the years I have held many rituals and group meditations here in this sacred space. The biggest Mary leyline also runs through this space. I did not connect the dots as I observed the bees crashing themselves against my windows and trying to find ways to enter the house. The doors were left open and many had found their way in already. Google was summoned and I read again about the dire plight of the bees and that they probably are in need of food. I put out raw honey (which they were not interested in) and maple syrup which they loved. I moved these further and further away to try and lure them away from the house. But alas, none of this helped. For three days they stayed and in that time, in short succession, three bees stung me. One on my left foot on exactly the same spot as the wasp a few months ago and two others found their way in under my dress and stung me on my left leg. I had once again received bee medicine! And it is intense and painful and impossible to ignore!! And the first words I hear were : ‘resurrection, resurrection, resurrection’.
My previous life changing vision which identified the opening of the Lionsgate also included the words ‘resurrection’.
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| Here is the Lionsgate in this card from Mysteries of Mary Do you see the two lions? |
Here is the vision from a previous blog post :
‘We were all gathered in the courtyard. The light had the luminosity of the Otherworld. In the centre of the courtyard grew the Tree of Life, its trunk twisted and gnarled, housing an entire city of light. The sound of the heavens played in its leaves. I was below, at the base of the trunk, in my role as healer. I blessed those that came up to me. A man sat down in front of me, asking for healing. As I placed my hands on him, I felt the healing power coursing through my body and flowing down my arms and hands. I was familiar with this transference of healing energy and was unperturbed. The next moment he jumped up, amazement on his face. He shouted out “look at that beautiful being!!”. Before I turned around I was aware of the pillar of light behind me and as I turned around I said ‘oh yes, that is Serapis. I saw a beautiful light being in intense white light.
As I was looking at this pillar of light which my Self recognised as Serapis, the vision expanded. A lion appeared from the branches of the Tree of Life, facing the East and the rising Sun. She growled and her mane shook and reverbated and the hair became one with the branches of the giant tree. She roared into the sky, ‘Osiris!!!!’ resurrection, resurrection.
As I was watching the scene in awe, my lips formed the word FORTEZA and I continued chanting this word as I returned to consciousness.
It was clear to me that the message from the bees was connected to the previous lion vision I had but I was not yet sure how. However, in both cases the core message was ‘resurrection and regeneration’. I sat down and ‘looked’ within my inner book chamber for the connection between the bee and the lion.
‘And Samson turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion’ – Judges 14:8.
The bee is a symbolic insect in Egypt and the theology of that era identified the lion with Sekhmet, the Lionness Goddess and the bees came forth from the Lion Sekhmet.
The goddess Asherah is also associated with the lion and the bee and you can read more about her symbology in my guidebook to The Mysteries of Mary. Here is the link to a previous blogpost that I wrote a few years ago on the vision of Serapis, the Lion and the Tree :
http://bookofmarysacredheart.blogspot.com/2013/08/asherah-lady-of-wisdom-queen-of-heaven.html
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| Three bees around Her head |
Both these two cards symbolise alchemy and transformation
as does the bee. The bee has been regarded as a sacred being as far back in time as we know. Without the bees humanity will not survive on this planet. The ancient goddesses have all been worshipped as the Queen Bee and the metaphors are abundant. A bee alchemically turns pollen into golden honey, also known as amrit or sacred food of the gods. The sting of a bee is exceptionally painful, but healing at the same time. It boosts the body’s immune system and is a known therapy for many diseases. Honey is known as one of the greatest natural healers and healing food on the planet. In Egyptian and Judaic lore we are told that all we need is milk and honey. In the 3 of Distaff, the three swords that pierce the Great Mother’s heart, has been replaced by three roses. This is based on the story of the apparition of the Rosa Mystica. The healing power of love and forgiveness, transform the pain of betrayal, hurt and rejection into the sweet fragrant rose blooms, symbolising the Soul in her natural state of beauty, truth and love.
The bees are regarded as the tears of the goddess Sekhmet; the great mother who cries for her children’s suffering. But wisdom teaches us that through mortal suffering our hearts are opened and we come to taste absolute love and joy.
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| The entrance through the hidden gate |
Last night the next stage of the Lionsgate opened and a higher reality has become available to us. For those who live with awareness and in the present moment, many changes are awaiting.
Resurrection, resurrection, resurrection.
In the goddess temples of Diana, Artemis and other Black Goddesses, the bees were regarded as souls of the dead. In Egyptian lore the bees were regarded as the tears of Ra, similar to the tears of the Great Mother who weeps at the suffering of her children.
But transformation awaits to those who are willing to change their minds; be prepared to see beyond what you believe; be willing to see where you are stuck in the dark corner of your mind; open your heart and do what your mind fears most!!!
I regularly read Marcia of StarSister Astrology’s updates.
Here is the link to her site : http://starsisterastrology.com/
and she writes the following : (copied from her facebook page)
Our Messenger (Mercury) has begun a 25-day vision quest through the heart. He’s searching for what you’ve lost, forgotten, or haven’t noticed about the part of your life that’s ruled by Leo, the sign of our solar system’s Great Heart.
Beginning on the eve of this century’s longest total lunar eclipse, this realignment of mind and heart will take the Messenger through territory he’s been exploring through four different retrogrades since 2000. For 18 years, he’s been helping you see the power of the heart.
2000 was the last year that Luna made the deep shadow dive of a total lunar eclipse in Saros cycle 129. The next eclipse in that cycle is the one taking place tomorrow — both of them the longest eclipses in their centuries.
Since it began at the North Pole in 1351, the height of the Italian Renaissance, Saros cycle 129 has been winding its way towards the South Pole, eclipse by eclipse. Every 18 years it’s brought revelations about the stunningly destructive and brilliantly creative ways it’s possible to use the radiant power that’s live-streamed to us from the Sun every minute of our lives.
The lunar eclipses of June 1964, July 1982, July 2000, and July 2018 are the strongest ones in the 1,262-year Saros cycle. Tomorrow’s eclipse is the last peak in this wave. And Mercury has turned retrograde to make sure we get the message.
And that’s not all. The starting point of this year’s retrograde vision quest is the same degree where he and the Sun created a new way to see with the heart in August 2011. Just three months later,the great star Regulus left the sign of the King for the sign of the Goddess. Retrograding through 0 Virgo into Leo, the Messenger was looking for openings in our awareness to re-member the star power of the Divine Feminine. That 2011 Mercury retrograde ended in 18 Leo 42 — in the exact- to-the-arc-minute location of next month’s third and final eclipse in this triple-eclipse, multi-planet retrograde Summer of Re-alignment and Re-set. The Messenger was already preparing us. You’re more ready than you think. When that solar eclipse in 18 Leo occurs on August 11, the Messenger will be one of seven planets on retrograde vision quests. As soon as that last solar eclipse re-set occurs, Mercury will turn around, and head to the future. He’ll be seeing everything differently. And the more fully you accept his invitation — to re-think, re-view, re-conceive, re-imagine, and re-create the power of the heart in this part of your life, the more you will be too.
I am departing on the Black Madonna voyage to Southern Italy and Sicily on 4 August and will be visiting the Seven Sisters during the time of the solar eclipse in Leo and while seven planets are retrograde!!!
If you would like to read more on Asherah and the Lion Goddesses, here is the link to an old blog post of mine : https://bookofmarysacredheart.blogspot.com/2013/07/29-july-2013-as-above-so-below.html
Shrines from the Black Madonna tarot work in progress
Blessings
Hettienne
all images are my own and from my tarot decks The Mysteries of Mary and The Black Madonna.
Please link back if you do share.
www.hergracesacredart.com
