House of Gold
‘I remained in the temple, enjoying the
ineffable pleasure of contemplating
the goddess’ statue, because I was bound
to her by a debt of gratitude so large
that I could never fully repay her’ – Apuleius
Mary is what we are : a temple of the divine. In the title, House of Gold, we have two symbols,
the house as a container and gold as the supreme value of the Self.
The house of gold is the Self. A house grants shelter so we again
encounter the conserving and containing aspect of the female archetype.
It is comprised of the light of comforting safety and the dark of numbing contentment.
There are always graces to help us integrate those two.
The Loreto shrine, the traditional house of Mary, is like the Ark of the covenant,
the dwelling of the feminine aspect of God. At sunset it is bathed in gold and so it is often
referred to as the golden house. A custom in our past was to bronze the shoes in which a baby
first walked. Mary is the house of ego that has been gilded because she walked the path from ego to Self.
By the invocation, House of Gold, we
commit ourselves to enter the mansion of
spiritual individuation.
What happened to her, happens to us.
We make a series of choices and
surrenders that move us from cellar to attic
and then down to earth and out into the world
with treasures to share.
This passage will have suffering in it
and joy too.
David Richo – extracts from Mary Within Us
In the fire of creation, gold does not vanish:
the fire brightens.
Each creature God made must live in its own nature;
how could I resist my nature,
that lives for oneness with God –
Mechtild of Magdeburg.
Radiant Mary, shine radiantly upon me.
Bright Lady who illuminates my inner darkness
Yours is the incorruptible fire;
As it is clean, it cleanses; as it is pure, it purifies.
Hail Mary
Om jai mata Mary Ma
jai jai ma
blessings
Hettienne
