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Mysteries of Mary tarot deck SHIPPING UPDATE


All decks and books have been successfully printed and we have spent days preparing them for shipping.  All parcels are ready to be shipped.  International shipping to some countries have opened up but shipping is slow as not enough cargo planes are available.  I have been advised by the post office not to hand the parcels in for shipping as they will end up in international sorting which already has a backlog.At this stage shipping may start from 15 July but probably only 30 July or even August 2020.

I will send a shipping notification as soon as I ship on both The French Madonna on Etsy.com and for orders bought here on my website. You will receive an email from me as well as an international registered shipping number.

Content of each parcel

Each parcel contains the Mysteries of Mary tarot deck, guidebook, hand sewn tarot pouch, rosary, gold Mary statue, a vintage holy card and a set of hand crafted blessing seeds

Parcels ready to ship

Hand made clay blessing seeds

Bless the earth with these blessing seeds : infuse them with your prayers for healing and plant them, place them on your altar, in your house, on your body for healing and blessings.

I created these blessing seeds from ceramic clay that will deteriorate and dissolve back into Mother Earth when buried. The clay is mixed with holy oil and rose petals from St Terese’s garden and petals collected at Lourdes. You can see the bits of rose petal in the big clay pieces. Each piece contains flecks and gold leaf dust which holds energy very well. Each of these clay shards are imprinted with the divine image of Divine Mary and thus contains Her sacred energy. They are sprinkled with water from the healing spring at Lourdes and prayers and chants were said over them for seven consecutive days. They are kept with rose petals of third relic St Teresa of Lisieux roses!! (I do not ship any of the dried rose petals as in some countries it is prohibited to receive plant matter) The images include Our Lady of Guadulupe, Madonna of the Streets, Miraculous Medals, a rose, Mother and Child, sacred heart, miraculous medal, and more.

You can say a prayer whilst holding the seed in your hand, and then make a hole in the ground with your finger and plant these seeds wherever you want healing to take place. This way you can call on Mother Mary as you walk on her earth; you can place these at sacred places; in your garden or at places of sadness and trauma.

Each one of the blessing seeds are first infused with holy water from Lourdes (which I brought back), and then infused with holy relic oil of more than 53 Saints & pure essential oils. A mixture of one hundred oils are used, including frankincense, myrrh, spikenard, agarwood and rose. It is also immersed in blessed pink dead sea salts, infused with rose petals steeped in holy oil of a third relic of St Therese of Lisieux and it is packaged with blessed salts, frankincense and sprinkled with holy water collected form many sacred places in the world. So it becomes a holy object to be handled with reverence and care.

You can place these seeds on your altar or place of prayer or contemplation.
Pray to Divine Mary, She is as close as your heart
Ave Maria

Blessings

Hettienne

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Day 30 Walking with Mary 2020

I am the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of Lebanon

Blessings to you as we reach the end of our
Thirty Days with Mary journey
During these days we have covered so many
aspects of the Divine Feminine and who and what
Mary is to us. We have peeled away the layers
and have stared deeply into the mirror darkly.

Thank you for sharing your images, your experiences,
your insights and your own resistances.

Each week you drew a card from your deck.
Now it is time to put them together and to read
the message for your Walking with Mary.
You may want to journal your cards
and continue to build on them with
each consecutive online Walking with Mary retreat.

Today I offer you these thoughts to ponder :

The Mysteries of Mary and the Christian mystery of the incarnation
of the Divine into earthly matter, is the ultimate sacred marriage,
the hieros gamos, the marriage of the greatest opposites,
that of heaven and earth.
We cannot fathom how does heaven and earth unite as one
and we cannot fathom that all of earthly matter is sanctified
by the divine essence that lives in all.
But we can accept the open invitation that the Soul
does exist in this body and we can accept that all is
blessed by the Presence of the Divine.
There is no separation between holy and ordinary
The Mystery of the Incarnation of the divine into the ordinary
has been told through many aeons of time and through
many cultures and traditions.  It is not only now
in the new unfolding age that we are being reminded
that woman metaphorically and in human
consciousness, represent matter (mater) and that
woman (matter) mothers the Divine.  

Preparing to greet the goddess

Do not think of her unless you are prepared
to be driven to your limits;
to rush forth from yourself
like a ritual bowl overflowing
with consecrated wine.

Do not summon her image
unless you are ready to be blinded,
to stand in the flash
of a center exploding,
yourself shattering into the landscape,
wavering bits of bark and water.

Do not speak her name
until you have said goodbye
to all your familiar trinkets –
your mirrors, your bracelets, 
your childhood adorations –
From now on you are nothing,
a ghost hovering at the window,
a voice singing under water. 

             – Dorothy Waters

Om Jai mata Mary Ma
Jai jai ma

Ave Maria Ave Maria Ave Maria

blessings
Hettienne

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Day 29 Walking with Mary 2020

The Sutras of the Divine Maria
Before the Word, the Cosmic Mother rests in all her Glory
In eternal stillness in the black void.
Then Love stirs within and the desire arose in Her One Heart
And Her One Mind.



And the Heavenly Virgin conceives from within Herself.
She, who is the Immaculate Conception.


Through the song of Her Heart, she became the sacred womb
Filled with heavenly milky waters,
Swirling to create the marias, the seas and the oceans
As She descended as the Virgin of the Sea.


The oceans churned and churned and the milk and water
Became frothy and mixed with the
Red drops of the Heavenly Queen’s Desire
And She arises from the waters


(Picture taken by myself at the holy lake of Black Madonna of Tindari in Sicily
during a full moon drumming and bathing ritual)

And Her Love incarnated as the most beautiful woman,
Earth, Hertha, Gaia, Durga and Isis.



From Her hair grew the running rivers of life, the Nile
And Gangaji, Shakty and Saraswati
And amongst the mountains of her breasts, rooted in the
Heavens, grew the Tree of Life.


The Heart of the Mother of All, the great Isis-Maria-Sophia
Desired once more.
She desired light so that she could see the face of Her Beloved,
The incarnation of Love

She desired to see the reflection of Herself
She desired a celestial mirror
At dawn, the brilliant rays of the Sun God, Ra, the Father
Of the Heavens, was born from Her, the Black One, the
Mother of All.


As the day grew in stature, the Sun climbed the heavens and
Crowned Her in all Her glory
And sky sang to the Queen of Heaven.
The Sun became weary and descended into the blackness of
The night.
In the distant sky two horns of the sacred cow appeared
And grew into the silver disk of Ma, the Moon

These thirty days of Walking with Mary is a metaphor for our personal lives
and our spiritual journey towards self-acceptance, empathy, compassion
and wholeness.
A metaphor.  
In choosing the path of the Mother as a set of keys and images to illuminate, interpret
and apply the deepest Wisdom within ourselves, we are reminded
that thinking in terms of a metaphor will unlock many doors.
If you are seeking the sacred marriage within yourself and you wish
to experience the Cosmic Kiss of Unity, then follow the metaphor.
Look past the literal arguments, the discourses on the why and what for;
put your critical ego-mind on the back seat and open your ears
and eyes to receive the eternal song of Love which pulsates
in the metaphors of the Madonna and Her Beloved.
This extract from my sutras of Isis-Maria-Sophia is a reflection
of your own journey of the light of your consciousness.
Your consciousness rise within yourself, cloaked as stirring desire and passion to
experience the ‘other’.  
This stirring and rising and descending is also the kundalini, or kundalini Ma
or Devi, Shakty or Divine Goddess, Ma and by many other names.
Knowledge and understanding of the kundalini has become hidden and enveloped
in mystery and riddles and ritualistic practises and often mistaken
for sexual mastery.  
Yes, it will ask for sacrifice, but it is the sacrifice of time, energy and attachment and
identification with ego.  Sometimes our attachment is ripped away from us in a
powerful way through disease, loss, an accident, a betrayal or disappointing oneself.
But the good news is, that none of these are a pre-requisite for awakening.
The light of consciousness is within us.  The spark of the Divine Mother
is resting in our energetic system and behind our mind and its
many defences.  She is waiting for our desire to find Her
and to come to know yourself as the ultimate fufillment of our potential as humanity.
Through regular and deep meditation, trance dance, surrendering to the creation of art and poetry and spending time in nature, the Mother within will answer your call for awakening.  

She will rise and lead you into confusion and chaos : all
designed to shake off the stifling mind and all its many taboos and
punishment.  Once you have tasted the nectar of the bliss of pure
consciousness, no sacrifice will be too big.

One step at a time, allow Her to guide and steer you, listen to your heart
and your feelings, and you will not fail to dance in the sky of Her cathedrals

Picture taken by myself of SS Maria Incoronata 
in Foggia Italy

O Queen of the Holy Rosary
Bless as we chant
And offer thee our roses
In garlands day by day

Sacred Heart
Bridal Chamber of the Divine

Isis of a thousand names, throne of the world
I live gloriously in your protection

Blessed Mary Mother of the Golden Son
I am an instrument of they peace, love and mercy

Holy Sophia Queen of Heaven
Teach me joy;
The paradox that in my emptiness
I am most whole

Blessings to you
Hettienne


blessings

Hettienne
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Day 28 Walking with Mary 2020

Blessings to you and welcome to Day 28 of Walking with Mary 2020

I have resisted the temptation to change the content
of these thirty days too much with each repeat of
Walking with Mary as new people are joining in every time
and they are looking forward to participating in the rituals etc.

As you may or may not know, I have been working on 
creating the Mysteries of the Black Madonna tarot deck the past
two years.  I have been researching the Black Madonna
for as long as I have researched the divine feminine
and it is a vast field of image and history and wisdom
 with so many powerful layers.
Today I am sharing a few of the shrines that I have created
for the tarot deck.  I am way over halfway and the Major Arcana
is virtually completed.  I do share some of the journey with my patrons
on Patreon and I invite you to have a look.
www.patreon.com/thefrenchmadonna

I also share an extract from a wonderful book with you –
In search of Mary, the woman and the symbol by Sally Cunneen
‘Women in particular have been looking more closely at their own experience
and discovering that the mother of Jesus can be a force to empower them today.
Even the idea of Mary as simple housewife, so uncongenial to me as a young
mother, still provides strength to some American women; being a housewife
is ’emotionally draining work and physically tiring’ addmitted one woman.
Its hard to remember that its service, physical, very direct service to human beings.
Thinking of Mary and how she would have been doing these
exact things helps very much.
Something is clearly going on in the interchange between Mary and women
today that works in two directions : empowering women and at the same time
changing their idea of her.

Mary Gordon claims that it is the ‘impulse to reexamine and to understand
in a deeper way the history of women, female genius,
female work, often anonymous, hidden, uncredited,
to look for the values that are not simply male values dressed for success,
that is leading women back to Mary’.
The Marian teaching that had a negative effect on women’s development
was part of a worldwide pattern in which male experience and
power were accepted as human norms.  Such assumptions, of course,
are by no means christian, nor are they inherent in Marian liturgy, art
and devotion.  As God-bearer, Mother of Mercy and
Queen of Heaven, Mary has been the carrier of the feminine divine
in Western culture.
https://youtu.be/6IHgCYmH_F8
O bearer of the eternal word, virgin Mary,
what voice, what human tongue can praise you well enough?
Your new star of the sea, window to the lofty heavens,
ladder from earth to heaven, from the lowest to the highest
You conceived eternity, you gave birth to your parent;
the make came from what he made, the creator from the creature.
        – O genetrix aeterni
Om jai mata Mary Ma
Om jai om jai om jai
O holy Mother thou who art in Earth and Cosmos
Whole are thy name
Thou who art our daily bread
and the Chalice of bliss
eternally springing from the Sacred Heart within
and flowing in compassion to all that lives
Ave Maria
Ave Ave Ave
Ave Maria
blessings
Hettienne
Posted on

Day 27 Walking with Mary 2020

For me the rosary is a holy object that connects me to my origin, and the
origin of all creation.  We spring from God’s womb, the Mother-Womb
of the Holy One.  The rosary, in Western spirituality, is what has
survived of our devotion to the motherhood of God.
It is the mother-prayer – Christin Lore Webber



At Lourdes the beautiful lady asked that a chapel be built for her.
This was done in 1876, but the basilica soon became too small for the many
pilgrims that arrived to visit Lourdes.  And the Rosary Basilica was built :
Basilique Notre-Dame du Rosaire
When Our Lady appeared to Bernadette she was holding a rosary
in her hand.  The Basilica of the Rosary is dedicated to the rosary
in its architecture and magnificent chapels, mosaics, shrines and paintings.
The three arches depict the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries.
Around the central dome, the transepts and the sanctuary contain
15 Chapel of the Mysteries each one decorated with mosaics depicting
the 15 mysteries of the rosary.
The rosary was given to Bernadette and mankind by Mary, the
Queen of Roses, or the Rose Queen.  One can imagine that by repeating
the rosary, one hands Mary a rose and thus create a garland of roses for her.
The feminine form of God has been called by many names that
is directly related to the word rosary – or maybe the rosary is derived
from the many names of the Heavenly Rose.
Through the ages the goddesses Isis, Venus, Aphrodite and the Shekinah,
had been called Great Rose, the Rose Queen, Flower of Venus, the Rose Garden
the Cosmic Rose and the Mystical Rose.
The early Christians used the Psalms as a ‘rosary’.  Often they were
divided into three parts, each containing fifty Psalms.  Early
hermit monks describe these three designations by knotted ropes which they wore
tied around their waist.  With a certain number of prayers came to be ascribed
to Mary, they were termed Our Lady’s Psalm.
The rosary is a universal form of prayer and present most religions.
In the Bhagavad Gita chapter 7, it is said that the Universe is a necklace and the string is the 
Atman or the Higher Self that holds all things together. 
 The prayer on each bead corresponds to breaths. This Hindu rosary is sacred to Sarasvati, Goddess of language. The goddess hears the words of the prayers and is the Word.
The Buddhist rosary has 108 beads. This is 12 times 9 to represent the cycles of the universe.
The Muslim rosary has 33 beads for the 99 names of God. In all instances, the rosary is a prayer wheel and a living mandala, a symbol of wholeness.

In the same way that our prayers string together a garland of roses, so do our

every thought and our every action.  What we say and do contribute to the
Sacred Garden, both within and without.  When we sow and nurture with love
and empathy, then we harvest and reap with love and empathy and all
those that live on Mother Earth, human and creature, will benefit.
Such is the way of the Mother – her cloak covers all.
blessings to you
Hettienne
Posted on

Day 26 Walking with Mary 2020

Shrine in my garden

Welcome to day of Walking with Mary.
We are in the fourth and final week and we are focusing
on the Suit of Roses and amongst other aspects,
we focus on incarnation, manifestation and embodiment.

Today I would like to inspire you with Marian pilgrimages
in South Africa where I live.

Five years ago during my visit to the grotto and sanctuary of Lourdes

in the Alps of France, I had a very powerful experience.
My direct personal experience of the sacred Presence
of the Lady, irrevocably changed my understanding of life and set me on a new path.
I returned and felt compelled to devote all my work and actions to Her.
I created a sacred Mary Garden   Under Her guidance I founded
the Temple of Mary and She imparted the two year initiation program to me.
I felt called to create shrines in the ancient sacred altar tradition and this led
me to creating the Mysteries of Mary Tarot Deck.
Since then I have made four more pilgrimages to the grotto of Lourdes.
Years ago I had heard about the apparitions of Our Lady of Ngome.  
I did add it to my bucket list and then it sorted moved to the background
of life.  I started having dreams of Lourdes and I felt a deep compulsion
to visit the Lady and her sacred waters.
At the time of the dreams I started doing research on Ngome
only to discover that it is called the Lourdes of Africa! 
Ngome is an ancient sacred site where seven streams meet to form a 
spring of which the water has healing properties.  Previously this site
was sacred to the indigenous Zulu population and it was used for healing and
baptism.

Mary as Lady of Ngome

had appeared ten times to a local Benedictine nun and the image of the Lady
 of Ngome, Tabernacle of the Most High, cured many miraculously.
The apparitions were kept secret for years after the death of Sr Reinolde –
but I will share the full story in my next post.
Our Lady of Lourdes shrine at Marianhill, Durban
Once I had read up on Ngome I decided that I am being called
to visit Our Lady of Ngome and immerse myself in Her sacred waters
and energy.  Three of us decided to go on a pilgrimage to Ngome in 
the new year.  We did not have any specific dates in mind and decided
to buy the best airfare tickets available which happened to be
9 to 14 February.  Only when I made the booking for the guesthouse
near Ngome did I realise the incredible synchronicity : we had planned
to spend the Saturday in Ngome.  As it turned out it was
Saturday 11 February, the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes!!
We took a local flight to Durban, spend the day and two nights, then drove five
hours to Ngome – a story on its own as we dodged cows, goats
and potholes.  As part of our pilgrimage we visited the Lady of Lourdes
shrines at Marianhill Monastery near Durban.  The monastery is
outside Durban in the green rolling hills of Natal.
As we climbed the steps toward the shrine we were enveloped
in the most intense fragrance of thick sweet honey.  At first we did
not really pay attention as we were in the tropical and lush
Natal gardens and we had seen many tropical flowering trees
everywhere.  After a few minutes, as the pungent fragrance
persisted, unmoving, unlike the fragrance of flowers carried
on the wind, we all came to a standstill and exclaimed
‘what is that smell?’.  We all had previously been to Lourdes
and Lisieux (the shrine of St Terese) where we had experienced
the incredible honey-rose fragrance.  However, there we were
surrounded by roses and a rose garden, although we all did agree
that we had never smelled roses with such a potent fragrance!

We lit some candles and spent some time at the shrine and as we
descended the stairs, we could not resist the temptation to look for 
the source of the fragrance.  There were no flowers nearby, only
creepers and ferns and trees. We walked up and down and the
fragrance did not move, nor become any fainter.

We realised that we were once again immersed in the
honeyed fragrance of Our Lady of Lourdes.

This is a very real phenomenon found at places where the Lady
has either appeared or where She is revered.  It also appears
during healing sessions with the healing energy and Presence
of Our Lady or during times of deep meditation and bliss.

At Ngome in Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa
is the Marian site of miraculous healing.  The number of
healings at this river and sacred wells
are often compared to Lourdes
and it is indeed called the African Lourdes.
Our Lady of Ngome, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Mary appeared as a Living Monstrance and asked to be called the “Tabernacle of the Most High”.
The Blessed Virgin stated that she wished a shrine to be built in a place where the seven streams come together—pointing to an empty area.
Sr Reinolda identified the springs two years later at Ngome, and the shrine was erected.
Sister Reinolda had ten ‘encounters’ with Mary during her lifetime
as a nun at the Catholic missionary at Ngome.
The first encounter took place on 22 August 1955 during the
Feast of The Immaculate Heart of Mary.
this is an extract from Sr Reinolda’s journal :
Shortly after Holy Communion, Mary stood before me, very close-by. Everything was seen in spirit. I was drawn into another atmosphere. Mary showed Herself in a wonderful light more beautiful than the sun. She was robed all in white, flowing veil from top to toe. Upon Her Breast rested a big host surrounded by a brilliant corona radiating life. She was a living Monstrance.

Mary stood upon the globe, hands and feet invisible. I felt like entering a cloud, drawn by Mary, away from the earth. I had my eyes closed but I saw so much light that, for several days, I was very much dazzled by the beauty and light that I had seen.

Mary said the following:
“Call Me ‘Tabernacle of The Most High’.
You too are such a Tabernacle, believe it. 

On YouTube there is a video called the Dancing Sun. It was taken
by pilgrims who visited Ngome.
Here is the link – https://youtu.be/rsXubOo20Yw
At the inauguration of the Chapel of Lady of Ngome thousands of people
witnessed another miracle of the dancing sun.  The sun rolled and moved
in the sky and in the words of witnesses ‘shot a ray of sunlight onto the statue
of the Lady of Ngome’.



Another YouTube video on Ngome
https://youtu.be/8Yvklf231kY


The appearance of the Lady in White at Lourdes and at Ngome
and the miracles that she brought to the world, has the ability to
transform your world.
  
Magnificent Mary may I remain open
to the impossible
May I remember not to ignore the very subtle
messages of Spirit;
and may I undertake each task as the sacred task that it is
Ave Maria

Posted on

Day 25 Walking with Mary 2020



The story of St Therese of Lisieux is told in the Five of Roses
in the deck.  She is referred to as The Little Flower or
the Woman that was born to love. She is known for ‘the Little Way’
in which she advocated the ordinariness of everyday tasks
to be seen as a way of bringing the sacred to life.

Her story of the smiling Madonna and her miraculous cure
 is in the Mysteries of Mary deck



The statue that smiled at her during her illness is standing in the
Basilica in Lisieux where it was moved from her childhood home.

If a little flower could speak, it seems to me that it would tell us quite simply all that God has done for it, without hiding any of its gifts. It would not, under the pretext of humility, say that it was not pretty, or that it had not a sweet scent, that the sun had withered its petals,or the storm bruised its stem, if it knew that such were not the case. – St Therese

One of the very first shrines I made was of her. 
St Therese called me over many years
 and eventually I made the trip to Lisieux, about 90 minutes’ train ride
from Paris.

Lisieux is a beautiful French city with an old world  charm.
And the bakery near the train station makes the most
wonderful French pastries, should you ever visit.
The beautiful Basilica dominates the view down the street
leading up to it.

This statue and mosaic is in the crypt of the Basilica

To my surprise I discovered the life-story of a free-spirited 
young woman who possessed
a deep insight and clarity into the Truth of faith and love.
Her life spoke of many miracles, including
the Smiling Madonna.



In the Basilica was a magnificent and unusual statue
of Jesus – a dancing Jesus on the Cross!!
I did not take any photographs as it was forbidden
in the main part of the Basilica and I have not been able
to find a copy of it anywhere on the Internet.
But I will never forget this amazing image :
it spoke clearly of St Therese’s philosophy and understanding
of the true sacrifice and the intersection of heaven and time.
The Basilica was built after St Therese’s death and
I did not find any real sense of her presence there.

But then we walked down to the old part of town
to where she lived and grew up as a child and also
to her convent and its rose gardens and the small chapel
of the Carmelite Sisters where the remains of the saint lies.

Statue of Saint Therese in Lisieux in her convent garden


And here we were all deeply touched by a sweet, loving
and fragrant presence.  A very sweet honey-like fragrance met
us long before we arrived at the garden.  I smelled this same
fragrance at the sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.




We picked some of the roses and offered them to 
St Therese.




The offering of our rose petals in her arms and at her feet
St Therese, Lisieux, France

The energy in the chapel where her remains lie, were
intense.  One cannot describe that which we do not
have the vocabulary for.  But I received a very clear
and distinct message sitting there which resonated
deeply with my heart and on my return home
I started implementing this message into my life.


Having been in her energy or presence, has had a deep impact
on me and the way that I perceive the world.
She has and still continues to strengthen my belief in the
power and Grace of the innocent and purity of heart.
Even when the world shakes its head in disbelief and
disapproval, St Therese’s child like faith and inspiration
lives on and radiates like a fragrant rose its beautiful scent
into our hearts and minds.

There is no artist who does not like his work praised, and the Divine Artist of souls is pleased when we do not stop at the exterior, but penetrating even to the inmost sanctuary which He has chosen for His dwelling, we admire its beauty. – St Therese d’Lisieux



blessings on this week of roses
Hettienne
Posted on

Day 24 Walking with Mary 2020

We are into the final days of Walking with Mary.
Walking with Mary started off as an online annual retreat
called Thirty Days with Mary.  When the Mysteries of Mary tarot deck
went out into the world I realised that there are many that would like
a practise or tools with which to re-connect or connect with
Mary, beyond the ways of religion of childhood.

The practises of Walking with Mary/Thirty Days with Mary
are filled to the brim with ritual, mantra, prayer and tarot.
Probably too much if it is your first time participating.
Ideally you should take your time and do what you can
and take the practise over a couple of months and make it your own.
And as you know by now, the more you apply and engage with the
practises and the mantras, the deeper your experience and inner connection
goes.

The fourth week is dedicated to the Suit of Roses.

The Suit of Roses are traditionally Pentacles.
The colours are red, white and black.
This is the suit of embodiment; where body, soul and spirit
connect; where light and shadow dance in an eternal lovemaking.

Through the ages the goddesses Isis, Venus, Aphrodite and the Shekinah
had been called Great Rose, the Rose Queen, Flower of Venus,
the Rose Garden, the Cosmic Rose and the Mystical Rose.
The rosary is a universal form of prayer and is present in many religions.
In the Bhagavad Gita it is said that the Universe is a necklace and the string
is the Atman that holds all things together.  The Hindu rosary is sacred to
Sarasvati, Goddess of language.  Sarasvati hears the words of the prayers
and she is the Word.  The Buddhist rosary has 108 beads, as does the Hindu
mala and this number represents the cycles of the universe.  The Muslim rosary
has 33 beads for the 99 names of God.
The rose is an ancient symbol sacred to the goddess, to the feminine
and the Wisdom tradition.  Sacred places often carry the perfume of
roses and mystics experience the fragrance of the rose during ecstatic
moments. We are not excluded from these mystical experiences.
During my first San Garmano pilgrimage I visited the church
and body of Padre Pio and when I meditated in the sacred space
I was engulfed with the fragrance of roses.  It was so strong
I will never forget it.  During my visit to the Rosa Mystica shrine
a few years later I was attracted by the strong perfume of roses,
only to discover that the fragrance was coming from the statue of Padre Pio.
I also write about the fragrance of roses and honey at Lourdes
and in Lisieux at the body of St Terese and those who went with me
had the same experience.
 The radiant Lady of Lourdes stood over a wild rose bush
and she appeared with golden roses on her bare feet.  Her image made
in roses appeared on the inside of the cloak of  Juan Diego of Guadulupe.
The original rose flower used to be an open flower with five distinct
petals.  The five petals are similar to the inner core of an apple when cut in half;
you can clearly see the pentacle.  The apple is also a traditionally feminine
symbol.  The shape of the five petals and five segments in the apple’s
inner core, is similar to the five pointed pattern that Venus forms in her 
orbit when she gets closest to Earth.
These last seven days are dedicated to Mary, the Great Rose, 
the Rose Queen, Rose of Divine Love, the Rose Garden
and Our Lady of Love and Beauty.
My altar for the week – I chose the Priestesshood card

This week we draw the fourth card for the Thirty Days of Mary.
Place all four cards in a row on your altar and start writing the story.
You may find that by the end of the thirty days you will be adding
more insights into the story.
Hail Mary 
Ave Maria
Glory is the one who is our home
Glory for the presence in our hearts
Glory since the mystery transcends all words.
all songs, all signs
Glory is the hope that makes us live
Hail Mary 
Ave Maria
Glory is the wonder that we were and are
and will become
Glory is the Spirit who invades our bones
and makes them shine
Glory in the wind and in the  fire
Glory in the one breath
giving life to all the world
Hail Mary
Ave Maria
Glory in the rising earth
Glory embracing what we lost
Glory in assuming who we are
Glory in the woman who is whole
Hail Mary
Ave Maria
blessings
Hettienne
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Day 23 Walking with Mary 2020

When we read that the Radiant Lady at Lourdes stands over the wild rose bush
and that she has golden roses on her bare feet, we realise that she is deeply identified with roses, as was Our Lady of Guadalupe. The rose just seems to be the most easily recognizable symbol for the flowering of differentiated consciousness or the unique divine spark. 
The Lady of Guadalupe brought forth roses in cold December and wrapped them tenderly in an ordinary tilma worn by an old Indian peasant. This is an image of wrapping consciousness in the outer cover of our human body, something that a mother does when she conceives a human life. It is something that the earth does when she provides us with the material for a human body. Or, another way to look at it, is that creation itself – the material world – is a wonderful cloak that covers the radiant divinity.
Juan Diego had something in common with the Lady who came to him on the hill of Tepeyac. They each had a cloak that was made of the fabric of created reality. She gave him a visual aid in order to teach him and us about this. She imprinted her picture graphically so that Her cloak – the entire cosmos – can now be seen upon his rough one.  This Lady is not interested in dogma or ideologies; she interfaces with us to teach us about our personal rose – our inner divinity – which is trying to become incarnate here.



The woman at Lourdes refuses to give any other name but to say “I am the Immaculate Conception.” She does not say, as the Church would have Jesus’ mother say, “I am the virgin Mary who has been immaculate from the moment of my conception.” (conceived and born without sin of any kind) She says that she IS the Immaculate Conception. The Lady of the Grotto is the embodiment of the cosmos speaking to us as an aspect of God’s own Being. She shows us the breathlessly beautiful immaculate plan – God’s conception of materiality. She is telling us that she is an image of our created, material nature, which is nothing less than a cloak that covers divinity. She uses every means available to communicate to us about who we are and what will help us.
At Guadalupe she used symbolism that the Aztecs would understand. It spoke instinctively to the Spaniards, as well. She uses symbols and language that will help her immediate hearers to understand for their own purposes. As the late mythographer Joseph Campbell has pointed out, different religious traditions are like software that helps the “computer” to function. It is usually best for people to stay within their tradition, if it is helping them to function. So this woman relates within those belief systems, but is not at all confined to them.

The Pre-Christian Apparition of Queen Isis

Painting of Isis by Hettienne


In conjunction with Lourdes, it is necessary to speak more about Queen Isis whose lore is still embedded in the Christian mythology from its ancient roots in Judaism while it lingered in Egypt. The Lady of the Lourdes grotto asked specifically for processions. Queen Isis loved grottoes and processions. Processions to the goddess are as old as recorded history. What child of the pre-Vatican Catholic Church does not recall the May processions and the joy of strewing flowers in the path of the statue that represented Mary? It was a way of showing our deep devotion to our “Queen of Heaven.” She was “Queen of the angels and Queen of the May!” Bernadette referred at times to the Lady as  “The Queen of Heaven” or “The Beautiful Lady.”

We have an account, still extant, of an apparition granted by Queen Isis in ancient times that further points to the identity of the marvelous woman still appearing today. It comes from the book “The Golden Ass” written by Apuleius, an initiate of Isis, the night before he walked in her procession in 150 A.D. Here is his testimony that records the words spoken by the apparition that stood before him then:

“I am she that is the natural mother of all things, mistress and governess of all the elements, the initial progeny of worlds, chief of the powers divine, queen of all that are in hell, the principal of all that dwell in heaven, manifested alone and under one form of all the gods and goddesses. At my will the planets of the sky, the wholesome winds of the seas, and the lamentable silences of hell are disposed; my name, my divinity is adored throughout the world, in divers manners, in variable customs, and by many names.

For the Phrygians that are the first of all men call me the Mother of the gods of Pessinus; the Athenians, which are sprung from their own soil, Cecropian Minerva; the Cyprians, which are girt about by the sea, Paphian Venus; the Cretans, which bear arrows, Dictynian Diana; the Sicilians, which speak three tongues, infernal Proserpine; the Eleusinians, their ancient goddess Ceres; some Juno, others Belonna, others Hecate, others Ramnusie, and principally both sort of the Ethiopians, which dwell in the Orient and are enlightened by the morning rays of the sun; and the Egyptians, which are excellent in all kind of ancient doctrine, and by their proper ceremonies accustomed to worship me, do call me by my true name, Queen Isis.” (Occidental Mythology, p. 42-43 – from The Masks of God series).

 When she appeared to Apuleius she was crowned with the headdress of the moon and two vipers, with corn stalks woven in her hair. Her multi-colored robe was woven with flowers and fruit, and her black mantle embroidered with stars and the moon. There is much similarity between the vision of Apuleius and that of Juan Diego, the visionary of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The mantle of Isis is covered on the outside by the night sky – by stars. Like Our Lady of Guadalupe, she is dressed in the cosmos itself as if it is her robe. 

 Spirit “wears” materiality like a garment. 
This garment is Earth’s physical nature –  her Body. 
She/we are the Immaculate Conception!


Prayer for today :


I enter the Underworld as you pull me into your embrace, 
in every waking moment of living.
Contemplating on your Presence in the world,
opens me up to the poignant beauty and suffering
of all life in order and my  heart breaks open
over and over, over flowing with compassion.  
As my rigid mind dissolves in your
presence, all boundaries between myself and all living creatures
and the earth disappears and we are all one.
Ave Maria

Om Jai mata Mary Ma
jai jai ma

blessings
Hettienne
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Day 22 Walking with Mary 2020

Week 4
Suit of Roses
Mary as Rose Queen
THE BLESSING OF THE ROSE QUEEN


The blessing of the Rose Queen : 
a devotion
to the power and Grace of the Blessed Mother;
to the mystery of the angelic realms
and the resurrection of the feminine mysteries.
An old legend tells that at the time of the winter solstice, 
all of those souls, who will incarnate in the coming year, 
draw close to the Earth.
The Divine Mother then takes a single petal from 
the Great Rose of Life  and places it in the heart of each of those 
souls who will be born. 
As that soul then is born and grows throughout its life and 
awakens its true self, that single petal will blossom in the
 heart of the individual, becoming a living Rose of Life 
that will bless the world.
You can do the Blessing of the Rose Queen prayers as a way
of calling upon Mary of the Divine Feminine to assist with
a special request.  It is not something to be used for ordinary
things, but for those special times in our life when what we are
doing just doesn’t seem to be enough – when we really
need assistance.

Perform these prayers for thirty days in a row.  
Visualize what it is that you wish in as much clear detail
as possible.  Write it down, so that the words are clear
and distinct, with as little room for misinterpretation as possible.




Perform it during a quiet and special time in your day :
Oh most beautiful and gracious Rose Queen,
who came down to Earth to do good and who never
left a request unanswered, grant me the rose
of _____________________
Hail Mary, Goddess full of Grace
God is with you
Blessed are you among women
and blessed is the fruit of the creativity
that spirals forth from your womb.
Through your art and rituals of beauty,
we find our forgiveness and healing.
Holy Goddess, Mother of Earth,
work the mystery for your children  


Holy Mary,  Mother of God,
oh Rose Queen 
Bestow your Blessing upon us
Now and Forever
This final week has a dual focus : that of the Rose Queen
and the Immaculate Conception.
The colours are gold and red and the element is Earth.
We focus on two main aspects of the Suit of Roses which is
embodiment and manifestation.
May this practise inspire you to incorporate it into your practise of devotion
and awakening to the divine feminine mysteries of Mary.

blessings
Hettienne