Category: black madonna

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Twelve Days of Mary – Day 12

Did you ever realize that the young woman

who appeared in the 16th century  
to Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill was pregnant?
The type of robe she wears is the style
that was worn by pregnant mothers in that time.
There are little ties above the waistline that seem to be
meant for gradually letting
out to make room for the growing fetus.

This young woman asked the Indian man to go to his bishop and ask 
that a chapel be built in the place that she appeared.
She told him to climb to the top of the hill in chilly December
and bring her  the roses growing there.
He did that and she arranged the roses inside his tilma – 
the rough cloak that he wore.
He took this to the bishop because he thought it was the
sign she was giving him to prove her request was real.
But when he opened the tilma and the roses
spilled out at the bishop’s feet,
there was an image covering the inside of the garment –
a picture of the woman herself –
the same image that hangs today
in the basilica that was built for her.

In this picture the woman is wearing a dark robe
that is covered with the starry constellations of the night sky.
Her inner garment is rose, the color of dawn.
The type of robe she wears is the style
that was worn by pregnant mothers in that time.
There are little ties above the waistline that seem to be
meant for gradually letting
out to make room for the growing fetus.
So here is a woman who
gives us a vivid image of her identity.
She shows us, rather than tells, that she is the cosmos itself,
actually Earth taking on a persona.
She is Earth pregnant with the coming human!
She reveals that she is actually Spirit that has covered
herself with a robe of matter, as each of us has done, as well.
Without the robe she has put on,
we would not see her at all;
Spirit is imperceptible without its partnership with matter.
So here we see an image of Earth Herself,
robed around with the stars and galaxies of space!
And beneath the outer robe,
the other,
inner one peeks through – enlightenment –
the coming of Dawn.

If we are not convinced from that,
she stands on the moon
– our moon – and is lighted from behind with the rays of our sun,
so that she is truly “the woman clothed in the sun,”
from the ancient scriptures. (Revelations 7:12)
The sun both clothes her and gives its reflected light to
all the orbs covering her robe and to the moon, as well.
Her coming caused quite a stir in the 1500’s for the Aztecs and created waves of
conversion to the Christian faith. But they were not yet prepared to
know that this message was for all the years to come when we could now see
even more into the stunning revelation.
The tilma, made of very crude cactus fiber should have
lasted about 40 years,
but it is still intact and carrying its image, with its message for our time.
Conversion to Christianity was just the beginning of the
story of how God comes to humanity. We learn from the
Christian story a more universal,  larger story
that is for all people at all times.
God is an inner coming,
 as most religions of the world will agree.
We welcome that Presence into our beings as a woman welcomes a gestating child.
But the Coming is never over.
It is the cosmos itself that is pregnant with all of us
and gives birth to us one by one.
As we evolve communally, the new human comes into existence,
but it is always an inner coming to each one personally.
The Woman clothed in the sun is Earth herself,
having come to enough consciousness
to be able to communicate this fact to us. 
It wasn’t possible before that moment because we had not grown
enough in our sense of identity for this amazing miracle to happen –
the revelation of the Lady who is still calling us to come
and see and ponder this truth.
                                                          


Pisces – February 19 – March 20
Colour – Magenta
The planet – Neptune
The tarot card – The Hanged Man
The Twelfth House of
The twelfth chakra in the energy system is under the feet,
grounded into the earth and the spiritual centre are in the feet
The colour of the chakra is magenta, the complementary chakra is white
and the higher spiritual colour is pale
A blessed feast day of Nuestra Signore de Guadulupe on this full moon!

blessings
Hettienne
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Twelve Days of Mary – Day 11

My vision for the Black Madonna tarot deck is to translate the yearning
for the sacred marriage and inner union into a deck of sacred altars
and shrines, together with poetry and  love songs to the Black Mother.
I plan on recording a cd of sound journeys and meditations
that will form part of the deck.
Today I share with you the Black Madonna delle Gallini,
Madonna of the Hens of Paganini

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One of the Seven Sisters, the famous Black Madonnas of Campania.
The story goes that an image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was found buried beneath the earth. It was located by a flock of hens in the 16th century, who scratched persistently at the soil where the icon was located until it was dug out. Between 1609 and 1610, eight miracles were performed by the icon, including the healing of a cripple who was visited in a dream by the Madonna.  The miraculous image is displayed year-round. However, the wooden statue, seen in the film below, is only revealed during this feast and another in September. The doors of the sanctuary are closed from Easter until the feast day while the statue is unveiled and a throne set up in her honor. The feast begins when the doors to the sanctuary open. The procession occurs on Easter Sunday. The statue of the Madonna is placed on a chariot which is driven by motorbike. Devotees, either people of Pagani or pilgrims, make offerings to the statue. The traditional offerings are live birds, such as hens, doves, turkeys, or peacocks; or rich peasant food, including savory torts made of salami and eggs. Mothers bring their children to the Madonna to be blessed and protected by her. The procession, including the statue now covered in live birds, moves throughout the city streets and alleyways. It passes by shrines called toselli, such as the ones seen here and here, which are set up in honor of the Madonna. These are often draped with satin and lace, and sometimes contain paintings or small statues of the Madonna to whom prayers and food offerings are made. Of course, throughout the feast, the tammurriata is played and danced in honor of the Black Madonna.

Some traditions draw between the the older woman and her hen in the presepe with the agricultural goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone, maiden goddess of the underworld. In African-American folk magic, hens’ feet are used to protect against harmful tricks because of the scratching they do in the ground. If someone has laid a harmful powder or charm against you in your yard where you are likely to walk over it every day, thus poisoning yourself through your feet, the scratching of the hens (literally or magically) helps to tear that power up out of the earth. It would be a stretch to say this practice and the Madonna of the Hens share a common point of origin. But the image of the hens’ feet digging magic out of the ground resonates nicely with the popular legend of the hens clawing at the buried icon of the Madonna.
Acknowledgement and thanks to the website https://www.italianfolkmagic.com
On our wheel of colour-astro dealing the eleventh card for
Aquarius – January 20 – February 19
Colour – pale coral
The planet – Uranus
The tarot card – The Magdalen (The Tower)
The chakra above the head  


Meditation

Oh Mother, Our Lady of the Hens!
Please lay on me Your healing hand!
Figlio
Oh Figlio” Come, She will heal your throat
Figlio, you can not call this a feast, unless you buy the flowers
The Madonna knows how to choose Her feast day

– from Alessandra Belloni’s Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna

blessings
Hettienne

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Twelve Days of Mary – Day 10

The spider has always been a powerful symbol of this world and its illusions as well as its ties that bind and the various connections that we inadvertently create. The spider has been depicted in story and myth as both creator and creatrix of our world of the mind. The spider’s web is also held as metaphor for a variety of connections and matrix.
In Ancient Egypt, the spider was associated with the goddess Neith as spinner and weaver of destiny, and this is also true for the Babylonian Ishtar and the Greek Arachne and the Roman Minerve.
Then there is the story of the weaving competition between the goddess Athena and Arachne. The Greek “arachne” (αράχνη) means “spider”, and is the origin of Arachnida, the spiders’ taxonomic class in biology. In Hindu myth, the spider represented Maya, virgin aspect of the Triple Goddess, spinner of magic, fate, and earthly appearances.
The female spider’s habit of devouring her mate led to identification of the spider with  the death goddess. Maya transformed into Kali-Uma.
In Aztec myth the spider was symbolic of the souls of warrior women who descend to earth and devour all the men. Another dark association with the spider is that in the myth of Odin, it represented the gallows, called Odin’s ‘fate’ i.e. his death.

In the Vedic philosophy of India, the spider is depicted as hiding the ultimate reality with the veils of illusion. Indra’s net is used as a metaphor for the Buddhist concept of interpenetration, which holds that all phenomena are intimately connected. Indra’s net has a multifaceted jewel at each vertex, and each jewel is reflected in all of the other jewels. 
When Indra fashioned the world, he made it as a web, and at every knot in the web is tied a pearl. Everything that exists, or has ever existed, every idea that can be thought about, every datum that is true—every dharma, in the language of Indian philosophy—is a pearl in Indra’s net. Not only is every pearl tied to every other pearl by virtue of the web on which they hang, but on the surface of every pearl is reflected every other jewel on the net. Everything that exists in Indra’s web implies all else that exists. – Alan Watts
The spider’s web was likened to the Wheel of Fate and the spider to the Goddess as a spinner, sitting at the hub of her wheel.  
During my recent pilgrimage to Southern Italy I reconnected with the tammorriata and pizzica tarantata and its powerful rhythm. It is believed that women suffering from depression and auto immune disorders (to name a few) have been bitten by the mythical tarantula, a very poisonous spider. The poison of the spider creates a malaise which can be cured through entering into deep ecstatic states induced by dancing and the pizzica rhythm of the tarantella dance. The music is created by the use of the frame drum and castanets. The dance holds many sexual connotations and movements and it awakens deep-seated memory of instinct and emotion. 
If you are interested in reading more about the tradition of the tarantella in Southern Italy I recommend the book ‘Dances with spiders; crisis, celebrity and celebration in Southern Italy’ by Karen Ludtke as well as Allesandra Belloni’s Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna. 
The tarantula or spider in this shrine can be viewed as the dark mother creatrix. The one who creates this world and its web as our nemesis. We can also look at it is the sacred web of illusion that challenges us to find our own potential and uncover our own divinity. For this time and place, the dark side of the mother has been hidden from our view with all our focus on the positive and joyful aspects of life. But that is only half the picture. In order to awaken and to live in awakened consciousness we have to acknowledge and find that which is hidden in the shadows within ourselves and within our society. We have to address all that which makes us uncomfortable and allow life to stretch us beyond that which we believe to be our limit.   In this current era of patriarchy and its inequalities between races, classes, gender and with 
its focus on material wealth and of course, ultimately, power, we have to feel 
the pain of those around us and shake that web. Compassion only comes alive 
when we become aware of our own pain and suffering. The holy web of the spider 
clearly shows us that we are all connected. Somewhere in your energetic body 
you will feel the pain of the planet as well as the pain of someone who is 
being suppressed.

  
On our wheel of colour-astro  dealing the tenth card for 
Capricorn – December 22 – January 20
Colour – Black
The planet – Saturn
The tarot card – Black Madonna (The Devil)
The house of wealth, career, public image, success
The tenth chakra is in the  palm of the left hand
And the spiritual centres are  in the knees
  
Meditation
  
Cauldron of Love
Dark, dark, swirl the waters
 in the black Cauldron.
He looks into its smooth surface
 and sees only
the  reflection of imperfection.
No, he cries, madly swirling
the waters
breathing his poisonous breath
into the words,
‘you are not good enough’,
‘you need to be more, better, taller, thinner, kinder,
sadder, happier, angrier, slower, faster, whatever,
you need to be perfect,
you need to be more like Her’
Slowly he crawls away, never looking back,
ignorant of Her Divine reflection in the
blackness of the dark waters of the Cauldron of Life.
                                               – Hettienne Grobler

blessings
Hettienne
  
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Twelve Days of Mary Love – Day 8

Twelve days of Mary – Day 8

In honouring the dark face of the Black Madonna we honour
the darkness as well as the dark African mother of all humanity.
She is at one with the dark soil of the earth;
her power comes through the mountains, rocks, trees,
oil and milk.  We see her image carved in the wood of sacred trees;
she flows milk from her statues and sacred oil wells
still produce oil near her sacred caves and sanctuaries.
She is immanent in matter.

Mary Beth Moser writes ‘ as a power Source, she can restore power to those who need it.
It is up there for claiming. Her fierce power can help us become our authentic selves,
Remain, inviolable, protect the earth, resist dominant power, and demand justice.
Her inclusive power can help us embrace each other as siblings, children of the
same African mother.  Her ancient power can help us remember that
everything has its roots in the past and that we all come from what came
before us.  Her potential energy can help us remember our own potential, that
anything is possible – the grandest dream, the greatest change.
Her power of creation and destruction can remind us of the cycle of life,
death and rebirth.’
Her dark face reminds us of the power of darkness; the darkness of the unknown from
which everything comes; the darkness of below to which we must descend.’
On our wheel of colour-astro dealing the eighth card for
the eighth day of Epiphany, 2 January and the eighth house

Scorpio – October 24 – November 23
Colour – Violet
The planet – Pluto
The tarot card – Card XIII The Threshold (Death)
The eighth house of death
The eighth chakra of the Crown linked to the brain
And the spiritual centre of the reproductive organs
The colour of the crown chakra is violet, its complementary colour is orange
And its spiritual colour is pale orange

Meditation

 A tradition of transmission
The poem is a sutra
threading its way through us as we take shape
within its vocal texturing.
These urgent impulses of a veiled divinity
need a human face
to be the likeness of how love speaks.
We call that face poetry
but it is our life that is being revealed
from beyond its appearance.
The air is full of blossoms
and we have the same breath
of all the enlightened beings
who ever found out how to flower.
It takes a soul alchemy to portray those features
and to unwind the thread of love’s reality.
It takes a tradition of transmission
to create blooms from the prayers of our earth.
      – Eric Ashford

Today is the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
You may want to read my past posts for this special celebration
on my blog Cloister of the Heart under the label
Twelve Days of Mary

If  you click on this link it will take you to all the previous
Immaculate Conception celebrations on my blog
http://pathofdivinelove.blogspot.com/search?q=immaculate+conception

Beyond our physical and psychic being, we have
to discover our spiritual being, our eternal ground,
and there the mystery of love is fulfilled.
Some may come to this interior marriage by
way of exterior marriage, others are called
by the way of virginity, but all alike have to experience
the virgin birth, the marriage with God,
before they can reach maturity – Father Bede Griffiths
blessings
Hettienne
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Twelve Days of Mary – Day 7

Our Lady of Loreto

Icon of  Justice
In the Mysteries of Mary I shared the Mariamic tradition of 
 alchemy,  prophecy and vision starting
with the lineage of Miriam.
The Black Madonna symbolizes this prophetic tradition carried
by all women, starting with Miriam, and continuing through
the sybils, who were prophetesses before and after the
christian era.
At the sanctuary of Loreto, in Italy, the very black madonna
and national icon of Italy, stand the statues of
ten sybils in front of the ten Jewish prophets.
I also share images of the ten sybils on the facade of the
church of the oldest black madonna in the world, in the
Santa Maggiorre church in Trastevere, Italy on my Patreon.
www.patreon.com/thefrenchmadonna
The sybils of the black goddess Cybele is said to have prophesied
the birth of the Christ child.

The casa or house of Mary which is enclosed in the sanctuary of Loreto
can be seen as a metaphor the ‘enclosed garden’ and the ‘Shekinah’,
the feminine in-dwelling divine presence of the Jewish god as told in the Kabalah. 
 In Prague there is a little known exact replica
of the House of Loreto with a magnificent copy of the statue of
the Black Madonna of Loreto enclosed into an alcove in the wall of the little house.
Elizabeth Fiorenza uncovered the significance of the sybils in the sanctuary of
Loreto.  She discusses in detail in her book ‘In Memory of Her’ their significance.
In August 2017 I spent two weeks in Bologna visiting the tarot museum but also
participating the in the important 15 August celebration and pilgrimage
of the Black Madonna de Luce.  I shared many pictures on my IG feed
of how similar the sculptures of the sybils inside the Italian churches
are to the cards of the Mysteries of Mary tarot deck.
The litany of the black madonna of Loreto refers to the ark of the covenant.
Fiorenza interprets the story of Jesus and his mother, that his mother
sent him to do her work in the world.  She explains her theory that
Sophia was the god of Israel expressed in the language and imagery
of the goddess. Sophia’s messenger and son came with a message of
equality and justice for all outcasts, minorities and the oppressed :
women, the poor, the old, the sick and all living creatures.
The celebrations of the Black Madonna L’incoronata outside Foggia
takes place on the May 1, known as Mayday, the international
holiday of workers and also communist celebrations.

On our wheel of colour-astro we are dealing the seventh card for
the seventh day of Epiphany, 1 January and the seventh house

Libra – September 23 – October 24
Colour – Indigo
The planet – Venus
The tarot card –  Holy Wisdom (traditionally Justice)
The seventh house of marriage and partnership
The seventh chakra of the Third Eye
and the spiritual centre of the  adrenal glands
The colour of the forehead is indigo, its complementary colour is yellow
and its higher spiritual colour is golden-white



Meditation

Mother,
Make of my heart
A vast bed of peace
Where you can lay down your heart
and rest from the agony that harrows it
From all we are and continue to do,
As you comfort me, so may I comfort you
–  Andrew Harvey

blessings
Hettienne
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Twelve Days of Mary – Day 6

The Virgin of Juquila,
La Juquilita,
La Morenita de Juquila,
And originally the Most Pure Virgin of the Conception of Amialtepec.

According to local stories the Virgin of Juquila arrived in Oaxaca, Mexico
from Spain two hundred years ago – a small statue of only two feet tall.
Some say the local priest brought her from the Phillipines. He gifted
the statue to one of his house servants who was very devoted
to the Dear Dark Lady.  She soon became famous for working
incredible miracles and she gained a huge following.
Many years later the clergy of the Church decided to build 
a chapel for her.  She was installed in the chapel near
Juquila and some years later the chapel was destroyed by a fire
but she survived.   She was moved into the church in the town
of Juquila, and on completion of the reconstructed chapel,
she was moved back to her original home, but miraculously
she re-appeared in the church in Juquila.  This happened
three times and it was accepted that she possessed great power.
Jaquila is an isolated place in the mountains and it is not easy
to get there.  Yet, thousands of people visit and promise to return
each year.  Devotees often crawl the last two kilometers and
arrive with bloody knees.
‘Like the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Lady of Juquila has a heart for the local people and their land; one can sense in the devotion a certain populism and even anti-clericalism, reflective of the Virgin’s desire to be at home with local peasants rather than imprisoned in a church. She feels for them, grants their requests, and wants to be their mother. Even after papal coronation of the devotion in 2014, the devotion remains one that is deeply tied to a people and a place. 

Hence the crowd that gathered there in Salinas, California, this year. A community leader described to me how residents take turns caring for the image, but this weekly rosary was a summons to the entire community of Oaxaquenõs to bring their prayers before the Virgin. They spoke their petitions aloud: “for safety on our streets,” “for our young people” and “for healing.” They named the mysteries, each spoken by a different person leading the prayer, and responded antiphonally. They prayed the Fatima prayer after each decade as well as the prayer of St. Michael. They ended with a beautiful litany of the Virgin. I followed along on my rosary app in Spanish, promising myself that I would learn the prayers by heart for the next opportunity.

Now, when I finger the rosary that I always carry with me — a rosary made by women from Oaxaca — I join my prayer to theirs.

Afterward, many came forward to receive a flower and brush it against the image of the virgin, in order that it be a sign to a loved one of the mother’s protection. Watching them, I called to mind the words of the song that the sisters sang: “with all my soul.” Many of these people lack documents and are fearful of being deported. They live amid violence — a park nearby bears the name of a child killed in gunfire — and economic uncertainty. Many have fled places where there is even more violence, and they bare their souls to the Virgin in the hopes that she might grant them safety, solace, perhaps even a measure of comfort.

Now, when I finger the rosary that I always carry with me — a rosary made by women from Oaxaca — I join my prayer to theirs. Virgin of Juquila, “to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.”

Reprinted with permission of National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company, Kansas City, MO. NCRonline.org. Dr. Tim Muldoon is Catholic Extension’s Director of Mission Education.

Today is the sixth day of the Twelve Days of Mary and it also relates to the sixth day of the Epiphany of 31 December.On our wheel of colour-astro we are dealing the sixth card for
Virgo August 24 – September 23

Colour – Mary Blue

The planet – Mercury
The tarot card –  Lady of the Lamp (Hermit)
The sixth house of service and health 

The sixth chakra of the throat and the spiritual centre of the  Intestinal Tract The colour of the throat is blue, its complementary colour is orangeand its higher spiritual colour is golden yellow
 Lady of the Lamp 
  This card has bearing on today as well as the the time period of Virgo for your personal year in 2020 but also to the area of that house, the chakra, the spiritual centre etc. At the end we will look at and explore all 12 cards, how they support each other, complement each other and how they will affect our year.

Meditation 

  It is time to feel love for yourself, for the world around you and every creature and being. It is time to walk the blessing way in the steps of Wisdom.  Today we take hands and take the risk of opening our hearts to possibilities hidden yet manifest right before our eyes.  She sings words of unity and hope, of wonder and beauty.  What does it mean to live together with Wisdom? It is to live fully awake to the centre of all the contradictions of our times, while refusing to be defined by them, nor accommodate ourselves to them.  Julian of Norwich said ‘for when I am home with Her I can take my ease, for nothing is bitter in Her company.’  She also said ‘we are not to solve the contradiction, but remaining in the midst of it, in peace, knowing that it is fully solved, but that the solution is secret, and will never be guessed until it is revealed.’

blessings
Hettienne

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Twelve Days of Mary – Day 5

 Cybele

 She walked with lions and rode astride one and her
priestesses rode in a chariot drawn by lions.  On her throne,
with a cymbal in her hand, she was flanked by lions.
She was the mother goddess of fertility and her special places
were the forests and the mountaintops.  Holding a tambourine
she inspired wild ecstatic dancing.
As Mistress of Animals she was accompanied by lion.
Her lover/son was her priest and one who renounced
the patriarchal world.

The priestesses of Cybele was also called the Sibyls.
Sibilla is the Latin form of the name of Cybele,
Anatolian mother goddess who was brought to Rome in the form
of a black menhir. Cybele’s priestesses used bee honey in sacred rituals;
as prophetesses they foretold that her black stone will be
taken to Rome as a sign of victory and ‘on the fourth day
of April, two hunderd and four years before the time of Christ,
Cybele’s black stone was placed in the Temple of Victory, on the
ancient Palatine of Rome.’ – Ancient mirrors of Womahood – Merlin Stone

Her son and lover Attis, similarly to the story of Mary and Jesus,
was a shepherd and he died beneath an evergreen tree and his image
was hung upon a tree (similarly to a wooden cross)
One can also see the connection between the stories of Isis and
Osiris in Cybele and Attis.

The sanctuary of the Black Virgin of Montevergine
is built on the site of the black Cybele.  Similarly to the worship
of Cybele, Mamma Schaviona is worshipped by the playing
of the tammorriata.
Another of Cybele’s great temples stood on the site of the Vatican where
the St Peter’s Basilica stands today.
According to Barbara G Walker the games that form part
of the sacred rituals of worshipping Cybele, is the origins of the carnivale.

In many Black Madonna traditions the carnivale plays an important part of the
festivities.  Small minority groups, on the fringe of society, takes part in the
carnivale to highlight the truths that no-one wants to face;  through satire, puppets
and vulgar comedy they shine the light on the shadow of our system, culture
and society.  ‘In authentic carnival festivities, carnival turns everything inside out,
bottom to top, front to rear and unveils, unmasks and uncrowns.’  This is evident
in the festivals of the Black Madonna that I attended in both France, Italy and
Belgium. The carnival has at its heart the wish to break up and dismantle
patriarchal social stratification and husbandry.

Today is the fifth day of the Twelve Days of Mary and it also relates to the fifth day of the Epiphany of 30 December.
On our wheel of colour-astro we are dealing the fifth card for



Leo July 23 – August 24
Colour – turquoise
The planet – The Sun
The tarot card – The Holy Child (The Sun)
The fifth house of creativity, self-expression
The fifth chakra of the thymus gland – also called the butterfly chakra
and the spiritual centre of the  High Heart or the Sacred Heart
The colour of the thymus is turquoise, its complementary colour is orande
and its higher spiritual colour is pale coral

The Holy Child in the Mysteries of Mary deck
King of Cups from Nosotras Tarot


This card has bearing on today as well as the the time period of Leo 
for your personal year in 2020
but also to the area of that house, the chakra, the spiritual centre etc.
At the end we will look at and explore all 12 cards, how they support
each other, complement each other and how they will affect your year.

Meditation 

Every living thing is imbued with the Spirit of Love. This one
understanding, held in mass consciousness,
will transform our planet.  Humans and animals
are equal and worthy of respect and the liberty to live.
This understanding, held in mass consciousness,
will transform the planet.
 It will increase and expand its aura
of love to be as brilliant as our sun.
In your mind’s eye see two suns in the heavens.
Two brilliant suns, one above the other.
In your inner heaven the sun’s double will be seen as Mother God
takes Her divine place.  Two suns represent our Father Mother God.
Shining in our heavens they will show us the balance of the
yin and the yang.  The sacred union, the sacred marriage
between the two, will birth the divine child within.
blessings
Hettienne

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Twelve Days of Mary Love – Day 4

Mamma Schaviona
Madonna of Montevergine
O Madonna, you are so beautiful! We find you all the way
up this mountain!
O please, beautiful Child, open this gate to us, this gate to 
Paradise.
We have come here many times and we have always
received your grace.

Let us climb up this big mountain to visit our Mother,
the Slave Mother.
The Madonna has such beautiful eyes that look like two stars,
Two bright shining stars, shining like Her golden crown.
Be will with all your good company, Madonna.
Be glad for next year, we will come see You again
And if we don’t come again, Mamma, wait for us in Paradise.
Dear Madonna, how beautiful You are up on this mountain.
O Child, O little Child, open this gate for us!
We have come to see You so many times, how many miracles
we have received.

 Traditional chant for the Black Madonna of Montevergine
from Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna by
Alessandra Belloni


‘The true power of the Black Madonna and Her tradition is that everyone
is accepted by Her, especially outcasts and those who have experienced
trauma and loneliness.  Because of this, the Madonna of Montevergine,
is also known as the patron of gays.  She is celebrated with a unique,
uninhibited feast every year on February 2, which is Candlemas.
The name derives from the Latin Candelora, Feast of Candles, Feast of Light.
from Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna
A year ago I travelled in a group led by Alessandra up the sacred mountain
of Montevergine and we sang her chant while some played the sacred
tamorriata in preparation of meeting Her face to face.
It was an unforgettable meeting that shook me to my core!!
Today is the fourth day of the Twelve Days of Mary and it also relates to the fourth day of the Epiphany of 29 December.
On our wheel of colour-astro we are dealing the fourth card for




Cancer (June 22 – July 23)
Colour – Green
The Planet – The Moon
The tarot card – The Dancing Sun (The Chariot)
The fourth house of Home and Mother
The fourth chakra of the Heart – green
and the spiritual center of the illumined solar plexus
The colour of the heart is green, its complementary colour is red 
and its higher spiritual colour is gold


The dancing Sun in the Mysteries of Mary tarot deck


This card has bearing on today as well as the the time period of Cancer 
for your personal year in 2020
but also to the area of that house, the chakra, the spiritual centre etc.
At the end we will look at and explore all 12 cards, how they support
each other, complement each other and how they will affect your year.

Meditation 

For today’s meditation I have uploaded a recording of the
Sacred Heart Diksha from Mother Mary on my Patreon.
If you would like to listen, please go to www.patreon.com/thefrenchmadonna

blessings
Hettienne



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Resurrection and regeneration


In the light of the opening of the Lionsgate, I am re-posting an earlier post here.

Resurrection, Regeneration and Re-birth

These are words and images desired by all and often pursued with great intent and focus. But, alas, this part of the journey implies a preceding destruction, dissolution and death – something which the human mind would rather deny or avoid at all costs.

Nothing can be created without destroying something else. Anyone who is consciously creating art, will know this principle well. Often one becomes paralyzed at the thought of breaking down that which seems to be serving you well and that which has proven a worthy vehicle, but you cannot build without breaking down. Even if it only means that where previously there was an empty space of land, and you now create a new building, you still have to destroy the empty land.

And this also holds true for the self. Leaving the old behind invites that you step into the unknown, into a new part of the adventure, without a map and without a clear detailed plan. This calls for great courage and action – both characteristics of the heart chakra. Action as in an inner attitude, a willingness to do things differently, a willingness to let go of who you think or believe you are. For instance, it is no use telling your partner or your family, that ‘you are not an emotionally demonstrative person’ when you know that he/she is yearning for some display of affection from you. It is about reaching out, taking the risk, becoming vulnerable, and doing that which your heart calls for. This can be something really small – look at it as a pebble on the surface of a lake – the smallest pebble creates many circles and ever-widening circles – the same as love in action.

The human resists change, but life is an ever-changing flow, with nothing permanent or ‘absolute’. Everything depends on your perspective, your beliefs and your paradigm. Many sages have set out to demonstrate this reality to seekers, but the power of the mind and its fear of change and the unknown is very strong and this is seated in the lower parts of the brain, known as the primitive or reptilian brain and the limbic brain (more about this in further blogs).

The answer lies in the higher functions of the brain – illumination and ‘enlightenment’ is a function of the higher brain and accessible to all human beings! The activation of higher neural pathways in the brain, is the goal of all energy healing, mystical traditions, practices and very importantly, the goal of meditation. Activate the higher pathways of the brain and you will be re-born into a new reality – one where it is possible to live with the tension of the opposites; where you will know, as the Shaman, that it is possible to live in your own reality, beyond the laws that govern the world created by the lower mind, artist and creator of your own life – albeit always as a part of the whole. Entering the domain of the artist/creator/shaman does not equate the status of ‘God’/Creator/AllThatIs. We are a spark of the Fire and we are both nothing and everything, mortal and immortal, of no consequence and of every consequence. This is part of the paradox that will become clear to you as you step into direct encounters with the ‘mystical’ world. (I place many of these words in apostrophes as they are all words laden with belief and conditioning. The way in which I use them will only become clear to you if you continue to read my words and gain a deeper understanding of the meaning that I am trying to convey to you).

By activating the higher pathways of the brain, the old recording and habitual (mostly negative) thinking is erased. The gates are opened to a peaceful existence without fear and anxiety rooted in the cellular memory and generated by the primitive and limbic parts of the brain. The entire energy structure of the human being is transformed. The luminous body grows and expands and the higher chakras become active. A large and powerful energy field is created, radiating compassion and tolerance and others are attracted to this Love.

A new way of understanding and thinking will become natural and this is available to everyone as part of their evolution into a ‘spiritual divine’ being. But in order to activate these higher centres, you have to do the work and above all, you have to allow the changes to take place. You have to die to the old, spend time in the cave of death and the Underworld, going through the pain of loss, and face the fear of death, before you can be resurrected into a new you. This is a physical and real initiation. Undergoing energetic and mystical initiations cannot replace the physical initiation. They can prepare your mind and test your willingness, but ultimately, you have to walk the talk and you will be given the opportunity to be tested. You will undergo this initiation many times until you finally face the final initiation, that of mortal and physical death. Should you pass these initiations, and grow ‘wings’ as you return from each one, it is said that you will retain knowledge of your personal essence and you will not be re-absorbed into the river of unconsciousness after the final death of the body.

Often one starts with a spiritual practice and changes (as promised) will arrive on your doorstep. However, because these do not fit in with your paradigm and your ideas of who you are and where you are going, you ignore these messengers. The spiritual traditions are all vulnerable to distortion to suit your own, or your spiritual leader’s needs and agenda. Everything that looks like gold, is not always gold. The shadow is a powerful adversary and a wonderful instrument in service of the fearful self. When the self fears change and the unknown, it will employ the shadow self as a servant in the game of keeping you in the dark. We have many tools to our disposal, such as rationalisation, justification, postponement, sloth (the lack of courageous action, the lack of integrity), and others. The shadow is a master of distortion and will use well-known spiritual terminology and concepts to hold you prisoner. When fear is present, love is absent.

That then, is the test. Am I in fear or am I in Love? There is no other choice. If you are not in love, then set about discovering why you are in fear. Ask the questions and live the questions. Be patient. Eventually you will live the answers.


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The Golden Light of Resurrection

 
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’. 

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



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.


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