Category: mysteries of mary tarot deck

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Twelve Days of Mary – Day 3

The Black Madonna of Montserrat
Spain
In Christianity the goddess is personified by the Black Madonna  
In Montserrat, in the Middle Ages, the Benedictine monks
saw their craggy mountain, lush with flowers,
as an image of the Virgin herself. 
Referring to this shrine, Marina Warner writes :
‘While Mary provides a focus for the steeliest ascetism, she is also the ultimate
of fertility symbols.  The mountain blossoms spontaneously;
so does the mother maid.
The old significance of the moon and the serpent as divine attributes
survives in such sanctuaries as Montserrat,
for there she is venerated as a source of fertility and delight ….
The Virgin of Montserrat presides especially over marriage and sex,
pregnancy and childbirth 
                                                           – Alone of all her sex

For a woman without a positive mother, this ‘dark’ side of the Virgin
can bring freedom, the security of freedom, because she is a
natural home for the rejected child..  The child born from the rejected side 
of the mother can bring her own rebel to rest in the outcast
state of Mary. 
The fact is the domestic world alienates her.
She is an outcast, a gypsy.
There is no room for her in the inn.
Saving the abandoned child within her is the woman’s own version
of the Virgin and Divine Child.
Her virgin is the other side of Mary,
‘the ultimate of fertility symbols.’
In loving the abandoned child within herself, 
a woman becomes pregnant with herself.
The child her mother did not nourish, she will now nourish,
not as the pure biblical Virgin who knew no Joseph,
but as the dark Montserrat Virgin who presides over marriage and sex,
 pregnancy and childbirth. 

                           extract from The Pregnant Virgin by Marion Woodman

Today is the third day of the Twelve Days of Mary and it also relates to the third day of the Epiphany of 28 December.
On our wheel of colour-astro we are dealing the third card for




Gemini  May 22 – June 22
Colour Yellow
The planet Mercury
The tarot card The Lover
The Third house of communications and duality
The solar plexus chakra
complementary colour is violet and third eye chakra
spiritual centre are located in the hands


This card has bearing on  the time period of Gemini 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.

Meditation

Visualise the hands as centres of healing, peace, love and wisdom.
Be still and listen. Focus on the in and out breath.
Profound peace comes over me in the stillness.
Be still and know that the I Am in you is really the I Am in all.
All is one life, one Spirit, one magnificent AM uniting all, creating
a matrix of divinity.
The I Am of each one is the I Am of Me.
All is in Me and I AM in all.
My body is in your body and your body is in my body.
My soul is in your soul as divine love, will and wisdom.
I am a channel of my greater divine self and through my hands
I create beauty and healing and communicate 
acceptance and compassion.
I am here as I am required to express my soul and her creativity
into this world.
blessings
Hettienne


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Walking with Mary September QnA – updated post



I am sharing some of the personal tools and ritual which I garnered
through my experiences and spiritual practices over the years.
I have found these practises and blessings to be of great value in my own journey  and believe that they may be of value to you as well.
I am not teaching a specific practise complete in itself with precise lists of what you have to do, but rather I will share with you some of the key practises and prayers which you can adapt to suit your own expression
and consciousnesness.
Some aspects may seem particularly vague, but that is done on purpose
as it will enable you to fill the gaps with your own inner understanding and to stretch yourself into ever-deepening
 layers of connection with self and the Divine.

May these practises and energy transferences (diksha) lead you deeper into the well of wisdom.

Energy Clearing

I will share some inspiration on how to create your sacred space in advance before you start with the meditations. 
It is also important to clear your space before you start with the consecration
of your altar and shawl, etc and before you receive the first mantra for the blessing (diksha) and meditations.

There are various ways of clearing your space : these are just a few that I like to use : burning sage or mpepho (a local indigenous plant in South Africa); 
burning aromatherapy oils;  holy water; sacred waters and salt.

My favourite way of cleansing is the following :



A whole lemon placed in the room and one on the altar.  I leave the lemons in place for weeks (until it has naturally dried out).  
When the lemon starts to rot it has absorbed negative
energy and you have to put it into the compost or garden and replace it with another fresh lemon.

Lemons are powerful energy clearing fruit and one of the oldest holy fruits that we know.  The lemon also aborbs the sacred energies 
of the activated altar and space and you 
can eat it as prasadh (blessed food) after your sacrament.

Secondly I use salt.  
I place a bowl of salt on my altar and this is replaced with clean salt regularly.
It is also a good practise to sprinkle a bit of salt 
in the corners of the room and to sweep
them out regularly. 
 You may be familiar with bathing in water with 
a few tablespoons of Epsom salts
added to it.  I also add slices of lemon to my bath water 
or to my shower, especially
after I had done personal clearing or healing work on others.



In preparation of my sacred space and before any meditation or healing work, I burn frankincense
and myrhh granules (on lit charcoal)
 or a good quality vegan incense.
I clear the entire room with the smoke of the frankincense.

I also clear my space by sprinkling blessed water on everything.

Music is also a powerful energetic cleanser.  We all have different vibrations
and resonate with different frequencies.  I have my favourite music which includes
classical music by Mozart and Beethoven, chants by Krishna Das and my
absolute favourite are the chants of Lourdes.  You can find these online :
Les 20 plus beaux chants pour la messe
and
Lourdes : 150 Ans de chants


Blessing of the Altar

Placing sacred items and images on your altar, sanctifies and blesses everything
that is within the energy field of those items. 
 If you work with a pendulum you can
prove this fact to yourself.  You can test the frequency and vibration of a space
without a sacred image.  
Then place the image or holy water or rosary which had
been used for prayers, back into the space and test the space again.
You may be amazed at the increase in vibration. 
 Our cells consists mainly of water
and prana and these vibrate in resonance with its surroundings. 

Essential oils

I will share with you the secret recipes for meditation blends
during the weeks to come.

We will use lemon oil, eucalyptus oil, rose oil and if you can afford to,
sandalwood oil.  Frankincense oil also has a very high vibration but is very expensive.
Candles and colours over the four weeks

You can keep the same candle for the four weeks or you can
change the colour and/or image of the candle that you work with..

Feel free to change the colour of your altar cloth and flowers too.

We will do a draw, layout and reading from the 
 Mysteries of Mary tarot deck
for each week, but you can use any deck that you choose to.

The overarching theme for the entire 30 days will be

Mary, Our Lady of the Rose

The themes for the four weeks are :

Week 1 – Saturday 7 September to Friday 13 September 2019
The Nativity of Mary 
– the inner child –
The Suit of Vessels
 BLUE AND GOLD


Week 2 Saturday 14 September to Friday 20 September
Mary as Beloved, Bride and Magdalen
– the tree of life –
The Suit of Holy Rood
RED and GREEN


Week 3 Saturday 21 September to Friday 27 September
Mary as Sophia, Our Lady of Wisdom, Shekinah
– high priestess –
The Suit of Distaff
DARK BLUE

Week 4 Saturday 28 September to Friday 4 October
Mary as the sacred rose garden
– Cosmic Mary –
The Suit of Roses
RED


I will share posts during each week with support, 
discussions and other tools such
as creating soulcollage cards, keeping a journal, dream work and so on.
You can share and connect with the Walking with Mary community
on Instagram #walkingwithmary #thirtydayswithmary 
@walkingwithmary
We are also on www.patreon.com/thefrenchmadonna
and I share on FB on the Mysteries of Mary tarot page

blessings

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Day 21 of Thirty Days

III of Distaff, the Rosa Mystica
Listing a few of the names that Sophia goes by makes a lovely litany
Yes, she is Judaic, she is Christian, she is Buddhist, she is Moslem,
she is and will be everywhere that anything is manifest in form
Alice O Howell – The Dove in the Stone




Today I share with you one of my favourite tarot layouts, 
the Rosa Mystica reading.
The Rosa Mystica is the Three of Distaff (Swords)
in the Mysteries of Mary tarot deck.
The apparition and miracle of Mary in the story of the
Rosa Mystica is based on the three swords that are transformed
into three roses.
The roses are said to have been blue, pink and golden.
These are the exact same colours of the triple flames of the
esoteric (hidden) heart chakra, also known as the higher heart
or the sacred heart in the Ascended Master tradition.
In 1947 in Montechiari, Italy, the Radiant Lady appeared to
Pierrina Gilli.  She wore a violet dress and a white veil.
She had three big  swords through her heart.  The second
time that she appeared to Pierrina she was wearing a white dress 
and three roses had replaced the three swords.
The messages apparently had to do with the clergy of the church,
but the symbolism was that the three swords in her heart
had been transformed into three flowering roses through three
redeeming acts on the part of those that had caused her sorrow.
The pierced heart is a universal symbol.  It signifies
pain and suffering but also the awakening of the heart and the
transformation of the mind which is the gift of working
consciously and consistently with one’s pain and suffering.
This is not a morbid belief in martyrdom but the understanding
that hardship and loss need not be regarded as pointless.
If one looks at challenges and betrayals in your life 
as opportunities  to allow yourself to be informed to your
false beliefs and conditioning, as well as the inner strength
and unconditional love and forgiveness that you are capable of 
you will be rewarded with a greater sense of clarity and inner-seeing.
Spiritual growth is never possible without going through
the pain and the suffering in the same way that it is not possible
to give birth without going through the labour.
The roses at the feet of the Immaculate Conception
So, for the Rosa Mystica layout I drew the three roses
and the three swords.
Then I call on the presence of the Rosa Mystica and Our Lady of Lourdes,
the Immaculate conception and I place those two cards on the layout.
The three roses symbolically represent the three flames of kundalini
and the divine ‘braid of energy’ that is formed in your spiritual body.
The ida, pingala and sushumna.
They are not truly so distinct and separate, as shakty and shiva/
ida and pingala are not truly separate, but for the purposes of a 
reading we can separate these into three distinct aspects.
In this layout you are looking at three areas of your life;
and i separated them into action, receptivity and outcome.
The Questions :
Which challenge/obstacle do I face in each of these three areas of my life?
You can specify the three areas of your life before you do the layout.
Pick three cards, and place one on each sword.
How will these challenges be transformed into gifts/grace/positive outcomes?
What will be expected from me?
Pick three cards, and place one on each rose.
Afterwards I realised that it will on an intellectual level make more sense to turn the layout
around, that is to have the swords at the bottom of the layout and the roses on top.
But up is not always down, so I was quite happy to keep it this way.
Three of the cards that have significance on this reading
Mary, Sophia, Mother Wisdom, Gnosis, Holy Spirit or one of the many
names that have been given to her by different tradtions, speaks to and
awakens the highest point of consciousness as symbolised by the
apex of the triangle with its three sides.
She is the source of intuitive knowing and its the veils of the
mind that obscures the knowing and the bliss.
It is miraculous ….. if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of
track that has been there all the while, waiting for you,
and the life that you ought to be living is the one  you are living …
If you are following your bliss, you are enjoying … that life within you
all the time – Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth
blessings
Hettienne
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Day 17
Ancient prayer of Protection

I salute you, Glorious Virgin, star more
brilliant than the sun,
redder than the freshest rose,
whiter than any lily,
higher in heaven than any of the saints.

The whole earth revers you, accept my praise
and come to my aid. In the midst of your so
glorious days in heaven, do not forget the miseries
of this earth:
turn your gaze of kindness on all those who suffer
and struggle and whose lips are soaked
in the bitterness of this life.

Have pity on those who loved each other
and were torn apart.
Have pity on the loneliness of the heart,
on the feebleness of our faith,
on the objects of our tenderness.
Have pity on those who weep,
on those who pray,
on those who tremble.
Give everyone hopefulness and peace.

Ancient prayer of Protection translated by Andrew Harvey


You can find links to the foundation Immaculate Practise here.
By now you know that you can play around with the practise
and that the touchstone of transformation is the personal
commitment and discipline of showing up.

The mantra is the rose that weaves each day’s meditation
and practise into the magnificent rosary of holy action.

blessings to you
Hettienne



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Day Eleven

Blessings to you.
On this, the eleventh day of Thirty Days with Mary,
we practise the Immaculate Practise and you 
have the freedom to pray any of the prayers shared with you,
practise either the Meeting with Mary meditation,
or do the Sacred Heart diksha once more to strengthen
the spiritual energies before you start with the
Sacred Heart Meditation on Day Twelve.
We are currently in the second week and the focus
is on the Suit of Holyrood (wands) and
the archetype of the Sacred Heart, the Magdalen
and the Mystical Marriage.
The Tree of Choices
Mysteries of Mary Tarot
www.hergracesacredart.com
VI  TREE OF CHOICES
Traditionally The Lovers
‘God planted trees in a garden. Humans lived among those trees, they were not yet divided when they were told: Eat from this tree or do not eat from it.’ Logion 94, The Gospel of Philip
The tree plays an important role in the Mysteries.  In this card we are
confronted with the Tree of Choices.  In the Biblical and Judaic stories
there are different versions of the trees of Paradise.  It would seem that
there was in truth only one tree, the Tree of Life.  This is an ancient symbol
of the self-sustaining and regenerating power of a spirit filled world.
In the story, this tree was later split into two, the Tree of Life and the
Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. After the split of the trees
we see that they are now in opposition to each other. After the fall of
Adam and Eve, caused by their eating from the fruit of the
tree of Knowledge, humanity was cut off and banned
from the Tree of Life.  The Tree of Life promised eternal life
and humanity was now doomed to a mortal and exiled life, beyond the veil.
In this shrine I compare the metaphor of the two trees with the way in
which our culture have split value and worthiness of
masculine and feminine and then still further
dividing the feminine into the ‘good girl/virgin/wife/mother
and the bad girl/lover/wise woman.
This split is reflected in the way that the stories of Mariam of Nazareth
and Miriam of Magdala, is interpreted and
held up as image of the two aspects of woman .
Popular legend has assigned the apple tree to the
Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  The apple is a powerful
symbol of woman and her feminine sexual nature.
 In this version of the story of the Fall of Man, woman and
her sexual nature is held responsible for their
eviction from Paradise.  So right at the onset a woman
has been forbidden from getting to know
and understand her complex sexual nature.
There is an inherent sexuality in physical bodies;
one could say that the soul radiates its mystical and
sexual nature through its physical cloak.
But humanity has been severed from this mystery and all its gifts.

In the Christian story we are only told the story of
Mary the Virgin-Mother, the one who conceived immaculately
and who remained a virgin even after the birth of her son.
We never really meet Mary the Beloved of Jesus,
the Bride of the Bridal Chamber, the one who is called the Magdalene.

Mary the Mother of God is indeed a Bride
without a Bridegroom as She is the Bride of the Spirit,
but there is another sacrament in the mysteries,
that of the Bride and the Beloved Bridegroom..
This brings us to Mary Magdalene and the various interpretations
of her role in the story of Jesus and the three Marys.
Few accept Mary Magdalene as the beloved or the
bride of Jesus the Bridegroom.
Mary Magdalene has been blackened in reputation by
various authors of religion through the centuries
and mostly she has only been seen as an unholy woman
who indulges in pleasures of the flesh.
Religion has always separated the life of the flesh
and the life of the spirit and especially in the treatment of
women as wives, lovers and mistresses.
And we see this split right at the start of the story with the
two trees in the Garden of Paradise.  

In this card we see Mary the Mother with the rosary in her hands and we see the black Mary as she is depicted in the poem ‘The Thunder, Perfect Mind’ in the Nag Hammadi library.  In this shrine she represents Mary Magdalene and ultimately both together represent the Feminine Soul and aspect of the eternal feminine.  Both these women carry the name Mary and to me it is an important indicator that there is an important hidden message for those with ears to hear.  The split between the Madonna and the whore is active in many layers of our cultures.
Women are demonised for the expression of their sexuality,
whereas men are honoured and revered for their sexual prowess. 
In the traditional Lovers card we often see a male hero struggling
for a choice between two women.  In the Mysteries card we have the
female version of the choices card.
Women are mostly compared to men and masculine pursuits and rarely in relation to other women and themselves.  This creates an imbalance in women and a suppression of womanly ways and feminine relational values.
Hecate, goddess of choices, is often shown with three roads behind her.  One plus one equals three: new life is born from struggling and discord. Living with the tension of the opposites, allowing disagreement and another’s voice that differ from yours, to be heard, brings awareness to the glassy mind, of the awesome beauty of creating a life that has meaning. There is a place where all the rivers converge and that place is the Sacred Heart of humanity. 
Through the union of the opposites, that is, through the marriage of two opposing forces, a third force is born.  This is the meaning of creativity and the magical nature of the number three.  (This card is a six and thus contains two threes). On the path of divine love, the magical child of love and hope is born from the marriage of the opposites.
The braid of life contains three strands which can be symbolised by the colours white, red and black.  In the ancient cultures the hawthorn tree was regarded as a sacred tree. Today the hawthorn tree is sacred to Mary and the goddess as well. This specific tree contains all three elements of the thread of life and even more importantly, they overlap. The white blossoms start to form whilst the red berries and black seeds are still hanging on the thickly leaved branches.
 The white is regarded as the ‘virgin’, the cycle of spring and new beginnings; the red berries represent summer and the fullness of the season and the physical acts of sensuality and joy and loving and the black seed contains the potential of fathering the new life and it also is the end of the life of the berry.
As we dance and weave with the tension of desire and repulsion between the opposites of life, we discover new possibilities, new experiences and we weave a new story.
This shrine and card represent choices. The Tree of Choices invites you to consider the choice to say ‘both’ instead of the black and white rationale of ‘either/or’.  You will be given the opportunity to make a decision and you are reminded that it is possible to find a new way and a different way of reacting and of doing things.  You are reminded that it is only fear that will force you into a corner, and thereby denying half the picture.  When you are willing to keep an open mind and an open heart, it is possible for a new vision to be born.

blessings
Hettienne
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Day 1 Fire and Water

Sacred Altar in the Temple of Mary garden

Welcome to the Temple of Mary where we will dedicate ourselves to the Sacred Heart
of the Mother for the next thirty days.
Together we will tend to the holy hearth within and fan
the fires of  devotion and transformation.
The Yoga of the Mother leads us to the mystical marrying of the physical
and spiritual in the bridal chamber of the heart.
Today we step into our sacred spaces.
(See my previous posts on preparing and purifying which
you can do before you sit down to start this communion with Divine Mary.)

Never underestimate the power of ritual and ceremony.
You only need a small table or surface on which to create your altar.
The ritual of preparing the altar, lighting candle and incense, etc
indicates to the subconscious and unconscious that you are now entering
sacred time and space.

I use white for my altar cloth and prefer a white candle.  You can add
the colours of the elements of each week if you choose to do so.
Work at your own pace.  You can catch up at any time.
If possible, enter into sacred communion with Mother Mary  more or less at the same time
of day every day.  The most powerful time for meditation is just before dawn
as the energies are new and fresh and it is a daily re-birth.  And on a practical level, one is
often too tired to do so after a long and busy day. But do not let that stop you.
If the practise does not fit in with your lifestyle then you will not keep it up, so no
hard and fast rules here!

The sun rising over one of the Mary shrines in the garden

I will try to keep things as simple and straightforward as possible.

I will start slowly by sharing only one or two sacred practises and rituals at a time.
These will build the heat in your inner furnace and ignite the sacred fire
slowly and gently.

The Immaculate Practise
This body of ritual and devotion is called
the Immaculate Practise of devotion to Mary.

Today we will invoke a blessing and sacrament from Mary on our sacred work
to be done over the next month.  We will also sanctify our meditation shawl, rosary
(and/or mala) and any other items to be used as sacred altar. It is a good idea to place
 a glass or bottle of water on your altar.  You can drink this water after the
blessing ritual.
Should you want to, you can repeat this invocation daily.

After you have blessed your space, open the ritual with a prayer to Mary.
You can use one of your own and if you want to, (you can share it with the community.)
Or you can use one of the prayers that I am sharing with you.
The first prayer follows below.

When you have said the prayer with intent and focus, pick up your rosary and repeat the daily mantra.
Please complete the rosary at least twice and a 108 bead mala at least once.
As you become more comfortable, or if you are already a seasoned meditator,
then repeat this mantra up to 6 times around the rosary.
For a mantra we use the rosary in the same way as we do a mala or prayer beads :
you move the beads one by one through your fingers, repeating the line of the mantra on each bead.

This mantra is to be repeated daily for seven days.  The more we work with a mantra, the more
it vibrates through our cells and energy and transforms our mind and etnergy bodies.

Close your communion with repeating the prayer again.

As you feel your heart filled with peace and gratitude to the blessings received from
Mary, the Rose of the World, you can scatter some of your fresh flower petals, or sprinkle some
of your blessed water, over her image.

thank you
thank you
thank you

And so it is.

The sanctification of our sacred altars

Mantra for blessing and sanctification

Ave Maria Sanctum Gloriae
Ave Maria Sanctum Gloriae
Ave Maria Sanctum Gloriae
OM

Repeat the full mantra 3 or 6 times.  You can keep count with your rosary
or prayer beads. Then place your hands on your shawl and move to the rosary
and all items on your altar.  Place your hands on the container with water.  If you choose
to drink the water afterwards, keep a small amount for the next day.  You can
daily add to the water and by the end of the thirty days you will have water
with powerful healing properties. 

You can add this healing (holy) water to your bath or food.  

Daily Prayer
Oh Mary, Mother of All, grant our hearts be filled with love,
compassion and peace no matter the circumstances of our lives
OM

Oh Mary, the Wise, grant to us ever wider eyes with which to see the
true power and beauty of your world and our world. Let harmony and
wholeness be established within all kingdoms.
OM

As it is above. so it is below


Mantra
The Sanskrit word ‘mantra’ means protection of the mind.

Om Jai Mata Mary Ma

Sit quietly for a few minutes, just allowing yourself absorb the energy you have invoked.
Enjoy it …… feel the presence of the Sacred embracing you, flowing all around you.
We rejoice in our physical nature, appreciating this time to pause and remember the holy
purpose of our lives.  We feel gratitude for those travelling with us on this path of love
and freedom.  Feel a smile forming on your face.  You are happy to be here in this
peaceful inner place.  Let there be peace.  Gently refocus on the outer world and carry this peace
with you into the world.

blessings to you
love
Hettienne

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The Miller’s Daughter

The Miller’s Daugher
V Holy Rood – Mysteries of Mary Tarot Deck
www.hergracesacredart.com

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A few fairytales are included in the Mysteries of Mary Tarot Deck.  Some of them were chosen as they relate to a specific archetype in both the tarot and the stories of Mary.
The fairy tale of the Handless Maiden was chosen because Mary
appears in an Eastern European folktale version of the story. 
In some versions an angel or a being of light appears to help the 
Handless Maiden, but in this particular folktale, Mary herself appears
to help the maiden.
The story of the Handless Maiden and her powerful symbology is told over
three cards in the deck.  The V of Holy Rood (traditionally Wands) is the first
one.  This card is titled The Miller’s Daughter and we are introduced to
the young maiden, her father, the devil and very importantly, the apple tree.
The Miller’s daughter is standing next to the apple tree with a loaf of bread
(food produced by the miller) on her shoulder.  She, as well as the significant apple
tree represents feminine values and attributes.    Feminine qualities and attributes
live in both male and female.  The story of speaks of the ‘miller’ and not the maiden’s father.
This demonstrates that great importance is given to his occupation in the world, 
rather than his role as father.
From the start we see the focus and emphasis on masculine goals and values.
In our culture the masculine values and attributes are greatly admired and promoted.
The emphasis on the miller, his greed for money, his disregard for both the apple tree
and his daughter, reflects and highlights the imbalance which exists and
the lack of reverence for the less visible feminine principles.
The apple blossom is a symbol of fertility and sensuality.
In Celtic lore the apple tree is the Tree of Love.
At the top of the shrine are two hands.  These will take
you to the next part of the story which is further developed
in VII of Holy Rood,, where the Handless Maiden enters the forest.
Traditionally this card means conflict and in this deck it refers to inner conflict.
The really important questions in life you have to find the answers to
yourself. Do not rely on the opinion of others.  Do not rely
on ‘the done thing’ or the accepted way of doing.
In other words, do not make a pact with the devil for your most
precious feminine feeling  and earthy nature.
Dig deep and feel the discomfort of the inner conflict
and may you find peace.
This is an extract from the discussion of this card in companion book
to the Mysteries of Mary Tarot Deck
peace,
Hettienne