Category: thirtydays

Posted on by

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
Posted on by

Day 20

Mary Sophia
Om Jai Mata Mary Ma
Jai Jai Ma
Hail Mary




My collage card for today :

I am the One who is holding you in my most intimate embrace
whilst the city that you built crumbles around you and
I am the One that re-births you into the light of a new day.
I am your mother, now and always.
Ave Maria
Ave Maria
Ave Maria



blessings
Hettienne

Posted on by

day 19 –

a Soulcollage card
You must give
birth to your images.
They are the future
waiting to be born ….
fear not the strangeness
you feel.
Just wait for the birth …..
for the hour of new clarity – Rainer Maria Rilke
Earlier on in the Thirty Days with Mary I asked you to collect
images.  I collect calendars and buy glossy art magazines and books
on sale for the purpose of creating Soulcollage cards.
Soulcollage(R) is a copyrighted term www.soulcollage.com. 
Soulcollage is a ‘therapy’ put together by Seena Frost.
These collages are powerful, simple, easy to make,
and, when used with conscious awareness,
they are wonderful guardians and guides on
the journey within the Self.

An ideal size of card to create your collage on is
20×25 cm.

Create a picture from the magazine cuttings that appeal to you.
Do not try to analyse as you work.  The more you can get
into your creative zone the better.  Allow the process to surprise you.
You may start off thinking you know what you want to put together
and then all of a sudden the images have their own plan.

The Swan Card 

I am the One who takes you on a safe passage through the transitions.  I offer you sacred companionship; the promise that I will never abandon you and the reminder that you always belong to the community of your Soul and of Spirit.

Here is my process of creating the Swan card. 
I was in the process of transition and of making changes in my life.
I became aware of continually being drawn to images of a boat;
as well as a small boat crossing a lake;  even cruise liners!!
So I started looking for images that resonate with me right then
 and I immediately chose swans.
Years ago, when I did some Jungian studies, I had many visions and dreams of swans and I have painted quite a few iconic and mythological images of swans.  Then they meant something completely different to me.  The one thing that remained a constant, though, is that they represent Soul or Spirit.  
As I gathered these image, I learnt a few things about swans.
They are hardly ever seen by themselves.  They are usually in pairs, or as a family unit.  I know that swans mate for life.
Swans carry their chicks on their backs.  How absolutely beautiful is that!!
I keep a notebook, writing down my insights during the process of making a card.  These insights are invaluable and very pertinent to one’s inner journey.  You may pick up other things that are specific to your history and circumstances.
Some more pertinent insights about swans :
the colour white which represents purity, purification, initiation, Spirit;
the throat area is emphasised by its long neck :  throat chakra, called Vissudhi in sanskrit; Vissudhi means purification.
So, a process of letting go is of importance here. 
They swim across the waters.  Waters represent the emotions, the world of the Soul.  So, again, transitions, journeys to new horizons.
And this is the card that I made :
As part of the SoulCollage process, you ‘climb’ into the card, mentally and emotionally, and you let the neter (the archetype) of the card speak to you.  You always start the process with “I am the One who ….’
I am the One who takes you on a safe passage through the transitions.  I offer you sacred companionship; 
the promise that I will never abandon you.  I am the one who reminds you that you always belong to the community of your Soul and Spirit.

The gifts of this card is sacred communion.
The shadow of the Swan is the stressful times of transition that can take you back into childhood memories of being the Ugly Duckling!
You may even consider creating your own tarot cards.

During the week I will share more collages with you

blessings on your journey of Thirty Days with Mary
Hettienne

Posted on by

Day 18

Today is the eighteenth day of this journey with ourselves, meditation
and Mary in all her aspects.
Card 18 in the tarot is The Moon card.
A card that speaks of darkness and silvery light;  shadows and shadowy
passages and the fire that illuminates the darkness.
Diving deep into our own shadows always takes us out of our comfort
zones and into seemingly dangerous places.  We are all of a sudden
confronted with unspoken beliefs;  memories that had been deep down
never to be seen again (that was the idea) and an alchemical process
starts.  
Alchemy is not only something that takes place in a laboratory.
Alchemy takes place in the kitchen, when the yeast meets the flour
and rises;  when the bread is put into the oven and it bakes to a beautiful
golden brown.  Alchemy takes place when we pick up the needle and thread
and sew two pieces of fabric together and we have a garment.
Alchemy takes place in the heart when we allow the fears and hurts
to float to the surface, to be seen, to be embraced, to be accepted
and to be viewed with compassion.
For today and this stage of our journey I offer to you
IX of Distaff, Our Lady Untier of Knots
I say that we are wound with mercy round and round as if with air;
the same Mary … World-mother air, air wild, wound with thee, 
in thee isled, fold home, fast fold thy child – Gerard Manly Hopkins




Our Lady Untier of Knots symbolises the absolute power of the divine
to untie the knots of the personal self.
Yoga teaches that knots or ‘granthis’ exist in the sublte energetic meridians
(nadi) of the body.  These knots restrict the flow of prana or chi or the life force
and emotional discomfort and physical disease is the result
When we accept that we are ‘wound with mercy round and round’
then it is a small step to accept that the Divine is as close as your next breath.
The Holy Protection of the Mother of God
Mother of Mercy
if I stay awake all night,
vigilant and grateful,
will you drop your protective veil
over my vulnerable heart?
I cannot control the world around me,
I can only be faithful to my own deepest truth.
Wrap me in your pure white cloak of devotion, Mary,
so that I can remember that my sole task
is to praise the God of Love.
Cover me in your burial shroud
as I die to my false self,
to be reborn
as a living example of peace on earth.
Infuse me with the tincture of your tears
so that I may face every challenge
with a tender and courageous spirit
– Mirabai Starr from Mother of God, similar to fire
blessings
Hettienne
Posted on by

Day Sixteen



Blessings to you!

The deeper we journey the more challenging the practise becomes. Or maybe it
is that the deeper the practise the more challenging the journey becomes.
I decided to combine the posts for days 16 and 17 as they are so layered with
symbol and meaning.  You can take the two days of the weekend to disseminate
the information, to create a puja and to start with the collages.

The archetype for this week is a complex one with many veils of meaning
and subconscious content. 

Like many women I struggled to bring the idea of Mary as depicted in
Western religion together with my own direct personal experiences
of the Divine Feminine.  In my search I became a committed pilgrim and undertook many pilgrimages to sacred sites across the globe.  I visited temples to Kuan Yin in Thailand, many temples holy to the Divine Shakty Ma, Durga, Kali, Lakshmi in India; and sacred sites across Europe.
For me Mary was revealed as a powerful archetype of the Divine Feminine
both transcendent and personal.  Once I started looking for stories of Mary
outside the Bible, I discovered that Mary had her own mythology in fairy tales,
folk tales, channeled books, legend and religious books. The work of
Thomas Merton introduced me to Catholic and Marian mysticism.  I concluded
that Mary is not only the Biblical figure, but also the composite of the ancient
goddess, the Triple Goddess, the Jewish Mariam tradition as well as a
tradition exclusively her own. I have been met with a variety of responses through the years with regard to my devotion to Mary – from all sides.  My response has been to make the work available to others as direct experience speaks louder than words.


 III Distaff, the Annunciation of Anna


All alone, she (Anna) went into the garden and sat down
 beneath the laurel tree. Looking toward the heavens, 
she saw a nest of sparrows in the tree. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. 
How she longed to have a child of her own. Anna entreated the Lord, 
saying” Woe is me! To what am I likened? 
I am not likened to this earth, for even the earth brings 
forth her fruit in its season and blesses you, O Lord.” 
And behold an angel of the Lord appeared, 
saying “Anna, the Lord God heard your prayer, 
and you will conceive and give birth, 
and your offspring shall be spoken of in the whole inhabited world.” – extract from the Infancy Gospel of Mary

Anna was barren and never conceived with child. The Archangel Gabriel announced to her that she will miraculously conceive.  
It is told that this is a miraculous conception of the Holy child Mary 
and it is an echo of the immaculate conception of Mary still to come.  
As Anna and Joachim, Mary’s father, was too old to physically conceive a child, this was regarded as a conception by Spirit.  
‘Promise them, that by the favour of our right hand they will receive the Fruit of benediction, and that Anne shall conceive a Daughter, to whom We give the name MARY…. were revealed to St Gabriel.’ 
And Gabriel said: ‘She shall be elect, exalted, powerful and full of the Holy Ghost; on account of the sterility of Anne her  conception shall be miraculous;’ – Mystical City of God

Anna is Greek for the Hebrew name Hannah and it means ‘grace’. 

Anna’s story is also in the Quran and she is revered in Islam.  
In Islam Joachim is called by the name Imran and he dies before Mary is born. The priest Zacharias predicted the birth of a male Messiah to Anna, 
but she gave birth to a girl and the culture of the day did not accept a woman as a saviour.  However,  She is revered as a mystic in Islam for her wisdom and the knowledge that Mary was a highly spiritual 
and special child to be dedicated to the Temple. 

In this shrine we see Anna sitting under the palm tree, working on her sewing. Gabriel is holding the red thread of the mystical message of love and good news which he delivered to Anna.

Soulcollage card by Hettienne

A puja is a ritual dedicated to the worship of one’s personal deity.
(ishtadevata) As in all ritual there is a certain set of actions;
each one designed with a particular focus and effect
in mind.  In these Thirty Days with Mary we
are devoting our focus, intent, emotion,senses,
passion and vision to evoke our
spiritual selves and to connect with our
own divinity through our devotion to Mother Mary.
Our devotion and adoration invoke the sacred presence
of Mother Mary into the sacred space and the statue
and altar is blessed by Her Presence.

Through repeated entry into the spiritual realms
we shed the perceptions and projections of the mind
and access a wider vision, a deeper connectedness to
all of life and  transpersonal wisdom.

In preparation of the puja I shared a prayer with you.
You may want to use it for the puja to Holy Mary.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to doing
a puja.  It has certain elements that one always follows.
Usually it is done by a priest or priestess and in this
case you are the priest or priestess of your own temple.

An altar has to be prepared.  In the video you will see that
we are using the red altar of week two as I intended sharing it with
you during the past week.  The red ties in beautifully
with the red thread of the Suit of Distaff.
   
Please gather fresh flowers, incense or a smudging stick,
a bell, or a drum or a music instrument,
a glass of water and something to eat which you can
place on the altar.

We bring offerings through incense, fragrance, voice,
music and fresh flower petals.  At some point you will experience
the stillpoint within where the inner and outer meet
and where your actions are no longer a ritual, but you
become the ritual and the Divine Love within.

A puja by a solitary person is different to a group ritual, but the intent
is still to raise the energy and to invoke the sacred presence.
Repeating the mantra or prayer and keeping a rhythm with your
hands or musical instrument, adds to the shamanic state
of trance meditation.  You may want to repeat the puja in the days
to come if you do not feel confident at first.

The solitary puja on the video is done by
Kamala Maria Devi, a Flamekeeper in the Temple of Mary.
You will find her on Instagram as @terrykamala and
her retreat house page where she runs sound healing retreats,
is @littlesamadhikaroo.  

The mantra to be used is our thirty day mantra

Om Jai Mata Mary Ma
Jai Jai Ma


Prayer :

Hail Queen of Heaven
Hail! Lady of the Angels
Salutation to Three, root and portal
Whence the Light of the world has arisen

Hail Mary 
Ave Maria

I am the maiden of the joy
I am song in the wind and rain upon the rocks.
I am fair love and holy hope
and the flight of the dove.
I am earth, betrothed
I am Mystical Rose.

Hail Mary
Ave Maria

I am the Mother of mystery
I hold opposites together
I birth children and sever the cord with my teeth
Those I love I send away to their lives
I am the cauldron of fire and the cup of milk
I am the two-edged sword

Hail Mary
Ave Maria

In me Sophia speak :
I am the marriage of opposites
I am beauty,
right order in creation,
the balance of all being.
I contain all the secrets whose names are beads,
I am the cosmic necklace.
I am the daughter of silence and
I bring forth the word of truth.
I am the serpent and the dove.
I am the soul of the Christ

Hail Mary
Ave Maria

I am the flour and I am the hands
that kneed the dough.
I am the fire and the loaf.
I offer and I am offered.
I eat and am eaten.
I am food for the world and
I am the world.

Hail Mary
Ave Maria

Hail Queen of Heaven,
Hail! Lady of the Angels
Salutation to Thee, root and portal
Whence the Light of the world has arisen

Hail Mary
Ave Maria


Here is the link for the video recording :




https://youtu.be/IQkTbT4LWsw



blessings to you
Hettienne



Posted on by

Day Fourteen

Today is the final day of the second week of the
Suit of the Holyrood.
This week is dedicated to the Archetype of  Mystical Bride,
Beloved and the Sacred Heart of Mary.
There are various archetypes and initiations in this suit
and one of them is Our Lady, the Eastern Gate.
Triumph
Mary and her Child’s return to Nazareth
Six of the Suit of the Holy Rood
in the path of Beauty
(traditionally Six of Wands)
Sacred Mysteries of Mary Deck
www.hergracesacredart.com
Many people are familiar with the fact that Joseph and
Mary fled with the infant Jesus to Egypt at the threat
of the massacre of the innocents by King Herod.
This event is well covered by many artists
and it is seen as one of the seven sorrows of Mary.
However, what is not clear, is the amount of time that
was spent in Egypt and what transpired there.
The two accounts in the books of Matthew and Luke
do not correspond at all.  Luke mentions nothing about Egypt
and Matthew says nothing about a trip to Nazareth
soon after Jesus’ birth whereas Luke describes in detail
how Jesus was taken to the temple in Jerusalem
‘after Mary’s purification according to the law of Moses.’
 And when they had performed everything
 according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, 
to their own town of Nazareth – Luke 2:39
The town of Nazareth is in the ‘kingdom’ of Jerusalem
and here we see Mary on the donkey riding
through the gate of Jerusalem.
In The Hebrew Goddess, a book by Jewish historian
and anthropologist Raphael Patai, we learn
that the Hebrew goddess Asherah was seen as the
mother of Yahweh.  
In the time of King Joshua the Hebrew goddess
had to go ‘underground’.  The use of her name and images
were forbidden and her devotees replaced her with
the tree, a pole or rod and the branches of the menorah.
She was known as the Lady of Jerusalem;
the Gate of Jerusalem and the Eastern Gate.
The Lady of Jerusalem was also depicted as an arch.
According to the Dead Sea Scrolls and
The Mother of the Lord by Margaret Barker,
 the ancients
believed Mary to be the incarnation of
the Lady of Jerusalem.
In Christian iconography from the East
we see Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn.
Her image is above the city gates (in Lithuania
and Poland) to protect the city and its inhabitants
and many miracles have been ascribed to her.
In Ezekiel it is written that the eastern gate of
Jerusalem has been shut
and that it will only re-open for the divine One.
So here we have Mary returning victoriously
through the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem
into the light of a new dawn.
A marriage of eastern and western iconography
and cultures and more importantly,
a marriage of masculine and feminine values
for our world.
This card is a way shower of the return of Mary
and her hidden and lost meaning to our world.
The deck takes us on a journey through the 
life, the initiations and the mysteries of Mary
as the Sacred Feminine and what it means
to our natural world as well as our spiritual,
emotional and social health.
May the values of mercy, compassion, forgiveness and acceptance
of all diversity as embodied by Mary
return to a place of honour and respect in our world.
The suggested practise for Day Fourteen

Depending on how much time you have for meditation and
spiritual practise you can make the Sacred Heart Diksha meditation a part of your
daily practise or the only meditation for a few days.
Until tomorrow, when we enter a new week and a new focus.

blessings
Hettienne
Posted on by

Day Thirteen





“Mary our Mother is always with us, closer to us than our own jugular vein, 
more intimately interwoven with our being than our own breath, always 
holding us in infinite love to her heart, always trying to inspire us into our deepest, 
calmest, and finest selves. Waking up to the miracle of this all-enfolding 
passionate concern from the Mother of the Universe is the most 
wonderful thing that can happen to anyone in this life and the entry 
into the conscious human divine childhood that 
awaits all true lovers of the Mother.


“Our tragedy is that we are so rarely open to the one who is 
always open to us, so rarely vulnerable to the one whose always-open heart 
is so vulnerable to our pain and difficulties, so rarely awake to the 
messages that are always arising out of her silence. 
This is why learning to ‘inspire’ ourselves is so important. 
A Christian saint, Bede Griffiths, once said to me,
 ‘What is essential is to keep the heart always open to beauty, for she is beauty.’ 
What could be harder in an age like ours? 
And yet, it is just because our age is so harsh and 
brutal that it is more than ever essential to create around us, 
in our homes and offices and meeting places, a sacred environment. 
To do so is to awaken the poet in each of us, 
the poet and the lover of life and beauty.  –  
Andrew Harvey, Mary’s Vineyard



The suggested practise for Day Thirteen

Depending on how much time you have for meditation and
spiritual practise you can make the Sacred Heart Diksha meditation a part of your
daily practise or the only meditation for a few days.


Sacred Heart of Mother Mary Meditation

After having received the Diksha into your energy, follow up for the next 7 days daily
and continue regularly with this specific meditation to deepen the energies 
and whenever you feel in need of Her Presence, Grace and Peace.

Sit comfortably and become aware of your breath.  
Be aware of your natural rhythm of breathing and do not control or manipulate the breath. 
 Keep the focus on the breath for a while till you feel grounded and centered.

Bring your focus inward and on your physical heart.
You can also focus on the chest area or slightly to the right of the heart.


Set the intent through saying the following words :

By the Grace of Mother Mary, Divine Mother of All,
 I have received the Sacred Heart Diksha.  
I now immerse myself and my consciousness deeply into the Presence 
and allow myself to receive the complete healing.  
Thank you thank you thank you and so be it.

Then focus on surrendering the personal self.  
As you turn your attention inwards, focus on the heart chakra 
and continue to breath normally.  
Immerse yourself deeper and deeper, more and more inward, consciously renouncing 
your senses and your attachment to the personal self 
and your life and all its activities and objects.  

Take it slowly.  
Allow the process to take place in its own time.  
Keep on focusing on bringing the attention back to the physical heart 
and renouncing.  You may use the mantra as follows :

Divine Mother
I renounce my self, I renounce my all
I renounce, I renounce all to you.

 Or you can create your own mantra or prayer.  The focus here is to surrender, to renounce, to sacrifice and to let go of.  In the beginning, the mind may resist, but with practise this will become easier and more effortless.


Should strong emotions and tears follow, 
allow these to flow and then bring the focus and awareness
back to your breath, then your heart, and then return fully
to your body.

You can close the energy with a prayer or with a simple
‘thank you thank you thank you and so it is’

Step out into your day and into your life knowing
that you are truly married to the Divine and that you have the
power to receive infinite love and to become whole.
Holy does not mean perfect or saintly, but someone who has been healed.

blessings to you
with love for Her to you
Hettienne
Posted on by

Day Twelve

Our Lady the Tree of Life
IX Holy Rood


Blessings to you!

On the tenth day I shared the diksha of the Sacred Heart of Mother Mary
with you.
I will share snippets of my own personal journey with Mother Mary with you
during the upcoming days.  Unlike in the books, it was not a ‘graceful’ surrender
on my part.  It took years of struggling as a feminist and as someone
who had issues with Christianity, before I realised that Mother Mary
is the Divine Mother, beyond religion, beyond dogma, beyond politics
and beyond any church.  She is Cosmic, and personal, both at the same time.

The Diksha of the Sacred Heart of Mother Mary is followed up by a special
meditation that I received during meditation.  These dikshas and meditations
are the cornerstone of the initiations and teachings of The Path of Love
and the Mysteries of Mary and has been shared with hundreds of people
over the years;  always with staggering results.

The Birth of the Holy Child



Sacred Heart of Mother Mary Meditation

After having received the Diksha into your energy, follow up for the next 7 days daily
and continue regularly with this specific meditation to deepen the energies 
and whenever you feel in need of Her Presence, Grace and Peace.

Sit comfortably and become aware of your breath.  
Be aware of your natural rhythm of breathing and do not control or manipulate the breath. 
 Keep the focus on the breath for a while till you feel grounded and centered.

Bring your focus inward and on your physical heart.
You can also focus on the chest area or slightly to the right of the heart.


Set the intent through saying the following words :

By the Grace of Mother Mary, Divine Mother of All,
 I have received the Sacred Heart Diksha.  
I now immerse myself and my consciousness deeply into the Presence 
and allow myself to receive the complete healing.  
Thank you thank you thank you and so be it.

Then focus on surrendering the personal self.  
As you turn your attention inwards, focus on the heart chakra 
and continue to breath normally.  
Immerse yourself deeper and deeper, more and more inward, consciously renouncing 
your senses and your attachment to the personal self 
and your life and all its activities and objects.  

Take it slowly.  
Allow the process to take place in its own time.  
Keep on focusing on bringing the attention back to the physical heart 
and renouncing.  You may use the mantra as follows :

Divine Mother
I renounce my self, I renounce my all
I renounce, I renounce all to you.

 Or you can create your own mantra or prayer.  The focus here is to surrender, to renounce, to sacrifice and to let go of.  In the beginning, the mind may resist, but with practise this will become easier and more effortless.


Should strong emotions and tears follow, 
allow these to flow and then bring the focus and awareness
back to your breath, then your heart, and then return fully
to your body.

You can close the energy with a prayer or with a simple
‘thank you thank you thank you and so it is’

Step out into your day and into your life knowing
that you are truly married to the Divine and that you have the
power to receive infinite love and to become whole.
Holy does not mean perfect or saintly, but someone who has been healed.

Depending on how much time you have for meditation and
spiritual practise you can make this meditation a part of your
daily practise or you can replace the Immaculate Practise with this meditation.
blessings to you
with love for Her to you
Hettienne
Posted on by

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
Posted on by

Day Fifteen




Blessings to you on this first day of the third week of 
Walking with Mary for thirty days.
A wonderful supportive community has developed
around this practise where highs and lows of the week
are shared.  You will find us on Instagram under
#thirtydayswithmary
#walkingwithmary and you can join in on the feed
@walkingwithmary.

If you are not on Instagram, I do share the IG posts
on the Facebook page The Mysteries of Mary. You can find it
by searching Mysteries of Mary tarot.  There is also a 
Temple of Mary Facebook page.




The IX of Distaff in Mysteries of Mary tarot
The Holy Shekinah


Proverbs 31:19 In her hand she holds the distaff. Her hands
are spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber ……. 

Mishlei (Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible) She stretches forth her hands
onto the distaff and her hands support the spindle.  She spreads out her hand
to the poor man and she stretches her hands out to the needy.
She fears not for her household for snow, as all her household
is dressed in crimson.  She makes beautiful bedspreads
for herself;  fine linen and purple wool are her raiment.

These passages refer to women, skilled in the art of weaving, weaving
the curtains of the Tabernacle, or the veils of the holy of holies.
The curtain of the holy of holies, the innermost chamber of the temple,
is also a reference to the Veiled Sacred Woman of the World,
the Veiled Isis and the veiled images of
Pistis Sophia or Lady Wisdom.
From these passages we deduct that the Holy Shekinah weaves the curtain,
and that women in the world do the work of weaving.
If a woman or man’s heart is uplifted in adoration to the
Shekinah, the Divine Feminine in all creation, and she or he is
devoted to Her, the person will become at one with Holy Shekinah
and the Shekinah (the hidden sacred feminine Presence) becomes
manifest in the person and what s/he weaves or manifests,
the Shekinah weaves, or manifests.
This week is dedicated to
the Suit of Distaff in the Mysteries of Mary tarot
and the archetype of
Mary as Sophia, Our Lady of Wisdom, Shekinah
and the colours are Green, Dark Blue and Purple
(its not limited to these colours only as there infinite
ways of interpreting the inner wisdom)
The element is Air.

There are various elements in this week’s stories and focus.
We will work with the red thread, scissors, veil, knitting,
weaving and sewing.



It will add meaning to your work this week, if you add some
of these elements to your altar.
If you have not been wearing a veil up till now, then you
may want to consider wearing one for the practise of this week.
These are all symbolic actions which speak powerfully to the
subconscious and unconscious mind and you may be surprised
at what comes to the surface of your consciousness when
you use the ritual tools.


A practise that I have done for many years and have shared it with
others over time, is to embroider my veil as a contemplative practise.
I work simple patterns in silk or wool and attach pieces or charms
that have special meaning to me, on the borders.
I have a number of these shawls that have travelled the world
with me and I have worn them when visiting places sacred to the Mother.





The Suit of Distaff is the suit of peace and the Veils of Mary.

Before the invention of the spinning wheel, the spinning of wool
or flax were done by women using a spindle and a distaff.  The spindle
was a long spool to hold and spin the wool and the distaff a short rod
with an opening or branches at the top for holding the flax or wool.
The top of the distaff had the shape  V and has been called the
sword of peace.
According to the dictionary the word distaff took on the
meaning of ‘woman’s work’ and eventually of ‘woman’. 
It is still used to refer to the female side of the family.
Mary, like the goddesses of old, has a rich tradition of weaving 
similarly to Persephone, Kore and Athena and her role in weaving the
temple veil is an important event in the holy story.





Preparing the red thread

Before the wool and flux could be spun, it had to be prepared. 
The red thread represents the sacred red wool which forms
the the thread of our lives, our connections to each other and
our connection to Mary Sophia, the Divine Spirit, both within and without.
In the temple Mary was given the red and purple wool to spin.
The red represents the earthly life of blood and flesh and the
purple symbolises royalty and divinity signifying the 
sacred marriage of flesh and spirit in the conception and birth
of her holy child and the holy child that each one of us carry
within ourselves.
We are a divine weaving of flesh and spirit.


The young Mary, as one of the sacred virgins, preparing
the flux in the temple.

I choose to refresh my altar.  I clean my space and for this week
I continue to burn frankincense on the charcoal burner
and I add Frankincense oil to the rose oil in my oil burner.

You only add one or two drops
and it is a very special blend.
It is a very expensive oil and you may choose to rather
continue with eucalyptus and rose.
Frankincense has a very high vibration and you only need
a few drops at a time as it can become very overpowering.



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.  
The Immaculate Practise for week 3

A new daily Prayer

You can continue with the various daily prayers and you can
alternate between the prayers and readings.
You can also create your own prayer and make this practise your own.

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

00000000000000


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
00000000000


Hail! Queen of Heaven,
Hail! Lady of the Angels
Salutation to Thee, root and portal
Whence the Light of the world has arisen
Hail Mary
Ave Maria
The holy is within.
Within is everywhere
Within is all
Hail Mary
Ave Maria
In the Mysteries of the Mother
all the opposites are joined
Hail Mary
Ave Maria


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

Om Jai Mata Mary Ma
Jai Jai Ma


(Hail triumphant Creatrix Divine Mother Mary
Victorious Mother)

Draw a card for the week and place next to your two cards
for weeks one and two  on your altar.
If you have not done so yet, contemplate on how
the card of the previous week manifested in your life.
Keep all the cards on the altar and at the end we 
will read all four cards together as a story.

  You may want to keep your journal or a piece of paper at hand
and make a few notes every morning.
Every morning when you sit down for your communion with Mary, 
gaze on the card
that you picked a few days ago,
 and when you have completed your mantra, write down any 
thoughts, feelings, sensations, without judgement and analysis.
At the end of the seven days you will have a deeper understanding of 
your journey.

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.

Tomorrow you will have the wonderful privilege of watching
how a devi puja is done.
Later on in the week we will start with making collages
and allowing the divine archetypes within you to speak
to you through the language of symbol and symbolism.
So start collecting old magazines or cards or calendars
and cut out pictures that speak to you for whatever reason.
Keep them all together, ready to be used in collages later on.


blessings to you
love
Hettienne