Category: walkingwithmary

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Day 10 – September

Ace of Holy Rood
Mysteries of Mary tarot deck


Blessings to you on this tenth day of this journey.


Today I will share with you the Diksha of the Sacred Heart of Mary.
A diksha is the sanskrit word in the Shaktism tradition
of tantra yoga for a blessing or downpouring of Grace from the deity.

As part of my training years as a shakta (as a devotee of my ishta-devi,
Blessed Mary) I was trained to receive and transfer blessings
and healing energy and invocations from the Divine to others.
I have worked with the Diksha of the Sacred Heart of Mary 
in group blessings and also with many others in healing work.
I have witnessed powerful transformation through this beautiful energy and have many letters from those who have received it distant, and whom I have never met
in person that have felt its healing and even witnessed instant and permanent
beneficial and healing effects.


The Diksha of the Sacred Heart of Mary

The sacred heart refers to (amongst other esoteric meanings) the Secret
Chamber of the etheric heart which contains the three spiritual flames.  The fourth chakra
of the heart initiates us into different levels of Love through which we
feel a vast sense of connectedness, compassion and eventually unconditional love.


Below is the instructions to receive the Diksha directly from Mother Mary.
You can repeat this receiving practise daily for at least three days.
It will be followed up with the Sacred Heart meditation in a few days time.
Daily practice of the Sacred Heart meditation will strengthen the energies of the
Sacred Heart Diksha in your energetic and spiritual body.
You can pass it onto others when it has become powerful enough within yourself.
I have worked with this sacred energy as a healer and have shared wonderful
feedback from those who have received it.  Time and space is not an obstacle
We are all connected through energy.
Practising the Sacred Heart meditation also guides us to focus on the hearth within.
This is the sacred heart within ourselves where all transformation takes place.
The cross with the rose in its centre is symbolic of the sacred heart.


The Sacred Heart Diksha opens the inner chambers of the spiritual and non-physical heart
and the living waters of Life starts to flow in ever-increasing amounts
creating a infinite well of consciousness that feeds all life.

  A diksha can also be called an initiation or blessing.
It initiates the receiver into an aspect of spiritual energy and in this case it the
Sacred Heart of Mary.
The Sacred Heart is comparable to the sacred womb of the Divine Mother, or
the sacred embrace :  the place where you find yourself divinely supported and
carried unconditionally.





Outline for todays’ Immaculate Practise

Place a glass or bottle of water near you to drink after the meditation.

As always purify your altar and space with incense or smudging stick
Add fresh flowers or freshen the altar
Light the candles

Open with the daily prayer

Repeat the thirty day mantra of devotion and praise
to Blessed Mary Divine Mother

Om Jai Mata Mary Ma Namaha

Do the meditation to receive the Sacred Heart Diksha from Mother Mary

Close with prayer





How to receive the Sacred Heart Diksha from Mother Mary

(you may wish to record the meditation for yourself)

Sit comfortably, become quiet and turn your attention inward.  Rest in the silence, allowing it to bring comfort and peace. Take your time.  Take a few minutes to allow this peace to calm any sense of restlessness. 
Focus on the rhythm of your  breath.  
Bring a deeper awareness of the inner nature to the mind as it is centered and at rest.  
Now take several gentle breaths and allow yourself to go deeper and deeper within.  
A deep sense of peace abides and gradually fills your being.


Now in your mind’s eye, visualise the image of Mother Mary.  
You can also choose to use Her image which you have placed on your altar, 
to connect with Her.

Call on Her presence.  ‘Oh Divine Mother, please come to me;  bless me with your Presence and reveal yourself’.  
You may become aware of a colour, a sensation or a strong rush of emotion.  
Allow, allow, allow.  
You may want to stay in the awareness of Her Grace 
for a few moments before continuing.

‘Oh Divine Mother, by the Law of Love vested in you and in myself, I ask to receive the Sacred Heart Diksha.  I am willing to open my heart and mind to receive this energetic
transference and I am willing to allow the healing and transformation to take place day by day.  Thank you thank you thank you. Jai Jai Maa! Ave Maria So Be It’

Stay in this energy for 15 to 20 minutes until you feel the energies dissipate.  
It is best to lie down for a short while afterwards and also to drink a glass of water.   
You may keep a glass of water with you when you follow up with the Sacred Heart Meditation.  You can drink this water yourself or give to others in need of healing or peace.


Close with daily prayer 

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

Remember this is powerful work and you will experience awakenings into deeper
levels of consciousness and awareness.  You may have visions or sensations and old
feelings may rise to the surface.  Should you feel emotionally overwhelmed please reach
out to a friend or a therapist.

It is a powerful practise to follow up with journalling or making notes
as one tends to forget the insights and feelings that surface.
I find that it also helps the doubting and critical mind when I can go back
and read my own notes and witnessing to my own process.


blessings
Hettienne

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Day 9 – September

Welcome to Day 9 of the Thirty Days of Walking with Mary
for September


Today is the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows.
We recognize her blackness in the prima materie of nigredo
in the alchemical process of transformation.
We also see her in the blackness of the Black Madonna.




Who has ever been stronger than Mary?
Anyone then who wishes to live in the valley
of humility must conquer
All the power of great love

– Hadewijch of Antwerp



She will take the racked treasure of our suffering
on her knees and place it beside the 
tortured relic of Christ’s body.
Her arms contain all the suffering of the whole of humanity,
the countless ever-growing number of wounds
of a human race which is continuously crucified.
– Edward Schillebeecks


We continue with the Immaculate Practise for the full thirty days.
The discipline of a daily repetitive spiritual practise
contains the mind and frees the soul to explore the other realms
of Divine Love and Wisdom

Today I add a special prayer for the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows

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




In my research and pilgrimages to the Black Madonna, I found that one of Her most important messages can be summed up by these words of Albert Einstein :

A human being is part of the whole called by us ‘universe’, a part limited in time and space.  We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest.  A kind of optical delusion of consciousness.  This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.  Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.  The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self.  We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive.

The stories of the Black Madonnas are some of the oldest that we have.  Many of these statues were hidden for hundreds of years to escape destruction by the many rulers and patriarchs that passed through the lands.  But she has a consistent story and message to tell.

Images from the forthcoming Black Madonna Tarot Deck
www.hergracesacredart.com



The Black Madonna deck is a deepening of the Mysteries of Mary as a spiritual path of being devoted to the Blessed Mother in Her many manifestations and aspects.  I am hoping that this deck will offer another layer and level of spiritual insight and clarity into the personal journey of initiation, consecration, dedication and commitment to Mary as the reflection of the One in many and many in One.


It is part of my vision that one will be able to use these two decks, the Mysteries of Mary and the Black Madonna, concurrently and together; both for readings for spiritual insight and as a guidebook and map to the journey of spiritual unfoldment and ultimately union with the divine self.

Mystery surrounds the Black Madonna and her symbolism.  There are as many theories as there are Black Madonnas.  We no longer have any writings about her and very few stories still exist.  But that is exactly where I am looking for my insight about the Wisdom of the Black Madonna :  in folk tale and the stories that have been carried over down the generations and in my own personal experiences and insights into the collective unconscious and the womb of light.

The blackness of the Black Virgin is obviously a problem for the patriarchal religious structure known as the Roman Catholic Church.  Various explanations are given for the dark colour of the statues and the past few years many Black Madonnas have been whitened in renovation projects in the cathedrals and churches.   Slowly the ancient tradition of the Black Madonna is disappearing.  I see this ‘whitening’ reflected in many of the New Age teachings and sentiments and short cuts are promised to the holy grail of inner peace whilst at the same time many ancient practises are denigrated and even declared illegal (as in the use of herbs and plants).

However, what a blessing that She is being kept alive in these beautiful cathedrals and basilicas and that communities are still devoting themselves to her ritually and in festival.



The dark colour of the Black Madonna reflects the inner darkness that we have to wade and find our way through if we want to find long lasting satisfaction and happiness.  This is not an easy process and without a community to support your struggles, it is even more difficult.  When you turn outwards towards mainstream thinking, you will be met with a deluge of alternative solutions offered through capitalism, designed to replace your inner connection to yourself and the Universe.

When one closes one’s eyes, you see the colour of the Black Madonna.  Sitting in contemplation and meditation for long periods of time can be overwhelming and frightening to the ego-mind and the constructs of the psyche.  We spend an inordinate time to create our mental constructs and to line up our belief systems to give sense and meaning to our world.  We also all have personalities that has been shaped and created through our personal conditioning and experiences and from there we continue the personal ‘training’ of the mind. In other words, we are heavily invested in who we believe we are and in maintaining this illusion for ourselves and the world.  So obviously change will not come easily.

Millions of people struggle with insomnia and use exercise or drugs to subdue the mind into submitting to sleep.  A regular meditation practise may look like a peaceful and inactive pastime, but the truth be told, it takes the lid off Pandora’s box and lets the ‘good, the bad and the ugly’ out from your subconscious mind into the awareness of the conscious mind.  And this  It is far easier to live in ignorant bliss and have no ills blight the landscape of your awareness.

All spiritual practise leads to a psychic and emotional detox and when you do not know what is happening, it can be very fearful and off-putting and retreat would seem like the most sensible thing to do.




An initiation into a spiritual practise and path can come to you in various ways.  Often one is catapulted and initiated through personal experience and a catastrophic event in your life into a deeper exploration of one’s inner reality.  With the New Age explosion in the West many spiritual teachers have appeared but it also created a watered-down form of spirituality with the teachings made more meek and acceptable and palatable to the masses.  If you are serious about your spiritual unfoldment you need to dive deeply into the womb of black light that resides within you and within which you reside.

There is also a lopsided focus on ‘love and light’ with the result that those who understand that the shadows and the living black light is an integral part of the divine matrix, split off into their own sub-culture of new-paganism, wiccan, witchery and other labels.  Unity and union with the divine means that these two worlds have to be married and embraced as one, both within oneself and within the projected world of our divine mind.  Otherwise we are falling back into patriarchy and dual based religions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, ‘good’ and ‘evil’ and all that grows from there. – an extract from the introduction to the Black Madonna tarot deck on www.patreon.com/thefrenchmadonna



blessings
Hettienne








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Day 8 – September

The soul (psyche) and the spirit (pneuma) are born of water and of fire.
It is with water, fire and light that the son of the bridal chamber
comes into being, the fire is then an anointing, 
the fire is then a light – Gospel of Philip

Today is Day Eight of the thirty days of Walking with Mary
and it is also the first day of the second week.
Week 2 Saturday 14 September to Friday 20 September

Mary as Beloved, Magdalen and Black Madonna
– the tree of life –

The Suit of Holy Rood (wands)
red, green and black


The new week brings a new energy and another
rebirth for us.   To welcome the new energies in, we 
clean and refresh our altars and our space.




You are invited to add fresh flowers and a red or green candle if you
should so choose.

The colours we will work with for the week are red, green, white
and black
and the element is fire.



In this second week of the spiritual practise,  the 
focus is on the second suit of the Mysteries of Mary
tarot deck, the Suit of the Holy Rood. (traditionally Wands)
which is based on the principles of beauty (not physical beauty
but beauty as an attribute of inspiration and harmony)
 and transformation.



Today I add a new prayer to the Immaculate Practise
You can work with this prayer in any way that you choose.
Eventually the practise will become your own
and it will reflect your energy and personal
relationship with the Divine and with Mary.

And the highlight of this week is the healing and transformative  
Diksha of the Sacred Heart of Mary.
We will follow it up  
with the Sacred Heart of Mary meditation
which strengthens the power of the Diksha in your energetic body.





The Holy Rood is seen in the sacred rood that flowers,
the living holy tree, the tree of life and the flaming sacred
heart of Mary.
The tree and its branches, similarly to the flaming heart,
represent the kundalini fire of life, shakty or the Holy Spirit.
It follows the meaning of the Bride and Bridegroom and
the mystical marriage as well as the sacred 
Bridal chamber mysteries.
The flaming tree is connected to the Black Madonna.
Many of the Black Madonnas were discovered in trees
and many appeared in apparitions in flaming trees 
and bushes
We will also focus on the Magdalen as she is the Beloved and of Jesus
and the Apostle to the apostles.
In the guidebook of the Mysteries of Mary tarot I explain that the 
name Maria and all its derivates are a title and that this
sacred tradition of holy women has been brought down through
many cultures and ages. We recognize this through the many names
of Mary, Mary Magdalene, Miriam, Maryam, Mara, Mari and more.
The mystical sacred marriage has always included
the holy immaculate conception and birth of father,
mother, son and daughter.  This of course is a psycho-spiritual
concept and philosophy (and not a literal marriage between
family members) which the ancient pagans and Great Mother
devotees understood very well.  
Sacred Heart shrine of Mary with 
sacred hawthorn berries (in my Mary garden)


The tree of the Holy Rood is the Hawthorn tree, also referred
to as the May tree for its flowering in May, the month of Mary
and the ancient May Queen.


Our Lady the Tree of Life
IX Holy Rood
Mysteries of Mary tarot deck



The Immaculate Practise



The sacred oil blend for the Sacred Heart of Mary

3 drops of eucalyptus essential oil and 7 drops of rose oil

(the better the quality of oil, the higher the vibration; this is
a very powerful blend and have been used in mystery schools
for years)


A new daily Prayer

You can continue with the previous daily prayer or you can
use the new one. or you can alternate between all the
prayers that I will share with you this month.

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

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)

We work with different variations of the mantra
and you can continue to use these variations
should it become a part of your daily practise


Queen of Holy Rood – Mary as the Bride
of the Sacred Chamber


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

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 


Hettienne
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Day 7 – September




Today is the final day of the first week.  By now you are familiar with the 
daily ritual of the Immaculate Practise.



Today is dedicated to Mary’s blue cloak of protection.

Below is a special prayer and step by step instructions on how to receive the 
special diksha. 
You can do the receiving mantra after or inbetween the prayer and mantra.
Feel free to add it into your daily ritual in any way.
I have been sharing this diksha with others for years and
I use it often myself.





Hail Mother Mary
Under your mantle
We take our refuge
We take our refuge

This very simple painting done by myself
carries the vibration of this diksha

The Blue Cloak of Protection

Mother Mary has given the Blue Cloak of Protection diksha to all those who ask Her. The Blue Cloak will cover your entire aura and with repetition of the meditation, its vibrational energy will increase and strengthen.


Diksha of the Blue Cloak of Protection – How to receive this diksha from Mother Mary

Sit comfortably and quieten your mind. Visualise the image of Mother Mary
 in your mind’s eye.
You can use the image of the painting above if you wish to.

See her energetic Blue Cloak that surrounds her mystical form and aura.

Call on Her presence.
 ‘Oh Divine Mother, please come to me;
reveal thyself;
 bless me with your Presence.
You may become aware of a colour, a sensation or a strong rush of emotion. 
Allow, allow, allow. You may want to stay in the awareness of her Grace for a few moments before continuing.

Ask her to grace you with the Diksha of the Blue Cloak of Protection.

‘Oh Divine Mother, by the power of Love vested in you and in myself, I ask to receive your Blue Cloak of Protection. I am willing to open my heart and mind to receive this energy transmission and to allow it to act in my energy field;
for it to cover my entire aura and protect all my energy bodies. 
Thank you thank you thank you. 
Jai Maa! So Be It’

Allow yourself to receive the energy and see/sense/visualise the Blue Cloak encircling your body. It covers your entire body down to the toes. The hood slips over your head and the two front seams meet down the length of your body.
Spend time, experiencing the energy of the Blue Cloak and take it with you, 
into your energy field.

Stay in this energy for 10 minutes until you feel the energies dissipate. You can repeat this meditation as often as you like. You can call on the Blue Cloak for Protection in times of anxiety or stress. The more often you meditate on the energy received during this Diksha, the stronger the energy will become.

thank you, Beloved Mother Mary, for this powerful and divine gift. 


Daily card, crystal and flower

During these seven days we worked with the archetype of
virgin, prophetess and priestess as embodied by Mary.

I share this extract with you

The chief characteristic of the goddess in her crescent phase
is that she is virgin.  Her instinct is not used to capture or possess the man
whom she attracts.  She remains virgin, even while being goddess of love.
She is essentially one-in-herself. 
She is not merely the feminine counterpart of a male god with similar
characteristics and functions, modified to suit her feminine form.
On the contrary she has a role to play that is her own, her characteristics
do not duplicate those of any of the gods, she is the Ancient and the Eternal,
the Mother of God.  The god with whom she is associated is her son and
him she necessarily precedes.  Her divine power does not depend on
her relation to a husband-god.
She bears her divinity in her own right.
In the same way the woman who is virgin, one-in-herself,
does what she does – not because of any desire to please, not to be liked,
or to be approved, even by herself;
not because of any desire to gain power over another,
to catch his interest or love,
but because what she does is true.
Virgin is used in its psychological connotation.
–  extract from Woman’s Mysteries by Esther Harding


blessings
Hettienne
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Day 6 – September

Blessings to you on this our
 sixth day of Walking with Mary for thirty days.




Blessings and Welcome to Day 6
of Thirty Days of Walking with Mary





Today you can add an oil burner to your altar (if you have not done so yet)
 and burn lemon oil.  I like to add water to my oil in the
burner and some people add salt.
Later on in the practise I will share with you a powerful
meditation blend of the other two oils listed previously.
You can continue to burn lemon oil every day.
It is also a good practise to burn lemon oil throughout your
house and even to add lemon oil to a water spray bottle,
add holy or blessed water as well, and spritz in the rooms.





A few years ago I became obsessed with both the smell and taste
of lemons.  I started with drinking lemon in my water, burning lemon oil,
wearing lemon oil and eventually I travelled to the south of Italy
to immerse myself in the culture and traditions related to the use of lemons.
Since then I have uncovered so much research on this sacred fruit!



The lemon is a citrus which is a variegation of the Etrog, also known as
Citron and Citron Medica.  I am sharing the following from the website
that I share below.
The etrog originated in India. From there it found its way to Persia
 (modern-day Iran), Aram-Naharayim (modern-day northern Syria), 
Israel and Egypt. Archaeologists have discovered etrog seeds in
 Iraq (ancient Babylon) dating back to 4000 BCE, and etrogs 
were found in Egyptian tombs and wall murals dating to 1500 BCE.
We can learn about the antiquity of the etrog 
from Jewish sources. According to one tradition, the “Tree of Knowledge” in
the Garden of Eden was an etrog tree. 
In the Midrash, the Sages taught that one of the distinguishing features 
of the earliest trees was that all of their parts were edible. 
“Go and see which tree …can be eaten just as its fruit.
 You will only find the etrog” (Breishit Rabba 15, 8). In the time 
of the Mishna and the Talmud, it was customary to eat the sprouts 
and the young leaves of the etrog tree.




It is still customary in the Jewish tradition to gift others with
an etrog or citrus on the religious  feast day of Sukkot.

In Italian folklore and herbal craft and tradition, it is a practise
to plant a lemon tree at your front door for protection.
It is also still a practise in some areas to keep a branch
from a lemon tree in your kitchen, as well as a bowl of the fruit.
At many hotels and guesthouses you will still see a bowl of lemons
at the front door – for purification and protection!


At the feast of the Madonna in Tropea entire
bouquets were created from lemons and her statue
had lemon trees on either side.


a wreath that I created from lemons and oranges

In India you will see lemons perched on to the trident of Shiva
and after the puja or ceremonies, the lemons are handed out
as sacred items to be taken home to bless and protect the home.



Day Six
The Immaculate Practise 

As always we start with the prayer to Mary


Daily Prayer

Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou among women
and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb
Holy Mary,  Mother of God,
oh Rose Queen
You bestow your Blessing upon us
Now and Forever





Whilst in a meditative state, draw a card from your deck.
If you have an amulet or charm set, you can also pick an amulet.
Keep the keywords of the card in your mind whilst doing the japa mala
(repetition of the mantra for today)
A powerful practise is to choose an amulet from the set that reflects the card
or you may choose to pick a crystal or a herb or flower.
 Place these on your lap or in the hand
that you do not use for the rosary mala.  This way the energy of the card, the rosary,
the amulet and crystal are all merged and we are engaging many of our senses.
Afterwards you may want to wear the amulet and/or crystal around
your neck or in your pocket.  Maybe you choose to carry your card with you
or leave it on display on your altar. 


Here is a prayer written for the Walking with Mary novenas

Radiant Mary, shine radiantly upon me.
Bright Lady who illuminates my inner darkness
Yours is the incorruptible fire;
As it is clean, it cleanses; as it is pure, it purifies.

Pick up your rosary
and repeat the daily mantra.
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.

  The more we work with a mantra, the more
it vibrates through our cells and energy and transforms our mind and energy bodies.


Om Jai Mata Mary Ma Namaha

Sit quietly for a few minutes, just allowing yourself to 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.


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.

blessings
Hettienne

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Day 5 – September

A rose in my rosary garden
Blessings to you and welcome to Day 5.

For the first week we are focusing on the inner child, the archetype
of Virgin, Priestess and Prophetess
and the Suit of Vessels (Cups) and the element of water
These are based on the elements as depicted in the Mysteries of Mary tarot deck
but these are universal in nature.


Water has always been the sacred energy of the feminine.
When one follows the leylines in the earth, the Mary line
curves and spirals around wells and you will find
cathedral and churches built on the power points of the Michael
lines (as they are known in the UK)
The feminine has always been worshipped at wells
and it is quite noticeable what an important role the well
plays in mystical traditions and how these stories
usually involve a woman.


The aarthi ghat at Haridwar on the sacred Ganga river
(Ganga Ma)


One of the most powerful and well-known sites
where Mary appeared, is Lourdes. It was at Lourdes that
I received the call in my heart to marry the mystical shakty path
that I had been following, with my love for Mary into
a bridging path.  A path that could reclaim, remember, reweave
and return her forgotton rituals and mysteries into the
sacred bridal chamber of her sacred heart.

 I took this photograph on the nativity of Mary
at Lourdes – it is the full moon on the left
and her statue in the rose garden in the middle of the rosary
procession in the middle



A place of miracles

From the very first days, miraculous cures have been granted at Lourdes to many who drank or bathed in the spring that Bernadette discovered at the Lady’s prompting. The Catholic Church is extremely slow and meticulous about acknowledging the validity of a cure and so most of the cures claimed there are never officially recognized. Even so, there are dozens of totally recognized cures that have happened at Lourdes that have been documented by the Church and the medical profession. The first healings happened almost immediately in 1858 and continue until the present day. 

This healing is brought to us on many, many levels.


A picture taken by myself of the Grotto and the spring
and the pyramid of candles

Water has the power to drown us or to quench our thirst.
We know Mary as the loving nurturing mother and also
as the Mater Dolorosa, the grieving mourning mother,
dressed in black, mourning the loss of her son.

In Lourdes you will see hundreds of pilgrims carrying large
containers of water from the sacred spring home every day.
We bring tiny bottles of the healing waters home with us.
Mary is called a Vessel of Spirit, a Vessel of Honour and here in
Lourdes she is the Vessel of the Sacred Waters.


Mary as Alchemical Vessel

In alchemy the vessel is the container in which the
various ingredients are mixed and transformed by each other.
It was believed that the alchemists were looking for
a way to turn lead into gold, but this is a metaphorical
journey of transforming darkness into light.  Or of
finding joy and peace amidst sorrow and hardship as we live
in a world of radical opposites and many challenges.

Mary is the vessel for the divine incarnated in herself as 
the Immaculate Conception and in
giving birth to her Son
and then as all of us.  


water containers at Lourdes

She is also the spiritual vessel in which
opposites combine.  As we are tested and challenged, like Bernadette,
we have the choice to obey the instructions of the voice of the Lady
that no-one else sees or to listen to the incredulous villagers and
Cure.  As we follow the calling of our heart, we are led to dig where
no-one else thought to look and we will uncover a spring that will
feed and nourish thousands.



Immaculate Practise

As part of today’s Immaculate Practise you may want to do a special water
ritual. A powerful ritual is to place your water in the moonlight to charge – we are
nearing the full moon in Pisces.
You can prepare the water by chanting the mantra over it
or by repeating the daily prayer.
You may wish to do so nightly till the full moon.
Pour the water into a chalice and drink from it mindfully and with
awareness.  You can use the blessed water to sanctify items on your
altar and sprinkle some over the image of Mary in gratitude.

Prayer for today :

I open myself to your presence, o Great Mother;
I commit myself to your priestesshood of miracle thinking
and the practise of faith in the extraordinary.
I am willing for my eyes and heart to be broken open
by your divine and blinding presence;
as I priestess your love and compassion in the world.

Daily Mantra

Om jai mata Mary ma namaha

Daily Prayer


Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou among women
and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb
Holy Mary,  Mother of God,
oh Rose Queen
You bestow your Blessing upon us

Now and Forever





blessings

Hettienne
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Day 4 – September



Welcome to day four of Walking with Mary


Today we step into our sacred space again.


Today’s meditation and japa mala practise is followed by
The Handless Maiden tarot spread



We open our sacred space by repeating the prayer for the week

Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou among women
and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb
Holy Mary,  Mother of God,
oh Rose Queen
You bestow your Blessing upon us
Now and Forever

The next part of the Immaculate Practise 
is the repetition of the mantra with your rosary or mala.

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 the thirty days.  
The more we work with a mantra, the more
it vibrates through our cells and energy and transforms our mind and energy bodies.


Om Jai Mata Mary Ma Namaha

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. 



I added the Amulets of Mary to my spread


The Mysteries of Mary tarot has the story of the Handless Maiden
as one of its themes. It is a story that embodies the roles of the masculine
and feminine in our world. Typically of fairytales, its grim and horrifying
details create a graphic picture of where the daughters of the world
are and the struggle to become free of the many layers of suppression,
projection and control.  We may perceive these interactions in the world
outside of ourselves, but these become internalised and part of the inner
landscape of the psyche.

If you do not own the deck, I share  the links below to my blogposts
where you can read the story and meaning behind the cards
of the handless maiden. It is a folktale and an internet search
will find various variations of the story.  In my guidebook I use
the Lithuanian version



Layout of the Handless Maiden





V of Holyrood – The Miller’s daugher

The Miller’s Daughter represents the feminine.  She is the feminine in both
men and women.  She is the embodiment of feminine values of our society and culture.
Some of the feminine values are waiting, the interior, the esoteric, the hidden,
the unseen, receptivity, the ambigious, the poetic.


The Miller’s Daughter asks of you the following :

Card 1 – which feminine values do you not acknowledge in yourself
Card 2 – which feminine values do you not consider as equal in the outer world




VIII of Holyrood – The Handless Maiden in the forest

She finds herself having to choose between two absolute opposites :
to keep her hands would be a heroic and autonomous act.
But this will also mean that the Devil will take her.
If she sacrifices her hands only then it will keep the Devil at bay and save her father.
She chooses to be powerless and give up control over her life.

The daughter’s choice to sacrifice her hands for her father
asks of you the following :

Card 3 – in which areas of my life am I overly in the feminine side of myself?
Card 4 – which aspect of the inner masculine do I need to bring into play in myself
and my actions and responses?
Card 5 – what are the choices that I face? (We often face terrible choices.

Whilst in the forest the miller’s daughter is rescued by a king who
creates a pair of silver hands for her to wear.

Card 6 – where am I compromising control of my own life for a pair
of silver hands?



IX of Roses – Our Lady of the Rosary
When the King realises that the silver handed maiden has dreams
and aspirations of freedom and choices, he chases her and her child
from his kingdom.

As she bends over to draw water, her child falls into the well. Her cries call
a spirit who asks why she does not save her child.  “Because I have no hands”
she shouts.  ‘Try’ the spirit says.

Here she finally has a choice to take control of her own life back.
As she plunges her handless arms into the well, her arms grow miraculously back
and she lifts her child out of the water.

Card 7 – from which situation am I called on to save my own inner child?
Card 8 – which path am I to choose?





The handless maiden as part of the fairytale themes in the deck
https://hergracesacredart.blogspot.com/2016/11/fairytale-in-mary-tarot-deck.html

Part Two of the Handless Maiden
https://hergracesacredart.blogspot.com/2016/12/part-two-of-handless-maiden.html

The Mysteries of Maryam
https://hergracesacredart.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-mysteries-of-maryam.html

blessings
Hettienne

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Day 3 – September


Welcome to day three of Walking with Mary

Today we step into our sacred space again.

Over time you may become aware of how the energy
‘builds up’ and gather in your space.

The more often we repeat the same prayer and mantra, the more
powerful it becomes.

You may choose to wear a meditation shawl. It is tradition
in the Tantra Shakta tradition and the orthodox Marian
tradition to wear a shawl or a veil.
If you keep an open mind and try it for yourself, you may
experience the intimacy with yourself, your breath
and your thoughts, facilitated by the sacred space
of the veil.



 We open our sacred space by repeating the prayer for the week

Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou among women
and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb
Holy Mary,  Mother of God,
oh Rose Queen
You bestow your Blessing upon us
Now and Forever

The next part of the Immaculate Practise 
is the repetition of the mantra with your rosary or mala.

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 the thirty days.  
The more we work with a mantra, the more
it vibrates through our cells and energy and transforms our mind and energy bodies.


Om Jai Mata Mary Ma Namaha

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. 



You can draw a daily card for your altar, or
contemplate your weekly card.

You may want to keep your journal or notebook
at hand and make notes of any thoughts or feelings
which may arise as you read today’s sharing.

Today we are reminded of the universality of Mary
and the mystery of who she is.
To some she is the literal figure in a Bible story;
to others she is a Western goddess;
some know her as Queen of Heaven and the Angels
and still others know as her Mama, Gaia,
Mother Earth and our nature.

‘I realized that all the powers of the Mothers,
 of Tara, Durga, Kali are in Mary.


She has Tara’s sublime tenderness;
Durga’s inaccessible silent calm force;
the grandeur and terribilta of Kali.
But Mary is also a woman,
a poor woman
and a human mother. – Andrew Harvey

Visionary or apparitional culture is no static force, a cultural ‘given’ 
that people can join as members.
It is dynamic, responding to contemporary political, social and religious realities
and shaping those realities, and is also shaped
by the individuals who identify themselves as Marian devotees
and visionaries.
Visionary culture is a confluence of Catholic devotions, symbols,
and traditions of innovative responses to modern
contexts of negotiations among social, religious and interpersonal
forces of the interactions of apparitions believers
and apparition doubters and of the loving
and guiding influence of Our Lady, who for believers is imminently present.
Visionary culture is a worldview, a palette of practices, an understanding
of the cosmos, a palette on which individuals paint
the stories of their lives.
              Extract from Out Lady of Emmitsburg by Jill Krebs




In her the full path of the sacred feminine is lived.
In her we have a complete image of the Divine Mother,
an image at once transcendent and immanent,
other-worldly and this-wordly,
at once mystical and political and practical.

In Mary the Divine Mother comes to earth and lives on earth
and lives, the passionate, strong, serious,
simple and transforming life that shows us all how to live.





Who is she to you?
What are the whispers in your ear? 
What are the winds stirring up in your heart?
It takes great courage to answer that call
and to step out of the comfort and security
of the un-examined room in which we live.
Has she been calling  you?
Then today is the day to answer.
 Today is the day to accept the call to step out
into the unknown

To do that which you have been avoiding,
to see and hear that part of yourself that has
been tugging on the hem of your coat,
begging for attention

Close your space with the prayer and step out into your
day 

Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou among women
and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb
Holy Mary,  Mother of God,
oh Rose Queen
You bestow your Blessing upon us
Now and Forever



blessings
Hettienne
Posted on by

Day 2 – September



Puja in my garden with japonica petals from the
bush that grows next to her image

Welcome to the Hearth of Mary and our
second day of Walking with Mary online retreat 

Today is the feast day of the Nativity of Mary and
for me personally,  a very special day and devotion.





For a few consecutive years I spent this special
feast day both at Lourdes, Notre Dame and the
Chapel of the Miraculous Medal in France
and on occasion it was full moon.  I blogged these experiences
on my blog Cloister of the Heart.

This morning we step into our sacred space once again
and we will add a special puja (ritual of devotion) for
Mary’s birthday.


A puja is a ritual dedicated to the worship of one’s personal deity or devi.
(also called the Ishta Devata)
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 as well as the integration between psyche and body,
masculine and feminine, mind and heart.
These rituals and tools are all part of ancient traditions known
as tantra or the hieros gamos or the sacred marriage.
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.

My altar with some of my collection of dolls

For today’s ceremony or puja we use fresh flowers,
fresh flower petals, incense, music and if you can,
and you feel drawn to do so, movement and spontaneous dancing. 

Today’s puja is dedicated to the
birthday of Holy Mary.


You may create a special altar for today or add special items 
that have meaning to you.  Add special flowers.
Have a musical instrument ready, a hand drum, or a bell
or any instruments that you may use in ceremony.
Find a piece of music that has meaning to you
or pick a piece of music that is devoted to Mary.

If you have space, you can use  spontaneous movement and dancing
as part of your puja.

My Black Madonna frame drum


We open our sacred space with the daily prayer.
 Put your music on and you may want to put it on ‘repeat’
so that it plays continually

Light the candles.

Light the incense and offer the sacred smoke to the items
on the altar and to the image of Holy Mary

Pick up your instrument and offer your devotion to
Blessed Mary on her birthday
You may choose to chant or sing along and use your instrument of choice
or you may feel drawn to move your body in movement and offer
the devotion (bhakty) of your sacred dance to Her
Or you can combine it all.


After offering your heart through song and dance, we offer
the fresh rose petals to Mary by showering her image with the petals.
You can also sprinkle some of the rose oil and water
from the altar as a blessing.
This is a very evocative and heart opening practise which
you can do every day or once a week and not only on holy days.

You can do the daily mantra after the puja.




Daily Prayer

Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou among women
and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb
Holy Mary,  Mother of God,
oh Rose Queen
You bestow your Blessing upon us
Now and Forever


Daily mantra

Om Jai Mata Mary Ma Namaha

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.


You can choose to draw a daily card at the end or to contemplate
your weekly card and see which insight arise after the ritual.
Nativity of Holy Child-Daughter



By honouring and acknowledging the birth of the holy child-daughter, Mary Herself, the masculine story is changed and the daughter and girl-child becomes sacred in the collective unconscious.


‘A hermit had on a certain night for many years heard music in the heavens. When he asked the cause an angel answered, : the Virgin was born this night, and what is ignored on earth is being celebrated by angels’ – Legends of Mary, Thirteenth Century

In this card we see the birth of the holy daughter, the female bearer of the Christ.  When one considers that the term Christ or Christed One is a title and not part of a name, then the sentence ‘female bearer of the Christ’ has a completely different meaning.  Mary is the feminine companion to Jesus or Maryam to Yeshua in the original Aramaic.  As we saw earlier three Marys always accompanied Jesus one of whom was his mother and one his companion or beloved.  Reading these words and stories with the inner mystical eye of vision and understanding, we understand that the psyche has four aspects : two masculine and two feminine and these are referred to as mother, father, daughter and son.  The picture reflected a whole psyche is incomplete without the daughter.  What would change within both men and women when the Christ appears in female form?  Or when the Christ appears as a divine couple? 

 In the Gospel of the Birth of Mary, it is described that the angel visited both Joachim and Anna (Mary’s parents) on two separate occasions.  Mary’s conception and birth was a miraculous one.  Anna, her mother was barren until the Archangel Gabriel visited her and declared that her barren womb will be opened by God and that the Holy Spirit will descend into the body of her daughter Mary whilst still in the womb.  Mary referred to herself as The Immaculate Conception when She appeared to Bernadette at Lourdes.   The sanctuary of the nativity of the virgin Mary is in Milan and her tiny effigy wrapped in lace and swaddling clothes is known as Santa Maria Bambina.  Her nativity is on 8 September and is one of the twelve major feast days in the liturgical calendar.    In the years between 1720 and 1730 a Franciscan nun from Todi (Sister Chiara Isabella Fornari) created wax statues of Mary as a baby. One of these dolls was donated to the Capuchin Sisters of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Milan. Eventually the statue arrived at the General House of the Sisters of Charity of Lovere , in Via Santa Sofia in Milan, and these sisters are called “Maria Bambina” .
The miraculous image of Maria Bambina was made prior to 1730 by a Franciscan nun who afterwards entrusted Her to others. During the ensuing years, she came into the care of the Sisters of Charity at Lovere, Italy. In 1856, these Sisters of Charity were asked to take over the management of the Hospital of Ciceri in Milan and, in 1876, this waxen image was carried to their Mother House there at Via Santa Sofia 13, where she has remained ever since.
The beautiful image of the Maria Bambina was exposed for veneration only on the 8th of September, the Feast of Mary’s Nativity. In 1884, those who were devoted to the Maria Bambina received a reward for their devotion. Due to paralysis in her arms and feet, Sister Josephine Woinovich was bedridden and in unbearable pain. On the 8th of September, she begged the Mother General to get Maria Bambina and leave the image near her overnight. The following morning the Mother General was inspired to take the image, so old, worn and grayish colored to the other sick Sisters in the infirmary so they could kiss her.



There was in the infirmary a good novice, Giulia Macario, who was unable to move because of her serious illness, but who, overcome by her ardent faith, took the image into her arms and pleaded with her in tender and loving words for the grace for her recovery. She was immediately and miraculously cured, for such Faith moves mountains. And at the same time this image itself underwent an amazing transformation from the former dull gray color to the warm flesh hues it has today, as can be seen, where she is enshrined in the Sanctuary of the Mother House in Milan.

Luce Irigaray in her work says that ‘there is no woman God, no female trinity: mother, daughter, spirit.  This paralyses the infinite of becoming a woman since she is fixed in the role of mother through whom the son of God is made flesh’

By honouring and acknowledging the birth of the holy child-daughter, Mary Herself, the masculine story is changed and the daughter and girl-child becomes sacred in the collective unconscious.


Santa Maria Bambina with golden wool
Handmaiden of Suit of Distaff
Mysteries of Mary Tarot Deck
www.hergracesacredart.com

These stories of the divine are powerful myths which activate and animate archetypes in our consciousness.  Mary calls Herself the Immaculate Conception and as such Her birth is truly a divine birth of a divine female and feminine which has been lying fast asleep like the princess in Sleeping Beauty (Card IV of the Suit of the Distaff).  Creating art and seeing images of Mary as the holy girl-child  and images of the Sacred Mother and Daughter will change our understanding of the world and our Soul completely.

blessings to you

Hettienne
Posted on by

Day 1 Walking with Mary September


Blessings to you on this our first day of Walking with Mary

Welcome to our virtual community where we connect with each other,
with our devotion to the Divine Feminine in Her Grace as Mary
and with our innermost selves.

If this is your first visit to the blog and these thirty days,
you may want to scroll down and read the previous posts
with information on the idea of this project.  You will also
find links to my other blogs and stories on this road of
walking with Mary, in the side bar of this blog.


Sacred Altar in the Temple of Mary garden


Welcome to the Hearth 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.

This first week runs from Saturday 7 September to Friday 13 September 2019
and is dedicated to The Nativity of Mary;
and the archetype of the Virgin, Woman Unto Herself;
the healing focus is on the Inner Child;
and the suit of Vessels (cups)

White, blue, gold and pink


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 a white candle
for today and most of this week.

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, other than the discipline
of turning up.


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.

There are various layers of ritual in the Immaculate Practise



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 altars and tools.  
Include your tarot and oracle decks and any amulet sets that you
intend using for these thirty days.
 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. The more
often and the more people that repeat the same mantra, the more
powerful it becomes.  Traditional mantras which have been chanted
for many years, have great healing effect on the vibrations of our
physical and spiritual world.



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.  Hold the deck of cards in its pouch or maybe a cloth wrapping
and repeat the mantra. 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.  


After you have blessed your space, open the ritual with a prayer to Mary.
You can use one of your own and I invite you to share
these with the Walking with Mary community.
I will share a different prayer each week.


The first prayer follows below.

Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou among women
and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb
Holy Mary,  Mother of God,
oh Rose Queen
You bestow your Blessing upon us
Now and Forever




Next pick up your deck of cards and choose one card for the week.
 Place the card on your altar and leave
it there for the remainder of the week.  
Do not interpret the card as you normally would,
but let her speak to you.  
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 for a second 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 not only the
card, but of Mary and of yourself.

We will keep all four weekly cards and read them together on the final day.




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.

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.



Food for thought – an extract from the Mysteries of Mary Tarot guide book

The Suit of Vessels
Mary in the archetype of Virgin-Mother, Prophetess and Priestess
of the Mysteries.

In the suit of Vessels we encounter Mary as the element of water.
Mary is a derivative from the Latin Maria which means waters.  In French ‘mare’ is the word for water.  Water has the power to drown us or to quench our thirst.  We know Mary as the loving nurturing mother, but also as the Mater Dolorosa, the grieving, mourning mother,
dressed in black.  She represents the oceans of consciousness as well as the energetic flow
of the soul and her powerful emotions.  Vessels also relate to the metaphor of the cosmic womb of the soul and the dark void of the Source of all creation.  We see the element of water represented in mystery in the blue of Mary’s robes.  In this suit we enter the alchemical process of the miraculous conception within ourselves and we prepare to birth the sacred one in our own psyche.
In alchemy the vessel is the container in which the various ingredients are mixed and transformed by each other.  It was believed that the alchemists were looking for a way to turn lead into gold, but it is also believed that it is actually a metaphorical journey of transforming darkness into light and one of finding joy and peace amidst sorrow and hardship as we live in a world of holy paradox.
As we follow the calling of our heart, we are led to dig where no-one else thought to look and we will uncover a spring that will feed and nourish thousands.






Tomorrow is the feast day of the Nativity of Mary.
We will do a special ceremony or puja for this feast day.

In preparation of the puja, please gather fresh flowers, fresh flower petals,
 incense or a smudging stick,
a bell, or a drum or a music instrument,
a piece of music that you can play to sing and dance to,
a glass of water and something to eat which you can
place on your altar and enjoy after the ceremony.
This is known as prasad or blessed food as it has been blessed
by your soulful offering and the meeting of Mary in response.

blessings
Hettienne