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blessings,
Hettienne

The Miller's Daughter

The Miller's Daughter
Mysteries of Mary Tarot Deck
www.hergracesacredart.com

The Mysteries of Mary Tarot Deck and Book

has been published and is now available on

my website www.hergracesacredart.com

and also in my shop The French Madonna

at Etsy.com  www.etsy.com/shop/thefrenchmadonna.

You can subscribe to my blog

The Mysteries of Mary Tarot 

for regular updates.

A few fairytales are included in the Mysteries of Mary Tarot Deck.  Some of them were chosen as they relate to a specific archetype in both the tarot and the stories of Mary.

The fairy tale of the Handless Maiden was chosen because Mary

appears in an Eastern European folktale version of the story. 

In some versions an angel or a being of light appears to help the 

Handless Maiden, but in this particular folktale, Mary herself appears

to help the maiden.

The story of the Handless Maiden and her powerful symbology is told over a sequence of three cards in the deck.  Links

to different versions of the fairy tale is included

in the bibliography at the back

of the book.  

The V of Holy Rood (traditionally Wands) is the first

card that depicts a scene from the tale.  

This card is titled The Miller's Daughter 

and we are introduced to

the young maiden, her father, the devil 

and very importantly, the apple tree.

The Miller's daughter is standing next to the apple tree with a loaf of bread

(food produced by the miller) on her shoulder.  She, as well as the significant apple

tree represents feminine values and attributes.    Feminine qualities and attributes

live in both male and female.  The story of speaks of the 'miller' and not the maiden's father.

This demonstrates that great importance is given to his occupation in the world, 

rather than his role as father.

From the start we see the focus and emphasis on masculine goals and values.

In our culture the masculine values and attributes are greatly admired and promoted.

The emphasis on the miller, his greed for money, his disregard for both the apple tree

and his daughter, reflects and highlights the imbalance which exists and

the lack of reverence for the less visible feminine principles.

The apple blossom is a symbol of fertility and sensuality.

In Celtic lore the apple tree is the Tree of Love.

At the top of the shrine are two hands.  These will take

you to the next part of the story which is further developed

in VII of Holy Rood,, where the Handless Maiden enters the forest.

Traditionally this card means conflict and in this deck it refers to inner conflict.

The really important questions in life you have to find the answers to

yourself. Do not rely on the opinion of others.  Do not rely

on 'the done thing' or the accepted way of doing.

In other words, do not make a pact with the devil for your most

precious feminine feeling  and earthy nature.

Dig deep and feel the discomfort of the inner conflict

and may you find peace.

This is an extract from the discussion of this card in companion book

to the Mysteries of Mary Tarot Deck

peace,

Hettienne

The nativity of the Holy Child-Daughter

Nativity of Holy Child-Daughter
II Roses
Mysteries of Mary Tarot Deck
www.hergracesacredart.com

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 Lost Books of the Bible, The Gospel of the Birth of Mary, Mary’s lineage and birth is described in detail.    Mary of Agreda in her book The Mystical City of God which describes the details of the life of the Virgin, calls the child Mary, ‘the true living Ark of the covenant’.

In the Koran it is told that in the year 16 BCE, the people of Jerusalem are awaiting the birth of the son of Imran (Anna in Greek). Instead of the much-anticipated "Messiah", a girl is born to Imran and Anna. The latter names her Mary, which means "Servant of God". Did they miss the birth of the Messiah through their expectation that he has to be male?

 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.

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? 

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.

Mary serving as priestess in Temple of the Dove
Four of Vessels
Mysteries of Mary Tarot Deck
www.hergracesacredart.com

I used mainly Western Christian Catholic icons, statues and symbolism, which I combined with the wider vision of the journey of the feminine divine as archetype of the Self. By juxtaposing these well-known images onto a different context and by re-connecting their symbolism to the correspondences found in myths, legend, fairy tale and stories carried down through the ages, a deeper, more meaningful picture unfolds.  I set out taking the well-known Christian images of Mary (and really mostly the only ones readily available) out of their Roman Catholic context thus giving them new meaning.  As my own personal journey evolved and I immersed myself into the Christian mysteries at the sites sacred to Mary that I visited, I discovered that the numinous emanation of Mary truly still does exist in the Christian art and symbology.  I found that She had merely been veiled by dogma and conditioned belief and that when you see with ‘new eyes’, then the true Divine Mary and Goddess is still radiating Her Presence and always has done so.  I realised that the Christian churches and copious art works has been the vessel for Her through the dark ages of the suppressed feminine.  This awakened the inspiration and resolve within myself to reveal Her to others in the same way that She revealed Herself to me.

A limited edition of the Mysteries of Mary Tarot Deck and Book 

is now available on pre-order

at The French Madonna 

and on my website here :

http://www.hergracesacredart.com/2016/10/the-mysteries-of-mary-tarot-deck-and.html

blessings

Hettienne

Vintage black rosary assemblage necklace The Black Madonna

The French Madonna
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I am dark, daughters of Jerusalem and I am beautiful!

Black Virgin

Mother of us All

teach me to see the beauty in the Mystery.

The French Madonna
www.etsy.com/shop/TheFrenchMadonna

Help me to relinquish my need to figure out the Holy One

with the feeble tool of my intellect

and instead encompass divine truth

with my open heart

I am tired of fighting for control.

I am ready to lay down my sword

at your gentle feet, Blessed Mother.

Give me the courage to enter the secret cave

where you hold the Redeemer nestled in your loving arms.

Your face radiates from the gaze of the angels that surround you.

Let me find my own true face reflected there.

The French Madonna
www.etsy.com/shop/TheFrenchMadonna

Then I will be able to sing with the Bride

The French Madonna
www.etsy.com/shop/TheFrenchMadonna

Do not see me as only dark:  the sun has started in me.

-  Mirabai Starr

Queen of the Gypsies

Queen of the Gypsies
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Gypsy wagon in Saintes Marie de la Mer, South of France

during the Sara la Kali pilgrimage

Sante Sara la Kali in crypt of church at
Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer in South of France

Queen of the Gypsies inspired by the sacred pilgrimage to

Santa Sara la Kali, the Queen of the Gypsies

and the story of Mary Magdalene, Mary Jacobe and Mary Salome

You can read more about my first visit to Sara la Kali here :

http://pathofdivinelove.blogspot.co.za/2011/08/sara-la-kali-part-three-in-lourdes.html

The festival always takes place on Sante Sara's sacred day 25 May. The week before the caravans stream into the small sea side village.  As we travelled many motorhomes passed us.  The gypsies live in these modern motorhomes and many have enormous trailers behind. 

Outside the church of Saintes Maries de la Mer you will find flamenco playing gypsies, dancing girls, small girls handing out images of Lakshmi and older women selling the holy medals of Sante Sarah, indicating that you have arrived at the destination of your pilgrimage!  What magic!!

Lakshmi, Goddess of Wealth and Abundance

  Saintes Maries de la Mer is a quaint village known for its white horses from the Camargue, the black bulls and the three Saints : Sara, Marie Salome and Marie Jacobe.  Legend has it that they arrived here on the beach with Mary Magdalene.

Vintage Retro Nativity Rosary

Mother of God

rejoice with me.

In the midst of the petty trials

and the profound sorrows of this life,

let me catch a glimpse of your face

and dissolve into laughter

Let me remember that what matters

is not the laundry I have to fold

but the gurgling of the baby speaking his own new language

not the bank account that will not balance,

but the miracle of the dragonfly landing on my wet shoulder

as I climb out of the river on a summer day

Like the tender hand of a child

who spontaneously reaches to comfort his worried mother,

let me lightly carry the suffering of the world

a wonderfully retro kitsch rosary made from

found vintage nativity scene pieces and 

celluloid roses, rosary, crucifixes and holy medals

blessings

Hettienne

Vessel of Spirit

Vessel of Spirit www.etsy.com/shop/thefrenchmadonna

Vessel of Spirit

from the Litany of Loreto

The theme of this title is containment.

Mary is the vessel of safekeeping and incubation.

She is the baptismal font of new life.

She is the tabernacle.

In Judaism, the tabernacle is womblike and 

contains all of God's revelation that is

nonetheless continually unfolding.

It is not a binder of old texts, but a releaser

of new and neverending revelations.

The Great Mother was seen as the container of all that

is.  A dark side of containing captivity,

in which the feminine energy ensnares us and inhibits us.

In the aspect she crushes independence - 

a feature taken over, like most of the dark side of the feminine,

by the patriarchy.

The Egyptian goddess of the sky is Nut.  Her image, with embracing arms,

was painted in a sarcophagus so she could 'hold' the dead body

and thereby prepare it for resurrection.

The Great Mother was seen in many traditions as holding us

in the container of a grave, the incubator of rebirth.

In every image of the Great Mother we see Mary.

Mary is called a Vessel of Spirit,

a Vessel of Honour and the Singular Vessel of Devotion.

These titles were added to the Litany in medieval times when

alchemy was popular.  Alchemy was not literally about

transforming lead into the gold.  

The vessel in which the leaden ego is transformed into the gold

of spiritual wholeness is the spiritual enterprise represented by the

science of alchemy. The Litany avers that the alchemical

transformation that is our spiritual destiny can happen in the body

of the divine feminine, that is, in the cosmos.

In the metaphor of the alchemical vessel, we encounter

the two maternal themes of forming and transforming.

We see Mary then as the vessel of gestation of Christ

and of all of us. 

The painful process of letting go of self-centredness occurs

so that the gold of God-centred wholeness can appear.

  extract from When Mary becomes Cosmic by David Richo

Michael

Archangel Michael Protector of the Vulnerable www.etsy.com/shop/thefrenchmadonna

 The small lead-stained glass windows made blue rainbows of light in my hand.  As I turned the icon, the silver wings glistened and the sword reflected gold sparkles.   I could sense the essence of the Archangel Michael statue and deep inside of me a part of me welled with a sense of yearning and I declared to all who cared to listen “From wherever this statue has come, that is where I am going!!!”

And this is how my  very first pilgimage started and my life long passion to discover and uncover

more about the power of myth and the our relationship with the sacred.

 A friend brought me the San Michele (Saint Michael as he is known in the Roman Catholic Church) icon from Italy.  The little statue found its way into my hands via another friend.  I had no idea where it came from other than somewhere in Italy.  I decided that the September school holidays would be a good time.  As I had to ask Granny to help with the house-sitting and taking care of my children, I moved the dates a week earlier so as to avoid taking her away from the rest of her family for her birthday!!!!  I had no idea at that time how important this shuffling of dates were!!!  As to the location of the San Michele sanctuary: that I left up to The Universe.

Three months before my departure date I discovered that the annual San Michele festival takes place on 29 September in a small town called Monte Sant’Angelo in the province of Foggia in Italy.  On the same day I discovered that this is indeed the shrine where my statue came from!!!  By having moved the dates of my trip to a week earlier, I had given myself three days to travel down to Monte Sant’Angelo to arrive in time for the festival!!  The annual festival takes place on the Saint’s day and it is dedicated to the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. 

Monte Sant’Angelo forms part of the Gargano Pilgrim Way.  The Gargano being that part of the Italian continent that looks like the spur of the boot.   The landscape, soil and vegetation in this part is completely different to the rest of Italy and it is believed that this section broke off from another continent with the moving apart of the continents.

I visited the sacred grotto in Monte Sant'Angelo where Michael appeared twice to

many villagers.  We participated in the festivities of the Archangel Festival 

and we decided to change our holiday plans and to complete the Gargano Pilgrim Way

which included the Basilica of Padre Pio.

This wonderfully impulsive act of mine altered the course of my life.

I learnt about the Michael and Mary leylines and followed Michael

to England where I continued to follow the leylines for six consecutive years.

It meant many changes within myself and challenges to be overcome

and the adventure still continues.

Thus, this piece I created in celebration of

Michael,

Saint and Archangel,

Protector of the Vulnerable and Defender of the Feminine

If you would like to read more about my pilgrimages

please visit Cloister of the Heart

http://pathofdivinelove.blogspot.com

blessings

Hettienne

Triumph of the Immaculate Heart

www.etsy.com/shop/thefrenchmadonna

You who radiate peace, dear Mary,

help us to break this obsession with war

and vanquish the culture of death.

Too many people have died, Blessed Mother,

and no amount of official explanations

and strategic manipulations

can possible justify such suffering.

At this very moment, all over the planet,

dozens of battles are raging,

like bursts of flame exploding

from different zones of a forest on fire.

Whether they take the form of the 

massive bloodshed of entire communities

or single acts of domestic violence,

your Mother-Heart will not tolerate such hatred.

You break yourself open

and offer us the only true antidote

to the poison of global strife:

universal love.

The Triumph of the Immaculate Heart

from

Mother of God

Similar to Fire

by

Mirabai Starr