St Joseph shrine

SOLD

St Joseph, earthly father of the Divine Child :

symbol of humility and positive fatherly values,

faith and trust in the Will of God even when we do not know what the outcome will be nor what

is waiting for us :

living with an open heart and a surrendered mind without the need to first understand

before we accept our path as it is laid out in front of us.

St Joseph shrine - Oracle Deck :  Sacred Altars of the Mysteries

by Hettienne Grobler

The Feast of the Annunciation focuses on Mary's first initiation into the Joyful Divine Mysteries.

Humility, obedience and service are the qualities of the handmaid who sacrifices everything to fulfill

the Divine Plan for humanity.

Just as much as this was Mary's initiation, it was also Joseph's initiation into fulfilling the Divine Plan.

For him too, it was an initiation of humility, obedience and service.

The ancient esoteric legend tells us the following about the betrothal and marriage of

Mary and Joseph:

She saw in your soul's garden

The virgin lilies stand,

And knew God made you worthy

To touch her virgin hand.

'It came to pass when they were gathered together, Joseph was found with them, and as they were

waiting, behold, a snow white dove went forth from the Sanctuary and alighted upon the top of

Joseph's staff (which had spring into blossom) and then flew upon his head.

The holy virgin heart of Mary could be wedded

only to another holy virgin heart. 

St Ambrose writes that theirs was the perfect love match as the great saint was

betrothed to the Lily of Israel.

St Joseph, the Earthly Father of the Christ child,

went through his own journey of initiation, of joy and sorrow, sacrifice, loss and love.

Joseph had to accept in humble willingness a task so great and so painful : he sacrificed his personal life

for that of one of the highest service; he had to withstand his society's

scorn and disdain when he married a young girl

pregnant by the Holy Spirit; he had to father and love a child

whom he had to surrender to the Greater Mystery.

The contemplative seeker realizes that there are many esoteric layers of

symbolism hidden and stored in the Lesser and Greater Divine Mysteries.

Joseph is, amongst others, a symbol of the 'positive' father within.

He is the inner masculine self whom has to act on our inner inspiration.

Inspiration (in spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit) is in itself an immaculate conception.

Inspiration finds us, borne on the wings of the angel, in the same way

that the Archangel Gabriel delivered the news to Mary and Elizabeth.

But it is not always easy to act on inspiration.

We may be inspired to start a new project,

to write a book, to get involved in our community,

to give up a bad habit, to make lifestyle changes,

but it is not always that easy to make work of our new ideas

We may be faced with many obstacles and challenges in manifesting

our dreams and visions, the biggest one being our own doubts.

And this is where the positive inner father steps in. That aspect of ourselves

which is represented by the 'upright' St Joseph; that part who has to to guide and protect the inner child,

the enthusiasm (being filled with the passionate spirit of God) of a new

undertaking, or an inner unfolding of the heart.

The inner father who overcomes the inner critic; the inner voice who

encourages, supports and that part of the self that takes right action

to help us stay motivated and inspired and steadfast to our own dreams

and our vulnerable inner child.

This was one of the altar cards from the Oracle Deck that

I am working on;  it has since evolved into a more complex
shadowbox and card

If you would like to receive updates and news about the release

of the deck, subscribe to my emails on the website
http://www.hergracesacredart.com
The Higher Mysteries of Mary Tarot

Blessings

St Joseph, loving father to the Divine Child Within

St Joseph, symbol of our sacred labour

The Sacred Altars capture the essence of the 
prayer card and brings it to life

In the depths of winter the divine child is born.

On the darkest of days we celebrate the birth of the divine child. 

It is on the darkest nights of winter that God’s creative 

urges wells up to give birth to his child: the divine child. 

Christ is God’s child. But God is not alone.

God is always with the mother,

though she may be hidden or transparent. 

Jung says :

“How am I to be creative?

 Nature knows only one answer to that: 

Through a child (the gift of love).” 

The child is born, ‘the gift of love.’ Nature births us into world. 

The divine couple births the soul into the eternal.

 In the Christian myth,

 the divine child is born from the virgin womb of the mother Mary.

 In 431 the Council of Ephesus said that Mary is Theotokos:

 “God-bearer”, “Birth-Giver of God”, “the one who gives birth to God.” 

Here, within our hearts, God procreates with the Mother, the divine vessel, 

giving birth to a possibility: call it the divine child, 

the potential of the soul. This divine birth within is no easy task. 

There is something within us that wants to kill it off, 

a murderous instinct within psychic life.

  The revelation of the divine child is so disastrous,

 so threatening to the old guard, 

that it must be killed. 

According to the Gospel of Matthew 2:16–18, 

Herod ordered the execution of all babies in Bethlehem,

 desiring to assure the death of the divine child.

[Herod] “gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem 

and its vicinity who were two years old or under, 

in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.”

The divine child must outlive the murderous instincts of the superego. 

Our soul must survive the murderous rage of the envious tyrant

 who seems to rule the inner world.

 The murderous superego does not believe in the potential of our own soul. 

He does not trust in the good, in the enduring.  

He cannot see the soul’s potential: the child of the divine mother and father.

 It is our spiritual labor to protect the child. 

To be like Joseph, listening to the angels, protecting the child.

 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.

 “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.

 Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night 

and left for Egypt,where he stayed until the death of Herod. 

And so was fulfilled what the Lord 

had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2:13–15)

Joseph, the good father - Altars of the Mysteries Oracle Deck by Hettienne Grobler

Joseph sees the angel of the Lord, 

and the angel says that he must flee Egypt, symbol of tyranny. 

We must leave behind the tyranny of Herod ruled by fear,

 finding a place for the soul’s birth,

 and protecting the soul so that it may grow.

On the back of the shrine I added an old

image of a holy card which I scanned and distressed

I covered the back of the shrine with pages

from a very old Bible

I used pearls everywhere to add to the

sensual feeling of the colours and lilies

the calla lilies or arum lilies (indigenous to my
plantlife in South Africa)
is a symbol of Jesus' resurrection and is
also seen as a symbol of faith.
 This is a powerful
reminder of what still lies ahead for this loving father
and how much our faith will be tested on our own
personal journeys of doing the sacred work.
the lilies are the exact same colour

as the lilies held in St Joseph's hand

I added a tiny rosary with a connector

with St Joseph lilies on the back!

I used vintage measuring tape and yard sticks

every where to bring in the carpenter aspect.

I sell very few of these shrines as I am working

on a Mystical Mary Tarot Deck.

When I see the Saints and Holy Ones, I

also see the Great Stories of Humanity and the

archetypes as set out by Jung, Campbell

and others.

And here is one of my absolute favourites :

St Joseph the Good Father
Here you can see how I emphasizes the carpenter
and worker ethic of St Joseph.

I used many vintage wood pieces
and the shrine is standing on wooden feet.
I also used many miniature tools of the trade.

as well as a child's ABC blocks to
show how in touch this Holy Father
is with his Child and his level of devotion

PritiLisa sent me one of her old vintage
books a while ago.  This was a text book
for masonry workers.  I used the creed
of the masons as the background page in this
shrine.  The rest of the papers are from
old Bibles.

I like to layer in my shrines as I feel that
it all adds to the energy and feel of the
shrine and so increases its emotional
and spiritual value in our understanding.

I had collected these miniature tools and
tool case over the years and had been saving it
for the perfect piece of art - and here it is!

I hope these shrines inspire you almost as much
as they inspire me.  To me they just speak of
such incredible Divine Love for us and our
personal stories as they are echoed in these
Holy Stories.

love to you
Hettienne

I Am the Immaculate Conception

I Am the Immaculate Conception

wearable shrine on Etsy.com

For the past four years I have visited the Lourdes sanctuary

once a year.  I have written about my many pilgrimages

to Lourdes on my blog Cloister of the Heart.

I have also dedicated nine days a year on my blog to

an Art Novena for Our Lady of Lourdes

where I create and share art inspired by Lourdes

for nine days in a row culminating on the feast day

of Our Lady of Lourdes.

My visits to Lourdes have inspired my work as an artist.

The miracle of Lourdes is not limited to specific religion

or church.  It is an on-going event which inspires hundreds

of thousands of people from all walks of life and

from all philosophies to visit Lourdes and to see for

themselves what it is that draws so many to visit 

a spring the grotto of Massabielle.

This wearable shrine or rosary is called

I Am the Immaculate Conception, the words

that the 'lady in white' spoke to young Bernadette

in her own mother tongue, a French dialect

spoken in that part of France.

The image is baked onto a porcelain cabochon

set in brass filled rhinestones

and the beads match the colours on the

image perfectly.

The beads and chain and tiny rhinestone cross

are all vintage pieces.

You can read about my pilgrimages on

Cloister of the Heart

and see my other pieces of sacred art that

are for sale at 

Her Grace Devata on Etsy.com

blessings

Hettienne

St Thérèse de Lisieux the little Flower Shrine and Altar

St Thérèse de Lisieux

also known as The Little Flower

has always grabbed my imagination

What a comfort it is, this way of love! 
You may stumble on it, 

you may fail to correspond with grace given, 

but always love knows how to 
make the best of everything; 

whatever offends our Lord is 
burnt up in its fire, and nothing is left 

but a humble, 
absorbing peace deep down in the heart." 

And through time I have made many shrines dedicated to her

Not long ago I found the most beautiful vintage

statue of her - quite different to the modern day ones

and it was time for another shrine

for this young nun who was known for her

innocent faith and optimism despite being ill for most of her short life

Then I found this image of also a very unique

vintage prayer card that looks very differently to the

modern ones.

Here she is holding a candle

symbolising the light of her love and God's love

'For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; 

it is a simple look turned toward heaven,

it is a cry of recognition and of love,

embracing both trail and joy.

So obviously it was time for me to make another shrine for

The Little Flower, but with a twist this time!!

A word or a smile is often enough

to put life into a despondent soul

I decided to add a wearable shrine to this altar -

a handmade pendant of a holy card of St Therese

which fits snugly into the altar

or you can pop it out and wear it around your neck on

your favourite chain or St Therese rosary

I added a few tiny rose petals to the pendant

The rosary beads are real onyx;  the roses are porcelain;

I used a variety of paper flower, silk and ribbon roses

and a tiny madonna set under resin in a sterling silver setting

and a miniature St Therese statue dangles below the onyx cross

and black swarovski bead.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

A tiny St Joseph and Jesus the Child medal dangles

on the pendant and it has a beautiful St Joseph lily on the back -

this is a very old medal.

The entire shrine, inside and out, is lined with ribbon and lace

and the back is covered with pages from a very old

Afrikaans Bible.  Afrikaans is my home language

spoken here in South Africa.

and to add to the beauty of this shrine

I found this vintage prayer card image which

I used as the back of the pendant

'Let this Presence settle into your bones,

and allow your soul the freedom

to sing, dance, praise and love.

Holiness consists simply in doing God's will

and being just what God wants us to be

'Let us not be justices of peace,

but angels of peace.!

All quotes by St Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower

St Terese of Lisieux, the Little Flower

St Terese of Lisieux, also known as the Little Flower

Prayer of St Terese of Lisieux

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you

are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite

possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received,

and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones,

and allow your soul the freedom to sing,

dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

I just loved making this shrine of St Terese.

She is known as the Little Flower and is well-known for her

beautiful sayings comparing the inner life to a garden.

“The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily
do not rob the little violet of it’s scent nor the daisy of its simple charm.
If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.” 

The shrine is filled with flowers and roses

and I covered the wooden cross with a multitude of roses.

I used fabric roses, aluminium roses, paper roses,

porcelain roses and german glass glitter on the roses

on the holy card image of the sacred heart.

St Terese said that after she had gone she will

shower roses from heaven.

The rose is a powerful symbol for many reasons.

It has five petals that shows at any given time,

representing the five elements,

thus representing wholeness.

I used all sterling silver charms on the side;

a brass finding as a halo behind her head;

velvet ribbon and vintage lace on the frames

as well as

hand punched lace paper trim.

I was so happy when I found these punches.

This shrine is part of the Mary Sacred Rosary Oracle Deck -

a huge project that I have undertaken!

blessings

Sacred Rosary Oracle of Mary Deck

I envision these shrines linked together in a

Sacred Rosary

each shrine a small window in the ordinary day

where the holy

is recognized as the unfolding rose

of Love present in each and every moment

I have started work on the 36 cards

of this Mary Oracle and

12 completely new shrines have been completed.

Each shrine takes a minimum of a week to create

and weeks to put together in collecting all the

bits n pieces

and in understanding its unique part in the greater story.

The Sacred Rosary Oracle of Mary deck

includes the four Initiations of Fire, Water, Air and Earth

in the life of Jesus and in the life of Mary;

the various apparitions of Mary, as well as

some of her sacred names.

It will also include the stories of Catholic Saints

such as Padre Pio, Saint Francis, Saint Anthony,

Saint Joseph, Mary Magdalene, Sarah-la-Kali, amongst others.

Pilgrimage to sacred places all over the world is what

I enjoy the most.  And most of these shrines are based on holy

places that I have visited :  the cave where the Archangel Michael

appeared three times in Italy, the village of Monte Sant'Angelo;

the shrine of Padre Pio at San Giovanni Rotondo;  St Bridget in Kildare;

the Mary Chapel and Well and the sacred hawthorn tree planted by

St Joseph at Glastonbury Abbey in England; the shrine, cave and church

of Mary Magdalene in the South of France;  the festival of

the black gypsy saint Sarah la-Kali, where the three Marys

landed in a small boat;

a pilgrimage to Lourdes, the Chapel of the Miraculous

Medal in Paris, the Notre Dame de Paris,

to mention but a few.

If you are interested in reading more about these pilgrimages

to Thailand, India, England and Europe, 

you will find them all here on Her Grace as well as on

The Path of Divine Love (link on the right hand side).

I will be sharing these shrines and their development over

the next few weeks and months.

Each shrine incorporates the significance of colour,

flowers, holy medals, vintage holy cards, 

statues, symbology related to astrology,

numerology and the spiritual significance of

these holy stories as related to our own

spiritual growth and development.

I hope you find it as fascinating as I do.

blessings

Mornings with Mary

Mornings with Mary - Joseph, Earthly Father

St Joseph, earthly father of the Divine Child :
 symbol of humility and positive fatherly values,
faith and trust in the Will of God
even when we do not know what the outcome will be
nor what is waiting for us :
 living with an open heart
and a surrendered mind
 without the need to first understand
before we accept our path
as it is laid out in front of us.

St Joseph shrine - The  Mary Oracle Deck
by Hettienne Grobler

 The Feast of the Annunciation focuses on Mary's
first initiation into the Joyful Divine Mysteries.

Humility, obedience and service are the
qualities of the handmaid who
sacrifices everything to fulfill

the Divine Plan for humanity.

Just as much as this was Mary's initiation,
it was also Joseph's initiation
into fulfilling the Divine Plan.

For him too, it was an initiation
of humility, obedience and service.

The ancient esoteric legend tells us the following
about the betrothal and marriage of

Mary and Joseph:

She saw in your soul's garden

The virgin lilies stand,

And knew God made you worthy

To touch her virgin hand.

'It came to pass when they were gathered together,
Joseph was found with them, and as they were

waiting, behold, a snow white dove
went forth from the Sanctuary and alighted upon the top of

Joseph's staff (which had spring into blossom) and then flew upon his head.

The holy virgin heart of Mary could be wedded

only to another holy virgin heart.  

St Ambrose writes that theirs was the perfect love match
as the great saint was

betrothed to the Lily of Israel.

St Joseph, the Earthly Father of the Christ child,

went through his own journey of initiation, of joy and
sorrow, sacrifice, loss and love.

 Joseph  had to accept in humble willingness a task
so great and so painful : he sacrificed his
personal life for that of one of the highest service;
he had to withstand his society's
scorn and disdain when he married a young girl
pregnant by the Holy Spirit;
he had to father and love a child
whom he had to surrender to the Greater Mystery.

The contemplative seeker realizes that there are many
esoteric layers of symbolism hidden and stored in the
Lesser and Greater Divine Mysteries.

Joseph is, amongst others,
a symbol of the 'positive' father within.

He is the inner masculine self whom has to act
on our inner inspiration.
Inspiration (in spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit)
is in itself an immaculate conception.
Inspiration finds us, borne on the wings of the angel,
in the same way
that the Archangel Gabriel delivered the news to Mary
and Elizabeth.
But it is not always easy to act on inspiration.
We may be inspired to start a new project,
 to write a book, to get involved in our community,
to give up a bad habit, to make lifestyle changes,
but it is not always that easy to make work of our new ideas
We may be faced with many obstacles and
challenges in manifesting
our dreams and visions,
the biggest one being our own doubts.

And this is where the positive inner father steps in.
That aspect of ourselves
which is represented by the 'upright' St Joseph;
that part who has to to guide and protect the inner child,
the enthusiasm (being filled with the passionate spirit of God) of a new
undertaking, or an inner unfolding of the heart.

The inner father who overcomes the inner critic;  

the inner voice who encourages, 

supports and that part of the self that takes right action
to help us stay motivated 

and inspired and steadfast to our own dreams
and our vulnerable inner child.

Please join in with Mornings with Mary
at http://corazon.typepad.com/recuerda_mi_corazon/2013/05/mornings-with-mary-practicing-peace.html

Blessings