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

Hieros Gamos - sacred marriage of the opposites

Hieros Gamos 

I will never forget my first sighting of the Tor - it took my breath away. The entire Tor had a very vivid but yet gentle pink aura. Great big balls of energy was clearly visible around Glastonbury and the energy radiated from the Tower. For the first few nights in Glastonbury I could not sleep at all and wheverever I walked in the landscape my mind was assailed with vivid memories. It also seemed as though the high energy in the area, kept the imprint of times past.

Glastonbury on its own is filled with wondrous tales and magic and it is a wonderful melting pot of all religions and traditions.

I spent hours and hours in the grounds of the old Abbey, lying on my back gazing at the incredible energy radiating from the Tor and Tower. In the town posters was up everywhere about a public performance that night forming part of the Goddess Conference. At this stage my knowledge of the goddess traditions was limited to myths and archetypes. I went to the musical performance and sat next to a very wise and experienced local dowser. He told me about the Michael and Mary leylines and this conversation made my hair stand on end.

                                                        - http://path-of-divine-love.blogspot.com

http://pathofdivinelove.blogspot.co.za/2011/04/meeting-at-well.html

wisdom is brilliant, she never fades, by those who love her, she is readily seen, by those who seek her, she is readily found, She anticipates those who desire her by making herself known first, meditating on her is understanding in its perfect form, and anyone keeping awake for her will soon be free from care'.

Holy Grail of Avalon. The Archangel Michael, defender and protector of the Great Mother and Mary, Chalice of the World. An altar celebrating the Michael and Mary leylines, Avalon the mystical Isle, today known as Glastonbury, and the sacred waters of the Earth.

In this shrine you can see the powerful and swirling red energies of the Archangel Michael as ruler of the Michael leyline and the powerful Tor in the mystical isle of Avalon. Next to him is Mary, the Holy Grail of Avalon, the sacred heart with graces flowing from her hands and the gentle and blue energies of the feminine Mary leyline.

In the centre above both of them, is the Chalice of Chalice Well, the sacred well in Glastonbury where the red and white springs flow. The Chalice is set in the centre of the Vesica Pisces, the ancient symbol for the Divine Feminine.

The earth lines that run through the Earth are known as the Michael and Mary lines and they run through the length of Britain and Europe. I travelled along these lines from the top of Italy, across the water and through England. The masculine line of Michael is dotted with churches and the female line of Mary flows all along the rivers and are dotted with wells sacred to the Mother. In Glastonbury itself stands the famous Tor with the tower of Michael on its very top. Down below are the Chalice Gardens and the white and red springs.

It is said that Avalon is a metaphor for the heart. Glastonbury is a powerful place with powerful sacred sites. At the Abbey is the well of Mary and it is said that she is buried there. Mary travalled with her uncle Joseph of Arimathea to Glastonbury where the first hermitage was established. He planted his rod, made from the hawthorn tree, on Wearyall Hill and the branch grew into a beautiful hawthorn tree. This tree used to flower every year during Christmas and a branch was sent to the Queen of England. However, vandals cut the tree down a year ago, but there is still one standing in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey.

This shrine has great healing power and symbolises the hieros gamos, the marriage of opposites, that we as human beings have to enter into on a daily basis. Be it the marriage between mind and heart, or body and spirit, or masculine and feminine or divine and profane, we undertake this great task for the highest good of all. With Archangel Michael as Keeper of the Chalice and Mary as the Holy Grail of the Heart, you can be assured of success.

blessings

Hettienne

St Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Creatures

This shrine is a card in the Mysteries of Mary Tarot Deck
http://hergracesacredart.blogspot.com

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,

Yours are the praises, the glory, and the honor, and all blessing,

To You alone, Most High, do they belong,

and no human is worthy to mention Your name.

Brother Sun

Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures,

especially Sir Brother Sun,

Who is the day and through whom You give us light.

And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor;

and bears a likeness of You, Most High One.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,

in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,

and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather,

through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,

who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,

through whom You light the night,

and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,

who sustains and governs us,

and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.

Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love,

and bear infirmity and tribulation.

Blessed are those who endure in peace

for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,

from whom no one living can escape.

Woe to those who die in mortal sin.

Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will,

for the second death shall do them no harm.

Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks

and serve Him with great humility.

The shrine has a wonderful aura of innocence

through the use of children's plastic toy animals and the fake grass.

The pink halo of Sister Moon around 

St Francis' head shows his intuitive and sensitive nature.

He and St Chiara were seen as soulmates.

The beautiful golden Sir Brother Sun shimmers in the background.

I recently visited  the beautiful Assisi and 

Santa Maria degli Angeli where St Francis

lived and dwelled and this visit was the inspiration

for this shrine.

If you would like to read more about my

most recent pilgrimage to France and Italy,

follow my blog www.path-of-divine-love.com

Statue of Santa Chiara and St Francis in Assisi

Doves have nested in St Francis' statue's hands in the rose garden for centuries

I based my shrine on my own experiences and impressions

visiting St Francis in Assisi, during two separate pilgrimages,

years apart.

His Canticle of the Creatures really epitomises his spirit

of simplicity and love for all.  St Frances and Santa Chiara

were both vegetarians and many miracles with wild animals

and nature have been recorded.

I applied various techniques to the shrine to capture

the essence of the stone and light of Assisi, of the

basilica and of St Francis' robes, some of which

are still on display in Assisi.

I included the halos of Brother Sun and Sister Moon

and the many roses that he stands amongst, is a

reminder of the beautiful rose garden that still exists.

The rose bush, of which the thorns miraculously disappeared

when St Francis threw himself into the bush, is still

growing in this garden at the little church in

Santa Maria degli Angeli.

I brought this beautiful statue back from my trip

as it is so reminiscent of the statue in the rose garden

with the white nest turtle doves at this feet and

in his hands.

The shrine is ready to hang and has a beautiful image of 

St Francis on the back.

During this pilgrimage, as well as previous pilgrimages,

I visited well-known and lesser-known pilgrimage

sites that has special meaning and spiritual meaning to myself.

We weave our own tapestry of myth and meaning

of our inner lives, (as said earlier, you can read more

about this ideology on www.pathofdivinelove.com)

Wherever I go, I collect petals of the flowers from

sacred shrines, even bits of soil from the earth

and sand from crypts.  I also carry with me

small vials of blessed salts and blessed petals

as well as holy water and holy oil.  These I touch

to the holy places and to the relics of Saints where

it is possible.  We are surrounded by energy and there

are places that have more intense spiritual energy

than other places.  Also some places you immediately

sense great Love and Compassion and other values

which some of us treasure.  In places like Lourdes

and Lisieux, in the garden of St Terese, the fragrance

was almost overpowering - although some people

smell nothing.

Included with this shrine, is small vial of blessed

salts and rose petals, lavender, as well as 

myrrh that I brought back on this pilgrimage.

The content of this bottle had been carried

by me, and touched to the crypt where St Francis

lies, as well as the crypt where St Chiara's body

lies and I had it with me during a mass in

Santa Maria degli Angeli!!

blessings

Hettienne

Michael, Defender of the Virgin

Prayer to Michael

Saint Michael the Archangel, Powerful Spirit of Truth

Take my hand and lead me to Divine Truth.

Protect me from all the evil in the world.

Guard me and compensate for all my weaknesses.

Change, bless, and restore the consquences of all my mistakes.

Carry me on the wings of your love and might to the

Throne of God and pray to Him with me forever.

Amen.

I Am Michael. The -el stands for Elohim or son of God. Prince of Light, the Great Protector, the almighty Michael who commands the Legions of Light.

Michael (who is as God) in Biblical and post-Biblical lore, Michael ranks as the greatest of all angels, whether in Jewish, Christian or Islamic writings, secular or religious. He is chief of the order of virtues, chief of archangels, prince of the presence, angel of repentance, righteousness, mercy and sanctification. 

He is depicted most often with unsheathed sword, the warrior of God and slayer of the Dragon. In Legends of the Madonna, Michael is shown as the angel who announces to Mary her approaching death.

An aged and distressed shrine, with glints of Michael's golden crown and sword, against a background of the Madonna; a miniature book of Love with the image of the blessed Virgin on the cover; an aged image of Michael in a frame. Attached by rusted wire are unique medals, enameled images and parts of Michael's armour : his mighty sword, his helmet and his shield.

The back of the shrine is adorned with vintage sheet music and it comes ready to hang.

I visited the grotto and the Archangel Michael festival in the 800 year old Mont Sant'Angelo in Italy. Michael appeared here, in a cave, more than once to the local villagers many years ago and he is revered by his devotees during an annual pilgrimage to Mont Sant'Angelo. Read about my personal pilgrimage to Michael on my blog at http://pathofdivinelove.blogspot.com/2011/03/archangel-michael-wayshower-and-animus.html

Included with this shrine is a tiny bottle patina'ed and decorated with Michael's crown, containing some of the holy water collected in the grotto, as well some of the particles of dirt collected in the grotto during the three day festival and procession.

Wooden Shrine - Dimensions : 13.5 x 16.5 x 3.5 cm

The Rose of Peace

If Michael, leader of God's host

When Heaven and Hell are met,

Looked down on you from Heaven's door-post

He would his deeds forget.

Brooding no more upon God's wars

In his divine homestead,

He would go weave out of the stars

A chaplet for your head.

And all folk seeing him bow down,

And white stars tell your praise,

Would come at last to God's great town,

Led on by gentle ways;

And God would bid His warfare cease,

Saying all things were well;

And softly make a rosy peace,

A peace of Heaven with Hell.

WB Yeats

blessings, 

Hettienne

St Therese d'Lisieux

'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. - St Theresa of Lisieux

I have always, well, let me re-phrase that,

since I came to know about the saints,

felt a deep connection with St Theresa of Lisieux.

“God would never inspire me with desires which cannot be realized; so in spite of my littleness, I can hope to be a saint.” 

― St. Thérèse de Lisieux, Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux

This is a hand soldered hanging shrine.  I placed a holy card

between the two sheets of glass.  I placed a sterling silver cross

in the shrine and fixed tiny swarovski crystals and other

glass crystals onto the cross and over some of the roses.

The miraculous medal that I placed in the shrine, I brought

back from the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal in Paris, France

and it is also cast in silver.

I had the most beautiful experience in this chapel and I wrote about it

here :  http://www.path-of-divine-love.com/search?q=miraculous+medal

On the back of the shrine I placed a French

Holy Card with a prayer to the Sacre Coeur le Marie,

the Sacred Heart of Mary.

The shrine comes ready to hang with a piece of French

silk ribbon that I brought back from my pilgramage

to the sites of Marie Madeleine (Mary Magdalene)

Trust and trust alone should lead us to love” 

― St. Thérèse de Lisieux, Collected Letters of St Therese of Lisieux

2

“i can nourish myself on nothing but truth” 

― St. Thérèse de Lisieux

Images of the Divine carry enormous energy and Presence. There are various ways of explaining it, but the ancients believed that the Spirit of that aspect of the Divine lives in Its image and form. Those of us who can see light around living beings, can see the light around sacred objects. In holy places of pilgrimage one can often smell the fragrance of the Divine.

Each one of my pendants, shrines, paintings and other sacred art are first infused with holy water from Lourdes (which I brought back), and then infused with holy relic oil of more than 53 Saints & pure essential oils. A mixture of one hundred oils are used, including frankincense, myrrh, spikenard, agarwood and rose. It is also immersed in blessed pink dead sea salts, infused with rose petals steeped in holy oil of a third relic of St Therese of Lisieux and it is packaged with blessed salts, frankincense and sprinkled with holy water collected form many sacred places in the world. So it becomes sort of holy object to be handled with reverence and care.

This shrine comes with a bottel of the rose petals that was steeped

in the third relic oil of St Theresa and then dried,

as well as a bottle of blessed pink salt crushed together with

some of the holy oil and rose petals - all crushed together.

Here is an image of some of the rose petals and the

blessed pink salt - still to be crushed together.

“When I die, I will send down a shower of roses from the heavens,I will spend my heaven by doing good on earth.” 

― St. Thérèse de Lisieux

This shrine is ideal for hanging in a window, letting the

light of the sun and moon flow through these images.

If a little flower could speak, it seems to me that it would tell us quite simply all that God has done for it, without hiding any of its gifts. It would not, under the pretext of humility, say that it was not pretty, or that it had not a sweet scent, that the sun had withered its petals,or the storm bruised its stem, if it knew that such were not the case.” 

― St. Thérèse de Lisieux, Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux

Madonna di Lourdes

Madonna di Lourdes

A wearable shrine and altar of Our Lady of Lourdes, Mystical Healer

A wearable shrine and altar Our Lady of Lourdes - a miniature shadowbox of the grotto at Lourdes. 

This small shadow box is hand soldered with lead free solder. It is between two cathedral window shaped pieces of glass. It contains part of a Lourdes holy card that I brought back. The holy card has the full image of St Bernadette and Our Lady with her magnificent light on it and the words I Am the Immaculate Conception. These were her words to St Bernadette. 

St Bernadette said that with the later visitations, the light in Mary's feet had turned into roses - the rose is a very mystical symbol and also symbolises the chakras in the energetic system of the body. I added miniature porcelain roses, seed pearls and tiny crystals to create the deep effect of the grotto. The solder on the sides of the grotto is reminiscent of the water that drips down the sides of the cave. 

I put a portion of the book of Wisdom 7:11 on the back as well as the inscription of the vintage prayer card that I used for the image : Madonna di Lourdes

It hangs from an exquisite Lourdes rosary that I brought back with me. Look at the detail of each bead. Each one contains an image of the Mystical Rose on the one side and Our Lady on the other. The rosary connector contains some of the healing waters of Lourdes and is engraved with the words Lourdes on the back.

Mary of Lourdes is the mystical healer and this shrine carries some of that incredible miracle of healing and compassion that the pilgrim witnesses at Lourdes. Thousands of volunteers serve there free of charge; they take care of the invalids and the ill who come to the healing waters of Lourdes and every night at the special Mass, one can witness the procession of ill and crippled one.

No-one leaves the grotto of Lourdes untouched! The feeling of spiritual and divine love is palpable there and the light burns like a giant flame on the spot where Mary appeared. 

She is the Mystical Rose of our hearts that has such incredible potential power for love and compassion.

blessings

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