Madonna of the Gypsies - Wearable Sacred Shrine

There is a legend in the South of France

which is still kept alive in the hearts and lives

of the Roma (Gypsies)

This legend is centred on the tiny village
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
in the Camargue
where the white horses run wild,
marshy fields covered with pink flamingoes
and provencal cowboys drive the black bulls.

Once a year this village throbs with the rhythm of the flamenco,
the sound of the banjo and chello,
and a spectacular display of the Bohemian lifestyle
of the Roma.

The legend goes that after the crucifixion of Jesus
 the three Marys,

Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome and Mary of Cleophas,

along with the Saint Sarah, landed
in a small little boat at the shore of
Saintes Maries de la Mer,
(The Saints Marys of the Sea),
in Camargue.
  In this legend the black Sarah is the Egyptian handmaid

of one of them.
She is called Sarah-la-Kali,
a divine sister of Kali of India.

In another legend she is the daughter of Jesus

and Mary Magdalene,

carrying the royal bloodline.

Thousands of Roma people (Gypsies)

travel to Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer

during May every year

to venerate Saint Sarah

and the three Marys.

a porcelain gypsy dancer doll I brought back from my pilgrimage to the
 festival of Sainte Sara

in Maries-de-la-Mer

Shadow box of the spirit of the Sara-la-Kali festival

with  Madonna of the Roses rosary

I made this series of Black Madonna rosaries.

The images are in black and sepia and they remind

me of the black of Saint Sarah and the fiery

passion and celebration of the Roma and her celebrations.

The Black Madonnas are a very mysterious part of the 

Marian symbology and our world

and although these images are not strictly Black Madonna

images, to me they hold some of that mysteriousness

of the blackness of the unconscious made manifest

in this world.

All my handwork are sacred objects and I see the sacred

in everything and everyone.  Every simple act in this world

holds the profound grace of potentially being

an act of compassion and love,

containing the power of bringing deep joy and beauty to our

own lives and to the lives of others.

These rosaries are wearable sacred shrines.

The body is sacred and a temple of the divine.

Adorning the body with a beautiful sacred shrine

is a sacrament of love.

Madonna of the Gypsies

I soldered the centrepiece with silver solder

and the image is held between two pieces of glass.

I added black onyx rosary beads and crucifixes;

held together with red swarovski crystal,

and red roses.

A tiny sterling silver Agnus Dei heart shaped locket

dangle at the top of the centrepiece

and at the end of the rosary is
a handmade glass lampwork red rose
and a

a pure silver cross embossed with images

Madonna of the Roses and Madonna of the Gypsies

wearable shrines adorning the heart,

altar of the Blessed Mother

This beautiful shawl I bought at the market during the festival.

I also bought the red spanish comb which I used on the
shadowbox, as well as the beautiful hat

Madonna of the Gypsies wearable shrine is displayed here on the shadowbox

a shrine of the Sainte Sara-la-Kali feast days.

It contains the gypsy doll that I collected, as well as a small statue

of the black saint, her rosary and a black bull - an important

part of the festival.

If you would like to read more about this festival and my experiences there

http://www.path-of-divine-love.com/2011/08/sara-la-kali-part-three-in-lourdes.html

blessings

Wearable Sacred Shrine

I am very pleased with my handiwork!

This is my first soldered pendant.

I used silver solder and a vintage image of the Madonna.

I found this image on www.beta.dawn.com

of pilgrims on a trek to honour the Black Madonna in Spain

and this is the 'feel' that I tried to recreate with this pendant.

black rose shaped beads in a traditional rosary

a tiny silver heart dangling at the top 

fiery passion

blooming into a single rose

(hand made glass lampwork rose)

shooting out into a spanish crown

the traditional cross at the end of a rosary

replaced with a crowned sacred heart

The back of the shrine carries a quote on love

now for sale at Her Grace on Etsy.com

blessings

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

Mornings with Mary and Sacred Shrines

Mother of God

similar to fire,

ignite my heart in prayer

Where once I stood on familiar ground,

selecting my spiritual experiences

like choice morsels from a well-tended larder,

now my garden has gone up in flames

and I thirst only for the Living God

Let me swallow the Sacred

and burn with that Presence,

illuminating a way home to the Truth.

Lit from within,

let my blazing heart become a sanctuary

for the weary traveller,

until this long night lifts

and dawn unfolds her new radiance

                                                                                   -    Mirabai Starr

And so we start the week with

Mornings with Mary

May you find inspiration in the burnt garden and the regeneration

offered by the Sacred Heart of Blessed Mary

Please visit Rebecca at

http://corazon.typepad.com/recuerda_mi_corazon.html

for more sharings on

Mornings with Mary

Blessings 

Mornings with Mary and Sacred Shrines

The beauty of colour ..... derives from shape;

from the conquest of the darkness inherent in Matter,

by the pouring in of light, the unembodied ........

 -                       Plotinus

Darkness is the great canvas against which beauty becomes visible.

- John O"Donaghue, Divine Beauty

Doubt is the shadow cast when something gets in the way of the light.  

Ironically, doubt itself brings greater light because of the

shadow it casts.

Another wonderful blessed Morning with Mary

Please visit other Mary sharings at Rebecca's

Recuerda mi Corazon : Mornings with Mary

Blessings