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| The Tree of Choices Mysteries of Mary Tarot www.hergracesacredart.com |
VI TREE OF CHOICES
Traditionally The Lovers
‘God planted trees in a garden. Humans lived among those
trees, they were not yet divided when they were told: Eat from this tree or do
not eat from it.’ Logion 94, The Gospel of Philip
The tree plays an important role in the Mysteries. In this card we are confronted with the Tree
of Choices. In the Biblical and Judaic
stories there are different versions of the trees of Paradise. It would seem that there was in truth only
one tree, the Tree of Life. This is an
ancient symbol of the self-sustaining and regenerating power of a spirit filled
world. In the story, this tree was later split into two, the Tree of Life and
the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. After the split of the trees we see
that they are now in opposition to each other. After the fall of Adam and Eve,
caused by their eating from the fruit of the tree of Knowledge, humanity was
cut off and banned from the Tree of Life.
The Tree of Life promised eternal life and humanity was now doomed to a
mortal and exiled life.
In this shrine I compare the metaphor of the two trees with
the way in which our culture have split value and worthiness of masculine and
feminine and then still further dividing the feminine into the ‘good
girl/virgin/wife/mother and the bad girl/lover/wise woman. This split is reflected in the way that the
stories of Mariam of Nazareth and Miriam of Magdala, is interpreted and held up
as image of the two aspects of woman .
Popular legend has assigned the apple tree to the Tree of
the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The
apple is a powerful symbol of woman and her feminine sexual nature. (Also see V
Holy Rood, The Handless Maiden for more on the symbolism of the apple tree). In this version of the story of the Fall of
Man, woman and her sexual nature is held responsible for their eviction from
Paradise. So right at the onset a woman
has been forbidden from getting to know and understand her complex sexual
nature. There is an inherent sexuality in physical bodies; one could say that
the soul radiates its mystical and sexual nature through its physical
cloak. But humanity has been severed
from this mystery and all its gifts.
In the Christian story we are only told the story of Mary
the Virgin-Mother, the one who conceived immaculately and who remained a virgin
even after the birth of her son. We
never really meet Mary the Beloved of Jesus, the Bride of the Bridal Chamber,
the one who is called the Magdalene.
Mary the Mother of God is indeed a Bride without a Bridegroom as She is
the Bride of the Spirit, but there is another sacrament in the mysteries, that
of the Bride and the Beloved Bridegroom..
This brings us to Mary Magdalene and the various interpretations of her
role in the story of Jesus and the three Marys.
Few accept Mary Magdalene as the beloved or the bride of Jesus the
Bridegroom. Mary Magdalene has been
blackened in reputation by various authors of religion through the centuries
and mostly she has only been seen as an unholy woman who indulges in pleasures
of the flesh. Religion has always
separated the life of the flesh and the life of the spirit and especially in
the treatment of women as wives, lovers and mistresses. And we see this split right at the start of
the story with the two trees in the Garden of Paradise.
In this card we see Mary the Mother with the
rosary in her hands and we see the black Mary as she is depicted in the poem
‘The Thunder, Perfect Mind’ in the Nag Hammadi library. In this shrine she represents Mary Magdalene
and ultimately both together represent the Feminine Soul and aspect of the
eternal feminine. Both these women carry
the name Mary and to me it is an important indicator that there is an important
hidden message for those with ears to hear.
The split between the Madonna and the whore is active in many layers of
our cultures. Women are demonised for
the expression of their sexuality, whereas men are honoured and revered for
their sexual prowess.
In the traditional Lovers card we often see a male hero
struggling for a choice between two women.
In the Mysteries card we have the female version of the choices
card. Women are mostly compared to men
and masculine pursuits and rarely in relation to other women and
themselves. This creates an imbalance in
women and a suppression of womanly ways and feminine relational values.
Hecate, goddess of choices, is often shown with three roads
behind her. One plus one equals three:
new life is born from struggling and discord. Living with the tension of the
opposites, allowing disagreement and another's voice that differ from yours, to
be heard, brings awareness to the glassy mind, of the awesome beauty of
creating a life that has meaning. There is a place where all the rivers
converge and that place is the Sacred Heart of humanity.
Through the union of the opposites, that is, through the
marriage of two opposing forces, a third force is born. This is the meaning of creativity and the
magical nature of the number three.
(This card is a six and thus contains two threes). On the path of divine
love, the magical child of love and hope is born from the marriage of the
opposites.
The braid of life contains three strands which can be
symbolised by the colours white, red and black.
In the ancient cultures the hawthorn tree was regarded as a sacred tree.
Today the hawthorn tree is sacred to Mary and the goddess as well. This
specific tree contains all three elements of the thread of life and even more
importantly, they overlap. The white blossoms start to form whilst the red
berries and black seeds are still hanging on the thickly leaved branches.
The white is regarded
as the 'virgin', the cycle of spring and new beginnings; the red berries
represent summer and the fullness of the season and the physical acts of
sensuality and joy and loving and the black seed contains the potential of
fathering the new life and it also is the end of the life of the berry.
As we dance and weave with the tension of desire and
repulsion between the opposites of life, we discover new possibilities, new
experiences and we weave a new story.
This shrine and card represent choices. The Tree of Choices
invites you to consider the choice to say ‘both’ instead of the black and white
rationale of ‘either/or’. You will be
given the opportunity to make a decision and you are reminded that it is
possible to find a new way and a different way of reacting and of doing
things. You are reminded that it is only
fear that will force you into a corner, and thereby denying half the picture. When you are willing to keep an open mind and
an open heart, it is possible for a new vision to be born.
blessings
Hettienne
