The Miller's Daughter

The Miller's Daugher
V Holy Rood - 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.

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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

We are the Storytellers

The Rose Queen and Rose Child - Sacred
 Altars Oracle Deck

We are all Storytellers. We share our stories,

open our hearts and become inspired through our own

stories and the stories of others.  Through difficult times

we hold on to the stories, waiting for better days.

 Most of what we believe and know

is based on stories, our own, our tribe and our family stories.

And we are all seekers.  We all seek a sense

of purpose, connection, meaning and belonging :

in other words we are all seeking Spirit or God.

The one thing that stands out for me, is that regardless

of culture, religion, politics, beliefs and country,

these stories all share the same thread, commonly

called the archetype.

And when we look at the metaphor of the story,

the archetype that weaves through all these

stories, we find guidance, inspiration and the greatest love

story ever told!!

We set out in search of the Beloved and we 

return to tell our sacred stories and in doing so,

we gather knowledge of the Self, Soul and Spirit.

St Joseph, the Builder - Sacred Altars of the Mysteries Oracle Deck

I am working on the Sacred Altars Oracle Deck

and have been doing so for the past two years

and by the looks of things it may take another two years.

Each shrine will be turned into a card in a deck

of stories, weaving the red thread of continuity and infinity

with its message of Divine Love.

What I like about stories is that we do not have to take

someone else's word for it, nor their 'because I say so'.

We do not have to have blind faith.  We can just look

around us, listen to the stories we tell ourselves and others,

we can listen to the fairy tales, the myths and the religions

of the world, and we can hear the message.

'you have the power to change your story'

The Magician - Sacred Altar of the Mysteries Oracle Deck

Each one of these shrines are 'born' from my Soul.

I started collecting the Roman Catholic statues during a visit

to the Queen of Heaven shrine in Florida.  As I have blogged

previously, my journey has been one of unfolding,

similar to that of a rose.  From a tight worldview of

Calvinism, it unfolded into a wider, more holistic view which

included the Solar Myths, the Lunar Myths;

 Goddess religions which led to a

deeper understanding of the Sacred Feminine, a study

of the specific Christian viewpoint of the Gnostics and Cathars,

and alchemy.  Yes, indeed, I have been around the block.

Only to find myself back to where I started, realising

that it does not matter which path you walk,

it all brings us back to the same destination,

to Home, to the loving embrace of the Divine,

the Sacred Heart of Unconditional Love and Compassion

and the challenge is to live that knowledge each and every day.

So, back to the shrines.

A while ago I started making Mary shrines with some

of the statues that I collected.  These I sold on Etsy

and many hang on the walls of my home.

As I worked with these little shrines, and blogged

about them, I started to see that they resemble

the many myths and fairy tales and very often

images from Alchemy.  These alchemical images

are everywhere in the Bible as well as the Gnostic

Bibles, the Nag Hammadi and fairy tales.

I do not contrive the shrine.  I allow it take shape under my hands

and then sometimes it takes days and weeks, even months

for the name of the shrine to reveal itself to me.

This shrine of Jesus the Christ, started off as a

Sacred Heart shrine.  Then one day I picked it up

and added the halo with the roses.  And I added

the chalice, the sword, the rose and the holy medal.

And as I sat back I realised that I had coloured in the

leminiscate, the infinity sign on the halo and

I had created a table below.

This is the Magician card in the Tarot deck :

In this version of the card you can see the Aleph

on the right hand side which immediately brings

to mind "I am the Alpha and the Omega.'

There is the leminiscate above his head, the chalice, 

the sword and the pentacle, also referred

to as a coin.  These four represent

the four suits of the elements, water, air,

fire and earth.

These four elements are also present in ourselves

in the physical, and as importantly, in the

emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of ourselves.

The Magician is the first and the last step in the circular

journey of the Seeker.  The Magician has the power

to access the divine realms and to manifest in the

physical.  The Magician has the power to work miracles.

In the same way, in the story of Jesus, we are told

that He was a magician.  He transformed the consciousness

of mankind and he worked miracles.

The Christ is present in every human being.  The Christ

is the greatest Love principle and has the power to

work miracles and to liberate minds!

At first, it was tarot images that unfolded :

The Sun - Sacred Altars Oracle

Here it is the Sun Card from the Tarot, representing

the risen Christ Child, the awakening of the higher human,

the awakening of a deep joy flowing from the

knowing that you are not separate from the Divine.

But then, I started to see other similarities.

Fairy tales started to appear in these mystical events;

the lives of saints contain the same elements

as the archetypes seen in myths;

and the High days and Holy days as seen in the

astrotheological wheel of time.

And thus the weaving continues and wherever

we look, there is God.

blessings

Hettienne