The Dark Feminine - Black Madonna

[Bindi]

The Black Madonna

 

In approximately A.D. 797. St. Meinrad was born of royal parentage in Central Europe.  In 822 he was ordained as a Benedictine priest, eventually becoming a hermit six years later.  Ultimately, his hermitage was founded as the Einsiedeln Monastery, which now lies within the borders ofSwitzerland, and is dedicated to the Black Madonna, the Virgin Mary.  A universal phenomenon, the Black Madonna still lies within the sphere of mystery.  There are an estimated 400 shrines to the Black Virgin, yet she remains little known, a subterraneous figure even within mainstream Catholic cosmology in which she is firmly rooted.  As will be more fully explained below, the Catholic Church has little explanation for her blackness, except to surmise that the figures have been long exposed to candle soot and therefore darkened.  Seen from a psychological and historical perspective, however, the Black Virgin is an archetypal figure of pre-Christian origins and has always been black.  She carries the dark pole of the feminine archetype.  As such, the Black Madonna is the religious expression of one aspect of the Godhead, revealing its dark, unconscious, mysterious and unpredictable side.

 

St. Meinrad’s initial approach into the realm of the Black Madonna began with his hermit’s journey, delineating the religious expression of his desire for greater intimacy with the unconscious or the Unknown.  To establish a hermit’s refuge, St. Meinrad travelled deep into a dense and virgin forest: the dark and mysterious aspect of the unconscious, the Black Madonna in vegetative form. Soon after establishing his refuge, St Meinrad was confronted by an overpowering multitude of spectral demons that arose from the forest.  To these fearful figures, he surrendered completely, lying prostrate in prayer and terror on the ground.  After a long time, an Angel of deliverance appeared out of the east, and the demons were dispelled. At the threshold of unpredictable and utter demonic destruction, a redemptive, fecund beginning presented itself.  Through his prayerful surrender to the demons of the dark wood, St. Meinrad plumbed the darkest depths of the unconscious - existential terror and a sense of total abandonment - out of which new life, a new beginning, emerged.  Here in the dark wood the hermit built the first edifice of what has now become a foremost point of pilgrimage to the Black Madonna.  Like Bonhoeffer, St. Meinrad survived the trauma of God’s abandonment, in and with God.

 

http://www.cgjungpage.org/learn/articles/analytical-psychology/574-the-dark-feminine

[Cobie]

On 20/06/2018 at 7:56 AM, Bindi said:

… Catholic cosmology in which she is firmly rooted …

 

陰 yin1 - Yin (black) cf Black Madonna. They are quite rare. I feel fortunate there’s a Black Madonna in my local RC church, ‘De Nijmeegse Zwarte Madonna’ (dark oak, 16th century). 

 

 

Edited February 6 by Cobie

[Apotheose]

On 20/06/2018 at 2:56 AM, Bindi said:

The Black Madonna

 

In approximately A.D. 797. St. Meinrad was born of royal parentage in Central Europe.  In 822 he was ordained as a Benedictine priest, eventually becoming a hermit six years later.  Ultimately, his hermitage was founded as the Einsiedeln Monastery, which now lies within the borders ofSwitzerland, and is dedicated to the Black Madonna, the Virgin Mary.  A universal phenomenon, the Black Madonna still lies within the sphere of mystery.  There are an estimated 400 shrines to the Black Virgin, yet she remains little known, a subterraneous figure even within mainstream Catholic cosmology in which she is firmly rooted.  As will be more fully explained below, the Catholic Church has little explanation for her blackness, except to surmise that the figures have been long exposed to candle soot and therefore darkened.  Seen from a psychological and historical perspective, however, the Black Virgin is an archetypal figure of pre-Christian origins and has always been black.  She carries the dark pole of the feminine archetype.  As such, the Black Madonna is the religious expression of one aspect of the Godhead, revealing its dark, unconscious, mysterious and unpredictable side.

 

St. Meinrad’s initial approach into the realm of the Black Madonna began with his hermit’s journey, delineating the religious expression of his desire for greater intimacy with the unconscious or the Unknown.  To establish a hermit’s refuge, St. Meinrad travelled deep into a dense and virgin forest: the dark and mysterious aspect of the unconscious, the Black Madonna in vegetative form. Soon after establishing his refuge, St Meinrad was confronted by an overpowering multitude of spectral demons that arose from the forest.  To these fearful figures, he surrendered completely, lying prostrate in prayer and terror on the ground.  After a long time, an Angel of deliverance appeared out of the east, and the demons were dispelled. At the threshold of unpredictable and utter demonic destruction, a redemptive, fecund beginning presented itself.  Through his prayerful surrender to the demons of the dark wood, St. Meinrad plumbed the darkest depths of the unconscious - existential terror and a sense of total abandonment - out of which new life, a new beginning, emerged.  Here in the dark wood the hermit built the first edifice of what has now become a foremost point of pilgrimage to the Black Madonna.  Like Bonhoeffer, St. Meinrad survived the trauma of God’s abandonment, in and with God.

 

http://www.cgjungpage.org/learn/articles/analytical-psychology/574-the-dark-feminine

 

Incredible.

[Nungali]

I remember once, as a youth , exploring  the main 'St Mary's cathedral ' in Sydney . To my surprise I found the grate gate to the basement 'crypt' unlocked , so i sneaked in there .   Beneath the cathedral is some type of copy of the ground floor . It has a main altar underneath and two side ones, as above, one  is obviously dedicated to Jesus but the one  has a statue of Black Madonna  ... and other 'interesting ' symbolism  going on down there  .

 

The above plan has the usual elements ;

 

two small and one big ' pregnant'  dome on the top

 

an entry between two legs (columns )

 

a folded and layered  entrance

 

'lubrication glands' either side of the entrance  - fonts .

 

an implantation site  - altar

 

two tubes either side that go back to the  ' egg' storage facility  ( for the hosts )

 

Other symbolism is ;

 

 an altar , usually a central one with another either side to make a triangular arrangement .

 

a  ' ring do not cross' barrier between this and the rest ,

 

 a shine either side

 

 a baptismal font in the middle

 

congregational seats  

 

' curious' designs on the floor ( check them out )

 

a back door way out into the world

 

 

 

 

 

Note position 3 ;  Binah ; The Dark Mother  , The Great Sea ,   The Gate of Life and Death  - related to Saturn , colour -  black .

Edited February 7 by Nungali

[Nungali]

This is the temple plan for the Gnostic Church

 

 

I this case  the feminine  aspect (Priestess ) has moved to the central altar  ( Supernal Triad )

 

 

 and it starts with the  masculine aspect (Priest )  in the tomb , awaiting resurrection via the Priestess

 

I am sure  St. Meinrad  would enjoy the symbolism of this Mass   ( aside from its 'blasphemous ' nature      )

 

Yet ,  no matter how 'blasphemous'  some thing might be , it still lies 'hidden '  (unexplained ) yet in full sight  within the heart of orthodoxy  ..... " Its all that soot from the candles . "

 

yeah .... sure it is   .    

 

If it was all the the statues  under similar usage would have it too  - some claim Mary got more blackened as more candles where offered to her  .  No ... because ...

 

 Bishop : " Look ... just move the  God damned thing down to the basement and lock the gate ! " 

 

Little kid looking from outside :  " Hey look , that church got two big boobies on the roof and another big one in the middle , it looks like a pregnant woman lying down . " 

 

Priest : " They are domes son, an architectural feature symbolising the expanse of God;s heaven  .... we dont 'do'  women here ... now , off to ' Holy Confession '  with   you  .... blasphemy is worth about   TEN  'Our Fathers ' !  "

 

"  But I thought saying prayers was a good thing to do that makes us and God happy , not a punishment ?"

 

" Right you ,   troublemaker  ... make that FIFTEEN 'Our Fathers' and  a full set of Rosary !  " 

 

 

[Bindi]

2 hours ago, Nungali said:

This is the temple plan for the Gnostic Church

 

 

I this case  the feminine  aspect (Priestess ) has moved to the central altar  ( Supernal Triad )

 

 

 

 and it starts with the  masculine aspect (Priest )  in the tomb , awaiting resurrection via the Priestess

 

 

Interestingly, to me the female aspect or Yin needs to sort itself out first, so it begins with female, but can only go so far without the interaction and direct instruction of the masculine or Yang helping Yin. In an even more direct opposite to your setup, to me the individual female aspect (Shakti would be the best term for me) fully awaits resurrection and direction via the individual masculine aspect (or Shiva). 
 

I think these differences do matter, as the starting point directly affects the end point. 

 

2 hours ago, Nungali said:

 

I am sure  St. Meinrad  would enjoy the symbolism of this Mass   ( aside from its 'blasphemous ' nature      )

 

Yet ,  no matter how 'blasphemous'  some thing might be , it still lies 'hidden '  (unexplained ) yet in full sight  within the heart of orthodoxy  ..... " Its all that soot from the candles . "

 

yeah .... sure it is   .    

 

If it was all the the statues  under similar usage would have it too  - some claim Mary got more blackened as more candles where offered to her  .  No ... because ...

 

 Bishop : " Look ... just move the  God damned thing down to the basement and lock the gate ! " 

 

Little kid looking from outside :  " Hey look , that church got two big boobies on the roof and another big one in the middle , it looks like a pregnant woman lying down . " 

 

Priest : " They are domes son, an architectural feature symbolising the expanse of God;s heaven  .... we dont 'do'  women here ... now , off to ' Holy Confession '  with   you  .... blasphemy is worth about   TEN  'Our Fathers ' !  "

 

"  But I thought saying prayers was a good thing to do that makes us and God happy , not a punishment ?"

 

" Right you ,   troublemaker  ... make that FIFTEEN 'Our Fathers' and  a full set of Rosary !  " 

 

 

 

[Bindi]

6 hours ago, Cobie said:

 

陰 yin1 - Yin (black) cf Black Madonna. They are quite rare. I feel fortunate there’s a Black Madonna in my local RC church, ‘De Nijmeegse Zwarte Madonna’ (dark oak, 16th century). 

 

 

A very timely resurrection of this thread for me, it makes the hard stuff more bearable because it underscores the idea that the harder it gets the closer I also get to the new beginning 😌

[Cobie]

@Bindi wishing you well, hopefully the new beginning is soon. 

[Cobie]

On 20/06/2018 at 7:56 AM, Bindi said:

… the Catholic Church has little explanation for her blackness, except … soot …

E.g. the Black Madonna in my church, story is she was saved from a fire during the iconoclasm of 1592 (beeldenstorm). Fact is, she was made of black oak; and I think it was to express ideas similar to Yin. 

On 06/02/2024 at 10:40 PM, Cobie said:

陰 yin1 - Yin (black) cf Black Madonna. …

 

 

Edited February 8 by Cobie

[Nungali]

19 hours ago, Bindi said:

 

Interestingly, to me the female aspect or Yin needs to sort itself out first, so it begins with female, but can only go so far without the interaction and direct instruction of the masculine or Yang helping Yin.

 

That is sort of what is going on within this 'opening' of the ritual ;  There is a part before this 'resurrection' where the Priestess 'sorts herself out'  and after that she ends up in front of the tomb where she 'awakens' the Priest .  (or you could see it as the 'self' awakening the 'kundalini ' ) .  He  then comes forth and interacts with her , I would not say , that in this , he gives 'direct instruction'   - but he declares stuff and then does it to her  * but he certainly interacts with her and they help each other  (so he is helping her , although its mutual ) .

 

In an even more direct opposite to your setup, to me the individual female aspect (Shakti would be the best term for me) fully awaits resurrection and direction via the individual masculine aspect (or Shiva). 

 

There are a few parts in this mass where that occurs ;  The Priestess is 'raised' after she raises the priest 

 

[The Raising of the Priestess]

The PRIEST: Thee therefore whom we adore we also invoke. By the power of the lifted Lance!

He raises the Lance. All repeat Hailing Sign. A phrase of triumphant music. The PRIEST takes the PRIESTESS by her right hand with his left, keeping the Lance raised.

I, PRIEST and KING, take thee, Virgin pure without spot; I upraise thee; I lead thee to the East; I set thee upon the summit of the Earth.  * (see above )

( etc etc  and then )

 

He rises, and draws the veil over the whole altar.

 

 

then later he Priestess  awaits 'hidden' behind the veil and the priest invokes her

 

[The Priest’s First Oration Before the Veil]

The PRIEST returns to the East, and mounts the first step of the altar.

The PRIEST: O circle of Stars whereof our Father is but the younger brother, marvel beyond imagination, soul of infinite space, before whom Time is Ashamed, the mind bewildered, and the understanding dark, not unto Thee may we attain, unless Thine image be Love. Therefore by seed and root and stem and bud and leaf and flower and fruit do we invoke Thee. 

“Then the priest answered & said unto the Queen of Space, kissing her lovely brows, and the dew of her light bathing his whole body in a sweet-smelling perfume of sweat; O Nuit, continuous one of Heaven, let it be ever thus; that men speak not of thee as One but as None; and let them speak not of thee at all, since thou art continuous!”

 

( There are some variations  to 'the norm' in this as the 'usual' does not apply in this case , The Priestess is a Priestess of the Sun , not of the Moon . )

 

 

I think these differences do matter, as the starting point directly affects the end point. 

 

For sure , and that all depends on the INTENT  of the ritual .

 

Edited February 8 by Nungali

[Nungali]

4 hours ago, Cobie said:

E.g. the Black Madonna in my church, story is she was saved from a fire during the iconoclasm of 1592 (beeldenstorm).

 

 

 

Yeah ?

 

All the black people down here  ..... bush fires !

 

 

[Nungali]

Ps . have a look at some Black Madonnas  on line ,  how many have black skin , with no black anywhere else on the statue or painting , even on the 'veil' around the head and face .

 

Thats very selective 'smoke damage '.