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| Mysteries of Mary Tarot by Hettienne Groebler |
Today’s draw from the Mysteries of Mary Tarot deck is the Handmaiden of Roses.
Traditionally this is the Page of Pentacles. Here Bernadette Soubirous is portrayed as the Handmaiden. The suits in this deck are based on the cycle of life of the hawthorn tree and by the four stages in Mary’s life; Virgin, Beloved and Bride, Mother, and lastly Mary Sophia, Holy Wisdom
Vessels (Cups) reflects Mary’s life as Virgin, Maiden Mother and Priestess of the Soul. Holy Rood (Wands)reflects Mary as Bride of the Beloved, and the Mystery of the Bride Chamber. Distaff (Swords) depicts the veils of Mary, and Mary behind the veils of existence. Roses reflects the Embodied Mary, the Divine in the manifest, the Gnostic Mary.
I am fascinated by the various strands and personal mythos Hettienne has pulled from and woven into this deck. In today’s card we are shown the spiritual initiate at a particular stage in her archetypal journey of ever-unfolding rose. This journey takes tremendous muscle, commitment, a spacious breath, and a continual attunement to the inner voice.
More and more as I go along I realize it’s not a journey for everyone. And definitely not for the faint of heart. God is only our name for Her and the closer we come to God the more She ceases to be God. In the same way that our ideas about God are limited by our ideas about ourselves.
