Join Deb in meeting with your #InnerGoddessTeam, Black Sara, the Gypsy patron saint, on her festival day in France! And be sure to check out my website to learn more about my Moon Circles, Meditations, and Divinely Feminine Coaching ([ Ссылка ]).
I discovered this joyous festival that happens on May 24th and 25th in Z. Budapest’s wonderful book “The Grandmother of Time”, but when I dug deeper, learned a whole lot more! She referred to this festival as the “Mothers of Arles” but I could find nothing with that name.
Instead, it appears she was referring to the annual Gypsy pilgrimage to The Church of Les Saintes Maries de la Mer in France and I did find lots of information about that. My favorite article was on this site:
[ Ссылка ] Definitely read the whole piece to get the full flavor of this festival that is celebrated with such “intense fervor”.
Since the Middle Ages the “Rom” or “Gitan” peoples have traveled to this place to venerate their Patron Saint Sara… she is indeed dark-skinned, hence her name, Black Sara (like the Black Madonnas we met last week, totally coincidentally!) In this festival, her statue is carefully lifted down from the "High Chapel" and carried by the Gypsies to the sea, symbolizing the waiting for and welcome of the Saints Mary Jacobe and Mary Salome. There the Maries are set into the sea on a sturdy craft and “the Bishop, on board one of the traditional fishers' boats, blesses the sea, the region, the pilgrims and the Gypsies. The Procession then returns to the Church amidst joy and acclamations, accompanied by musical instruments and bells. In the afternoon at the Church, with prayers and a popular fervor, the ceremony of bringing the reliquaries back up to the "High Chapel" takes place.”
Legend says that Sara was the companion to the “two Maries”, when they fled Palestine with the other early Christians after Jesus was crucified. They were, in effect, wanderers, as the Gypsies have been for generations, without a home and always on the road.
For this reason, the Rom (Gypsies) have a history of being mis-understood and persecuted, and in fact, haven’t always been welcome as they’ve descended on this small village by the sea, with their caravans, yet they continue to embrace their “Saint Sara”.
I loved this invitation and prayer from the website:
“So let work within you the mercy of Saintes Maries de la Mer, where the poor are honored, the rejected welcomed, the unloved comforted. Forget just the Pilgrimage or a too short visit -- we would like that you become one of those for whom the arrival of the caravans is a promise of joy. That's what the Rom people's beautiful prayer expresses:
Saint Sara, set us on the right path, give us your beautiful luck and give us health. et donne-nous la santé. And if someone thinks bad of us, change his heart so that he thinks good of us. Amen."
So, call on Black Sara when you want to awaken compassion in yourself or in those around you to accept and welcome those who are mysterious, mis-understood, or simply, the “other”.
How might you be more inclusive, less judgmental, more open-hearted and open-minded to those people who are different than you?
Here’s the chant I shared from Shelley Graff’s album “Fire on the Arrow” (coincidentally, from the same album as the chant I shared last week for the Black Madonnas!):
Sacred women circle ‘round
She calls us to remember.
She comes to us within our dreams
And holds us close and tender.
Women chanting, snaking ‘round
She works her magic powers
Teaching us to shed our skin
To weave this sacred hour.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Deb works with those who want to meet challenges and changes with a spirit of sacredness. ☽︎ [ Ссылка ]
Join with me to celebrate the Full Moons & New Moons -- learn more on my website: ☽︎ [ Ссылка ]
Ready to add the Divine Feminine to your life? Go to: ☽︎ [ Ссылка ] (Filed in: Dancing with your Divinely Feminine Wisdom ☽︎ [ Ссылка ])
And please do follow me on Facebook & Instagram: [ Ссылка ] [ Ссылка ]
AND [ Ссылка ]
