This is a story of past and present…

The siege of Montségur was a nine-month siege of the Cathar-held Château de Montségur by French royal forces starting in May 1243. After the castle surrendered, about 210 people were burned in a bonfire on 16 March 1244.

It’s been claimed that three or four Cathar leaders survived; they left the castle by a secret route to recover a treasure that had been buried in a nearby forest in the weeks prior to the surrender. The treasure not only contained material valuables but also documents (perhaps including Mary Magdalene’s famed “Book of Love” and possibly relics). Nothing about its whereabouts is known.

You can read more about the history of Montségur in my full pilgrimage post (click here).

It was quite the climb up to the 17th Century ruins built atop the The Château de Montségur, which was razed after the siege of 1244.

I’ll admit, I was huffing and puffing and relieved I’d invested in a light pair of walking poles for this pilgrimage.

At one point, our group caught up to another. One elderly woman in particular attracted the attention of my fellow pilgrim & nurse, Sarah Rose. She seemed to be struggling with her footing and breathing. After checking that she was fine, we continued.

Once we’d spent time at the top, connecting to the energy of the peace-loving Cathars, I started heading down. Then I heard the familiar pulsating noise of a helicopter approaching.

At first I thought it may be tourist thing, but quickly realized that I was witnessing a rescue.

As I continued to make my way down, I learned from one of her group members that Brigitte had twisted her ankle and fallen.

She was conscious and talking about her dislike of flying when I got close enough to film what was happening, all the while praying for her quick recovery.

I’m one of those who don’t watch the news. The sensationalism and focus on negativity affect me too much. It’s part of why I’ve used movies for years to help me become less sensitive. That’s another story.

Creating this video wasn’t about the drama. 

I was deep in the feeling for those who died for their beliefs in love & peace, refusing to bend to life-threatening peer pressure.

I was walking down the steep mountainside, just as they had before they’d voluntarily mounted onto the pyres and died in the flames.

There was no rescue for the Cathars. They’d waited, but none came. 

To witness such an elaborate rescue for an injured ankle in our modern times seemed like a sign of hope from the heavens … ok the sky.

I was feeling the horrors of the past and being an eyewitness to resources of the present.

The contrast of these two events stirred my soul.

As soon as I got back to the retreat house, I dove into the creation of this video. The text emerged from my creative process, helping me understand what had moved me so much.

Truly, art is transformational.

This video is now added to the layers of prayers for peace our group made at Montségur and throughout our pilgrimage.

And if your heart reached out to Brigitte while watching this video, know you’ve added another layer to the prayers we made for her and all those suffering in our times.

I invite you to take a moment to pray for anyone in your life or anywhere in the world that could use a warm wave of love right now. 

Peace be with you.

Oh how thrilled I was when the inspiration dawned on me to create this video two months after having visiting Chartres with my Mary Magdalene Pilgrimage group.

Juxtaposing the white light-people from the sound & light show on the Cathedral facade with the light-people inside (thanks to a luminescent filter I discovered on my phone video-making app) transported me into creative bliss, beyond what I even remembered feeling there. I’m so glad June Round, assistant facilitator and chef for our pilgrimage, wore white for her labyrinth experience.

This Chartres labyrinth dates back to 1205. It’s the same one I’ve painted several times since 2017. You may recognize it from

• Sky Dancer
• Peace Garden II
• Walk in Peace
• The Journey All the Way Home to Myself
• amongst others…

When we arrived in Chartres on a Thursday, the labyrinth was covered up with rows of chairs. Although I found the centre to stand in, it was obvious other visitors had no idea what they were walking on. Nor did they know that it was the exact size as the rose window you’ll see in the video. If that wall was laid flat, the window would land right on top of the labyrinth!

This labyrinth is cleared for the public only on Fridays. Our tour leader made sure we were there for that. When June mentioned she’d be there early to help create sacred space along with other visitors and regulars, I started dreaming of doing a timelapse video of the process. I was in tears when one of the church staff gave me permission to climb up in the pulpit to do so.

Witnessing and therefore helping create the sacred space was as, if not more moving to me than walking the labyrinth this time. It was like watching over the opening of a prayerful space to welcome communion with community from this realm and beyond. Wow! I hope you can feel that in the video. By watching it, you too become a part of the experience.

Before starting to write this blog, I lit a beeswax candle, smudged myself and my space, cleared the desk and invited my Team of Divine Helpers to join me in being here with us.

In Italy for 2 months, at the Academy of Art, Creativity & Consciousness, our core group would gather half an hour before weekly students to create sacred space. One of my chosen tasks was to smudge the whole building with the smoke of palo santo wood from the Andes to cleanse the energy. We’d also bring fresh wildflowers for the altar, mop the floors, set the circle of chairs, mix the paints, clear the cobwebs, open the windows, etc.

How can you create sacred space in both your environment and your day? How can you involve others in the process? 

Try it – it ads a layer of sacredness to your life that oozes that delicious high vibration that makes everything more meaningful. 

Next week, I’ll share more about labyrinths because this one and the one in the yard of our monastery-hotel (also in the video) in Chartres weren’t the only ones I experienced this summer.

 

From May 3-20th, I traveled through France with a small group of Canadians & Americans on this Mary Magdalene Pilgrimage led by Ariana Rose Brackenbury.

Mary Magdalene started coming through in my visions and paintings in 2014, when studying visionary art in Vienna and Bali.

At that point, I wasn’t aware of all the controversy surrounding Mary Magdalene or the fact that in 1969, the Catholic church took back what Pope Gregory the Great said in 591, which had led to over a thousand years of teaching she’d been a sex worker. Nor did I know that Pope Francis, in 2016, affirmed that she was instead the “Apostle to the Apostles“, elevating July 22nd to a feast day for this saint.

As for the movie “The DaVinci Code“, I’d seen it, but can’t say I’d spent much time contemplating it beyond Hollywood entertainment.

What really awakened Mary Magdalene’s essence in my life was when I was Guided to Glastonbury in 2019 and to the books “Anna, Grandmother of Jesus: A Message of Wisdom and Love” and “Anna: Voices of the Magdalenes” books in the Chalice Garden bookstore.  The energy was palpable just holding the first, something I’d only experienced a few times in my life.

The stories of the holy family’s travels and initiations that these books contained, left me with an open mind, an open heart, and the willingness to say ‘Yes!’ to the Guidance to join this pilgrimage.

Then came more books, book club discussions, and a couple more Mary Magdalene energy-infused paintings:

• “Coming Forth“
• “I Saw the Lord in a Vision“

I’m fascinated by the found Gospels, the reframing of beliefs, the opening to so much more than we didn’t even know we didn’t know. I’ve appreciated the in-depth research as well as the channeled wisdom of several authors.

Mostly, I’m curious and welcoming of how I can help bring forth any love, message, essence of Mary Magdalene and the Divine Feminine. I know it’s a journey, not a destination. 

Spending over 60 hours revisiting each site through thousands of photos and video clips for the creation of this movie was just one more step in integrating all that I experienced during 18 days in May.

Of course it was also my way of sharing it with you. So thank you to all those who made this trip possible.

I invite you now to feel your way through this video and all the information below on the 27 locations and come to your own questions, conclusions, curiosities, and inspirations. Enjoy the process.

P.S. I welcome your art patronage. Thank you.

The information below comes from both our pilgrimage package by Ariana Rose Brackenbury, and several Internet sites, including Wikipedia.

I’m sharing it to give you a better appreciation of the 27 locations you’ll experience in the 27-minute video above.

This is also giving me a chance to learn more about the places I’ve been since, at the time, I was often feeling or experiencing with or without my camera more than listening or reading.

What’s important to know before we get into each location is that Mary Magdalene is said to have spent the last years of her life in France after the crucifixion of Christ. She and the apostles who accompanied her during this escape from persecution became the first evangelizers there.

Between Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, the Sainte-Baume mountain is home to some sacred caves. At the end of our 45-minute uphill hike, we arrived at a small Dominican monastery and the Mary Magdalene Grotto in time for the 11am mass. Catholic Popes, Kings of France and pilgrims have all walked this steep trail the hillside chapel.

Some say that Mary Magdalene lived a hermetic existence in this cave for 30 years after evangelizing the region of Provence. From there, she was carried by angels to the cliff summit 7 times a day to pray. Many of the sculptures and paintings we saw throughout France portrayed these angelic visits and her  ecstasy. When the angels saw her last hour approaching, they transported her to the Via Aurelia, near the shrine to St. Maximin.

Ariana ads: “This mountain, sacred to Isis, has been considered holy ground for thousands of years. The energy of the divine feminine is strong here. There are many versions of Mary’s life in Egypt, England, Provence France, Languedoc France and elsewhere – several of which said she was part of the Isis lineage as was Mother Mary. Some say there were sacred ceremonies done in the cave in the traditions of the priestesses of Isis. The natural water here is reported to have healing properties.”

See more in my 3-minute video on YouTube.

At the foot of the Sainte-Baume mountain is the town of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, whose basilica is dedicated to Mary Magdalene. Her skull is housed in the church’s crypt. Mary’s sarcophagus was discovered on the 12th of December 1279 in the crypt of Saint-Maximin, drawing many pilgrims tothe site, where this basilica was built in 1295.

Learn more on Wikipedia.

According to the Christian tradition, the first church on the site was founded by Saint Maximinus of Aix, one of the seventy-two disciples, who arrived in Provence from Bethany, a village near Jerusalem, with Mary Magdalene on a boat belonging to Lazarus. Maximin built a modest chapel on the site of the present cathedral and dedicated it to the Holy Saviour (le Saint Sauveur). Mary Magdalene and St. Maximin preached here before she retreated to the Grotto in Saint Baume. Maximin stayed in Aix and became its first bishop. The 1st century chapel floor still remains inside the Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur, which was built over it.  In my video, I show you the Burning Bush Triptych by Nicolas Froment, but I don’t have a photo of the “beautiful stained glass window with Mary Magdalene and her jar”, so I’m not sure I saw it. Oops… The Cathedral that stands there today is a national monument.

Learn more on Wikipedia.

This historical ocean-side village is where the three Marys (Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome and Mary Jacobe), along with with their uncle Joseph of Arimathea, Lazarus and many others are reputed to have come ashore in a boat without oars or a sail. According to the gospels, the 3 Marys came to Jesus’s sepulchre three days after the Crucifixion and were the first witnesses of his Resurrection. They fled the persecution of Christians in the Holy Land after Jesus’s crucifixion to end up in France.

The Eglise Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer was built as a refuge and fortress to protect villagers from invasions from the sea. It has a fresh water well inside, for when the villagers had to take shelter from raiders. The Sanctuary is the site of one of the first places of pilgrimage in Provence to honour Sara, the black Madonna patron saint of the gypsies. Sara is said to have possibly been the Egyptian servant of the three Marys. In another version, Sara was a local woman who welcomed the three Marys on their arrival. A statue of Sarah is in the crypt of the church

This church is known in France for the celebrations it holds for each Mary’s feast. The feast days in May draw 25,000-40,000 Roma Catholics (gypsies, which my guide told me they prefer to be called) and others from France and beyond to the town for a week. The high points at that feast include a ritual when a painted reliquary chest, said to contain the bones of the Saintes Maries, is ceremoniously lowered from its high perch to the altar for veneration. The crypt is left open so that the statue of the Roma’s own Saint Sara, can be honored. On successive days, Romas and a large crowd process statues of Sara and the Saintes Maries from the church to the beach, carrying them right into the sea.

We weren’t there on feast day, a good thing as I’m not fond of crowds… Our group did, however, have a Scorpio full moon & eclipse ceremony on the beach. Only two braved the cold waters during this unusually chilly May.

Learn more on Wikipedia.

Béziers is one of the oldest cities in France. It was a Languedoc stronghold of Catharism, which the Catholic Church condemned as heretical and which Catholic forces exterminated in the Albigensian Crusade. The Cathars held views that were very different from those espoused by the Church – going more towards the simplicity of the teachings of Jesus and against the corruption in the Church. As Catharism became more popular the Church began the Albigensian Crusade, a campaign to eliminate Catharism by Pope Innocent III.

The crusaders reached Béziers on 21 July 1209. Béziers’ Catholics were given an ultimatum to hand over the heretics or leave before the crusaders besieged the city and to “avoid sharing their fate and perishing with them”.^[8] However, many refused and resisted with the Cathars. The town was sacked the following day and in the bloody massacre no one was spared, not even Catholic priests and those who took refuge in the churches.

One of the commanders of the crusade was the Papal legate Arnaud-Amaury (or Arnald Amalaricus, abbot of Citeaux). When asked by a crusader how to tell Catholics from Cathars once they had taken the city, the abbot supposedly replied,”Kill them all, for the Lord knoweth them that are His”.

Amalric’s own version of the siege, described in his letter to Pope Innocent III in August 1209 (col. 139), states:

While discussions were still going on with the barons about the release of those in the city who were deemed to be Catholics, the servants and other persons of low rank and unarmed attacked the city without waiting for orders from their leaders. To our amazement, crying “to arms, to arms!”, within the space of two or three hours they crossed the ditches and the walls and Béziers was taken. Our men spared no one, irrespective of rank, sex or age, and put to the sword almost 20,000 people. After this great slaughter the whole city was despoiled and burnt …^[10]

The invaders burned the Cathedral of Saint Nazaire, which collapsed on the thousands of people who had taken refuge inside.

Learn more on Wikipedia.

The siege of Minerve was undertaken by the Catholic Crusaders in June and July 1210 when they besieged and captured the town. The Crusaders allowed the soldiers defending the town, Catholics, and any Cathars who had not yet reached the leadership status of perfect to go free. Three Cathar perfects who repented were pardoned, but 140 others who refused to do so were burnt at the stake. Some Cathars chose to jump freely into the flames rather than wait for their executioners.

Cistercian monk Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay records two miracles which allegedly took place during the siege. In one instance, a spring from which very little water flowed began to gush water shortly after the Crusaders arrived for the siege. Afterwards, it was reduced once again to a trickle. In the other, as the Crusaders were leaving, they set fire to all the huts which they had made out of branches and dry leaves. One hut, in which a priest had said Mass, while in close proximity to the others, was somehow spared from the flames.

The steep gorges surrounding the town made it virtually impossible to storm. The Crusaders lobbed heavy objects into the walls of the town. On the west, a rock thrower called a petraria (trebuchet) was used, in one of its earliest appearances in Europe.^[16] This machine, named mala vazina (“Bad Neighbor”), bombarded the town very heavily and towards the end of June destroying the main wall of the city. The defenders held on for several more weeks. On 22 July the city surrendered. (* I’m just noticing this date now – also the feast day for Mary Magdalene).

Learn more on Wikipedia.

Featured twice in this video and in a separate video I created, the Domaine de Mournac was our home for 7 days and the hub from which we visited many of the sacred sites in the South of France.  It’s a 12th century stone coach house, nestled in over 15 acres of woodland and vines. Here’s where we settled into a communal lifestyle where all participated in organic meal creation, designed to replicate the energy and intention of the early Essene communities which focused on community and collaboration.

We found ourselves in a very special small church in the tiny hamlet of St. Salvayre after taking a very windy drive up the mountain. The road has no number but is marked as a Cathar route on the IGN map, so it is very old. Ariana had reported that there is very powerful energy there, especially around the altar. Some legends say that Yeshua died here. In a very interesting post about the conflicting information on this church, one blogger wrote:

They (Jesus & Mary Magdalene) were going to Narbonne and then to Stes. Maries de la Mer to see their daughter Sarah.  Sarah had married the Lord of Râtis who lived on the Oppidum with its sacred wells.  Maybe she was expecting a baby.  The year would have been around 49AD. But Jesus, who had never been well since his heart was injured during the crucifixion, became ill, and died on that journey, and was buried near St. Salvayre.  And Mary continued alone. Sarah being married implies that there was a bloodline through Jesus and Mary Magdalene, but as it was through a woman it would not have been recorded and monitored.

Here, we visited the Basilica of Notre Dame de Marceille, a magnificent church of southern Gothic style from the 14th Century, dedicated to Mother Mary. Alas, no photography was allowed inside. It’s built around a Black Madonna known to heal the blind. The church has been a pilgrimage destination for centuries. The water from the spring down the hill from the Basilica is said to have healing powers, especially for eye troubles.

Carcassonne played a major role in the Albigensian Crusade. The city held against a siege for 14 days in August of 1209. Eventually the Catholics surrendered, and the Cathars, refusing surrender, were expelled from the city with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. The Cathars fled to the surrounding countryside, where they were eventually rooted out and slaughtered.

Learn more on Wikipedia.

Montségur was the last refuge of the Cathars during the Crusade. The siege of Montségur was a nine-month siege of the Cathar-held Château de Montségur by French royal forces starting in May 1243. After the castle surrendered, about 210 perfecti and unrepentant credentes were burned in a bonfire on 16 March 1244.

Although the Albigensian Crusade had been concluded with the Treaty of Paris-Meaux in 1229, local resistance continued. The Cathar Church was still able to operate and oppose the Inquisition that pervaded the Languedoc. In 1233, the Cathar Bishop Guilhabert de Castres asked Raymond de Pereille for permission to make Montségur “the seat and head” (domicilium et caput) of the Cathar Church.

As a haven for Cathars, Montségur gained symbolic and strategic importance in the resistance fight against the Catholic Church and the French forces in subsequent years. In 1241, Raymond VII made a token attempt to capture Montségur, primarily to impress the King and the Catholic Church of his allegiance. At that time Montségur housed about 500 people.

In the context of Occitan resistance and possibly linked to Raymond’s efforts to free himself from the chains of the Paris Treaty, two representatives of the Inquisition, William Arnald and Stephen de Saint-Thibéry, as well as their companions and retinue were murdered by about fifty men from Montségur and dispossessed faidits at Avignonet on 28 May 1242. This event led to the decision to send a royal military expedition to eliminate the stronghold.

In 1244 the attack on the castle intensified and the Cathars were defeated and any who chose to maintain their beliefs were burned. No stakes were needed: they mounted the pyre and perished voluntarily in the flames. At the base is a monument to the 210 who chose to die in the fire on March 16, 1244 rather than give up their beliefs.

It has been claimed that three or four perfecti survived; they left the castle by a secret route to recover a treasure of the Cathars that had been buried in a nearby forest in the weeks prior to the surrender. The treasure not only contained material valuables but also documents and possibly relics. Nothing about its whereabouts is known.

The mountain is energized by two major ley lines that intersect. It is said Mary’s fabled “Book of Love” was held here and not found after the siege. The Château de Montségur was razed after 1244. The current fortress follows French military architecture of the 17th century.

At the base of the mountain, in the “Prat dels Cremats” (Occitan for “Field of the Burned”), a modern stele commemorates the death of the victims; it is inscribed “Als catars, als martirs del pur amor crestian. 16 de març 1244” (Occitan for “To the Cathars, to the martyrs of pure christian love. 16 March 1244”).

Learn more on Wikipedia.

Watch my video “Montségur Rescue” here.

This unmarked cave up a local walking trail was a site for Cathar Initiations. Some members of our group felt the energy as they climbed the cave wall barefoot to stand in the geometric relief. I chose to experience it from the ground. I also created this other video of our group’s visit there.

It’s possible the mysterious treasure of the Cathars was hidden in this or another of the caves of the Ariège valley.

This upside down mountain, which looks like the top has been broken off, has very strong energies. It’s seen as a portal or star gate to other dimensions, a major energy vortex that connects to a network of ley lines in the area. There are many reportings of UFO sightings around the top of the mountain. According to some sources, this is the 2nd (sacral) chakra of the planet. The “Anna, Voice of the Magdalenes” book speaks about the location of the former Essene community at the Pic de Bugarach. Another legend states that it is the burial spot of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Learn more on Wikipedia.

We stopped near the small town of Rennes les Bains to visit La Fontaine des Amours. The source is energized by the Pic de Bugarach. The top pool feeds down into a deep heart shaped pool, where some say that Mary Magdalene performed baptisms.

According to Annaiya Sophia, a local source, the Chair of Isis, also known as the Throne of Isis

is reputed to be an Initiatory Seat of Power for the Mystery School of Isis.  Every year hundreds of men and women flock to this spot praying to receive wisdom, healing and initiation into the Feminine “Way”.

Because you ‘sit’ on the throne, I feel that this sacred site is connected with fertility, sexuality and womb wisdom.  Historically, Rennes les Bains is officially marked on The Rose Line (Paris Meridian) a time/energy line that runs through St Sulpice in Paris, all the down to the region’s holy mountain, Mt Bugarach.

The Throne of Isis is also situated within the Pentagram as discovered by Henry Lincoln in Holy Blood, Holy Grail.  This is a mystical portal mapped out into the land surrounding Rennes les Chateau by five mountainous peaks.  Many of us in the region call this pentagram The Venus Temple, with its epicentre at La Pique (the Venus Temple transmission)

This mysterious maze of limestone, roots, and moss called The Green Labyrinth is the source of many local legends. It would be very easy to get lost in here…. It’s a karstic maze hidden in a preserved oak forest, part of the larger trek, “Le sentier Nature,” which itself is part of the “Sentier Cathare”.

Ariana wrote: “If you are sensitive to fairies, angels and the energy of other realms you may find some magic here. Allow yourself to open to feeling the energies of the area and a deeper connection to the land.”

The wind was a-blowing on this famous mountain fortress Chateau de Peyrepertuse – one of the so-called Cathar castles – at one point, having mistaken a crag for a path, I found myself gripping the walls with a prayer in my heart. I’m sure I wasn’t the first to do that in this century or centuries past. I have to say, perched high on top of a limestone cliff the views were definitely stunning.

This fortress is an example of the chateaus of France built in the dark ages. Inside there is the Church of Marie  on the lower level with strong feminine energy, as well as the church of San Jordi  at the highest point of the fortress.

At the time of the Albigensian Crusade, it was the fief of Guillaume de Peyrepertuse who, not wanting to submit, was excommunicated in 1224. He did finally submit after the failure of the siege of Carcassonne, and the castle became a French possession in 1240.

Learn more on Wikipedia

I had a breath-taking spiritual experience here when the sunlight coming into the cave-chapel started blessing my eyes through colour dancing through the lenses on my iPhone. I felt connected energetically in a way that stayed with me for a long time.

The Gorges de Galamus are located between the Catalan Country and the Cathar Country, in the departments of Aude and Pyrénées Orientales in the Occitanie – Pyrénées Méditerranées region. According to the region’s official website,

It was around the 14th ^century that hermits came to isolate themselves in the natural caves of the Gorges. They placed the site under the protection of St Antoine. The hermitage, built in a natural cavity in the cliff, overlooks the canyon of the Gorges and offers a “breathtaking” spectacle.

The buildings seem to be present from 1395. The 19th ^century was that of the assertion of the religious vocation of the Hermitage. Several hermits succeeded one another maintaining the place, constructing buildings, instituting the bell for vows, receiving the Easter and Pentecost processions. The hermits would have followed one another at Galamus until around 1930, giving a spiritual dimension to the site

The drive was stunning as we wound up to the top and precarious as you’ll see in the video on the way back down. It’s a very simple Hermitage nestled in a cave on the side of a cliff.  The more than life-sized wooden sculptures of Christ and 2 female figures representing humanity was created by Georges Grouiller (St. Paul de Fenouillet). It represents how, on the day of ascension, there is both new hope (character standing) and blindness to this hope (seated figure).

Ariana had written that the energy of Mary Magdalene is said to be very strong here – it may have been a ceremonial place. There is also a sense of heart energy and a lovely blend of the masculine and feminine.

According to Wikipedia, this hilltop village is known internationally; it receives tens of thousands of visitors per year, drawn by conspiracy theories surrounding a putative buried treasure discovered by its 19th-century priest Bérenger Saunière, the precise nature of which is disputed among those who credit its existence.

Ariana wrote:

The famous Rennes-le-Chateau was highlighted in the movie “The Da Vinci Code”. There is powerful Earth energy here and in nearby  Bugarach. We begin the day at the simple  Church of Saint Mary Magdalene, which despite its size has much to explore. Much is hidden for those who have eyes to see. The Magdalene Line Trilogy by Kathleen McGowan is a good read as you are preparing for the pilgrimage. The original church was dedicated to Mary Magdalene in 1059. Catharism was very strong at that time and had a lot of influence. While there is no evidence that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married we know that the Catholic Church went to great lengths to remove any evidence that did not support their dogma. The current structure was renovated in the late 19th century by the controversial and well-loved Bishop Saunière who had a deep love for Mary Magdalene. Within the church are many clues to what Bishop Saunière wanted others to know about Mary Magdalene. One of his many gifts to the town was the construction of the  Magdalene Tower. There is much controversy about the surprising wealth the priest Saunière spent creating the Magdalene tower and the home near the church. What is the truth – will we ever really know? Within the church are many clues to what Bishop Saunière wanted others to know about Mary Magdalene. Can we bypass the controversy and instead tune into our own wisdom? Is the Holy Grail inside of us? Take enough time in this small church to allow for your own sense of the energies to arise.

OK, so the part where I’m singing was a recreation of what spontaneously happened when I walked into the space after leaving the Mary Magdalene Tower. The echo was wonderful and the feeling even better. I tried to convey that with a few special effects.

This feeling was augmented by David Bailey’s beautiful channeled Mary Magdalene concert on piano.

Rocamadour has attracted visitors for its setting in a gorge above a tributary of the River Dordogne and especially for its historical monuments and its sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which for centuries has attracted pilgrims from many countries, among them kings, bishops and nobles.

Flights of steps ascend from the lower town to the churches, a group of massive buildings half-way up the cliff. The chief of them is the pilgrimage church of Notre Dame (rebuilt in its present configuration from 1479), containing the cult image at the centre of the site, a wooden Black Madonna reputed to have been carved by Saint Amator (Amadour) himself.

The village of Rocamadour is the second most visited attraction in France after Mont-Saint-Michel. The pilgrimage site became one of the four holy places of Christendom along with Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela. Rocamadour is said to be a place where miracles happen . . .

Learn more on Wikipedia.

This site was special for me. Not only had I been there as a little girl, but I could so feel the veneration for Mother Mary, and it touched me deeply.

Last time I was there, I was 9 years old and living on a military base in Germany. This time, we arrived on the last day of the 63rd International Military Pilgrimage (May12-14 2023) with 14,000 military personnel from 40 nations, all focused on peace. Hopeful! The nightly procession before the one in this video must have been even more spectacular! Since I’m not a fan of crowds, this one was more my scale. I hardly used my camera on the first of our 2 days there, until the evening procession. The next day in the rain, it got me out of our hotel room early when all was quiet except the bagpipes. I came home with some holy water that trickled drop by drop into my bottle and a heart filled with the vibration of this holy site where Saint Bernadette experienced 18 apparitions. Many miracles have happened there since.

The Lourdes apparitions are several Marian apparitions reported in 1858 by Bernadette Soubirous, the 14-year-old daughter of a miller.

From 11 February to 16 July 1858, she reported 18 apparitions of “a Lady”. Soubirous described the lady as wearing a white veil and a blue girdle; she had a golden rose on each foot and held a rosary of pearls. After initial skepticism from the local clergy, these claims were eventually declared to be worthy of belief by the Catholic Church after a canonical investigation. The apparition is known as Our Lady of Lourdes.

The holy spring came to life after her 9th apparition and miracles started to happen after that. When we were there, the main spring taps were barely trickling, but a second filling station was built a bit further down.

The Lady, who didn’t give her name at first despite the priests’ many requests finally acquiesced on the 4th time. With her arms down, she raised her eyes to heaven and then, folding her hands over her breast she said, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”. She asked that a chapel be built and told Bernadette 3 secrets.

Thousands joined Bernadette on her visits to the grotto until the site was barricaded by the government and people fined for kneeling at the grotto. Bernadette had to kneel across the river just as the sculpture in the video.

The grotto reopened to the public in October 1858 by order of Emperor Louis Napoleon III. Soubirous received no further apparitions after the 18th appearance (on 16 July 1858), and she did not feel any desire to visit the grotto afterwards. The people, however, kept on visiting. In 1866, Soubirous left Lourdes to join a religious order.

Several churches were eventually built at Lourdes, including the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes and the Basilica of St. Pius X.

Soubirous was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in 1933.

Learn more on Wikipedia

Watch my separate Lourdes video called “Shower of Devotion” here on YouTube.

A few from the group headed to the Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre (Sacred Heart of Montmartre) after our late dinner for the 11pm mass. Welcome to Paris!

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This church is more popularly known as La Madeleine. Napoleon Bonaparte had it redesigned in the Neoclassical style to become a monument to the glory of his armies. After his downfall in 1814 construction as a church resumed, but it was not completed until 1842.

There is a powerful statue at the rear of the church depicting angels lifting Mary Magdalene (see #1). There are varying opinions about whether the statute depicts her as being pregnant. Behind the statue is the mosaic Mary Magdalene kneeling before Christ with her alabaster jar.

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This is the church that honours the French nun Catherine Labouré who was a Marian visionary. The famous Miraculous Medal of our Lady of Graces, worn by millions (including my father), is believed to have been created by her as requested by Mother Mary.

The chapel was packed with pilgrims praying for miracles- it didn’t have a tourist feel at all.

Saint Catherine Labouré’s body is incorrupt and her coffin is located at the top of the Church to the right of the main altar. A tomb with the effigy of Saint Louise de Marillac is on the other side.

Learn more on Wikipedia.

“The Église Saint-Sulpice is one of the oldest churches in Paris. It gained fame from the Da Vinci Code due to its location on the zero meridian. A brass line runs through the cathedral known as the Rose-Line, said to be symbolic of the royal bloodline of the Merovingian Kings. The old legend claimed the kings were from the bloodline of Mary Magdalene and Yeshua. Also in this church is a large sundial which runs north to south which is used to calculate the dates of Easter and other sacred days that change from year to year. The Rose-line runs through the sundial and then through the church. This line runs down to the south of France and runs through Rennes-le-Chateau. One of the titles of Isis is Queen of Crowns of the North and South. Isis is the Esoteric Queen of the Red Serpent Rose-line. The red line connects to the power of fertility, menstruation and the matriarchal lineage of Isis. In history both Isis and Mary Magdalene had the task to resurrect their dead solar king.” (from Ariana’s itinerary)

Learn more on Wikipedia.

Leaving Paris, we stopped in Véselay, Burgundy on our way to Chartres. There, we visited the Basilica of St Mary Magdalene, one of the great masterpieces of Burgundian Romanesque art and architecture. The church and hill at Vézelay were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979 because of their importance in medieval Christianity and outstanding architecture.The relics of Mary Magdalene were brought to Vézelay from the Church of Saint Maximin near the grotto of Sainte-Baume in the 11th century. In the crypt of the church there are two shrines, one dedicated to Mary Magdalene and one dedicated to Christ. Vézelay is the starting point of many pilgrimages in France; the energy of pilgrims that have been visiting this site for centuries is profound.

The beginning of Vézelay’s decline coincided with the well-publicized discovery in 1279 of the body of Mary Magdalene at Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in Provence, given regal patronage by Charles II, the Angevin king of Sicily. When Charles erected a Dominican convent at La Sainte-Baume, the shrine was found intact, with an explanatory inscription stating why the relics had been hidden. The local Dominican friars compiled an account of miracles that these relics had wrought. This discovery undermined Vézelay’s position as the principal shrine of the Magdalene in Europe.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Chartres was our last stop. I’ve never spent so much time in a church before, despite my Catholic upbringing. We toured the main church, and I added a tour of both the roof and the crypt. The next day was my highlight, witnessing the preparation of the sacred space for the labyrinth walk. I got special permission to video from up in the pulpit. I teared up when the rector said yes.

I’d been painting the Chartres labyrinth since 2017, after my weekly walks in one in St John’s, NL based on this 1205 design in France. I was thrilled our group would be there on a Friday, the only day they remove the church benches so pilgrims can walk it. The creating of the sacred space was as, if not more moving to me than seeing it open for the community and walking it myself. That’s why I also created a separate video juxtaposing one sequence of the light-workers in the spectacular evening sound & light show and the lightworkers clearing the labyrinth indoors, including our co-leader June (dressed in white).

Ariana had written in her itinerary that “Chartres is said to be on ley lines which link Glastonbury, Stonehenge and the Pyramids in Egypt. The Cathedral is filled with imagery, sacred geometry, carvings, stained-glass windows and sculptures of feminine figures, offering a glimpse into the feminine aspect of God. There is much here to be aware of – and it is often hidden in plain view for those with eyes to see. … With its 160 stained glass windows, crypt and labyrinth, it is a place of rare architectural beauty with sacred geometry and is said to house the tunic of the Blessed Mother, the Sancta Camisia (from when she birthed Jesus). Also of interest is the Black Madonna – the subject of controversy as it was lightened as part of the renovation of the cathedral. the labyrinth, a perfect reflection of the size of the rose window that looks down on it.”

 

Well there you have it. I learned so much preparing this way-too-long blog post. I trust you did too. Don’t forget to watch the movie at the top or on YouTube.