Lila* - Encounters with Christianitys
Not having grown up with any spiritual influence , the draw of christianitys has always eluded me.
A little village in France, three miles from the town of Auray near Vannes in Brittany, proved to have the
strongest pull I have ever experienced in that direction.
We went on a family holiday, booking a place in Brittany with no other intention than to soak up some much needed sunshine,
relax on the beach and chill for a couple of weeks.
However, fate had other ideas and the entire trip turned into a kind of subconscious pilgrimage.
The weather was cold, the beaches were uninviting so we bought a local guidebook and started to explore the area.
We discovered we were not far from Carnac, where an amazing array of ancient megaliths caught my attention. One day when
we had finished our excursion and where heading for the beach, the weather changed and we looked on the map for a place of interest.
A little village caught my eye, which they guidebook said had a beautiful christianitys church to visit. I am always intriqued by discovering
the beautiful art of stained glass windows so off we went
But somehow this church was different to all the others. I entered alone and was immediatly struck by the most amazing calming athmosphere.
Often christianitys churches to me are quite claustrophobic, dark, uninviting, oppressing. Here I felt such energy that it almost took my breath away.
There seemed to be quite a gathering around a main altar , but I was drawn to the lefthand side of the church . I walked over, looked up and for the
first time ever in a church. I was seeing a beautifully smiling face, serene, totally at peace, content. I had to sit down and drink in this image, memorize it,because it
touched me deep in my core.
There I was sitting on a little pew, immersing myself in a feeling of utter contentment.
A woman and a young girl came , lit a candle and sat next to me. The girl had many questions and was youthfully curious of her surroundings, yet I felt my peace had somehow been interrupted. I tried to meditate and shut myself off to any noise.
A few minutes later 2 black women came, lit their candles and sat down.
Their men companions stayed at a distance. Suddenly I was aware of an amazing surge of feminine evergy surrounding our little area,
we were all women, gathered here together. The maiden ,young, innocent and so full of life, the chatter all of sudden becoming an inticate part of this gathering.
The mothers, wishing, hoping, finding themselves and there she was ...the crone , full of wisdom , gracefully entering the altar, assured,
with purpose, skillfully lighting 4 small candles using the longstemmed candle provided.
She came , she lit, she prayed, she left.
I dont think words will ever be enough to descibe these amazing minutes, to capture the true beauty of realisation, to be shown my place within the folds of this universe , exquisite minutes of pure knowing.
I felt immensly compelled to light my own candles, something I had never done before.
I felt compelled to take out my goddess necklace, bathe it in the smoke of my candles and wish upon my star. I felt compelled to walk into the church shop, purchase some St Anne charms and wash them with christianitys holy water, then go back to my 3 candles and carry out the same ritual. It felt sacred, it felt right, it felt amazingly powerful.
Finally I was able to explore my surroundings, here I was in a shrine, a sanctuary dedicated to St Anne.
Now who is St Anne, I had no idea.
She certainly had a hold on me though.
I learned that she was the mother of Mary, who in turn was the mother of Jesus. She is the patron saint of Women in labour.
To me she embodies everything that is WOMAN.
She was depicted in this sanctuary in various forms, holding a baby, holding a toddler, guiding a young girl,
crowned with a fully grown girl. She represents all stages of a woman, of a mother to me. She is the maiden, the mother, the crone. She emitts the certainty of woman who had given birth, who knew
about the femininie spiritual bond, who was utterly sure of her own position in the great spiral of life.
I am grateful for that day, for it brought me again a step closer on my own journey, awakened deep instinct, feminine stirrings inside myself.
And again something came true for me that I wholeheartedly have come to believe. Images, Visuals speak louder than a thousand words.
I take from this encounter what I have been offered, given in the feminine spirit of universal connection, without feeling that I need to know more .
I am not a christian, however I have been blessed with a christianitys encounter, one that is never going to leave my side.
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