MADONNA OF THE BLACK ROSE
We meet the Madonna of the Black Rose in the
form of the Black Madonna. The Black Madonna
is an extremely powerful expression of Our Lady’s
love and strength. She is shrouded in mystery.
Black Madonnas exist as statues, icons and
paintings. She has black or blackened skin and is
often holding an infant Christ child.
The origin of the Black Madonnas is contested
amongst scholars, although some have been
dated to the Byzantine empire. The majority of
Black Madonnas exist in France, but are found
across both eastern and western Europe, Africa
and the Middle East, the United Kingdom and
Ireland, and across the Americas. There are at
least 500 known Black Madonnas estimated to
exist in Europe alone.
Scholarly debate has arisen over the Black
Madonnas with several theories of their origins.
Some argue that there is no answer, others say
that they were purposefully created to more
realistically reflect either Mary’s skin tone and/or
the skin tones of the indigenous peoples where
these Madonnas were made, or that they have
become blackened through age and time (e.g.
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degraded paint and smoke from votive candles
contributed to their blackening).
Whilst I like the idea that she has turned black
from the extent of her worship – because that
reflects the responsive nature of Mother Mary
in a symbolic and powerful way – I also wonder,
why wouldn’t she have black skin? I love that
the Black Madonnas have arisen spontaneously
and mysteriously, not because of official church
doctrine, but through art and culture. The Black
Madonna is truly of the people. She appears in
art, music, culture and to people from all walks
of life, regardless of what religious or political
powers have to say about it. She is not owned
by anyone and is especially not owned by those
who deal in the currency of power rather than the
grace of love.
The Black Madonna is a natural, radical, gentle,
and fierce face of Mother Mary. Her wisdom
teaches us that Mary will do whatever she
wants and needs to do to accomplish her aims
of spiritual freedom for all beings. She is not
dissuaded by the prospect of challenging the
established hierarchy. Her powerful spiritual path
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 I am with you.
led her outside of social conventions repeatedly
and that is where all the most important elements
of her life journey occurred.
The Black Madonna is an emanation of love that
challenges the political and social status quo.
Recognising political or other societal power-
broking for what it is undermines attempts to
control the soul through shame and guilt. Such
attempts at oppression and manipulation often
masquerade as political correctness, religious
doctrine or social mores and morality. These
things deny the soul the right to discover and
live according to its own spiritual integrity. To
challenge the right of others to tell you what you
must be opens the potential for freedom and
responsibility. We become free to embody and
express more of our own soul. It is an expansive
choice which naturally initiates change in our
outer lives. We learn about the consequences of
our actions, and we take responsibility, claiming
empowerment and deciding what we want to do
with this gift of life. The Black Madonna speaks
directly to the soul. She is spiritual empowerment
to live our divine destiny according to our free will.
There is a fierce bond between this special
emanation of Mother Mary and the hearts of her
devotees. I believe that is because Mary in this
form speaks particularly to our suffering. She
is not separate from us, in heavenly bliss, but
suffers when we suffer. She is the mother who
cannot rest when her child is in pain. She is an
expression of realness. She knows when things
are difficult, when we hurt and how painful the
healing process can be. When reminders of
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divine love feel like mere platitudes, insufficient
to soothe and uplift our souls, we need a divinity
that is on the ground with us, bearing the pain
that is too great for us to bear alone.
Her words are, “I am with you.” She has uttered
these words to me when I have faced heart-
breaking choices in my life. I knew I needed to
leave certain things behind, even though they
were most cherished by my heart. These words
from her helped me trust myself and go through
the pain of loss, knowing that I would eventually
emerge, wiser and stronger and healthier and
happier than before.
Like a general who is on the front line and even
more beloved by his soldiers as a result, the Black
Madonna is with us when the light feels like it is
out of reach. When we are in tremendous pain,
it can be difficult to connect with the lightness
of our being. The Black Madonna is Mother Mary
saying, “My love for you is beyond limit so I will
be with you when you feel trapped, lost or alone
in your darkest hours.” In this way, the Black
Madonna is a divine promise. No being will be left
behind, be abandoned or be lost from the divine
mother’s heart.
Not everyone will have the courage to venture into
the terrain of the Black Madonna. She presides
over the most intense demands of the spiritual
path. Often that includes the need to sever our
emotional attachments or psychological fantasies
to heal and live a more authentic life path that
honours the particular purpose of our souls. In
her temple, we experience sacrifice. When that
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sacrifice is very painful and difficult for us, we can rest assured that the healing and grace which will
arise from it will be considerable. That doesn’t necessarily make the sacrifice easier, but it can help you
move through the process more willingly and sometimes a lot more swiftly.
If you are resonating with her, even if you may not be sure why, know that the most painful challenges
in your life are going to transform into the greatest gifts – but you will need to find your courage and
willingness to outgrow who you have been to pass through them. Sometimes we just need her help to get
out of our own way and stop settling for the not truly our divine inheritance.
The Black Madonna, like the darkness of night, requires that we trust our more subtle senses. We will not
necessarily see clearly in her shadowy realms of personal initiation, but we can trust that her beautiful
grace is always guiding us towards sacred fulfillment.

HEALING PROCESS
You can return to this healing process at any time you intuitively feel that you need it, even if you are
not sure why that may be. You may also wish to work with this process, or share it with another, when:

○ you need to cut through mental confusion ○ you have never felt truly seen and loved for
and ground yourself the real you

○ you need to connect to your body wisdom ○ you are healing from addiction, including
and find your deeper truth an addiction to perfectionism

○ you are overwhelmed with far too many ○ you want to know your real self and find
demands and dictates your authentic life path

○ you need to tune into your courage and ○ receiving supreme spiritual protection from
faith during a difficult or troubling time negativities, internal and/or external.

○ you need help to outgrow a stubborn

behavioural pattern

VIDEO MUSIC
Retreat Practice for
Backing Music
Madonna of the Black Rose

The backing music for this practice is from

There is a video introducing the practice
my album The Kuan Yin Transmission and the
and a video of the practice
track shared is ‘Song for Kali.’

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