Mary as the Black Madonna

Looking at a Medieval image of the Virgin Mary you often see her surrounded by flowers. What people may not know, that there were thousands of plants dedicated to the Virgin Mary between the 12th-15th century. Many people during this time period were closely connected to nature. They worked in the fields for their livelihood.  Herbs were their medicines and flowers were found in their wood carvings, embroidery and laced through out their poetry and song. Much of the population did not know how to read and by creating legends about Mary's Flora people would be reminded when working in the fields of the Christian higher spiritual values.

Through out Europe Black Madonnas shrines were sacred places that were used for pilgrimage. The Black Madonnas holds the secrets of the fertility of the Earth. These sites are often built over standing stones, next to fresh water springs and built with the ley of the land. Carl Jung speaks about the Black Virgin in this way.“The Virgin Mary was really the black earth, not yet fecundated by torrents of rain.. ~Carl Jung

Artwork by Raylenea