Green Saint St Hubert's Prayer Chaplet

The Spiritual practice of saying Novenas or Saint’s chaplets I have personally found turns into a “Living Mythos.” These practices when said with a pure intention not only bring healing and spiritual alignment yet also there is an unfolding of Natural Magic.  Natural Magic is not something one has to conjure or is directed by a list of personal desires. Yet it is a natural self arising of simultaneous events of being in the flow. This is my personal definition.

  This is the story about Honorable St. Hubert. My husband Matt and I both love to ride on his motorcycle in the Oregon forest. We spend many summer days riding two up camping as they say in motorcyclist lingo. Yet one of the dangers of riding in the forest is meeting a deer on the road, because of this a few years ago I sought the  assistance of St. Hubert. Saint Hubert was known for his vision of Christ between the antlers of a ten point stag. I purchased a small medal of St. Hubert, gave it to Matt to place on his key chain and began to say a prayer before we start our ride. 

I have always had a connection to the deer people starting back in 1980 -1992 when my path was working with different Native American Medicine people. It was the deer that came to me on my vision quest or when gathering herbs on the mountains. They never seem to fear me and I could stand in their presence quietly and they would be unafraid.  Red Hawk, used to tell me of the White Deerskin Dances of the Klamath River Indians. They considered the white deer an angel deer. 

  

So when I came across a White Deer grazing at the local stream four new moons ago I considered myself in the flow of Natural Magic.  I stood there and watched the deer and talked to him for at least 20 minutes. His ears perked up listening to me when I sang to the stream.  Every new moon I go to offer my prayers to the Spirit of the Waters. I actually drove home and got my camera, came back and was able to get a photograph of the white deer. He was still there waiting for me. The next two moons I came across a half white deer while I was riding on my little motorcycle in the hills. It was the third new moon when I came across a white deer family that I knew the Spirit of the Angel Deer was wanting something from me. This deer family was mixed. The mother deer was a regular color yet her children were different.  One deer was half white and the other doe was all white. The mother was limping and I could see the family of deer were suffering from a very bad skin disease. I knew they had been drinking from a small creek that is poisoned with herbicides by the residential neighborhoods. There had even been a city sign warning people not to get into the water because it was so toxic. Yet sadly deer can not read and do not have the choice in such human matters.  I drove away on my little motorbike thinking I needed to pray to St Hubert about this. Months before I created a chaplet dedicated to St. Hubert out of redwood beads.  I sent away my white deer photograph to create a photo charm.  When it came back in the mail I felt its place was on St. Hubert’s chaplet. 

I do many nine day novenas weekly and a few days ago I thought I needed to write a special prayer to St. Hubert. I went to the internet to dig deeper into the research of this saint.  I have researched St Hubert before and found prayers that have been written and also seen holy cards with him and a brown stag. Yet yesterday I came across a Medieval text from a French website. The original story said that St. Hubert met a White Stag in the Forest. I even found Medieval Illuminated manuscripts with pictures of him and the white stag.  I read on and found out that St. Hubert was actually a nobleman who was born in the South of France, his father being a count yet his Great Grandfather was King Clovis I of France.  My mind was blown in that moment, since I am from the same lineage being the 57th granddaughter of King Clovis I.  The flow of Natural Magic was happening! I was being guided by the White Deer I met one of my ancient ancestors ..thus my life has become a Living Mythos of Natural Magic. 

Raylenea  My Linage

The following is a prayer I wrote to St. Hubert to ask for a Blessing and Healing for all the Creatures of the Woods.  May we listen and be guided from the Spirit of Land and hear the whispers of our soul yearnings.  Mine is that we stop poisoning our communities, our farmland and the food we eat and the water we drink.  Amen

Chaplet of St. Hubert

written by Raylenea

One Holy Day Saint Hubert went a hunting deep in the woods.

A veil of fog floated over the land and frost clung to branch and bough.

Through the midst the Saint came upon a clearing in the forest, there stood a Stag white as snow with head held high. 

Between the White Stag’s great antlers the saint did see

A vision of Christ that it brought poor Hubert upon his knees.  

You have hunted my brethren and killed out of lust and lost your way and forgot how to trust. 

My presence is within all of the Nature you see, the hart and the hare and the trickling stream,

And the wind that blows yet is never seen. 

The trees are my chapel here in the woods,

 the flowers are the psalm yearning to be understood.

Have compassion on my congregation of creatures 

Your protection they need.. do not live out of lust do not live from greed  

Return to your heart the seat of your soul.

The Vision faded, only the White Stag remained.

The wind whispered  through the trees,

The birds broke the silence into a chorus of song

St Hubert made right all things that had been done wrong. 

Amen.

Nine beads Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be repeated two more times.

History of St Hubert

St Hubert of Liege is the patron saint of Belgium, forest rangers, archers, woodsmen, hunters, mathematicians, metal workers and smelters. Hubert was born 658 in a Nobel family, his father being Bertrand the Duke of Aquitaine, his Great Grandfather the Merovingian King of France Clovis I. 

St. Hubert also known as Hubertus was venerated during the Middle Ages. His story was published in the book “Acta Sanctorum” about the lives of the Saints.  The writing of Saints in the Middle Ages mingled with legend and truth. 

When Hubert was ten years old he was sent to the Court of Theuderic III in Paris. Charming young Hubert was given the title of the “count of the palace.” Hubert became disenchanted with courtly life because of the  brutal conduct of the Mayor of Neustrian . This caused Hubert to move to Austrasia.  There he met and married his wife Floribanne, daughter of Dagobert.  His wife died in childbirth yet his son Floribert survived.  

These events threw Hubert into a deep depression and his only solace was retreating into the deep woods to go hunting. This became more than passion but turned into an obsession. On meeting a white stag in the forest one day Hubert’s life was changed.  He was just about to draw his bow to kill this magnificent creature when he had a vision of Christ and his cross in the stag’s antlers. This led St Hubert into his spiritual life. These Medieval legends may also have been attributed to St. Eustace. 

It was after his spiritual opening Hubert traveled to seek out Bishop Lambert of Maastricht. Bishop Lambert became his teacher. Hubert began his spiritual life of a priest giving up his title and world goods. It was later after the death Bishop Lambert St. Hubert replaced him as bishop. The Jewish community in the Middle Ages have stories that the clergy of St Hubert actually were forbidden to hunt.  It is said that if anyone in the clergy were caught hunting had to do penance.

Saint Hubert was widely venerated during the Middle Ages. Chivalric Orders of Knights were formed that followed  ethical hunting codes. A different Medieval story relates that St. Hubert after meeting the white stag was lectured to respect and have compassion on all of God’s creatures. That hunters should only shoot old stags that no longer were breeding and never shoot a doe or her young. These legacies of Hubert part of hunter’s education in both Germany and Austria. St. Hubert’s legacy also inspired the French “chases a courre” the chase of the hounds. The heirs of St Hubert had a code of ethics, rules and rituals applied to the hunt.

references;

Medieval reference; http://cerfs.free.fr/english/histoire-e.htm  Deer

photo credit Château d'Amboise located in the Loire Valley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Château d'Amboise overlooking the River Loire  public domain

Note; I find it interesting that the name Flori-banne meaning comes from two words. Florin’s original meant yellow blond or to flower or bloom. The Medieval meaning for banne is ruin or a curse. Floribert Medieval mean was bright flowering.