Mary is the virgin mother of Jesus, the human
son of the Christian God. She is considered the Queen of
Heaven, and is widely invoked for blessings.
According to tradition, Mary was from the
town of Nazareth in Gallilee, and when still quite young
was married to the much older Joseph. However, before they
slept together, She was found to be pregnant, and Joseph
was understandably troubled, until he had a dream in which
he was told that Her child was of the Holy Spirit. Jesus
was "her firstborn son" (Matt. 1:25), which some
have seen as meaning that Jesus was not Her only child.
In fact, Her physical virginity was not seen as of importance
by the early Christian writers, and was not made part of
the orthodoxy of the Church until the 5th century.
Mary accompanied Her son on His wanderings--She
is one of the three Marys who "walked always with the
Lord", the others being Her sister Mary and Mary
Magdalene. Some have seen the figure of Her sister
Mary, called the wife of Clopas, as the true mother of the
children referred to as Jesus's "brethren", and
maintain that Mary the mother of Jesus was a physical virgin
to Her dying day. Alternatively, the sister or double may
have split off from Her legend because "virgin"
and "mother" could not be reconciled in the Church's
literal way of thinking.
The Three Marys--the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene,
and Mary Clopas--are still worshipped in southern France
at Arles as a triad, called the "Three Marys of Provence",
or the "Three Marys of the Sea", whose festival
is celebrated in late May.
Mary is thought to intercede on people's
behalf, owing to Her special relationship with God and Jesus.
She is considered greatly beloved of God and His son, and
it follows that They listen to Her when She puts in a good
word for people who pray to Her. In the medieval period
the worship of Mary was a large part of the popular religion,
and She is today still much beloved and prayed to. She has
been syncretized to many forms and other Goddesses, including
the Black
Virgin, Herself a sort of avatar of Isis,
and Oya.
She is shown here as She is being told of
Her virgin pregnancy.
This card in a reading indicates surprises
and a hard but rewarding path that lies before you. You
are being called to do something of a spiritual nature.
Titles: Queen of Heaven, the Blessed Virgin,
Mother of God, Stella
Maris (the Star of the Sea)
