The gate of the year

Statue in pear-tree wood of Notre-Dame du Pilier (“Our Lady of the Pillar”), commonly known as the Black Madonna of Chartres, which is kept into the Cathedral and dates back to 1540.
Widely diffused in many places all through Europe, the cult of the Black Madonna has aroused innumerable debates and interpretative hypotheses. However, in this case too an element of continuity with pre-Christian worship is unquestionable: the images of the goddesses Isis and Cybele were often depicted with a dark face, which was referable both to their nocturnal and moon-like aspects, and to their chthonic association with the fertility of the earth. The Virgin appears too as particularly associated with underground places, caves and crevices. Both at Chartres and at Le Puy, the Black Madonna was worshipped in deep crypts. In many cases, the sacred image was regarded as come from the heaven or from the sea. Evidences of the continuity with a more ancient tradition are present, for instance, in the Sanctuary of Saint Mary of the Impruneta, near Florence, where the archaeological excavations have brought to light, on the same place where now stands the holy building, traces of a cult of the waters dating back to the Etruscan age. The sanctuary was associated with a water source, regarded as miraculous, and the Virgin was worshipped as protectress of the waters, controller of the rains, and of the river floods.
A particular connection can be traced with the image of Isis, who seems having antedated the classic iconography of the mother with the child in her arms. “Mary is the mother of Christ the Saviour, as Isis is the mother of Horus the Saviour; both have their children in their arms and suckle him; both rescue him from their respective persecutors, Isis carrying him in the Chemnis swamp and Mary in Egypt. The fact itself that Mary had chosen for her flight Isis’s country, and that in Christian Egypt Mary’s cult had begun so strong, are not further evidences of such a privileged relationship?” (Cardini 1995, p. 134).
Analogously, the Black Madonna venerated at Tindari, in Sicily, was found, according to the local legend, stranded on the beach, like Aphrodite, of whom was narrated that she was born from the sea on the coasts of Cyprus island. At Crotone, the Black Madonna was worshipped by the girls waiting for marriage, and it is significant that in this same locality was located a well-known sanctuary dedicated to Hera Lacinia, patroness of marriage (Cardini 1995, p. 145).

[Image: theudericus.free.fr]




Female Symbols

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Statue in pear-tree wood of Notre-Dame du Pilier (“Our Lady of the Pillar”), commonly known as the Black Madonna of Chartres, which is kept into the Cathedral and dates back to 1540. Widely diffused in many places all through Europe, the cult of the Black Madonna has aroused innumerable debates and interpretative hypotheses. However, in this case too an element of continuity with pre-Christian worship is unquestionable: the images of the goddesses Isis and Cybele were often depicted with a dark face, which was referable both to their nocturnal and moon-like aspects, and to their chthonic association with the fertility of the earth. The Virgin appears too as particularly associated with underground places, caves and crevices. Both at Chartres and at Le Puy, the Black Madonna was worshipped in deep crypts. In many cases, the sacred image was regarded as come from the heaven or from the sea. Evidences of the continuity with a more ancient tradition are present, for instance, in the Sanctuary of Saint Mary of the Impruneta, near Florence, where the archaeological excavations have brought to light, on the same place where now stands the holy building, traces of a cult of the waters dating back to the Etruscan age. The sanctuary was associated with a water source, regarded as miraculous, and the Virgin was worshipped as protectress of the waters, controller of the rains, and of the river floods. A particular connection can be traced with the image of Isis, who seems having antedated the classic iconography of the mother with the child in her arms. “Mary is the mother of Christ the Saviour, as Isis is the mother of Horus the Saviour; both have their children in their arms and suckle him; both rescue him from their respective persecutors, Isis carrying him in the Chemnis swamp and Mary in Egypt. The fact itself that Mary had chosen for her flight Isis’s country, and that in Christian Egypt Mary’s cult had begun so strong, are not further evidences of such a privileged relationship?” (Cardini 1995, p. 134). Analogously, the Black Madonna venerated at Tindari, in Sicily, was found, according to the local legend, stranded on the beach, like Aphrodite, of whom was narrated that she was born from the sea on the coasts of Cyprus island. At Crotone, the Black Madonna was worshipped by the girls waiting for marriage, and it is significant that in this same locality was located a well-known sanctuary dedicated to Hera Lacinia, patroness of marriage (Cardini 1995, p. 145). [Image: theudericus.free.fr]