Sunday, December 14, 2014

If You Want

Our Lady (Stacy Wills, 2014)
alcohol ink on tile + sacred altering

If You Want

If you want, the Virgin will come walking down the road
pregnant with the holy, and say,
"I need shelter for the night, please take me inside
your heart, my time is so close."

Then, under the roof of your soul, 
you will witness the sublime intimacy, 
the divine, the Christ taking birth, forever,
as she grasps your hand for help, 
for each of us is the midwife of God,
each of us.

Yes there, under the dome of your being
does creation come into existence eternally,
through your womb, dear pilgrim - the sacred womb
of your soul, as God grasps our arms for help:
for each of us is his beloved servant, never far.

If you want, the Virgin will come walking down the street 
pregnant with Light and sing.

-St. John of the Cross
(translation by Daniel Ladinsky)

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Monks and Mystics and Archetypes - Oh My!

 Coming Up for Air (Stacy Wills, 2014)
collage on mat board

Cowabunga! (Stacy Wills, 2014)
collage on mat board

I am currently enrolled in an online Advent retreat (Birthing the Holy:  Advent & Christmas Retreat with Monks, Mystics and Archetypes)  through Abbey of the Arts.  In our work with archetypes, one of the creative exercises offered is the making of  SoulCollage cards.  Here are the two I've made thus far.  "Coming Up for Air" correlates with St. Hildegard of Bingen and the Visionary archetype, while "Cowabunga" is inspired by Brendan the Navigator and the Pilgrim archetype. Each card holds a powerful message for me, particularly at this point in my life.  SoulCollage is a very intuitive process, and you just never know what or who might show up!