The Arkway: The Ark of the New Covenant

The Sacred Feminine: Birthing New Beginnings
In a dream I heard words and saw images that inspired me to investigate the meaning of the ark after awaking. Throughout the last year, I looked for clues for what this might mean. I searched for information from Biblical texts that allowed me to understand the importance of the ark, the Vesica, and sacred form-enigmas that were asking to be deciphered. This ancient wisdom came together for me in a showing at my goddaughter, Shekinah’s confirmation in the St. Maurice Basilica in Valais, Switzerland in 2023. I was able to make sense of the showings that were guiding me to my search for deeper meaning. My dream left a strong impression, and I felt compelled to understand the insights that were progressively being unveiled.
 
As we were waiting in the entry of the Basilica for the ceremony to begin, I looked up and saw the stained-glass window. This ‘showing’ revealed the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus in a modern artistic portrayal that can be traced to previous representations in the Chartres Cathedral in France. Standing at a distance, the golden yellow crown on Mary’s head manifests itself as delight, or the light and joy that streams forth when we behold the sacredness hidden within the symbolic image.
 
Further investigation allowed me to discover that Mary is known as the Ark of the New Covenant. This knowledge relates to the Old Testament teachings that speak of the Ark of the Covenant that carries the Ten Commandments and shekinah, or divine presence, as described in the Jewish religious tradition. The allegories in the Old Testament are linked to the allegories of the New Testament. The Virgin Mary who appears in the New Testament is portrayed as the Ark of the New Covenant, interconnecting the stories that can only be understood through each other.
 
For example, the scriptures depict Martha as the older mother, linked to the women of the Old Testament. Martha gives birth to John the Baptist, her son who paves the way for Jesus Christ. Mary, the receptacle and conduit bridging the earthly and divine, represents the divine feminine in the New Testament. The Old Covenant and the Ark of the Old Testament shapeshift into a new symbol-Mary the Ark of the New Covenant. The story threads of the New Testament are woven into the Old Testament’s threads. Mary’s tapestry can only be fully understood through these interlaced story strands. When interconnected, they trace the arkway through time. Each new year begins under the sign of the Virgin Mary, the symbol of new beginnings.
 
The questing process allowed me to better understand how the Virgin Mary represents the sacredness of the transformational passageway. She births in the new, connecting the divine with the earthly by giving birth to Jesus Christ, the son of God. She is a vessel of life carrying the Christ Child. She is portrayed within the shape of the Vesica’s sacred form.
 
We learn in the Old Testament that Noah’s Ark saved life on Earth from the floods. The ark in this Biblical story symbolizes a vessel, safeguarding life. It is a lifeboat. The Ark of the Covenant provided the Ten Commandments for living the good life, the universal laws that must be respected. They are the rules that guide our relationships and society, protecting us from evil. Live in reversed spelling is evil. These commandments are a guiding light providing humanity with a moral compass.
 
The divine presence that accompanied the Jewish people who carried the Ark of the Covenant with them throughout the centuries is transposed in the teachings of the New Testament. Mary becomes the Ark, the vessel, birthing Jesus Christ into the world. Jesus Christ is the divine incarnate coming to use through a transformational passageway. Mary is the bridge.
 
Through spiritual autoethnography, I gained insights that inspired my quest. Writing about the questing process reinforced my ability to follow the guidance that was providing directionality. Following my inner compass, I was shown how the Arkway is a sacred passageway through time that has been recollected in Christian scriptures. Earthship, our emerald planet, is also a sacred vessel, holding us together. On yet another cosmic level, Earthship is part of the Milky Way.
 
Behold this stained-glass window. Can you perceive the symbolic metaphor in the artistic representation? Can you envision the opening of the transformational passageway that goes through Mary? When I behold the stained-glass window, she appears to symbolize the divine feminine that gives birth to new beginnings.  
 
To better comprehend this Marian tapestry, I have included a link to an article.

The Biblical Mariology of Pope Benedict XVI: https://www.hprweb.com/2021/05/the-biblical-mariology-of-pope-benedict-xvi-part-1/

Here is information about Paul Monnier, the artist who created the stained-glass window.
In the St. Maurice Cathedral-La Vierge au Buisson Ardent, Paul Monnier, 1961:
https://www.paul-monnier.ch/oeuvres#4