Divine Darkness

Sagittarius A* Photograph from NASA

 

A super massive Black Hole has been discovered, as well as imaged via telescope, for the first time. Known as Sagittarius A*, (the asterisk is actually in the name of this phenomena) the object is a staggering four-million times the mass of our Sun. For scale, the ring is roughly the size of Mercury's orbit around our star. This structure is a long, long way away from Earth - some 26,000 light-years in the distance. Theories abound as to what exactly Black Holes are specifically. 

With the advent of super powered telescopes in the early 1900’s humanity’s comprehension of the universe has been deeply altered. It is astounding to note that only until recently has materialistic science started to appreciate the existence of “dark matter.” Nigel Smith and Neil Spooner articulated this concept in a paper entitled “The Search for Dark Matter” which was presented in the year 2000 issue of Physics World. Smith and Spooner reported, “Astronomers were ...surprised and disturbed to learn in the 1930’s that our own Milky Way galaxy behaved as if it contained more matter than could be seen with telescopes. This puzzling non-luminous matter became known as ‘dark matter.’ “ What physicists and cosmologists now are concluding is that most of the Universe is actually made up of dark matter, over 95% in fact. 

Dark Matter Photo Courtesy of  the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium Space Show Dark Universe

Particularly challenging to the materialistic astronomers in the 1930’s was the observation that the universe was constantly expanding at an increasing speed, and yet there was not an obliteration or spinning out of control of creation. In fact, the universe with all of her inhabitants, keeps expanding uniformly. The key to comprehending this phenomenon of an ever-expanding universe is to visualize the baking of raisin bread. The planets and stars symbolized in the raisins, and the dough is the symbol of the dark matter space in-between the planets and stars.

The science of Astronomy that our modern culture is based upon began in the Chaldean times with the Egyptians. The Babylonians and Indians had elaborate systems of understanding the heavens, as did the Chinese. The theme of the sciences among all the different cultures and ages  at that time, was a deep appreciation of the relationship between the heavens and the earth. Stories of the planets and stars, named and each with an elaborate origin narratives dominated the understanding. The relationship was seen as intimate and influential.

Later, with the advent of Islamic/Arabic science , this relationship was changed to one based on observation alone. The Islamic scholars translated Indian and Persian texts, and added their own perspective to the mix. This began the separation between the heavens and the earth, and also the isolation of humanity in terms of the rest of the universe.

The concept of darkness is often a negative one. I think this stems from the original separation of human awareness of our relationship not only with the cosmos but with divinity. We separated, “in the beginning” and many consequences of that original separation are resonating quite profoundly  to this day. 

Our scientists have long recorded the nature of dark matter, dark energy and black holes. The majority of our universe is made of of dark matter, a substance that holds everything together and allows for the music of the spheres to resonate throughout the universe. We are given cohesion and relationship because of darkness. The black holes are where universes are born and where they go to die. Scientists note that while black holes are considered to be the ultimate nothing, negative matter and so on, these same scientists also report that the basic elements of life - hydrogen and helium - are floating out of these massive structures.

One of Isaiahs prophecies regarding the coming Messiah is found in book 45:3. The verse tells what the Lord will do for the faithful, and is a basic prophecy of the Incarnation of Christ

NASA Hubble Telescope Stellar Jewel Box

“And I will give you treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, so that you may know it is I, Jehovah, who calls you my your name.” 

Reading this verse, can one consider darkness as something to be feared if God himself is telling you there are treasures there? 

Rich concepts to ponder.

Our Lady of the Pillar, Chartres Cathedral, France

The defining characteristic of The Black Madonna is the color of the skin. While many theories abound as to why Madonnas throughout Europe are Black, one way to consider the symbolism of these images is the concept of Divine Darkness. As the Madonna in art is a symbol of the highest potential in Humanity, and darkness is physical attribute of cohesion, birth of universes and described by the Prophets as containing secret treasures of renewal and salvation, I will leave it up to you to decide how negative, less than and terrifying darkness, the color black to be specific, is actually.

To hear more about Divine Darkness, tune in, download and subscribe to The Black Madonna Speaks Podcast, hosted by me, Stephanie Georgieff. 

The Black Madonna Speaks Podcast

Available May 18 through Anchor FM, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Play.

Blessings on your Journey!