Mother Mary/Maria - Shadow Guide

Mother Mary is an intriguing figure to me. She is the mother of Jesus Christ, but what does this mean symbolically and mythologically?

As a reader of symbols and signs, I see her as one who guides souls through their ‘dark night of the soul’. In the song Let It Be it says:

“When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me.

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

And in my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me.

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.”

In other words, let the darkness be. Don’t try to suppress it or sprinkle fairy dust on it. The darkness is sacred. It and Mother Mary will eventually give birth to the the Christ within.

Without the darkness and without confronting our shadows, this birth will not happen. We need to embrace and accept all aspects of ourselves, including the shadows, to become whole. So she is not only a nurturing mother figure. She is also a shadow guide asking us to feel our shadows fully. She holds a compassion and love for us through this, even when we don’t feel worthy of it. This is the strength of ‘The Immaculate Heart of Mary’.

Without her, there is no birth of Christ. Christ being our inner knowing of oneness and love. There are of course other figures with different names who symbolically represent this dynamic. Mother Mary is one name and representation for this energy and one that I connect with.