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In the land of the Cathars

Sun, May 15th, 2016: Today we arrived in the Cathar heartland; the region that many readers of Kathleen McGowan´s bestselling “The Expected One” are familiar with. We started off by visiting the medieval castle town of Carcassonne. In the Middle Ages it served as a refuge for thousands of the Cathars, which fled from the murdering and destructive troops of the church. Yet they could not escape death. Nowadays, 40 million tourists visit this World Heritage Site each year. So you can imagine how busy the narrow alleyways inside the fortress were.

In the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire dedicated to Saint Hilarius it was much more tranquil. You could very well feel his energy in the beautiful cloister. We also showed the participants of our journey the mid-relief, which appears to show Jesus with Mary Magdalene.

The stunning basilica of Notre-Dame de Marceille in Limoux was where we felt a tremendous amount of female energy. Every time we are there we are again impressed with its colorful walls and gorgeous floor mosaics. It is very rare to find this much lightness and harmony in a sacred building.

Back in our castle hotel Anna and Mary Magdalene spoke to me during our evening channeling and I channeled their messages for the group. We ended our first day in Languedoc, the land of Mary Magdalene´s descendants, with a delicious dinner.

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SPIRITUAL JOURNEY – Day 2: From Carcassonne to Couiza via St. Hilaire and Limoux

To visit the world-famous castle town Carcassonne is a must for everyone travelling through the Cathar region. 4 million people visit it every year! Although we really liked this incomparable medieval ensemble, we nevertheless were glad when we could leave it behind us together with its touristic bustle and set foot in the heartland of the Languedoc.

We visited the small abbey Saint-Hilaire – which is nestled between rolling hills and vineyards – with its marvellous cloister and the remarkable church, which sheltered the Cathars, who were persecuted by the Pope and his army of mercenaries once. In the stillness of this building we could sense a lot of power and meditate.

Finally, we paid a visit to the charming Marian pilgrimage site Notre Dame de Marceille (near Limoux). Only few tourists come here. The inside is furnished in pastel shades, the ceiling is profusely decorated, which is characteristic for the whole country. Besides the Black Madonna the peculiar statues of Mary Magdalene and Sainte Germaine took our fancy.

Before the delicious supper in our castle hotel, we gathered in the castle’s hall of knights, which is going to serve us as a meditation and seminar room in the course of the next few days. There we watched a documentary on the Holy Grail before we meditated together. I got to transmit messages from Hilarion, Sainte Germaine, Mary and Mary Magdalene. Unfortunately, it started to rain in the evening, which probably means that we will have to change tomorrow’s schedule.

Click here for more photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/122794387@N06/sets/72157648134683611/

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SPIRITUAL JOURNEY 2014: What I have discovered at Saint Hilaire

If you leave Carcassonne and drive south through the placid rolling hills and the picturesque vineyards, you reach the abbey Saint Hilaire (Hilarius). The monastery dates back to the 9th century and for a long time was inhabited by monks who stood under the patronage of the counts of Carcassonne.

During the crusades in the Middle Ages, in the course of which the institutional Church tried to obliterate the Cathars, also the monks of St. Hilaire, who were close to the Cathars, were accused of blasphemy. Therefore, their monastery was destroyed. The Romanesque-Gothic church and the beautiful cloister are especially worth visiting.

However, what I consider to be the most exceptional is the semi-relief which represents Jesus hugging a woman and a woman sitting next to him. Who this woman is with whom Jesus is represented to be very familiar, is a question that should be answered by everyone himself. In the course of our SPIRITUAL JOURNEY 2014 I am going to show this beauty spot to the participants.

Mary Magdalene
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SPIRITUAL JOURNEY 2014: What I have discovered at Saint Hilaire

If you leave Carcassonne and drive south through the placid rolling hills and the picturesque vineyards, you reach the abbey Saint Hilaire (Hilarius). The monastery dates back to the 9th century and for a long time was inhabited by monks who stood under the patronage of the counts of Carcassonne.

During the crusades in the Middle Ages, in the course of which the institutional Church tried to obliterate the Cathars, also the monks of St. Hilaire, who were close to the Cathars, were accused of blasphemy. Therefore, their monastery was destroyed. The Romanesque-Gothic church and the beautiful cloister are especially worth visiting.

However, what I consider to be the most exceptional is the semi-relief which represents Jesus hugging a woman and a woman sitting next to him. Who this woman is with whom Jesus is represented to be very familiar, is a question that should be answered by everyone himself. In the course of our SPIRITUAL JOURNEY 2014 I am going to show this beauty spot to the participants.

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SPIRITUAL JOURNEY 2014: How Carcassonne came by its name

Once upon a time the castle of Carcassonne was inhabited by a lady named Carcas. Rumour has it that she wangled to end the long lasting siege of the castle through Charlemagne. When nearly all the food supplies had been consumed and the inhabitants of the castle town came near suffering death by starvation, she ordered the last pig to be fattened and to be thrown across the castle walls. The enemies fell for this trick and thought that the castle still was far from being conquered, since the inhabitants obviously still had enough to eat and were not starving. Resignedly they withdrew. Subsequently, Madame Carcas let the bells chime in order to make peace with Charlemagne. Her stone bust can be admired in one of the gateways until the present day.

Carcassonne is a mere tourist village with about 250 inhabitants, the other residents stay in the town for touristic reasons only. In 1997 the beautiful old castle town with its double castle wall was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

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SPIRITUAL JOURNEY 2014: The castle town Carcassonne

The castle town Carcassonne in the heartland of the Cathars is so tawdrily beautiful that it served Walt Disney as a model for the castle in his movie “Sleeping Beauty”. Plunging oneself into the throng of people within the castle walls one is taken back to the Middle Ages immediately. Then one is standing in a small town, which hides behind mighty battlements which have already given shelter and security to the Cathars.

Already in the Middle Ages this faith group, of whom it is said that they have the same origin as the Essenes, has been a thorn in the institutional Church’s flesh, since they refused unwaveringly to acknowledge Jesus as God’s son, but “merely” considered him to be a very enlightened human being. Also gender equality was one of their big concerns and, therefore, male as well as female itinerant preachers propagated the Word of God.

Also the inhabitants of Carcassonne had to make a heroic stand against the superior troops of the king of France and the Pope, nevertheless, the fortress was won in 1209. In the course of our spiritual journey 2014 we are going to have plenty of time to explore Carcassonne and to follow the tracks of the Cathars.

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