Where the Cathars once lost their lives at the stake

Today we said goodbye to Couiza and set off for Montségur, the ruins of a Cathar fortress which went down in history. In 1244 about 200 Cathars took refuge here from the troops of the King and the Pope. However, after a long siege, they had to give in to the superior power of their enemies. As they remained faithful to their belief, it cost them their lives at the stake.

Since it was raining today and there was a cold wind, only four participants of our group made their way to the former Cathar castle. The energy of this place and the feeling of being in such a spiritually historically unique place left imprints on their hearts.

After the descent, our journey took us to the little medieval town of Mirepoix. Its colourful half-timbered houses fascinate all visitors. In the Middle Ages an important Cathar council took place here. We had lunch here, and a leisurely stroll under the arcades of the main square. Afterwards we visited the Gothic cathedral. We admired the elaborate ribbed vault, and impressive presentations of Mary Magdalene and her close family members. The stained glass window, showing different situations of her life, is particularly beautiful.

On our way to Toulouse, we stopped at the little rock church of Vals. It is so captivating that you have to pay it a visit. Although there is no direct link to Mary Magdalene, this place belongs to the most impressive sights in the area, and besides, it is a strong power spot, like a vortex.

After returning back to our hotel in Toulouse I could channel a druid who transmitted interesting information for our group. Mary Magdalene also spoke to me to remind us that it was not the first time our group was travelling together in her name.

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Myths and legends in “Mary Magdalene Land”

Wed, May 18, 2016: Here in the land of Mary Magdalene you hear numerous stories, myths and legends about Mary Magdalene, her companions and the impact she had. The rumor mill went into overdrive indeed with the village priest of Rennes-le-Château, at that time, finding himself with unexpected wealth. According to legend, he supposedly found a treasure beneath the church of Mary Magdalene.

The first settlements in the area of Rennes-le-Château and Rennes-les-Bains, which we visited today, go back to the time of the Romans where they already used the hot springs to cure disease. The small village is more than tranquil and it seems like the time had been standing still. Together with our guide Stephanie, who knows her way around here very well, we hiked up a hill to view the legendary stones and a source containing iron. For those in our group who have read Kathleen McGowan´s “Expected One” it was a great pleasure to visit the historic castle in Arques afterwards.

We spent today´s evening in a beautiful winery where we indulged in delicious French cuisine. Tomorrow we will leave our hotel to continue on towards Toulouse.

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Mary Magdalene, Martha, Sara-la-Kali, Mary Jacobe and Mary Salome

SAT, May 14th, 2016: Today´s trip to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer was most definitely a highlight of our spiritual journey. It was special because according to a legend this was the place Mary Magdalene and her companions went ashore. Also, Mary Magdalene´s sister Martha is said to have lived in Tarascon around 2,000 years ago. Learn more about it below the photos.


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France, here we come!

May 10th, 2016: In my next life I need to learn French or, even better, I will reincarnate in Southern France. Today I felt right back at home when Gerd and I got off the highway in Carcassonne to go to Couiza. Even though our Spiritual Journey following Mary Magdalene´s footsteps only begins in two days, we have decided to leave Vienna today. We traveled to Barcelona and then took the train to Narbonne. From there we continued on, in our rental car, and headed to “our” castle where we will be staying the first couple of nights together alongside our travel group. It was a gray afternoon indeed with clouds covering the sky, but as long as it doesn’t rain – we’re happy. Tomorrow we are going to check out a few places in the area, which we will visit together with the rest of our group next week. Right now, we are looking forward to dinner because this time there is some great vegetarian dishes on the regular menu 😉 (Clearly a lot of things can change within 2 years…). After dinner, we will head back to our medieval-style castle room, surrounded by pictures of unicorns, damsels and knights from the Cathar epoch. We are FINALLY back!

 

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