A Pilgrimage Begins

The limestone patio beyond the French doors in front of me are glistening in the rain. This is our first morning of what will be a month of mornings waking up in St. Rémy de Province. A month spent pretending that we’re French, eating croissants and baguettes while drinking tiny cups of coffee throughout the day and glasses of wine in the evening. (although my wine will be lemonade)

We’ve spent three days in Paris and already my body is telling me enough already with the gluten and the dairy! Today we go shopping for fruit and almond milk and gluten-free bread – just enough to temper the tastes from the many visits to the boulangeries.

My two dear friends and I are on a pilgrimage. We’re not walking the Camino with backpacks and blisters and only three pairs of underwear. We have six pieces of luggage between us, a mid-sized Peugeot, and many changes of shoes for our temperamental feet. One doesn’t have to punish the body, or lean towards the ascetic to be a pilgrim — a pilgrimage is made through travelling with intention.

We’ve journeyed to a distant and unfamiliar land on a spiritual quest. With each step (and yes, with each glass of wine, piece of baguette, and much joy and laughter) we will be circling closer to our own divinity, to the rising remembering.

Emilie, Diane and I have been planning this trip for years, long before Covid shut down the world, long before we began to journey virtually via zoom, sitting in place, going inward while watching a screen. Now, we are finally here with the scent of jasmine greeting us and red poppies growing wild along the roadways.

We depart early tomorrow morning to meet Véronique, our escort for the next four days. Who will guide us in the footsteps of Mary Magdalene. Not the Mary of the bible, edited to be subjected, to be pushed down, pushed away, and disempowered. Rather, the reclaimed Mary of feminine lore and legend.

We are here to deepen our learning, to uncover our buried knowing, and to bring home the empowered strength of the feminine. I am not religious, and it took me years to redefine my relationship with the word “God.”

I’m working to balance the force of the masculine and feminine energies that flow through me, that flow through all of us – to not throw the baby out with the bathwater. The Patriarchy has done so much damage to humanity and to the world, but we would do well to keep the positive aspects of the masculine. To keep the strength and the courage – and bring to it the fierceness of the compassionate heart. To bring the full force of the feminine heart to bear a much-needed counterweight.