Ahhh, yes, the dreaded ‘Black Friday‘, so called, that follows Thanksgiving Thursday in the U.S.

For a couple of different reasons that likely share the same root, I can’t quite get into the toxic-Friday spirit of the insane consume-o-brawl, and have no desire to be anywhere near (much less in the middle of) crowds like this:

Black Friday shopping mob. Image courtesy of eBaum’s World.

Somehow that just doesn’t give a gratitude-and-appreciation warm-and-fuzzy, does it, given the acute cringe factor as we see stories of people mowing each other down, flattening elder greeters near the door, wreaking havoc on store shelves.

Even moreso after coming across this statistic from The Story of Stuff.

So I decided that there’s no time like the present for Black Madonna Friday. I always feel better when I dip into this ancient and deep wellspring.

Here are a couple of Black Madonna musings and inspirations for those who prefer an alternative to Mad Friday.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Asilomar. Photo by Jamie, Sophia’s Children. Reuse per CC with a link to this post.

“The New Venus, New Woman, is Venus become one with Persephone her deeper nature. She emerges as the Woman of Revelation “clothed with the Sun” who brings new feminine consciousness, an artful mindfulness and imminent being that is here and now, beyond words, fully aware.”

~ the late Steve Nelson, Gaiastrology

Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in a New York City taqueria. Image by Jamie Walters. Use it with citation and a link to this post.

You’ll find more Black Madonna and Divine Feminine musings, inspirations, and beautiful imagery (as always), in the Readers’ Favorites: Black Madonna and Deep Feminine Mysteries series:

Black Madonna and Deep Feminine Mysteries Series

Related inspiration:

The Black Madonna Connection

Persephone’s Underworld Journey: Deep-Feminine Initiation

Savor the Moment, Deepen Intimacy

Making a Life From What You Have

And a Thank You, to You

Very warm and heartful thanks to you for visiting, reading, commenting, and sharing your presence this past year — I feel a whole lot of appreciation for you and the good you share in your corner of the world.

Wishing you all a harvest of blessings, plentiful joy, and an abundance of gratitude-inspiring moments.

Big Love,

Jamie

** For an inspired end of 2017 and start of 2018, and for clues on sync’ing with inspired possibilities for the coming months and year, schedule a Sophiastrology or Mentor-Coaching consultation.

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Featured Image Credit: Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn, Vilnius, Lithuania. Image courtesy of Albertus Teolog, GNU, Wikimedia