Now, what I'm hoping to do is make a thread that can give information about the Virgin, but in the perspective of a witch, as even though she is a Catholic figure, still has the capability of helping those who seek her. I am fully aware that there might not be any who work with her here, but it doesn't hurt to say some words about her.
Note: I will talk some about her history, but I will focus more around her veneration, work, and help in witchcraft. I am a human, I make mistakes. If you catch something I got wrong, by all means, point it out.
Who is the Virgin of Guadalupe?
If you were to travel to Mexico, you will run into an image of the Virgin on someones clothes or jewelry, a statue with lit candles in her honor, or even a great shrine dedicated mainly to her. The Virgin of Guadalupe has been, and still is a significant part of Mexican devotion, and culture. A lot can be said by her followers, she is as high as Jesus Himself, and many of the working class treat her as a goddess in her own right. She is seen as Mary, who appeared to Juan Diego to tell him to spread the word she wanted a temple built to her in the Tepeyac (according to the peoples' belief). The Catholic Church of that time, which is around 1531, basically thought him crazy, heretical, or just a plain liar. They gave him a chance to prove he saw the Manifestation of Mary, but they really didn't like such ideas, calling them 'pagan'. However, when Juan Diego went back to the Tepeyac, the Virgin told him to gather the roses that have been growing there, in December, and present them to the big bosses in the Church. He gathers a bunch in his Tilma (type of clothes used by the Aztecs), and took them to the priests who didn't believe. He dropped the roses in the floor of the church, and in his tilma, the image of The Virgin of Guadalupe was imprinted in it, and long story short, the priests believed. The tilma Juan Diego used is still hung up in the Basilica of Guadalupe, where all say that the image is not made by any known type of ink, or anything else that could have put the image there, calling it a miracle. Her temple was built, under the ruins of the temple of Tonantzin (curse the Spaniards), but as i recall, the tilma was moved to the Basilica, where it currently resides. Many will refer to her as the Aztec goddess Tonantzin, but it os more of a title, as Tonantzin means "our mother", and Tonantzin is one aspect of Coatlicue, Cihuacoatl, and various others. Tonantzin, however, was a gentler form of the Mother Goddess. The Virgin of Guadalupe is seen with a cloak laid with stars, and she would be surrounded by rays of light, like the sun. She would be seen with a crown, and standing on top of the moon.
Other titles she goes by:
La Morenita, Virgensita, Lupita, Reina de los Cielos (Queen of the Heavens), Madresita, Madre de Dios (mother of God), Tonantzin (as stated before), others.
The Virgin of Guadalupe is indeed a Mexican Catholic icon, but are Catholics the only ones allowed to venerate her?
In Mexico, Catholicism is everywhere, but if you look closely, so is magic. Witchcraft, shamanism, folk magic, it's all abundant there. Many Mexican witches work with the Virgin, and with good reason. It is said she doesn't discriminate, sort of like La Santa Muerte, and the Virgin comforts the poor, the abused, the needed, and the misunderstood. She protects everyone, and some 'dark' witches have been known to call the Virgin to protect them in their workings. The Virgin is helpful in what would be considered 'white' magic. Healing, love, protection, good luck, most of the type of magic used, as long as it is not meant to harm, is her domain. She loves everyone, so that includes others of other faiths. Me, being eclectic, do work with her, and she doesn't seem to mind. She always watches over me, "like a true mother".
More information will be added, depending on the interest this gets and how much time I can set aside to keep working on it. Spells consulting her, rituals of devotion to her, I'll add if this seems to catch attention.
Another Note: The information laid out here is all part of the beliefs held by other people, me included, and is in no way intended to be treated as fact. Each are entitled to their belief, I have put this thread as to simply add information to the coven. Please forgive me if I made it sound as if it were a concrete truth.
