This morning I was guided to try something new. Rather than wait for the advent gift of the day to come to me externally, I asked to receive it in my meditation. To my delight, I saw two elves open an old burlap sack. (almost as big as they were!) They pulled out a large ripe succulent strawberry--juicy red with golden seeds. I've always loved strawberries and Mom's delicious strawberry shortcake. I looked up the symbolism and was surprised the flowers and the berries symbolize spiritual purity and nobility of spirit.
A little more research revealed that the strawberry is sacred to the Virgin Mary. It played a role in medieval Christian art and folklore. Albrecht Durer painted The Bagnacavallo Madonna, shown here. The Child in her lap holds a sprig of a fruit-bearing strawberry plant (one of the symbols of the Trinity). His plant has only two leaves instead of the usual three which indicates the last person of the Trinity in the Child. (Wikipedia)
My unusual gift turned out to be more in season than I knew. This is the time of year Mother Mary draws close to the Earth--the Queen of the Angels showers humanity with her grace, peace and unconditional love.
Enjoy your day with the Angels.
Love and joyful blessings,
Rae Karen