The Joyous Mysteries
Finding at the Temple
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This is the final installment of my Rosary Mysteries series. I went about it in a reversed way because I went with what resonated most, and I have to say, The Joyous Mysteries resonate the least for me. They are about pregnancy, motherhood, birthing. I am child-free, and child-free very much by choice. I have no interest in birthing a babe. Kudos to you, mamas, who do because it couldn’t be me! That being said, I know that birthing ideas into reality is often seen as a birthing process, though obviously different.
The Joyous Mysteries are the timeframe from the Immaculate Conception (the impregnation of a 13 or 14 year old… YIKES ON BIKES!!!!!! Why is this celebrated?) to Jesus getting lost in a temple and having theological debates at age 12.
The Annunciation
The Visitation
The Nativity
The Presentation
The Finding at The Temple
These mysteries took me the longest to connect with, and that’s again because I am not a mom, and I don’t want to be. I can, however, see the connection in the blooming and growth of ideas and passions.
The Annunciation is that moment when archangel Gabriel announces to Mary that God wants her to bear his son. In some versions of this, she is given a choice, and when she accepts this, the conception takes place. Great, wonderful, fantastic, but so few of us are Mary. Some of us are in that they have miracle babies, etc. I am not. I will not. So, how was I to connect? Well, at this time, I was working on what I wanted from this year of 2023. I wanted to create an oracle deck. That has not happened, but it was a moment of conception, an AHA moment. I began to connect my ideas that I want to come to fruition into this mystery. When I pray my 10 Hail Marys for The Annunciation, I imagine what I want to manifest.
The Visitation is when Mary and her cousin Elizabeth (whom I’ve always imagined as an old hag, but she was probably like 38-42.) come together and celebrate their pregnancies, the future births of the cousins Jesus and John the Baptist. Modern context: This is your baby shower or whatever. Modern creative context: This is when you text, call, see your creative bestie and info dump every single thing about your newest fascination, and they cheer you, bolster your confidence, and stand by you even if what you want may fail. Obvs, we’re not here condoning staying in abusive relationships. We’re here celebrating the imagination, the brain, the essence of our loves! The Visitation is giving Three of Cups energy. The utmost love to
for being my sounding board and listening to me drone on and on for weeks about every new obsession I have. I LUFF YOU!The Nativity is the birth of Jesus. What I love is that we now know the birth probably took place in a cave, and know what one of my most favorite places to be is? In a cave! I love caves. Caves are a place of holding, a place of seeing, a place of hearing and truth, a place a release. They’re sacred. Is there a better place to birth something sacred than in a sacred place? Obvs, don’t go have a baby in a cave. That’s how people die. The Nativity is one of my favorite mysteries of this series because it is the fruition of everything you’ve been creating comes to life, and it comes to life in the shadowy safety of you. As you pray, imagine not the process but the end result of what you are trying to create. Imagine yourself birthing it through whatever means and tools are necessary. If you’re trying to actually have a baby, maybe imagine that.
The Presentation represents the brit milah that takes place in Judaism. On this day, sons are circumcised and their names are shared. Jesus’ name before a bunch of language nonsense would have been Yeshua (or Joshua). When researching this mystery, there is also mention of the acceptance of this newborn being the Messiah within the community, not by all but of a few. This was the mystery that took me the longest to get, but after we make something for the consumption of others, what happens? We have to present it. This is a nerve-wracking process. Will people like it? Will they not? Will they accept me and my work in the way I want it/me to be accepted? When putting it into that lens, it is easy to empathize with Mary and any anxiety she felt about presenting her baby (at her young age of 14-15) as the Messiah.
The Finding at The Temple is my favorite. To me it is an absolute reclamation of divine femininity from potential corruption into masculinity. In this mystery, Mary loses Jesus, and she finds him 3 days later deep in conversation with the temple rabbis and other men. She brings him home, and they are reunited. This entire idea of my son being lost to religious men in power is terrifying to me, and it’s from my own experience of listening to religious men in leadership spout hateful, condescending, brainwashing nonsense. When I visualize this mystery, I see the protection, the devotion, the reverence to divine femininity. Before reading The Way of The Rose, I read St. Mary Magdalene: The Gnostic Tradition of The Holy Bride by Tau Malachi, and this oral tradition talks about the respect and dignity that Jesus held for women, especially his love Mary Magdalene. Now that I know of the final of The Joyous Mysteries, I feel like that respect and appreciation started here, with Mother Mary taking back her son from men in power. I am not a scholar in this, but when I first started processing this entire set of mysteries, a strong energy of divine feminine strength came through as I prayed my 10 Hail Marys.
Does any of this resonate with you? How do you connect with the Divine? What are some of your daily rituals? I’d love to hear!
Wishing you well this week! May your life offer what you need in this moment.
With love,
Aventurine ✨
I really enjoyed how you tied each mystery to creativity. I'm not very familiar with the mysteries but know the story of Jesus so it was easy to follow along.