The start of our religious pilgrimage in Chartres, by China Galland:

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I'm in the village of Chartres, southwest of Paris, France, this afternoon. I arrived late last night to spend the week teaching from my book, Longing for Darkness, on the Black or Dark Madonnas and the Womb of God. I'm leading a group for an American program called Verditas, the world-wide labryinth program.

The winds are warm and gusting under grey cloud cover, coming up strong now in the early afternoon. Bright sun flashes through the clouds for seconds and then is gone again. The sunny warmth of yesterday is rapidly disappearing, change is coming.

This is why we've come to Chartres, our group of fifteen from across the United States—for that change which the heart longs for, for the which the pilgrim longs and opens him or herself to by embarking on road to Chartres. Chartres is part of the longer Road to Compostella—the Field of Stars of St. James, the ancient journey undertaken long before Christianity battered down the walls of older beliefs and seized the narrative.

I will be posting more throught the week. In the meantime, please feel free to view more on my website and the Images of Divinity Project.

Below is a photo of the Chartres Cathedral:

(Photo credit: Cindy Pavlinac)

-- China Galland, author of Longing for Darkness

View more information about China Galland's Longing for Darkness

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Longing for Darkness

Black Madonna

Cathedral of Chartres

Road to Compostella

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