The Two Great Gates of the Year

 Within Madrianism, I did find the topic of the Gates of Heaven, referred to in the Latin as Janua Coeli. Research showed that this was once a concept in Catholic Christianity, albeit one I was never familiar with (having been raised Catholic). It seemed a more metaphysical concept, and ascribed Virgin Mary to the lunar sphere, the seat of the moon, as the Gate to Heaven.

Within Madrianism, however, I see it as bearing merit for helping describe the two halves of the year; the Mother half, the apex being the Summer Solstice, and the Daughter half, the apex being the Winter Solstice, from a celestial perspective. The Mother half being the ascendent path, the Daughter half being the descendent path.

For better clarity, I will refer to the ascendent path and associated gate as Janua Coeli, and for the descendent path and associated gate, Janua Mundi (which would be Gate of the World).

In the wheel of the year, we divide the year betwixt Mother and Daughter to show the dance of the cosmos; we show the ebb and flow of the seasons, the feasts and famines, and the great spiraling dance of life itself. The Mother half reminds us of the importance of transcendence, of elevation and the aspiration of obtaining oneness with God Herself; an ego death of self into the absolute Spirit.

The Daughter half reminds us of the importance that God is also immanence, that we are not isolate from Her, and that life is sacred in the here and now.

The winter season is the start of the process towards the Janua Mundi, starting in the month of Astraea, and the gate (Janua Mundi) itself 'opening' with the winter solstice and the birth of the holy Daughter.* The process of descent, becoming immanent, is the process the Daughter takes. We can focus on the process of descent as truly living and experiencing the immanence of God, of fully engaging as humans and exploring the process of becoming. The holiness of the immanence of God within our day to day lives is a holy mystery, and I can think of no better virtue to focus on in this part of the year than phronesis, especially as Aristotle viewed it. In short, phronesis is practical wisdom, one in which Aristotle thought you must only learn through experience and applying the knowledge you acquire. By growing in wisdom in our day to day lives, experiencing divine immanence, observing the holy days and changing seasons, we grow ourselves both intellectually and spiritually and prepare ourselves to advance closer to the Janua Coeli.

In spring, the month of Rosea starts the mother half of the year, with this gate (Janue Coeli) 'opening' on the summer solstice and Rosa Mundi.* The process of ascent, of transcending back to God, is a much more difficult path. We are infallible beings, and being in a limited form necessarily precludes us to trials and tribulations; this is not to say we are inherently 'evil' or 'sinful', but rather we are capable of choice and that means sometimes making poor ones. As Madrianism is a Neoplatonist tradition, I look to the different philosophers of Neoplatonism and often am struck by such concepts as anamnesis, which is somewhat close to what we may now call 'enlightenment', but also contains within it a remembrance of the soul before becoming into the world of matter, and remembering/recalling that we come from God Herself, and as such contain an aspect of Her spirit at our highest self. To wit, the Janua Coeli causes us to return to our highest self, and remember that we are not separate from Her. As we see in daily life, this is a most difficult task!

As we wend our way through the year over and over again, I find it helpful to both focus on each season and their respective holy days, but also bearing in mind these two great gates and their deeper meanings.A lifetime of study and contemplation may not make the best of us great sages, but improving oneself by even a little is a remarkable feat and I commend anyone's attempts at doing so.

As we move into the fall season, we are quickly approaching the Janua Mundi and I posit; what devotional acts can we take to gain a fuller phronesis of ourselves? Will these help us to move to the Janua Coeli?

*of note, in Cerva Madriana the dates of the birth of the Daughter and Rosa Mundi are generally celebrated on the solstices, as opposed to other groups who have moveable dates according to lunar cycles.