Our Lady Amaranthine

I have communed with Diana Domina far more often than Regina Nemorensis. I call Diana Domina our Lady Amaranthine, for the robes or gown she wears - rich red-purple robes, the color of pomegranates. I cannot tell the color of her hair, as she has a halo of silver light around her head - the hint of hair is there, but it is all darkened in contrast to that luminance.

I originally imagined her wearing the beautiful garb of a Roman noblewoman, probably clad in white or other lunar hues, but my experiences have been very different. She is also surrounded by the smell of fresh pomegranates in our interactions, strong and pungent, almost overwhelming. I've always associated the pomegranate with other deities before, so wondered if I was conflating things, or misinterpreting them.

As it turns out, Diana of Ephesus' iconography shows her with what many have thought were breasts, eggs or bull testicles for a long time. In my meditations, though, they are not - they are in fact strings of pomegranates, which is sacred to her. She says that the pomegranate's rich redness is like blood, and its many seeds the symbols of fertility, and that smearing a handful of the seeds and juice from a freshly carved pomegranate smeared on a woman's belly and pubis will bring pregnancy.

My interactions with her have been strange and not at all what I expected. We have discussed the health of the household, and she has urged me to not rush the consecration of the altar to her - "It will come in its time," is what she says every time I bring up the topic.

Next week, I'll post the consecration ritual I wrote for the foyer, which is the center of our house, in terms of layout, and the gateway by which most things come into it. She laid claim to this room early on in my meditations, saying that we should make this a place holy to her, as her cella.