The Black Madonna

1. The Black Madonna

2. Why is the Black Madonna black? • Those writers who present esoteric interpretations of the Black Madonnas usually include some combination of the following elements:

3. Some claim that Black Madonnas grew out of pre-Christian earth goddess traditions. Their dark skin may be associated with ancient images of these goddesses, and with the color of fertile earth. They are sometimes associated with stories of being found by chance in a natural setting: in a tree or by a spring, for example. It is further asserted that some of their Christian shrines are located on the sites of earlier temples to Cybele and Diana of Ephesus.

4. Some claim that Black Madonnas derive from the Egyptian goddess Isis. The dark skin may echo an African archetypal mother figure. Professor Stephen Benko claims that early Christian pictures of a seated mother and child were influenced by images of Isis and Horus. He further asserts that the slashes on the cheek of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa represent the markings of the Eye of Horus.

5. Some claim that the Black Madonnas portray the original skin tone of the Virgin Mary, thus placing the figures in apt historical contexts, as Jesus' family was more likely than not to have Semitic colors and features.

6. Some claim that Black Madonnas express a feminine power that is not fully conveyed by a pale-skinned Mary, whom they assert symbolizes gentler qualities like obedience and purity. The "feminine power" approach is sometimes linked to female sexuality, which was allegedly repressed by the medieval Church.

7. Some claim an association between Black Madonnas, the Templars and St. Bernard of Clairvaux. EanBegg suggests they were revered by an esoteric cult with Templar and Cathar links, but this idea is dismissed by most historians, who also reject stories of connections with Mary Magdalene, and Gnosticism.