PARIS + CHARTRES CATHEDRAL
August 1st - 3rd
Our tour’s first day is a Friday and the only day of the week that the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral is uncovered and available for walking meditation. Chartres was home of the hidden mystery schools of the Gothic era and much is secretly encoded in this most grand cathedral. On our second day we will visit the sacred sites of Paris. We will tour them as seen through the lens of the Goddess Isis and Napoleon Bonaparte’s fascination with the Egyptian mystery school's hidden esoteric wisdom.
Our group will meet and get to know one another for dinner on August 1st at 6:00 PM in Paris. The exact restaurant is not yet set. Please check into the hotel prior to joining us for dinner. Afterward we will retire to our hotel for a good night’s sleep before we set out to Chartres in the morning.
Day One Chartres Cathedral
We board a train at Gare Montparnasse for the hour and 45 minute ride to the town of Chartres, home of the famous Gothic Cathedral.
Not only is Chartres Cathedral one of the greatest achievements in the history of architecture, it is almost perfectly preserved in its original design and details. Chartres' extensive cycle of portal sculpture remains fully intact and its glowing stained-glass windows are all originals. Chartres is thus the only cathedral that conveys an almost perfect image of how it looked when it was built.
In addition to its architectural splendor, Chartres Cathedral has been a major pilgrimage destination since the early Middle Ages. Its venerable history, exquisitely preserved architecture, and centuries of fervent devotion make for an atmosphere of awe and holiness that impresses even the most nonreligious of visitors.
Chartres has layer upon layer of esoteric mystery and controversy. Chartres has recently undergone its most substantial renovation since it was rebuilt between 1194 and 1225. Over the past seven years, Chartres has been the subject of the most ambitious internal renovation to be undertaken at any Gothic cathedral. The decision to remove what a plaque in the cathedral calls the ‘unsightly coating' from the 16th-century wooden icon of ‘Black Madonna’ has come to symbolize the contested transformation of Chartres.
Friday is the only day of the week that the powerful labarynth of Chartres is uncovered for walking meditation. As Pilgrims we will join others who have been walking this winding path for over 800 years. The Chartres labyrinth is called "The Road to Jerusalem," denoting both the Holy Land on Earth, and the Celestial City in Heaven. Walking the labyrinth is considered both a physical and spiritual journey.
After our tour of Chartres Cathedral we will return to Paris for a delicious Parisian dinner.
Day Two - Paris
Today’s tour will see Paris through the lens of the Egyptian Goddess Isis, benefactress of the City of Paris.
In 1550 the author Corrozet published a history of Paris titled Les Antiquitez, Histoire et Singularitez de Paris, in which he wrote:
“…coming to the imposition of the name (of Paris), it is said that there, where stands St. Germain-des-Pres, was a temple of Isis of whom it is said was the wife of the great Osiris, or Jupiter the Just. The statue (of Isis) having come in our times, of which we recall… This place is called the Temple of Isis and, for the nearby city, this was called Parisis… meaning ‘near the temple of Isis.’ ”
Napoleon Bonaparte was obsessed with the esoteric power of the sacred feminine and of Egypt (he invaded Egypt in 1798). Not only was he seeking military position, he sought the esoteric ancient knowledge buried in that ancient land.
In Paris we will be visiting the legendary site of the Temple of Isis, the oldest church in Paris dated 558 AD, the Church of Saint Germain-des-Pres.
We will begin our day at the famous Notre Dame Cathedral on the Île de la Cité in Paris. This beautiful church built between 1163 and 1250 is an important example of French Gothic architecture, sculpture and stained glass.
We will be having an easy lunch at one of the numerous cafes on the Île de la Cité.
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From here we walk to the Louvre’s pyramids designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei. This is our first of several monuments featuring the pristine energies of sacred geometry. From this more recent pyramid we will continue to track the energetic alignment of the arches and obelisks that emerge in post-revolutionary Paris. We will walk the sacred geometry embedded in the heart of Paris towards the Grand Arche de la Triumph. Our path leads us through the beautiful Gardens of the Tuileries towards The Obelisk of Luxor or as it is known today, The Place de la Concorde. Upon reaching the obelisk we will note the energetic alignment of the Arch de Triumph ahead of us, Napoleon Bonaparte’s Temple of Glory (now the Church of the Madeleine) to our right, and the Palais Bourbon, currently home to the National Assembly to our left.
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Next The Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal has been the site of numerous apparitions of the Blessed Virgin. This chapel is a very active pilgrimage site for people all over the world and is alive with spontaneous spirituality.
From here we will taxi to Montmartre and one of the best views in Paris, the Sacré Coeur Basilica. Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus it was once the site of an ancient temple to Mercury.
We will have dinner in Montmartre at the classic Restaurant La Mère Catherine featuring traditional foods, lively singers, piano and cabaret classics of the chanteuse Édith Piaf.
A right turn will bring us to L’église de la Madeleine (Madeleine Church), one of Paris’s most curious temples due to its classic Greek design.
Next we will taxi to The Left Bank where we will visit three churches:
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St. Germain-des-Pres on the original site of the Temple to Isis and the oldest church in Paris.
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We will stroll to Église Saint-Sulpice, featuring a powerful alignment of science and spirituality as exemplified by the famous Rose Line made famous by Dan Brown’s The Di Vinci Code.
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Departure
Our Sacred Sites tour comes to a close after our dinner in Montmartre. Whether you plan on staying in Paris to visit the many sites, museums, cafes, markets, and parkParis has to offer, or are traveling on to other destinations, I say merci et bon journey mes amies.
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