History and description of the Black Madonna of Einsiedeln, Switzerland.

The Virgin Mary is a dazzling icon, frequently escaping from the Church's strict constraints. She is a symbol of faith and hope, as well as one of beauty and celebration. This book explores the many faces of the Virgin Mary around the world and the rites and ceremonies associated with her.

This richly illustrated study examines how the Black Madonna has become a symbol of national identity, resistance against oppression, and empowerment for the female populations of such diverse cultures as Poland and Cuba.

In the 1993 edition, I considered black madonnas a metaphor for a memory of the time when the earth was belived to be the body of woman and all creatures were equal, a memory transmitted in vernacular traditions of earth-bounded cultures, historically expressed in cultural and poltical resistance, and glimpsed today in movements aiming for transformation. Sine then my understanding of black madonnas has been deepened by genetics finding that the orgin of modern humans is Africa, that migrations from Africa carried a primordial belief in a dar woman divinity to all continents. Black madonnas and other dark women of the world suggest a metaphor for healing millennial divisions of gender and race and concerted movements for justice.

Shows how the figure of Mary has shaped and been shaped by changing social and historical circumstances and why for all their beauty and power,the legends of Mary have condemned real women to perpetual inferiority.

Read China Galland's posts on the Penguin Blog With this book, China Galland brought increased attention to the spiritual traditions of the Black Madonna and other cross-cultural expressions of the feminine divine. The popularity of recent works by authors like Sue Monk Kidd and Kathleen Norris have only increased readers’ fascination. Now with a new introduction by the author, Longing for Darkness explores Galland’s spellbinding and deeply personal journey from New Mexico through Nepal, India, Switzerland, France, the former Yugoslavia, and Poland—places where such figures as Tara, the female Buddha of the Tibetan tradition, and the Black Madonna are venerated today.