TheHealingWomb
The Healing Womb
Annabel’s art installation ‘The Healing Womb’ had its debut in 2012. Comprising of four archetypal paintings of the Mother of Loss, Mother of Solitude, Mother of Healing & Mother of Compassion, the installation hung in the sacred space of The Avalon Rose Chapel®, formerly known as The Glastonbury Gnostic Centre & Chapel, in which women gathered to share their stories in relation to child loss, childlessness, the challenges of mothering special needs children and pregnancy termination.
![Hecate - Mother of Loss]()
Hecate: Mother of Loss
Buy PrintI am Hecate, Mother of Loss, who stands at the gateway between darkness and light, death and rebirth. Journey to me through the dreamtime on my white mare. Bring me the souls of your lost children for safekeeping, until Grandmother Time spins the thread of new life and the wheel turns once more.
![Lilith - Mother of Solitude]()
Lilith: Mother of Solitude
Buy PrintI am Lilith, Mother of Solitude, who walks beside you on the barren wastelands of your lost dreams. May your womb flow with my fertile waters. May my owl of wisdom be your constant guide. And may my lion fill you with the courage to stand alone in your power.
![Brigit - Mother of Healing]()
Brigit: Mother of Healing
Buy PrintI am Brigit, Mother of Healing, who relights the flame of hope in your desolate heart. Bring me your grief, your anger, your fear, for I am strong enough to carry you and all that you hold. Allow your tears to flow into my gentle, healing waters and rise again as the phoenix from the ashes.
![Kuan Yin - Mother of Compassion]()
Kuan Yin: Mother of Compassion
Buy PrintI am Kuan Yin, Mother of Compassion, protector of the weak and ill, guardian of children. Drink from my sweet dew of wisdom and compassion. Ride my dragon of strength and transformation. Fill your heart with my unconditional love so that, in service, you may fill the hearts of others.
Annabel was inspired to create ‘The Healing Womb’ by her personal experience of mothering three children, two of whom were born with life-threatening syndromes, who she has nursed through 19 operations.
During the many months she lived on neonatal intensive care and paediatric surgical wards, she became aware of the depth of women’s suffering and untold stories, and wanted to create a sacred space in which they could share their stories and heal.
I know what it feels like to face the fear of my child dying, to grieve for the child who I thought I would have, to feel all the conflicting emotions woven into caring for a disabled child. I also know how lonely it can feel to lock our stories away, to not want to burden others with our pain, anger and despair, to tell a different story to the world when inside we are desperate to speak, to be heard and comforted.
We invite you to attend one of our Healing Womb online workshops, funded by The Avalon Rose Chapel®, to be held and guided by experienced women who have journeyed deeply with child loss, childlessness, mothering special needs children and pregnancy termination, and to share your story within a compassionate circle of women.
13.11.21Hecate – Mother of Loss – Earth
An online workshop funded by The Avalon Rose Chapel to support women who have lost children, including through miscarriage and stillbirth
22.01.22Lilith – Mother of Solitude – Air
An online workshop funded by The Avalon Rose Chapel to support women who are childless due to infertility, miscarriage or circumstance
26.03.22Brigit – Mother of Healing – Fire
An online workshop funded by The Avalon Rose Chapel to support women who are caring for children with special needs or disabilities
An online workshop funded by The Avalon Rose Chapel to support women who have experienced Pregnancy Termination
The Santo Nino de Atocha Chapel
Santuario de Chimayo, New Mexico
Santo Nino is a manifestation of the Christ or Divine Child who is believed to have performed many miracles in Spain and Mexico. The original chapel was built in 1856 and has since been renovated as a Children’s Chapel.
Annabel became aware of the chapel on a buying trip for her Shop, which supports Native American artisans from the pueblos of New Mexico.
She made a pilgrimage to the chapel on Good Friday 2015, and then took her daughters in July 2015, to give thanks for the survival and healing of her three children, two of whom were born with life-threatening syndromes.
She took a pair of her disabled son’s newborn shoes as an offering to Santo Nino, and brought back the sacred water and sand – ‘tierra bendita’ – to which the many miraculous healings are attributed.
Inspired by the Santo Nino de Atocha Chapel, we invite parents and carers to leave a comment on our Prayer Request Page so that we may pray for the soul of your child, alive or in spirit.
The Story of Santo Nino de Atocha
In the 7th century, a statue of Mother Mary with a detachable Divine Child was found in a field in Atocha, Spain.
In the 13th century, the men were imprisoned by the Moors and only children were allowed to bring the prisoners food and water. The women prayed to Our Lady of Atocha for help.
The children spoke of an unknown boy carrying water and bread to the prisoners, whilst the shoes of the statue of the Divine Child became worn and dirty. He became known as Santo Nino (Holy Child) de Atocha.
A Spanish general brought the statue of Our Lady of Atocha to Plateros, Mexico. After an explosion in a mine there, the women prayed to Her to save the trapped men. The detachable statue of the Divine Child disappeared, only to reappear with its clothes and shoes torn and dirty, whilst the freed miners spoke of a child who rescued them.
Following a pilgrimage to Plateros, Severiano Medina built a chapel near El Santuario de Chimayo in New Mexico, dedicated to Santo Nino de Atocha in 1856.
Every year on Good Friday, tens of thousands of pilgrims walk to the Chapel. Inside a small room with a statue of Santo Nino, pilgrims leave pairs of children’s shoes and photographs with their prayers of gratitude or for healing.
(from an article by Richard L. Rieckenberg on www.elsantuariochimayo.us)
