An experiential guide to the ancient healing rituals of the Black Madonna
• Reveals the practices and rites of the still-living cult of the Black Madonna in the remote villages of Southern Italy, including the healing rites of the tarantella dance
• Details shamanic chants, rhythms, and songs and how to use them for self-healing, transformation, and recovery from abuse, trauma, depression, and addiction
• Explores the many sacred sites of the Madonnas and connects them to other Great Goddesses, such as Isis, Aphrodite, Cybeles, and the Orisha Yemanja and Ochun
• Includes access to 12 audio tracks
The mysteries of the Black Madonna can be traced to pre-Christian times, to the ancient devotion to Isis, the Earth Goddess, and the African Mother, to the era when God was not only female but also black. Sacred sites of the Black Madonna are still revered in Italy, and, as Alessandra Belloni reveals, the shamanic healing traditions of the Black Madonna are still alive today and just as powerful as they were millennia ago.
Sharing her more than 35 years of research and fieldwork at sacred sites around the world, Belloni takes you on a mystical pilgrimage of empowerment, initiation, and transformation with the Black Madonna. She explains how her love for Italian folk music led her to learn the ancient tammorriata musical tradition of the Earth Goddess Cybele and the Moon Goddess Diana and discover the still-living cult of the Black Madonna in the remote villages of Southern Italy. She vividly describes the sensual shamanic drumming and ecstatic trance dance rituals she experienced there, including the rites of the tammorriata, the transgender rite of Femminielli, and the erotic “spider dance” of the tarantella, which has been used for centuries in the Mediterranean for healing. Sharing chants, rhythms, and sacred songs, she details how she uses these therapeutic musical and trance practices to heal women and men from abuse, trauma, depression, and addiction and shows how these practices can be used for self-healing and transformation, including her personal story of using the tarantella to overcome cervical cancer.
Revealing the profound transformative power of the Black Madonna, Belloni shows how She is the womb of the earth, the dark side of the moon, and the Universal Mother to all. Truly alive for all to call upon, She embraces and gives everyone access to Her divine strength and unconditional love.
“Belloni has done her homework and her heart work, danced the dance, drummed the drums and tambourines, bled while doing so, in a shamanistic gift for our times.”
“In her book Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna, master musician, dance and music historian, and imaginative storyteller Alessandra Belloni captures the magic of the feminine soul of Southern Italy. She explores the origins of the Black Madonna from the ancient goddesses of Greece and North Africa to the syncretism with Catholicism in Italy. With brilliant storytelling, she shares of the spirit of the Black Madonna as she is experienced in modern Italy. Most importantly, this book transports readers on an inner journey in which they experience the archetype of the Black Madonna within, so they may continue to keep her mystery and healing alive in today’s world. Read this book and be transformed!”
“Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna is an emotional tour de force that will leave you astonished by its power. But I warn you, this is not a book for those who are not ready to reflect deeply on their wounds, how they were created, and the path of recovery. The honesty within these pages is rare and appreciated in a world that often thrives off of gilded artifice and the excuses it often births. Do yourself a favor and purchase two copies of this book, one for yourself and one for someone else. The Black Madonna will let you know who is in need.”
“Alessandra Belloni weaves a magical web, enabling readers to feel as if they are traveling alongside her. We share her profound experiences as she visits Black Madonnas and communes with goddesses. Packed with music and art, Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna is simultaneously memoir, spiritual guide, travelogue, and a shamanic document that serves as a reminder that rhythm is the cure. This is a book to read not once but again and again. “
