Alessandra BelloniHealing Journeys with the Black Madonna
Chants, Music, and Sacred Practices of the Great Goddess
Alessandra Belloni is a world-renowned percussionist, singer, dancer, and actress born in Rome. Voted one of the best female percussionists in the world by Drum Magazine, she designed a signature series of tambourines for REMO, Inc. She is the founder and lead performer of “I Giullari di Piazza,” an Italian music, theatre, and dance ensemble, and is an Artist-in-Residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. She teaches workshops and healing retreats around the world and lives in Edgewater, New Jersey.
FOREWORD
The Return of the Archetype in Times of Need
by Matthew Fox
PREFACE
Four Mystical Experiences That Led Me to the Black Madonna
Acknowledgments
INTRODUCTION
Mamma Elvira’s Miracle
CHAPTER 1
Who Is the Black Madonna?
CHAPTER 2
Drumming in Honor of the Black Madonna
CHAPTER 3
The Prophetess, the Poet, and the Pagan Goddesses
CHAPTER 4
The Throne of the Madonna in Montevergine and the Legend of the Seven
Sisters
CHAPTER 5
Unveiling the Powerful Black Madonna of Freedom and the Egyptian Goddess
Isis
CHAPTER 6
The Devotion to the Black Madonna of the Poor
CHAPTER 7
Nigra Sum Sed Formosa: “I Am Black but Comely”-- The African Mother
CHAPTER 8
The Black Madonna of the Sacred Mountain of Viggiano and the Greek Myth of
Demeter and Persephone
CHAPTER 9
The Black Madonna Incoronata and the Madonna of the Seven Veils
CHAPTER 10
The Haunting Image of Madonna dell’Arco
CHAPTER 11
Rhythm Is the Cure: The Shamanic Power of the Tarantella
EPILOGUE
The Black Madonna as Patron of All Humanity
APPENDICES
Music and Lyrics for Chants to the Black Madonna
Bibliography
Index
