John has been navigating Valerie around various churches with finesse as he interprets the stained glass windows and the narrative of John and Valerie’s past lives – so incredibly close together it seems difficult to comprehend – right here in this city of Limoges – not two hours away from where John and Valerie reside. Valerie has been busy with the camera, as you will encounter. Our image here is of John standing next to an altar in a French Cathedral in a pensive mood.
It had been raining quite a lot, day after day, and so cold John lit a fire and kept it going all day, it was the first of May and it is half way through spring? The locals tell us, “It’s not usually like this.” In French of course.
John speaks French and I have found I have begun to dream in French but I cannot seem to speak it. Even though when reading something I realize I am reading in French, not perfectly, but I just about understand all of what I am reading. But then, as I age, I am having a little trouble remembering English.
St Martial Bridge, Limoges
A couple of days later it did brighten a little so John, dear one, suggested that we should visit Limoges and find the crypt of where Saint Martial and Saint Valerie lie. He is getting used to driving a 6 geared manual car and so it only took about one & half hours to find our way there. The countryside is laid out in wide and long fields of yellow (canola flowers) and green (not sure what is growing) and other colours of flowers and fields a different shades of green as far as the eye can see. All very neat and perfectly laid out and dotted intermittently with fields of grape vines just beginning to grow green leaves.
The spring flowering trees and bushes are breathtaking and the land slightly hilly, in some places, so that you never know what is around the next valley. Villages are often named “Saint Someone” and the buildings very old but neat made with varying sizes of whitish limestone bricks or blocks.
We both liked the feel of Limoges – it was very familiar, and a lovely city. So we thought – here we go again. Wherever we go we find we have strong feelings of being here before, in another life. But we pressed on looking for that crypt.
Photo of St. Michel des Lions church showing the ancient lions out front.
Enlargement of the panel seen on the right in the photo above –
explaining the history of the church
We found the eglise of Saint Martial (a huge church) – at least we thought it was that name but it is actually St Michel des Lions church, but it does hold relics of St. Martial, the first Bishop of Limoges. The site is that of an earlier chapel dedicated to Archangel Michael and was close to the ancient Roman Limoges – Saintes road, leading to the Entrance of the Charente River on the Atlantic coast. We have visited there – and that is linked to another past life story.
When we entered the huge church we soon found out that the relics of St Valerie were there also. Including her arm bone? Oh my goodness – I am back to ‘the sign’ that was given to me of having my arm caught tightly behind the lounge divan before I left Australia. (see this article )
Chancel (reserved altar) of St Valerie in the St Michel des Lions Church, Limoges
The Life of St Martial – English
The Life of St Valerie – en Francais
As always with all the past lives I investigate to see if there is a Jehanne d’Arc statue. And the name of the church is St Michel – or known as Archangel Michael who tells me He is always with me.
Statue of St Michael in Eglise St Michel des Lions, Limoges
Reliquary (container for relics) of St Martial. John thought it was the Arc of Covenant?
It does look like solid gold. It is surrounded by a very heavy and strong grill.
Montage in the chancel of St Martial;
St Martial gifting a Knight Hospitaler; St Paul looks on
Unfortunately it was quite dark inside the church so I wasn’t able to take clear photos.
There were many windows of stories held in stained glass. The main three above the centre of the Altar were glorious. John was looking at them closely and we could then see that on the left were pictures of what looked like Eleanor of Aquitaine riding next to her First husband King Louis VII of France and then on the right side was Eleanor of Aquitaine riding a white horse beside her Second husband Henry II and behind them was a young adult prince, with crown wearing full amour with a white over-shirt with a red cross – symbolizing the Knights Templar.
These are very large stained glass windows … You can see a Knight on right hand side with cross on chest – the centre of the picture is a chalice with Pope Urban dedicating the relic (head) of St Martial All the people are dressed royally – and everyone is looking to the centre where the chalice is.
This looks like King Henry ll on left with Eleanor of Aquitaine – then next panel looks like the young king Richard l and perhaps his dying father Henry ll Richard is known to the French people as the Duke of Aquitaine – or the Princes of Poiters, and he has a red equal sided cross (Knights Templar) on his chest, (not showing well in photo.)
More Aquitaine stories here – in the centre – is King Louis VII of France riding with Eleanor of Acquitane – their marriage was later annulled.
Certainly the church windows were telling a story -but not of saints, bishops nor popes.
We were both overwhelmed knowing that this linked with our past life feelings experienced at the huge fort at Le Chateau near Rochefort in the Department of Aquitaine. Richard the First, also known as Richard the Lion Heart was the son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Which meant in the past life I was John’s mother. John’s behaviour had not been good of late and I had felt I was chastising him like a mother to stop his tantrums. I don’t like that role. My goodness, how often we must be playing out past life scenarios even though the story is not the same in one’s present life! We have both agreed to work on healing ourselves, each other and all the people who were affected by us in the roles we had in our past lives.
Researching Richard I we discovered that he as a 16yr old was presented in ceremony to be the Duke of Aquitaine from his mother’s inheritance. In the ceremony he was given, to wear, St. Valerie’s ring – nearly a thousand years old.
I find that extraordinary, that Two Soulmates, which John and I are, should touch each other with time jumps. Eleanor was his mother who had St. Valerie in her Soul history (as she is in mine we are the same Soul) and had arranged the ring to be presented to Richard I who is in My John’s soul history. One wonders if Eleanor was aware of her connection to the ring. Certainly sub-consciously she would have been.
The feelings are very strong – I can feel myself riding on a horse (cannot in this life) knowing this area of France very well – being royal – knowing the people and the frustrations of the complicated life that Eleanor led. And to match these feelings my John, when he shops in the local village they call him, “Bon Jour Chevalier John.” They, not knowing anything about our esoteric experiences.
Returning to the Church of St. Michel des Lions we couldn’t find the crypt that we knew existed somewhere in Limoges. John said “Let us try the Cathedral.”
View of the Cathedral of St Etienne at Limoges
Entrance to the Cathedral – St Etienne at Limoges.
Well, to our surprise there was a Chancel (on left) for St.Valerie, And a Chancel (on right) for St. Martial with more relics but no sign of The Crypt. A lovely feeling walking around the huge church with plenty of signs of it being connected to the Knights Templar as well as the symbol of the red cross.
Photo on wall of red cross
Interior of Cathedral of Saint Etienne with Chancel of St. Valerie on the left and St Martial on the right – taken from a panoramic photo – link
There was no crypt in this Cathedral either.
Our spirit Mentor, Alcheringa, has advised us that my John was the Founder of the Knights Templars in a past life just before his life as Richard the Lion Heart. The Knights Templar was formed by raising money from the Noblemen of the day and volunteers to fight in the first crusade to regain the sacred site of Jerusalem from the Saracens, so that Christian Pilgrims could safely visit there. The Crusade had the blessing of the then Pope and the Catholic Church.
I am going to call on my friend Helen to help us sort out the personalities of whom John was. He is a warrior and a leader – there is no doubt and even in this life is capable of raising funds and organizing a ‘cause.’ And He knows he was heavily involved in those times.
At last, someone in the street, told us the crypt was in the Place de la Republique … And they said they weren’t sure if it was open. We didn’t understand until we arrived.
Photo of the crypt in the middle of a large square where you walk down to the Crypt hidden underneath the ground.
Photo of entrance of crypt.
Photo of Jehanne d’arc who always seem to be close by my other past lives –
This time, nearby the statue is Jehanne d’Arc as a young girl holding lambs in a garden nearby.
So we find we can only visit the crypt in July with an appointment.
John says, “We should come back.” In a way we already have – haven’t we?
Just caught John in a pensive mood standing in the back of the Altar at French Cathedral.
Usually the Red Cross symbolises the French and White Cross symbolises the English. I thought it was significant…