The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is exquisite not only for its artistry and beauty. Each of its elements carries a deep meaning, including the golden stars that adorn the jade-green mantle of Our Lady.
The stars naturally represent her heavenly origins and her role as the Queen of Heaven. But their particular arrangement is just as important.
The stars are positioned exactly as they would have appeared on the morning of December 12th, 1531—when the miraculous image appeared on the tilma of Juan Diego.
And there’s something else. The stars are actually a mirror image of what they would have looked like from an earthly perspective. They are arranged from the perspective of someone looking down upon them—from God’s perspective, as though the Divine Artist had placed them according to His own celestial gaze.
And it’s not only the visible stars that are significant. While no stars appear around Our Lady’s head, if we overlay a (reversed) star map on the image, we find that the Corona Borealis—the Northern Crown—lays perfectly upon her brow. As the book of Revelation says: “…a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”
In fact, over Our Lady’s breast is the constellation Virgo—the Virgin. And Leo the Lion is over her womb, where she carries He Whom Scripture names the Lion of Judah.
Truly, only God could have created something so beautiful, so rich in meaning, so perfect in its construction, so theologically profound in its every detail!
You can bring this divinely-painted image into your own home with a framed copy from The Catholic Company. Available in a variety of sizes with an ornate gold frame, it is a wonderful way to foster your own devotion to the Patroness of the Americas. Order yours today!
