The Ecstatic Journey

...was raging with lightning and echoing with thunder; here, beyond the eclipses original: "labores"; literally "labors," a term used in Latin to describe the perceived struggle or toil of the sun and moon during an eclipse. of the Moon and the Sun, individual stars revolved in their own motions; here night followed day and day followed night in alternating succession; while the King alone triumphed unharmed in the very center, as if on the central throne of the world.

You, O Queen, not unlike this, shall occupy the center of Heaven, immune and free from all injuries of the weather original: "meteororum"; in the 17th century, "meteors" referred to any atmospheric phenomena, including storms, rain, and wind., destined to be the center and heart of the planets and stars. Your genius, your celestial nature, and the eminence of your mind—eager for every encyclopedia original: "encyclopedię"; from the Greek for the "circle of learning," referring here to the mastery of all sciences and arts.—has destined you for this wise place in Heaven.

Travel now for a little while in this Heaven, so that you may eventually rest, not as a stranger but in your true homeland, in that genuine Kingdom of the Heavens. To seek that Kingdom, you voluntarily departed as a pilgrim from your own Kingdom and Fatherland, surpassing the glory of a worldly crown This refers to Queen Christina’s famous abdication of the Swedish throne in 1654 and her subsequent journey to Rome.; you have shown how much you value that Kingdom—the Kingdom of all ages.

Enter, O Queen, this heaven of mine; enter with Wisdom as your companion, which alone circled the vault of Heaven A reference to the Book of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 24:5, where Wisdom describes her own divine authority over the cosmos., since from this Heaven...