Dominique – Jeannine Deckers

Wow, another synchronicity. I've been building a flashback rationale based on Christina's humming of a few notes from Veronique, a mis-remembering of the tune Dominique, a song by Dominican nun Jeannine Deckers that topped the Billboard charts around the world in 1963-64. I was singing a snippet of this on the big boat back in 2006, and Carmen picked up on it as one of Christina's mantras. There's one super long outtake where Christina is humming the song over and over while popping bubble wrap. Looking back on this footage, it's slightly unsettling, Carmen was really getting into character, on the knife edge of a fugue state. I was outside on the deck, fussing with gear. Probably blocking the window with black cloth so as to shoot through into the cabin.

I had this urge to do a little more research yesterday and then this morning. The lyrics speak of the wandering Saint Dominic, who lived simply, traveled and joyfully did god's work. He converted heretics, "He speaks only of God" and often experienced miracles. He was also a warrior, "He fought the Albigensians."

This refers to the Albigensian Crusades, where the Catholic church purged the groovy Cathars. So Dominique was basically a spook. A curious parallel to Uncle Joe as a wandering monk and Christina as a nun of his order. She is singing Veronique, a parody of Dominique. Was Veronique the founder of a secret Cathar order that survived the Pope's purge? Is Joe a Veroniquean initiate?

A search of Cathar and Veronique turned up the Troudadors. and Mary Magdalene, the rumored wife of Jesus, whoa. Bit of a rabbit hole, what?

Christina is collapsing quantum wave functions with each bubble she pops, negotiating / navigating the multi-verse. That's Cathar magic.

Veronique from babynamewizard.com

"Of debated origin and meaning, some believe it to be derived from the Late Latin veraiconica, the word given to a piece of cloth or garment with a representation of the face of Christ on it. Veraiconica is composed of the elements verus (true) and iconicus (of or belonging to an image). Alternatively, Veronica is thought to be a variant form of Berenice (bringer of victory), a derivative of the Greek Berenikē, which is a variant of the older name Pherenikē, a compound name composed from the elements pherein (to bring) and nikē (victory)."

The true image of Christ before Constantine and the Counsel of Nicaea obfuscated, according to Saint Veronique.

Translated from French Wikipedia for Sainte Veronique

"Véronique, Véronne1 or Bérénice is a character from the New Testament period, whose history spreads between the 7th and 8th centuries. In its best-known version, 2 it is a pious woman from Jerusalem who, moved by compassion when Jesus Christ carried her cross to Golgotha, gave him his veil so that he could wipe his forehead. Jesus accepted and, after using it, returned it to him with the image of his face which had miraculously impressed itself on it (hence the belief in the "veil of Veronica", not to be confused with the Mandylion and even less with the Shroud). Roman Catholics celebrate St. Veronica on February 4, and the Orthodox on July 12."

Today is March 4th, by the way. Veronique could definitely have been a Cathar Saint, because she had Christ's true face, (his true teaching).

Curiouser and curiouser.

My own experience of Veronique was the lovely 17 year old Belgian woman, daughter of my parents' business friends, who stayed with my family in New Canaan when I was 13. We swam together and she wore a bikini, through which her dark nipples were clearly visible. An ecstatic vision.