Outlander DIA Reread: St. Raymond

The purpose of this post is to explain Raymond’s healing skills and his real nature. Here is a link in which the author explains who Raymond is. He is a shaman, an experienced time-traveler, and probably an ancient Celt. Claire is his descendant.

http://www.dianagabaldon.com/resources/faq/faq-about-the-characters/

While discussing the Hippocratic Oath, Raymond asks Claire whether she has sworn it. Her answer foreshadows what she will become once she is back in the twentieth century.

“Er, well, no. Not actually. I’m not a real physician. Not yet.” I couldn’t have said what made me add the last sentence. (ch. 20)

Raymond asking that question is a hint that he suspects that Claire is from the future. Back in the eighteenth century, women were not allowed to become professionals in any field. He is a time-traveller, and he knows what Claire needs to go back to her time: a gemstone. He mentions that it is for her protection. Of course, he tells Claire that the stone is sensitive to the presence of harmful compounds. However, Raymond does not know that Claire accidentally traveled to the past. She is not aware that the crystal could be use to survive the passage through the stones.

Another connection between Claire and Raymond is the Cabbalistic symbols painted on his cabinet. Claire recognizes them because her uncle Lamb used to study them. It seems that the interest for the esoteric appears to run in the family/blood. Raymond reveals that the painted symbols are there to keep people away from the cabinet, especially those who believe in them. The reader also knows that he sells his clients bitter cascara instead of poison. Therefore, Raymond’s occult practices seem to be more like a cover to stop certain people looking for him.

Reverend Walter Laurent, of Geneva, regards Raymond highly, even though he was associated with du Carrefours, a sorcerer or witch with a terrible reputation who ended up burned.

“. . . No one knows where Master Raymond came from; he speaks several tongues, all without noticeable accent. A very mysterious man, Master Raymond, but – I would swear by the name of God –  a good one.” (ch. 26)

Claire seems to agree with this assessment. At this stage, Raymond had already saved her from the infection she acquired due to the miscarriage. How Raymond healed Claire is of interest.

Back in January, I wrote three posts about color symbolism and one of them was about the red color. I will use a fragment from this post to explain Raymond’s healing process. Here is the link: Symbolism of Jamie’s Color. The Cherokee shamanistic system will be used to understand the process (Mooney, 342). This system resembles Celtic practices according to a conversation between Jamie and Peter Bewlie in The Fiery Cross. Here are relevant fragments of my post about Jamie’s color.

Mooney states that a shaman “invokes the Red Man to the assistance of his client and consigns his enemy to the fatal influences of the Black Man” (342) (. . .) Both the Red Man and the Blue Man are not only invoked to be successful in a battle. They are also called when somebody needs to be cured of illness. In his ethnological research, Mooney explains the formula the Cherokee used to treat rheumatism.

. . .The white or red spirits are generally invoked for peace, health, and other blessings, the red alone for the success of an undertaking, the blue spirits to defeat the schemes of an enemy or bring down troubles upon him, and the black to compress his death. The white and red spirits are regarded as the most powerful, and one of these two is generally called upon to accomplish the final result (347).

Of note is how Master Raymond saves Claire from dying after miscarrying Faith. First, he efficiently heals her by touching various parts of the body, including her breasts and womb (. . . ) Master Raymond asks Claire to call the red man. This process resembles how Amerindian shamans invoke different spirits for healing purposes: “Now,” he said softly. Call him. Call the red man. Call him” (Dragonfly in Amber, ch. 25). In this particular case, the red man is Jamie. Therefore, Jamie has the spirit of the warrior, of victory in him.

Of interest is Mother Hildegarde’s comment before Master Raymond’s appearance when Claire was about to die. 

“I was invoking the aid of St. Raymond Nonnatus,” Mother Hildegarde explained, wringing out a cloth in cold water. “He is an aid most invaluable in the assistance of expectant mothers.” (ch. 25)

Master Raymond has characteristics of some Roman Catholic saints, such as healing the sick miraculously, one of the reasons why I decided to name this post, St. Raymond. Finally, I would like to add the reference in which Raymond tells Claire that he can see auras.

“Everyone has a color about them,” he said simply. “All around them, like a cloud. Yours is blue, madonna. Like the Virgin’s cloak. Like my own.”

This passage includes a reference to them being related by blood. The mention of Virgin Mary elevates Raymond’s status to that of sainthood too.

Sources

Gabaldon, Diana. Dragonfly in Amber. New York: Bantam Dell, 1993. Print.

Mooney, James. Cherokee History, Myths and Sacred Formulas. Cherokee: Cherokee Publications. 2006. Print.