MARY MAGDALENE AND BALANCE
INTRODUCTION
A deluge of information has come to light in the past few years about Mary Magdalene. Just a few of the many new sources of information available include the books I have used as resources for this essay. They are:
1. The Chalice and the Blade, by Riane Eisler (1)
2. Mary of Magdala, by Mary R Thompson, SSMN (2)
3. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, by Jean-Yves Leloup (3)
4. Magdalene’s Lost Legacy, by Margaret Starbird (4)
I believe that this rush of information has been encouraged by the historical circumstances of our era, mostly due to the rise in the rights of women. Awareness of women’s equality with—even while different from— men has opened our minds to different concepts, which are really very old. These concepts allow for a better understanding of the relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus of Nazareth, the inspiration for the Christian church. One question, however, is: Does this new understanding provide a model for improving the human condition at a time when the human race has divided itself into polar opposites, with the opposites trying to annihilate the “other side”? Can we use this understanding to reconcile disparate groups and create an opening for development of peace and prosperity for all humankind?
A recurring theme in this website, (formerly named Goddess Through Patriarchy to Gnosticism, and now called Goddess for Balance : Balancing our concept of God by including the Divine Feminine) has been focused on bringing balance between the Animus and the Anima, both individually and culturally. The Animus encompasses the masculine principles of authority, aggression, and reason or logic. The Anima, on the other hand, encompasses the feminine principles of compassion, intuition, and relationship or relationality. Our world culture has been out of balance for the past 8,000 years (see The Goddess and Patriarchy, a link in this website). Those 8,000 years represent the ascent of a Patriarchal (male dominant) system after the Matriarchal (female dominant) system was overthrown by the Patriarchal religious, political, and economic institutions. This Patriarchal world culture, and the attitudes flowing there from, has shaped cultural development to embrace dominator societies. “Dominator societies are human (and male) hierarchies backed by force or threat of force, ranking one half of humanity over another.” (5) Examples of this are Hitler’s Germany, Khomeini’s Iran, and Japan during the Samurai period, to name a few. (6)
Another possibility “in which social relations are primarily based on the principle of linking rather than ranking, may best be described as the partnership model.” (7) Riane Eisler, the author of The Chalice and the Blade, proposes a cultural transformation from Androcracy to Gylany. Androcracy represents the dominator society run by men, based on the force of the blade. Gylany stands for the resolution of problems by freeing up both halves of humanity from rigid roles, to encouraging the best characteristics of both sexes to resolve human difficulties. Gylany, the freeing up of male/female roles, reinforces the ability of self-actualization (maturity and wholeness) in both sexes, and encourages the transmission of this to all humanity. (8)
To bring the subject back to Mary Magdalene, the question arises: Can we glean, from the relationship between Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene the possibility of a new direction for humanity? (9) I believe that the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene (described in new information recently come to light) is a micro model (an individual case) of what can happen at the macro level (the big picture). At the micro level their relationship is a model of what needs to happen to bring Gylany, the partnership model of human interaction to individuals and to whole cultures that make up Planet Earth.
WHO IS MARY MAGDALENE?
What have we learned, since the last half of the Twentieth century, about Mary Magdalene? To answer this question, I rely mainly on the four sources listed above, of the many available today. At the end of this essay, I will list other resources for those interested in pursuing the subject further.
THE FIRST BOOK: THE CHALICE AND THE BLADE
Riane Eisler reviews some archeological evidence that there existed a long period of peace and prosperity, when our social, technological and cultural evolution moved upwards—became more advanced culturally-- long before the period of male domination. (10) There is a wealth of evidence of a female deity at this time. This has previously been discussed in The Goddess and Patriarchy in this website, but I think it appropriate to present Eisler’s position. She states that it does not make sense to conclude “that societies in which men did not dominate women were societies in which women dominated men”. (11) Re-examining human society from a gender holistic perspective leads to what she calls Cultural Transformation Theory. (12) She equates the dominator society with patriarchy or matriarchy—the ranking of one half of humanity over another. In the partnership model, she proposes, while recognizing difference between male and female, this difference is equated neither with inferiority or superiority. (13) She goes on to posit that the underlying problem is not men as a sex, but the social system in which the power of the blade is idealized. We are taught to equate true masculinity with violence, even though there are times when men are peaceful and non-violent. We are at a crossroads now that the power of the blade (violent hierarchal power) has been elevated by nuclear warheads, threatening to put an end to all human culture. (14) The technological revolution, providing the means to eliminate whole groups of people, has made a dominator model of social organization extremely maladaptive. The world we know, she says, is changing so rapidly, that more and more people, men and women, are able to see that it is a time for alternatives to this approach to human interaction. (15) But, she adds, the choice is up to us.
Because our societies are breaking down, some new feminist scholars and some new scientific findings about the dynamics of change show that from breakdown we can move to a breakthrough to a different kind of future. We can be co-creators of our own evolution through new ways of structuring politics, economics, science and spirituality. This will enable us to “move into a new era of a partnership world.” (16) I take the position that the relationship between Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene presages a new social system—Gylany (the partnership model)—needed to bring about the change from Androcracy which is now breaking down. Gylany provides an atmosphere conducive to the continuance of a diversified yet cooperative civilization and to the further evolution toward the actualization of humanity. What is my evidence for this claim?
JESUS AND MARY MAGDALENE AND EISLER’S THEME
Staying with the Gylany theme, Eisler purports that “Jesus’s teachings embodied a gylanic view of human relations,” by saying things like: “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (17) His teachings elevated feminine virtues to a primary position, for example, by indicating that we should avoid violence by “turning the other cheek”, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” “love your neighbor and even your enemy.” This is a gospel for a partnership society. (18) Jesus rejected the dogma that high ranking men--priests, nobles, the rich, kings--are God’s favorites. In relation to Mary Magdalene, he praised her “activism” over her sister Martha’s domestic role. (Remember, Jesus said that she [Mary] had chosen the better part.) One can see from the gospels, that Jesus treated Mary Magdalene with respect and caring—a very unusual attitude for a man of his day. (19)
You may remind me, however, that this essay is about Mary Magdalene. Nor does Eisler neglect her. She reminds us that Magdalene was the first to view the risen Christ, before he appeared to the male disciples. Eisler presents compelling evidence that Mary Magdalene was a leader in the early Christian movement after Jesus died. (20) Eisler discusses the Gnostic Gospels, and notes that they were declared heretical by the church authorities who ran the church from a hierarchal, male dominated point of view. The Gnostics were unpopular with this group because they believed that humans had access to the Deity through Gnosis (knowledge from looking within) rather than going through the religious hierarchy. Eisler emphasized that the Gnostic Gospels showed that Mary Magdalene was one of the most important figures in the early church. She challenged the authority of Peter by merely teaching as a woman, his power based on the claim that he and his priests had a direct line to the godhead. Jesus had, they said, commissioned them to go out and share the Good News. (Mary, apparently, was not considered a part of this commissioning). Eisler also made the Gylanic assertion that in the Gnostic sects, women shared with men the positions of authority. They chose leaders by drawing straws, whether for priest, bishop or prophet. Tertullian, one of the hierarchal orthodox (21) churchmen, decried their practices: “They teach, they engage in discussion, they exorcise, they cure and they even baptize, which was the role of an archbishop!” (22)
One of the early Christian texts, Eisler notes, is called Trimorphic Pretennoia (The Triple-Formed Primal Thought), which celebrates the power of thought, intelligence and foresight. These were considered feminine characteristics at that time, and were at an earlier time attributed to the Goddess. (23) Eisler additionally asserts that one group of Gnostic sources claims it received Christ’s secret tradition through James and through Mary Magdalene. This group prayed to both the Divine Father and the Divine Mother. (24) She goes on to say that Vanentinus, one of the early Christian Gnostics, taught that though the deity is essentially indescribable, the Divine can be imagined as a dyad consisting of both the female and the male principles. (25)
Along these same lines, and especially for our purposes, it is interesting to note that Eisler demonstrates a parallel between the time Jesus lived and now. Historians studying the era of 2000 years ago, describe it as a time of conflict between Androcracy and Gylany in which strong gylanic resurgence occurred. The turbulent years of the mighty Roman Empire (a dominator society) began to break down. Both then and now there is what Chaos theorists call “states of increased systems disequilibrium.” During these times “unprecedented and unpredictable systems change can come about.” (26) In First Century Rome, aristocratic girls and boys were offered the same educational curriculum. Some women were educated and influential and had great freedom in public. Both Parvey (a Roman scholar back then) and Elaine Pagels (a current Biblical scholar) described it as a period of emancipation of women. There were slave rebellions and Jewish uprisings under Bar Kokhba (132—135 C.E.) “But,” she adds, “as Androcracy’s force-based rankings were challenged by early Christians espousing non-violence, compassion and peace, Rome became even more despotic and violent.” (27) Eisler concludes about Christianity, that “Something went terribly wrong with Christianity’s gospel of love. How, otherwise, could such a gospel be used to justify all the torture, conquest and bloodletting carried out by devout Christians against others…and against one another, that makes up so much of our Western History.” (28) She goes on to explain that Christianity became an andocratic religion when Constantine set it up as the official religion of Rome. Later, the Roman Empire was replaced by the Holy Roman Empire. Eisler quotes Pagels as writing that, by the time the process of sorting through the various early Christian writings was completed (around 200 C.E.); virtually all the feminine imagery of God had disappeared from the Orthodox (accepted Church cannon) tradition. (29) Thus Jesus’ revolution of nonviolence was converted into a rule by force and terror, exemplified by burning the books of knowledge in the library at Alexandria, the destruction of Pagan temples and idols, and ultimately the witch hunts and the Inquisition. (30) The struggle of Gylany vs. Androcracy, however, goes on. The gylanic urge to resume our cultural evolution has continued to reemerge. “This continued struggle has been the major unseen force shaping Western history, and is once again in our time coming to a head.” (31)
EISLER’S IMPORTANT POINTS
In summary, the main points Eisler makes which contribute to our thesis about Mary Magdalene and balance are:
1. Dominator societies are at a crossroads in which male hierarchal power, elevated by nuclear warheads, has become maladaptive and self-destructive.
2. Society’s breakdown can create an opening for a breakthrough to a different kind of future.
3. We can, as men and women, be co-creators of our own evolution by moving to a gylanic (partnership) form of society.
4. Jesus elevated feminine virtues of non-violence, treating others compassionately, and including women and culturally rejected people in his entourage.
5. Jesus treated Mary Magdalene with respect and caring—a very unusual attitude for a man in his time and culture.
6. The traditional Christian Church converted from Jesus’ non-violent teaching to a rule by force once it had become the official Church of Rome.
7. The struggle between Gylany and Androcracy is continuing in our present age.
8. The Gylanic struggle described here, was illustrated and given impetus by Jesus in his behavior toward Mary Magdalene and various rejected members of society in that day. The Christian Church, however, has not followed his example of non-violence, but instead continued the Androcratic system of violence and domination.
My position, in this essay, is a belief that the relationship between Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene, of which more and more verifiable information has come to light, is a model (a sterling example) of what needs to happen to bring Gylany (the partnership model), to our world and its operation. This model could then enhance the evolution of humanity toward its created potential and toward global cooperation and the fair sharing of resources.
THE SECOND BOOK: MARY OF MAGDALA: APOSTLE AND LEADER
Mary of Magdala: Apostle and Leader, by Mary R Thompson, SSMN, (32) is another well documented book. Mary Thompson has a PhD in Bible Studies from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and is a scholar at the Catholic Bible School in Buffalo, NY. She contributes much historical information about Mary Magdalene, and what happened to her legacy in the process of Christian development. Thompson points out that the passage in Luke 8: 1-3 (one of the approved Christian gospels) identified Mary Magdalene as a woman from whom 7 devils had gone out. In the First Century, this would have meant that she had been cured of a serious illness, according to Thompson’s research. She adds that some church scholars speculate that this passage refers to immoral behavior, and therefore, Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. “This misidentification had achieved official standing by the time of Pope Gregory the Great (540-604 C.E), (33) when he preached a homily identifying Mary Magdalene as a great sinner. This idea has persisted through the ages, even though there is no biblical evidence for it.” (34)
Thompson also presents evidence and concludes that Mary Magdalene is not Mary of Bethany (though you will observe later in this essay that there is evidence opposing this view). She does contend, however, that Mary Magdalene was an important member of Jesus’s followers, and of the early Christian Church, and that her role was far different from the way the Orthodox (accepted) Christian Church, over time, has portrayed her.
Thompson makes two important points with regard to our thesis about Mary Magdalene’s place in Christian development:
1. Mary Magdalene was misidentified as a sinful woman and a prostitute, and this portrayal has persisted through the ages.
2. Mary Magdalene was an important part of Jesus’ life, and of the early Christian Church.
THE THIRD BOOK: THE GOSPEL OF MARY MAGDALENE
Another important resource is The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, by Jean-Yves Leloup (35).
The Preface is written by David Tressman, PhD, and Laura-Lea Cannon. They point out that they consider Mary Magdalene’s reemergence and a renewed awareness of her importance as an essential reminder of the Feminine. The way in which Jean-Yves Leloup honors Mary Magdalene in his commentaries on the Gospel of Mary Magdalene contributes greatly to the convergence of her memory with the priceless wisdom of “direct knowing” (the true meaning of gnosis). (36) Tressman and Cannon propose that one way to approach The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (a Gnostic Gospel) is to pose the question: What does this woman represent to us today and what is the symbolic significance of her words and actions?” (37) We can also do a spiritual exploration of “the spiritual truth embodied in Mary Magdalene and her unique relationship with Jesus, one that has been ignored or edited out of the Christian Scriptures for the last two millennia.” (38)
The Preface authors point out several reasons to consider the importance of Mary Magdalene. The Synoptic Gospel writers (Matthew, Mark and Luke) note that Jesus heals Mary Magdalene by freeing her from seven demons, and that she stood at the foot of the cross with John and Mary, His mother. She was the first to witness the resurrection. And she was considered the “apostle to the apostles,” named such by orthodox churchmen, such as St. Augustine. (39) Tressman and Cannon reinforce Leloup’s explanation that the seven demons represent the seven chakras. Chakras, since ancient times, have been part of the spiritual sciences. They are described as energy centers in the body. (They are recognized by many modern people as an acknowledged form of some Alternative Healing practices.) These seven chakras, if uncleared, represent to some theologians, the seven deadly sins: pride, lust, envy, anger, covetousness, gluttony, and sloth. When cleared, as Jesus reputedly did for Mary Magdalene, the results would most assuredly create a very pure and sanctified person: a person whose heart and energetic centers are open. (40) Those who work with the healing of chakras can testify that this would create a person with great spiritual strength.
Mary Magdalene, according to the Gospels, was not with the other disciples at Pentecost, when the apostles received the message to take the work of Jesus out into the world. Tressman and Cannon, who have studied Mary Magdalene extensively, believe that Mary’s interest lay in the inner work of initiation through gnosis (direct knowing) of her experience of the Divine. This was not a practice which could easily be proselytized, especially in an era where the culture was not prone to trust inner spiritual experience. Her path of inner transformation resonates, however, with many people in our present age. Neither did her representation of the feeling world of women, which was forcefully devalued by the Patriarchal system, sit well in the time of the Early Christian Church. Many of the religions developed after the “Goddess times,” degraded sensuality (finding meaning and divinity in human senses and sensuality—the sanctity of the body and of the emotions. The body and its feelings have been treated with disdain by Androcracy, including the Christian Church.). They equated sensuality as representative of Eve and her giving in to the temptation to eat the apple of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Mary, through her relationship with Jesus, was a reminder of the beauty and sanctity of the body. (41) Mary’s anointing of Jesus with oils (in preparation for his death), can be traced back to a tradition among the Priestesses of the Goddess. Jesus not only accepts the anointing, but defends Mary for doing it. One has to wonder why the Orthodox Christians sidelined a female minister of the right of anointing and, instead, consider her a reformed prostitute? (42)
Several authors, anthropologists, and others believe that Mary Magdalene journeyed to Southern France with a group of followers who established shrines and churches in her name, and considered her to have unusual powers (e.g., Clairvoyance). (43) This premise is explored and elucidated in the book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail, (44) This book provided a primary source for Dan Brown’s, The DaVinci Code, (45) which described Mary Magdalene having a child and founding a dynasty in France.
When Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and other New Testament writings were adopted as the orthodox (accepted) writings to believe if you were a Christian, by the early Christian Church, (around 325 CE), the Gnostic Gospels, including The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, were lost…until recently. Leloup, in the text of his book, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, alludes to the problem that made it impossible for Mary Magdalene to be heard and believed by the people at the time of Christ and the early church. A quote from the above-mentioned Gnostic gospel (the whole of which is displayed in Leloup’s book) provides a good example: Peter makes this statement:
“How is it possible that the Teacher talked in this manner with a
woman about secrets which we, ourselves, are ignorant. Must
we change our customs and listen to this woman? Did he really
choose her, and prefer her to us?” (46)
Both Peter and Andrew were disturbed: “How can a woman know more than a man and be able to guide them?” (47) Leloup continues by explaining that for most Jews of the time, and because of the overarching Patriarchal structure of most societies in that day, it was unthinkable to grant a place of respect and authority to a woman. Pious Jews prayed: “Thank you God, that I was not born an invalid, poor, or a woman. (48) How could men reverse the idea that “women were made to serve men and to satisfy them when asked.” (49) There were times, including a long period in the Christian Church, in which it was doubted that women had souls. The above examples provide clarity as to why Mary Magdalene’s important role would very likely be denied.
Jesus, on the other hand, showed a clear and unmistakable attitude of reverence toward women and their gifts. The orthodox Christian Gospels gave many illustrations of his respect for women: the Samaritan woman at the well, his behavior toward the woman about to be stoned to death, touching a woman with an “issue of blood”(thereby rendering himself unclean, according to the Jewish Law), and his association with women, tax collectors, and others of whom his followers disapproved. Jesus manifested these teachings 2000 years ago, but humankind, at its stage of evolution, was not ready to listen or comprehend. The attributes of love, inclusion, forgiveness, and peace were not understood or respected. Some of the Gnostic Gospels had misguided ideas about the separateness and relative importance of body and spirit, similar to the Christian ideas developed by the later church. The idea that the body is sanctified was unthinkable at that time. Only the Spirit was considered divine. The Gnostics did, however, provide some valuable information not included in the accepted Gospels. They performed a vital function in preserving ideas which would have otherwise been lost. These ideas came to our attention in the modern age (around 1945 and later) at a time when many people were beginning to question the status quo: patriarchy, hierarchy and favoritism. These recently discovered Gnostic Gospels suggest an alternative to our present religious, social and political system. The potential for a change in the balance between the male/female equation may provide new possibilities. These give us options for bringing our world to a more equitable system of distribution. (I’ll say more about this later.) They can also open the way to a better balance of male and female attributes within each individual human being. Leloup asserts that: “Before we can become truly spiritual beings…we must accept ourselves as psycho-physical creatures with a soul (psyche) and a body (soma).” (50) “And this means that the acceptance of our feminine dimension (in both males and females) is…indispensable, if we are to have true access to the nous (the balance of male and female principles) or, for that matter, to the masculine dimensions of our being.” (51) Earlier in this website, a discussion of The Maiden King by Marion Woodman and Robert Bly (see The Goddess and Patriarchy), described the mythical experiences of a Russian merchant’s son, from an Old Russian legend. The young man could not marry his “maiden” because the numbness forced on him by the Patriarchy led him to deny and repress positive emotions, which were defined as “Feminine.” He was unable to mature—to become a whole and healthy adult. In like manner, a woman who is unable to call on the masculine within her, enabling her to stand up for herself, acclaiming her opinions, beliefs, her wisdom, cannot bring her gifts to society, or claim her rightful place in the world.
The balance of animus and anima in each human being has been a recurring theme in this website. To reiterate: the masculine (animus) principles include aggression, rationality and authority. The feminine (anima) principles include compassion, relationality (awareness of relationships to each other and to the whole), emotion and creativity. The nous (spiritual balance of male and female in each human) guides us to become “whole” humans. If the feminine characteristics are degraded, however, we lose some vital human attributes. A “whole” human being is able to consider the needs of others—the poor, the sick, the downtrodden… the welfare of all, in balance with her/his own. Likewise, a whole person is more likely to balance the care of the planet with individual advancement. Leloup quotes Karl Graf von Durkheim, who asserts that we must in our present age rediscover the spiritual through reconciliation with the feminine. “The goal is the wedding of the masculine and the feminine: the anthropos or the balanced human being. This wedding must be initiated within each of us, on a social level, on a neurophysiological level (the harmonization of the brain hemispheres); and on a more universal and planetary level.” (52) In Leloup’s explanation of Peter’s behavior (when he complained to Christ about having to listen to a woman), he notes that Peter (who later becomes the head of the accepted Christian Church) has not entered the climate of anthropos taught by his Teacher. He is held back by jealousy and mistrust of the feminine, “which prevents him from reclaiming the missing parts of his love.” He can’t believe that Jesus would entrust teaching to Mary, rather than to himself and the men among the apostles. (53) When Mary addresses Peter as her brother in one of the quoted parts of Magdalene’s Gospel, saying: “My brother, what can you be thinking?” she is simply following one of Jesus’s teachings, which exhorts his disciples to “treat each other as brothers and sisters, with no institution of spiritual hierarchy among them.” (54) Imagine this: no hierarchy among men and women, but leadership and distribution of tasks according to ones gifts and skills, not one’s gender. I believe that society is headed toward the "Hieros Gamos" of balanced male and female characterisitcs, but the outcome is still uncertain.
Regarding the significance of timing, Leloup puts it very well. He points out that: “It’s the missing piece that has been needed to complete the Good News in a more ecumenical sense, one that would also include and fulfill the Torah and the Qur’an.” (55) Recall that the Qur’an and Mohammed did not exist till 500 years after Jesus and Mary Magdalene trekked thru Galilee and Jerusalem. Leloup adds: “Yet…it (the Gospel of Mary Magdalene) invites us to go…beyond the dualism and dogmas of all organized religions.” He concludes that: “we might ask ourselves if this is not the appropriate gospel to inaugurate the Third Millennium.” (56) Another consideration I propose is that in order for humanity to reach its full potential: the heights we are capable of, we must reach beyond the conditioning of hierarchy and separation of the masculine and feminine so that the merging of Anthropos (human) and Theanthropos (the Divine) will be possible. Body and soul are One in the final analysis.
If you are dismayed that all this will diminish the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus, considered by many to be the Mother of God, Leloup has an answer for this. He denies that the value of the Gospel of Mary Magdalene creates a rivalry between the orthodox, (the accepted Christian Scriptures) and other scriptures. “In the climate of fragmentation and competition of the vast multitudes of contemporary worldviews…the word of the teacher in this gospel is like the hint of a smile…No doubt the smile comes from the psyche, but the eyes are open windows to the spirit (nous) and to the lucid vision of our possible futures.” (57) I, among others, believe that our future can be luminous with the light of Hope if Anthropos is sought after, rather than filling our minds and hearts with the terror of the dark Armageddon periodically predicted throughout human history.
In summary, in Leloup’s The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, 12 important points contribute to the thesis in this essay about Mary Magdalene. This thesis demonstrates that the combining and balancing of male and female characteristics will bring each individual, and society as well, to a better functioning whole:
1. The teachings of Jesus of Nazareth carry not only a universal message for all of humankind, but also for the psychic and spiritual growth of each individual.
2. Leloup’s commentary on The Gospel of Mary Magdalene describes in her a metaphor for the appreciation of the Divine Feminine.
3. The spiritual message embodied in the revelations made by The Gospel of Mary Magdalene and other sources, which were edited out of our Christian Scripture for the past 2000 years, can now be explored, understood, and applied to our current world situation.
4. Mary Magdalene’s importance to the Christian Church and to all humans has been clearly portrayed in Leloup’s book on Mary Magdalene. (I highly recommend reading the book. The document itself has only 19 pages, of which the first 6 were lost, and the rest of the book is very enlightening commentary on those pages. They are well worth the time and effort you may expend.)
5. Mary Magdalene demonstrates a new kind of spirituality, which many people in our present age have already begun to explore (i.e. to achieve gnosis by looking within: practices we now call meditation, contemplation, mindfulness and self-examination).
6. Mary Magdalene represents the elevation of women’s status and the appreciation of the feminine gifts needed for the further progression of our civilization (the balance we’ve been talking about), namely, the balancing of the masculine and feminine in each individual and in society.
7. Leloup provides an explanation of why, in the past, we as humans have not been able to integrate the feminine principles into our psyche.
8. Leloup’s book elevates the value of the physical body, and of the emotions, as legitimate attributes contributing to the wholeness of each human being.
9. The book contributes to the overall understanding of what it means to balance the animus (male) and anima (female) individually and culturally.
10. Leloup illustrated the need to consider the teachings of Jesus in terms of bringing balance between the masculine and the feminine.
11. The Gnostic Gospels and especially The Gospel of Mary Magdalene provide the missing piece to complete the Good News of the Gospels to bring ecumenical unity, by accepting the diversity and commonality of the many different faiths and religions, and the fulfillment of our evolving spiritual and cultural growth.
12. All of the above provide hope for effective solutions to world problems and for peace in our present and future world.
THE FOURTH BOOK: MAGDALENE’S LOST LEGACY
Magdalene’s Lost Legacy: Symbolic Numbers and the Sacred Union in Christianity, by Margaret Starbird, (58) is the fourth book worthy of attention in this study of the importance of Mary Magdalene and the meaning of her relationship with Jesus of Nazareth, and in relation to the evolution of our world culture. I maintain that the evidence Starbird presents to the reader beautifully illustrates our theme in this essay: balancing the animus and the anima in each of us and in our world. This book is centered on the search for the original role of Mary Magdalene with Jesus Christ and in the Early Christian Church. Starbird states that it is “my commitment to promoting a wider understanding of what I consider the original Christian mythology and doctrines that are present—in plain sight—in the symbolic numbers found in the New Testament.” (59) The evidence of the embedding of these numbers is found in the Synoptic Gospels (the accepted, or orthodox Christian gospels) of Matthew, Mark and Luke. This is a compelling indication of this new understanding of Mary Magdalene, which I will subsequently discuss. I posit that this “new understanding” could not be perceived or believed in the time of Jesus because of the limiting gender attitudes and customs of the time. I believe that humanity, with the progress in women’s rights, and her improved valuation in many of our modern societies, opens our minds to this “new information.” “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” is often quoted as Jesus’s words in many of the Gnostic Gospels.
For us to understand the nature of these sacred numbers, codified by Greek philosophers and Hebrew Kabbalists in ancient times, Starbird urges us to examine, with her guidance, the “suppressed numerical codes discovered in the Gospel passages and in the other canonical texts of Scripture, commonly known as the Greek Bible. (60) The earliest Christian Gospels were written in Greek, which was the common language used in the Roman Empire, including the Near East. In order to understand these codes, however, one must know not only ancient Greek, but also GEMATRIA. Gematria is a literary device whereby the sums of certain phrases produce significant sacred numbers—to convey special concepts. (61) This was a common practice in the ancient world. Starbird explains that in early Hebrew and Greek, there were no separate symbols to represent numbers. In these languages, the letters of the alphabet stood for numeric values: an “A” equaling number 1, a “B” equaling number 2, and so forth. Though the icons (image of each letter) may have differed from Western letters and numbers, the values remained. It is not possible to study Gematria using a modern Bible. One must use the original Greek translation. Gematria made it possible for the numerical value of the letters, forming a word, to be added together to yield the sum of that word’s Gematria. “Certain names,” Starbird states, “and phrases of Scripture, both Hebrew and Greek, were carefully constructed so that their Gematria would be consistent with the Classical cosmology…derived by the mathematicians of the ancient world.” (62) They were codified in the sacred cannon of the Pythagoreans. (63) If we are willing to respect this ancient practice, it sheds light on the meaning of many passages found in the New Testament.” (64)
An example of the way this works is given on page 123 of Starbird’s book. She writes: “The shape Plato associates with the element earth is a cube, and even (as opposed to odd) integers were considered feminine in the ancient world. Three times the cube of four, that is 3(4 x 4 x 4), equals 192, which is the Gematria of “Mariam.” (i.e. the number of the letters of her name added together) Because of the associations of the number four with the feminine, “matter,” and “flesh and blood,” the Gematria of Mariam reflects the concept of “mother”…The name “Mariam” when it appears in the Greek texts of the Gospels with the final letter m thus bears universal connotations of the feminine “container”—the flesh and blood vessel or womb of the Mother—through the computation of its Gematria. (65)
I believe that the power of the New Testament of the Christian Bible is that it is a multi-faceted volume with much to teach any who have the skill and the permission to investigate its revelations. I see it as a book bringing enlightenment on many issues: compassion, justice, gender equality, and peace, as well as moral and ethical teachings. The use of Gematria has the potential to provide a new understanding of important people in the Bible and their relationship to each other and to the developing Christian Church. Unfortunately for us, although Gematria is still used in Hebrew by some Orthodox Jewish Rabbis, “the use of numbers in interpreting the meaning of Christianity’s sacred texts was ‘anathematized’ (declared heretical) by Irenaeus and other prominent Church fathers. This happened in the Second and Third Centuries (C.E.) with the suppression of the Gnostic ‘heresies.’ At this time, the practice of any kind of ‘numbers theology’ apparently ceased.” (66) “Its inevitable demise happened in the Fourth Century when St. Jerome translated the Greek Scriptures into Latin. Then “every trace of Gematria in the original Koine (Greek Bible) was lost.” (67)
Starbird notes, however, that with the modern tools for computation and cross referencing, this loss is reversible. She asserts that Gematria, applied to the Gospels, reveals “the mystery of the reign of God and the "Hieros Gamos" or sacred marriage, of the opposite energies at the heart of the Christian story—too long denied.” (68) The opposite energies refer to the differing principles of Male and Female.
The relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, according to Starbird, resembles the sacred marriage depicted in many ancient mythologies: Apollo and Dionysus of the Greek mythology and from earlier myths of Dumizi and Inanna, Tammuz and Ishtar, Osiris and Isis. Marija Gambutis, the Hungarian anthropologist, and other scientists have uncovered the “secrets of our ancestors” in their archeological digs. (69) In these excavations, the evidence is brought to light that the Divine includes both the masculine and the feminine in its union. Gambutis’s findings have also shown the impact of the feminine principle, which has been devalued over the millennia… (from a time) when the Divine was honored as Feminine as well as Masculine. (70)
If the method of deriving numbers from ancient meanings among the Greeks “seems like ‘Greek’ to you, don’t feel too bad. When was the last time you remember studying Gematria in Sunday School or any Religious School? We can only take the word of experts who have written texts about Gematria. Starbird cites a couple of them. John Mitchell’s The Dimensions of Paradise, is one. (71) Another is Theomatics: God’s Best Kept Secret Revealed, by Jerry Lucas and Del Washburn. (72) These authors are scholars in the field of Gematria and Sacred Geometry. (73)
In a more elaborate definition of Gematria, Starbird states: “Gematria is a long honored and well-honed literary device employed to enhance the subtle meaning of certain verses and phrases, which was probably used as a mnemonic (aid to memory) device as well. It requires a deliberate manipulation of letters and words, similar to the rhyme scheme of a poem, but more sophisticated. Instead of setting the verse to music, the authors of the sacred texts set them to numbers.” (74) Starbird points out that it is difficult to get numbers and letters to correspond exactly, so + or – one number is accepted. She goes on to make some interesting connections. The cube of 7 (343) is both close to the sum of “Mariam the Magdalene” (345) and Pallas Athena (342), the Greek Goddess of Wisdom. The number 7 was also associated with Sophia. Mary Magdalene was believed by the Christian Gnostics to be an incarnation (rebirth) of Sophia. Starbird adds: “By using an epithet for this Mary that equated her gematria with Sophia….the architects of the New Covenant were naming this woman the ‘sister-bride’ of their Lord, just as surely as wisdom was the bride sought by the youthful King Solomon according to the wisdom literature of Judaism,” (75) This “new” and unfamiliar information now coming to light on Mary Magdalene. is valuable to understanding the importance of the relationship between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene and of Mary Magdalene’s role in the early Christian Church.
What else can we glean from Starbird’s book, about Gematria? She explains that the authors of the New Testament wrote in Koine (Greek). Many of the leaders of the infant church, such as Paul, Origen, Clement of Alexandria, and Augustine were schooled in Classical (Greek) philosophy. Classical philosophies go back to the earlier esoteric traditions from philosophers such as Plato, one of the early Greek philosophers. This philosophy derives from the Pythagorean School, which traces back to the Ancient Egyptian priests and the Persian Magi. (Remember the Three Kings of the Orient?) The tradition has been around for an extremely long time, even though I, and probably you, have never heard of it. Many examples of Gematria are found in Paul’s Epistles written between 51 and 67 C.E. The Acts of the Apostles, the four Canonical Gospels (Mathew, Mark and Luke) and the Book of Revelation are written in the Koine translation. Understanding the derivation of the gematric numbers conveys hidden meaning regarding important men of the times: Caesar, Jesus Christ, etc., and enables one to unravel encoded secrets. (76) What are these secrets?
Starbird uses John Mitchell as an expert who demonstrates the numbers 666 and 1080 are important in relation to each other. In the number of the Beast described in Revelation 13:18, it shows that when the masculine principle (666), becomes rampant and overwhelms 1080, the feminine principle, the whole society becomes warpt and distorted. Referring back to Eisler’s description of the ascendancy of Androcracy (Patriarchy), we can see how this pattern may have been predicted in Revelation. In regard to Mary Magdalene, how does Gematria help us uncover her role in the Masculine/Feminine equation? John Mitchell, the scholar-expert in Gematria, suggested to Margaret Starbird, since she was a scholar on Early Christian texts, that she investigate the gematric evidence around Mary Magdalene. Her investigation began by reading the New Testament using gematric numbers as an assist to a better understanding of Mary Magdalene and her relationship with Jesus Christ. For example, the epithet: “The Magdalene,” used in the early Christian texts, means: “the elevated,” “the Great!” (77) Starbird quotes from The Lost Language of Symbolism by Harold Bayley. (78) This book indicates that the primary root of the Indo-European word, “Mag,” which combines ma (the feminine) with ag/ak (the great), means “great woman” (79) Besides gematric evidence, Starbird uses knowledge of Christian Scripture to point out that of the 7 or 8 names of women followers and companions of Jesus, Mary Magdalene is mentioned first. The only exception to this is when Mary, the mother of Jesus, is first listed standing at the foot of the cross. (John 19:25) In the earliest Gospels (Mark and Matthew), the preeminent figure is Mary Magdalene. For example: the women who went to the tomb were Mary, the Magdalene, and the other Mary. (Matt: 28:1) But what about the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene?
Starbird presents evidence (convincing, I believe) that Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene were married. She points out that there was a powerful custom in the Jewish community of that day, that men over 20 should be married, and that unmarried men over that age were not trusted. She quotes Ecclesiastes 36:25 (in the Old Testament): “A man with no wife becomes a homeless wanderer. Who will trust…a man who has no nest but lodges where night overtakes him?” (80) Starbird also presents evidence that Mary, the Magdalene, was Mary of Bethany, Lazarus and Martha’s sister. When Jesus was teaching in the vicinity of Jerusalem, it appears he resided in Bethany. In John 11:28, Mary (of Bethany) was “sitting Shiva” mourning the loss of her brother, Lazarus. The rule for “sitting Shiva” was that a woman was not permitted to leave her post unless her husband requested her presence. Thus, we see that when Martha, her sister announced, in John 11:28: “The Master is here and calls thee,” Mary reacts immediately. “As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and came to him.” (81) I was shocked when I first read this, and I imagine you are too. The above information contradicts what I had been taught in my Christian upbringing. But when I examined Starbird’s evidence, I found it convincing. Starbird adds to the data that Mary of Bethany is Mary, the Magdalene, by citing evidence that the town of Magdala “was known by the Greek name Taricheae during the time of Jesus, and was renamed Magdala by later Christians (possibly to obscure the value of her ‘true name’). (82) However, whether Mary Magdalene is Mary of Bethany or not, there is little doubt that she existed. The larger question is: What is the nature of her relationship to Jesus. Starbird brings some of this evidence to light in quoting from The Gospel of Philip, one of the Gnostic Gospels. It indicates that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were either married or at least very close companions by stating that: “she is the companion…of Jesus -- his consort whom he loved more that the disciples and whom he kissed often on the… (Though this part of the parchment is lost, the commonly inferred word is “mouth”). (83)
In John’s Gospel (one of the “approved” scriptures) it is stated in two separate places that the woman who anointed Jesus and “wiped his feet dry with her hair” was the sister of Lazarus. In ancient cults of marriage during Jesus’ time, it is the bride who anoints the groom in the nuptial rites, foreshadowing the consummation of the marriage later in the bridal chamber. Starbird allows that Luke calls the woman who anointed Jesus, “a sinner” but John corrects this error twice. It is possible, Starbird suggests, that there may have been fear for her personal safety; thus her story may have been consigned to deeply shrouded mythology. (84) In my view, that would have been the more kindly excuse, but I wonder…
How different our perception of the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene might have been, had we accepted gematric and Gnostic evidence, for shedding light on the esoteric (mysterious) meaning ‘coded’ in the Christian Scriptures. Starbird states it well:
“Knowledge of Gematria enhances immeasurably, the meaning of the
Christian Scriptures and forever establishes Mary, the Magdalene, as the
human carrier or ‘incarnation’ of the archetype (Universal model) of Bride.
She is the earthly representative of the Eternal Feminine-sacred cauldron of
creativity and Holy Grail. Clearly it was this Mary who was designated by
the creators of the New Testament doctrines, to be cosmic counterpart
of Jesus, the Lord. The authors of the Gospels…cannot have been
oblivious to the numbers generated when they coined her epithet (the
Magdalene—meaning the Elevated, the Great), revealing the archetypal
Feminine.” (85)
Regarding the importance of Mary, Jesus’s mother, does Magdalene’s elevation demean the role of the Virgin Mary as “thotokos”, the Mother of God, and a tender compassionate mother? “No!” says Starbird, but using the Virgin Mary to represent the eternal feminine, does not provide us with a partnership paradigm (model) as does the “sacred marriage” of Jesus to his true bride. I endorse this idea, because one of the themes of this essay—indeed of the whole website—is that we need to restore the balance between male and female (which has been skewed by the Patriarchal system) to a Partnership Model for our present era. Starbird warns us not to put the Blessed Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene in the roles of rival Goddesses as in the Greek myths. She sees them as mutually supportive of each other. “Surely the Virgin Mary would in no way be demoted if her beloved daughter-in-law were finally and properly acknowledged as the bride of Jesus.” (86) The Virgin Mary will continue to be honored and blessed as the vessel chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, and prayed to as such. Honoring her, however, does not mean that we should ignore Jesus’s lost bride, so long neglected in the human psyche—the feminine complement of Christ, and the model for elevating the Divine Feminine (and the human feminine) back to its moderating place in our world. (87) Starbird ends one of the chapters in her book with the ancient prophesy from Isaiah:
“For Zion’s sake, I shall not be silent until her vindication shines forth
Like the dawn…No longer shall you be called ‘forsaken’
And your lands ‘desolate’ but you shall be called ‘beloved’
And your lands ‘espoused.’
Isaiah 62: 1, 4
“These are the prophesized nuptials of the Lamb and of his Holy Bride (which) will cause streams of living water to flow from the throne of God for the healing of nations, causing the desert to bloom at last.” (88)
How does all this relate to the heading of my website: The Goddess through Patriarchy and Gnosticism and Ultimately to Balance? How is Mary Magdalene connected to the Goddess? Starbird shows, using Gematria, that adding the numbers in Mariam, the Magdalene, leads to the number 345—bringing her name in close association with the “eternal feminine,” the Wisdom Goddess: the Greek Goddess, Pallas Athena. The Gnostic Christians believed in a connection between Mary Magdalene and Sophia, Holy Wisdom, from many of the sacred texts in the Old Testament and elsewhere. (89) The number 7 is a known gematric number from the accepted Christian Scriptures. Jesus tells Peter to forgive not 7 times but 70 times 7 (which means indefinitely). The 7 also designates eternal, ethical, spiritual—not created. It is strongly associated with the sacred feminine principles: intuition and wisdom. Starbird wondered why the Gnostic authors of the early Christian Gospels might have wanted Mary Magdalene to be identified with the Goddess of the ancient world. Starbird points out that the First Century intellectuals of the Roman Empire understood the signs of the Zodiac. They were aware that they were poised at the cusp of the age of the rising constellation Pisces. The sign opposite Pisces on the Zodiac wheel is Virgo. (90) The author of the Apocalypse of John associated Virgo with Demeter, the grain Goddess of the Greek pantheon. Tracing back from there leads to Ishtar, the Babylonian Goddess, Queen of Earth and Harvests; fertility being one of her greatest assets. Her astrological sign was a combination of M and V, which represents the sacred feminine as supernal mother/container: the sacred chalice or ‘grail’ which is the focal point of the novel, The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown. (91) The Gematria in the accepted Synoptic Gospels confirms this over and over. Unfortunately, the (orthodox) Christian Church, especially after 325 C.E. and the Nicene Creed), anathematized the use of Gematria, thus obscuring many of these truths, especially in regard to Mary Magdalene. Another tenet was obscured in this scourging was: “the stone which the builders rejected was the Mandela of sacred partnership, and not Christ alone.” (92)
STARBIRD’S IMPORTANT POINTS
What are we given as evidence, in Starbird’s book, of Mary Magdalene’s role with Jesus Christ and in the formation of the Christian Church?
1. The importance of the code of sacred numbers present in early Christian writing, especially in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—the New Testament writers, and the ones chosen to be the official documents of the Christian Church.
2. The understanding of the literary device called Gematria, a common practice in the ancient world, accepted at the time when Jesus Christ was alive, and for quite a while after, is now possible.
3. The effect of the suppression of Gematria on the development of Christianity and on our world today has led to the diversion away from Jesus' relationship with Mary Magdalene, and all that that entails.
4. The present day “resurrection” of Gematria, which makes it possible to better understand Mary Magdalene and her true importance.
5. Starbird’s evidence that Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany are one.
6. Starbird’s evidence that Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ were married.
7. The continued importance of the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God.
8. The evidence that the partnership model based on the sacred partnership of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene was stated, (though encoded) in the early texts of the Christian Gospels.
CONCLUSION
The four books discussed in this essay, The Chalice and the Blade by Riane Eisler, Mary of Magdala: Apostle and Leader, by Mary R. Thompson, S.S.M.N., The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, by Jean-Yves Leloup, and Magdalene’s Lost Legacy, by Margaret Starbird, have convinced me (and perhaps you) that there is a more effective way to live our lives as individuals and as a world society. The balance between Male and Female, which has been skewed for so long in a Patriarchal Androcracy, can be put right through the enlightening information provided in these books. The Androcracy of Dominator Societies can be replaced by the Gylanic Partnership model, allowing men and women to be co-creators of a more just and peaceful world. We can supplant the erroneous belief that Mary Magdalene was a sinful prostitute and give her the rightful place she deserves in the life of Jesus and in the early Christian Church. We can look to the Gnostic Gospels and other sources to develop a new appreciation of the balance of the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine brought out in these books. We can include the information provided in Margaret Starbird’s book that shows the Gematric Code, enhancing our understanding of Christian Scripture, to better understand the implications of Jesus’s relationship to Mary Magdalene. Now we can heal the perceived division between the body and the spirit. Jesus’s relationship with Mary Magdalene clearly illustrates that the body is sacred, too. We can give credit, long denied, to the important role Mary Magdalene played in the early Christian church. How different the course of the past 2000 years might have been, had we been given a more balanced view of male and female principles, and how much more “whole” a society we might be experiencing if this were believed and acted upon. (93)
I would like to close this writing by quoting from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, as translated and presented in Jean-Yves’ book:
“Be vigilant and allow no one to mislead you by saying, ‘Here it is!’
Or ‘There it is!’ for it is within you that the Son of Man dwells.
Go to him, for those who seek him find him.”
Having said all this, he departed.
The disciples were in sorrow, shedding many tears and saying:
‘How are we to go among the unbelievers and announce the gospel
of the Kingdom of the Son of Man?
They did not spare his life, so why should they spare ours?”
Then Mary arose, embraced them all, and began to speak to her brothers:
‘‘Do not remain in sorrow and doubt, for his Grace will guide you
and comfort you. Instead let us praise his greatness,
for he has prepared us for this.
He is calling upon us to become fully human (Anthropos)”
Then Mary turned their hearts toward the Good,
and they began to discuss the meaning of the Teacher’s words. (94)
Now…is that not beautiful?!
Barbara L. Weeks January 16, 2008
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Endnotes:
1. The Chalice and the Blade, by Riane Eisler, Harper, San Francisco, 1987
2. Mary of Magdala: Apostle and Leader, by Mary R. Thompson, SSMN, Paulist Press, Mohwah, NJ
3. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, by Jean-Yves Leloup, Inner Traditions, Rochester, VT, 2002
4. Magdalene’s Lost Legacy, by Margaret Starbird, Bear & Company, Rochester VT, 2003
5. The Chalice and the Blade, by Riane Eisler, Harper, San Francisco, 1987, p. xix
6. Ibid. p. xix The Chalice and the Blade, by Riane Eisler, Harper, San Francisco, 1987
7. Ibid. p.xvii
8. Ibid. p.105
9. Ibid.p.105
10. Ibid.p.xvi
11. Ibid.p.xvi
12. Ibid.p.xvii
13. Ibid p.xvii
14. Ibid.p.xviii
15. Ibid.p.xx
16. Ibid.p.xxii
17. Ibid.p.120
18. Ibid.p.120
19. Ibid.p.122
20. Ibid.p.125
21. When I use the word “orthodox” in this essay, I am referring to the Early Christian Church backed by the Roman Empire.
22. Ibid.p.127
23. Ibid.p.127
24. Ibid.p.128
25. Ibid.p.120
26. Ibid.p.129
27. Ibid.p.130
28. Ibid.p.131
29. Ibid.p.132
30. Ibid.p.133
31. Ibid.p.134
32. Mary of Magdala: Apostle and Leader, by Mary R. Thompson, SSMN. Paulist Press, NY, 1995
33. Ibid, p.14
34. Ibid.p,15
35. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, by Jean-Yves Leloup, Inner Traditions, Rochester, VT, 2003
36. Ibid. Preface, p. x
37. Ibid. Preface, p. xiv
38. Ibid. Preface, p. xiv
39. Ibid. Preface, p.xv 39 Correction: According to “The Holy Bible; New Revised Edition”, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1990, in Mark’s Gospel on p. 54, it states: “There were also women looking on from a distance; among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, the younger and of Joses and Salome…and there were many other women who had come up with Him from Jerusalem.”
40. Ibid. Preface, p.xvi
41. Ibid. Preface, p.xx
42. Ibid. Preface, p.xxi
43. Ibid. Preface, p.xxi
44. Holy Blood, Holy Grail, by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln, Little,Brown&Co, NY, 1983
45. The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown, Doubleday, NY, 2003
46. Leloup, p.162
47. Ibid.p.162
48. Ibid.p.163
49. Ibid.p.164
50. Ibid.p.164
51. Ibid.p.164
52. Ibid. p.164-165
53. Ibid.p.165
54. Ibid. p.165
55. Ibid. p.175
56. Ibid. p.175
57. Ibid. p.175
58. Magdalene’s Lost Legacy, by Margaret Starbird, Bear & Company, Rochester, VT, 2003. 58 Additional Information: Margaret Starbird is a renowned authority on the Bride of Christ: Mary Magdalene. I recommend other books she authored: "The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail", "Mary Magdalene; Bride in Exile", and "The Goddess in the Gospels". These books establish the role of Mary Magdalene in relationship to Jesus Christ, and in the early Christian Church, and also describe the balance which can be achieved through the Divine Feminine, in a scholarly and thorough fashion.
59. Ibid. p.2
60. Ibid. p.2
61. Ibid. p.3
62. Ibid. p.3
63. Ibid, Glossary, p.154
64. Ibid. p.3
65. Ibid, p. 123
66. Ibid. p.3
67. Ibid. p.3
68. Ibid. p.5
69. Ibid. p.9
70. Ibid. p.9
71. The Dimensions of Paradise, by John Mitchell, Harper & Row, San Francisco, 1990
72. Theomatics: God’s Best Kept Secret Revealed, by Jerry Lucas and Del Washburn, Stein & Day, NY, 1977
73. Ibid. p.45
74. Ibid. pp. 39-40
75. Ibid, p. 125
76. Ibid. p.54
77. Ibid. p.122
78. The Lost Language of Symbolism, by Harold Bayley, Rowman & Littlefield, Totowa, NJ, 1974
79. Starbird, p. 126
80. Ibid. p.127
81. Ibid. p.127
82. Ibid. p.129
83. Ibid. p.128
84. Ibid. p.141
85. Ibid. p.141
86. Ibid. p.143
87. Ibid, pp.143-144
88. Ibid. p.144
89. Ibid. p.124
90. Ibid. p.127
91. The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown, Doubleday, NY, 2003
92. Ibid. p.127
93. There are two more books I had intended to include in this essay. They are: The Magdalene Within, by Joan Norton, and The Two Marys, by Sylvia Browne. These books, however, rely on information through spiritual channeling and from a spirit guide. As a result, their conclusions cannot be duplicated by other scholar/scientists. I recommend they be read with a mind-set that if they resonate with your own intuition, take them to heart and if not, leave them behind.
94. From: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, by Jean-Yves Leloup, Inner Traditions, Rochester VT, 2002 (taken from pp. 8 and 9 of Mary Magdalene’s Gospel, spread through pp. 70-103 of Leloup’s book.
A deluge of information has come to light in the past few years about Mary Magdalene. Just a few of the many new sources of information available include the books I have used as resources for this essay. They are:
1. The Chalice and the Blade, by Riane Eisler (1)
2. Mary of Magdala, by Mary R Thompson, SSMN (2)
3. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, by Jean-Yves Leloup (3)
4. Magdalene’s Lost Legacy, by Margaret Starbird (4)
I believe that this rush of information has been encouraged by the historical circumstances of our era, mostly due to the rise in the rights of women. Awareness of women’s equality with—even while different from— men has opened our minds to different concepts, which are really very old. These concepts allow for a better understanding of the relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus of Nazareth, the inspiration for the Christian church. One question, however, is: Does this new understanding provide a model for improving the human condition at a time when the human race has divided itself into polar opposites, with the opposites trying to annihilate the “other side”? Can we use this understanding to reconcile disparate groups and create an opening for development of peace and prosperity for all humankind?
A recurring theme in this website, (formerly named Goddess Through Patriarchy to Gnosticism, and now called Goddess for Balance : Balancing our concept of God by including the Divine Feminine) has been focused on bringing balance between the Animus and the Anima, both individually and culturally. The Animus encompasses the masculine principles of authority, aggression, and reason or logic. The Anima, on the other hand, encompasses the feminine principles of compassion, intuition, and relationship or relationality. Our world culture has been out of balance for the past 8,000 years (see The Goddess and Patriarchy, a link in this website). Those 8,000 years represent the ascent of a Patriarchal (male dominant) system after the Matriarchal (female dominant) system was overthrown by the Patriarchal religious, political, and economic institutions. This Patriarchal world culture, and the attitudes flowing there from, has shaped cultural development to embrace dominator societies. “Dominator societies are human (and male) hierarchies backed by force or threat of force, ranking one half of humanity over another.” (5) Examples of this are Hitler’s Germany, Khomeini’s Iran, and Japan during the Samurai period, to name a few. (6)
Another possibility “in which social relations are primarily based on the principle of linking rather than ranking, may best be described as the partnership model.” (7) Riane Eisler, the author of The Chalice and the Blade, proposes a cultural transformation from Androcracy to Gylany. Androcracy represents the dominator society run by men, based on the force of the blade. Gylany stands for the resolution of problems by freeing up both halves of humanity from rigid roles, to encouraging the best characteristics of both sexes to resolve human difficulties. Gylany, the freeing up of male/female roles, reinforces the ability of self-actualization (maturity and wholeness) in both sexes, and encourages the transmission of this to all humanity. (8)
To bring the subject back to Mary Magdalene, the question arises: Can we glean, from the relationship between Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene the possibility of a new direction for humanity? (9) I believe that the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene (described in new information recently come to light) is a micro model (an individual case) of what can happen at the macro level (the big picture). At the micro level their relationship is a model of what needs to happen to bring Gylany, the partnership model of human interaction to individuals and to whole cultures that make up Planet Earth.
WHO IS MARY MAGDALENE?
What have we learned, since the last half of the Twentieth century, about Mary Magdalene? To answer this question, I rely mainly on the four sources listed above, of the many available today. At the end of this essay, I will list other resources for those interested in pursuing the subject further.
THE FIRST BOOK: THE CHALICE AND THE BLADE
Riane Eisler reviews some archeological evidence that there existed a long period of peace and prosperity, when our social, technological and cultural evolution moved upwards—became more advanced culturally-- long before the period of male domination. (10) There is a wealth of evidence of a female deity at this time. This has previously been discussed in The Goddess and Patriarchy in this website, but I think it appropriate to present Eisler’s position. She states that it does not make sense to conclude “that societies in which men did not dominate women were societies in which women dominated men”. (11) Re-examining human society from a gender holistic perspective leads to what she calls Cultural Transformation Theory. (12) She equates the dominator society with patriarchy or matriarchy—the ranking of one half of humanity over another. In the partnership model, she proposes, while recognizing difference between male and female, this difference is equated neither with inferiority or superiority. (13) She goes on to posit that the underlying problem is not men as a sex, but the social system in which the power of the blade is idealized. We are taught to equate true masculinity with violence, even though there are times when men are peaceful and non-violent. We are at a crossroads now that the power of the blade (violent hierarchal power) has been elevated by nuclear warheads, threatening to put an end to all human culture. (14) The technological revolution, providing the means to eliminate whole groups of people, has made a dominator model of social organization extremely maladaptive. The world we know, she says, is changing so rapidly, that more and more people, men and women, are able to see that it is a time for alternatives to this approach to human interaction. (15) But, she adds, the choice is up to us.
Because our societies are breaking down, some new feminist scholars and some new scientific findings about the dynamics of change show that from breakdown we can move to a breakthrough to a different kind of future. We can be co-creators of our own evolution through new ways of structuring politics, economics, science and spirituality. This will enable us to “move into a new era of a partnership world.” (16) I take the position that the relationship between Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene presages a new social system—Gylany (the partnership model)—needed to bring about the change from Androcracy which is now breaking down. Gylany provides an atmosphere conducive to the continuance of a diversified yet cooperative civilization and to the further evolution toward the actualization of humanity. What is my evidence for this claim?
JESUS AND MARY MAGDALENE AND EISLER’S THEME
Staying with the Gylany theme, Eisler purports that “Jesus’s teachings embodied a gylanic view of human relations,” by saying things like: “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (17) His teachings elevated feminine virtues to a primary position, for example, by indicating that we should avoid violence by “turning the other cheek”, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” “love your neighbor and even your enemy.” This is a gospel for a partnership society. (18) Jesus rejected the dogma that high ranking men--priests, nobles, the rich, kings--are God’s favorites. In relation to Mary Magdalene, he praised her “activism” over her sister Martha’s domestic role. (Remember, Jesus said that she [Mary] had chosen the better part.) One can see from the gospels, that Jesus treated Mary Magdalene with respect and caring—a very unusual attitude for a man of his day. (19)
You may remind me, however, that this essay is about Mary Magdalene. Nor does Eisler neglect her. She reminds us that Magdalene was the first to view the risen Christ, before he appeared to the male disciples. Eisler presents compelling evidence that Mary Magdalene was a leader in the early Christian movement after Jesus died. (20) Eisler discusses the Gnostic Gospels, and notes that they were declared heretical by the church authorities who ran the church from a hierarchal, male dominated point of view. The Gnostics were unpopular with this group because they believed that humans had access to the Deity through Gnosis (knowledge from looking within) rather than going through the religious hierarchy. Eisler emphasized that the Gnostic Gospels showed that Mary Magdalene was one of the most important figures in the early church. She challenged the authority of Peter by merely teaching as a woman, his power based on the claim that he and his priests had a direct line to the godhead. Jesus had, they said, commissioned them to go out and share the Good News. (Mary, apparently, was not considered a part of this commissioning). Eisler also made the Gylanic assertion that in the Gnostic sects, women shared with men the positions of authority. They chose leaders by drawing straws, whether for priest, bishop or prophet. Tertullian, one of the hierarchal orthodox (21) churchmen, decried their practices: “They teach, they engage in discussion, they exorcise, they cure and they even baptize, which was the role of an archbishop!” (22)
One of the early Christian texts, Eisler notes, is called Trimorphic Pretennoia (The Triple-Formed Primal Thought), which celebrates the power of thought, intelligence and foresight. These were considered feminine characteristics at that time, and were at an earlier time attributed to the Goddess. (23) Eisler additionally asserts that one group of Gnostic sources claims it received Christ’s secret tradition through James and through Mary Magdalene. This group prayed to both the Divine Father and the Divine Mother. (24) She goes on to say that Vanentinus, one of the early Christian Gnostics, taught that though the deity is essentially indescribable, the Divine can be imagined as a dyad consisting of both the female and the male principles. (25)
Along these same lines, and especially for our purposes, it is interesting to note that Eisler demonstrates a parallel between the time Jesus lived and now. Historians studying the era of 2000 years ago, describe it as a time of conflict between Androcracy and Gylany in which strong gylanic resurgence occurred. The turbulent years of the mighty Roman Empire (a dominator society) began to break down. Both then and now there is what Chaos theorists call “states of increased systems disequilibrium.” During these times “unprecedented and unpredictable systems change can come about.” (26) In First Century Rome, aristocratic girls and boys were offered the same educational curriculum. Some women were educated and influential and had great freedom in public. Both Parvey (a Roman scholar back then) and Elaine Pagels (a current Biblical scholar) described it as a period of emancipation of women. There were slave rebellions and Jewish uprisings under Bar Kokhba (132—135 C.E.) “But,” she adds, “as Androcracy’s force-based rankings were challenged by early Christians espousing non-violence, compassion and peace, Rome became even more despotic and violent.” (27) Eisler concludes about Christianity, that “Something went terribly wrong with Christianity’s gospel of love. How, otherwise, could such a gospel be used to justify all the torture, conquest and bloodletting carried out by devout Christians against others…and against one another, that makes up so much of our Western History.” (28) She goes on to explain that Christianity became an andocratic religion when Constantine set it up as the official religion of Rome. Later, the Roman Empire was replaced by the Holy Roman Empire. Eisler quotes Pagels as writing that, by the time the process of sorting through the various early Christian writings was completed (around 200 C.E.); virtually all the feminine imagery of God had disappeared from the Orthodox (accepted Church cannon) tradition. (29) Thus Jesus’ revolution of nonviolence was converted into a rule by force and terror, exemplified by burning the books of knowledge in the library at Alexandria, the destruction of Pagan temples and idols, and ultimately the witch hunts and the Inquisition. (30) The struggle of Gylany vs. Androcracy, however, goes on. The gylanic urge to resume our cultural evolution has continued to reemerge. “This continued struggle has been the major unseen force shaping Western history, and is once again in our time coming to a head.” (31)
EISLER’S IMPORTANT POINTS
In summary, the main points Eisler makes which contribute to our thesis about Mary Magdalene and balance are:
1. Dominator societies are at a crossroads in which male hierarchal power, elevated by nuclear warheads, has become maladaptive and self-destructive.
2. Society’s breakdown can create an opening for a breakthrough to a different kind of future.
3. We can, as men and women, be co-creators of our own evolution by moving to a gylanic (partnership) form of society.
4. Jesus elevated feminine virtues of non-violence, treating others compassionately, and including women and culturally rejected people in his entourage.
5. Jesus treated Mary Magdalene with respect and caring—a very unusual attitude for a man in his time and culture.
6. The traditional Christian Church converted from Jesus’ non-violent teaching to a rule by force once it had become the official Church of Rome.
7. The struggle between Gylany and Androcracy is continuing in our present age.
8. The Gylanic struggle described here, was illustrated and given impetus by Jesus in his behavior toward Mary Magdalene and various rejected members of society in that day. The Christian Church, however, has not followed his example of non-violence, but instead continued the Androcratic system of violence and domination.
My position, in this essay, is a belief that the relationship between Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene, of which more and more verifiable information has come to light, is a model (a sterling example) of what needs to happen to bring Gylany (the partnership model), to our world and its operation. This model could then enhance the evolution of humanity toward its created potential and toward global cooperation and the fair sharing of resources.
THE SECOND BOOK: MARY OF MAGDALA: APOSTLE AND LEADER
Mary of Magdala: Apostle and Leader, by Mary R Thompson, SSMN, (32) is another well documented book. Mary Thompson has a PhD in Bible Studies from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and is a scholar at the Catholic Bible School in Buffalo, NY. She contributes much historical information about Mary Magdalene, and what happened to her legacy in the process of Christian development. Thompson points out that the passage in Luke 8: 1-3 (one of the approved Christian gospels) identified Mary Magdalene as a woman from whom 7 devils had gone out. In the First Century, this would have meant that she had been cured of a serious illness, according to Thompson’s research. She adds that some church scholars speculate that this passage refers to immoral behavior, and therefore, Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. “This misidentification had achieved official standing by the time of Pope Gregory the Great (540-604 C.E), (33) when he preached a homily identifying Mary Magdalene as a great sinner. This idea has persisted through the ages, even though there is no biblical evidence for it.” (34)
Thompson also presents evidence and concludes that Mary Magdalene is not Mary of Bethany (though you will observe later in this essay that there is evidence opposing this view). She does contend, however, that Mary Magdalene was an important member of Jesus’s followers, and of the early Christian Church, and that her role was far different from the way the Orthodox (accepted) Christian Church, over time, has portrayed her.
Thompson makes two important points with regard to our thesis about Mary Magdalene’s place in Christian development:
1. Mary Magdalene was misidentified as a sinful woman and a prostitute, and this portrayal has persisted through the ages.
2. Mary Magdalene was an important part of Jesus’ life, and of the early Christian Church.
THE THIRD BOOK: THE GOSPEL OF MARY MAGDALENE
Another important resource is The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, by Jean-Yves Leloup (35).
The Preface is written by David Tressman, PhD, and Laura-Lea Cannon. They point out that they consider Mary Magdalene’s reemergence and a renewed awareness of her importance as an essential reminder of the Feminine. The way in which Jean-Yves Leloup honors Mary Magdalene in his commentaries on the Gospel of Mary Magdalene contributes greatly to the convergence of her memory with the priceless wisdom of “direct knowing” (the true meaning of gnosis). (36) Tressman and Cannon propose that one way to approach The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (a Gnostic Gospel) is to pose the question: What does this woman represent to us today and what is the symbolic significance of her words and actions?” (37) We can also do a spiritual exploration of “the spiritual truth embodied in Mary Magdalene and her unique relationship with Jesus, one that has been ignored or edited out of the Christian Scriptures for the last two millennia.” (38)
The Preface authors point out several reasons to consider the importance of Mary Magdalene. The Synoptic Gospel writers (Matthew, Mark and Luke) note that Jesus heals Mary Magdalene by freeing her from seven demons, and that she stood at the foot of the cross with John and Mary, His mother. She was the first to witness the resurrection. And she was considered the “apostle to the apostles,” named such by orthodox churchmen, such as St. Augustine. (39) Tressman and Cannon reinforce Leloup’s explanation that the seven demons represent the seven chakras. Chakras, since ancient times, have been part of the spiritual sciences. They are described as energy centers in the body. (They are recognized by many modern people as an acknowledged form of some Alternative Healing practices.) These seven chakras, if uncleared, represent to some theologians, the seven deadly sins: pride, lust, envy, anger, covetousness, gluttony, and sloth. When cleared, as Jesus reputedly did for Mary Magdalene, the results would most assuredly create a very pure and sanctified person: a person whose heart and energetic centers are open. (40) Those who work with the healing of chakras can testify that this would create a person with great spiritual strength.
Mary Magdalene, according to the Gospels, was not with the other disciples at Pentecost, when the apostles received the message to take the work of Jesus out into the world. Tressman and Cannon, who have studied Mary Magdalene extensively, believe that Mary’s interest lay in the inner work of initiation through gnosis (direct knowing) of her experience of the Divine. This was not a practice which could easily be proselytized, especially in an era where the culture was not prone to trust inner spiritual experience. Her path of inner transformation resonates, however, with many people in our present age. Neither did her representation of the feeling world of women, which was forcefully devalued by the Patriarchal system, sit well in the time of the Early Christian Church. Many of the religions developed after the “Goddess times,” degraded sensuality (finding meaning and divinity in human senses and sensuality—the sanctity of the body and of the emotions. The body and its feelings have been treated with disdain by Androcracy, including the Christian Church.). They equated sensuality as representative of Eve and her giving in to the temptation to eat the apple of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Mary, through her relationship with Jesus, was a reminder of the beauty and sanctity of the body. (41) Mary’s anointing of Jesus with oils (in preparation for his death), can be traced back to a tradition among the Priestesses of the Goddess. Jesus not only accepts the anointing, but defends Mary for doing it. One has to wonder why the Orthodox Christians sidelined a female minister of the right of anointing and, instead, consider her a reformed prostitute? (42)
Several authors, anthropologists, and others believe that Mary Magdalene journeyed to Southern France with a group of followers who established shrines and churches in her name, and considered her to have unusual powers (e.g., Clairvoyance). (43) This premise is explored and elucidated in the book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail, (44) This book provided a primary source for Dan Brown’s, The DaVinci Code, (45) which described Mary Magdalene having a child and founding a dynasty in France.
When Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and other New Testament writings were adopted as the orthodox (accepted) writings to believe if you were a Christian, by the early Christian Church, (around 325 CE), the Gnostic Gospels, including The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, were lost…until recently. Leloup, in the text of his book, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, alludes to the problem that made it impossible for Mary Magdalene to be heard and believed by the people at the time of Christ and the early church. A quote from the above-mentioned Gnostic gospel (the whole of which is displayed in Leloup’s book) provides a good example: Peter makes this statement:
“How is it possible that the Teacher talked in this manner with a
woman about secrets which we, ourselves, are ignorant. Must
we change our customs and listen to this woman? Did he really
choose her, and prefer her to us?” (46)
Both Peter and Andrew were disturbed: “How can a woman know more than a man and be able to guide them?” (47) Leloup continues by explaining that for most Jews of the time, and because of the overarching Patriarchal structure of most societies in that day, it was unthinkable to grant a place of respect and authority to a woman. Pious Jews prayed: “Thank you God, that I was not born an invalid, poor, or a woman. (48) How could men reverse the idea that “women were made to serve men and to satisfy them when asked.” (49) There were times, including a long period in the Christian Church, in which it was doubted that women had souls. The above examples provide clarity as to why Mary Magdalene’s important role would very likely be denied.
Jesus, on the other hand, showed a clear and unmistakable attitude of reverence toward women and their gifts. The orthodox Christian Gospels gave many illustrations of his respect for women: the Samaritan woman at the well, his behavior toward the woman about to be stoned to death, touching a woman with an “issue of blood”(thereby rendering himself unclean, according to the Jewish Law), and his association with women, tax collectors, and others of whom his followers disapproved. Jesus manifested these teachings 2000 years ago, but humankind, at its stage of evolution, was not ready to listen or comprehend. The attributes of love, inclusion, forgiveness, and peace were not understood or respected. Some of the Gnostic Gospels had misguided ideas about the separateness and relative importance of body and spirit, similar to the Christian ideas developed by the later church. The idea that the body is sanctified was unthinkable at that time. Only the Spirit was considered divine. The Gnostics did, however, provide some valuable information not included in the accepted Gospels. They performed a vital function in preserving ideas which would have otherwise been lost. These ideas came to our attention in the modern age (around 1945 and later) at a time when many people were beginning to question the status quo: patriarchy, hierarchy and favoritism. These recently discovered Gnostic Gospels suggest an alternative to our present religious, social and political system. The potential for a change in the balance between the male/female equation may provide new possibilities. These give us options for bringing our world to a more equitable system of distribution. (I’ll say more about this later.) They can also open the way to a better balance of male and female attributes within each individual human being. Leloup asserts that: “Before we can become truly spiritual beings…we must accept ourselves as psycho-physical creatures with a soul (psyche) and a body (soma).” (50) “And this means that the acceptance of our feminine dimension (in both males and females) is…indispensable, if we are to have true access to the nous (the balance of male and female principles) or, for that matter, to the masculine dimensions of our being.” (51) Earlier in this website, a discussion of The Maiden King by Marion Woodman and Robert Bly (see The Goddess and Patriarchy), described the mythical experiences of a Russian merchant’s son, from an Old Russian legend. The young man could not marry his “maiden” because the numbness forced on him by the Patriarchy led him to deny and repress positive emotions, which were defined as “Feminine.” He was unable to mature—to become a whole and healthy adult. In like manner, a woman who is unable to call on the masculine within her, enabling her to stand up for herself, acclaiming her opinions, beliefs, her wisdom, cannot bring her gifts to society, or claim her rightful place in the world.
The balance of animus and anima in each human being has been a recurring theme in this website. To reiterate: the masculine (animus) principles include aggression, rationality and authority. The feminine (anima) principles include compassion, relationality (awareness of relationships to each other and to the whole), emotion and creativity. The nous (spiritual balance of male and female in each human) guides us to become “whole” humans. If the feminine characteristics are degraded, however, we lose some vital human attributes. A “whole” human being is able to consider the needs of others—the poor, the sick, the downtrodden… the welfare of all, in balance with her/his own. Likewise, a whole person is more likely to balance the care of the planet with individual advancement. Leloup quotes Karl Graf von Durkheim, who asserts that we must in our present age rediscover the spiritual through reconciliation with the feminine. “The goal is the wedding of the masculine and the feminine: the anthropos or the balanced human being. This wedding must be initiated within each of us, on a social level, on a neurophysiological level (the harmonization of the brain hemispheres); and on a more universal and planetary level.” (52) In Leloup’s explanation of Peter’s behavior (when he complained to Christ about having to listen to a woman), he notes that Peter (who later becomes the head of the accepted Christian Church) has not entered the climate of anthropos taught by his Teacher. He is held back by jealousy and mistrust of the feminine, “which prevents him from reclaiming the missing parts of his love.” He can’t believe that Jesus would entrust teaching to Mary, rather than to himself and the men among the apostles. (53) When Mary addresses Peter as her brother in one of the quoted parts of Magdalene’s Gospel, saying: “My brother, what can you be thinking?” she is simply following one of Jesus’s teachings, which exhorts his disciples to “treat each other as brothers and sisters, with no institution of spiritual hierarchy among them.” (54) Imagine this: no hierarchy among men and women, but leadership and distribution of tasks according to ones gifts and skills, not one’s gender. I believe that society is headed toward the "Hieros Gamos" of balanced male and female characterisitcs, but the outcome is still uncertain.
Regarding the significance of timing, Leloup puts it very well. He points out that: “It’s the missing piece that has been needed to complete the Good News in a more ecumenical sense, one that would also include and fulfill the Torah and the Qur’an.” (55) Recall that the Qur’an and Mohammed did not exist till 500 years after Jesus and Mary Magdalene trekked thru Galilee and Jerusalem. Leloup adds: “Yet…it (the Gospel of Mary Magdalene) invites us to go…beyond the dualism and dogmas of all organized religions.” He concludes that: “we might ask ourselves if this is not the appropriate gospel to inaugurate the Third Millennium.” (56) Another consideration I propose is that in order for humanity to reach its full potential: the heights we are capable of, we must reach beyond the conditioning of hierarchy and separation of the masculine and feminine so that the merging of Anthropos (human) and Theanthropos (the Divine) will be possible. Body and soul are One in the final analysis.
If you are dismayed that all this will diminish the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus, considered by many to be the Mother of God, Leloup has an answer for this. He denies that the value of the Gospel of Mary Magdalene creates a rivalry between the orthodox, (the accepted Christian Scriptures) and other scriptures. “In the climate of fragmentation and competition of the vast multitudes of contemporary worldviews…the word of the teacher in this gospel is like the hint of a smile…No doubt the smile comes from the psyche, but the eyes are open windows to the spirit (nous) and to the lucid vision of our possible futures.” (57) I, among others, believe that our future can be luminous with the light of Hope if Anthropos is sought after, rather than filling our minds and hearts with the terror of the dark Armageddon periodically predicted throughout human history.
In summary, in Leloup’s The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, 12 important points contribute to the thesis in this essay about Mary Magdalene. This thesis demonstrates that the combining and balancing of male and female characteristics will bring each individual, and society as well, to a better functioning whole:
1. The teachings of Jesus of Nazareth carry not only a universal message for all of humankind, but also for the psychic and spiritual growth of each individual.
2. Leloup’s commentary on The Gospel of Mary Magdalene describes in her a metaphor for the appreciation of the Divine Feminine.
3. The spiritual message embodied in the revelations made by The Gospel of Mary Magdalene and other sources, which were edited out of our Christian Scripture for the past 2000 years, can now be explored, understood, and applied to our current world situation.
4. Mary Magdalene’s importance to the Christian Church and to all humans has been clearly portrayed in Leloup’s book on Mary Magdalene. (I highly recommend reading the book. The document itself has only 19 pages, of which the first 6 were lost, and the rest of the book is very enlightening commentary on those pages. They are well worth the time and effort you may expend.)
5. Mary Magdalene demonstrates a new kind of spirituality, which many people in our present age have already begun to explore (i.e. to achieve gnosis by looking within: practices we now call meditation, contemplation, mindfulness and self-examination).
6. Mary Magdalene represents the elevation of women’s status and the appreciation of the feminine gifts needed for the further progression of our civilization (the balance we’ve been talking about), namely, the balancing of the masculine and feminine in each individual and in society.
7. Leloup provides an explanation of why, in the past, we as humans have not been able to integrate the feminine principles into our psyche.
8. Leloup’s book elevates the value of the physical body, and of the emotions, as legitimate attributes contributing to the wholeness of each human being.
9. The book contributes to the overall understanding of what it means to balance the animus (male) and anima (female) individually and culturally.
10. Leloup illustrated the need to consider the teachings of Jesus in terms of bringing balance between the masculine and the feminine.
11. The Gnostic Gospels and especially The Gospel of Mary Magdalene provide the missing piece to complete the Good News of the Gospels to bring ecumenical unity, by accepting the diversity and commonality of the many different faiths and religions, and the fulfillment of our evolving spiritual and cultural growth.
12. All of the above provide hope for effective solutions to world problems and for peace in our present and future world.
THE FOURTH BOOK: MAGDALENE’S LOST LEGACY
Magdalene’s Lost Legacy: Symbolic Numbers and the Sacred Union in Christianity, by Margaret Starbird, (58) is the fourth book worthy of attention in this study of the importance of Mary Magdalene and the meaning of her relationship with Jesus of Nazareth, and in relation to the evolution of our world culture. I maintain that the evidence Starbird presents to the reader beautifully illustrates our theme in this essay: balancing the animus and the anima in each of us and in our world. This book is centered on the search for the original role of Mary Magdalene with Jesus Christ and in the Early Christian Church. Starbird states that it is “my commitment to promoting a wider understanding of what I consider the original Christian mythology and doctrines that are present—in plain sight—in the symbolic numbers found in the New Testament.” (59) The evidence of the embedding of these numbers is found in the Synoptic Gospels (the accepted, or orthodox Christian gospels) of Matthew, Mark and Luke. This is a compelling indication of this new understanding of Mary Magdalene, which I will subsequently discuss. I posit that this “new understanding” could not be perceived or believed in the time of Jesus because of the limiting gender attitudes and customs of the time. I believe that humanity, with the progress in women’s rights, and her improved valuation in many of our modern societies, opens our minds to this “new information.” “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” is often quoted as Jesus’s words in many of the Gnostic Gospels.
For us to understand the nature of these sacred numbers, codified by Greek philosophers and Hebrew Kabbalists in ancient times, Starbird urges us to examine, with her guidance, the “suppressed numerical codes discovered in the Gospel passages and in the other canonical texts of Scripture, commonly known as the Greek Bible. (60) The earliest Christian Gospels were written in Greek, which was the common language used in the Roman Empire, including the Near East. In order to understand these codes, however, one must know not only ancient Greek, but also GEMATRIA. Gematria is a literary device whereby the sums of certain phrases produce significant sacred numbers—to convey special concepts. (61) This was a common practice in the ancient world. Starbird explains that in early Hebrew and Greek, there were no separate symbols to represent numbers. In these languages, the letters of the alphabet stood for numeric values: an “A” equaling number 1, a “B” equaling number 2, and so forth. Though the icons (image of each letter) may have differed from Western letters and numbers, the values remained. It is not possible to study Gematria using a modern Bible. One must use the original Greek translation. Gematria made it possible for the numerical value of the letters, forming a word, to be added together to yield the sum of that word’s Gematria. “Certain names,” Starbird states, “and phrases of Scripture, both Hebrew and Greek, were carefully constructed so that their Gematria would be consistent with the Classical cosmology…derived by the mathematicians of the ancient world.” (62) They were codified in the sacred cannon of the Pythagoreans. (63) If we are willing to respect this ancient practice, it sheds light on the meaning of many passages found in the New Testament.” (64)
An example of the way this works is given on page 123 of Starbird’s book. She writes: “The shape Plato associates with the element earth is a cube, and even (as opposed to odd) integers were considered feminine in the ancient world. Three times the cube of four, that is 3(4 x 4 x 4), equals 192, which is the Gematria of “Mariam.” (i.e. the number of the letters of her name added together) Because of the associations of the number four with the feminine, “matter,” and “flesh and blood,” the Gematria of Mariam reflects the concept of “mother”…The name “Mariam” when it appears in the Greek texts of the Gospels with the final letter m thus bears universal connotations of the feminine “container”—the flesh and blood vessel or womb of the Mother—through the computation of its Gematria. (65)
I believe that the power of the New Testament of the Christian Bible is that it is a multi-faceted volume with much to teach any who have the skill and the permission to investigate its revelations. I see it as a book bringing enlightenment on many issues: compassion, justice, gender equality, and peace, as well as moral and ethical teachings. The use of Gematria has the potential to provide a new understanding of important people in the Bible and their relationship to each other and to the developing Christian Church. Unfortunately for us, although Gematria is still used in Hebrew by some Orthodox Jewish Rabbis, “the use of numbers in interpreting the meaning of Christianity’s sacred texts was ‘anathematized’ (declared heretical) by Irenaeus and other prominent Church fathers. This happened in the Second and Third Centuries (C.E.) with the suppression of the Gnostic ‘heresies.’ At this time, the practice of any kind of ‘numbers theology’ apparently ceased.” (66) “Its inevitable demise happened in the Fourth Century when St. Jerome translated the Greek Scriptures into Latin. Then “every trace of Gematria in the original Koine (Greek Bible) was lost.” (67)
Starbird notes, however, that with the modern tools for computation and cross referencing, this loss is reversible. She asserts that Gematria, applied to the Gospels, reveals “the mystery of the reign of God and the "Hieros Gamos" or sacred marriage, of the opposite energies at the heart of the Christian story—too long denied.” (68) The opposite energies refer to the differing principles of Male and Female.
The relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, according to Starbird, resembles the sacred marriage depicted in many ancient mythologies: Apollo and Dionysus of the Greek mythology and from earlier myths of Dumizi and Inanna, Tammuz and Ishtar, Osiris and Isis. Marija Gambutis, the Hungarian anthropologist, and other scientists have uncovered the “secrets of our ancestors” in their archeological digs. (69) In these excavations, the evidence is brought to light that the Divine includes both the masculine and the feminine in its union. Gambutis’s findings have also shown the impact of the feminine principle, which has been devalued over the millennia… (from a time) when the Divine was honored as Feminine as well as Masculine. (70)
If the method of deriving numbers from ancient meanings among the Greeks “seems like ‘Greek’ to you, don’t feel too bad. When was the last time you remember studying Gematria in Sunday School or any Religious School? We can only take the word of experts who have written texts about Gematria. Starbird cites a couple of them. John Mitchell’s The Dimensions of Paradise, is one. (71) Another is Theomatics: God’s Best Kept Secret Revealed, by Jerry Lucas and Del Washburn. (72) These authors are scholars in the field of Gematria and Sacred Geometry. (73)
In a more elaborate definition of Gematria, Starbird states: “Gematria is a long honored and well-honed literary device employed to enhance the subtle meaning of certain verses and phrases, which was probably used as a mnemonic (aid to memory) device as well. It requires a deliberate manipulation of letters and words, similar to the rhyme scheme of a poem, but more sophisticated. Instead of setting the verse to music, the authors of the sacred texts set them to numbers.” (74) Starbird points out that it is difficult to get numbers and letters to correspond exactly, so + or – one number is accepted. She goes on to make some interesting connections. The cube of 7 (343) is both close to the sum of “Mariam the Magdalene” (345) and Pallas Athena (342), the Greek Goddess of Wisdom. The number 7 was also associated with Sophia. Mary Magdalene was believed by the Christian Gnostics to be an incarnation (rebirth) of Sophia. Starbird adds: “By using an epithet for this Mary that equated her gematria with Sophia….the architects of the New Covenant were naming this woman the ‘sister-bride’ of their Lord, just as surely as wisdom was the bride sought by the youthful King Solomon according to the wisdom literature of Judaism,” (75) This “new” and unfamiliar information now coming to light on Mary Magdalene. is valuable to understanding the importance of the relationship between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene and of Mary Magdalene’s role in the early Christian Church.
What else can we glean from Starbird’s book, about Gematria? She explains that the authors of the New Testament wrote in Koine (Greek). Many of the leaders of the infant church, such as Paul, Origen, Clement of Alexandria, and Augustine were schooled in Classical (Greek) philosophy. Classical philosophies go back to the earlier esoteric traditions from philosophers such as Plato, one of the early Greek philosophers. This philosophy derives from the Pythagorean School, which traces back to the Ancient Egyptian priests and the Persian Magi. (Remember the Three Kings of the Orient?) The tradition has been around for an extremely long time, even though I, and probably you, have never heard of it. Many examples of Gematria are found in Paul’s Epistles written between 51 and 67 C.E. The Acts of the Apostles, the four Canonical Gospels (Mathew, Mark and Luke) and the Book of Revelation are written in the Koine translation. Understanding the derivation of the gematric numbers conveys hidden meaning regarding important men of the times: Caesar, Jesus Christ, etc., and enables one to unravel encoded secrets. (76) What are these secrets?
Starbird uses John Mitchell as an expert who demonstrates the numbers 666 and 1080 are important in relation to each other. In the number of the Beast described in Revelation 13:18, it shows that when the masculine principle (666), becomes rampant and overwhelms 1080, the feminine principle, the whole society becomes warpt and distorted. Referring back to Eisler’s description of the ascendancy of Androcracy (Patriarchy), we can see how this pattern may have been predicted in Revelation. In regard to Mary Magdalene, how does Gematria help us uncover her role in the Masculine/Feminine equation? John Mitchell, the scholar-expert in Gematria, suggested to Margaret Starbird, since she was a scholar on Early Christian texts, that she investigate the gematric evidence around Mary Magdalene. Her investigation began by reading the New Testament using gematric numbers as an assist to a better understanding of Mary Magdalene and her relationship with Jesus Christ. For example, the epithet: “The Magdalene,” used in the early Christian texts, means: “the elevated,” “the Great!” (77) Starbird quotes from The Lost Language of Symbolism by Harold Bayley. (78) This book indicates that the primary root of the Indo-European word, “Mag,” which combines ma (the feminine) with ag/ak (the great), means “great woman” (79) Besides gematric evidence, Starbird uses knowledge of Christian Scripture to point out that of the 7 or 8 names of women followers and companions of Jesus, Mary Magdalene is mentioned first. The only exception to this is when Mary, the mother of Jesus, is first listed standing at the foot of the cross. (John 19:25) In the earliest Gospels (Mark and Matthew), the preeminent figure is Mary Magdalene. For example: the women who went to the tomb were Mary, the Magdalene, and the other Mary. (Matt: 28:1) But what about the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene?
Starbird presents evidence (convincing, I believe) that Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene were married. She points out that there was a powerful custom in the Jewish community of that day, that men over 20 should be married, and that unmarried men over that age were not trusted. She quotes Ecclesiastes 36:25 (in the Old Testament): “A man with no wife becomes a homeless wanderer. Who will trust…a man who has no nest but lodges where night overtakes him?” (80) Starbird also presents evidence that Mary, the Magdalene, was Mary of Bethany, Lazarus and Martha’s sister. When Jesus was teaching in the vicinity of Jerusalem, it appears he resided in Bethany. In John 11:28, Mary (of Bethany) was “sitting Shiva” mourning the loss of her brother, Lazarus. The rule for “sitting Shiva” was that a woman was not permitted to leave her post unless her husband requested her presence. Thus, we see that when Martha, her sister announced, in John 11:28: “The Master is here and calls thee,” Mary reacts immediately. “As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and came to him.” (81) I was shocked when I first read this, and I imagine you are too. The above information contradicts what I had been taught in my Christian upbringing. But when I examined Starbird’s evidence, I found it convincing. Starbird adds to the data that Mary of Bethany is Mary, the Magdalene, by citing evidence that the town of Magdala “was known by the Greek name Taricheae during the time of Jesus, and was renamed Magdala by later Christians (possibly to obscure the value of her ‘true name’). (82) However, whether Mary Magdalene is Mary of Bethany or not, there is little doubt that she existed. The larger question is: What is the nature of her relationship to Jesus. Starbird brings some of this evidence to light in quoting from The Gospel of Philip, one of the Gnostic Gospels. It indicates that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were either married or at least very close companions by stating that: “she is the companion…of Jesus -- his consort whom he loved more that the disciples and whom he kissed often on the… (Though this part of the parchment is lost, the commonly inferred word is “mouth”). (83)
In John’s Gospel (one of the “approved” scriptures) it is stated in two separate places that the woman who anointed Jesus and “wiped his feet dry with her hair” was the sister of Lazarus. In ancient cults of marriage during Jesus’ time, it is the bride who anoints the groom in the nuptial rites, foreshadowing the consummation of the marriage later in the bridal chamber. Starbird allows that Luke calls the woman who anointed Jesus, “a sinner” but John corrects this error twice. It is possible, Starbird suggests, that there may have been fear for her personal safety; thus her story may have been consigned to deeply shrouded mythology. (84) In my view, that would have been the more kindly excuse, but I wonder…
How different our perception of the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene might have been, had we accepted gematric and Gnostic evidence, for shedding light on the esoteric (mysterious) meaning ‘coded’ in the Christian Scriptures. Starbird states it well:
“Knowledge of Gematria enhances immeasurably, the meaning of the
Christian Scriptures and forever establishes Mary, the Magdalene, as the
human carrier or ‘incarnation’ of the archetype (Universal model) of Bride.
She is the earthly representative of the Eternal Feminine-sacred cauldron of
creativity and Holy Grail. Clearly it was this Mary who was designated by
the creators of the New Testament doctrines, to be cosmic counterpart
of Jesus, the Lord. The authors of the Gospels…cannot have been
oblivious to the numbers generated when they coined her epithet (the
Magdalene—meaning the Elevated, the Great), revealing the archetypal
Feminine.” (85)
Regarding the importance of Mary, Jesus’s mother, does Magdalene’s elevation demean the role of the Virgin Mary as “thotokos”, the Mother of God, and a tender compassionate mother? “No!” says Starbird, but using the Virgin Mary to represent the eternal feminine, does not provide us with a partnership paradigm (model) as does the “sacred marriage” of Jesus to his true bride. I endorse this idea, because one of the themes of this essay—indeed of the whole website—is that we need to restore the balance between male and female (which has been skewed by the Patriarchal system) to a Partnership Model for our present era. Starbird warns us not to put the Blessed Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene in the roles of rival Goddesses as in the Greek myths. She sees them as mutually supportive of each other. “Surely the Virgin Mary would in no way be demoted if her beloved daughter-in-law were finally and properly acknowledged as the bride of Jesus.” (86) The Virgin Mary will continue to be honored and blessed as the vessel chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, and prayed to as such. Honoring her, however, does not mean that we should ignore Jesus’s lost bride, so long neglected in the human psyche—the feminine complement of Christ, and the model for elevating the Divine Feminine (and the human feminine) back to its moderating place in our world. (87) Starbird ends one of the chapters in her book with the ancient prophesy from Isaiah:
“For Zion’s sake, I shall not be silent until her vindication shines forth
Like the dawn…No longer shall you be called ‘forsaken’
And your lands ‘desolate’ but you shall be called ‘beloved’
And your lands ‘espoused.’
Isaiah 62: 1, 4
“These are the prophesized nuptials of the Lamb and of his Holy Bride (which) will cause streams of living water to flow from the throne of God for the healing of nations, causing the desert to bloom at last.” (88)
How does all this relate to the heading of my website: The Goddess through Patriarchy and Gnosticism and Ultimately to Balance? How is Mary Magdalene connected to the Goddess? Starbird shows, using Gematria, that adding the numbers in Mariam, the Magdalene, leads to the number 345—bringing her name in close association with the “eternal feminine,” the Wisdom Goddess: the Greek Goddess, Pallas Athena. The Gnostic Christians believed in a connection between Mary Magdalene and Sophia, Holy Wisdom, from many of the sacred texts in the Old Testament and elsewhere. (89) The number 7 is a known gematric number from the accepted Christian Scriptures. Jesus tells Peter to forgive not 7 times but 70 times 7 (which means indefinitely). The 7 also designates eternal, ethical, spiritual—not created. It is strongly associated with the sacred feminine principles: intuition and wisdom. Starbird wondered why the Gnostic authors of the early Christian Gospels might have wanted Mary Magdalene to be identified with the Goddess of the ancient world. Starbird points out that the First Century intellectuals of the Roman Empire understood the signs of the Zodiac. They were aware that they were poised at the cusp of the age of the rising constellation Pisces. The sign opposite Pisces on the Zodiac wheel is Virgo. (90) The author of the Apocalypse of John associated Virgo with Demeter, the grain Goddess of the Greek pantheon. Tracing back from there leads to Ishtar, the Babylonian Goddess, Queen of Earth and Harvests; fertility being one of her greatest assets. Her astrological sign was a combination of M and V, which represents the sacred feminine as supernal mother/container: the sacred chalice or ‘grail’ which is the focal point of the novel, The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown. (91) The Gematria in the accepted Synoptic Gospels confirms this over and over. Unfortunately, the (orthodox) Christian Church, especially after 325 C.E. and the Nicene Creed), anathematized the use of Gematria, thus obscuring many of these truths, especially in regard to Mary Magdalene. Another tenet was obscured in this scourging was: “the stone which the builders rejected was the Mandela of sacred partnership, and not Christ alone.” (92)
STARBIRD’S IMPORTANT POINTS
What are we given as evidence, in Starbird’s book, of Mary Magdalene’s role with Jesus Christ and in the formation of the Christian Church?
1. The importance of the code of sacred numbers present in early Christian writing, especially in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—the New Testament writers, and the ones chosen to be the official documents of the Christian Church.
2. The understanding of the literary device called Gematria, a common practice in the ancient world, accepted at the time when Jesus Christ was alive, and for quite a while after, is now possible.
3. The effect of the suppression of Gematria on the development of Christianity and on our world today has led to the diversion away from Jesus' relationship with Mary Magdalene, and all that that entails.
4. The present day “resurrection” of Gematria, which makes it possible to better understand Mary Magdalene and her true importance.
5. Starbird’s evidence that Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany are one.
6. Starbird’s evidence that Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ were married.
7. The continued importance of the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God.
8. The evidence that the partnership model based on the sacred partnership of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene was stated, (though encoded) in the early texts of the Christian Gospels.
CONCLUSION
The four books discussed in this essay, The Chalice and the Blade by Riane Eisler, Mary of Magdala: Apostle and Leader, by Mary R. Thompson, S.S.M.N., The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, by Jean-Yves Leloup, and Magdalene’s Lost Legacy, by Margaret Starbird, have convinced me (and perhaps you) that there is a more effective way to live our lives as individuals and as a world society. The balance between Male and Female, which has been skewed for so long in a Patriarchal Androcracy, can be put right through the enlightening information provided in these books. The Androcracy of Dominator Societies can be replaced by the Gylanic Partnership model, allowing men and women to be co-creators of a more just and peaceful world. We can supplant the erroneous belief that Mary Magdalene was a sinful prostitute and give her the rightful place she deserves in the life of Jesus and in the early Christian Church. We can look to the Gnostic Gospels and other sources to develop a new appreciation of the balance of the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine brought out in these books. We can include the information provided in Margaret Starbird’s book that shows the Gematric Code, enhancing our understanding of Christian Scripture, to better understand the implications of Jesus’s relationship to Mary Magdalene. Now we can heal the perceived division between the body and the spirit. Jesus’s relationship with Mary Magdalene clearly illustrates that the body is sacred, too. We can give credit, long denied, to the important role Mary Magdalene played in the early Christian church. How different the course of the past 2000 years might have been, had we been given a more balanced view of male and female principles, and how much more “whole” a society we might be experiencing if this were believed and acted upon. (93)
I would like to close this writing by quoting from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, as translated and presented in Jean-Yves’ book:
“Be vigilant and allow no one to mislead you by saying, ‘Here it is!’
Or ‘There it is!’ for it is within you that the Son of Man dwells.
Go to him, for those who seek him find him.”
Having said all this, he departed.
The disciples were in sorrow, shedding many tears and saying:
‘How are we to go among the unbelievers and announce the gospel
of the Kingdom of the Son of Man?
They did not spare his life, so why should they spare ours?”
Then Mary arose, embraced them all, and began to speak to her brothers:
‘‘Do not remain in sorrow and doubt, for his Grace will guide you
and comfort you. Instead let us praise his greatness,
for he has prepared us for this.
He is calling upon us to become fully human (Anthropos)”
Then Mary turned their hearts toward the Good,
and they began to discuss the meaning of the Teacher’s words. (94)
Now…is that not beautiful?!
Barbara L. Weeks January 16, 2008
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Endnotes:
1. The Chalice and the Blade, by Riane Eisler, Harper, San Francisco, 1987
2. Mary of Magdala: Apostle and Leader, by Mary R. Thompson, SSMN, Paulist Press, Mohwah, NJ
3. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, by Jean-Yves Leloup, Inner Traditions, Rochester, VT, 2002
4. Magdalene’s Lost Legacy, by Margaret Starbird, Bear & Company, Rochester VT, 2003
5. The Chalice and the Blade, by Riane Eisler, Harper, San Francisco, 1987, p. xix
6. Ibid. p. xix The Chalice and the Blade, by Riane Eisler, Harper, San Francisco, 1987
7. Ibid. p.xvii
8. Ibid. p.105
9. Ibid.p.105
10. Ibid.p.xvi
11. Ibid.p.xvi
12. Ibid.p.xvii
13. Ibid p.xvii
14. Ibid.p.xviii
15. Ibid.p.xx
16. Ibid.p.xxii
17. Ibid.p.120
18. Ibid.p.120
19. Ibid.p.122
20. Ibid.p.125
21. When I use the word “orthodox” in this essay, I am referring to the Early Christian Church backed by the Roman Empire.
22. Ibid.p.127
23. Ibid.p.127
24. Ibid.p.128
25. Ibid.p.120
26. Ibid.p.129
27. Ibid.p.130
28. Ibid.p.131
29. Ibid.p.132
30. Ibid.p.133
31. Ibid.p.134
32. Mary of Magdala: Apostle and Leader, by Mary R. Thompson, SSMN. Paulist Press, NY, 1995
33. Ibid, p.14
34. Ibid.p,15
35. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, by Jean-Yves Leloup, Inner Traditions, Rochester, VT, 2003
36. Ibid. Preface, p. x
37. Ibid. Preface, p. xiv
38. Ibid. Preface, p. xiv
39. Ibid. Preface, p.xv 39 Correction: According to “The Holy Bible; New Revised Edition”, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1990, in Mark’s Gospel on p. 54, it states: “There were also women looking on from a distance; among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, the younger and of Joses and Salome…and there were many other women who had come up with Him from Jerusalem.”
40. Ibid. Preface, p.xvi
41. Ibid. Preface, p.xx
42. Ibid. Preface, p.xxi
43. Ibid. Preface, p.xxi
44. Holy Blood, Holy Grail, by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln, Little,Brown&Co, NY, 1983
45. The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown, Doubleday, NY, 2003
46. Leloup, p.162
47. Ibid.p.162
48. Ibid.p.163
49. Ibid.p.164
50. Ibid.p.164
51. Ibid.p.164
52. Ibid. p.164-165
53. Ibid.p.165
54. Ibid. p.165
55. Ibid. p.175
56. Ibid. p.175
57. Ibid. p.175
58. Magdalene’s Lost Legacy, by Margaret Starbird, Bear & Company, Rochester, VT, 2003. 58 Additional Information: Margaret Starbird is a renowned authority on the Bride of Christ: Mary Magdalene. I recommend other books she authored: "The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail", "Mary Magdalene; Bride in Exile", and "The Goddess in the Gospels". These books establish the role of Mary Magdalene in relationship to Jesus Christ, and in the early Christian Church, and also describe the balance which can be achieved through the Divine Feminine, in a scholarly and thorough fashion.
59. Ibid. p.2
60. Ibid. p.2
61. Ibid. p.3
62. Ibid. p.3
63. Ibid, Glossary, p.154
64. Ibid. p.3
65. Ibid, p. 123
66. Ibid. p.3
67. Ibid. p.3
68. Ibid. p.5
69. Ibid. p.9
70. Ibid. p.9
71. The Dimensions of Paradise, by John Mitchell, Harper & Row, San Francisco, 1990
72. Theomatics: God’s Best Kept Secret Revealed, by Jerry Lucas and Del Washburn, Stein & Day, NY, 1977
73. Ibid. p.45
74. Ibid. pp. 39-40
75. Ibid, p. 125
76. Ibid. p.54
77. Ibid. p.122
78. The Lost Language of Symbolism, by Harold Bayley, Rowman & Littlefield, Totowa, NJ, 1974
79. Starbird, p. 126
80. Ibid. p.127
81. Ibid. p.127
82. Ibid. p.129
83. Ibid. p.128
84. Ibid. p.141
85. Ibid. p.141
86. Ibid. p.143
87. Ibid, pp.143-144
88. Ibid. p.144
89. Ibid. p.124
90. Ibid. p.127
91. The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown, Doubleday, NY, 2003
92. Ibid. p.127
93. There are two more books I had intended to include in this essay. They are: The Magdalene Within, by Joan Norton, and The Two Marys, by Sylvia Browne. These books, however, rely on information through spiritual channeling and from a spirit guide. As a result, their conclusions cannot be duplicated by other scholar/scientists. I recommend they be read with a mind-set that if they resonate with your own intuition, take them to heart and if not, leave them behind.
94. From: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, by Jean-Yves Leloup, Inner Traditions, Rochester VT, 2002 (taken from pp. 8 and 9 of Mary Magdalene’s Gospel, spread through pp. 70-103 of Leloup’s book.