Do You Dream of the Magdalene?
Posted by Joan Norton at 6/8/2008 7:29 AM 
Categories: Magdalene dreams, Goddess and the Sacred Masculine, Starting A Magdalene Circle
Tags: Mary Magdalene 14 Steps To Awaken the Sacred Feminine Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene
Categories: Magdalene dreams, Goddess and the Sacred Masculine, Starting A Magdalene Circle
Tags: Mary Magdalene 14 Steps To Awaken the Sacred Feminine Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene
How could snake dreams be related to our beloved Mary Magdalene? It's through one of her titles, "The Woman Who Knew the All", meaning she is earthly representative of the wisdom of life which has always been called "Goddess". Wisdom has always been associated with our souls, in both men and women. That said, here's the dream..."I'm somewhere else. There's a dead snake. Only its skin is left and its being used as medicine. I'm suppose to have some. I'm not thrilled but I'm not repulsed. It's dry and that helps."
Have you had snake dreams? Lots of people do. When I was young and not-so-young I had them and the snakes were always very frightening to me, activating fear. I think I've struggled to get into a good relationship with the feminine principle, the well of wisdom which is my Beloved soul. So, I was "out of kilter" with the masculine-feminine balance of a Pilgrim's path of self realization.
The early Christian people we know of as the "alternative church" or the heretics, used symbolism to express their personal paths of enlightenment, their personal inner journeys to closeness with their "Beloved". We know now that the little wire squiggly shapes that individual papermakers used to create a permanent mark in their papers were actually their "advertising"..."branding" .....of their beliefs. Thank you Margaret Starbird for bringing these mysteries out for us in your books! Through these symbols the early Christians placed their "Pilgrims' Progress" in the context of the perennial search for the soul within, and the happiness and peace which comes with it. Imagine that these brave souls in 1282 and into the next few hundred years were exterminated for what we know as a birthright now, the right of self knowledge.
The snake was one of the watermarks made in the papers of these early Christians and it's meaning was regeneration and salvation through renewal. To be on a pilgrim's path meant being constantly born again, to "pass by again the spots where previously she had gone astray." That's a good description of the path our dreams put us on, continually revisiting issues in order to see them from a different angle and to continually gain wisdom about one's problems.
One reason snakes are a symbol of regeneration and salvation is because they shed their skin periodically and grow into another "self". Another reason is that their wavy movement is like water and water is the Great Mother of All. Remember Mary's title as "the Magdalene"? that was a way of saying that she was a human woman representing the Great Mother, the Goddess and her Wisdom of the All. We even say now that the ocean is the source of all life, that life began in the ocean. That gives the idea of why the wavy-ness of the snake symbol means wisdom of "the All" and constant renewal. If we place ourselves in receptivity to the wisdom of our soul life, we will be constantly renewed and regenerated.
When I was young it was the startle factor of snakes that I didn't like and that's how they were in my dreams too. I've worked long and hard to develop receptivity to my inner path where Sacred Union lives, so I feel pretty good about this dream.....
"There's a snake but I'm not afraid. She is bright turquoise with gold vesica piscis shapes along her back. I feel grateful tht she's so brightly colored that I can see her easily."
I think it's that way for many women now about the Sacred Feminine, She is so brightly colored that we can't miss her. And for Mary the Magdalene too, she is becoming so brightly colored that we can't miss her.
Have you had snake dreams? Lots of people do. When I was young and not-so-young I had them and the snakes were always very frightening to me, activating fear. I think I've struggled to get into a good relationship with the feminine principle, the well of wisdom which is my Beloved soul. So, I was "out of kilter" with the masculine-feminine balance of a Pilgrim's path of self realization.
The early Christian people we know of as the "alternative church" or the heretics, used symbolism to express their personal paths of enlightenment, their personal inner journeys to closeness with their "Beloved". We know now that the little wire squiggly shapes that individual papermakers used to create a permanent mark in their papers were actually their "advertising"..."branding" .....of their beliefs. Thank you Margaret Starbird for bringing these mysteries out for us in your books! Through these symbols the early Christians placed their "Pilgrims' Progress" in the context of the perennial search for the soul within, and the happiness and peace which comes with it. Imagine that these brave souls in 1282 and into the next few hundred years were exterminated for what we know as a birthright now, the right of self knowledge.
The snake was one of the watermarks made in the papers of these early Christians and it's meaning was regeneration and salvation through renewal. To be on a pilgrim's path meant being constantly born again, to "pass by again the spots where previously she had gone astray." That's a good description of the path our dreams put us on, continually revisiting issues in order to see them from a different angle and to continually gain wisdom about one's problems.
One reason snakes are a symbol of regeneration and salvation is because they shed their skin periodically and grow into another "self". Another reason is that their wavy movement is like water and water is the Great Mother of All. Remember Mary's title as "the Magdalene"? that was a way of saying that she was a human woman representing the Great Mother, the Goddess and her Wisdom of the All. We even say now that the ocean is the source of all life, that life began in the ocean. That gives the idea of why the wavy-ness of the snake symbol means wisdom of "the All" and constant renewal. If we place ourselves in receptivity to the wisdom of our soul life, we will be constantly renewed and regenerated.
When I was young it was the startle factor of snakes that I didn't like and that's how they were in my dreams too. I've worked long and hard to develop receptivity to my inner path where Sacred Union lives, so I feel pretty good about this dream.....
"There's a snake but I'm not afraid. She is bright turquoise with gold vesica piscis shapes along her back. I feel grateful tht she's so brightly colored that I can see her easily."
I think it's that way for many women now about the Sacred Feminine, She is so brightly colored that we can't miss her. And for Mary the Magdalene too, she is becoming so brightly colored that we can't miss her.
The godess within is awakening on a large scale. And to find her when she was fully honored and fully expressed, we have to look before Christian times.
The time when Christ and Mary Magdalene taught among us, didn't have any Christian church. The mythology of their time was Egyptian and Mesopotamian mixed in with many other cultures. The Roman Empire made it possible for input from everywhere in their known world.
They were surrounded by the cultures that honored the powerful godesses standing bare breasted with a snake in each hand. The snake has long been a power symbol for the Goddess religion, which I believe the Magdalene was well versed in. I explore this further in my novel "Rituals in Sacred Stone" which will be out on Amazon this fall.
After the first century AD, everything changed. Immediately there were arguments between his followers who were stout jewish patriarchs and the women who had followed the goddess religions. And sadly, the patriarchy won.
St. Patrick drew out the snakes of Ireland in 425AD, four hundred years after their time. These "snakes" where the practioners of the nature religions, the ones honoring the Goddess. We are so conditioned to be afraid of snakes. We have been stripped from the knowlegde that connects this beautiful symbol with power, with the goddess and with our own wisdom from within.
It's time for it's return. We dream about snakes because the wisdom of the Goddess is awakening within. Because that was her symbol long before anything was called Christian. But Christ and his flocks were very familiar with it. It was embedded in the mythology of their time. Moses dealt with the snake symbol, transforming his staff to show power. The cadeuceus symbol, and its profound meaning was well known in their time. The greeks were old already then.
If were afraid of snakes, we've been conditioned by St.Patrick. It's time to pick up the symbol and carry it again and acknowledge the return of the Goddess in all her power.
Wencke Braathen
http://marymagdalenesmessage.blogspot.com/
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Thanks, Wencke, for this helpful historical context....it really puts the whole Eve story in a different light.
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