The Magdalene Rosary of Sacred Union
Posted by Joan Norton at 10/26/2008 6:08 AM 
Categories: The Magdalene Rosary
Tags: Mary Magdalene 14 Steps To Awaken the Sacred Feminine Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene Magdalene Rosary
Categories: The Magdalene Rosary
Tags: Mary Magdalene 14 Steps To Awaken the Sacred Feminine Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene Magdalene Rosary
I was surprised to see that the Magdalene Circles book is up on Amazon already and that someone blogged about it, Peter Bowden who directs development of small group ministries within the Unitarian Universalist network of churches. Peter has expressed interest in helping "spread the word" about Magdalene Circles, for which we are very grateful.
In a just-before-it-went-to-press addition, Margaret wrote her story of the creation of her own Magdalene Rosary and the prayers to go with it. She tells how she fell asleep one night praying about her daughter and when she woke up in the morning her rosary beads were lying in 7s rather than the 5's and 10's of the traditional rosary. "It dawned on me that I was being shown a new rosary based on the number seven, a "perfect" number associated with the Holy Spirit and the Divine Feminine." She had a friend rearrange her rosary in this fashion and she has been praying and contemplating this way ever since.
For her Magdalene Rosary she identified 14 highlights of Mary Magdalene's life in Sacred Union; 7 from the Gospel stories and 7 from her legendary stories. There also is a "Magdalene Prayer" to be repeated on the beads:
Dear Mary Magdalene, love incarnate,
Sacred Vessel, Holy Grail
chosen were you from all women,
and blessed is your union with Jesus.
Dearest Bride and Beloved of Christ,
show us the way of the heart.
Yes, show us the Way of the heart. Jesus told us we would "do this in memory of Her".....in so many ways.
If you want to read more about the power of the number 7, it's origins in Goddess traditions and it's Sacred Geometry affiliations, read Margaret's brilliant Magdalene's Lost Legacy, Symbolic Numbers and the Sacred Union in Christianity.
I have been very, very surprised at the response I've gotten about the Magdalene Rosary. I thought it was something we'd create "later" but it became really compelling, I just had to have one. I woke up one morning with my fingers wanting it ! Two other women wanted one right away too. Margaret had already liked the idea that my sister Sally would make some in case people wanted to pray this way. So here it is
It might be difficult to see the medallion, but it's the Holy Grail Family. Click Here To See Magadalene Rosaries and Chaplets
This one is made from garnets. She's designing one from pearls also. And of course you can make your own using the 7 groups of 7 design. We found that there aren't any traditional rosary beads available in the color red.....M-m-m-m.....so we had to create our own.
I believe that the effect of praying in 7s is a profound way to strengthen the vibrational pattern of the Sacred Feminine in our lives as we re-balance the earth towards the New Creation. We are each arranging our own vibrational field with the wisdom of sacred and holy geometry when we do this. And don't get me started on how sacred geometry is reflected in the crop circles .
I'll leave you today with a picture I just found under the heading "Mystical Marriage" on a Bibilical art site. It's Hungarian from 1500.....I love all the crowns, the various Magdalene iconography, and the dragon. There's alot of kinds of strengths of the Feminine there. Who among us hasn't felt we had to tame a dragon?
In a just-before-it-went-to-press addition, Margaret wrote her story of the creation of her own Magdalene Rosary and the prayers to go with it. She tells how she fell asleep one night praying about her daughter and when she woke up in the morning her rosary beads were lying in 7s rather than the 5's and 10's of the traditional rosary. "It dawned on me that I was being shown a new rosary based on the number seven, a "perfect" number associated with the Holy Spirit and the Divine Feminine." She had a friend rearrange her rosary in this fashion and she has been praying and contemplating this way ever since.
For her Magdalene Rosary she identified 14 highlights of Mary Magdalene's life in Sacred Union; 7 from the Gospel stories and 7 from her legendary stories. There also is a "Magdalene Prayer" to be repeated on the beads:
Dear Mary Magdalene, love incarnate,
Sacred Vessel, Holy Grail
chosen were you from all women,
and blessed is your union with Jesus.
Dearest Bride and Beloved of Christ,
show us the way of the heart.
Yes, show us the Way of the heart. Jesus told us we would "do this in memory of Her".....in so many ways.
If you want to read more about the power of the number 7, it's origins in Goddess traditions and it's Sacred Geometry affiliations, read Margaret's brilliant Magdalene's Lost Legacy, Symbolic Numbers and the Sacred Union in Christianity.
I have been very, very surprised at the response I've gotten about the Magdalene Rosary. I thought it was something we'd create "later" but it became really compelling, I just had to have one. I woke up one morning with my fingers wanting it ! Two other women wanted one right away too. Margaret had already liked the idea that my sister Sally would make some in case people wanted to pray this way. So here it is
It might be difficult to see the medallion, but it's the Holy Grail Family. Click Here To See Magadalene Rosaries and Chaplets
This one is made from garnets. She's designing one from pearls also. And of course you can make your own using the 7 groups of 7 design. We found that there aren't any traditional rosary beads available in the color red.....M-m-m-m.....so we had to create our own.
I believe that the effect of praying in 7s is a profound way to strengthen the vibrational pattern of the Sacred Feminine in our lives as we re-balance the earth towards the New Creation. We are each arranging our own vibrational field with the wisdom of sacred and holy geometry when we do this. And don't get me started on how sacred geometry is reflected in the crop circles .
I'll leave you today with a picture I just found under the heading "Mystical Marriage" on a Bibilical art site. It's Hungarian from 1500.....I love all the crowns, the various Magdalene iconography, and the dragon. There's alot of kinds of strengths of the Feminine there. Who among us hasn't felt we had to tame a dragon?
Oh, Joan, I love the rosary. I already wrote to Sally and asked her to create one for me.
That mystical marriage painting is astonishing.
Is that a ring the baby is putting on the finger of ??? Mary Magdalene? Or who?
That wheel looks like a spinning wheel with a spindle. The spindle is also a tree, from which the spinning spindle was often made. Celtic mythology teaches that the spindle tree is associated with "sudden enlightenment." (So when Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on the spindle and went to sleep for a hundred years, she really fell into the lap and safety and teaching of the Dark Crone Mother and into sudden enlightenment. In a way she was saved from the patriarchy and schooled away from it until she was powerful enough to re-enter this dimension. At that moment when the Sacred Union was possible because she was ready, the divine masculine (the prince), found her where she had always been. (It’s kind of like the Goose Girl story I love so much!)
And about that dragon!!!
Remember how I wrote you about the REALM OF THE RING LORDS by Laurence Gardiner (and put a review of it up on www.Shelfari.com)? His thesis is that elves and fairies and dwarfs and even vampires are emblematic of dynasties that were destroyed by the Catholic Church as it moved to replace the dynasties and consolidate its worldly power by becoming the only authority to anoint new kings.
Regarding the dragon, Gardiner says that it represents wisdom. He also says, "In Mesopotamia and Egypt, the early kings of the succession were called dragons because they were anointed with the sacred fat of a large monitor called the Mus-hus or Messeh [that looks like the dragon in this painting!]. From this derived the Hebrew stem MSSH, which gave rise to the verb mashiach (to anoint). Thus, the kings were also called Messiahs (Anointed Ones)."
He also says that the "king of kings" in the Gaelic world were called Pendragons (Head Dragons).
So that dragon imagery says, "Here is the Messiah, anointed by Godde. Here is Wisdom." The ring, according to this Gardiner, represents justice.
And having said all of that, what I really love about the painting is all of those crowns, one for every one of the women. What a powerful shift in consciousness to this divine feminine matrix that enables the sacred union!
Thank you for a lovely Sunday morning meditation.
Love,
Sandra
www.growingupwithoutthegoddess.com
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Thank you SO much for filling in so much knowledge and wisdom about the symbolism in the painting. I was hoping someone would....and I hope others will too.
I wonder about the tales and paintings and symbolism of St. Margaret and the Dragon? I also like the association of dragons with ley lines, the lines of concentrated energy in the earth. They're referred to as "dragon lines" also. Which gives the association of the earth herself with the creative, dragon energy. And what about the I Ching's hexagram # 1?
when you research family history you're apt to come upon people who are called "dragonslayer" in England. I've got one in the York area long ago. They have a tale connected to them of chasing away a menacing dragon from town. I wondered if it meant that this person was a strong heroic type who had authority and relationship to his own body/soul energies (ley lines of his own earth). But what you're saying about the dynasties destroyed by the Catholic Church gives it a different possibility...one not so flattering. I haven't read Gardiner's book yet....I must!
Thanks for being there. Joan
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Joan, this is SO exciting! I saw your listing for your new book with Margaret on Amazon. The Editorial Review is so enticing. I feel that Magdalene Circles, based on your book will spread like lovingly planted seeds, all around the world. I can't wait to read it! May seems so far away!
Much love to you and Margaret,
Jennifer
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Hi Jennifer,
Readers will want to know that in Jennifer's book, The Holy Book of Mary Magdalene, there is also a very beautiful rosary set of prayers. Here's one sequence to say over the beads in one of the decades(10) of beads....
Hail Mary
Full of Beauty
With you I prosper
With you I am reborn
A shining and thankful soul
In the temple of adoration
In the sacred silence
Come, goodness and mercy
Come, light of joy
Rise from my ready heart.
Ending on the large bead with "Magdala Rose, Amen."
See more at her webiste www.demeter.spiritualitea.net
Thanks for your comments, Jen........
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In the image, I wonder if the woman receiving the ring is St. Catherine. She was broken on a wheel, known later as a "Catherine Wheel," so that may be why she is shown with one. Barbara, with the tower, has been said to be an aspect of Mary Magdalene, so is there a similar link of Catherine to Magdalene? Nuns are known as Brides of Christ, so does this show a similar union?
That rosary configuration is the "Seven Sorrows" chaplet, for Mater Dolorosa. From:
http://www.thegrotto.org/chap1.htm
"This devotion was originated in the thirteenth century It recalls the Sorrows the Virgin Mother of God endured in compassion for the suffering and death of her Divine Son. The Seven Sorrows rosary consists of seven Hail Marys For each of the seven Sorrows."
Also available here:
http://www.rosaryworkshop.com/RDSP-2520-7sorrows.html
I can't find it right now, but one Rosary parts supplier had the seven different pieces for this rosary. There is also a center that's a heart pieced by seven swords, which would work for the Sorrows chaplet as well.
This page:
http://www.yankeelady.com/yl-antiques/chapel/rosary-table.htm
Has the configurations of prayer beads and chaplets. Hundreds of them! I think it's fascinating.
Anyway, the 7/7 is not a "new" configuration, but I do think it's interesting to take something meant to remember the sorrows and suffering and change it to something else.
-Carol
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Dear Carol,
Thank you for your help with the picture's symbolism. Yes, I think it is St. Catherine's story, and it was interesting to me that searching under "mystical marriage" I found Magdalene symbolism amidst the Catherine story.. It's as though the archetype of "the Self"..."Wholeness"...."Union" just can't help but be there when we talk about Sacred Union. I also noticed the St. Barbara and the Tower, which Margaret Starbird's work has connected to a conflating of Magdalene stories with later developing legends. "Barbara" means "foreign woman" apparently, and "tower" is one of the common symbols of Mary Magdalene. She was identified as our stronghold, our bulwark, our tower of strength. These are allusions to Magdalene as representative of "the land and people" , the Bride of Christ, the union of flesh and divinity takes place in their union.
In reading up about the history of the rosary I discovered that it was used specifically to "retrain" women who were followers of the alternative church of love in the heretic areas of France in the 12th c. The legend is that St. Dominic was involved in the brutal suppression of heretics and he formed a house for "inclosed women" in Prouille and it was there that the rosary to the Virgin Mary was "received" by him in vision. When I read that I was stunned, because it sounds like a "thought control device" to retrain women about which Mary they could honor and which they could not.
The Rosary Workshop site you mention is great, I really enjoyed it. Thanks again for your comments. Joan
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So much wisdom here and so much learning.
That dragon's tail is awfully long, rather serpentine really, so that it looks like a symbol of both dragon (Messiah) and serpent (Goddess) all at once.
I don't know the St. Catherine or the story of St. Margaret and the Dragon. But I will soon.
Love
Sandra
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Joan! Great post, great images! I can't WAIT for the new book to be able to learn Margaret's new rosary. Based on Sevens. Yes! Wow. I am gonna have to write to Carol and get me one, too.
So Amazon has you and Margaret's book available for pre-order, eh? I will go check it out now and then post all this and your blog entry to the various forums.
--Katia
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Hi Katia-on-the-other-side-of-the-continent,
Yes, it was really a last minute surprise when Margaret added her rosary story and prayers to our book. I'll send you a copy of them tomorrow morning, when I'm on my other computer where they live. And a bigger surprise that the garnet rosary Sally made for me was so physically compelling to the women I showed it to. Here's Sally's email if you want to ask her more about it, or about the pearl one we're making. SallyaNorton@sbcglobal.net
A few years back ...when I was fumbling around trying to create my study circle, I dreamed that Magdalene Circles were going to spread nationally..... I thought that was quite a grand dream statement...but now I see it was Wisdom speaking.
I hope you're well and your family happy. Love to you, Joan
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Dear Joan,
I can't wait to get my hands on the new book you and Margaret co-authored. I love the idea of the rosary and will definitely order one. My very first rosary given to me by my great aunt Christine (I'm named after her) was made of garnets! And Saraphina's lifepath number is 7!!
I love all these synchronicities that have been popping up like crazy for me these days.
Giant hugs and thank you again for all of your help with Gaia Fest.
Love,
Kris
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Hi again, Kris. Thanks for this story about your aunt Christine. I'm really surprised about the garnets...when Sally and I searched for already linked rosary beads to make our new one, there weren't any red ones to buy, that's why we had to create one from scratch. Garnets are the obvious choice, aren't they? The other one Sally's working on will have seven linked pearls with a larger red gemstone between the heptades of sevens....Pearls of Wisdom, the pearl of great price..... another piece of Magdalene's iconography.
Do you still have your Aunt Christine's rosary?
Sarafina and Sevens....another indication of her place in the heart's opening on earth.
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I've been making rosaries and chaplets, too. I haven't tried the beads that already have the wires — I enjoy working with semi-precious stones too much and love the selection in a good bead shop. There are some good instructions online for doing the wires yourself. Takes a bit of practice, but it's very rewarding to do. Once you have the skill, you can also repair rosaries.
Anyway, I've been thinking (for about a year) of making a 7/7 chaplet with lapis beads. I'd like to use real silver wire on it, but not confident enough to spend the money on it. So I may just go ahead with the regular craft wire.
One could also re-configure a regular rosary, since it has 50 beads and the 7/7 would take 49. Just need new decade beads.
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Hi Carol, I know what you mean about loving the semi-precious stones. They are really alive, aren't they? They feel very different to use for contemplation because of that. To me, anyway. If you want to share resources for learning to do the wire wrapping, that would be great. I've watched my sister do it and I know I couldn't...it's too "tiny". Thanks for your comments!
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Aha, here it is:
http://www.rosaryshop.com
Looks like they changed some things around, but this is where I found the instructions before. They have them as PDFs.
This is also where I saw the medal, center and divider set for the Dolorosa chaplet.
http://www.rosaryshop.com/description2.php/SQL/pn%3D'ME-0221'
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Thanks again, Carol...you've obviously been very creative with rosaries and I appreciate your guidance towards making them. xoJoan
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Dear Joan--
I love the painting of Our Virgin Mother and the four "mystical Brides" of Jesus. According to traditional iconography, the one with the wheel is St. Catherine (who died on a wheel), and St. Barbara (with her tower). The one with the basket of flowers could be Mary Magdalene (?) and the one with the dragon is St. Margaret (who killed the dragon from within (the "beast" ate her and then exploded!) Thanks for posting this beautiful painting along with the rosary---it's very special!
love and blessings,
Margaret
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Dear Margaret,
Thank you very much for your additional comments about this painting. So many of us respond to the medieval paintings which are so rich in the symbolism of Mary Magdalene and the Grail story, but we don't always know what exactly we are responding to. That's true for me anyway. My familiarity is often a generalized sense of the Sacred Feminine and its archetypal symbolism , but I am not educated in that period of religious history the way you are. We always welcome an observation, a tutorial, a personal response from your wisdom. Thank you! Here's another beautiful painting. It's a portion of a 1500's Gerhard David painting of the wedding at Cana.
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Is this not another form idolatry as opposed by the bible theories and teachings of Christ?
Nonso, Nigeria
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Hello Nonso, thank you for your comment. We are not in opposition to Christ's teachings, for we believe he honored and respected women and that he expressed this through his Sacred Marriage to Mary Magdalene. Using the rosary as a way to meditate on the Sacred Feminine principle in Christianity is a way to enhance our love of both Jesus and Magdalene.
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