Day of the Dead
Posted by Joan Norton at 11/1/2009 6:47 AM 
Categories: Goddess and the Sacred Masculine
Tags: Magdalene Circles Mary Magdalene 14 Steps To Awaken the Sacred Feminine Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene
Categories: Goddess and the Sacred Masculine
Tags: Magdalene Circles Mary Magdalene 14 Steps To Awaken the Sacred Feminine Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene
I had another "ah-ha" moment about Mary Magdalene when I was preparing for last week's on-line Magdalene Circle with Cynthia Jordan and Lerin Winter. We were doing Lesson 1 from 14 Steps To Awaken the Sacred Feminine: Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene , which is called "It Was Foretold". It deals with the idea that there was prophecy that the Bridegroom would have a Bride, that the King would have a Queen, that the Sacred Feminine would be partnered again. You can imagine how many times I've studied Margaret Starbird's books......MANY....but this time something jumped off the page with a new awareness for me.
She was discussing the suffix "hnh" of H Magdalhnh, the way her name is written in Greek in the Gospel. Margaret says it this way, "To many, the hnh was already familiar in connection with the patroness of Athens, the goddess Athena." This means that in the careful choosing of the Greek words to describe Mary Magdalene, the words which would set her into written history, the association was made with the sacred feminine diety Herself, just as Jesus' names and titles were coined to reflect the eternal principles of the Sun dieties. For some reason this had not sunk into my consciousness before, that in order to help people understand who Mary Magdalene was they associated her with the goddess Athena. It was like saying to people, "Think of her with the love and respect that you have for your Athena." Jesus and Magdalene didn't drop into western civilization out of nowhere, their archetypal story of the renewing and regenerating cycles of earth and heaven were already known through the religious stories which people counted on.
We're in the place of that yearly cycle of renewal and regeneration right now which in my neighborhood is called "The Day of the Dead". It's related to Magdalene Mysteries number 4, 5, and 6. "Mary follows the Way of the Cross", "Mary stands with the Virgin Mother at the foot of the Cross", and "Mary meets Jesus at the tomb on Easter morning". It's the descent phase of the story, which is in all the goddess story cycles. It's one of the deepest mysteries of the Western Mystery Tradition, we might call it "the mystery of wisdom gained from enduring". Day of the Dead parades have women dancers who move with slow chanting and no smiles on their faces, for we are nowhere near the Light yet. We're at the cross, we're in the cold tomb, we feel the presence of the dead ancestors. It's the darkened phase of things when sometimes even a dream doesn't break through. Ghosts of life gone by or people now dead to us sometimes come visiting, and we sincerely hope it's brief.
One of the hallmarks of the descent stories is that she has to go alone, there are none of her usual helpers in this hour of need. It's related to the the "Journey in the Boat with No Oars" story where she must rely on faith alone to guide her to the new place. In the descent to the tomb story cycle there's not even a sense of going somewhere, there's just the absence of where one has been. All the images of Mary Magdalene contemplating are, for me, images which satisfy my feelings of this place in the inner journey.
We'll be talking more about the distortions of Mary Magdalene's true name and title on the November 22 Magdalene Circle. It's Lesson 2, "I Thought She Was A Prostitute from Magdala". You can listen to the podcast of Lesson 1 on Spiritually Speaking radio.
Next Sunday I'll be with Margaret Starbird, China Galland, and other fabulous women at the "Marys Madonnas Eternal Mothers-Goddess with Us" conference in San Francisco. I'm looking forward to seeing a couple women I've met on my Facebook page . I'm also excited to be giving Rev. Stacy Boorn of HerChurch one of the Magdalene Rosaries that help center my contemplative life.
I'll have stories to tell when I return to this circle of friends.
Hi, Joan. Like many others, I am sure, I know this place well: "In the descent to the tomb story cycle there's not even a sense of going somewhere, there's just the absence of where one has been."
That's how I have felt since the initial promotion of my book. Your comments help me remember that these feelings are a part of the cycle, not THE END of the story.
Also, I love the feeling/idea of a tradition in which something wonderful was foretold for many hundreds or thousands of years and THEN that something wonderful came to be. What a thing to begin to feel expectation, in my cells now, like I am straining to recall a distant memory or a dream or a long-ago story I once heard. I feel that way when you express your excitement about the gathering of the "Women of the Mary's" in San Francisco and other places. Thanks for all foretelling!
Sandra
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Dear Sandra,
Women like yourself who have been in the depths and learned to trust and to wait for some kind of "light" to show itself really understand the tomb cycle of the Sacred Union story. It's often so painful to not be able to push a resolution.
For those readers who don't yet know the deep and touching story Sandra tells,
click here to see her book Growing Up Without the Goddess Her book is wonderful because she doesn't leave the story in the cave/tomb/dark place.... she lets us go with her into recovery into the "reunion in the garden" .... a most wonderful place. xoJoan
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Thank you for your writing. It is one of the most important aspects of embracing Sacred Feminine perspectives in that we allow ourselves to be with the insights and sharing on so many different levels. In my connection with Mary Magdalene, I am given permission to explore these spiritual connections intuitively and in deeply profound as well as simply ways, as in the pronunciation of her name.
I also draw comfort from the pictures of Mary knowing that so much of the journey of Feminine Spirituality can be a lonely journey. Our own mystical calling comes into our soul and heart alone. We can answer only in the way we believe we are being called. It is between our heart and the heart of our own unique soul companions.
Blessings to all on this journey. In the paradox and mystery of it all, we are both alone and together.
Sally
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Dear Sally,
What a beautiful comment, thank you for taking the time to write. Yes, it's true that there is a beautiful range of relationships we have with Mary Magdalene... what she looks like to us...how she speaks to us ....the promptings we feel in our heart that come from the heart of the Sacred Feminine. It's not dogma and doctrinaire, is it? It's the individual relationship we were meant to have when Jesus said it was within.
Thank you! Joan
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