“Peter said to Mary, Sister we know that the Savior loved you more than the rest of women. Tell us the words of the Savior which you remember which you know, but we do not, nor have we heard them.
Mary answered and said, What is hidden from you I will proclaim to you. And she began to speak to them these words: I, she said, I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to Him, Lord I saw you today in a vision.
He answered and said to me, ‘Blessed are you that you did not waver at the sight of Me. For where the mind is there is the treasure.'”
-Gospel of Mary 5:6-8
Her Mystery
This post is a reflection, rather than a historical or academic exposition, on Mary Magdalene as a great spiritual figure and a learned and wise disciple of Christ.
Mary Magdalene is one of the most controversial and mysterious figures of early Christianity. She is most known as the repentant sinner, the prostitute who was healed by Jesus and became his follower. While there is evidence that Mary Magdalene was never a prostitute it remains an important symbolic component to her legacy and her gospel.
The Marys
Mary Magdalene is mentioned about twelve times in the New Testament gospels as a follower of Jesus Christ.
There is often confusion because there are several ‘Marys’ in the New Testament, including Mary mother of Jesus, Mary mother of James, and Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus.
“There were three who always walked with the Lord: Mary, his mother, and her sister, and Magdalene, the one who was called his companion. His sister and his mother and his companion were each a Mary.”
-Gospel of Philip 36
There are also unnamed women mentioned in the gospels, including a repentant woman who washes the feet of Jesus with her tears, dries them with her hair, and anoints them with precious oil.
“A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.”
-Luke 7:36
This woman was never identified as Mary Magdalene in the gospels but was possibly later conflated with her in the early Christian church. In either case, the image of a woman kneeling in front of the Christ, washing his feet with her hair and tears of pain, sacrificing precious oil profoundly invites us to reflect on repentance.
An Educated and Devout Woman
Mary Magdalene may have been an educated and upper-class woman. She is often depicted holding or reading a book, at a time when it was unusual for women to have access to education.
She may also have been one of a few other disciples that financially supported Jesus through his ministry. Based on her background and subsequent discipleship with Jesus, she was likely a person of devout religious practice and the esoteric wisdom to recognize Jesus for who and what he was.
Her Initiation
In the gospels it is said that she became a disciple of Christ after he exorcised her of seven demons. This may indeed have been an external act of healing by Jesus Christ. However, the esoteric understanding is that she incarnated the universal and cosmic Christ force within herself and eliminated her egoic nature, which are embodied in the seven deadly sins, or seven demons.
In the Gospel of Mary and the Gospel of Phillip she is shown to be one of Jesus’ most beloved and trusted disciples.
Aside from the political, religious or historical implications of this view of Mary Magdalene, this serves as a deep inspiration for the divine feminine. She is a role model of wisdom, devotion, love and strength.
Her Marriage
There is evidence that Mary Magdalene and Jesus were married, which is the topic of many books and movies. This is not that far-fetched as Jesus was a rabbi (teacher and clergy in Judaism), and the convention in Jewish culture at that time was for rabbis to be married. It is very possible that he would have been married to his closest female disciple.
Apostle to the Apostles
Mary Magdalene is most clearly depicted in the New Testament in her role at the resurrection. She waited and prayed at the foot of the cross during the crucifixion and at the tomb of Jesus and she was the first to see that the tomb was empty.
The resurrected Jesus revealed himself to her before anyone else, and she went to tell the the other disciples of the news, thereby earning her the honorific “Apostle to the Apostles”.
After the resurrection she travelled to see the Emperor Tiberius Caesar in Rome to announce Jesus’ resurrection, bringing with her an egg to depict the symbol of rebirth. Through an act of God the egg turned red as she presented it to the Emperor, convincing him of the truth and causing Pilate to be sent into exile because of his wrongful punishment of Jesus.
Her Solitude
According to various sources from the Middle Ages, Mary left Jerusalem on a boat and ended up in Marseille. She lived the rest of her life in the south of France, more than 30 years, in prayer and solitude in a cave.
Today the church Saint Maximin la Sainte Baume claims to have her remains, including a preserved skull. That church and the cave of her hermitage are sites for spiritual pilgrimage to this day.
Her Legacy
Mary Magdalene’s enigmatic status within Christianity has inspired many people to find solace in her teachings. Her reputation as a fallen women, although historically inaccurate, makes her more relatable and approachable than most other saints.
Her renewed status as an educated and wise spiritual leader, a devout disciple, and a penitent saint, bring inspiration and guidance for anyone seeking the divine feminine within their own lives.
“The beautiful Magdala is, without a doubt, the same Salambo, Matra, Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite and Venus. All the priestess wives of the world make up the solar aura of the repentant Magdala, Blessed be the men who find refuge in that aura, because the Kingdom of Heaven will be theirs.”
-Samael Aun Weor