A(nother) question about Mary Magdalene

Question: Do you think that Mary Magdalene was divine, an actual goddess incarnate? And were she and Jesus archetypes?

I'm intrigued to know why you think she might be!

The term 'divine' derives from the Latin 'divus' meaning 'god'. To be divine is to be eternal, holy, god-like, super-human, heavenly, and of surpassing excellence. Or, at its simplest, to be divine is to be a god/dess - a or the supreme being - the word 'god/dess deriving from the Proto-Indo-European ghut, meaning 'that which is invoked'. And of course as you know, to be a god/dess incarnate means to be embodied in human form.

I believe that Jesus was the incarnation of the divine, of that which we call and invoke as God. He was an historical person, fully human, and fully divine - the integration of flesh and spirit which I hope we can all seek and find. I don't believe he became divine at his baptism, nor at his death, nor at the resurrection. He was God incarnate from his conception, a divine seed if you like, borne and birthed by a fully human mother.

Mary Magdalene, on the other hand, I do not believe to have been divine/a goddess incarnate. I believe she, like Jesus's mother Mary, was another fully human being. I do believe that she almost certainly had a special relationship with Jesus, and may have been his wife.

Taking an archetype to be a recurrent symbol or motif in mythology/religion, a primitive mental image inherited from our ancestors and present in our collective unconscious, then I would say that the Pauline Christ is more of an archetype than the person Jesus. The Christ is the Sacrificial Hero, through whom we are 'saved'; Jesus was a healer and a teacher of esoteric spirituality.

As regards Mary Magdalene, she has represented more nearly the archetype of the so-called 'Fallen Woman' - but we know that she certainly was neither a fallen woman nor prostitute but rather the closest colleague of Jesus and the 'apostle to the apostles' - albeit one whose person and role were subsequently repressed and/or rejected in favour of her male co-disciples.

The other archetypal role which Mary Magdalene might be ascribed is that of Mother - but we don't know, and won't ever know, for certain whether or not she was indeed a Mother to Jesus's child or any other. That role goes to Jesus's own Mother Mary.

Seven pieces of music for seven days

Mary Magdalene Music Contemplation Lab.

DAY 1

Title/Composer: The Woman with the Alabaster Box - Arvo Pärt

Hear here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdY7oa4naAU

Information: Inspired by Gregorian chant, Estonian born composer Pärt is known for musical minimalism and for his own 'invention', tintinnabuli. Tintinnabuli is characterised by two voices, the first arpeggiating the tonic triad, the second moving in steps diatonically. Pärt's works are often slow and meditative. The composer himself has made these comments about his work:

• Tintinnabulation is an area I sometimes wander into when I am searching for answers – in my life, my music, my work. In my dark hours, I have the certain feeling that everything outside this one thing has no meaning. The complex and many-faceted only confuses me, and I must search for unity. What is it, this one thing, and how do I find my way to it? Traces of this perfect thing appear in many guises – and everything that is unimportant falls away. Tintinnabulation is like this. . . . The three notes of a triad are like bells. And that is why I call it tintinnabulation....
• Tintinnabuli is the mathematically exact connection from one line to another.....tintinnabuli is the rule where the melody and the accompanying voice...is one. One and one, it is one – it is not two. This is the secret of this technique.
• I could compare my music to white light which contains all colours. Only a prism can divide the colours and make them appear; this prism could be the spirit of the listener.

Questions/Comments: Did you enjoy listening to this piece? What did it convey to you?

I think this is a beautiful piece of music, very atmospheric and spacious. It conveys a sense of mystery and awe, and also a slight melancholy - not inappropriate given the scene it is relating: a kind of farewell from Mary Magdalene to her beloved.

DAY 2

Title/Composer: Marie-Magdeleine - Jules Massenet; libretto Louis Gallet (1873)

Hear here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YCNUS4dpiA

This is an extract only: the whole dramatic oratorio comprises three acts and lasts over and hour and a half!

Information:

The lyrics of this aria begin: O mes soeurs, je veux fuir loin des bruits de la terre...

(O my sister, I want to flee from the sounds of the Earth.)

Marie-Magdeleine, written in the Romantic style and based on La vie de Jésus (1863) by Ernest Renan, was first performed in Paris on the 11th April 1873. It was Massenet's first success and won him praise from the composers Tchaikovsky, Gounod, and Bizet.

The subject of the story caused some controversy, as it implies physical love between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Questions/Comments: Did you enjoy listening to this piece? What did it convey to you?

I am quite impressed to learn that this oratorio did not shy away from the controversial topic of love between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. As far as the music itself goes, I have rather gone through my operatic phase, and always preferred to sing it rather than listen to it!

DAY 3

Title/Composer: The Lost Star/Franck Glenisson - Goddess of the Gospels

Hear here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwHG-uZgrWw

Information:

The Lost Star was originally a stage name for the U.S.-born Parisian singer-songwriter, but it developed into a 'concept' that she says helps her to evolve, to go beyond herself, and to open up to others: 'Using intuition as our guide, metamorphosis is possible: we can all become 'stars' if we can only connect to our inner light, our divinity within.'

'Goddess of the Gospels' is a track from her first album, 'Red is not a Safe Colour' in which each song is dedicated to a mythical, imagined, or real heroine. The orchestrations are by An Ton That, the accompanying video by French photographer/film-maker Franck Glenisson. The Lost Star has asserted that 'long before' the Da Vinci Code craze, ' an arcane circle of people were already tuned in to the possibility and probability that Mary Magdalene played a much more important role in the saga of Christianity and the life of Jesus Christ than most people were led to believe.' She credits Brown’s novel with the 'democratization of an unknown history that is richly appealing to today’s woman and anyone seeking spirituality outside of traditionally held dogma.' She goes on: 'The goddess and feminine energy were crushed and disfigured by the patriarchal regime which has been in place for 2,000 years now. If you take away a woman’s sexual identity you devalue her.'

Questions/Comments: Did you enjoy listening to this piece? What did it convey to you?

I think this is a very evocative song and video. It reminds me of watching Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar in my younger days. Very sophisticated presentation, although the song lyrics don't really say very much.

DAY 4

Title/Composer: Communion Hymn from the Paraklesis To Saint Mary Magdalene The Myrrh-Bearer, chanted by monks of the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra, Mount Athos on the eve of her Feast Day, 21 July 2012

Hear Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLioYdt8A5c

Information:

The words of this hymn are based on Psalm 19.5: 'Her sound has gone forth into all the earth, and her words unto the end of the world.'

A Paraklesis is a service of supplication for the welfare of the living, offered within the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. It is addressed either to the Most Holy Theotokos (Mother Mary, the God-bearer) or a specific saint whose intercessions are sought through the chanting of psalms, hymns, litanies and the supplicatory canon.

The Monastery of Simonos Petra, literally 'Simon's Rock', is an Eastern Orthodox monastery sited on a cliffside overlooking the rugged southern coast of the Athos Peninsula in Greece, currently housing about fifty monks, headed by Archimandrite Eliseus, and the choir is well-regarded for its Byzantine music.

The monastery was founded during the 13th century by Simon the Athonite, later sanctified by the Eastern Orthodox Church as Saint Simon the Myrrh-bearer as, after his death, his body was said to exude the odour of myrrh.

Questions/Comments: Did you enjoy listening to this piece? What did it convey to you?

To me, this is a very deep, powerful, and solemn piece of music; you can almost feel the vibrations! I can imagine the monks there at Mount Athos, almost unchanged since the days of Simon the Myrrh-bearer. I know that women and female animals are not allowed on Mount Athos, also known as The Holy Mount, being completely dedicated to prayer and the worship of God. It is a self-governed part of the Greek state, and contains twelve monasteries, all of which are communes with common liturgy, prayer, housing, nourishment, and work. Given their devotion to the Theotokos and to Mary Magdalene, the ban on all things female is a paradox, and does rather put me off this otherwise marvellous place and the monks' music!

DAY 5

Title/Composer: Medieval Songs for Mary Magdalen - Joglaresa & Belinda Sykes

Hear here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghFtvCJvq3Q

Information:

Directed by Belinda Sykes, this London-based ensemble has been playing since 1992. Now well-established, they are particularly interesting for the way in which they imaginatively push, and often transcend, the limits of what is often thought of as early music. They were the first medieval band to develop a programme of songs entirely devoted to Mary Magdalen, and they were pioneers in programming medieval Jewish and Arabic texts for otherwise more-commonplace Iberian and Crusades programmes - their Crusades programme (The Scimitar and the Sword) represents the voices of Judaism and Islam alongside the Christian viewpoint, and their Arts Council-award-winning programme of medieval Hebrew/Arabic/Spanish song (Dreams of Andalusia) includes songs by medieval Arab-Andalusian poets and Spanish-Hebrew poets. Their work focuses on connecting ancient and traditional musics but, rather than create a 'fusion' or a surreal mix of these styles, they aim to use their combined experiences (upbringings drenched in traditional Irish, English, Maghrebi, Balkan and Middle Eastern music) to create a homogenous sound - Joglaresa members spent years in North Africa and the Middle East absorbing the best traditional tunes, learning the local languages (Arabic and Hebrew).

The lyrics of the song 'O Madalena, che portasti magna amore Jesu Christo' (O Magdalena, you who carried great love for Jesus Christ) are attributed to the St. Lorenzo Giustiniani (aka St. Lawrence Justinian, first Patriarch of Venice, 1381-1456), although the tune is that of another lauda, or praise song ('I’m going to sing my love of the blessed woman'). A lauda, or 'lauda spirituale', was a vernacular or folk song dealing with holy or sacred subjects, and were sung at home, in religious confraternities of laypeople, or sometimes on the street for processions, rather than being sung in church.

Questions/Comments: Did you enjoy listening to this piece? What did it convey to you?

Personally, I love these songs, they are so full of life and joy and celebration - and remind us that many religious songs, especially carols, were dances. They make you want to tap your feet! I also like that St. Lorenzo was writing songs about the love between Jesus and Mary Magdalene!

DAY 6

Title/Composer: Lady Magdalene - Neil Diamond (1974)

Hear here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VspOMH2LeVk

Information: This song was on Diamond's 1974 album 'Serenade'.

Questions/Comments: Did you enjoy listening to this piece? What did it convey to you?

Neil Diamond is so easy to listen to, and I have always liked his songs. I recently learnt that he was a classmate of Barbra Streisand, and started writing songs after attending a small concert given by Pete Seeger. Big names! This song, Lady Magdalene, is about the crucifixion of Jesus, the two men on either side of him, and, of course, Mary Magdalene. There is a special poignancy to the lines: 'Lady Magdalene, take me home, show me peaceful days before my youth has gone...' given that Jesus was still a young man when he died; and also poignant is the line: 'Take us to your soul for we have wandered far... '

DAY 7

Title/Composer: Francisco Guerrero - Maria Magdalena et altera Maria

Hear here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJMlwv6IJIE

Information:

Franciso Guerrero (1528-1599) was a Spanish Renaissance composer who was born and died in Seville. By the age of 17 he was the music director at Jaén Cathedral, but subsequently accepted a position at the Cathedral of Seville. He was in great demand as a singer and composer, worked and travelled throughout Spain and Portugal, and spent a year in Italy. In 1589 he travelled to the Holy Land, and also visited Damascus, and was captured by pirates and held for ransom on his homeward journey. He died of the plague, while planning a second visit to the Holy Land. His music remained popular for several centuries, especially in the cathedrals of Latin America. His style tended to be homophonic, that is having one primary part supported by additional strands to create harmony and rhythmic contrast.

Questions/Comments:

Did you enjoy listening to this piece? What did it convey to you?

I think this is a lovely piece, clear and bright. I like that the 'other Mary' is included here with Mary Magdalene. A nice piece to end the week on.

Mary Magdalene: Q&A and a poem

Question: According to legend and to some contemporary scholarly authors, Mary Magdalene (and her child by Jesus) was hidden away, or may have even fled to France, for fear of the Romans. Are there any parallels between that and the continuing suppression of her true role by the Roman Catholic Church and the "Holy" Inquisition?

This is a difficult question to respond to, because it is based on un-proven theory... but then, so is much else un-proven, and it never stopped anyone!

So - according to Margaret Starbird and others, Mary Magdalene fled from the Holy Land because of fear of the Roman authorities, under whom Jesus had been executed. She suggests that if they or the Jewish authorities had known that Jesus was married, and especially if they had known, as some claim, that his wife was pregnant by him, then they would have sought to do away with that wife and child: they wanted to keep the power that they already had, and anything that might have altered that would be seen as a threat. It is suggested that this is why, at least in the canonical gospel accounts, nothing is written about Mary Magdalene after the first Easter morning.

Through the centuries, political power and ecclesiastical power have been very closely inter-twined, in some cases indistinguishably so. Any threat to one was a threat to the other; and neither wanted their own power and authority to be questioned, let alone altered, or, perish the thought, lost. Because of this fear (fear always being the root of violence and oppression - and, actually, of all other ills) the Roman church suppressed any suggestion that their heritage from Peter the apostle could be superseded by another claimant - and certainly not by a woman! The purpose of the horrific Inquisition, for example, and the Crusade against the Cathars, was to root out any hint or suggestion that the doctrines, theologies, rites and rituals of the Roman Catholic church was anything less than perfect: it had to be all or nothing. 

But in the end fear cannot win. The church no longer exercises a literal strangle-hold throughout what once was called 'Christendom', and people with any intelligence no longer accept dogma unthinkingly or unquestioningly.  Spiritual quests unrelated to formal religions are continuing to proliferate, as people seek to break through the narrow confines of traditional authority, and to go beyond the gender-obsessions of recent decades, seeking instead for Knowledge and Truth about both the Human and the Divine, and to place love at the heart of life.

Magrat's Poem of the Magdalene

Who are you, Dark Lady of the gospels,

you and the other women, providing for the Lord

as he roams throughout the Galilee...

Why are you, Dark Priestess with a jar of nard,

kneeling to anoint the Bridegroom's feet, preparing Him

for death, for rising, as you follow to Jerusalem...

When are you, Dark Sorrow, watching as Love dies,

then and now you bring your spice of solace,

sitting shiva with the other Mary at our tomb...

Where are you, Dark Mystery who disappears;

running to tell the others, you leave us in a garden

with angels at our side...

What are you, Dark Secret of church history:

recovering demoniac, repentant lady of the night,

for ages wholly side-lined - or the Holy Grail...

How are we to find you, beautiful black Magdalene,

Wisdom for our folly, Sister, Mother, Child,

shining through our Darkness...

The significance (or not?) of MM

Question: The author Margaret Starbird says that this new third millennium might see the transformation of Christianity with the restoration of Mary Magdalene to her rightful place. Starbird has pointed out elsewhere that Mary Magdalene’s initials (MM = 2000 in Roman numerals) really seem to be communicating that she is the Lady of the 3rd millennium, every year of which will be marked with an MM in Roman Numerals. What do you think? Could this be some kind of “second coming”?

At the time of Jesus, and in the years following his death, I don't think his followers would have used either initials for each other nor, even if they did, use Roman numerals: would they not more likely have used Hebrew or Aramaic?

The letter Mem is the thirteenth letter of the Aleph-Bet, and has the numerical value 40. The pictograph for Mem has been described as looking like 'a wave of water', and I understand that in Jewish mysticism it symbolises the 'spring' of the Torah: 

'Just as the waters of an underground spring

rise upward from an unknown source to reveal themselves,

so does the spring of wisdom rise up from the mysterious Source that is God.' 

There is more information about this on the interesting website: hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Mem/mem.html

So although there is a certain charm in Margaret Starbird's suggestion, whose writing is lucid and thought provoking, and it would be great if Mary Magdalene's true place was restored during this millenium, and Christianity transformed, which it certainly needs, I think the significance of MM in Roman numerals as 2000 is stretching the imagination more than a bit.

A former colleague of mine was a numerologist, and certainly her findings about me, based on my names, were rather surprisingly accurate - or at least, accurately interpreted, rather like astrological findings. So, if I'm wrong and there's a Mary Magdalene surge, no problem, bring it/her on! 

However, I at least am bearing in mind that Jesus reportedly said this:

Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, 

no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

(Mark 13.31-33 AKJV)

But I do hope by then to be numbered among the wiser virgins! :-)