At this time of winter Solstice, and Christmas, I like to reflect on the Divine Feminine, the Mother God that was left behind in the patriarchy that has come to dominate our world, even though its influence is fading (I think to the relief of both men and women).
When I researched my first novel in the south of France in 2004, it became very clear to me that there is a reverence for the Magdalene there, one that has stubbornly taken root over hundreds of years and will simply not go away. Her name is whispered in myth and lore as the Divine Feminine, the one who more than any other of Christ's disciples understood his teachings deeply and was perhaps commissioned to carry them forward.
History is written by the victors. The patriarchs who over time ultimately held sway over the teachings of Christ and formed the religion called "Christianity", swept away any gospels or writings that did not support their own agenda and personal world view.
Many writings deemed "heretical" by the emerging church fathers were lost, or hidden, and what was ultimately forgotten within the Catholic tradition was the original, important role that women played in Christ's circle. The Gnostic literature, The Gospels of Thomas, Mary or the Pistis Sophia, for instance, are often at odds with what has been cemented as the "New Testament Bible" today.
And yet an examination of this literature is a revelation, for it depicts Mary Magdalene as teacher, Apostle of the Apostles and Beloved of the Lord, his constant companion and one that (as Peter angrily proclaims in these) Christ loved more than all of the others. She was the presence that loved him and never left his side, not even at his death when all of the others, including Peter, abandoned him. She and his mother stood alone beneath the cross.
Why was all of this swept away? Why is she portrayed as a whore instead, one who is demon possessed or, a particular favorite of the church, as a "penitent" ? What did she have to be "penitent" about?? And why was she and other women, who were also powerful teachers and healers at the time of Christ marginalized, and then written out of history completely?
With these questions in mind, along with my constant meditation on the Divine Feminine, always more prevalent at times like ours and over this season in particular, I began to write this novel.
When I researched my first novel in the south of France in 2004, it became very clear to me that there is a reverence for the Magdalene there, one that has stubbornly taken root over hundreds of years and will simply not go away. Her name is whispered in myth and lore as the Divine Feminine, the one who more than any other of Christ's disciples understood his teachings deeply and was perhaps commissioned to carry them forward.
History is written by the victors. The patriarchs who over time ultimately held sway over the teachings of Christ and formed the religion called "Christianity", swept away any gospels or writings that did not support their own agenda and personal world view.
Many writings deemed "heretical" by the emerging church fathers were lost, or hidden, and what was ultimately forgotten within the Catholic tradition was the original, important role that women played in Christ's circle. The Gnostic literature, The Gospels of Thomas, Mary or the Pistis Sophia, for instance, are often at odds with what has been cemented as the "New Testament Bible" today.
And yet an examination of this literature is a revelation, for it depicts Mary Magdalene as teacher, Apostle of the Apostles and Beloved of the Lord, his constant companion and one that (as Peter angrily proclaims in these) Christ loved more than all of the others. She was the presence that loved him and never left his side, not even at his death when all of the others, including Peter, abandoned him. She and his mother stood alone beneath the cross.
Why was all of this swept away? Why is she portrayed as a whore instead, one who is demon possessed or, a particular favorite of the church, as a "penitent" ? What did she have to be "penitent" about?? And why was she and other women, who were also powerful teachers and healers at the time of Christ marginalized, and then written out of history completely?
With these questions in mind, along with my constant meditation on the Divine Feminine, always more prevalent at times like ours and over this season in particular, I began to write this novel.