St Mary Magdalene, page 17
209 Mary said, "If you know how to cast the circle, then you will know how to deliver the spirits; for the secret of deliverance lies in the circle ascending."
210 Mary said, "The spark must become a flame, and the flame must become a blazing fire. When you shine like the sun, you will be complete."
211 Mary said, "The Supernal Light has not been seen in the world before the Anointed brought it down. Now there is a seed of Light and the fruition is forthcoming."
212 Mary said to her companions, "The ages and all that appears will pass away, but the Aeon of Perfect Light will remain. It is eternal."
213 Mary said, "Look! You are a shadow in the Light. Cleave to the Light and let the shadow pass away."
214 A woman asked Mary, "How can a woman be holy?" Mary said, "The man who is holy knows he is no man; therefore, it is the same for a woman. Those who see male and female see only an appearance, for inwardly there is neither female nor male. These appearances are like shadows, and those who grasp at shadows and do not look to the Light miss the mark of Truth."
And again, Mary said, "The Mother and the Bride and SheWho-Is-Wise is within every woman, just as the Father and the Son are within every man; the human being is holy when in possession of her or his humanity."
215 Mary said, "Many are the wisdom treasuries that are hidden, awaiting their discovery. If you court Wisdom, she will give you her dowry and all that is in her house will become yours."
216 Mary said, "Wisdom seeks true lovers and goes to those who seek her. No one will lack Wisdom if in their heart they yearn for her."
217 Mary said, "Many are the false lights. If the True Light had not come and Grace did not open the way, no one would have escaped deception."
218 Mary said to her disciples, "Here something precious is revealed by concealing it, but in the world-to-come it will be revealed by revealing it. Look and see!"
219 Mary said, "Many are they who wander aimless and are bound to missing the mark. It is unbecoming for a human being to live without purpose. For this reason the Lord has taught us to live in a purposeful way and has given us an aim, and he is our purpose and our aim-the Risen One."
220 Mary said, "It may be that a fool is wiser than an intelligent person, for the fool is more likely to know that whatever intelligence arises comes from God."
221 Mary said, "It is, indeed, difficult for a wealthy person to enter into the kingdom of heaven, for the wealthy are like the archons, believing they have created on their own and that the power is their own, though it is not. Yet, the wealthy person who serves the kingdom with their wealth shall be rich in the kingdom of heaven."
222 Mary said, "Every blessing is received inwardly. If one receives an apostle and is blessed, one receives the blessings of an apostle. If one receives a prophet or a righteous person and is blessed, then one receives the blessing of the prophet or righteous person. And so it is with every blessing one may receive, one receives inwardly and one is received."
223 Mary said, "Many say that they have received the Anointed, but one cannot receive unless one is received. Therefore, seek to be received to that you might receive and give, and Grace will accomplish everything within you."
224 Mary taught her disciples, saying, "Be certain to acquire your light-image so that you might be seen in the Living Father and your name may appear in the Book of Life."
225 Mary said, "Yahweh is passing by, therefore Yahweh is seen. Otherwise, no one would ever see the Great Spirit."
226 Mary said, "This world is a shadow of the World of Truth, and yet there is a great blessing in it. Here, there is time to recognize error from truth and to enact the truth, as though a pause to change your heart and mind. But when death comes and the soul departs the body, nothing can be changed."
227 Mary said to her chosen ones, "In the Supernal Realm, it is clear who has come into being and who is unbecoming, for the images of the elect shine brightly, but the beasts of the field do not appear."
228 Mary said, "Souls exchange sparks with one another and we carry sparks of one another and are connected in this way. Be certain to give to everyone what is theirs and to receive what is yours so that all are complete."
229 Mary said, "Nothing here shall remain. See that you also go your way.
230 Mary said to her companions, "Do you have money?" They said to her, "Yes, we have money." She said to them, "Good! Be certain to pay the ransom and buy a staff for the journey."
231 Mary spoke, and she said, "When you pray, let your heart abide in its place, and if it runs, let it return to its abode, which is the Risen Savior."
232 Mary said, "If you become empty, the Lord will give himself to you in full; if you lose yourself, you will acquire the Holy Spirit."
233 Mary said, "Angels appear in the world along with human beings, but the Perfect Human Being is superior to all angels. Have you not heard of Enoch who walked with Yahweh and was taken up in divine rapture? Every true initiate is set above the angels, because she or he has knowledge of the name of God."
234 Mary said, "Today, you are lower than the angels, though some among you are equal to them. When you are complete, you will be above them."
235 Mary said, "Time is nothing, eternity is everything. Be clear about this!"
236 Mary said, "Who has ever heard of a pregnant mother unwilling to give birth in her time? May you also be willing to give birth to your soul when called out of the body. For your body is the Virgin Mother giving birth to your soul in the Eternal Abode."
237 Mary was speaking, and she said, "Words have no meaning apart from the Mother Spirit, therefore to know her is meaningful. Words have meaning to the extent that they invoke knowledge of her, but she is known only in silence."
238 Mary said, "Be conscious of your speech, for among human beings it is the greatest blessing and greatest curse. It binds and it liberates. Be liberating with your speaking and beware not to bind yourself and others."
239 Mary said, "There is a mystery to be played out through manhood and womanhood, yet, truly I tell you, it is concealed by male and female."
24.0 Mary said, "The Lord of Initiation has passed by. See that you receive initiation and bring it to fullness."
241 Mary said, "What appears divided has never been separated, yet division appears for the sake of love and the perfection of will, so that in unification a greater joy should come to pass. If there is sorrow it shall pass away like the shadows of night on the Day of Be-With-Us."
242 Mary said, "The body is a corpse and yet it lives for a while. While it is alive, it is the temple of a great presence, for your soul is in it and the Anointed indwells your soul."
243 Mary said, The essence of the Light is transparent, it is the Holy Virgin; when you become transparent, you will be united with her and attain the perfection of your freedom."
244 Mary said, "The true elements are hidden by the visible, so also are the true rites of the Gospel hidden by the visible. Look to see what is hidden and you will understand."
245 Mary said, "When the circle is engraved and the fire is lit and blazing, invoking the name of the Lord and the shining ones, offer everything into the holy fire as into the Shekinah of God."
246 Mary said. "Many seek the resurrection of the flesh, but the superior resurrection is of the Spirit and is eternal. Seek always that which is superior."
247 Mary said, "If the body is to be raised up, then the body must be transformed; and so it is with everything below. But when things below are transformed, they are no longer of the world, though they may appear in it, and when they disappear they will not appear again."
248 Mary said, "The Lord has called us to gather in, not to scatter and disperse."
249 Mary said to her companions, "In the Anointed, Eve and Lilith are redeemed, for the Logos entered for the sake of the salvation of Sophia, and she is lifted up in him to her proper abode. Lilith is the power of Eve and Eve is the perfection of Lilith, so that, joined, they are True Womanhood. Eve united in herself, and Adam and Eve united in one another, is the image of the Second Adam that appears in the bridal chamber. Therefore, manhood and womanhood are perfected and made complete in one another-so it was ordained from the beginning and so it shall be in the end."
250 Mary said, "Saint and sinner are appearances, but the Truth and Light is beyond. In the Anointed there is neither saint nor sinner, but only the Righteous One. Therefore, do what is right according to the soul of Light in you and you will be counted among the righteous and elect. We will meet again in the Supernal Abode on the Day of Be-With-Us."
This is the Gospel of the Sophia of Ain Sof (One-Without-End), for there is no end to the divine revelation transpiring through the Holy Bride. Whatever might be spoken or written, there is always much more to be received. To all who listen and hear in the Spirit, she continues to speak. The Gospel of Sophia will only be complete at the time of the Second Coming-the Reception of the Bride and the Age of the Mother Spirit. Amen.
An Entrance into the Gnostic Experience
s the Gnostic legends of St. Mary Magdalene reflect, .Lady Mary is the inmost disciple of Lord Yeshua. She is his wife and divine consort. She serves as the Christ-bearer with him and is co-preacher of the Gospel with him. She becomes the First Apostle of the Risen Savior-the foundation of the apostolic succession and the true Holy Church. Indeed, just as Lord Yeshua is the living temple of the Divine presence and power, so also is she; and according to Gnostic teachings, we are also to be living temples of God's presence and power; hence sons and daughters of God.
Essentially, Gnosticism is a path of self-realization through a direct spiritual or mystical experience of the Risen Savior and Holy Bride-hence the recognition and realization of the Light-presence (Christ-presence) in us and conscious unification with God. In the Gnostic experience, the Risen Savior and Holy Bride are a distinct Divine presence and power. The aim of the Gnostic Christian is to embody that Divine presence and power. Thus, Gnosticism is based upon a spiritual life and spiritual practice through which we create the conditions necessary for a spiritual or mystical experience of the Truth and Light. Once established in the Gnostic experience, we seek to live according to the Spirit of Truth revealed in our own experience. In so doing, with Lord Yeshua we may say, "...we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen..." (Gospel of St. John 3:11).
The issue for the Gnostic is not dogmatic creeds and doctrines to be blindly believed and adhered to. Rather, the issue is the reception of spiritual teachings and practices through which gnosis might be made manifest. Gnostic legends, stories, and sayings of the oral tradition are one of the ways Gnostic teachings and practices are communicated. If we contemplate and meditate upon the legends, aware of the symbolic and mystical language from which they are woven, we swiftly discover deeper spiritual meanings within them. At the same time, because these stories and sayings arise from the realization experience of Gnostic elders and tau (adepts and masters), as much as communicating teachings and practices, they also communicate spiritual energy-hence something of the Divine presence and power of which they speak. In the case of the Gnostic legends of St. Mary Magdalene, they invoke and communicate the presence and power of the Holy Bride-the female emanation of the Christos, Christ the Sophia (Wisdom). Thus, we may contemplate and meditate upon the Gnostic legends, seeking to draw out the secret knowledge of the teachings and practices contained in them; or we may study and contemplate them with the intention of invoking the Divine presence and power of the Holy Bride, and thus focus on something more experiential than conceptual. Ultimately, it is the experiential level that Gnostics value the most, for it is the experiential level that leads to the enlightenment and liberation experience-Divine Gnosis.
The presence and power of the Holy Bride is very real in the experience of a Sophian Gnostic, as is the experience of the Living Yeshua or Risen Savior. If one opens one's mind and heart to her, inviting and welcoming her presence into oneself and one's life, then she will enter and reveal herself as Christ the Sophia. Through her, one will acquire gnosis of the Holy Bride and Risen Savior joined in mystical union with God. Truly, one will find that she is as near as one's own body. More than imparting the Gnostic and Light-transmission through philosophical arguments and concepts, she will impart the Spirit of Truth through one's own life experiences. Cleaving to the Holy Bride, one will know the Risen Savior within and beyond oneself and perchance experience supernal or Messianic consciousness-hence enlightenment and liberation. Indeed! For the devotee of the Bride, life becomes the vehicle of the Great Ascension!
Along with contemplation and meditation on the Gnostic legends of St. Mary Magdalene, following are some spiritual practices com monly given to Sophian initiates. Through these practices, one can come into contact with the Holy Bride and bring her into one's life on a more experiential level.
The Holy Bride in Spiritual Life and Practice
Meditation with the Holy Bride
The masters of the Tradition have said, If you meditate on the Holy Bride, she will reveal herself; if you envision her, she will come to you." Whenever you wish to meditate upon her, sit where you will not be disturbed, and let your body find its own natural rhythm of breath. Gently focus upon your breath; let go of the dream-like past and fantasies of futures yet to be-bring yourself into the present moment, where you are and the Anointed Bride is.
Once you have brought yourself into the moment and have settled in, envision a spiritual sun shining in your heart and gather yourself into it. Let go of the surface consciousness and all tension, stress or negativity. Let go of your self-identify with name and form, and identify yourself with the Light-presence in you. Go within, into the depths of your heart, and abide in the Light.
When you have centered yourself in this way, envision a ray of light shooting out of your heart and magically transforming into the image of the Holy Bride, which hovers in the space before you. Her feet do not touch the ground; she dances in the sky. Her inner robe is white brilliance, her outer robe is crimson red, and there is a crimson red shawl over her head. Her eyes are green, her skin an olive complexion, and she is most exquisite to behold. She holds the jar of anointing in her hands, with which she anointed the Lord. There is a golden aura about her and a rainbow aura beyond that. There are wounds of stigmata on her body and brilliant light pours from them. The entire image is formed of translucent light, akin to the image of a rainbow in the sky. Meditate on this image of Our Lady and commune with her.
As you meditate upon the image of the Bride, see her smiling upon you and know her blessing you and receiving you, as you receive her. Envision that she anoints you as her own. Receive her as you own and know that you are received by the Lord through her. Envision that, when she anoints you, she pours out fluid light from her jar and that the light pours over you and into you. See her blessing you with light emanations from her body and aura of all colors of rays. See yourself becoming self-radiant like her, until you also shine with light and are enshrouded with a great aura of light. Know that you are whole and complete as you are in her and she in you, and that whatever your heart's desire is, it is already fulfilled in the Holy Bride.
When your communion with the Anointed Bride is complete, take up her simple chant: Kallah Messiah (all short vowel sounds). As you chant, merge with the sound-vibration of her holy name. When you are about to conclude the chant, envision her image dissolving into fluid light, and as you fall silent, envision she pours into your heart. Let your mind become her Christ Mind, your heart her Sacred Heart, and your body her Emanation Body. Know yourself at one with the Anointed Bride.
As you walk in the world, see all that appears as her Palace of Lights, hear every sound as her Voice or Word, receive all thoughts and emotions arising in the mind as the spontaneous expression of her Innate Wisdom. In this way, walk as the Anointed Bride and walk with the Anointed Bride throughout the day. If you meditate on the Bride each day and live in this holy awareness, you will acquire intimate gnosis of our Lady, St. Mary Magdalene.
The Holy Fire
This meditation is the same as the above in the beginning and end, but the image of the Bride transforms into a dancing flame of fire, dancing around you and through you, purifying and consecrating you. It may be impossible to sit still. So if you are inspired to do so, arise and move and dance with the Bride, progressively entering into the most intimate embrace, until she is you and you are her. Let yourself be burned utterly away in the flames of Divine passion!
Sophia Nigrans
The outer image of Sophia Nigrans (Dark Wisdom) is a beautiful Nubian woman, though she may also appear as a crazy old black woman, as though a hag. Her chant is the chant of Lilith: Allah Lala Lalil Lola Lalu Lilatu (or one may use her simple chant-Kali Kallah). When she comes, she is wild and unpredictable. Though no pronunciation of her chant can be openly given, like herself, it reveals itself to those who take it up. The new moon is the ideal time for her invocation and meditation-the time of purification, revelation, new conception, and initiation. If you seek gnosis of mystical death and spiritual rebirth, or seek a greater flow of creativity, or find yourself in need of deep healing, then you might wish to try this invocation and meditate on the Black Bride. It is especially powerful for women seeking empowerment in life and spirit, and for men seeking the necessary understanding to be partners with empowered and independent women. (In the Sophian Tradition, Lilith represents our reclaiming essential aspects of the Sacred Feminine and womanhood that have been rejected and demonized-aspects necessary to the fullness of life and self-realization.)
The Shrine
If you create a shrine to the Holy Bride in your home and offer candles and incense to the Great Spirit upon it, the presence of the Anointed Bride will be in your home and she will come and visit you. This is a simple way to honor her and it creates a perfect spot for prayer and meditation.
