St Mary Magdalene, page 5
The Companion of the Lord
Three holy women always walked with the Lord: Mary, the Holy Mother; Mary, the Old Wise Woman; and St. Mary Magdalene, the Maiden of Light. Now their proper name in Hebrew is Miriam. They are the three faces of True Womanhood and the Divine Mother, so that, as well as the image of the Living Father, the image of the Divine Mother was always with him. In Mary Magdalene, he was joined to the Divine Mother as the Living Father to the Holy Shekinah, for she was his wife and consort.
St. Mary Magdalene never left the side of the Lord from the day of their union until the night of the Passion. She ate with him and slept with him. She laughed with him and cried with him, and she went everywhere with him. She was the only disciple who accompanied him on his spiritual retreats and kept vigils of prayer and meditation with him. Because he kissed her often on the mouth in public, it was an embarrassment to the male disciples. Because he gave her secret teachings that he spoke to no other disciple, many of the men disciples were jealous of her. At dinners and festivals in the homes of believers, they danced together and made merry. It was not uncommon for them to walk arm in arm. The Lord said of her, "She is my very self and soul in woman's form. I am she and she is what I am," though few were able to listen and hear this. Even to this day, few believe that Christ can come in a woman's form and few have received Our Lady, the Holy Bride.
Lord Yeshua taught men and women alike, and Lady Mary was his inmost secret disciple, along with her twin, St. Lazarus.' At night, in private when they were alone, he disclosed every mystery to her and taught her every secret thing. She taught and initiated the women and any men who would receive her. She co-preached the Gospel of Truth with Lord Yeshua and performed all manner of wonders, for she was coequal and co-enlightened with him. He is Christ the Logos and she is Christ the Sophia. Together, they are the Second Adam, the seed of supernal humanity.
Many can accept she was a close disciple, some can accept she was the wife and consort of the Lord, but few are they who accept her as the female embodiment of the Christos. These latter are called Sophians, for they have gnosis of Logos and Sophia. Thus, among us, there are both men and women who are elders and tau-apostles of Light.
If an ordinary man and woman become one flesh in marriage, then a man and woman of Light become one holy soul. So it is with Our Lady and Our Lord; they embody the Soul of the Messiah.
The Divine Muse
It was a great blessing that the Holy Mother inspired the Lord to invoke the Bride, for St. Mary Magdalene is the Divine muse of the Gospel of Truth. It is she who inspired the Lord to impart the outer, inner, and secret teachings of the Gospel. Apart from her, he would not have given the inner and secret initiations. It was to her that he spoke of the deep mysteries, all in a constant courtship and love-play. She knew how to ask questions when other disciples were present, so that, answering her, all were blessed with secret Wisdom.
Few could conceive of such sublime and powerful passion as occurred between Our Lord and Our Lady. Through their passion, the whole world has been set ablaze. In his passion for Our Lady, Our Lord kindled the flames until they poured forth upon the entire assembly, making the true and Gnostic church like unto the Holy Fire of the Bride-on fire with the Spirit of Yahweh. Truly, without her, we would only have the outer Gospel, as in the outer and unspiritual church, and dead letters devoid of the life of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord loved Mary Magdalene so deeply that he poured himself into her, and thus he said to the male disciples who complained that he taught a woman, "I shall make her male, like unto you males." Likewise, when they complained he loved her more than all his disciples, he said to them, "Give thanks I love her as I do, for because of her you also receive. And if you are wise, you will inquire of yourselves why I love her more than I love you." Indeed! He loved her because she saw him and knew him and received the anointing he received, for she was his soul mate.
Soul Mates
Many speak of meeting their soul mate, but they do not know what they are saying. When soul mates meet, there is light and fire between them, and they give birth to something new in the world and are a blessing on the world. The nature of the meeting and union of soul mates is that humanity is uplifted through their love-play. It truly is no trivial matter, as we see in the mystical union of Our Lady and Our Lord. Their love was not their own, nor was it isolated to them, but the whole world has been changed by it. Soul mates are divine consorts and partners in the great work. Joined together, they fulfill the mission of the Supernal Soul they share. By this, we know when soul mates meet and unite-they are a Light in the world, as Our Lady and Lord are Light. In this way, we understand the divine passion that transpired between them and a secret mystery of salvation.
The Holy Staff of the Lord
There is a strange legend told of the Lord and the Bride. It is said that the Lord had a holy staff with the Great Name of God engraved upon it and that its shape was that of a serpent. He carried it with him everywhere he went, up until the time of the Passion and his arrest. When he spoke to the multitudes, the staff looked like an ordinary staff. When he taught his disciples in private, it often transformed into a serpent that would coil up near him. Sometimes, when the Lord wished to initiate a disciple, the staff, transformed into the serpent, would go to the disciple and bite him, injecting gnosis and power. At some point, every new disciple was put to the test in this way, and many fled from the Good Serpent.
The holy staff would become other things as well. It would become the power of fire or ice and often shone with brilliant light. Once it transformed into a phoenix bird and flew into heaven to fetch a star-crown jewel of Wisdom. On more than one occasion it became a thunderbolt in the Lord's hands, and other times, a great ray of light. Sometimes, it changed into an archangel or some other luminous being. Once when he was preaching in a town and the people became hostile toward Our Lady, he hid her in it and made himself invisible, escaping in this way, for the full power of the Holy Shekinah was in his staff.
In truth, it was Our Lady who was his Shekinah consort and holy staff of power. The Great Name burned upon her brow, the milk and honey of the Tree of Life flowed through her, and she was as the living temple in which the Lord dwelt. In this, deep things are spoken for those who might understand.
The Mysteries of the Arayot
The Lord knew the mysteries of the Arayot6 and practiced them with St. Mary Magdalene. These are the mysteries of a man embracing a woman as the physical embodiment of the Shekinah of God and the woman embracing the man as the physical embodiment of Yahweh. It was in this way that they made love. Thus, in their love, they played among the Light-emanations and brought down the everflowing and radiant holy breath for all to receive. Some have said that the great wonders that transpired were on account of this, though surely it was only part of the mystery of the great wonder-working power in Our Lord and Our Lady.
Now among the things those skilled in the Arayot are able to do is to conceive a child and draw down a holy soul of a very high grade. One can only imagine the loftiness of the holy soul that Yeshua and Mary brought into the world, for it is said that their son, St. Michael, was conceived in this way.
Many wonders were seen in the nights that Yeshua and Mary embraced in this way, but these are improper to speak about, as they belong between Our Lady and Our Lord.
If an elder? or tau8 is to teach these mysteries, he or she can only speak them in the presence of two disciples, and only where there is love and a covenant rightly established. Yet it is said that Mary Magdalene taught these mysteries to many women disciples and that they, in turn, instructed their husbands.
The Dance of the Bride
Lady Mary loved to dance for the Lord and for the disciples. Her dance would draw souls into ecstasy and beatific visions. Light and fire would come from her body, and with her dance she would compel spirits. Whatever she desired, spirits would do. The spirits of saints and angels would dance with her in the subtle air, and the Shekinah would rest upon her so that blessings and grace poured out. Oftentimes, the Lord would take up the dance with her, and many amazing wonders transpired in this way. It was a dance of perfect de- vekut.9 Yet just as often, the Lord would sit perfectly still in the center, abiding in prayer and chant and holy meditation. She would dance a circle around him, extending the light and glory of the Anointed.
If anyone who had any unclean or evil spirit entered when Our Lady was dancing, the dark spirit would be driven out of them. If any were ill, they would be healed. Many experienced states of divine illumination while she danced, worshipping her Beloved and the Holy One of Being.
When she wished to dance alone, no one would rise to join her, but all sat entranced and enchanted by her dancing. Yet, when she wished others to join in, her dance would become intoxicating, so that no one could remain still. The energy of her dance would pass like a wildfire to all who were present, and all manner of prayers were answered when she danced.
Indeed! She would become as the heavenly woman whom neither man nor angel could refuse. She prayed and invoked God the Mother often in this way. It was she who taught worship through dance to the young women of the circle, just as she taught them the courtly affairs of the royal path of the priestess-queen. For she was in every way the priestess-queen and Kallah Messiah,` and though she loved to dance, she also bore her regal bearing when sitting, as though enthroned. When she walked, she was the movement of perfect grace. She danced and sat and walked in great beauty and holiness. In every way, she was the worthy consort and partner of Our Lord.
Mysteries of the Moon
Our Lady taught and initiated many women disciples, and among the women there were many who grew wise. She taught all aspects of the Gospel, just as the Lord taught the Gospel, but she also taught all mysteries of the Gospel in womanhood. At the heart of her teachings of the Gospel in womanhood were the mysteries of the cycle of the moon known to women. When the cycle of the moon comes full circle with a woman, there is great power in her and she becomes more sensitive to the subtle air and spiritual world. Thus, Lady Mary taught the way of spiritual retreat and vision quest to women of the circle, following the cycles of the moon in their own bodies. She also taught them ways of prophecy and wonder-working as was once known to the prophetess Miriam.
When the women would retreat in this way, it was for the sake of the tikkune" of the world and restoration of true womanhood. Now these mysteries cannot be spoken openly, only in circle. Yet, we can say she taught women how to chant the Mother's names, how to sing heart-songs, how to celebrate in the Mother Spirit, and how to bring tikkune to the world of angels and the world of Light-emanations, as well as to this good earth and the human spirit.
Men and women alike received teachings and initiations from Yeshua and Mary, and no difference was made among them in the First Circle." Women were considered clean and holy in their womanhood, and the taint of false doctrines inspired by the demiurge was purified. Here, we can mention the saying of the Lord when he gave his heart-advice to the Holy Bride. First, he said to her, "Seek to know nothing, and seek to understand nothing; do not seek to be anybody. In this way you will acquire the perfection of wisdom." Then he said to her, "The divine illumination of the Anointed is the same for men and women alike, and both men and women can equally attain it. Yet, when the Light-presence is embodied in a woman, she is a greater power for the good than the man who embodies it. So it shall be in the Second Coming-the great matrix of the supernal Light-presence shall manifest through true womanhood."
This is the hope of the Second Coming among Sophians.
The Virgin and the Whore
Now it has been said that the Mother was the virgin and that the Bride was the whore, and both were called "Mary." Why should the Mother be called a Virgin and the Bride called a whore? Because Mother Sophia is concealed and Bride Sophia is revealed. Anyone who seeks to know the Holy Bride will know her, but no one shall know the Mother, save the Daughter.
There is a great mystery in this, for the Mother gives birth to the Son of the Father, and the Son recognizes the Holy Bride, who is the image of her Mother. Beholding the Daughter, the Son beholds the Mother; yet Mother Sophia is ever-transcendent and it is the Daughter who is realized.
The Mother remains ever in her purity, without taint, trace, stain, nor mark, and this is also true of the Bride. Yet the Bride becomes everything and everyone, and appears to have taint and trace and stain and mark! The Mother is transparent, but the Daughter is visible light and glory and she is also fire and darkness; though in her inmost essence, the Daughter is the Mother.
Thus it has been said that Logos came for the salvation of Bride Sophia, for it is she who was bound under the dominion of the demiurgos and became the whore to the archons and even to Satan. Is not Logos the presence of awareness through which cosmic ignorance is dispelled and Wisdom nature recognized, thus enlightening and liberating the soul? A great mystery is revealed in this, for in the inmost secret teachings, the Mother and the Son and the Bride are merely personifications-what they are exists within you and is your own bornless nature. This is called the Gnosis of Melchizedek.13
St. Mary Magdalene sought to impart these inmost secret teachings after the Lord's ascension. Even among the chosen apostles, few would listen and hear the secret teachings from her because she was a woman. Indeed! Rejected, the Bride was labeled a "whore" in the ignorance of men!
Our Lady and the Angel of Wisdom
Lord Yeshua taught and initiated Lady Mary. But she also received teachings and initiations directly from the Holy Spirit, and also from the spirits of the prophets and angels of God, just as Lord Yeshua received them. More than any of the other prophets, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Malachi visited her. More than any other archangel, it was Ratziel who ministered to her, for Ratziel is the archangel of Sophia. Indeed, one could well say Ratziel was the holy guardian angel of Our Lady, for she was the incarnation of Christ the Sophia. Thus, all that Ratziel possessed belonged to Our Lady, and whatever she requested from the wisdom treasury, she received. Among the special gifts Ratziel gave to Our Lady was the holy book of his name's sake, the Book of Ratziel, which had once been in the possession of the supernal Adam and Eve. This is a holy book of Pure Kabal,14 which was reflected on the first holy tablets given to Moses but which was destroyed on account of the golden calf and worship of the demiurge.
To all who received the Bride and who were worthy of such lofty teachings, she taught the mysteries of the Book of Ratziel and she showed them the sacred rites that were in Wisdom's holy book. Nothing was hidden from those who received the teachings and initiations of Sophia's Gospel, for the full power of the company of heaven and all heavenly hosts was bestowed upon them, as upon the Holy Bride.
It was because Lady Mary was in possession of this Book of Ratziel that the Lord knew she could receive all teachings: outer, inner, and secret-for they were, in fact, already known to her. She knew the Ways of Wisdom before he revealed them to her; just as when she spoke a revelation, he also knew it already. Lord Yeshua was the tzaddik's of Our Lady, but Ratziel was her maggid.16 Thus, her education was perfectly complete in the presence of Yahweh and she lacked nothing.
Some masters of the tradition say that what Yeshua added unto Mary was the secret Book of Enoch," of which St. Jude spoke, which is to say, the Gnosis of the Supernal Crown.
Light-Breath of Our Lady
There was light and fire in the breath of Our Lady, the fire of the dragon and the light of the Spirit of Yahweh. With her breath, she devoured unclean and evil spirits and she was able to heal and illuminate those who drew near to her. Merely breathing, she served to enlighten and liberate souls and all were blessed who entered into her presence, whether or not they received her. To the righteous, she was a peaceful angel. To the unrighteous, she was an angel of wrath. To the elect, she was an angel of pure bliss. Such is the very nature of the Shekinah consort of the Lord.
When the Risen Savior breathed the Holy Spirit on the disciples, ordaining them as apostles of Light, he breathed Our Lady upon them. On account of her, they bore the power to bless and to curse, to forgive and to bind, and to work all manner of wonders. This was ordained according to God Most High, all according to the fulfillment of the law and the prophets.
Truly, she is the matrix of Light, as though a prism of light through which the Light-transmission flows, becoming rainbow rays; and all receive the holy stream of the Light-transmission according to their own proper grade. Yet, it is those who receive the Holy Bride in full who are apostles in fullness-for she is the First Apostle and the Apostle of the apostles. She is the Light-transmission of the true apostolic succession.
Now we shall say this of the Holy Bride: She rides in the chariot of Yahweh, which is Elohim, and she rides on the great dragon, which is Leviathan.18 She is the consort of God and mistress of the dragon. In her holy breath is the power of creation and destruction.
In this we have told a secret, which the wise who invoke our Lady will understand.
Great Beauty
It was quite something that Lady Mary loved the Lord so deeply. She was the most beautiful of women and younger than him, but he was rather plain and almost homely, being weathered by exposure to the elements. No doubt she loved his charm and charisma and could see the great beauty that was in him, of which her own beauty was an outward reflection. She knew he was her one and only love-a True Beloved.
