7 Spiritual Teachings of Mary Magdalene
When Mary Magdalene first entered my life in 2018, I had no clue what this vision would open up.
She approached me boldly, hair ablaze, hips swaying. She took my face in her hands and came so close our noses almost touched. We locked eyes for an unforgettable moment. She was gentle but firm, her unflinching gaze penetrating deep within, nothing but love in her eyes.
My mind buzzed with questions as she slowly walked away. Why are you here? What have I done to deserve this meeting? What do you ask of me? She replied with a backward gaze, with the curve of her eyebrow and the toss of her great hair that seemed to say “Remember me. I will show you the way.” Beckoning to me with a cheeky grin, she turned and slowly walked away.
She was a catalyst for a deep dive that led me first into the lives and beliefs of the Cathars of southern France and far back into the goddess religions of the world’s earliest civilisations.
It was only by following the threads all the way back to the ancient Great Mother and the goddesses who came after her that I could answer the question – Who are you?
Mary Magdalene led me far back in time, to unravel the mystery cults and spiritual paths of women through the ages.
Being brought up Christian I presumed that there was no place in the Church for women. But I was wrong.
Christianity evolved from a distortion.
The founder of the Christian cult in Rome, Paul, had never even met Jesus! Saul of Tarsus (who became St Paul) hunted down the followers of Jesus after the crucifixion! Driven by his zeal for maintaining the Jewish faith and his view of Jesus’s teachings as heretical, Saul sought the approval of the high priest, acting on his own beliefs for his persecution.
Sadly, his Romanised version of the teachings he adapted from what he learned of Jesus are what we understand today of Christianity.
Going back into the scriptures that survived hidden in the desert at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, after the Church tried to erase any cult that offered a different version of Jesus’ message, we discover a very different teaching.
Jesus offered his secret teachings only to Mary Magdalene, his greatest student and his partner. Only she was advanced enough to receive his transmissions. Jesus and Mary Magdalene evolved together, offering a model of sacred union for others to see.
But perhaps the greatest revelation for me was evidence of Mary Magdalene’s spiritual power and her authority beyond her relationship with Jesus.
After the crucifixion the disciples refused to acknowledge her as Jesus’ chosen successor, as Apostle to the Apostles. They turned their backs on her. But she did not back down. Instead, she fled persecution and travelled to Gaul (France) to begin her own ministry, spreading the Good News.
Image is the ‘Chalices of Mystery’ by Lewis Williams.
Despite the efforts of the Church, evidence of her ministry exists throughout southern France and the coast of northern Spain. She evangelised the region until her death at La St Baume at the age of 60 around the year 72 CE. The date of Mary Magdalene’s death was recorded in the Vatican Desposnyi genealogy presented to Pope Sylvester III in 318 CE and is in the Vatican archives.
A woman as complex and inspiring as Mary Magdalene has birthed many spiritual lessons, based loosely on her life, and works.
The spiritual teachings I offer are not a definitive list as she has too many to list! But these 8 spiritual teachings are the ones that are most alive for me.
7 Spiritual Teachings of Mary Magdalene
1. Honouring the Cycles – a guardian of the underworld grief, death, rebirth, and resurrection rituals.
Mary Magdalene represents both life and death, and sorrow and joy. The archetype embodies the cyclical process of birth, life, death and rebirth, guiding others to embrace transformation and new life possibilities.
Mary Magdalene embodies healing, wholeness, self-authority, and a capacity to hold grief and joy simultaneously, illuminating the path toward self-awareness, empowerment, and sovereignty.
Mary Magdalene was a mystic, a hierodule, a death doula and psychopomp. In her visions Mary Magdalene contacted with the spirit realms and continued to learn from her rabbi, Jesus. She walked between worlds, guiding souls across the threshold.
‘The Mourning Mary Magdalene’ c.1500 Museum of Fine Arts Budapest.
Mary Magdalene was an initiate of ancient wisdom and a key figure in the resurrection, symbolising profound grace, love, and spiritual depth. When we awaken our feminine gifts, we remember this ancient role of holding space for birth, life, death, and rebirth.
(For more read my blog: ‘Mary Magdalene and Grief’)
2. The Rebel – choosing our own path despite opposition and pressure to conform.
Despite unimaginable grief after losing Jesus, Mary Magdalene forged her own path and created her own ministry. The legacy of Mary Magdalene defies the Church. Here we have a woman standing in her power. She was a charismatic preacher who baptised new believers and converted many to the faith.
Mary Magdalene reminds us that we are all capable of forging our own path to spiritual enlightenment without intermediaries. Mary Magdalene was clearly highly trained, educated and wealthy. She was independent and self-guided. She represents the choice to reject societal norms and explore our authentic self.
Image is ‘Axis Bold as Love’ by George Yepe.
Mary Magdalene shows us how to love hard, feel deeply, ask often, and express our needs and desires. She took up too much space with her voice, her laughter, her wisdom, her sexuality. Her presence is palpable, even two thousand years later.
Mary Magdalene was not ashamed of her body. Her wisdom was rooted in the ancient wisdom of the ancient feminine ways. She was devoted to love, and the Way of Love as a lived spiritual practice demonstrated by Jesus.
Mary Magdalene did not allow what others thought control her. Mary Magdalene caused upheaval with her persistence. She refused to pipe down, to stay silent and small and malleable to the will of the disciples. She wanted to be seen, heard, and acknowledged. She would not stop for anyone.
Mary Magdalene invites us to think for ourselves, to feel it all, to honour the full spectrum of consciousness, and to love our beautiful bodies. Mary Magdalene invites us to express our truth with honesty and integrity. Mary Magdalene asks us to stop being afraid of our emotions, our intuition, our needs and desires.
(For more read my blog: ‘Mary Magdalene the Rebel’)
3. Holding Polarities – honouring the spectrum of human experience.
Mary Magdalene represents the human journey of integrating opposing forces. Mary Magdalene encourages us to tune into our own power as it has the potential to heal humanity by bringing feminine and masculine energies into harmony.
Through her life, particularly during her service to Jesus, she acted with strength and vulnerability, intellect and intuition, rationale and emotion, restraint, and passion.
Image is of ‘Maddalena Penitente’ by Maestro della Maddalena di Capodimonte housed in the Messina Museo Regionale.
Our human experience includes our acceptance of death. Skull imagery, including the skull necklace, can serve as a memento mori, reminding one of the transient nature of life and encouraging a focus on spiritual growth. Memento mori has been an important part of ascetic disciplines as a means of perfecting the character by cultivating detachment and other virtues, and by turning the attention towards the immortality of the soul and the afterlife.
The skull, symbolic of death and the afterlife points to her understanding of the transitory nature of this life, a life that must be shed to embrace everlasting life and the immortality of our soul. We face death to live life more fully.
(For more read my blog: ‘What’s with the Skull, Mary Magdalene?’)
4. Embodied Presence – rooted in somatic, sacred feminine spirituality.
I personally believe Mary Magdalene was most likely an ordained priestess, a prophetess, a mystic, a powerful preacher and an initiator who performed baptisms. Mary Magdalene continued her own ministry after the crucifixion who preached Jesus’ message in Gaul (France) and Spain.
Mary Magdalene honours intuition, cycles, sacred sexuality, and the healing power of presence. Through her, we learn that the divine is not something distant or abstract. It is felt in the body, in the breath, and in the act of devotion.
Image of Mary Magdalene in the Cave by Hugues Merle.
Mary Magdalene was possessed of demons – she had spirits inside her. She could see visions and receive messages. She could see the resurrected Jesus and had visions of him afterwards. She was most definitely a prophetess.
In the Gospel of Mary, she reminds the disciples that the path to truth is not external – it is found within. She tells us not to give away our power to outside systems, and tune into our inner wisdom.
Mary Magdalene serves as a powerful mirror for self-reflection, inviting us to recognise and explore our own inner wisdom and knowing for ourselves. This opens us up to embrace our own inner wisdom and knowing, healing the lies and untruths we believed about ourselves.
This is also an invitation to explore our intuitive gifts and to begin to develop an intimate relationship with Mary Magdalene and other beings in the spirit realms for ourselves. This ends our dependence on others to access intuitive messages and guidance for us and helps us find what is true for us.
(For more read my blog: ‘Mary Magdalene, the Mystic’)
5. Inner Knowing – reclaim our inner spiritual authority, our sense of self and sovereignty.
Mary Magdalene is a role model and mentor for every woman reclaiming her voice, her power, and her divine connection. Mary Magdalene was not just a follower. She was a charismatic leader in her own right.
So much so, Jesus chose to appear to Mary Magdalene first after his resurrection, choosing her to be the Apostle to the Apostles. Despite the best efforts of the other disciples to ignore her existence, Mary Magdalene was inflamed by the mission Jesus had given her: to share the Good News.
When the disciples rejected her, Mary Magdalene travelled to Gaul (southern France) and began her own ministry. Mary Magdalene and her companions were said to have been responsible for converting many in Gaul and were credited with bringing Christianity to Gaul.
This painting of Marie Madeleine preaching to the fishermen in the harbour of Marseille is exhibited in Musee Contes.
Mary Magdalene preached and converted followers to the teachings of Jesus, known locally as the Way of Love. Mary Magdalene was a renowned preacher and teacher, offering baptisms and healing the sick.
(For more read my blog: ‘Mary Magdalene in Gaul’)
6. Love – as a gateway to spiritual transformation.
Sacred union and devotion used as a spiritual tool. Devotion, forgiveness, and compassion is the alchemy that unlocks freedom. Her presence at the crucifixion, and her return to the tomb, reflect a love that does not abandon, even in the darkest hour. This kind of love transforms suffering into sacred insight.
Connecting with Mary Magdalene’s energy can bring a profound shift in your consciousness, merge both energies for inner balance, and pave the way for reconciliation within yourself and the external world.
This painting by Titian of Penitent Mary Magdalene is from 1531.
Her energy has the power to heal us and create more balanced and harmonious relationships. This merge is one of the cornerstones of inner healing for those looking for awakening. Mary Magdalene’s feminine energy healing can help you reveal your soul’s purpose and sacred destiny and empower you to embrace your strength, beauty, and sexuality.
(For more read my blog: ‘Mary Magdalene and Sacred Union’. See also: ‘Before Spirituality Split from Sexuality’)
7. The Divine Feminine – honour sacred feminine wisdom.
Mary Magdalene represents the Divine Feminine in human – rather than divine – form. She is an ascended master who continues to enter our thoughts, dreams, and meditations to assist us. Mary Magdalene represents love, compassion, wisdom, and a powerful source of divine feminine energy healing.
By tuning into Mary Magdalene’s energy, we can merge the universal energies of the feminine and masculine within ourselves and the external world. Her energy has the potential to break down the barriers between the two energies, paving the way for reconciliation.
This image is a detail from Piero della Francesca’s Polyptych of the Misericordia, 1460-62.
Mary Magdalene symbolises a journey of spiritual growth and reclaiming the sacred feminine. Mary Magdalene is a powerful embodiment of feminine energy, that whispers of ancient sacred feminine mysteries. The archetype holds deep wisdom and inner guidance, like an ancient priestess who guards sacred mysteries.
We carry the ability to sense, feel or see beyond the veil. This is the feminine wisdom through our intuitive inner knowing.
This is our birthright.
Mary Magdalene represents her powerful integration or enlightenment, and the path toward inner balance and holistic well-being. Jesus referred to this as Anthropos; being fully realised human.
Mary Magdalene is making herself known. Mary Magdalene is returning now stronger than ever, laying her claim as a mystic visionary and wise teacher of the Way of Love, as taught by her and Jesus. The Divine Feminine face of God is returning to the collective consciousness.
I am amongst thousands of women who have had a vision of Mary Magdalene. These visions seem to be increasing with more and more women drawn to investigate her and celebrate her.
Painting of Mary Magdalene by Bernadini Luini from 1524 (also attributed to Andrea Solario) housed in The Walters Art Museum Baltimore, USA.
This is what I guide women to remember. When you reconnect with your feminine essence, your intuitive gifts awaken. You remember that you’ve never been separate from the spirit realms.
Featured Image: painting Mary Magdalene with a brush inscription on the back “Giovan Batta Disciples Known As Lo Zoppo da Lugano 1590-1660”.