Mary Magdalene’s mystical sacrament of anointing
"If we are fully to avail ourselves of Mary Magdalene's wisdom presence today, it will be, I believe, primarily through recovering a wisdom relationship with the ritual of anointing."
Cynthia Bourgeault, The Meaning of Mary Magdalene
For several weeks now, I’ve been sitting outside for hours each morning immersing myself in new and often radical scholarship on the life and majesty of Mary Magdalene. If I had my way, I’d sit outside with Mary Magdalene every day for a whole year. Even then, I’d be hungry for more.
Because Mary Magdalene embodies everything I love, everything I need, and everything I hope to experience in this lifetime.
She is:
- the embodiment of the divine feminine
- a great teacher of deep mystical wisdom
- the model of communion between worlds
- walks fearlessly in The Mystic
- the embrace of ecstatic love fully alive, then and now
She is a lot!
Thus far I’ve read books about The Magdalen by Cynthia Bourgeault, Jack Angelo, Tau Malachi, Jean-Yves Leloup, my co-teacher Meghan Don, and several others. At the same time, I’ve slowly digested the gospels of Philip and Mary Magdalene that extoll her place beside Yeshua as a mystical equal, sometimes even teaching him.
It can all seem like too much to learn, too much to take in, too much to absorb, and way too much to ever hope to become.
But Mary Magdalene’s not having that! She is beckoning us all to follow her into her—and our—divine feminine fullness. And the most surprising thing is: she makes it clear that it’s not all that complex.
Everything she is and knows and teaches comes together in one place, one sacrament—her sacrament—the Sacrament of Anointing.
A “sacrament” in the Christian tradition is defined as a “visible sign of invisible grace.” If you grew up in any Christian tradition, you heard that definition and probably experienced a few sacraments like baptism or communion.
But, you might say, I’m not Christian.
Surprise, neither were Yeshua and Mary Magdalene!
They were devout Jews who broke a lot of patriarchal rules focusing on the external form to reveal a far more important inner truth: we are here to experience being one with the One.
They taught the very deepest mystical truths—truths that transcend all religions. Truths that point the way to experiencing oneness, wholeness, the highest vibration of love.
The sacrament of anointing is all about the wholeness of love. It’s a prayer practice that floods your visible body with invisible love. It brings The Mystic, The Imaginal into the physical in a real, tangible, transformative way.
If you’ve come to any of my prayer intensives, you know that we create sacred space at the beginning of each session by anointing our bodies. It’s always a team creation.
Emma Kupu Mitchell blends the sacred anointing oils for each intensive following the guidance she receives from the angels and from the plants themselves. I receive the wording of the anointing and the specific portals in the body to be blessed. Together, we create a gorgeous experience that goes deeper and deeper with each successive intensive.
And at last, I think we might be ready to learn anointing from the source—Mary Magdalene.
Praying with and as Mary Magdalene is the 8th prayer intensive I’ve offered since I woke hearing “prayer artist” February 25 of last year.
I don’t intellectually plan these intensives. They announce their titles, purpose, co-teachers, even dates. My job is to listen and bring the intensives to life.
Once I know what the intensive is called and what it’s about, I do try to study and research and outline a powerful intensive.
But I’m not in charge. It’s always a surprise to me and my co-creators, but each intensive evolves even as we’re moving through it. These are not classes where you learn some things the teachers laid out for you.
Oh no.
These are living soul communities. Each person present in the global circle somehow contributes to the beauty of the intensive itself.
Yes, Meghan Don is an expert. A mystic in her own right. And a profound beloved of Mary Magdalene.
Yes, I’ve done a lot of research on Mary Magdalene and on anointing.
But I’m not the teacher. Not even Meghan Don is the teacher.
It’s very clear to me that Mary Magdalene is our teacher. It is she who is going to, not just teach us how to anoint ourselves, but she is going to BE our anointer.
I can’t exactly explain that. But she is so palpably present right now. Emma is being guided by Mary Magdalene. Meghan will be bringing us into meditation to meet the Magdalen. Sue Kosharek who painted her image knows that she, Sue, did not paint that picture. And I sense The Magdalen beside me as I read, pointing out what matters.
And here’s what matters:
- Anointing is the most important sacrament of all
- Anointing is her gift to the world
- Anointing is a living experience of sacred love
- Anointing works at “the speed of love”
- Anointing awakens a deep memory of our priestess-self
- Anointing is medicine—sacred medicine, restoring us to spiritual, physical, and emotional wholeness
- Anointing prepares us for birth, for death, and for living a beauty-full life
- And anointing brings us into her living presence
As I write this list, I'm not taking notes from any book. I'm looking into Archangel Gabriel’s eyes on a sacred icon painting that came to me in a very mysterious way. As I type, my fingers are flying on their own, my heart is expanding, and my eyes are tearing up.
I cannot tell you what you will experience in this intensive. But I know it will expand your heart beyond anything I can plan or you can imagine.
Our teacher is here. She is in our midst. And she is inviting us into her heart, her sacred heart, her heart filled with the transformative power of unconditional love.
Praying with and as Mary Magdalene opens Monday, May 6 at 7pm eastern.
Don't be concerned if you can't be with us live. We are a global community and many cannot be with us live and yet your presence is fully felt.
Everything is recorded in both video and audio formats.
A rich description and a video with Meghan Don are on the intensive page at my website.
Click here to register for:
Praying with and as Mary Magdalene
to being anointed into wholeness by Mary Magdalene,
Janet