Even though I don’t talk or write about it much, I have a pretty active tarot practice.

I first learned tarot as a teenager, then wandered away from it for years as I explored yoga and New Age spirituality. When Mary Magdalene called to me almost ten years ago, one of the first practices I picked back up was divination and gnosis through gorgeous, art-filled decks of cards. I pulled single cards daily and did larger weekly spreads to help with my discernment on the path of the Feminine Christ.

Unsurprisingly, in those early days, I often pulled the Tower card.

Let’s talk about Mary Magdalene’s famous name, and what it has to do with towering above.

While the name Mary, or Miriam, was exceptionally common amongst Jewish women in the first century Roman empire, the name Magdalene is harder to parse. Many have long believed that it was in reference to her place of birth. Others are convinced that it has a more symbolic meaning.

The first theory is that Mary Magdalene may have actually been Mary of Magdala, a sea port town on the Western shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was a busy fishing town and also a center of commerce and business, attracting many small business owners who sought to build their wealth. While scripture never explicitly states that Mary was from the town of Magdala, there’s some compelling evidence that she might have been. In Luke chapter 8, Mary is named alongside other women as funders of Jesus’ ministry “out of their own means.” If Mary or her family were from an active trading center, she might have easily accumulated enough wealth to help fund an itinerant rabbi. In this situation, Mary the Magdalene was shortened to Mary Magdalene over time.

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However, this hypothesis about her name doesn’t sit comfortably with many. Why is Mary Magdalene the only dual named woman in all of scripture? The men with double names in the New Testament use both their Greek and Hebrew names, or their birth name and a name taken after meeting Jesus, such as Simon Peter. Nowhere else in scripture does anyone use a name that indicates their place of birth, at least not consistently. Aside from Jesus Christ.

Is it possible that Mary’s Magdalene is an honorific title, indicating some spiritual authority?

The word “Magdalene” may have its roots in the word migdal, a Hebrew word meaning “tower.” Ancient Hebrew was a remarkably poetic language, using lots of metaphor and imagery. Scholars have speculated that “Tower” may have been a symbolic name of some sort, perhaps indicating Mary’s towering faith, or that she “stood above” the rest, or that she was a beacon of hope and wisdom.

This theory is supported by the nickname of another disciple, Peter the Rock. In scripture, Jesus says that Peter is the “rock upon which I will build my church.” Peter went on to be known as the first Pope, instrumental in founding what would come to be known as the Orthodox Christian Church. Is it possible that Jesus had a similar intention for Mary, that she was meant to play a founding role in the movement? We know that the patriarchal Christian Church of the Roman Empire went on a coordinated campaign to erase the influence of women in the early Christian movement. Is it possible that Mary’s role and the significance of the “Tower” moniker was part of that erasure?

If so, it’s a remarkable loss. So much of Mary’s identity is tied up in that enigmatic name of Magdalene.

Names tell us much about a person. The names a person chooses for themself and those bestowed upon them can tell us a great deal about their family, where they come from, or—in the case of a chosen name—what they value. This is certainly true about some figures in the Bible.

And it likely would in this case, if we had some context for what the name Magdalene meant. There is plenty of evidence that it had great significance. And perhaps that truth will be uncovered again one day.

Until then, we continue to praise her holy, important, and beautiful name.

Thank you for reading! We’ll share one more Magdalene Musing next Monday. Join us then!

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I once read a translation of the Resurrection scene that has seared itself into my brain.

It was from one of the synoptic gospels, after Mary Magdalene and the other women have seen Jesus and been tasked to go tell the male disciples the Good News. The women leave Jesus and set off on their holy errand. They do so, according to the author, “knowing they …

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“I am the fiery life of the essence of God; I am the flame above the beauty in the fields; I shine in the waters; I burn in the sun, the moon, and the stars. And with the airy wind, I quicken all things vitally by an unseen, all-sustaining life.”

- Hildegard of Bingen

Historians and sociologists talk about a phenomenon that is relatively common in the mod…

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Blessed Magdalene,

on this, your Feast Day

We rise to celebrate you.

Holy thanks, holy joy, holy praise.

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Let nothing disturb you,

Let nothing frighten you,

All things are passing away:

God never changes.

Patience obtains all things.

Whoever has God lacks nothing;

God alone suffices.

- St. Teresa of Avila

It takes a lot to be named the first female “Doctor” of the Catholic Church, a famously male-dominated institution.

Teresa of Avila—also known as Teresa de Jesus—d…

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“[O]ur merciful Lord Christ […] appeared to his creature who had forsaken him, in the likeness of a man, the most seemly, most beauteous, and most amiable that ever might be seen with man’s eye, clad in a mantle of purple silk, sitting upon her bedside […] and he said to her these words: ‘Daughter, why have you forsaken me, and I never foresook you?’”

- …

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“And in this he showed me a little thing, the quantity of a hazel nut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed. And it was as round as any ball. I looked upon it with the eye of my understanding, and thought, ‘What may this be?’ And it was answered generally thus, ‘It is all that is made.’ I marveled how it might last, for I thought it might suddenly…

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“It is the conscious Breath that comes from the unnamable space where inspiration originates, and expiration returns—that space without boundaries, which we are sometimes fortunate enough to taste when silence reigns within us.”

- Jean-Yves Leloup, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene

As I said at the beginning of this series, I struggle to write prayers, as my p…

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When Mary had said this, she fell silent, since it was to this point that the Savior had spoken with her.

But Andrew answered and said to the brethren, Say what you wish to say about what she has said. I at least do not believe that the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are strange ideas.

Peter answered and spoke concerning these same things.

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. . . it.

And desire said, I did not see you descending, but now I see you ascending. Why do you lie since you belong to me?

The soul answered and said, I saw you. You did not see me nor recognize me. I served you as a garment and you did not know me.

When it said this, it (the soul) went away rejoicing greatly.

Again it came to the third power, which is ca…

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But they were grieved. They wept greatly, saying, How shall we go to the Gentiles and preach the gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man? If they did not spare Him, how will they spare us?

Then Mary stood up, greeted them all, and said to her brethren, Do not weep and do not grieve nor be irresolute, for His grace will be entirely with you and will prote…

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. . . Will matter then be destroyed or not?

The Savior said, All nature, all formations, all creatures exist in and with one another, and they will be resolved again into their own roots.

For the nature of matter is resolved into the roots of its own nature alone.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Peter said to him, Since you have explained everything …

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This month, we’re talking about sex.

Like so many topics, Jesus said next to nothing about sex in Biblical canon. He spoke about marriage, which often get extrapolated to sexual relations, even though Jesus never formally commented on the subject, other than saying that a married couple should become “one flesh.” The Hebrew Bible is a roller coaster arou…

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Let’s begin with the obvious: Virginity is a social construct. It is completely made up and devoid of any actual substance. It is not a fixed state, nor does it hold any inherent moral content.

But, boy oh boy, has it been a subject of intense debate throughout history. Especially in religious circles.

In the simplest terms, the modern definition of virgi…

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Holy Magdalene, come to us.

Reveal what has been hidden from our view



Embodiment of Sophia, share your wisdom.

Remind us of our true nature.



Feminine face of Christ,

Turn our hearts to the Good.

Show us your path that is b…

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Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of t…

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I, who am I among living creatures? With your strength, my lady, teeth can crush flint. Your princess, the silencing princess, the true and great lady of Heaven -- when she talks Heaven trembles, when she opens her mouth there is devastation.

The first named author in history was a woman.

My head spun the day I learned this.

The first named author in histo…

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The Christian Church applies much pomp and circumstance to the memory of Jesus’ resurrection. The hallelujahs, flower crosses, and Easter hams make for a joyous Sunday. He is risen, indeed. Let us celebrate and spread the good news.

But what about Monday?

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I think often about the parts of Biblical stories that aren’t told. The woman at the well returning t…

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Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and…

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On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In…

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