Mary Magdalene Painting – “Coming Forth”
What a beautifully unexpected immersion into the essence of Mary Magdalene on Thanksgiving weekend, resulting in this painting “Coming Forth”.
I’d entered my long-weekend painting marathon with the intention to create a piece for the NL Arts & Letters Awards submission. But a few hours into the process, I had an inkling I wouldn’t be keeping this painting top secret for half a year as the competition regulations require.
After the first few layers of ceremony & paint, I became aware of the spirit of Mary Magdalene wanting to emerge from the canvas design.
My first go at painting Mary Magdalene came during a visionary art workshop in Bali in 2014, an experience better understood after a lecture on Gnostic & Kabalistic Worldviews at the Vienna Visionary Art Academy, where I studied for a year.
What little I knew of her came from my Catholic upbringing. In my mind growing up, she was the prostitute Jesus forgave, who became one of His closest followers. I didn’t think much of about her, although I loved and sometimes sang the song “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” in Jesus Christ Superstar.
Millennia of assumptions and teachings by the Church on Jesus’s celibacy may cause my following explorations to feel scandalous. If so, I ask you to breathe deeply, knowing that it’s not my intent to prove anything or to change your beliefs. This is but a window into my own mind shifts and experiences. If it plants seeds of curiosity for you, so be it. There’s a plethora of historic, scholastic and channeled resources to feast on before you decide what is true for you.
A few movies, like the controversial The DaVinci Code, planted seeds of curiosity within me back in 2006. Tom Hank’s character’s search for the Holy Grail did more than allude to Mary Magdalene’s marriage to Jesus Christ and to their having at least one child. “In the (2003) book, Dan Brown states that the Priory of Sion and “all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.”
But it wasn’t until 2019 that an alternative truth to that taught by the Church took deeper roots in my consciousness. While on a sacred pilgrimage to Glastonbury, I was guided to the channeled books “Anna, Grandmother of Jesus: A Message of Wisdom and Love” and its sequel, “Anna, the Voice fo the Magdalenes” by Claire Heartsong.
My hands vibrated with such strong energy just holding the first book. That had never happened before. Some of what I read definitely stretched me. Yet it also resonated at my core. I believed it on a cellular level even if my brain had a hard time with parts of what was being revealed about the holy family.
Also while in Glastonbury, I became aware of modern Mystery Schools mainly or strongly linked to Mary Magdalene – but didn’t feel any callings to investigate further.
Thanksgiving weekend, however, when I became aware that I was being called to paint Mary Magdalene again, my intellectual mind wanted to know more. So while painting on the 3rd day and in the days after, I listened to 2 audio books that delved much deeper into recent revelations about Miriam of Magdala.
The first was The Gospel of Mary Magdalene by Jean-Yves Leloup, based on papyrus codices found in recent times.
The Gospel of Mary (found in 1896 but only made widely available in the 1950s) was one of a few Gnostic gospels rejected by the early Christian church, along with others from the Nag Hammadi Library found in the desert in 1945, including Gospels of Philip, Thomas, Peter, and Bartholomew . I’d been curious about these since first hearing about them, but had never followed through on learning more.
In this first audio-book of the weekend, the author gives a line-by-line commentary of the found gospel (which alas is missing several pages) revealing the eminence of the divine feminine in Christian thought. He also demonstrates how the notion of Mary’s background as a prostitute was based on a faulty translation.
He explains, however, that Jesus did cure her of 7 demons, or rather cleared her 7 chakras, making her the purest of channels, the most receptive of the apostles to his True Teachings. Her presence at and after Jesus’s death and her role as his intimate partner and the founder of Christianity are also discussed.
The second audio-book was The Meaning of Mary Magdalene: Discovering the Woman at the Heart of Christianity by Cynthia Bourgeault. She “examines the Bible, church tradition, art, legend, and the newly discovered texts to see what’s there. She then applies her own reasoning and intuition, informed by the wisdom of the ages-old Christian contemplative tradition.” Very very interesting indeed!
This book and a chat with a friend who is also working the energy of Mary Magdalene led me to doing a bit of research on the many pilgrimage sites in Southern France where she is believed to have lived her last 30 years as a recluse in a cave in the Sainte-Baume massif.
Part of me wonders if another pilgrimage is in the making for me, this time to France, but until I receive strong intuitive guidance on that count, I’ll simply stay open the idea.
Are you curious to know more? Just use the links in the text above or follow your own path of research. There’s so much out there.
I’m no expert on the facts when it comes to Mary Magdalene. I’m simply becoming more aware and open to her continued presence in modern times.
The intuitive visionary painting process was my saying “yes” to her invitation.
Coming Forth – the symbolism in the Mary Magdalene painting
The Archway and the Name
After several background layers, an archway became clear in my mind’s eye. That’s when I was given the name “Coming Forth”.
I got chills when, 2 days later, while listening to the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, I found out the last line was:
10) And when they heard this they began to go forth to proclaim and to preach.
This came after Levi rebuked Peter for distrusting Mary:
8) But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well.
9) That is why He loved her more than us. Rather let us be ashamed and put on the perfect Man, and separate as He commanded us and preach the gospel, not laying down any other rule or other law beyond what the Savior said.
The link between “Coming Forth” and the apostles going forth is what perked my ears as “forth” isn’t a common expression nowadays.
I felt the energy coming through the archway from the past into the present – an invitation to allow what wanted to emerge. It’s been on its way for a long time. Are you ready?
The Haloed Head
Then came the large iridescent face which appears as a transparent white from some angles and various vibrant colours from others.
As I translated my vision into design, I hoped to capture its energies of tenderness, serenity, eternal dignified wisdom, divine feminine, and unconditional love for the Christ. That love extended to me and to all who gazed into her featureless yet striking face / presence.
The 2 smaller rings of the halo were created by adding layers of mark-making to add depth & colour under the transparent white engraved with multitudes of spirals.
Filled with Christ Consciousness, wisdom, experience, and otherworldliness, these 2 luminous rings feel very much alive. Mary’s radiance is still very much alive…
The 3rd and largest ring of her halo, created with thousands of dots of various iridescent colours & sizes, represents her help in bringing this radiant Christ Consciousness to the planet. If you look closely, you’ll see representations of dwellings and the Elements.
As I reflected on what was coming forth, I could feel the invitation to look beyond the historic texts and character depictions to a living gospel in our everyday lives.
What does this mean to you?
The Seven Roses
I’d already painted the 7 roses in a triangular and symmetrical fashion before understanding their meaning.
At first, I felt that the placement had to do with the Holy Trinity. But which one was the question. Here are a few options according to Avia, my favourite symbol expert:
- Spirit, Mind, Body
- Father, Son, Holy Ghost
- Mother, Father, Child
- Past, Present, Future
- Power, Intellect, Love
- Creator, Destroyer, Sustainer
- Thought, Feeling, Emotion
- Mother, Maiden, Crone
- Other world, Mortal world, Celestial world
I’ll let you feel your way to what’s true for you.
I also knew that the triangle represents our connection with the Divine, enlightenment, revelation, manifestation, and a higher perspective.
I wasn’t sure why I was guided to paint 7 roses, however. Not until I later heard about Jesus clearing Mary’s 7 chakras, or casting out 7 demons as more commonly told.
So what had been her 7 blockages became her 7 divine feminine gifts – preparing her (and us through our own clearing) to be receptive to Divine Guidance. This is why she was able to receive teachings that the other disciples could not receive or understand.
The roses here represent God’s love at work in the world, made possible by the example of Jesus’s healing of Mary. They’re also a symbol of the immortal love between these 2 souls, a love that continues to bless humanity today.
In these roses’ offering on this canvas, they become an invitation to also become pure receptacles and therefore more intuitive and Connected to Guidance in our lives for our Highest Good and the Good of All.
The Mary Totem
The way I felt inspired to develop the design for the emerging figure of Mary Magdalene felt as if I was constructing a totem – a series of powerful symbols representing the essence of Mary rather than Mary, the historic figure.
Had you noticed that her halo, pregnant belly and foothold on earth are all of the same size? Again, a trinity of circles.
The circle itself is a symbol of God, of wholeness, perfection and timelessness.
This halo appears at the third eye of her Higher Self portrait in the background.
Her pregnant belly is also a wedding band, identifying her as the divine bride of Jesus.
At its centre, open to the iridescent blue of Mary’s face, is a circle of gold dots and light rays representing the coming forth of Christ Light, Christ Consciousness. It also represent the holy lineage – a legacy of Love in various forms.
As for the Earth, she is present in and on it but from beyond it. The story of Mary Magdalene is one of this world and otherworldly at the same time.
Her chest is a heart pointing to the Heavens – to her throat and upper chakras, a conduit for the Divine.
Linking her pregnant belly to the earth is a chalice, a holy grail – representing her openness to receive and share what Christ has given her.
Together, those 3 shapes form an hourglass – the ascension of the planet being birthed through this time of the Sacred Feminine, one holy instant at a time.
Her long orange hair represents the sensuous part of her intimacy with Christ as well as her relationship to the planet through her senses. This is a reference to her intuition, to her feeling her way instead of thinking her way through life and beyond.
There’s deep meaning to her hand resting on her Higher Self’s temple. The palm actually feels to be facing inward, holding the invisible presence of Jesus, whose head would be where her Higher-Self’s Eye is.
When I asked for a meaning, I was shown how, still today, she is holding Space for the Presence of her Divine Companion so that we may all be touched by his Divine Love as the Sacred Feminine and Masculine unite for greater harmony in the world.
The Story Continues
Tears of joy came to my eyes as I felt the painting process to be complete.
Once again, I felt so blessed to have been the conduit through which a sacred painting had been birthed.
But I knew that this ending was just the beginning. I am looking forward to what more will come forth from this experience & vision.
When I shared it with my friend who is also working with the energy of Mary Magdalene, she immediately knew the painting was meant to accompany her on her journey.
So although the original has found a home, you can order prints of “Coming Forth” here.
Remember that whenever you order prints or original paintings to nourish your transformational journey, you are also supporting me on my journey. So thank you!
