The Book Of Love

Every once in a while, a book comes across your path that changes your perspective. The first time it happened to me, was when I read "The Mists of Avalon" by Marion Zimmer Bradley. It revealed to me that there was another way of looking at history, both written and oral tradition. Today, I just finished reading "The Book of Love" by Maureen McGowan. It is the second book in her "Magdalene Line". The first was called "The Expected One". These two books have once again shattered my way of thinking, and have opened my eyes to a new thought path.

These books are about the lineage of Mary Magdalene and Jesus. This is not a new concept- I have held to the thought that Jesus' experience as a human was for a reason, and that he was the embodiment of God in human form. For many years, I have wondered why "The Last Temptation of Christ" was so scandalous. It depicted Jesus in a very human way, from what I understand. I have never seen the movie, but have heard a lot about it, as it was all over the media when it was in the theaters. Dan Brown brought the concept to the reading masses a few years ago with "The Da Vinci Code", but I had already been familiar with the concept through my New Age friends.

However, this series has so many parallels to my own beliefs and spiritual experiences, that it is uncanny. I have the urge to buy a cheap copy (I borrowed this one from the library!) and highlight all of the commonalities that I found. I feel the need to write it all down and document it for posterity, which is not usual for me. When I have journaled in the past, it has been for my own reflection. That is not the case right now. I feel like I need to PROVE the connections. It is a strange feeling. I feel the need to reach out and connect to others who may be feeling the same way. Again, not a normal reaction for me. I tend to keep my deep spirituality to a group of close knit people whom I trust with my every fiber of being.

I have been wondering if I am insane or have lost touch with reality, because these works of fiction touch me so personally. The author wrote them in direct response to her own personal experiences, but they are indeed, fiction. And they are not substantiated by any other documentation other than her own. Yet I am compelled to feel that her discoveries are TRUTH. I am an educated and strong willed woman, who doesn't fall prey easily to every fad that comes down the pike. I am willing to listen to new points of view, but I listen with wisdom and care, and I am not eager to jump on a proverbial band wagon every time I hear of a new faith, concept, or product. And yet, here I am. Wanting a new tattoo to document this "illumination". Wanting to hear more. Wanting to jet off to Chartres Cathedral to experience the rapture myself. EXPLANATION, PLEASE????

This all can not be coincidence. I was introduced to this series by my cousin, who I have had the pleasure of walking a labyrinth with. I had a realization in that labyrinth that all the women in my family who were there were part of the healing line of the Divine Feminine in my life. I called it "hedge witches" then. Both sides of my family were/are healers and artists. I am both. She introduced me to the books during the time that I finally went back to the classroom after giving birth to my daughter. My first classes- Fairy Houses and what else, but Clay Labyrinths. While I was reading "The Book of Love", a friend suggested (without knowing that I was reading this series) that I attend a new church in town, dedicated to teaching "The Way". That's the terminology the book uses to describe the teachings of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The church even uses the word "Beloved" in their name...a big concept in the books. Another example- we are having MacKenzie's 1st birthday party at an Italian restaurant. The girls love her there, and they have a nice banquet room that we are going to use. While we were setting up the details there yesterday, I noticed that there is a big can of olive oil from Lucca, Italy sitting at the entrance of the banquet room. I would never have noticed that before, but Lucca was a big part of this book. The theme of this birthday party has been "fairy tales" from its conception. In the book, the heroine realizes that the teachings of Jesus & Mary Magdalene hid in plain sight for centuries through the archtypes in the parables of fairy tales. When that was revealed in the book, I got goosebumps, and couldn't stop talking about it! I have always wondered why Disney spent so much time and artistic effort on stories about princesses who find "happily ever after" with the kiss of their one true love...the feminist in me was always offended by that notion. Now I see it completely different, and will teach it as such to my own daughter.
* A quick add, for my own benefit...The concept of El-Asherah being the male-female aspects of the Divine...could that relate to the place that I feel most comfortable on Earth is the meeting of water and earth? The shoreline? Never completely at home just on the ground, or in the water, but constantly being an edge-walker. El was the male aspect and Asherah was the female. El was the sky and heavens and Asherah was the seas and the Earth.

On the note regarding being an artist and a healer- I have been using symbols to teach others about themselves through archetypal definitions for years. I have always used the phrase "the veil is thin" on auspicious days, when the Mysteries felt close at hand. These two things are referenced heavily in these books.

One more thing before I close. I have been writing a book. I stopped writing the first day of my pregnancy. I didn't know I was pregnant, of course, but I was unable to write for some reason. I have been writing about "The Remembering". Again, is it a coincidence that this book references "remembering" as well? I hardly think so. What I do think, however, is that it is time to start writing again.

I have been writing this for an hour now, and soon, my sleeping daughter will awaken. Actually, I don't think she's really the one who needs to be awakened...I think it has been me who was asleep. She is as close to Divine as a person can be. It's the gift of being an infant. I hope that she never "falls asleep" and that she remembers all that the Heavens taught her before sending her here to this incarnation. I will do my best to see to it that we live in the Light.