Mary Magdalene and Peter

Jamalis Anna for Mary Magdalene, the woman as heroine

By Anne on 10 November 2020

Mary Magdalene and the woman as heroine

Mary Magdalene was one of the more striking personalities who followed Jesus. This article is about how her love rose and she became a heroine.
In the Gospel of Philip, which like the Gospel of Thomas was found in Nag Hammadi (Upper Egypt), Mary Magdalene is described as a companion of Jesus who was loved by him more than the other disciples.

In the Gospel of Thomas this saying is found (Logion 114):

Simon Peter said to the others, "Let not Mary go with us. For women are not worthy to have life."

Jesus replied: "I will draw her to myself into the realm of God, then she will no longer be female, but just as much a living male spirit as you. But I say to you, a woman who makes herself equal with men can enter into the reign of God".

"Women are not worthy to have life." (Peter)

The fisherman (Simon) Peter gets carried away with this gender stereotypical statement in the circle of disciples: "Mary should not go with us, for women are not worthy to have life."

But he is taught otherwise by his master, Rabbi Jesus (Jehoshua). At first glance, his answer seems quite suitable to infuriate feminists. But how could it be otherwise? At second glance, it leads into the depths of the subject:

The woman as heroine

In two short sentences Jesus tells us what the woman needs to be a true heroine and to achieve kingship in life.

Heroine through the integration of the masculine parts

From gender issues to wholeness through integration of the opposite-sex parts!

What begins in this short dialogue with a "gender discussion" ("women are not worthy ...") ends with an explanation of the woman's path to wholeness(integration of the male parts).
Two different types of masculinity meet Mary Magdalene in the process:

Peter, the pupil who still has to learn (immature masculinity)

Apparently Peter is caught in the common role cliché, which is shown by his derogatory remark. Moreover, he thoughtlessly transfers his understanding of the spiritual aspects of "male" and female" with their specific energies to men and women. Perhaps he also unconsciously feels something like: "Women cannot set out on the hero's path at all. They are driven by emotions and usually react so impulsively and are thus always incapable of action ...".

Jesus, the loving Master (mature masculinity)

But Jesus corrects Peter and rebukes him. He only agrees with Peter on one point. He says, in essence: Yes! The woman must first be reconnected with love.
Warm-hearted love speaks from him when he says about his companion Mary: "I will draw her to myself into the realm of the Spirit".
But his answer also leads further into the deeper meaning of the sexes, their dignity and their specific energies.

Thoughts on the individual statements of the quotation

"Mary shall not go with us ..."

Male supremacy and gender issues

With this statement, one gets into the gender issue and the power struggle between male and female, which is as old as humanity itself.
These are issues that are still relevant today. Women are still seen as "unworthy" and struggle to be treated as equals. In modern Western civilisation, they have come relatively far. They have conquered space in the male world of achievement and success (by "making themselves equal to men" in many ways).
Peter is obviously caught up in the common role cliché, as his pejorative remark shows:

"... for women are not worthy to have life."

The Dignity of Women

The question that now seems almost more difficult to answer is this:

What is strong femininity anyway? What is the dignity of woman?
Strong femininity is the power of life in matter, the justice and truth of reality and love that gives itself away and thus gives life.

(For more see Female Wholeness - the Goddess, White / Red / Black).

"Life"

The fact is: The woman has this life from the beginning. She begins in the realm of the spirit (see The Feminine Way / The Way of the Woman). With her spiritual power of love she gives life to others. She can do this because life itself dwells in her, namely in her womb (see The Woman, Spirit, Soul, Body).

This will not have escaped Peter's notice either. He hardly means the life force that dwells in every woman. Jesus corrects him accordingly by saying: 'You speak of spiritual life (it is about the distinction between spirit and matter). Literally Jesus says:

Mary Magdalene and Jesus

"I will draw them to me in the realm of the spirit ..."

In the unconscious ("underworld"): lost life, lost love and negativity.

Spiritual life is conscious, self-effective life. This is hindered by the ego and the drives, which can take over. The "male" drive is the bodily drive, the "female" is the negative emotional drive. The woman is more prone to negativity because she is closer to the spirit and accordingly has a higher demand for perfection. But nothing is "perfect" on this earth. Thus the woman's negativity is already "pre-programmed. Moreover, the more negative experiences she has had, the more likely she is to fall into the grip of her pain drive. In addition, humanity looks back on 4000 years of suppression of the feminine (see The Pain Body).

The feminine: the woman, the people, the earth ... - More:

The feminine as formative matter includes:

The woman, all women: They can take up seed and give birth to new life.
The human body: It receives impulses of consciousness ("male") and translates them into words, deeds and new reality.
The collective (group, people, the whole of humanity).It reacts to information, for example news, with moods and actions. It also receives the instructions of the ruler and creates a new reality according to them (carries out instructions, such as building roads).
The earth: It can absorb seeds and give growth. It also reacts to the most diverse impulses from the cosmos or from human behaviour, e.g. with climate warming.
The whole of creation: She is given over to transience and thus in the "underworld" (s. The Great Feminine in the Underworld).

The feminine as living matter, which can absorb seeds or impulses and give birth to new reality, belongs by definition to the unconscious (s. The conscious and the unconscious).

Through oppression and pain, the life and love of woman and the feminine has been lost on this earth. It already began in Babylon (see Introduction to the Epic of Gilgamesh and The Great Feminine in the Underworld).

Mary Magdalene and "seven demons

The Bible reports of Mary Magdalene that Jesus had delivered her from seven demons(Lk 8:2). In other words, Mary's whole existence(the wholeness of the seven) was in the grip of negative spiritual truths (hurt, lack, pain and anger see The Woman's Body of Pain). Jesus freed her, and "pulled" her out of the "underworld", out of negativity and unconsciousness into the realm of the spirit by reconnecting her with love.

Life in the realm of the spirit - liberation through love for love

Love "draws" the woman and all creation (back) into the realm of spirit and love.
Mary Magdalene let herself be touched by this love and loved with her whole being. She stood at his crucifixion and was the first person to encounter the Risen One (described very movingly in the Gospel of John 20:11 ).

"... then she is no longer female, but a male spirit ..."

Male and Female - Spirit and Matter

Jesus countered Peter's statement with these words:
"I will draw her to myself into the realm of God, then she will no longer be female, but just as much a living male spirit as you are."

Mary was indeed "living matter" as a woman. But like every woman and every human being, she also had a spirit, a consciousness. This belongs to the masculine parts that need to be activated.

[More s. Male and female, the two primordial forces of creation and, as an overview, this graphic:]

Positive masculinity - spiritual power

A "living male spirit" means initiating spiritual power that moves matter and "begets" or brings about something new.
In concrete terms, this force includes the creative will, the faith that already "sees" what is to be realised. This therefore includes planning, strategy and communication, i.e. the passing on of information that initiates the new in matter ("female") ("seed of the word"; for more see Male Wholeness, 3-in-1).

"A woman who makes herself like men ..."

From Peter to Christ - the integration of the male parts

In order to attain wholeness, the woman must integrate her masculine parts (see The Animus). These must develop from negative to positive masculinity.

The integration of the male parts:

While the woman tends to live her feminine side in the first phase of her life, her masculine parts first make themselves known from the unconscious. When she gets into stress, she is flooded by immature, quick-tempered masculinity from the shadows (red, "Peter"). This power is tamed and integrated by fatherly love (white, "Christ").

(S. The Three Colours, The path of the woman, The Integration of the Masculine Parts and The escaped prisoner as an illustrative example).

Fatherly love and the resurrection of love

Positive, loving masculinity reconnects the woman with the miracle-working power of her own love. Her inner "virgin" rises again (the feminine side of the spirit and "goddess of love").
In the power of her masculine parts (the inner hero, "Christ") she learns to accept herself and to stand up for herself and her needs.
Now she can love herself and ...

"... can enter into the reign of God."

Kingship in life and self-efficacy

The woman who is (re)anchored in love can begin to steer her body and emotions ("feminine") in a constructive direction with her loving consciousness (her "masculine" spirit) (see Self-efficacy - steering life positively).
In this way she enters into the "reign of God" of which Jesus speaks. This can be equatedwith kingship in life. It means that the human being - with his loving consciousness ("masculine") - stands self-efficiently and self-responsibly in his life and "rules" wisely over his body ("feminine") and his resources.
This is the goal for every human being.

Concluding remarks

The woman as heroine and the cat that bites its own tail

It boils down to the fact that it is actually more difficult for the woman than for the man to set out on the hero's path. Because she has to integrate the feminine side of the spirit first (her love) and then also the masculine side of the spirit (her consciousness). What makes the whole thing seem impossible is the fact that the spirit (male and female), however, is only integrated in the last phase of the hero's path ...

Thecat biting its own tail is the question:

How can a woman set out on the hero's path at all if she only gains the prerequisites for it on the hero's path?
The answer is:

The woman who has love and lives it is a heroine.
For love is the true essence of woman.

But the danger is great in this world that she loses her love (see The Heroic Way of the Woman). Then she gets into the grip of her pain body and is driven by negativity (her ego). In order to attain wholeness, she must first get back in touch with pure unconditional love. This gives her the strength to let go of her negative identity. In this way she frees her masculine side from anger, pain and violent tendencies ("macho") and instead lives positive, forgiving masculinity (fatherly love). This is her path to constructive and fruitful self-efficacy, to kingship in her own life.

Mary Magdalene - Disciple and Heroine

Not gender issues - but...

Wholeness through integration of the opposite-sex parts

At first glance, it looks as if the quote is about gender issues. But from the dialogue it becomes clear: the topic is rather the integration of the opposite-sex parts, which is the prerequisite for wholeness and kingship in life.

The figures we encounter in life and the way we form our relationships have to do with ourselves and reflect our imprints, feelings and solution patterns.
This is also expressed in this episode about Mary Magdalene.

Thus the masculine parts of the woman first manifest themselves in the form of immature masculinity. They are like Peter: hot-headed, talking before thinking, anger and preconceived opinions ... And like youthful Sturm und Drang, they have to be "tamed", "educated" and taught better. In the confrontation with one's own weakness ("crucifixion"), an inner space opens up for the greater reality of the spirit. Out of this grows positive masculinity, namely compassionate, unconditional and forgiving fatherly love.

Mary Magdalene as heroine - beloved and loving woman

Mary became a leading disciple. She experienced weakness and resurrection to strength. While the male disciples stayed away, she stood by Jesus' crucifixion.
As the first at the tomb, she was given the grace to know the truth of the resurrection. So she also became the first person to carry this message of hope into the world.

Cover photo:

Painting by Jamali ("Inanna" 2012, private property)

Quotes:

The Gospel of Thomas (Logion 114)
Bible, New Testament, Gospel according to Luke, chapter 8,2
Bible, New Testament ,Gospel accordingto John, chapter 20,11

Mary Magdalene and Peter - Jesus and the woman as heroine