By the time the Hebrews invaded Canaan, a dominator mind-set had deeply taken root. Hebrew laws regarding the treatment of women were excessive and brutal by today's standards. Women were considered the personal property of men-first of their fathers and then of their husbands. They were treated as commodities over which men had complete domination and control. A woman who was accused of not being a virgin could be stoned to death if the accusation was proven true because she was no longer of any economic value to her father or to a prospective bridegroom. Regulation of the sexual morality of women was an economic necessity. Adoration and worship of the Goddess had to be reversed to sustain the ideology of the dominator societies.
As the God replaced the Goddess as the Deity, a dualistic consciousness developed. The Goddess had taught the interconnectedness of all things and a natural unfolding of things. This unity consciousness was suppressed by the more compartmentalized God who is Light. The Goddess was now equated with Darkness, evil, and those things which must be hidden.
Even though the Masculine dominated much religious practice at the time of the crucifixion, it is apparent that during the early years of the Christian church women held important roles as teachers and ministers. However, their positions of responsibility and authority in the new church were gradually usurped by early church fathers so that eventually women had no voice in church affairs. The myth that evolved along with the church told the story of a heroic journey by a Jewish man who never had a wife or a sexual relationship. Although there is no mention in the gospels that Jesus was celibate and Jewish tradition dictated that men should marry, the myth surrounding his life omits a marital partner. In their efforts to establish that Jesus was divine by omitting his physical being, the Christian church fathers built their institution on a foundation that was missing a vital piece-the Feminine.
The 2,000 year journey of Mary Magdalene is a perfect example of the systematic banishment and suppression of the Feminine from human consciousness and Her gradual return to mankind's awareness. There is evidence that, contrary to what the Christian church has so long taught, Jesus was married at the time of his crucifixion, that reference in the Bible to the Bride and Bridegroom is literal as well as metaphorical. Following the crucifixion, Jesus' family, including his wife, Mary Magdalene, was forced to flee and go into hiding. In her absence, the church pronounced she was a prostitute and sinner upon whom the faithful should not gaze.
For centuries following the crucifixion the world's great religions systematically banished the Feminine from ritual and worship creating an imbalance that affected not only those religions but also all other societal institutions. Women, who in prehistoric times held the highest positions in religious organizations and government, until recently were denied places of power and honor in the most central institution to our societies. By denying Jesus his physical, human nature, the church has denied its followers the feminine attributes of intuition, gentleness, and nurturing as well as the sacredness of the physical experience.
In 1969 the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church finally rescinded its position that Mary Magdalene was a sinner and prostitute, noting that nowhere in the Bible is she given such status. Interest in Mary Magdalene as a very important part of Jesus' ministry and as a powerful teacher and healer in her own right has increased ever since. Gradually, the Bride is reuniting with her Bridegroom, and as this occurs individuals are reuniting with themselves.
Acceptance of Mary Magdalene as the Biblical Bride to her Bridegroom, Jesus, as well as acceptance of the Sacred Feminine into our lives, is a stormy process. The Church, in its admission that it stigmatized as a prostitute one who was quite possibly "the beloved disciple," opened itself to worldwide scrutiny. The myths that have been the foundation of the Christian Church and much of Western society for 2,000 years must now be changed. The Sacred Masculine must now embrace and welcome the Sacred Feminine as His equal partner. Celebration of the Sacred Marriage must be restored. When this occurs, humanity is made whole once more.
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