An Entrance into the Gnostic Experience
As the Gnostic legends of St. Mary Magdalene reflect, Lady Mary is the inmost disciple of Lord Yeshua. She is his wife and divine consort. She serves as the Christ-bearer with him and is co-preacher of the Gospel with him. She becomes the First Apostle of the Risen Savior—the foundation of the apostolic succession and the true Holy Church. Indeed, just as Lord Yeshua is the living temple of the Divine presence and power, so also is she; and according to Gnostic teachings, we are also to be living temples of God’s presence and power; hence sons and daughters of God.
Essentially, Gnosticism is a path of self-realization through a direct spiritual or mystical experience of the Risen Savior and Holy Bride—hence the recognition and realization of the Light-presence (Christ-presence) in us and conscious unification with God. In the Gnostic experience, the Risen Savior and Holy Bride are a distinct Divine presence and power. The aim of the Gnostic Christian is to embody that Divine presence and power. Thus, Gnosticism is based upon a spiritual life and spiritual practice through which we create the conditions necessary for a spiritual or mystical experience of the Truth and Light. Once established in the Gnostic experience, we seek to live according to the Spirit of Truth revealed in our own experience. In so doing, with Lord Yeshua we may say, “…we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen…” (Gospel of St. John 3:11).
The issue for the Gnostic is not dogmatic creeds and doctrines to be blindly believed and adhered to. Rather, the issue is the reception of spiritual teachings and practices through which gnosis might be made manifest. Gnostic legends, stories, and sayings of the oral tradition are one of the ways Gnostic teachings and practices are communicated. If we contemplate and meditate upon the legends, aware of the symbolic and mystical language from which they are woven, we swiftly discover deeper spiritual meanings within them. At the same time, because these stories and sayings arise from the realization experience of Gnostic elders and tau (adepts and masters), as much as communicating teachings and practices, they also communicate spiritual energy—hence something of the Divine presence and power of which they speak. In the case of the Gnostic legends of St. Mary Magdalene, they invoke and communicate the presence and power of the Holy Bride—the female emanation of the Christos, Christ the Sophia (Wisdom). Thus, we may contemplate and meditate upon the Gnostic legends, seeking to draw out the secret knowledge of the teachings and practices contained in them; or we may study and contemplate them with the intention of invoking the Divine presence and power of the Holy Bride, and thus focus on something more experiential than conceptual. Ultimately, it is the experiential level that Gnostics value the most, for it is the experiential level that leads to the enlightenment and liberation experience—Divine Gnosis.
The presence and power of the Holy Bride is very real in the experience of a Sophian Gnostic, as is the experience of the Living Yeshua or Risen Savior. If one opens one’s mind and heart to her, inviting and welcoming her presence into oneself and one’s life, then she will enter and reveal herself as Christ the Sophia. Through her, one will acquire gnosis of the Holy Bride and Risen Savior joined in mystical union with God. Truly, one will find that she is as near as one’s own body. More than imparting the Gnostic and Light-transmission through philosophical arguments and concepts, she will impart the Spirit of Truth through one’s own life experiences. Cleaving to the Holy Bride, one will know the Risen Savior within and beyond oneself and perchance experience supernal or Messianic consciousness—hence enlightenment and liberation. Indeed! For the devotee of the Bride, life becomes the vehicle of the Great Ascension!
Along with contemplation and meditation on the Gnostic legends of St. Mary Magdalene, following are some spiritual practices commonly given to Sophian initiates. Through these practices, one can come into contact with the Holy Bride and bring her into one’s life on a more experiential level.
The Holy Bride in Spiritual Life and Practice
Meditation with the Holy Bride
The masters of the Tradition have said, “If you meditate on the Holy Bride, she will reveal herself; if you envision her, she will come to you.” Whenever you wish to meditate upon her, sit where you will not be disturbed, and let your body find its own natural rhythm of breath. Gently focus upon your breath; let go of the dream-like past and fantasies of futures yet to be—bring yourself into the present moment, where you are and the Anointed Bride is.
Once you have brought yourself into the moment and have settled in, envision a spiritual sun shining in your heart and gather yourself into it. Let go of the surface consciousness and all tension, stress or negativity. Let go of your self-identify with name and form, and identify yourself with the Light-presence in you. Go within, into the depths of your heart, and abide in the Light.
When you have centered yourself in this way, envision a ray of light shooting out of your heart and magically transforming into the image of the Holy Bride, which hovers in the space before you. Her feet do not touch the ground; she dances in the sky. Her inner robe is white brilliance, her outer robe is crimson red, and there is a crimson red shawl over her head. Her eyes are green, her skin an olive complexion, and she is most exquisite to behold. She holds the jar of anointing in her hands, with which she anointed the Lord. There is a golden aura about her and a rainbow aura beyond that. There are wounds of stigmata on her body and brilliant light pours from them. The entire image is formed of translucent light, akin to the image of a rainbow in the sky. Meditate on this image of Our Lady and commune with her.
As you meditate upon the image of the Bride, see her smiling upon you and know her blessing you and receiving you, as you receive her. Envision that she anoints you as her own. Receive her as you own and know that you are received by the Lord through her. Envision that, when she anoints you, she pours out fluid light from her jar and that the light pours over you and into you. See her blessing you with light emanations from her body and aura of all colors of rays. See yourself becoming self-radiant like her, until you also shine with light and are enshrouded with a great aura of light. Know that you are whole and complete as you are in her and she in you, and that whatever your heart’s desire is, it is already fulfilled in the Holy Bride.
When your communion with the Anointed Bride is complete, take up her simple chant: Kallah Messiah (all short vowel sounds). As you chant, merge with the sound-vibration of her holy name. When you are about to conclude the chant, envision her image dissolving into fluid light, and as you fall silent, envision she pours into your heart. Let your mind become her Christ Mind, your heart her Sacred Heart, and your body her Emanation Body. Know yourself at one with the Anointed Bride.
As you walk in the world, see all that appears as her Palace of Lights, hear every sound as her Voice or Word, receive all thoughts and emotions arising in the mind as the spontaneous expression of her Innate Wisdom. In this way, walk as the Anointed Bride and walk with the Anointed Bride throughout the day. If you meditate on the Bride each day and live in this holy awareness, you will acquire intimate gnosis of our Lady, St. Mary Magdalene.
The Holy Fire
This meditation is the same as the above in the beginning and end, but the image of the Bride transforms into a dancing flame of fire, dancing around you and through you, purifying and consecrating you. It may be impossible to sit still. So if you are inspired to do so, arise and move and dance with the Bride, progressively entering into the most intimate embrace, until she is you and you are her. Let yourself be burned utterly away in the flames of Divine passion!
Sophia Nigrans
The outer image of Sophia Nigrans (Dark Wisdom) is a beautiful Nubian woman, though she may also appear as a crazy old black woman, as though a hag. Her chant is the chant of Lilith: Allah Lala Lalil Lola Lalu Lilatu (or one may use her simple chant—Kali Kallah). When she comes, she is wild and unpredictable. Though no pronunciation of her chant can be openly given, like herself, it reveals itself to those who take it up. The new moon is the ideal time for her invocation and meditation—the time of purification, revelation, new conception, and initiation. If you seek gnosis of mystical death and spiritual rebirth, or seek a greater flow of creativity, or find yourself in need of deep healing, then you might wish to try this invocation and meditate on the Black Bride. It is especially powerful for women seeking empowerment in life and spirit, and for men seeking the necessary understanding to be partners with empowered and independent women. (In the Sophian Tradition, Lilith represents our reclaiming essential aspects of the Sacred Feminine and womanhood that have been rejected and demonized—aspects necessary to the fullness of life and self-realization.)
The Shrine
If you create a shrine to the Holy Bride in your home and offer candles and incense to the Great Spirit upon it, the presence of the Anointed Bride will be in your home and she will come and visit you. This is a simple way to honor her and it creates a perfect spot for prayer and meditation.
Music, Song, and Dance
Encountering the Holy Bride can be very simple and direct. All you need to do is hold her in your mind, cleave to her in your heart, delight in music, song, and dance, and you will come to know her. You will experience her within and all around you, for she will be your joy and your joy will be hers.
The Circle
Gather with some women. Share your stories and stories of the Bride with one another, and the spirit of St. Mary Magdalene will be present with you. Indeed! Gather together for creative expression, with stories, poetry, song, and dance for one another, and the spirit of the Bride will be among you. Whenever a circle or gathering is consecrated to our Lady of Gnosis, she is present in that place. If there are men willing to enter into the circle with women in celebration of the Holy Bride, so much the better—for then the truth of Bride and Groom will be manifest.
The Feast of the Holy Bride
In the Sophian Tradition, May 1st is the Feast of the Holy Bride. Gathering and celebrating a feast, telling her stories, offering creative expressions, celebrating life, light, love, and liberty through music, song and dance, you can create a ceremony honoring the Anointed Bride on her holy day. You can do this alone or with spiritual friends.
(These practices are seeds which, when creatively cultivated and nurtured, will lead to experiences and gnosis of the Anointed Bride. There is no “right” way, only the way that works for you. Truly, her meditations and worship are a creative affair.)
A Closing Word and Prayer
With the dawn of male-dominated orthodoxy and fundamentalism, which occurred some 300 to 400 years into the Christian movement, and the complete rejection that followed of the Holy Bride, St. Mary of Magdal, the deeper mystical and magical elements of Christianity were rejected. I dare say the true spirit and soul of the Christ revelation was lost to the majority of Christians.
Today, we can only wonder what the face of Christianity and our Western societies and cultures would look like had the Holy Bride been well received and the Sacred Feminine remained a central part of Christianity. Of course, we cannot go back in time and undo the injustice and harm that has been done, but we can actively seek to reclaim the Sacred Feminine and restore the Holy Bride to her rightful place alongside the Bridegroom, seeking a more holistic and integral Christianity. Indeed! Given the extreme imbalance between the masculine and feminine in our present human condition and world and the evolutionary crisis we are facing, the need to reclaim the Sacred Feminine and to restore the Holy Bride to her rightful place is clear. When we seek to reclaim the Sacred Feminine in our spiritual quest and to actively invoke the Holy Bride, we do so not only for ourselves, but for the sake of humanity and the world. According to the Sophian vision of the Christ revelation, it is the coequality and mystical union of the masculine and feminine that is the spiritual hope for the future of humanity and Planet Earth.
In closing, let us pray:
Heavenly Father, Earthly Mother, may the Holy Bride be received and may the dawn of the Age of the Mother Spirit come; may the fullness of the Truth and Light shine among us, the image of the Bridegroom and Holy Bride in the bridal chamber! Amen.