The Significance of a Skull

[qos]

I really, really try to be respectful of other peoples' beliefs and perspectives, but sometimes I have a gut-level, knee-jerk reaction of O RLY??

As I think I mentioned recently, I've been exploring some aspects of Magdalene spirituality -- and I really should expect to have a different perspective than many on that path. In addition to her associations with the Holy Grail ("holy blood" aspect optional) and a representative of the Divine Feminine within the Gospel story, I've come to see her as an underworld priestess: one intimately connected to the forces of sex, death and transformation which are central to this work (at least as I do it).

I just picked up a book called Invoking Mary Magdalene: Accessing the Wisdom of the Divine Feminine. I opened it at random and first sentence I read was: As mentioned previously, Mary Magdalene is usually shown with specific accountrements, several of which symbolize her role as wise woman and healer. The skull, one of her ubiquitous emblems, is a potent image for healing. . .

WTF?

In my study of Mary Magdalene, the skull is almost always seen as representing her knowledge of death, sometimes as a rather literal representation of "Golgotha" -- the Hill of the Skull -- where Jesus was crucified. Those who see her as a repentent prostitute sometimes see it as reflecting her awareness of the futility of a carnal life rather than a spiritual one. To quote Hamlet "To this end she must come."

I read a sentence like this one and I wonder about the author's (apparent) absolute rejection of the place of death and suffering in Mary's story. I paged through the book to try and find an acknowledgement of death and suffering elsewhere, but even when the author talks about the "Dark Goddess" aspect of Magdalene, she does so in terms of being the rejected Divine Feminine in Christianity and emphasizing her sexuality rather than going fully into the more terrible aspects of a goddess who is associated with death, or of transformation through ordeal.

Focusing on the bright aspects of Magdalene is not in itself a bad thing. They are there and powerful. It upsets me, however, when I see what I perceive as a twisting of a symbol which is uncomfortable to the author to deny the darker aspects of the story. Which is particularly ironic given the author's acknowledgement of the "shadow" aspect Magdalene carries for Christianity. She herself takes the darkness of Mary's story and pushes it into the shadow of rejection and denial.

Comments

[oakmouse]

Healing. Healing. HEALING.

No. Just, no.

[rin-x-x.livejournal.com]

I can see it, in a certain way, for healing (although I'm coloured by my perceptions, and perhaps when many people look at death they don't see healing... and not necessarily in the traditional sense).. but solely as healing? I don't understand that.

I wonder if for this person, since almost every book is biased by the author, can only acknowledge that this idea of "Rejected Femine Divine" and sacred sexuality ARE the shadows. I've not read this book, nor know much on the subject, but Christianity doesn't seem to dwell on death on that much, at least in the sense of remaining and working within a death-filled realm (which I don't really view Hell as, and certainly not Heaven).

I hope this made some sense.. I just got home from work.

I guess for some shadows are another's light?

[rin-x-x.livejournal.com]

Hmm. That last sentence should be "Someone's shadows are another person's light? Or some sort of shade of grey."

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

Someone's shadows are another person's light? Or some sort of shade of grey.

That's a good insight.

I think that how much emphasis there is on death and suffering depends very much on the individual Christian and/or their community. There are those who focus very much on it, although my non-professional impression is that they are the minority. Ultimately, of course, it's Christ's rising from the dead that is seen as the ultimate triumph and the proof of his godhood and thus of the truth and power of his message of salvation.

[blessed-harlot.livejournal.com]

This is a very foreign use of Magdalene to me, but this language and theme issue reminds me of a book I'm reading right now. It's a book on Paul, and the authors are describing an understanding of Christ's death that is theologically inseparable from the resurrection Paul believed in (also inseparable from the political context of his execution, and several other themes). It's so inseparable, in fact, that they say Paul sometimes uses "death" in a sentence as a package deal, and can be referring moreso to the resurrection or some other aspect of the interwoven themes. To equate a skull with healing feels similar to me, like a shorthand label for a whole network of meaning.

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

You make an excellent point here: that within the context of the Gospel story death comes with resurrection and healing -- but so far I haven't seen that understanding in this book.

The author may yet surprise me, but I have the distinct sense that she is working outside the context of that theology.

[sekhmetkare.livejournal.com]

Personally, I would consider the skull more of a wise woman symbol, of She who knows that no matter how a person lives their life, no matter what they do or don't do, no matter how important (or not) they are, death comes as the end to everyone. Although I can POSSIBLY see it in a healer aspect, as a healer knows that s/he cannot heal everyone, and that sometimes death is a kindness rather than something to be avoided at all costs.

I'm curious as to the reason(s) the author gives for considering it a "potent image for healing."

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

She doesn't give any, which is part of what makes me twitch -- especially when everyone else I've seen write about it disagrees with her.

[wyldlingspirit.livejournal.com]

What the...?

This is the part where the book meets the wall.

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

I've just skimmed through the whole book (it's very slim), and there's some good stuff in it as well.

In fact, I'm about to post a prayer/meditation that I think is going to be helpful to me in my ongoing connection to the upperworld.