Invoking Mary Magdalene by Siobhan Houston
- Tanya Torres
- Oct 2
- 2 min read
I worked from home today, so I had a couple of extra hours of life to create. I had promised myself I would finish one Mary Magdalene painting, and I did.
I was also reading parts of Invoking Mary Magdalene by Siobhan Houston. It’s a beautiful little book, published in 2006, that includes a CD. I don’t have a CD player, and my book is water damaged, so I haven’t been able to play the CD and hope the water didn’t damage it. I ordered a CD player to be able to play old CDs I have around my studio and I’ll try this one too when it arrives.
I bought the book used and never read it. I probably bought it at the time when everything was changing in my life and I had to pack all my things and store them. When the boxes finally arrived years later in Puerto Rico, the movers carried them into the house under a tropical rain, and some boxes got wet. This one was in one of the unlucky boxes.
Today I was inspired to open this book and read some pages. It’s a beautiful 6.5” x 7.5” size book, that collects meditations, guided visualizations and prayers for those who want to engage in the Magdalene path. The author offers advice on how to set up an altar and shares different rituals that could be adapted to a person’s particular needs or preferences.
The author mentions that she is personally most attracted to the dark aspects of the Magdalene and offers a chapter exploring the relationship of Mary Magdalene and the Dark Goddess.
“[Mary Magdalene] has become the Christian Dark Goddess, carrying the cast-off, shadow attributes such as sexuality and independence that the Church eradicated from their characterizations of the Virgin Mary.”
The author takes us on a journey through history, mythology and explorations of the meaning of the Dark Goddess as connected to Mary Magdalene and the Magdalene Path. Most of all, she offers resources to use in the pursuit of that path.
Looking through the book, I felt that only one thing was missing: a collection of full color images of Mary Magdalene. If it is ever reprinted, a luxury edition with art would make it even more beautiful!
For now, I’m glad to have picked it out of the shelf today. It gave me meaning and connection as I painted a Dark Magdalene. Sometimes I don’t know clearly how an idea comes about. And when I first started painting the series I titled The Dark Magdalene, right at the beginning of that big change in my life, I could never put into words their meaning. Reading this book helped me connect the idea of that great destructive power that is the beginning of a rebirth. My Dark Magdalene emerged out of chaos, and has stayed to nurture a transformation. She may be telling me that there is still more to explore within that all-embracing and nurturing dark womb.
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