Reviews

Book Review – Magdala: The Lost Story of Mary Magdalene by Bridget Erica

Book Review

Magdala:

The Lost Story of Mary Magdalene

by Bridget Erica

Publisher: Hopscotch Studio

214 Pages

Published: July 1, 2022

 

 

From the publisher: 

“For over two thousand years my name has been printed in the holy book and buildings have been erected in my honor. Yet, men in ornate robes have trampled on my words, tainted my name, and hidden my story from you. The exceptional events of my life have been erased…”

Based on the life of Mary Magdalene, Magdala beautifully pieces together the hidden remnants from the past and masterfully weaves them into a fascinating tale about faith, love, and our connection with the Divine. Magdala transports readers 2000 years into the past as it follows Mary Magdalene on her journey from innocence to cherished healer, sacred confidante, wife, and mother. A stirring work of historical fiction that explores the meaning of Mary Magdalene in the face of her erased history. Magdala is a fascinating invitation to re-examine the hidden messages in Jesus’ teachings and what it truly means to be a powerful woman.

Perfect for readers of Meggan Watterson, Paulo Coelho, Claire Heartsong, and Clarissa Pinkola Estes, this is the lost story of Mary Magdalene as it should have always been told.


From the author:

Completing this book has taken me more than eleven years, with a large part of that time spent in Rome. Along the way, I’ve also traversed my own journey of healing, becoming a Reiki Master Teacher, opening two clinics in Australia, founding the Australian Centre for Clinical Reiki and teaching Reiki healing to hundreds of pupils. It was through my journey to become a healer that I learnt how to reconnect with Mary Magdalene, and fully understand her role as a healer. Ultimately, after more than a decade of interest in Mary, the eight years of learning and growing I embarked on in order to practice Reiki healings, was what helped the final chapters of this book come to me. It was then that I felt as though Mary’s story was revealed.

My own personal journey as a healer has taught me about life, our bodies, our souls and our connection or disconnection to God and the Divine. As I healer, my primary role is to reconnect people with their higher selves, with their higher purposes, and with God, or the Divine, or Source (or however one best connects with the terminology). I am simply a witness and a vessel who channels this space and healing — the rest unfolds with ease and grace. I call this the grace of God.

These things together — my research, my spiritual journey, my quest to discover Mary Magdalene’s story — have culminated in this, my gift to every woman who has been searching for the truth.

It is so very unfortunate that powerful men of the past re-wrote Mary’s story, erasing her as much as possible from our records. I truly believe this was because of who Mary Magdalene was and what she stood for. Her in-depth wisdom, actions and knowledge threatened their fragile systems, their perceived paths to power and glory. It saddens me that women over the centuries have not had access to her teachings, or even had a knowledge of who she really was. Modern women of so many different cultures and faiths have been failed. They have been robbed of a true female role model, one who stood up against the evil undercurrents of a heavily patriarchal world.

I ask you now to take a moment to reflect and ask yourself: What would it mean if Mary Magdalene was a disciple of Jesus? If Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus? How would the history of the world be different if Mary Magdalene’s stories, her gospels and the other Nag Hammadi texts had always been available to us? If they were researched and talked about? I invite you to bring Mary Magdalene back into your life, and to teach your daughters, your sisters, your granddaughters, and all the women in your life her lessons.

May the story of Mary Magdalene and who she was allow us to honour her while also setting us free.


Something about this book called me! I was drawn to it. Once I picked it up and started to read, I was hooked. I have been deeply interested in the Magdalene for many years. I have Margaret Starbird’s book and have read it several times. I devoured The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) when it came out. There are others also that I have read. I have always known there were parts of the story that were hidden from us. Thank you, Bridget Erica, for the time and effort you put into writing this book!

I reveal much about the story in this review but there is much more to be discovered! It is written as fiction but it is an age-old story. It is rich with historical detail. Bridget Erica did her research very well.

The story is told in the first person with references drawn from the Gnostic Gospels – the first being the Gospel of Philip after the speaker identifies herself as Miriamne: “May the truth be known that I am, and always have been, a woman, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a lover, a healer and a mother. A woman who was never afraid to live with her heart or speak with the truth. One who never weakened in the face of oppression.”…. “My name is Mariamne, I was born in Magdala, I am the sister of Philip, the daughter of Jonas, and the wife of Yeshua. This is my story. “32: There were three who always walked with the Lord: Mary, his mother; the sister of his mother; and Miriam of Magdala, known as his companion; for him, Miriam is a sister, a mother, and a wife.2 — Gospel of Philip” (Erica, Bridget. Magdala: The Lost Story of Mary Magdalene (p. 13 & 14). BookBaby. Kindle Edition.)

Miriamne leaves home at the age of 12 to be trained in Jerusalem in the healing arts under the tutelage of her aunts in the temple. By family tradition, the oldest daughter was sent beginning at her first moon-time to be trained in the practice that went back further than the oldest grandmother could remember – working with plants and oils. She would train for three years then return and be the village healer. Not only did young Miriamne learn to grow her plants and mix her potions for healing, she also learned how abominably women were treated by most men. Yet her teachers taught her to be a woman and how to stand on her own.

In many places in the book, it is if she sees inside me and is speaking directly to me – as if she sees my fears and shortcomings and addresses them from the Yeshua’s point of view. I have never read a book quite like this. It speaks to my soul! Yeshua speaking to Mariamne could well be Yeshua speaking directly to me!

When Miriamne left her studies with her aunts at the Temple, she became a disciple of Yeshua. The other disciples were not happy to have a woman among them, especially Peter, but Philip was her brother and her protector. Yeshua did not distinguish between male and female.

She speaks of the ceremony where they wed but of the need to keep it secret and of the need to keep the child she carried secret also. Yeshua knew his time was growing short. He thought her safety and that of the child would be at risk if the authorities knew. Thomas and Philip were appointed as scribes to write down everything they had learned, lived, and witnessed.

She tells with deep emotion of the last supper, of Yeshua’s arrest and her feelings and attempts at dealing with it. She and Mary accompanied him on his journey to the crucifixion. Yet this is not the same old story you have always heard. This is like having an eye-witness account and sharing her emotions.

You must read of her flight to freedom and the perils she faced. The girl child she carried was prophesied in the library at Alexandria before she arrived there. Later they had to flee again. You will learn what happened to Yeshua’s body (why it was not in the tomb). We are with her as she gives birth in a raging storm. She speaks of settling in a village and beginning her ministry. She speaks of living out her life there doing the work for which she was trained.

I have the Kindle version of this book but I will also buy a printed version. It is that good! It is one that I will read over and over again. It tells the story of Yeshua and Mariamne the way that I have long seen them.

About the author:

Bridget Erica is an internationally sought-after Reiki Master, teacher and healer, and instant best-selling author. Her passion for energy healing, combined with her personal pursuit to uncover hidden stories from the past, inspired her to re-write the story of Mary Magdalene, one of the most misunderstood and influential women and healers in history. Bridget resides in Rome with her husband and two children. Magdala is her first novel. Follow her at www.bridgeterica.com or www.thereikietemple.com

 

Magdala: The Lost Story of Mary Magdalene on Amazon

 

 

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About the Author:

Katy Ravensong

Katy Ravensong is a practicing green witch in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. She was raised here where she ran barefoot & free. She is a wife, mother, grandmother, voracious reader, crocheter, and amateur herbalist. She glories in the freedom that comes with being a Crone ~ when she is gone, she will not be known as a woman who could keep her mouth shut! She is disabled, yet tries to make disability work for her. She is an advocate for human rights. She is Dean of Wortcunning and Assistant Dean of Natural Philosophy at The Grey School of Wizardry. She has studied with various herbal teachers, with Witch School International, with Avalonian Institute of Metaphysical Arts, and is a priestess with the Sisters of Earthsong, Order of the White Moon. Her poetry has been featured in several publications including ‘Pagan Poetry for the Festivals and Seasons’ by Wyrdwood Publications edited by Edain Duguay, 2008. Her favorite quote is from Emily Dickinson “If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain. If I can ease one life the aching or cool one pain or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.”