The phrase “Rose Priestess myth” may sound provocative, but before we go any further, let me explain what I mean by myth. I’m using the word in the same sense that scholars of religion such as Dr Justin Sledge often do: not as a synonym for something false, but as a sacred story that communicates deep spiritual truths. Myths help us make sense of ourselves, our relationship with the Divine and our place in the world. We can take myths seriously without taking them literally.
For many years, the Rose Priestess myth gave language to my own spiritual journey. It encouraged me to see the sacred feminine not as something opposed to Christ but as an invitation into deeper devotion, wisdom and compassionate service. I remain grateful for that. Without it, I might never have begun asking many of the questions that eventually led me into the study of Christian Hermeticism, theurgy, the Church Fathers, Scripture and the Western Mystery Tradition.
Over time, however, something began to change.
The deeper my research took me, the less interested I became in claiming a spiritual identity and the more interested I became in spiritual transformation. At the same time, I found myself increasingly out of step with aspects within the wider Rose Priestess community. To be clear, this is not a criticism of the many sincere and deeply devoted individuals within that community. Every spiritual movement contains a wide spectrum of people. Nevertheless, I found that the emphasis I encountered too often drifted towards aesthetics rather than alignment.
Jump to the Mary Magdalene Tarot Spread
When the Myth Becomes the Doorway
As that happened, the Rose Priestess myth gradually stopped feeling like a destination and started revealing itself as a doorway.
Beyond the myth, I found something simpler and, for me, far more compelling: a life rooted in connection with Divine Wisdom, alignment with Divine Purpose, and loving service for the Highest Good. In returning to the earliest sources, I also found myself rediscovering Mary Magdalene herself. Not primarily as the guardian of a hidden priestess lineage, but as the devoted disciple, faithful witness and courageous encourager who points, again and again, beyond herself and towards Christ.
That is the Mary Magdalene I want to explore in this article.
Who Was Mary Magdalene, Really?
If we’re going to look beyond the Rose Priestess myth, we first need to ask a deceptively simple question. This is the question I have wrestled with for decades:
Who was Mary Magdalene?
The answer depends very much on which sources we choose to prioritise.
Over the centuries, Mary Magdalene has been portrayed as a repentant sex worker, wife of Jesus, guardian of secret teachings, founder of a hidden priestess lineage, apostle to the apostles, the embodiment of the sacred feminine and, more recently, the archetypal Rose Priestess. Each of these portraits tells us something about the hopes, fears and spiritual longings of the people who created or preserved them.
Some are rooted in Scripture.
Others arise from later Christian tradition.
Still others belong to modern myth-making.
Rather than asking which image we like best, I believe a better question is this:
Which Mary Magdalene do the earliest sources actually reveal?
To answer that question, I want to begin with the sources that are closest to the events themselves before allowing later traditions to expand the conversation. That doesn’t mean dismissing other sacred texts or modern myths. On the contrary, I believe they can enrich our understanding enormously. However, I also believe we honour them best when we first understand the woman who emerges from our earliest witnesses.
As I revisited the Gospels, the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Philip, the Pistis Sophia, the Church Fathers and later mystical traditions, I began noticing something unexpected.
Beneath all their differences, the same qualities kept surfacing.
Not a woman seeking a following, power or acclaim.
But a woman marked by extraordinary devotion, spiritual perception and faithful service.
That was the Mary Magdalene I wanted to meet.
The Biblical Mary Magdalene
The canonical Gospels tell us surprisingly little about Mary Magdalene before she meets Jesus. We know nothing about her family, her occupation or her social status. Luke simply tells us that seven demons had been cast out of her (Luke 8:2).
Exactly what those seven demons represent has been debated for centuries. Some interpret them literally. Others see them as symbolic of severe illness, trauma or complete spiritual oppression. The Gospel writers leave the question open, and I think it’s wise that we do the same.
What matters is the transformation.
From the moment Mary enters the Gospel story, she is no longer defined by whatever came before. She is defined by her response to Christ.
Luke includes her among the women who travelled with Jesus and the Twelve, supporting the ministry out of their own resources (Luke 8:1–3). That small detail tells us a great deal. Mary wasn’t an occasional follower who appeared only during Holy Week. She had already dedicated her life to Christ long before the Crucifixion.
Mary Magdalene the Myrrhophore
One aspect of the Rose Priestess myth that has stayed with me is its understanding of Mary Magdalene as a myrrhophore—a healer who used sacred oils.
This isn’t merely a modern mystical idea. The canonical Gospels tell us that Mary Magdalene was among the women who came to Jesus’ tomb carrying spices and fragrant ointments to complete the burial rites interrupted by the Sabbath. She came expecting to care for his body. Instead, she became the first witness to the Resurrection.
I also believe Mary Magdalene was the unnamed woman who anointed Jesus before his Passion. Several notable academics share this view.
The Ministry of Anointing
If Mary Magdalene did anoint Jesus before his Crucifixion, her return to the tomb carrying burial spices creates a beautiful symmetry. The woman who prepared Christ for his Passion also returns to complete one final act of loving service after his death.
Mary doesn’t come to the tomb seeking hidden teachings or mystical experiences. She comes because she loves him. She expects to find a body, not an empty tomb. The spices she carries speak not of status or spiritual attainment but of tenderness, reverence and a willingness to perform one last act of devotion.
Perhaps that’s why the image of the myrrhophore has remained with me long after much of the Rose Priestess mythology has fallen away. It isn’t an image of power or prestige. It is an image of love made practical. The myrrhophore honours the Beloved with whatever she has to offer, even when all hope appears to have died.
To me, that feels entirely consistent with the Mary Magdalene who emerges from the Gospels. Again and again, her devotion expresses itself not through claims of authority but through simple, faithful acts of loving service.
She Stayed
There is one quality that shines through every Gospel account of Mary Magdalene, and it has nothing to do with secret teachings or hidden lineages.
She stayed.
When Jesus was crucified and many of the disciples fled, Mary remained near the Cross. She witnessed his death. She watched where his body was laid. Then, before dawn on the first day of the week, she returned to the tomb with the other women.
The Gospels don’t present this as something extraordinary. They simply record her presence, almost matter-of-factly. Yet the more I reflect on it, the more remarkable it becomes.
It is easy to remain when everything is going well. It is much harder to remain when hope appears to have died.
I believe this is one of the reasons Mary Magdalene has continued to speak to me throughout my own spiritual journey. Devotion isn’t measured by the intensity of our mystical experiences or the beauty of our rituals. It is revealed by our willingness to remain faithful when God seems silent, when prayers appear unanswered and when the path ahead disappears into darkness.
Mary didn’t know she was walking towards the Resurrection.
She came to the tomb expecting to complete one final act of devotion.
Instead, she found an empty tomb, a man she assumed to be the gardener and a mystery she could not yet understand.
Mary was still trying to make sense of a new reality through the eyes of ordinary experience.
Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart
The Gospel of John’s Resurrection account contains one of the most beautiful moments in all of Scripture. Mary Magdalene sees Jesus standing before her, yet she mistakes him for the gardener (John 20:15).
How could she fail to recognise the man she loved?
I don’t think John is simply describing a case of mistaken identity. Throughout his Gospel, he contrasts physical sight with spiritual perception. Again and again, people see the outward reality while missing the deeper truth.
Mary has come expecting to find a dead body. Her senses tell her exactly what she expects to see.
Everything changes when Jesus calls her by name. She is able to see him.
Interestingly, the Gospel of Mary expresses this same idea using the Greek word nous. Often translated as “mind,” the nous is better understood as the eye of the heart or a way of perceiving that supersedes the ordinary intellect. It doesn’t reject reason. Rather, it enables us to perceive realities that reason alone cannot grasp.
The Encourager
If the canonical Gospels reveal Mary Magdalene as the devoted disciple, the Gospel of Mary reveals another side of her character.
After the Saviour departs, the disciples are frightened and discouraged. They fear persecution and struggle to understand what they have experienced. It is Mary who steps forward and speaks.
“Do not weep and do not grieve nor be irresolute, for his grace will be entirely with you and will protect you.”
Those are not the words of someone seeking power or recognition. They are the words of someone encouraging others to remain faithful when fear threatens to overwhelm them.
Only then does Mary share the vision she has received.
Whether or not we regard the Gospel of Mary as preserving the historical words of Mary Magdalene, I find this portrayal entirely consistent with the woman who emerges from the canonical Gospels. The disciple who remained at the Cross now strengthens those who are struggling to remain steadfast themselves.
That, to me, is leadership in its purest form. Not drawing attention to oneself, but quietly giving courage to others.
The Seeker of Truth
One of the reasons I love the Pistis Sophia is that it refuses to present Mary Magdalene as someone who has “arrived.”
Quite the opposite.
Even after encountering the risen Christ, Mary continues asking questions.
She wants to understand.
Again and again, she invites Jesus to explain the deeper meaning of his words. Her questions aren’t asked to challenge his authority or demonstrate her own knowledge. They arise from an unquenchable thirst for Truth.
Peter famously becomes frustrated by this. At one point, he complains that Mary speaks too often and leaves little opportunity for the others to ask questions. Yet Jesus never rebukes her desire to understand. Instead, he repeatedly answers her questions and continues to unfold the mysteries of the Kingdom.
I find this deeply encouraging.
So often, we speak about seeking God as though it ends the moment someone comes to faith or joins a church. Yet the Pistis Sophia presents a very different picture. The more Mary encounters Christ, the more she longs to understand him. Her love doesn’t diminish her curiosity. It intensifies it.
I believe this is what Jesus meant when he said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God.” Seeking isn’t merely the path that leads us to Christ. It is the path we continue to walk with Christ for the rest of our lives.
Discerning the Myth
Eventually, each of us must decide not only what we believe but what we choose to embody.
This is where I part company with the sceptics who dismiss myth altogether and those who insist every myth must describe historical fact. I don’t believe either approach does justice to the power of the human imagination.
So here is my Magdalene myth.
In my myth, Mary Magdalene is the feminine Christ. I see her as the eternal myrrhophore and as both a birth and death doula of souls. I can’t prove any of those things historically, and I’m perfectly comfortable with that.
What matters to me is that these images call me to become more Christ-like. They remind me to approach every ending with reverence, every new beginning with hope and every encounter as an opportunity to love more deeply.
In other words, they are myths worth living.
Somebody, somewhere started all the myths, including the Rose Priestess Myth.
Why can’t that someone be me?
Not because I want a following, but because every living tradition begins when someone finds a new way to express an eternal truth.
More than anything, though, Mary Magdalene reminds me that I don’t have to fit neatly into anyone else’s categories. She has been called a saint, a sinner, an apostle, a mystic, a priestess, a wife, a teacher, a heretic and much more besides. Whether history vindicates any of those labels almost seems beside the point.
Like Mary, I have no desire to spend my life trying to become easier to label.
I’d rather be recognised for my devotion to Love and Truth.
I’d rather be the finger pointing than the destination.
Mary Magdalene Tarot Spread: The Path of the Myrrhophore
This 7-card Tarot spread won’t tell you whether you are a Rose Priestess or belong to a hidden spiritual lineage. Instead, it invites you to cultivate the qualities I believe Mary Magdalene embodied throughout her walk with Christ: devotion, loving service, spiritual perception, encouragement and an unquenchable thirst for Truth.
1. The Call
Where in my life am I sleepwalking or sitting on the fence?
2. The Myrrhophore
How can I honour the sacred?
3. She Stayed
Where am I being asked to remain faithful when it would be easier to walk away?
4. Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart
What is my nous trying to perceive that my ordinary intellect cannot yet grasp?
5. The Encourager
Who—person, group or community—needs the hope, courage or reassurance only I can offer?
6. The Seeker
Where do I need more curiosity about what is actually going on?
7. The Kingdom
How can I embody what I find here and now?
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Final Thoughts
Writing this article has helped me understand why the Rose Priestess myth no longer resonates with me in quite the same way it once did.
The myth itself was never the problem.
It pointed me towards Mary Magdalene. It encouraged me to honour the sacred feminine, to seek Divine Wisdom and to live a life of deeper devotion. For all of that, I remain profoundly grateful.
The problem came when the myth risked becoming the destination rather than the doorway.
Today, I no longer feel the need to define myself as a Rose Priestess. I find myself asking a simpler question:
How can I become a little more like the Mary Magdalene I have come to know through these sources?
The devoted disciple.
The myrrhophore.
The encourager.
The seeker of Truth.
The woman who learned to see with the eyes of the heart.
Lisa Eddy — Tamar Iris LeFay
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