A Magdalene Feast Day Reflection
Tomorrow, 22 July, is the Feast Day of Mary Magdalene—a woman whose legacy has been distorted for nearly two thousand years. Once vilified as the “great sinner” who repented, Mary Magdalene is now being rightfully restored to her true role: the Apostle to the Apostles, spiritual teacher, and embodiment of the sacred union mysteries.
Jump to the Magdalene Feast Day Tarot Spread
Let us begin by examining the traditional Catholic prayer to Saint Mary Magdalene:
“Saint Mary Magdalene, you were a great sinner who, through love, found forgiveness in the Lord. Please pray for me, that I may also turn away from sin and embrace God’s love. Guide me to be a faithful disciple, like you, and to serve God with a loving heart. Amen.”
This prayer—still in circulation—says more about the Church’s anxieties around female spiritual authority than it does about Mary herself.
A Fabricated Sinner
The notion of Mary Magdalene as a reformed prostitute is not based on Scripture but on a long tradition of conflation and distortion. In 591 CE, Pope Gregory the Great delivered a sermon in which he conflated three distinct women into one composite figure: Mary of Bethany, the unnamed “sinner” in Luke 7, and Mary Magdalene. With a stroke of theological sleight of hand, he recast her as the penitent fallen woman—a narrative that stuck for over a millennium.
This character assassination did two things very effectively:
- It erased Mary Magdalene’s leadership role in the early Church.
- It reinforced the idea that women’s sainthood and spiritual authority became possible only through shame and repentance.
Cynthia Bourgeault, in her powerful work The Meaning of Mary Magdalene, points out:
“The real sin of Mary Magdalene was not that she was a prostitute, but that she was powerful.”
Witness, Teacher, and Tower
According to all four canonical Gospels, Mary Magdalene is present at the crucifixion and is the first witness to the Resurrection. The Gospel of John goes a step further. Here, she is not merely present; she is the one chosen to proclaim the risen Christ to the male disciples.
Margaret Starbird, author of The Woman With the Alabaster Jar, reminds us:
“The name ‘Magdalene’ means ‘Tower’—not a reference to a place, but to her stature and strength.”
In the Gospel of Mary (a Gnostic text), she emerges not only as a devoted disciple but as the one who understands Jesus’s teachings at a deeper level than the others. Peter’s discomfort with her authority is palpable in the text. The early Church struggled with the notion of a woman being Jesus’s closest spiritual confidante, and they acted accordingly.
The Magdalene Suppression Was Never About Morality
It was about power. About silencing the Divine Feminine. About limiting access to sacred union teachings and embodiment spirituality that Mary Magdalene so clearly carried. The fabricated narrative of her as “the great sinner” effectively neutralised her influence for centuries. But the truth, like the risen Christ she witnessed, has a way of emerging from the tomb.
This Magdalene Feast Day, we are not here to mourn a lost reputation. We are here to celebrate a spiritual sovereign.
From Shame to Sovereignty
For anyone who has ever been wrongly labelled, misunderstood, or told they were too much, Mary Magdalene is your patron and spiritual guide. They buried her message under centuries of projection and propaganda, but the bones of truth remain.
She was never the sinner.
She was always the tower.
To honour her, I offer you a new Tarot spread that aligns with her feast day—a spread for reclaiming your spiritual identity, voice, and purpose.
The Tower Reclaimed: A Magdalene Feast Day Tarot Spread
This five-card spread can help you shed internalised falsehoods and step into the spiritual leadership that is yours by right.
1. What societal lie about my identity am I ready to release?
Unmasking the internalised falsehood, the “penitent sinner” archetype.
2. What truth about my sacred essence is rising now?
Calling forward the light of your soul’s purpose.
3. How can I honour the Divine Feminine within myself today?
A call to self-compassion and sacred embodiment.
4. What message am I here to proclaim?
Your message of salvation. The truth you were born to share.
5. Message from Mary Magdalene
Draw one card with the intention of hearing directly from her. If you have a Magdalene Oracle, this is ideal to use here.
A Magdalene Feast Day Sample Tarot Reading
1. What societal lie about my identity am I ready to release?
Ah, the so-called “wish card” comes with a twist here. In this position, the 9 of Cups reveals a subtle but pervasive lie: that your worth is defined by your ability to be emotionally self-contained, pleasing, and fulfilled according to society’s standards. That if you can just look content—be the gracious mystic, the accommodating priestess, the always-smiling “lightworker”—then all is well.
But Mary Magdalene didn’t play small or fit into boxes. She wasn’t content to be the “pleasing woman” at the edges of someone else’s spiritual story. The lie you’re shedding here is that you must be palatable, uncontroversial, or emotionally polished to be spiritually valid. You do not need to perform serenity to be holy.
2. What truth about my sacred essence is rising now?
Your sacred essence is wild, free, and not here to be managed. The Fool shows your soul stretching its limbs, reclaiming the power to begin anew without permission. You are being invited into a cycle of radical trust—trusting yourself enough to leap, to lead, to laugh in the face of old expectations.
Mary Magdalene’s truth wasn’t inherited—it was embodied. She knew what she saw at the tomb. She didn’t ask Peter if it was okay to speak. Likewise, your rising essence is sovereign and unfiltered, a living invitation to walk your path without needing to explain or defend it.
3. How can I honour the Divine Feminine within myself today?
Swift, bold, unedited communication as per the 8 of Wands. The Divine Feminine within you wants flow—not the kind that trickles politely, but the kind that bursts through when you’ve held your tongue too long. Honouring Her today means saying what needs to be said, without guilt, without delay.
This may look like publishing the truth. It may look like confronting what’s been avoided. It may look like energy moving through the body—through dance, writing, a primal scream into the forest. She is moving fast. The only way to honour Her is not to block the flow.
4. What message am I here to proclaim?
A hard but essential truth: not everyone will like what you have to say. And that is not a reason to remain silent. The 5 of Swords here speaks to the cost of truth-telling—the backlash, the misunderstandings, the jealous attempts to undermine your voice.
Not everyone welcomed Mary Magdalene’s message. In fact, Peter challenged her legitimacy. But still, she spoke.
The message you are here to proclaim may unsettle. It may provoke. But it is the sword of truth you carry. Sometimes, reclaiming your voice will mean walking away from people who only loved you when you stayed small. That’s not betrayal. That’s integrity.
5. Message from Mary Magdalene
The Seventh Power (from Meggan Watterson’s The Magdalene Oracle): Rage – Anger Is Information
This is where it all comes together.
Anger is not a flaw in your spiritual practice—it is a flame that lights the way to what’s been denied, distorted, or suppressed. Mary Magdalene reminds you that anger is not the opposite of love; it is love’s protective sibling. It rises when something sacred has been violated—your voice, your worth, your truth.
The challenge lies in discerning which path your rage will take. Will it burn everything to the ground in blind reaction? Or will it burn through illusion, revealing what can no longer be tolerated, what must now be named?
“Anger that destroys is fuelled by fear.
Anger that clarifies is grounded in love.”
God is not asking you to act from your rage but to listen to it. Let it inform you. Let it name what must no longer go unspoken. But when you act—when you take that Fool’s leap, when you speak those 8 of Wands truths, when you wield that 5 of Swords edge—do so from a place of rootedness in love.
The Magdalene says: “Your holy fire is not a curse. It is your calling.”
A Magdalene Prayer for Our Time
Let us close with a prayer that honours her truth, rather than the distortions of history:
Beloved Mary Magdalene,
Tower of strength and wisdom,
Help us stand in our truth with courage and love.
May we walk as you walked—with devotion, clarity, and fierce compassion.
Remind us that we, too, carry the light of salvation.
Amen. So may it be.
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