Mary Magdalene, the disciple whom Jesus loved.

The only thing the Bible says about Mary Magdalene is that she was one of the women who followed Jesus on his tour through Judea, and that she was freed from seven demons. At closer scrutiny, however, there appears to be a treasure trove of information enclosed in the few words about this mysterious lady.

This book reviews the Bible’s source texts and the symbolic language of its stories and guides the reader step by step on a journey of exiting discoveries and new insights.

The image of Mary Magdalene that emerges was for centuries kept a secret by a small group of initiated and free spirits. This book examines dozens of paintings, frescos and sculptures of famous artists who were in the know, and who in their works hinted at the spiritual status of Mary Magdalene and the crucial role she played in the early days of Christianity.

Relevant book data

The book is in full color and contains many illustrations (236 pages).
Click on the button below for the table of contents and a preview of 13 pages (PDF)

Titel Mary Magdalene, the disciple whom Jesus loved
ISBN
978-90-825023-4-3 (paperback, € 24,50)
978-90-825023-5-0 (epub, € 14,50)
239 pages, full colour!
With many full colour illustrations
Publisher: Magdalena Publishers, the Netherlands
Publication date: April 1st 2022

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Review

Original thinkers are rather lacking in the Netherlands. Especially in spiritual, esoteric circles, imitating and copying seems to have been elevated to an art form. That is why my heart started beating faster when I read the book Ecce Homo by the then unknown Anne-Marie Wegh, almost a full decade ago. What a great and beautifully designed eye opener that was! Especially the clear and pleasantly readable way in which she opened up the Biblical imagery to the general reader in that book, made a deep impression on me.

In the meantime, we are three equally startling books further and I can only conclude that Anne-Marie is one of the most original authors in the Dutch non-fiction writing landscape. Her writing is still developing and time and again she manages not only to captivate the reader, but also to enrich and surprise him. This also applies to her last fruit of the pen: Mary Magdalene, the disciple whom Jesus loved. It is true that in this book she elaborates on the themes already known from her earlier work about the symbolism in the Bible and spiritual awakening processes, but the angle she chooses here is again remarkable and also extremely topical.

The era of patriarchy – focused on the short term, the individual and financial success – is clearly coming to an end, while female values such as cooperation, connection and intuition are gaining in importance. In view of, for example, the climate crisis and the high-voltage healthcare system, we have to. But: as inside, so outside. And so there is also the invitation to each of us to balance the inner man with its feminine counterpart. That from the merging of the two the ascending fire of the kundalini energy may burn away all that stands between man and God.

While the reputation of Mary Magdalene has been seriously tarnished in recent centuries, despite the Biblical fact that she was present at Jesus’ death on the cross and as one of the first to proclaim his resurrection, we now live in times of the rediscovery and rehabilitation of the feminine principle. The realization of God that Anne-Marie speaks of in her books may still seem far off from a global point of view, but Mary Magdalene, who has risen from the ashes of masculinity and ecclesiastical dogmatics, can be a guide on the way there. The book Mary Magdalene, the disciple whom Jesus loved, testifies to this in a fabulous and – given the abundance of the most impressive and, as Anne-Marie shows, equally mysterious and profound works of art – colorful way.

– Niels Brummelman, Chief editor Paravisie Magazine –

This book contains dozens of paintings, frescoes and statues by famous artists, with – veiled – references to the spiritual status of Mary, and the crucial role she played in early Christianity.

Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter, 1482, Sistine Chapel, Rome – Pietro Perugino

Jesus delivers the keys to the “Kingdom of Heaven” to Peter.
This event from the gospels (Matthew 16:19) caused the Catholic Church to reckon Peter as the first pope. Artist Perugino wants to let us know that this honor is actually Mary Magdalene’s. She stands behind Peter in an open posture, because of which she becomes the central figure of the right side of the scene. She is the only one of the apostles who looks at Jesus. The apostle to her left points at her. That this is Mary Magdalene we may deduce from her footwear. All apostles are barefooted. Only Jesus and she wear sandals. Hers are ornamented in such a way that it is clear that this character must be a woman. She holds a small paper scroll in her hand: the gospel she has written!

About the author

Anne-Marie Wegh writes books about spirituality. She specializes in the symbolic imagery of the Bible. Through the centuries, much of the symbolic meaning of the Bible has been lost in translation. Her mission is to expose the deeper layer of the Bible and to share this with her readers.

Many of the Bible stories center on a process of spiritual rebirth which eastern traditions call kundalini awakening. Anne-Marie combines her insights into the deeper layers of the Bible with firsthand knowledge about this spiritual path of transformation.

In her own words:

The Bible can be regarded in several distinct ways. Many readers prefer to take the stories of the Bible literal and aim to live their lives according to the example of Jesus and the instructions he left us. Others see the Bible as a wholly human product and study it scientifically and anthropologically, or admire it as the great depository of narrative archetypes that still carries artistic expressions today. Many, however, have abandoned the Bible and seek solace in Far Eastern traditions.

I want to show you an additional and exiting way to look at the Bible. In my books you will discover amazing parallels between the stories of the Bible and the esoteric principles of other spiritual traditions. Hidden in gruesome stories about war, slavery and animal sacrifice, we find a universal roadmap to self-actualization and spiritual awakening.

The deeper layers of the Bible rise to the surface when we review the figurative and symbolic qualities of the Biblical stories. They teach us how we can realize the Kingdom of God. Not after death, somewhere in another dimension, but here and now on earth, within ourselves; how we can make of ourselves a temple for God to live in.

– Anne-Marie Wegh –