Journeying to the Magdalene
I'm going to invite you along with me on a creative journey through mythical space. It is a journey of manifestation, of bringing energy and vision together and making desires and dreams come to life, in the "real world."
It begins with an idea. Of a woman's story whose past is shrouded in mystery and veiled to hide what might have been deemed "too much" light. Of mythology and symbols that have long been part of the human experience on a level which we can't quite grasp, but we know it when we see it and feel it. Clues and whispers and rumors. Sparks in the darkness, the glimmer of starlight, of stories told by firelight and candlelight long ago. Tales that are part of our collective consciousness, known without having been taught.
I embark on a journey to connect with Mary Magdalene the woman and the myth. The totality of her; the bad and the good, the light and dark, the hidden and exposed. Within her story are lessons for me. I wish to follow in her footsteps and learn what she has to teach me.
Before me is a blank canvas and a lifetime of stories gathered, and stories yet to be discovered. I will sit with spikenard, myrrh and frankincense. I will write my quest upon the canvas and take water drawn from the spring at Glastonbury and draw a Celtic cross. I will enter the silence as I begin to connect with her energy and light a candle.
With each stroke on the canvas today I will name my fears and doubts, what I ask the Magdalene to help me with. The request for courage, in the ancient sense of the meaning, of living from the heart, from love, to overtake my daily way of living; to become my devotion, my diligence, my discipline.
It is said that Mary Magdalene was forced to flee Palestine with her companions in a rudderless boat, setting out on the Mediterranean for shores unknown. I like that imagery of the rudderless boat. Perhaps they thought that without a way to steer she would become lost, that they'd no longer have to worry about what she'd seen, what she knew. That her boat might sink.
The woman who'd first seen the risen Christ, without guidance? Without protection? Without friends or destination or plans, I cannot imagine. She would travel by the light of the moon, guided by stars, accompanied by angels. She would bring her words with her. I envision her calm, trusting, illuminated from within, in awe and wondering about all she'd experienced.
This is where I shall begin. It is my intention to weave her story through my fledgling art and to discover/uncover her as I go. And then, within a year's time to travel to Southern France, to the places where legends of Mary Magdalene abound, to places where she's said to have lived and prayed and taught.
And then, I'm sure, begin again after integrating the experience. And so I allow Mary Magdalene to teach me and guide me, so that I may become teacher and guide. As the canvas takes shape, I will share the meditative and creative process that unfolds. I welcome you to join me.
Kaliani Devinne
It begins with an idea. Of a woman's story whose past is shrouded in mystery and veiled to hide what might have been deemed "too much" light. Of mythology and symbols that have long been part of the human experience on a level which we can't quite grasp, but we know it when we see it and feel it. Clues and whispers and rumors. Sparks in the darkness, the glimmer of starlight, of stories told by firelight and candlelight long ago. Tales that are part of our collective consciousness, known without having been taught.
I embark on a journey to connect with Mary Magdalene the woman and the myth. The totality of her; the bad and the good, the light and dark, the hidden and exposed. Within her story are lessons for me. I wish to follow in her footsteps and learn what she has to teach me.
Before me is a blank canvas and a lifetime of stories gathered, and stories yet to be discovered. I will sit with spikenard, myrrh and frankincense. I will write my quest upon the canvas and take water drawn from the spring at Glastonbury and draw a Celtic cross. I will enter the silence as I begin to connect with her energy and light a candle.
With each stroke on the canvas today I will name my fears and doubts, what I ask the Magdalene to help me with. The request for courage, in the ancient sense of the meaning, of living from the heart, from love, to overtake my daily way of living; to become my devotion, my diligence, my discipline.
It is said that Mary Magdalene was forced to flee Palestine with her companions in a rudderless boat, setting out on the Mediterranean for shores unknown. I like that imagery of the rudderless boat. Perhaps they thought that without a way to steer she would become lost, that they'd no longer have to worry about what she'd seen, what she knew. That her boat might sink.
The woman who'd first seen the risen Christ, without guidance? Without protection? Without friends or destination or plans, I cannot imagine. She would travel by the light of the moon, guided by stars, accompanied by angels. She would bring her words with her. I envision her calm, trusting, illuminated from within, in awe and wondering about all she'd experienced.
This is where I shall begin. It is my intention to weave her story through my fledgling art and to discover/uncover her as I go. And then, within a year's time to travel to Southern France, to the places where legends of Mary Magdalene abound, to places where she's said to have lived and prayed and taught.
And then, I'm sure, begin again after integrating the experience. And so I allow Mary Magdalene to teach me and guide me, so that I may become teacher and guide. As the canvas takes shape, I will share the meditative and creative process that unfolds. I welcome you to join me.
Kaliani Devinne
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