Piecing together accounts of Mary from both Canonical and early Gnostic sources, it becomes quickly apparent that Mary is a much more significant figure than Church teachings admit. Accounts in the Gnostic gospels refer to Mary as the chief apostle to Jesus, as his companion, even as his spiritual successor.

Jesus, Mary, and Da Vinci

Leonardo and the Magdalen

Did Leonardo da Vinci Believe that Mary Magdalene was the Beloved Disciple?

Mary, Mary, quite contrary - and in code

More Leonardo Resources

Did you know? Many paintings from the Renaissance depict Mary Magdalen pregnant!

The Gnostic Magdalen

Early, censored Gospels refer to Mary Magdalen as the Chief Disciple of Christ, and his Companion or wife. The image at right was painted by a student of Leonardo, and bears an uncanny resemblance to another student's copy of The Last Supper, above. Is it a coded reference to a secret marriage?

Mary in the Gnostic Gospels:

The Gospel of Phillip
Describes the three Marys in Jesus' life- sister, mother, and wife.
The Gospel of Mary Magdalen
Was Mary, and not Peter, the Chief disciple of Christ?
The Dialogue of the Savior
All Gospel References for Mary

What is Gnosticism?

Mary Magdalen, by Pietro Perugino, a student of Leonardo

Mary Magdalene, first witness of the resurrection
Attempts to identify the many Marys of the New Testament.
Mary of Magdala in Early Christian Coptic Literature
A Gnostic Magdalene, from the Mandaean Book of John.

A priestess of Isis with her sistrum and funeral unguent.

An otherwise ordinary painting depicts Mary Magdalen wearing the Girdle of Isis. Note the use of the same knot by the priestesses of Isis

Mary Magdalen, Priestess?

Mary Magdalen is frequently portrayed carrying a jar of precious spikenard oil for annointing the body of Christ. Previously, the 'alabaster jar' was an accoutrement of the priestess of Isis, the goddess whose ministrations resurrected her husband Osiris. The ancient Cult of Isis stressed a symbolic death and resurrection as a metaphor for spiritual rebirth.

"I have traveled through the tomb, dark and lonely ground. I am here now. I have come. I see."

~From the Book of the Dead

Was Mary Magdalene a Temple Priestess?

St. Mary Magdalen, the first Papess?

“And thou, O tower of the flock [Magdaleder], the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.�?

~Old Testament Messianic Prophecy

Did you know? Spikenard, the perfume in Mary's jar, is mentioned in the Song of Songs, long believed to be symbolic of the 'spiritual marriage' of Jesus and Mary Magdalen.

Mary, Mother of Kings?

Many authors, including Dan Brown, speculate that Mary was the mother of Christ's Children , a royal line of the House of David. This belief, true or not, would have been a great threat to the authority of the Roman Church.

Mary Magdalene's Secret

Black Mary and the Sacred Blood
Is there a divine bloodline?

Mary Magdalene: Bearer of the Holy Grail

She Hides In Plain Sight

More Magdalen resources

Leonardo Da Vinci is not the first or only Renaissance artist to have hinted that Mary was more than she appeared. The Dutch portrait above is one of many to portray Mary as pregnant or nursing. More Magdalen Images

The Life of Saint Mary Magdalen
A twelfth century account of the life of of Mary tells of her journey to the Southern shores of France- and accomplishes her own miracle of resurrection.

Mary Magdalene in France?

Medieval Christian folk legends tell of Mary's arduous sea journey in a boat without oars.

The South of France where she is reputed to have settled was later a hotbed of heresy, including that of the Cathars, a gnostic sect who openly taught that Mary was the wife of Christ.

A great number of Churches sprang up in the area in honor of "Notre Dame," Mary Magdalen. Many of these belonged to the Knights Templar. Many contain images of the Black Madonna.

The Divine Feminine

Do you recognize this famous face? Click to meet the 'Wife" of God.

Holy Spirit, Divine Feminine?

Marys of the Sea

Gnostic Christianity and the Myth of Sophia 2

Sophia: Lost Goddess of Wisdom

The Role of the Sacred Feminine in the Gnostic Pantheon

The Goddess of the Israelites

Jesus & Mary Magdalene: The Sacred Marriage in Gnosticism

The Path of the Priestess

What Was the Status of Woman in the Early Church?

The Female Pope: The Mystery of Pope Joan

See Also:

More Mary Magdalen

The Sacred Feminine

Black Virgins