Written August 4, 2024
"Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out..." Luke 8:2b
I think it is probably this passage in the canonical scriptures that has been used to, wrongly, portray Mary Magdalene as a woman of "ill repute!"
About 6 years ago, when I was preparing the liturgy for Mary Magdalene season at St Hildegard's Community (SHC), I suddenly sensed a connection between the "seven demons" and the seven chakras. Chakras are a concept found in ancient India and refer to the energy centers along the spine. Meaning "wheel," the chakras are utilized in both Hinduism and Buddhism. They are thought to govern physical systems in the body, as well as having an emotional component.
The root (1st) chakra relates to safety and security.
The sacral (2nd) relates to sexuality, creativity, identity.
The solar plexus (3rd) relates to personal power and self confidence.
The heart (4th) chakra is the place of emotion and feelings. Compassion and connection.
The throat (5th) relates to expression, the Third Eye (6th) to intuition, the Crown (7th) to spiritual understanding or Oneness with the Divine.
This is, of course, a very quick and basic description just to give some context...
What if the demons that were gone out of Mary Magdalene were messages, neural networks that had become locked in - that closed off her energy centers. I'm not safe. My sexuality is bad. I am powerless. My emotions are not ok. My voice is silenced. I don't have access to my intuition. I am disconnected from Source.
OR!! What if Mary Magdalene KNEW - I am safe and secure! I know who I AM and I embrace my sexuality! I claim my own power! I speak my voice with confidence! I believe information that comes to me through my intuition! I AM ONE WITH THE DIVINE! And the powers that WERE didn't like that at all! And so needed to demonize Her.
Whatever the case, the prayers that I'm sharing today came out of this connection. Opening up the chakra energy centers and living into the true frequency of each of them can emerge as the result of the healing work of Eye of the Heart, and communities like St Hildegard's. It can also emerge as a result of the emotional and de-constructive work of dismantling white supremacy and the impact of racism.
If these prayers resonate with you, I invite you to draw in a deep breath, and then slowly release it. Light a candle or burn some incense. Bring a prayer to your heart. And know that you join with whomever else is feeling called to pray in this way...
We pray for the healing of humanity’s relationship with the Earth, with the Atmosphere, and with the entire Cosmos. May we treat the Earth as Sacred.
We pray for the healing of our bodies. We recognize the trauma of racism and white supremacy that we carry in our bodies*, and pray for the courage to regulate our own nervous systems. We pray to end the myths that bodies of color are stronger and can endure more pain than white bodies; and that white bodies need to be cared for by bodies of color. We pray for safety for bodies of color. We pray that we experience safety and security in our bodies.
We pray for the healing and nourishment of our bodies. We open ourselves to receiving the nutrients and medicine that the herbs, flowers, plants, and trees have to offer us for our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. May we treat bodies of color, and all bodies, as Sacred.
We pray for the healing of our sexual nature, so that our life force energy may flow without obstacle or barrier. We pray healing for the pattern of objectification of ourselves and others through sexuality. We pray that all expressions of gender identity are welcomed with equanimity and inclusion. We pray for healing for harms caused to Beings due to their gender expression. We pray for healing for those who have experienced sexual abuse.
We offer gratitude for the creativity and generativity that emerges in our lives and community. May we embrace our sexual nature as Sacred, and respect each body, in their authentic expression of gender, as Sacred.
We pray that we experience empowerment and agency in our lives. We pray for those who have been denied power over their own bodies, lives, and choices, particularly people of color. We recognize that the legacy of slavery, land conquest, and the existence of institutions of white supremacy in the United States continue to disempower people of color. We pray for those, who by nature of messages received from family, religion, culture, have been taught to deny their own power.
We pray that we become empowered to make choices for healing, consciousness, equanimity, and love.
May the agency and sovereignty that every body has the right to, be treated as Sacred.
We pray for all those whose hearts are broken by loss, trauma, unresolved grief and pain. We recognize the fear, pain, rage, and heartbreak the legacy of slavery, land conquest and white supremacy in the US have had on bodies of color, and on white bodies. We pray for those whose ability to give and receive love has been diminished by a protected and closed heart.
We ask our hearts to be opened, our feelings to flow, and our emotions to be honored as life-giving.
May our emotions and feelings be treated as Sacred.
We pray for the courage to speak and express ourselves authentically. We pray for those whose voices have not been valued, especially those of women and people of color. We pray for ones whose voices have been drowned out by white supremacist culture. We pray for those who are finding their voices and learning to speak for themselves.
We give gratitude for healing frequencies and vibrations of our voices and of sound and music. May our voices be treated as Sacred.
We pray for those who have been cut off from their intuition and deeper wisdom. We ask for the healing of a culture and religion that dis-courages, and denies the value of intuition. We pray that the relationship with our intuition and inner knowing will be restored, and that we will be able to listen to the guidance that emerges from within. We pray that this inner guidance system lead us in the paths to dismantle racism within ourselves, within our culture, and in the world.
May our intuitions, our visions, our dreams, and our messages from Spirit/Source be treated as Sacred.
We recognize Mary Magdalene and the Black Madonna** as emissaries of Spirit/Source, a healing force for people of color, and an agent of the dismantling of white supremacist culture and religion.
May we remember the Christ that dwells within our hearts. May we know that we are One with the Creative and Mysterious Spirit. May our thoughts, decisions, and actions come forth from this Reality. May we Remember that We Are Sacred!
It seems like these prayers reveal their profundity and power each year they have been prayed in community. I invite you to join in the prayer of them as we navigate the current times we are in!
*I refer you to the work of Resmaa Menakem, in My Grandmother's Hands, who uses the term "white-body supremacy" to highlight how we store trauma and conditioning in our bodies and nervous systems.
**These prayers have been used during the Mary Magdalene season at St HIldegard's Community. The Black Madonna makes Her presence known to me with regularity and has been in my consciousness strongly the past several months!