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MARY AS MAIDEN
And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s humility*; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who revere* him. He has shown might with his arm, dispensed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Avraham* and to his descendants forever.” Luke 1:46-55
“Mary” by Glenda Green
lovewithoutend.org* Humility is translated “lowliness” in some Bibles. “Revere” is translated as “fear” in some Bibles. The word revere is less confusing. Avraham is Abraham, the “v” spelling is more accurate.
In the Magnificat, Mary has just agreed to become pregnant with the Krist-child and has gone to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who is carrying the Prophet John. Mary rejoices in the Creator-God, the Father of her unborn child. Mary rejoices in Yahweh not as a lowly and fearful servant, but as a loving Bride. She is not merely the victim of Divine rape as detractors of Christianity have asserted. Yes, previous Sky-Father-Gods such as Zeus did impregnate earthly women with demi-gods such as Hercules, but we’re not talking about Greco-Roman gods out philandering. Yahweh – the loving Abba (Father) – asks Mary for her permission. If you pay close enough attention, the Annunciation is almost like Divine courtship! Do you remember when you were in school and a guy or a girl would send one of his or her friends to tell his or her crush that they wanted to go steady? This must be the role of the Angel Gabriel! Yahweh was certainly not shy about speaking to his prophets in person – he came to Moses in all the majesty of the Burning Bush, and he spoke directly to Avraham before Moses. But Yahweh had the utmost respect for Mary, the Great Mother Incarnate, for Mary consents to embody the essence of the Goddess, the Great Mother and Spouse of the Creator-God. And God loved her, loves her still. So he sent the Angel Gabriel to see if she felt the same way. Imagine how elated he must have been when she said yes!
This is Mary as the Maiden, the innocent Bride-to-Be aspect of the Great Mother. Interestingly, Kristian history doesn’t begin with a majestic masculine show of glory, but with a bold young girl who represented the Mother Goddess on Earth. If nothing else, this beginning shows us that the way of the Krist – Kristianity – was always meant to be egalitarian, not completely solar and masculine as exoteric Christianity has become. But besides that, the Gospel begins as it should – with the Maiden Goddess, Patroness of New Beginnings. The Roman Catholic creed tells us that Yeshua was “Light from Light.” As Kristians we can agree–he was from the White Light of the Maiden! When one considers the moon always painted at Mary’s feet in Catholic art, the white light connection is fitting.
The Song of Songs (also called the Song of Solomon) is a great love dialog between the sacred masculine and the sacred feminine, between god and goddess. Kristians can find a lot of Yeshua and the Magdala elements there and historians point to the Shepherd King Tammuz and the Queen of Heaven Inanna as the source of this ancient lovesong. But we must also remember that this Song exalted above all other Songs points to the connection between the Creator God (Yahweh as he is most often called in Judeo-Christianity) and Mary as Lover and Maiden. The Song of Songs speaks of young love on many levels. It is the love between Solomon and Holy Sophia, the love between the Krist and Ekklesia (Greek name for the early Church), the love between Yeshua and the Magdala, and the love between Yahweh and Mary. It is all of those things and more, but it is ALWAYS young love. It is always the Maiden and the Lover, locked together in Sacred Union – whatever their forms.
And this time we look at the Maiden Mary. Song of Songs 1:8 begins: “If you do not know, O most beautiful among women…” (emphasis mine). Recall the words of the Hail Mary: “Blessed are you among women…” Whether beautiful or blessed, Mary is so beloved by Yahweh that he sees her as more beautiful and more blessed than any other woman on Earth. Clearly, she is his Queen…the Foretold Queen of the Old Testament, and the Incarnate Queen of the New Testament.
But why does Scripture make such a distinction between Mary as Maiden and Mary as Mother? Because the distinction has existed since ancient times. It fulfills an ancient cycle which predates even Judaism. Mary must first be Maiden, and then she must be Mother, and finally she must be Crone. Scripture makes a definite distinction. The idealistic and innocent Mary becomes the influential and even shrewd Mother, whom we’ll discuss more in the next lesson. But these distinctions are important, and these distinctions are jeopardized when you declare Mary the Ever-Virgin. She must not still be Maiden once she has become Mother. The Maiden represents birth, the Mother represents growth, and the Crone represents fruition. Declaring Mary the Ever-Maiden leaves room only for birth, and not for growth or fruition. It’s like reading the beginning of a book, then throwing it away. One should naturally be curious to know how the middle and the end turn out.
Further evidence of Mary’s giving up eternal virginity is found in the fact that many sources, indeed the Gospels themselves, cite brothers and sisters of Yeshua. These are not cousins as some church “scholars” have asserted, and it is unlikely that they are Joseph’s sons from a previous marriage. If they were, and Mary’s “eternal maidenhood” were so important, it seems likely that the Gospel writers, Saul of Tarsus, the Apostles, someone might have noted her eternal virginity somewhere early on. Did they? No. The first mention of Mary’s ever-virgin requirement comes many centuries later.
We can think of Maiden Mary as the important and beautiful beginning of a book, or the provocative introductory paragraph of a research paper. Better still, think of her in terms of the cycle of the butterfly. The Maiden is the caterpillar. Now that we have explored the beauty of the Caterpillar, let us move on to observe the beauty of her Metamorphosis as Mother Mary and her final butterfly form as Wise Mary. Let’s close with the lyrics to one of my favorite Catholic hymns, “Hail Mary, Gentle Woman.” Be sure to answer the questions at the end…
REFRAIN
Hail Mary full of grace,
the Lord is with you,
Blessed are you among women,
And blessed is the fruit of your womb-
Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners now,
And at the hour of death.
Amen.
Gentle woman, quiet light, morning star
So strong and bright;
Gentle Mother, peaceful dove,
Teach us wisdom; teach us love.
1. You were chosen by the Father:
You were chosen for the Son,
You were chosen from all women,
And for woman shining one.
REFRAIN
2. Blessed are you among women,
Blessed in turn, all women too,
Blessed they with peaceful spirits,
Blessed they with gentle hearts.
REFRAIN
QUESTIONS
Copy and paste the following questions into an e-mail, answer them, and send to Mystery School with the subject line: “ODM Maiden Devotional from _____________(your magikal name).”
1. What is Mary’s canticle formally called?
2. Why did Yahweh send the Angel Gabriel to Mary?
3. T/F – The Kristian Way is solar only.
4. What is the Maiden the Patroness of?
5. Yeshua is Light from Light. What kind of Light is he from?
6. T/F – The Song of Songs connects to many different divine persons.
7. Maiden Mary is _______ and _______. (Fill in the blanks).
8. Mother Mary is _______ and _______.
9. The Maiden represents _______; the Mother represents _______; and the Crone represents _______.
10. What are the three ways stated at the end of the devotional to think of the MAIDEN (JUST THE MAIDEN)?
Essay (Optional, but recommended):
Briefly give an example of what the Maiden Mary, Patroness of New Beginnings, has done for you in your life.
Exercise 1 (Required):
Reread the Annunciation and Magnificat. Then read the Song of Songs. Record in a journal, notebook, etc. how the refreshing image of the Maiden might be able to affect the world around us. If you feel it’s not too personal, share your answer with the group.
Exercise 2 (Optional, but highly recommended):
Construct an altar to the Maiden Mary. You may want to include some of the items from the Song of Songs, such as myrrh, pomegranates, etc. Wild flowers and white roses are good when decorating an altar to the Maiden, as is fresh fruit and spring water. Your baptismal candle would also be an ideal addition to the altar. But above all, make it something that reminds YOU of the Maiden Mary. Leave this altar up for a week (seven days).
Exercise 3 (Required):
Read at least one verse from the Song of Songs per day until you have finished that book, and meditate upon the verse. After you’ve done that, pray the Hail Mary (seen below). If you constructed an altar, pray at it.
The Hail Mary
“Hail Mary, Full of Grace! The Lord is with You. Blessed are You among women, and blessed is the Fruit of Your Womb – Yeshua. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us; now and at the hour of our deaths. Amen.”
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