It is so refreshing to read a book about Mary Magdalene written by a woman who is clearly in tune with the sensitivity required to understand the significance of the sacred feminine.

Right now we are being deluged by books on the underlying truth of Jesus Christ and his disciples. There are some fascinating novels and well-researched books on the facts, as we know them, and the legends that intrigue us. If like me, you have read these books with bated breath, only to find you end up with more questions than answers, then you will thoroughly enjoy Margaret Starbird’s book, Magdalene’s Lost Legacy.

It is well understood that the truth behind the gospels and the origins of the Christian Church has been hidden in obscurity. If you read the history of the time you will learn that the teachings were established in troubled times.

Shortly after the death/resurrection of Jesus, Judea underwent an enormous purge. Many of his disciples and those who knew him were executed; Herod’s great Temple was destroyed, as were the sanctuaries of Qumran and Masada. His followers were scattered to the four winds, and the teachings, thanks to the Apostle Paul, became an essentially Roman offshoot and subject to reinterpretation in isolation from it Jewish roots.

Those first followers were aware that the essential and hidden teachings of Jesus and the truth of his church would be lost, and so used a series of hidden clues to allow those “with eyes to see” to read and reinterpret those “dangerous” truths. These truths of course would undermine the male-dominated church and were thus repressed by Rome.

Magdalene’s Lost Legacy uncovers many of these clues, particularly those hidden in scripture through a system called gematria, using numbers to uncover hidden meanings in Biblical texts. This system was perfected by Greek philosophers and Hebrew Kabbalists in ancient times to allow the “story” to be spread to those who were not ready, and the truth, hidden in the text, to be given to those who were. This system leads us to new interpretations and a deeper understanding of their meaning.

Margaret Starbird’s discovery had personal meaning for her. As the author of The Woman with the Alabaster Jar, she had originally included much of this wisdom in that book, along with codes found in the Apocalypse of John (the Book of Revelation). However, her editors removed this section because they felt it was not entirely related to the woman who anointed Jesus with precious unguent of Nard. This propelled her to concentrate on the evidence, and thus this book was born.

Starbird points out that Mary Magdalene’s number is 153 and it has significant association with the Sacred Feminine. This leads to another hidden element within the Gospels, that of the Sacred Marriage, or hieros gamos, a unification of opposite energies. This “wedding” is alluded to in the Book of Revelations and in many other scriptures.

Margaret Starbird fearlessly explores the symbols and the hidden clues within the scriptures of the sacred union. She points out that many passages from Hebrew Scripture refer to God with feminine attributes. Medieval mystics, including Hildegard von Bingen and Jacob Boehme expressed this same theme in their revelations. God’s nature is understood as an integrated wholeness that includes both male and female attributes. The two preeminent symbols are the blade and the chalice and joined in harmony they form the Star of David.

This star, Starbird points out, is already present in the Great Seal of the United States and of course on the flag of the State of Israel. The restoration of this ancient symbol could bring about a new golden age, as this profound image of integrated wholeness crystallises wisdom and unification, both internally and externally, of the male-female dichotomy.

Jungian psychology teaches that the integration and healing of the psyche occurs when the inner energies of male and female are encouraged to develop into partnership. This principle of course extends into the entire human community.

This wisdom was known to the ancients and was hidden via gematria in the synoptic gospels. Margaret Starbird leads us through the main elements of these texts and deftly uncovers this wisdom in no uncertain terms. She studies the Book of Revelation and its mystical text regarding the ubiquitous 666, and the 144 thousand elect to discover that it is through unification of certain numbers that we come to a healed balance. It is by adding Magdalene's number to other “unbalanced and extreme” numbers that we find the essential “hidden” message of the gospels.

I found the book fascinating. As an author and researcher of similar material I found it significant that when I checked my own book, still in the first draft stage, on my computer, it had exactly 153 pages. A nice confirmation, or something more mystical? Only time will tell.

But if you are a student of the mysteries, if you long to understand exactly what that mysterious 666 is all about, then read this book. Starbird writes eloquently and convincingly, laying facts before us and allowing us to come to our own conclusions about these wonderful and secret teachings.

– Reviewed by Lesley Crossingham in New Dawn No. 94