More on Mary, and...Mary Magdalene. Or, about them...

By José Blanco

After that last episode with the Marists and the Marianists, with Meggan Watterson's book - Mary Magdalene Revealed (*) - Marion Woodman drops uninvited into the scenery. Watterson refers to her, so I did a quick Qwant search, coming up with: "Marion Woodman and the Search for the Conscious Feminine, by Patty de Llosa".  Whoaaa!

The link is from parabola.org, and its header contains the terms "the-search-for-the-conscious-feminine" and Parabola's "The Search for Meaning", so it hooked me to click on it. Of course...!

The article opens with a quote: "The true feminine is the receptacle of love. The true masculine is the spirit that goes into the eternal unknown in search of meaning. The great container, the Self, is paradoxically both male and female and contains both. If these are projected onto the outside world, transcendence ceases to exist. The Self—the inner wholeness—is petrified. Without the true masculine spirit and the true feminine love within, no inner life exists…. To be free is to break the stone images and allow life and love to flow.” 

That quote is from: "Addiction to Perfection: The Still Unravished Bride", by Woodman.

So, let's stop. Let's split this up - it's too much at a time.

"The true feminine is the receptacle of love." Of course, who doesn't know that? Any doubts, any discussion? Checking out the word, Receptacle: "place for receiving or containing something," late 14c.,", a place to receive and store; holds, contains; also related to "welcome, accept, carry back", etc., etc.

Thinking about our modern world, in walls and their 'receptacles'. And on our desks, the USB receptacles (btw, so confusing, with so many types: USB, USB-A, USB-C, Lightning, Micro & Mini-USB's, etc., etc.). No wonder it's so hard to "connect". But, the receptacle has it all there, the problem is getting in there, getting "it". And no matter how much one tries, if one doesn't have the right 'key', one doesn't "get in": the "thing" just won't understand our need, our intent to get its 'juice' so critical to our next step, to what we are attempting to do!

In a humorous way, 😅, it's surely a female!. No more said, period.

But then, the next sentence: "The true masculine is the spirit that goes into the eternal unknown in search of meaning." Check it out!: "the spirit"...??? And then, "going into the eternal unknown..."???, searching for "meaning"...??? What is this? Another Ulysses trip? Saga? A koan? Tell me more, please, I'm spinning, burning rubber, no traction. 

I thought the male was seen as material, built, solid, even dense, Samson-like. What happened to "earthy", mundane, materialistic"...?

This "true masculine" must be definitely 'enlightened'...coming out of the Abbey, the Cave, the Desert. 

uuufff! Hard stuff, and it's only the opening paragraph! Where are we? Where is this going?

But then! ... "Without the true masculine spirit and the true feminine love within, no inner life exists…. Ms. Woodman aligns "spirit" with masculine, and "love" with the feminine. Ahá! The latter one we knew! Love is associated with 'the female', isn't it? In all kinds of 'things' from postcards to perfume, inspiring scents, beauty, coddling, understanding, forgiveness, nurturing, etc., etc. But the masculine..."spirit"?... Mind spurt!

 And the answer is...here it comes!

"To be free is to break the stone images and allow life and love to flow.”

...oh, oh. What built-in "stone images" do I need to break? Stone images (!) that are not "allowing life and love to flow in..."? 

No wonder we are in "Lent"... 

 

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