Virgin, whore or hag.

I've found myself doing a bit of personal investigation into the historical figure Mary Magdalene because of a very interesting encounter in a Christian bookshop. My journey began, I suppose, with my preoccupation into this woman called Mary Magdalene. I was always fascinated with this figure who had been a prostitute (albeit false, but that was the myth I'd been brought up with and had believed unquestioningly) and then walked beside a man who was basically pretty fucking amazing. The way I see Jesus is this political dissident who fought for the abolition of hypocrisy in the Jewish clergy, NOt the Jewish people or practioners. Then again, he was also a rabbi himself, and was a clear example of perfect conduct whilst preaching faith in a god I don't subscribe to. I know even less about the woman at his side.

When, out of curiosity, I ventured into a Christian bookshop and glanced at the biography section. Naively thinking that amongst the St. Paul what got an Apistle and Francis Aggasi, who played amazing tennis, there would definitely be a book about the woman, nay the PERSON regardless of gender, who walked beside the historical figure Jesus of Nazareth and was probably the one person who was worthy of the nomenclature "disciple". Nothing, not a fucking notebook of quotes or references to her on any title.

I asked the shop keeper if they had one and she looked at me as though I'd just asked her for a copy of the Karma Sutra.

Buddhism is full of this bullshit too. Thousands of years of stories about Mahasiddhas and Masters, all Yoda/Luke Skywalker affairs. Religious historical figures off the top of my head: Joan of Arc, Lady Jane Grey, Mary (the mum), Mary Magdalene, then I draw a blank unless I go into the limited Buddhist/Hindu religious history I know of. There's Tara, who isn't a follower/disciple of anyone but a symbol of a compassionate mind and swiftness of action, speach or thought. Vajrayongi took on many disciples, but from what I can recollect these were all men. Women throughout history seem to have this ghostly lack of female/female student teacher spiritual relationship. Vajrayogini and Mary Magadalene draw some parallels too. The red flame hair, the sexual associations and the compassion and wisdom. However, wereas Vajrayogini is worshipped and reveered as possible the most powerful deity Mary is depicted as a servant, falsely accused for the last 2000 years. Another parallel is the fact both have demons associated with them. Although Vajrayogini's symbolise her ability to supress inner and outer obstacles to perfection, Mary's literally were her own delusions. Miraculously Jesus was able to cleanse her mind of them and she became nothing but a ghost in history. I suppose if you teach the men to write and the woman to bear children then you get a world full of people and a history full of men.