EXTRACT FROM SUNDAY SERVICE FEBRUARY 1, 2004

Today is February 1, the Festival of Imbolc. It is associated with St. Brigid who is also known as Mary of the Grail, Brigid of the Fiery Era, and Brigid of Healing. She was recognized in the Celtic tradition as a Goddess, and when Christianity moved to the forefront they could not eradicate her so they turned her into a saint, and she became known as St. Brigid. Part of the tradition which lingers to this day was that on her feast day you lit candles and you put out the blessings of butter and of milk, for she was said to travel with a white cow with red ears. This was a symbol of the fertility of creation and procreation, and ushered in the energies of spring. There are many wells in Ireland that are attributed to Brigid. I had the opportunity to go to some of these and they are indeed the waters of life and of healing. Brigid is oftentimes seen in relationship to the Virgin Mary, but what may not be as well known to you is that many consider her to be, in truth, the Celtic equivalent of Mary Magdalen. She is said to be the cauldron of life and the regeneration of life. She is also the source of inspiration and the bearer of the Light.

Because the Church could not extinguish the way in which the people honored the bearer and the bloodline of the Light, or their dedication and commitment to the Light, it established the Feast of Mary. In Catholicism this is celebrated on February 2nd. This is a time in which candles are lit. It was said that this feast was associated with Mary's purification, because in the Judaic tradition forty days after the birth of a child a woman was called to go back to the temple to purify herself so that she could move back into her temple duties. So February 2nd, while it is the Candlemas of Mary, is couched in terms of purification.

We have heard about the continuation of the royal blood line from Yeshua. For those of us who have been in occult studies for many years, this is not anything new, and yet what we are seeing and bearing witness to, is an incredible outpouring of information to the public at large, and we give great thanks for that, for it is quite purposeful and necessary. There is an ongoing question as to whether Yeshua was divine by birth, or whether He became divine. This fundamental precept was argued by theologians and ultimately it was decided and enforced with brutality that Yeshua was born divine and did not become divine. Consequently you can seek to emulate Yeshua, and you can seek to identify with the Christ, but you cannot ever hope to become divine, or be like Christ yourself.

Now many of the Gnostic teachers and others felt that Yeshua's destiny was, in truth, to become fully human. Now that is an interesting phrase. He needed to become fully human, because when you become fully human, then you are divine, and those things that are out of alignment, harmony, and balance are those things that keep you from expressing your true nature, which is divine and human, for how could it be otherwise? And the argument went on to say that in order to bring this humanity to all things, there were certain beliefs that would include, for Yeshua, that he would be sexually active. Because by not participating in all things human, which included sexuality, would mean that there was not an integration, a harmonizing, a balancing, a union with all things. So Yeshua would have been someone who would have eaten food, drunk water, who would have laughed, cried, felt anger and joy, who would have had sexual relations, who would have participated in all the aspects of human nature, and in that process He fully brought the divine into all aspects of life.

I have recently read the Gnostic text out of the Nag Hammadi of the Gospel of Mary. There are several translations of this text and there are aspects of it that I have found to be quite valuable. The text is attributed to, if not written by, Mary Magdalen, and I thought it was of interest that while the translator acknowledged from the Gnostic perspective that Yeshua would have participated in sexual relations, possibly even with Mary Magdalen, he was quite dismissive of the implication that there could have been the potential for offspring. Historically we know that while this may not have been a concern of this particular translator, it was a huge and over-riding concern of those who were in positions of power. And power and religion were not separated. And so in order to distance from even the potential that a child could have resulted, not only was Yeshua's sexuality denied, but also any relationship He might have had with the woman who is mentioned most in the four Gospels that were accepted by the Church after extensive rewriting, and that was Mary Magdalen. She and Mother Mary are the two women that are spoken of only a handful of times, but they are spoken of in every single Gospel, and they are the women that are most acknowledged.

You read that Mary Magdalen had seven demons cast out of her. Others were healed, but she is the only one where there was this mass of demonic involvement which required healing. It was taught by the Church that this was because of the extent of her sins as a prostitute. While the word prostitute is never in any way used to describe Mary Magdalen, it has been interpreted this way. I have read various accounts of the cleansing of these seven devils that were cast out. I loved the way one particular author put it, that Yeshua cast out the demons but that the church subsequently reported that Mary Magdalen would still carry their residue and was therefore unclean. Thus Yeshua must not have done a very good job. You have heard of the seven primary chakra wheels in our body that are associated with the movement of higher states of consciousness. Many have said that the interpretation of the casting out of demons was that any energies that were in any way disharmonious with the full authority of these seven chakras were cleansed by Yeshua in recognition of the high level initiate that Magdalen was. If you look at this in relationship to those that have studied the Tree of Life, then it would be comparable to taking a Sephirah and removing any imbalance in that Sephirah and completely cleansing it so that it would be in its full authority with no shadow. To carry that level of power, authority, and initiation, would have been a very rare thing.

We know that Mary Magdalen was not only at the crucifixion with John the Apostle and Mother Mary, but she was the only one who bore witness at the resurrection. Hence she has been called the Apostle of the Apostles, and she received the communication and the charge from Yeshua to go out and carry her message forth. This text, the Gospel of Mary, has been attributed to Mary Magdalen, and it was either written by her or is a direct source of her teachings. It is extremely metaphysical, mystical and magical, and it is based upon the message that she received at the resurrection. This message was of such an important nature that it is of no wonder that she was again denigrated by the teachings when it was said that Yeshua would not allow her to touch him. It was believed that she still carried the residue of the sin, and if nothing else, she was but a woman. And yet there are those who argue quite stringently that this was not what was said, and that Yeshua's words to her were, "Do not cling to me", and this has been poorly translated into our language. In other words he was saying to her, "Do not identify with, or cling to your perception, because I look so much embodied that you identify me as the Risen Christ, but look beyond your perception." There are pages that are missing from the text, but the teachings are around this metaphysical understanding of moving your consciousness out of your identification with the physical and into the identification with Spirit, and in those in-between realms you are able to have communion with the resurrected light, and this light is not outside of you.

Understand that Mary Magdalen is a title. Mary, Miriam, Mira, they are indeed powerful titles. Many say that part of why Magdalen was returning with the oils (Mark 16:1) was that, as a priestess of Isis, she was one who understood the doorways between the worlds, and was coming in her role of walker between the worlds. What I'm saying to you is that the message that is now being sent forth in the world, that is being thought of, talked about, argued, as to whether or not Yeshua had children, as to whether or not Magdalen was indeed an initiate, is because I think that the lineage and title of Mary is now fulfilling its sacred role. It is time that the veils be lifted, not just to those who have the ears to hear, those who are the adepts, the initiates, the seekers of the truth, the studiers of the mysteries, but the message is to be revealed to all, so that they can have free choice.

It was said that Magdalen spent 30 years primarily in a cave, and that when she was in the cave you could hear the sound of birds singing around her and the sounds of nature and water moving. And every morning she would go up out of the cave. Now think of the energies of this, the cave, the womb. She would emerge from the womb and go and greet the new sun. And it was said that when she would walk up on the hilltops the angels would come and carry her up and she would hear the sounds of new creation as the sun was being birthed.

Several years ago we received the gift of the flame of Brigid, and every few years we pass it on to those who are present with us. It is documented that the flame of Brigid has been kept burning for well over a thousand years in her monastery in Ireland where there is perpetual, continual prayer. When you take a candle that has been dedicated to Brigid and has been blessed and magically anointed in her honor, and it is lit in the healing flame, light, and protection of Brigid, then that energy and intention is held in the wick, and even though the flame is extinguished, when the candle is relit it still carries the power and potency of Brigid's flame.

I'm asking you this day of Imbolc that you would know yourself as a light bearer, the holder of the new light, the protector and the birther of the new light, and that you would know yourself, male or female, as being of the lineage and title of Mary. And that as you light your candle in the flame of Mary, the flame of Brigid, the flame of Magdalen, Isis, Hathor, Ishtar, and the myriads who have carried, birthed and protected the light, that you light your candles with this commitment and in this understanding. And this is a flame that is not only one of illumination, but also of love, a love that brings forth healing in all things and in all ways. The intention is held in the wick and this sacred flame of Brigid can be used when you need strength or clarity, or when you feel that the light in you is flickering, so that your light will be nurtured and sustained.

And I would invite you to come forward as you feel called and to take this flame and to light a candle as a symbol of your commitment and willingness to be a bearer, protector, and sustainer of the light. And now I invite you to connect with this flame of light, life, illumination and healing in the very core of your being. And so we pray:

Grant what we need each day in bread and insight,
Sustenance that we may respond to the call of growing life.
Give us, and give the world, the food we need to grow,
Through each new day, through each illumination of life's needs.
Let the measure of our need be aligned with Sacred Earth.
Give us all things in the perfection of the simple,
Vibrant with Thy life, passionate with Thy spirit.
Produce in us, for us, that which has always been possible,
So that with each human step toward home we lift up a life.
We ask that you help us fulfill what lies within the circle of our lives each day.
Animate the earth within us.
Generate through us the bread of life.
Generate through us the waters of life.
Generate through us Light.
Generate through us Love.