The Magdalene and the Moon
A Guided Table Meditation…
On Monday I had the opportunity to share with
at GirlChurch. We held space to talk about Her Story and journey of faith and wisdom. She opened our time of connection with the expression of ‘Lunar Spirituality.’ She described how her faith journey expanded when she allowed seasons of walking in the dark and her own ‘dark night of the soul’ to lead her into a deeper posture with the holy. She credits the moon with finding the sacred feminine and allowing her spiritual expansion to bloom in ways she would have never imagined within her own evangelical community growing up. In fact, she states, being judged by others for this sort of expansive spirituality would have been the norm. You can listen to Esther at GirlChurch here.I have always been enchanted with and by the moon. Every night I search for her. Photograph her (my iPhone mini doesn’t do her justice). Wait for her to return.
As I listened to Esther on Monday it made me want to go deeper and wider with the moon this week. So I did.
From the back deck I sat under her glow.
Waited.
Listened.
Prayed.
Became still.
In my mind and spirit I grew near and closer to her presence… I soon sensed the presence of the Magdalene… not uncommon or unusual for me in these sorts of reflective and contemplative postures. The meditation of silence grew into an invitation.
An invitation into holy imagination… I heard her whispering.
With my eyes closed I leaned in. I heard the names of other women… Tamar, Thecla, Deborah, Abigail, Candace, Susanna, Lois, Priscilla, Martha, Hagar…
It was so moving and beautiful. Not audible whispers… but transcendent… breathing, sensing… an interior movement that you can’t mistake when you feel it…
Most of these women Mary had not met. Yet she still knew their names. She could see them when she looked at the moon. She was connected to it all. Like all of time was hers to see. To know. To experience.
I wanted to jump up and call Esther and tell her what I sensed during meditation. But instead I began practicing what I heard Mary Magdalene practice… saying the names of women to the moon. I thought, why not.
Why not look at the moon and name someone.
Remember them.
Hold their face with sacred intention.
Bless them.
Pray for them.
See them… in the moon instead of the ‘man in the moon…’
I recentered and became still and contemplative in posture. I felt drawn to one person in that moment.
I called her name…
I spoke her name to the moon…
Remembered things about her.
Held her face with sacred intention.
Blessed her.
Prayed for her.
Sensed her near.
It was beautiful and sacred.
I could hear Esther’s words from Monday…
We have missed the slow, deep, expansive rhythms of ‘Lunar Spirituality’ by abandoning our souls to the constructs of ‘Solar productivity and accomplishment.’
I could imagine using this meditative posture for future times of contemplation. It will allow me to name, expand, and sense the holy work of Lunar Spirituality.
I closed this particular meditation with a blessing written by Esther…
I read it out loud towards the moon… to the Magdalene… to the one I had named to the moon. I’m sharing it with permission below.
I invite you into this Lunar practice. Pay attention to the moon this evening. Notice who calls to you as you gaze upward….(Feel free to use or share as a meditative practice.) ~ Shelly
For the Ones Remembering the Moon by Esther Joy Goetz1
May you remember that your soul is not a machine,
and your worth is not measured in output.
May you lay down the gospel of constant light,
and take up the sacred rhythm of wax and wane.
May you bless the days you are full
and honor the nights you are empty.
May you feel Her hands
soft, ancient, unseen
gathering the frayed edges of your spirit
and whispering, “Even this is holy.”
May you walk the spiral path with courage,
trusting that descent is not failure,
but initiation.
And may you live like the moon,
wild, wise,
ever-changing,
and utterly beloved.
Table Conversations meets each Wednesday as we embrace more love and expand ancient remembering and inner knowing. We believe the Magdalene practiced a transcendent path of love and invites us on a journey to discover the Good in our midst… the Good within … a beautiful expansion of Wisdom, Spirit, and Love.
We have been paying attention to meditation and centering prayer over the past few weeks during Table. Is there a practice, guided meditation, or prayer that you return to often? If so, I invite you to share it here in the comments for others to learn or experience.
Just a couple of days ago had a healing experience related to the moon when working with a part of myself that held a burden. The pre-adolescent boy released the burden symbolized by darkness into the night and received back the light of the moon, that is the light reflected in everyone.
Thank you for your meditation that expanded the idea for me of embracing the darkness and easing into gentler rhythms of life. 🙏🏼
Thank you Shelly for this contemplative piece about the mystery and magic of the moon and the blessings She brings if only we seek her. Thank you also to Esther for sharing her beautiful meditation. Always a pleasure to read your writing. 🧡🙏🏼🌝