The Magdalene

This is volume 2 of the Grail trilogy reviewed as The O Manuscript in the summer issue of 2015. While I would urge you to read the whole book about Lars' initiation in the landscape of Montsegur, this volume is specially concerned with Mary Magdalene. Lars vividly recreates her putative initiation and training in Egypt, building on what we know from the Gnostic Gospels and the Therapeutae in Alexandria. This parallels the continuing gripping story of his own spiritual development, but its fundamental message is the power of the sacred feminine, also associated with sacred sexuality and holy union, which is depicted towards the end of the book in the intimate relationship between the Magdalene and Jesus. This itself is a further form of initiation, and the recovery of sacred sexuality in the West would be enormously significant in psychological and cultural terms. It also means men and women working together, as also represented historically by the Cathars and still present in this area as people walk the path of love - see also my review of Sabarthez above.