I devoured books such as The Feminine Face of God by Sherry Ruth Anderson and Patricia Hopkins, and The Moon Under Her Feet by Clysta Kinstler, rapt with recognition. I became Inanna, the ancient Sumerian Goddess who symbolizes death and rebirth, with wisdom gained.

Back in California after a three-year healing hegira, I attended a pivotal event in 2000, Returning to the Mother of Us All, birthed by singer/songwriter Jennifer Berezan. A multilayered, sensory-rich immersion, Returning featured musicians, dancers, poets, actors and activists from all over the world. I participated from an altered state of pure consciousness approaching ecstasy, and at the conclusion, as a 12-foot tall Black Madonna danced in the center of the main stage and the audience cavorted around her, I made my way through the throng to clasp Jennifer's hands and affirm with heartfelt conviction, "You've changed my life".

These are just a few examples of the myriad ways the Divine Feminine began showing up in my life, as she is now showing up for women (and many men) everywhere. Shannon Andersen, author of The Magdalene Awakening, is a powerful voice in service to this remembering, sharing the essence of the journey she's lived, decoding the sacred symbols and synchronicities that herald the re-emergence of the Divine Feminine on Earth, as reflected in the archetype of Mary Magdalene.

Trained in past life regression by Brian Weiss, M.D. (author of Many Lives, Many Masters) with an extensive background in religion, psychology, metaphysics and mental health counseling, Shannon embarked on a global quest to discover the meaning of recurring synchronicities surrounding numbers such as 444, 222, and 153, and symbols such as the lily. She eventually found the link between Mary Magdalene, the Cathars, the Knights Templar, and gematria (numerically encoded messages embedded in both the Old and New Testaments). And true to the manner in which such awakenings unfold, her first past-life regression client remembered a lifetime as Mary Magdalene!

As I listened to Shannon singing my soul's song during a recent workshop, I was enfolded in the Returning experience anew, at an even deeper level of understanding. A sister in the Magdalene lineage, her words echoed in my cells. The beauty and sanctity of Mary Magdalene is that she is Everywoman. "So many people are having Magdalene experiences now because it is a call to come back to the heart," says Shannon. "Mary Magdalene represents the strong spiritual aspects within ourselves.

"She is the voice of the Divine Feminine more easily heard by those brought up in a Christian/Jewish culture, as well as those who grew up in this time of awakening feminine power. In myth and legend she is known as the Apostle to the Apostles. She opened up southern France and Europe to Christianity; churches throughout the region are dedicated in her name. Mary Magdalene correlates cross-culturally with Isis, Mother Mary, Quan Yin, White Buffalo Woman and other archetypes of the Divine Feminine found around the world."

I know from my own journey that synchronicities — a word coined by psychologist Carl Jung that means "meaningful coincidences" — are a key way that Spirit commands our attention in the West, where we live at ninety-miles-an-hour and seldom take time to listen to our inner voice. Shannon had begun seeing the numbers 444 on digital clocks, waking every night at that exact time. She discovered a correspondence with Archangel Michael, and started using this synchronicity for guidance in making important decisions. When she pulled into the parking lot of a building where she was considering employment and the odometer rolled over to 444, she knew the job was hers.

She later learned that on a higher level of meaning, in the gematria of the Greek New Testament the phrase, "In the beginning there was the word…" adds up to 444. After her book was published, she discovered, as with Magdalene dreams and visions, that people all over the world had begun seeing these master numbers as powerful messengers from their own subconscious mind. And she understood she was being called into service.

(Similarly, when my relationship with crows began in 1993, as legions of Lightworkers were being called worldwide, I did not yet recognize Crow as a powerful archetype of the Divine Feminine. I only knew that when they cawed to me, I felt kinship. Birds are powerful Spirit messengers.)

When you step onto the path of awakening, synchronicity will find you. It is ultimately the manifestation of spiritual alchemy. Consider this series of incredible animal messengers who appeared to Shannon over the course of a week. [Shannon, it must be noted, lives in a coastal city, not a remote rural area.]

Day 1: A hawk sat on her car.
Day 2: A fox ran across the road in front of her.
Day 3: A whale swam by as she drove the coast highway.
Day 4: An eagle flew in front of her car.
Day 5: A dolphin swam by.
Day 6: Vultures sat with wings arched like thunderbird on the side of the road.
Day 7: While collecting wood a red snake slept under a log.

When she brought this astonishing series of emissaries to her Native American friends, they instantly decoded the significance:

Hawk = messenger of the lower Heavens
Fox = feminine magic
Whales/dolphins = new creation
Eagle = higher Heavens
Vulture = purification
Snake = new life, resurrection

Affirms Shannon: "We have a bouquet of guidance; it's only for the asking."

The Magdalene Frequency

This is the time when the Feminine frequency is returning to Earth, to heal and balance the Masculine energies that have held sway on the planet for the past 5000 years. It's the close of a Great Cycle, the Shift of the Ages, and spiritual leaders in all traditions are calling for this sacred reunion. Native American elder, Chief Sonne Reyna says, "It is time for the women to lead." The Dalai Lama recently announced, "The world will be saved by the Western woman." This is why Magdalene has returned now: to help bring us home to our hearts. The gematria of Magdalene in the Greek New Testament is 153.

Shannon recounts: "At my first book signing, I was curious to see men showing up. I asked one why he was there, and he told me he was a member of the Knights Templar, dedicated to Mary Magdalene! As similar experiences continued I became convinced it is the mission of the strong spiritual women to initiate the men into their hearts."

A secret order that arose during the Middle Ages, the Knights Templar are warriors of peace who carry the sword of peace, like Archangel Michael. The historical Knights were thought to worship the Divine Feminine — and some say these Knights held the secret of the marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The sexual initiations of the sacred marriage represented the very alchemy of the creation of life.

The Cathars, a group of monks from the Middle Ages who also held the heretical belief that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were intimate, exalted them as a couple. The Cathars resonate to the number 222. When the Church launched a Crusade against the Cathars, 222 priests were slaughtered. A troubadour poet prophesied that the Cathars would return in 700 years to finish their work.

Similarly: the Knights Templar were massacred on Friday, October 13, 1309 — which is why Friday the 13th is still considered unlucky! Of course, the Knights Templar vibrate to the number 13. It is the number that denotes transformation, enabling us to make a subtle yet quantum shift, from scared to sacred.

Yet the Knights, known as the "snail men" because they left a trail for us to follow, knew that death was but a doorway into the next dimension. And today, those of us who are reawakening are both Cathars and Knights: rainbow warriors leading the way into a new dawn. It is precisely 700 years since the 1309 execution; The Age of the Hawk (messenger of the lower Heavens) is The Age of Aquarius!

"The Magdalene lineage is about service — being a strong, spiritual, heart-driven warrior-monk," affirms Shannon.

One way to open the doorway to the Divine is to walk a labyrinth. A form of sacred geometry, the labyrinth serves as a connecting link between Heaven and Earth — just as the heart chakra joins the three lower, physical chakras with the three upper, spiritual ones.

When I was moving deeply into my own healing journey, I began visiting the labyrinth at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, which is patterned on the one at Chartes Cathedral in France. Each walk was a release and a blessing, as I remembered and reclaimed a lost aspect of myself.

Shannon shared that the six innermost petals of a labyrinth represent the initiation of the Lord's Prayer. The rose image (Rose itself being one of the ancient secret names for Magdalene) models the Holy Spirit. The ceremony for walking the center petal, which can be found in The Book of Love by Kathleen McGowan, is:

1st petal = Faith
2nd petal = Surrender
3rd petal = Service
4th petal = Abundance
5th petal = Forgiveness
6th petal = Strength

You can locate a labyrinth via the Worldwide Labyrinth Locator.

Coming Home

Shannon concluded our initiatory afternoon with a group past-life regression, asking us to watch for the lesson in that lifetime. I found myself as an 18th century Dutch child named Magda, who turned away from the man I loved at age 17 and spent the rest of my life in regret. At my death I cried, "Oh, Ezekiel!"

Initially, I thought the lesson was to accept/allow love when and where I may find it. I felt Mary Magdalene's presence; certainly I was named for her then, as now — and knew the message was to realize I AM love, and must receive it in order for my own wells to be full, to have something to pour back out to the collective (I'm an Aquarian, the Water Bearer).

However, reading The Magdalene Awakening I discovered that 444 is also the number of the Biblical Ezekiel, denoting the angelic realm: "From the spinning orb of light there appeared four beings, with four wings and four faces." (Ezekiel 1:4). And now I sense that I was looking into my own face, my Divine Masculine, who was asking me to claim my lineage as Magdalene and become one with him in sacred reunion. Because all true love must begin first within our own beings.

I was unable or unwilling to do so then. But I am here now, with a clear mission to connect the collective towards our eventual expression of unity. I am honored and humbled to be part of the Magdalene lineage, and to be in service at this magnificent moment on Earth.

The only prayer we ever need is about surrender, Shannon reminds us. From A Course In Miracles: "I am here only to be truly helpful, to represent Him [or Her or Them] that sent me … I will be healed as I let Him teach me to heal."

If you are reading this, you are ready to reclaim your sacred power. Be not afraid. There are too many of us this time — and the Light will prevail.

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© Copyright 2010 Amara Rose. All rights reserved.

About the author:

Amara Rose is a spiritual artisan, author, speaker and "midwife" for our global rebirth. She offers one-to-one guidance, e-courses, CDs, talks and playshops to accelerate your evolutionary journey. Learn more at LiveYourLight.com, where you can also subscribe to her free e-newsletter, What Shines. Her eBook trilogy, What You Need to Know Now: Practical Wisdom for Unleashing Your Inner Brilliance, is available from RadiancePublishing.com