Magdalene's Ascension - by Annine Van Der Meer (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A new, integrative account of the life and work of Mary Magdalene

- Examines the lives of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, using biblical, historical, apocryphal, and recent channeled sources as well as regression reports

- Explains the concept of ascension through a quantum-physics framework, detailing Mary Magdalene's ascension along the Tree of Life

- Explores Mary's family background, her education in Egypt, her mission in Western Europe, and her life and work alongside Jesus, including her role as his wife and his appointed successor

Expanding the scholarship and understanding of the early Christian period and the world of the Essenes from a feminine perspective, religious historian Annine van der Meer offers a detailed new account of the life of Mary Magdalene, also known as Mary of Bethany or Miryam the Migdalah, showing how Mary's spiritual path is intimately connected to our current times of ascension.

The author explores Mary's family background, her education in Egypt, her mission in Western Europe, her life and work alongside Jesus, also known as Yeshua, and her anointing as his wife and his appointed successor. Though not recognized by the patriarchal disciples Peter, Andrew, and Paul, the author presents the evidence of Mary's role through biblical, historical, apocryphal, and recent channeled sources and regression reports, including those of Dolores Cannon, Stuart Wilson, Joanna Prentis, and Claire Heartsong.

Van der Meer then reveals Mary's ascension process through seven branches along the Tree of Life, detailed in The Gospel of the Beloved Companion, written by Mary herself, and scientifically explains ascension--the changing of the physical body into a light body--through recent developments in quantum physics. She takes the reader through seven portals, from individual ascension to collective ascension, illuminating not only Mary's heavenly journey of becoming light but also its spiritual significance for each of us as individuals and for the world as a whole.

Review Quotes

"Magdalene's Ascension is a compelling read for anyone interested in religious studies, spirituality, and the role of women in religion. Van Der Meer offers a refreshing and enlightening take on Mary Magdalene, inviting readers to reconsider her significance within Christianity. This book not only enriches our understanding of Mary Magdalene but also inspires a deeper reflection on the themes of light, transformation, and spiritual ascension happening now. This work is a testament to the power of re-examining historical narratives within pioneering spiritual technologies and modern scientific insight."-- "Alanna Kali, Musing Mystical"

"Annine van der Meer has brought together strands of historical evidence with new channeled material. She has done this with all the genius and diligence of her quest for the truth about Mary Magdalene, has brilliantly succeeded in filling the gaps in her story, and has shown us the path to the ascension experience. This book is revelatory, powerful, and healing for the modern psyche lost in the babel of social media and the false ideology of scientific materialism. I regard it as the summit of all her work because it brings together the visible and invisible dimensions, the Above and the Below, in a wonderful synthesis. What an achievement!"-- "Anne Baring, Ph.D. (hons), author of The Dream of the Cosmos: A Quest for the Soul"

"My earliest memory of an alternative vision of Christianity's Mary Magdalene-as-prostitute was in the late 1960s when Jesus Christ Superstar was performed on Broadway; its radical drama and vibrant music were spellbinding and revolutionary. In the decades since, variations on the theme have been expressed through scores of biographical novels and works of creative nonfiction--joining classic biblical approaches to the subject but positing an actual marriage between Mary Magdalene and Jesus--books like The Woman with the Alabaster Jar, The DaVinci Code, and Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Annine's book Magdalene's Ascension goes a step further by digging seriously into the esotericism of the Essenes, the esoteric Western magical tradition, plus the disciplines of shamanism, women's spirituality, and theosophical philosophy. A work well done!"-- "Vicki Noble, healer and teacher, author of Motherpeace, Shakti Woman, and The Double Goddess"

"Of all the books on Mary Magdalene, this is by far the most erudite, comprehensive, and inspiring. After 2,000 years of suppression of this great figure who did so much to influence the life of Jesus and early Christianity, Mary Magdalene is resurfacing in our time. Annine van der Meer has provided the must-read book for all those who wish to understand the profound way in which Mary Magdalene has contributed to the spirituality that lies at the heart of the Western mystical tradition."-- "Jim Garrison, founder and president of Ubiquity University and author of The Plutonium Culture"

"Using a multifaceted approach that includes canonical and apocryphal as well as Gnostic texts, historical documents, and alternative sources from channeling and hypnotic regression, Annine van der Meer offers readers a remarkable and convergent visionary synthesis of the spiritual significance of Mary Magdalene through seven complementary portals. Central to the book is the ascension process so vividly described in The Gospel of the Beloved Companion, but also the return of the Sacred Feminine, represented in the mystical Gnostic way as complementary to outer forms and structures. There are many rare gems of wise insight throughout this inspiring book that speak deeply to the inner needs of our time."-- "David Lorimer, global ambassador and program director of the Scientific and Medical Network and Gali"

About the Author

Annine van der Meer, Ph.D., is a Dutch historian of religion who holds a doctorate in theology from the University of Utrecht. In 2008 she founded the Pansophia Foundation, a Wisdom school dedicated to the raising of consciousness and empowerment of women. The author of nineteen books in Dutch, English, French, and German, she lives in the Netherlands.