Mary Magdalene & Ancient Knowledge

Today is the feast day of Mary Magdalene, which reminds me of a book I discovered many years ago that changed my view about her role in history.

Back in 1996, I came across "The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail," a non-fiction book that challenges the celibacy message at the heart of Christianity. And it’s written by a Roman Catholic scholar.

She started out to challenge the rumors of a sexual Jesus, but as she dug into the historical information, to her amazement (and horror), what she uncovered supported this idea. And as she discovered, the church of Rome had intentionally suppressed his sexuality along with Magdalene's identity; instead of a penitent prostitute, she was the significant other of Yeshua.

About a decade later, Margaret Starbird's book was discovered by fiction writer Dan Brown, who was inspired to write his bestselling novel. Time Magazine would go on to feature it on the cover, The Da Vinci Code "The Novel That Ate The World" and state that the Bible was one of the few books to sell more copies since the debut of this novel. It struck a chord with people who felt that something was missing in the traditional Christian narrative.

And it generated more questions about what else the church of Rome may have hidden?

Newton, Lost Knowledge & The Vatican

Back in the 17th and 18th centuries, Sir Isaac Newton, who many consider the most brilliant scientist of all time, had his own suspicions about church cover-ups. He was exceptionally critical of the Catholic church and would likely have cheered on the release of Da Vinci Code if it was written during his lifetime.

Newton wasn't questioning the idea of religion, nor the divine itself. He questioned the integrity of church leaders at the highest levels. He wisely kept his views to himself during his lifetime. But he poured out his thoughts on both church history and alchemy in over a million words of unpublished manuscripts. These writings surfaced in 1936 and today the bulk of these papers are now housed at King's College Library at Cambridge University.

Newton's issue with the Vatican was based on his belief that they hid the knowledge of alchemy from people. And through the suppression of this information, humanity had been suppressed. He viewed alchemy as the key to the advancement of humanity. And his view wasn't that it was a secret side teaching in Christianity, but represented the central teachings of the early church before the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE.

He believed the knowledge of alchemy would put the power in the hands of people. Giving them the ability to see their faith in a whole new way. That faith was not about blindly following religious leaders. But seeing the divine in action through scientific principles. Alchemy offered a science that accounted for the power of human consciousness and a vital force present in matter. Newton drew from this divine art for his discovery of the laws of light and the theory of gravity.

It may seem odd to speak of Newton believing in a divine force pervading nature. After all, when we learned about materialism in our college textbooks Newton's name was always referenced. Which was entirely accurate before his unpublished writings changed that narrative. It is now quite clear that he did not believe the 'real' world is limited to what the naked eye can see.

He believed quite the opposite. Newton considered God central to science. That without the divine force, the world would not turn. It was this celestial power that kept everything in motion, in harmony. Remove it, and everything would collapse.

And that's the big mistake the Vatican made, according to Newton. When alchemy was suppressed, it went underground. Much like what happened with prohibition, creating organized crime, when alchemy was banned, it fell into the hands of those who sought personal power at the expense of all else.

Inverted Alchemy

The mantra of alchemists became 'do what thou whilst' – the ultimate service of self, not others. Alchemy became about the aggrandizement of self and the manipulation of others. Nature, instead of being viewed as divine, was viewed as flawed without man's intervention.

It is a distorted version of alchemy that drives the current push towards transhumanism. A twisted form of alchemical ideology, promoted by the elite in Silicon Valley, aims to fundamentally change the nature of human biology, merging us with machines. Tech billionaires such as Peter Thiel openly explain that they are "aiding nature" and that we are fundamentally flawed. These tech titans plan to usher in a Golden Age for humanity, or more aptly put, a digital dystopia.

Newton could see all of this happening from his vantage point in the 1700's. He wouldn't have known how it would have played out exactly, but he predicted that once alchemy got usurped by those with nefarious intent, it would only be a matter of time before it spelled the end of humanity. He thought this would happen in 2060. Not too many years from now!

On a more positive note, Newton believed, if alchemy, as once practiced in the 1st century, could be restored again, that restoration would bring about the New Jerusalem, a true Golden Age for humanity.

What is alchemy?

While you might think of Hogwarts and Harry Potter when you hear the word "alchemy," it was not magic. It was based on a scientific understanding of the unseen world, along with an understanding of the force (divine in nature) that connected the invisible realm with our tangible existence. Alchemy concerns a level of reality that unless you have experienced it personally through a near-death experience or some other transcendent encounter, you wouldn't necessarily know it exists.

When you have access to this level of reality, alchemy offers the potential to change matter and alter reality as we know it. Alchemists call this transformation "transmutation." We often hear of alchemy as changing base metals into gold, but that is only part of the knowledge. But it does draw much attention, and even today, scientists at CERN are obsessed with this aspect of alchemy. On May 13, 2025 Space.com reported: Modern-day alchemy! Scientists turn lead into gold at the Large Hadron Collider.

While such experiments were part of ancient alchemy, the deeper, more life-altering exploration involved transforming a human being from a mere mortal to a state of immortality. From mainly material, to becoming a person who can exist in more than one realm. Not by artificial means, but by working with the immense power already within us. Silicon Valley and religions would have us believe we are powerless and need saving. Alchemy tells a different story.

Your ethereal body is naturally built up through alchemical processes, so that you are not limited by time and space any longer. Mary Magdalene exemplified this ability. She was the first to see the risen Christ. Her consciousness could not only perceive his ethereal body but also engage in an everyday conversation as if he were sitting next to her. Except that he was no longer in a physical body. The entire dialogue in the Gospel of Mary takes place between Magdalene and Yeshua, after he had left physical form. She had developed a level of ease of communication between the dimensions that demonstrated her alchemical mastery.

These teachings were not about transcending a 'fallen' world and regarding the flesh as corrupt; instead, in the Gospel of Mary, we are told it is about becoming fully human. Realizing a fully human state is also about becoming immortal. Sounds counterintuitive. We've always been told we are limited physical creatures, separated from a divine source. Or often viewed as inherently sinful. These views of humanity are not part of early alchemy.

Mary Magdalene was the carrier of alchemical wisdom. Origen of Alexandria, an early theologian, believed that Magdalene was immortal and she had lived in various times and under various aliases. Not a mythological figure, but rather a woman who carried a vital knowledge that she brought to different peoples on the planet at different times. And she played a pivotal role in both early Christianity and early alchemy, which some authors point out share a common origin. Paleo-Christianity and alchemy can be traced back to the 1st century in Alexandra, Egypt.

Happy Mary Magdalene Feast Day!

References:

Chambers, J. (1996). The metaphysical world of Isaac Newton. Harper San Francisco.

Dobbs, B. J. T. (1991). The Janus faces of genius: The role of alchemy in Newton's thought. Cambridge University Press.

Farrell, J. P. (2016). Transhumanism: A grimoire of alchemical agendas. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

https://www.space.com/astronomy/modern-day-alchemy-scientists-turn-lead-into-gold-at-the-large-hadron-collider

Picknett, L., & Prince, C. (2003). The Templar revelation. Simon & Schuster.