The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail [Paperback]

Margaret Starbird (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1993

Margaret Starbird’s theological beliefs were profoundly shaken when she read Holy Blood, Holy Grail, a book that dared to suggest that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalen and that their descendants carried on his holy bloodline in Western Europe. Shocked by such heresy, this Roman Catholic scholar set out to refute it, but instead found new and compelling evidence for the existence of the bride of Jesus--the same enigmatic woman who anointed him with precious unguent from her “alabaster jar.”

In this provocative book, Starbird draws her conclusions from an extensive study of history, heraldry, symbolism, medieval art, mythology, psychology, and the Bible itself. The Woman with the Alabaster Jar is a quest for the forgotten feminine--in the hope that its return will help restore a healthy balance to planet Earth.

Editorial Reviews

Review

?Margaret Starbird is a seeker after truth. She seeks to recover the long-suppressed, and not infrequently emotionally opposed, feminine side of the Christian story. Hers is an exciting narrative probing regions of thought long neglected. Magdalen, the Great Mary, emerges with new power.? --Used

"Offers an alternative view of Christianity for women. . . . It cannot be ignored." <br /> (Publishers Weekly )<br /><br />"Provocative and controversial--it will outrage some and give hope to others." <br /> (<!--StartFragment --Used

From the Back Cover

WOMEN’S STUDIES / CREATION SPIRITUALITY

“Margaret Starbird’s work is of particular interest to me because it fuses the diverse fields of symbolism, mythology, art, heraldry, psychology, and gospel history. Her research opens doors for each of us to further explore the rich iconography of our own spiritual history.”
DAN BROWN, author of The Da Vinci Code

“Margaret Starbird is a seeker after truth. She seeks to recover the long-suppressed, and not infrequently emotionally opposed, feminine side of the Christian story. Hers is an exciting narrative probing regions of thought long neglected. Magdalen, the Great Mary, emerges with new power.”
JOHN SHELBY SPONG, Episcopal bishop and author of Born of a Woman

“This fascinating and courageous narrative takes a fresh look at the true meaning of the Holy Grail and the defeminization of the early church and comes up with some shocking revelations that may change the way one perceives Christianity forever.”
Nexus Magazine

Margaret Starbird’s theological beliefs were profoundly shaken when she read Holy Blood, Holy Grail, a book that dared to suggest that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalen and that their descendants carried on his holy bloodline in Western Europe. Shocked by such heresy, this Roman Catholic scholar set out to refute it, but instead found new and compelling evidence for the existence of the bride of Jesus--the same enigmatic woman who anointed him with precious unguent from her “alabaster jar.”

In this provocative book, Starbird draws her conclusions from an extensive study of history, heraldry, symbolism, medieval art, mythology, psychology, and the Bible itself. The Woman with the Alabaster Jar is a quest for the forgotten feminine--in the hope that its return will help restore a healthy balance to planet Earth.

MARGARET STARBIRD is the author of The Goddess in the Gospels, Magdalene’s Lost Legacy, and Mary Magdalene: Bride in Exile. She lives near Seattle, Washington.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Bear & Company (June 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879181037
• ISBN-13: 978-1879181038
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Congregations & Orders
  • #73 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Practices > Mysticism
  • #78 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Catholicism > Saints

More About the Author

Roman Catholic scholar Margaret Starbird's extensive study of history, symbolism, medieval art, mythology, psychology, and the Bible uncovers new and compelling evidence that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalen. Starbird's investigation of this suppressed history calls for a restoration of the feminine principle to its intended place in the canon of Christianity.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

820 of 857 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful and Inspiring House of Stone, September 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail (Paperback)

I am very impressed with Margaret Starbird's scholarly work in her book "The Woman with the Alabaster Jar". It tells the story of the lost Bride and provides strong evidence for the sacred marriage at the heart of Christianity, that of Jesus and Mary Magdalen.

It is significant that all four Gospels record the anointing of Jesus by a woman with an alabaster jar of aromatic nard. In middle-eastern liturgical practices surrounding the ancient rites of the "sacred marriage" the anointing of the sacrificed bridegroom/king was a sacred ceremony reserved to his bride. The Gospel narratives describe the pre-nuptial anointing of Jesus by the woman with the alabaster jar and contain other elements from this ancient ritual.

On seven of eight New Testament lists of the women who walked with Jesus, Mary Magdalen's name is mentioned first on the list. She was clearly "first lady" in the eyes of the early Christian community. Some early Church theologians identified the Magdalen as the model of "church" (ekklesia) whom Christ "loved so much, that He gave his life for her."

More compelling facts from Scripture and history are included in Margaret Starbird's work. She follows a trail of evidence that leads through Egypt, to the south of France, and into important historical events in Europe.

Most significant is the medieval legend of the Holy Grail (sangraal), which secretly celebrated Mary Magdalen as the Bride of Christ. The "sangraal" is the "sacred blood" -- the royal lineage of Jesus. Because the legend of the Holy Grail contained and preserved the truth about Mary Magdalen, it was ruthlessly suppressed by the Inquisition. In an effort to discount her significance, Mary Magdalen was labeled a prostitute, but she was really the "Beloved" -- the bride of Jesus.

Restoring the sacred union of Jesus and Mary Magdalen to the heart of our Christian story provides us with a model of holiness based on the sacred union of the masculine and the feminine. It affirms the true holiness and significance of women as PARTNERS in the future practice of our Roman Catholic tradition.

I have talked with Margaret Starbird. When she embarked on her research, her intent was to disprove the possibility of Jesus' marriage, but the facts led her in a surprising new direction that provides a wonderful healing message for us all.

The Woman With The Alabaster Jar provides the facts and history that will explain why women hold the key to many of the problems faced today by our Roman Catholic Church.

Father John Shuster, Roman Catholic Priest

373 of 396 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good news for women...., December 20, 2003

By 

Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail (Paperback)

In her beautiful book THE WOMAN WITH THE ALABASTER JAR Margaret Starbird lays out a compelling case for seeing Mary Magdalen as the `lost bride' of Jesus. Whether you believe the Jesus story was a historical event or is a myth, if you have an interest in the Grail and/or symbolism, you will want to read this book.

Apparently, many Europeans, especially in France (Provence) believe(d) the Magdalen escaped Jerusalem after her husband Jesus was executed. Eventually, she traveled to what is today Marseilles, where every year, the local people celebrate her arrival on the Magdalen's feast day. The `fathers' of orthodox Christianity were so appalled by the notion that Jesus might have had sex and produced a child let alone married the Magdalen who some how or another became linked with prostitution, that beginning in the 4th Century the church attempted to squelch the "heresy". By the Middle Ages, the church had instituted the Inquisition.

However, the harder the Inquisitors pressed "heretics" like the Cathars, the more clever they became at disguising their truth. Using European fairy tales, water marks on paper printed during the Middle Ages (and frequently found in bibles!!), and paintings of the Masters like Fra Angelico, Starbird shows how the message of the heretics was hidden in plain sight. She suggests that even the Tarot cards which appeared in Italy just after the "last" Cathar was hunted down in Spain, may have been a condensed heretical catechism.

Ever wonder why some of Botticelli's `Madonnas' are dressed in red when the Roman church instructed artists to depict the Madonna in blue and white? Did you know a branch of the US Army wears the insignia of the Magdalen on it's uniform, and celebrates a dance ball every year on the feast day of saint whose likeness to the Magdalen is uncanny? Do you know why the `Little Mermaid' is named Ariel, and Snow White "died" from a poison apple (went to sleep)? Did you know Cinderella may be related to the `Black Madonnas' of Europe including one venerated by Pope John Paul?

Starbird says she set out several years ago to refute the "heresy" she discovered in HOLY BLOOD HOLY GRAIL by Baignent, et al. and discovered not only were these authors onto something there was a whole lot more to share. This is a wonderful, provocative book.

245 of 260 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars keherrick's review, March 16, 2000

By 

keherrick - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail (Paperback)

The author presents a chain of indirect proofs to support her belief that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalen. She states that this is a tenet of heresy widely believed in the Middle Ages; that fossils of the heresy can be found in numerous works of art and literature; that it was vehemently attacked by the hierarchy of the established Church of Rome and that it survived in spite of relentless persecution.

This book is a courageous exploration of an extremely delicate question. Mary Magdalen is called a penitent prostitute by the Church. The original story of the anointing of Jesus at Bethany by the woman with the alabaster jar may have been misinterpreted by the author of Luke's Gospel since the anointing was similar to the familiar ritual practice of a sacred priestess or temple "prostitute" in the Goddess clults of the Roman Empire.

Mrs. Starbird does an excellent job of researching european history, heraldry, the rituals of Freemasonry, medieval art, symovlism, psychology mythology, religion and the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures to discover that the meaning of the Holy Grail could be the lost bride of Jesus and the female child she carried within her.