French Hairdresser Needed

Dear Folk,

July 22nd was St. Mary Magdalen Day. I did my best to celebrate it but as the old expression goes, I had a headache.

I do not want to step on anyone's Golden Calf-skin Slippers here. We all have our own convictions. Just some small note about the sainted lady. Have you wondered about the name Magdalen? There are at least two thoughts about it. There was a town, Magdala, right near Tiberias (remember that short walk the Templars made on July 3-4th?) on the west shore of the sea of Galilee. There is also a Talmudic expression meaning "curling women's hair," or hairdresser. The Talmud explains that hairdresser also means adulteress. Meditate upon that for a second. Is that a kind thing to say about hairdressers? Like Dolly Parton in "Steel Magnolias" could not have gotten her own boyfriend? And what about Warren Beatty? Yeah!

So we have a Mary (not the J. guy's mom) who was either a hairdresser, adulteress, or a gal from Magdala. Maybe all three. St. Mark also says she had seven devils cast out of her. Wonder what that looked like? I mean before the age of special effects, what did a person possessed look or act like? Probably you would not want to be around them. Surely you would not want them to curl your hair. Some folks also think this Mary was the sister to Martha and Lazarus. St. Luke says that Mary Magdalen followed Jesus and ministered to him. Some also claim it was this Mary who anointed Jesus' feet with her tears and wiped them dry with her hair. All four of the gospels say she was at the foot of the cross, saw Jesus laid in the tomb and was the first witness to the Resurrection. Pretty darned important lady in my opinion.

There is much dispute as to what happened to her next. The Greek Orthodox church says she went off with the Blessed Virgin Mary to Ephesus. When she died, her remains were transferred to Constantinople in 886. There is a French tradition that Mary M., brother Lazarus, and some other folk went to Marselles and converted the whole of Provence. Fact is, there is a grotto in La Sainte-Baume which is said to hold the head of St. Mary Magdalen. Cool place for a pilgrimage, the south of France. Beats going to Turkey.

I would be remiss if I did not include one other speculation. Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln in their books (_The Holy Blood and Holy Grail_ and _The Messianic Legacy_) say that Mary Magdalen was pregnant when she came to France. Her offspring became the Merovingian kings of France and are now known as the Priory of Sion (French spelling of Zion). Yes, they believe that Mary the hairdresser was pregnant by Jesus, shocking as that may seem. I am not going to debate these points; just bringing them to your attention.

Now parts of my family are really proud to be descendants of a guy who fought in the American Revolution. I doubt if there would be any living with them if they thought they were descendants of Jesus.

So what can we learn from any of this? History is written about folks long dead by folks with their own axes to grind? The French think that they are part of the Holy Family? Convictions make convicts? How about even a hairdresser with seven devils in her can be forgiven and loved? I think I agree.

As always, if you want to forward these, leave my name and sig. attached.

Looking for a hairdresser with a few less devils,
J. Ellsworth Weaver

SCA - Sir Balthazar of Endor
AS - Polyphemus Theognis
TRV - Sebastian Yeats