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There are many stories about the disciples of our holy men and women. I have picked two of my favorites. Both are stories about women disciples.
The first was a disciple of the Buddha: Tradition tells us that Ambapali was very beautiful. She was a well-known Courtesan in ancient India. At the time, it was a convention that the most beautiful woman of any city would not be allowed to get married to any one person, because that would create unnecessary jealousy, conflict, fighting. So the most beautiful woman had to become "the wife of the whole town'. Only visited by the rulers, these courtesans might be descendants of temple priestesses who participated in the "sacred marriage' of the land and the king. As the courtesan/ priestess, Ambapali did much to increase the prestige and importance of her city.
It is said that she was very intelligent and had a great yearning for truth. When Buddha came to the area, she went to hear him. It is said that he was struck with her wisdom. During this first encounter, Ambapali invited Buddha and his disciples to dine with her; an invitation he accepted despite the advice of others who thought he should not go. Having heard him talk, she gave her lands to him and his followers. She became a disciple of the Buddha and is said to have attained the status of arhat (a perfected person).
Ambapali
poured all her intellect, her feeling and her passion into her
discipleship. The discipline of being a
disciple perfected who she was and how she lived in the world.
Mary Magdalene by Vasnetsov
The second disciple is the Christian Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene was the first of Jesus' disciples to proclaim the Resurrection to the other apostles. In apocryphal texts, she is portrayed as a visionary and leader of the early Christian movement who was loved by Jesus more than the other disciples. Several Gnostic gospels, such as the Gospel of Mary, written in the early 2nd century, see Mary as the special disciple of Jesus who has a deeper understanding of his teachings and is asked to impart this to the other disciples.
In the Gospel of Philip, Mary Magdalene is described as Jesus' companion and partner. "And the companion of the Saviour was Mary Magdalene. [Christ loved] Mary more than [all] the disciples, and used to kiss her [often] on her [mouth]. The rest of the disciples were offended by it and expressed disapproval. They said to him, "Why do you love her more than all of us?" The Saviour answered and said to them, "Why do I not love you like her?""
Mary Magdalene poured her love, her wisdom and her passion into being the partner and disciple of Jesus. The disciple of love uses the discipline of mystic vision and wisdom to commune with the Risen Lord. Our discipleship to our own destiny needs the love and encouragement of this visionary part of ourselves.
The Virgo/Pisces full Moon asks you to dedicate yourself to your awakening purpose by letting your soul guide you to a fuller, deeper, richer life.
Mercury is slowing down to turn retrograde on Monday March 12 at 7* Aries: A Man succeeds in expressing himself simultaneously in two realms. This suggests a union of spiritual and physical energies, using both sides of the brain, thinking holistically. Mercury joins the asteroid Vesta, channeling Vesta's fires to warm you and bring you home to yourself. Express Yourself! On this full Moon, Mercury becomes part of the Uranus/Pluto square energy, so talk about what you want to do, how you want our world to look, how communities work together. Mercury retrograde in Aries, contacting Uranus in Aries three times, opens us up to new ideas and a new sense of ourselves, and when it backs up into Pisces again, gives us another chance to open the doors of perception and fine-tune our visions of the future.
Please look up at the night sky, every night toward the west. Jupiter and Venus are getting closer and closer together until they meet up on Tuesday March 13 at 10* Taurus: A Red Cross Nurse runs to the aid of a wounded man. This is an image of the compassionate healer, the urge to care for others, to be of service to humanity and to the Earth. Ground yourself in your love and you'll find the courage to respond to life.
That is also the day Venus and Jupiter form a lucky aspect with Mars retrograde in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn. With these four planets in Earth signs, the energy for manifestation is strong. Don't waste your energy of irrelevancies.
Offer all your heart-felt wishes to the waters of the collective unconscious. And see what the waves bring you back.
Brightest blessings as we come to the end of Winter.
Cathy
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