26 : the Madeleine

Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’.

— John 20:16

Mary Magdalene, overcome with grief, comes to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. In her sorrow, she finds the tomb empty — a moment of confusion and loss. But the miracle of resurrection occurs in this very moment of despair. Jesus calls her name, and in an instant, her world is transformed. What was thought lost forever is reborn, and in that rebirth, Mary Magdalene herself is transformed. The tomb, a symbol of death, becomes a place of new beginnings.

In Jungian terms, this moment is symbolic of the process of transformation and rebirth that often comes from profound loss. When we are faced with the death of something — a relationship, a dream, or even an identity — it can feel like the end. But within the depths of that loss, there is often the seed of something new, waiting to be born. Transformation is not possible without letting go of the old, and often it is through the pain of loss that we are led to deeper truths and greater wholeness [ps: I am writing this on the New Moon in Aries and partial solar eclipse : talk about synchronicities...].

La conversione della Maddalena by Artemisia Gentileschi (1616) captures Mary Magdalene’s moment of inner transformation. In the painting, her expression is one of deep reflection [or Zealous devotion...], as if she is grappling with the weight of her past and the new life she is being called to embrace. This image of conversion speaks not only to Mary’s personal journey but to the universal process of rebirth that we all undergo in times of great loss. We are invited to see that in moments of death, something within us is waiting to be reborn.

Even in the tomb, a place associated with finality, there is the possibility of transformation. Mary Magdalene’s encounter with the risen Christ reminds us that what may seem like the end is often the beginning of something new. When we face loss, we are given the chance to see the world with new eyes, to let go of what no longer serves us, and to embrace the possibility of transformation.

Journaling Prompt: Reflect on a time when you experienced a deep loss. How did that loss transform you? What new beginnings emerged from that experience, and how might you continue to embrace the process of rebirth in your life?

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