Return of the Divine Sophia: Healing the Earth through the Lost Wisdom Teachings of Jesus, Isis, and Mary Magdalene

by Tricia McCannon

Overview

An initiatic journey into the Mysteries of the Goddess and humanity’s return to an age of peace and celestial light

• Details the ceremonies and rituals of initiation into the Fellowship of Isis

• Reveals the lost teachings of Jesus about the Divine Mother and Father and how the goddess Sophia is connected to Mary Magdalene as the Female Christ

• Explores the many archetypes of the Goddess, including Isis, Brigit, and the Black Madonna, and how we can transform into Homo luminous, spiritual beings of light

Called through her dreams by the Priestesses of Isis, Tricia McCannon set out on a spiritual journey into the Mysteries of the Goddess. After a fateful encounter with a high initiate of the ancient Fellowship of Isis, she began researching the history of Judaism and Christianity to find out how and when the Divine Feminine became lost. She discovered a forgotten age when the Creator was honored as female and humanity lived in peaceful societies completely free of war. She shows how we can return to an age of peace and celestial light if we work to bring the masculine and feminine energies of the world back into balance.

Sharing her journey into the heart of the Divine Mother, McCannon details her initiation into the Fellowship of Isis, a process rich with ceremony, ritual, and myths of the Goddess from ancient Egyptian, Celtic, Greek, Hebrew, and Native American traditions. She reveals how the many archetypes of the Goddess, including Isis, Ishtar, Brigit, and the Black Madonna, can become our allies for self-transformation. She explores Mysteries at the heart of Christianity that have remained hidden for nearly 2,000 years and how the Gnostic goddess Sophia is tied to the Second Coming, Mary Magdalene, and the Female Christ. She reveals the lost teachings of Jesus about the Divine Mother and Father and about the Divine Daughter and Son.

Through her story and her in-depth research, McCannon takes us on a journey to awaken the creative power of the Divine Feminine within each of us. Equipped with the teachings of the Goddess, we gain the mastery to overcome the deeply rooted masculine-feminine imbalance of the patriarchy and to embark into the future as Homo luminous, beings of light.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781591431954
Publisher:	Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Publication date:	03/06/2015
Pages:	512
Sales rank:	217,362
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Tricia McCannon is a renowned clairvoyant, teacher, and mystical symbologist. She is the author of two books, Dialogues with the Angels and Jesus: The Explosive Story of the 30 Lost Years and the Ancient Mystery Religions. She has been a featured speaker at conferences in the United States, England, and Europe and has appeared on radio and TV shows, including Coast to Coast AM and Whitley Strieber’s Dreamland. The director of the Phoenix Fire Lodge Mystery School, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Read an Excerpt

5 The Circle Convenes

February 2nd. Brigit’s Day. I could just make out Shasta’s cottage against the gloaming indigo sky as I parked on the dead-end street leading to her house. Tonight was the first meeting of the sacred Circle, and as I made my way slowly up the shadowed walk onto the wide wooden porch, I could feel my heart beating in my chest. I opened the front door to see the merry crackle of a winter’s fire and several women seated in a circle on the floor. They looked up as I entered and smiled. I took my seat quietly on the large open cushion waiting for me, feeling the deep magic of the house enveloping us in its arms.

As the ladies began to introduce themselves I learned that these were intelligent, articulate women who ranged from homemakers to international directors of companies. Shasta greeted us warmly. “Welcome to the Circle of the Goddess. Tonight we begin a journey in to the heart of the Mysteries. The Goddess teaches a path that all life is sacred and that the intelligence that moves through the Universe moves through each of us as well.

“Throughout the centuries the Goddess has been known by many different names. In Christianity she is called Mary, the great Mother of Compassion. In Judaism she is known as Sophia, the Goddess of Wisdom. In India, China, and Japan she is Lakshmi, the Mother of Generosity. She is also Sarasvati, the Goddess of Creativity; Durga, the vanquisher of demons; Parvati, the Mother of the Universe; and Kali, the Great Transformer who rules the cycles of death and rebirth. These are only a few of her many faces.”

Shasta looked around the circle. Our eyes were wide with wonder. I had never even heard of most of these goddesses.

“Honoring the Goddess was the first theology of our ancestors. They believed that the Creator of the Universe was female, but people have forgotten who she is and the world has fallen out of balance. Our path is about remembering her place in Creation and restoring balance to the world. In the end this path is also about discovering the divine spark within every creature and within every one of you.” Her words fell into a deep place within me.

“The Goddess gives birth to all that lives, and she takes back into herself all that ever was in the cyclical patterns of life and regeneration. We women have all of the same characteristics as the Goddess—we bleed, we give birth, we tend to the dying, and we celebrate the many natural transitions of life.

“In Egypt she was known as Isis. Her husband was Osiris. She was a sister, daughter, mother, wife, widow, and queen. Isis became the savior goddess whose cunning and insight helped rescue Egypt from 350 years of darkness.”

Our faces were rapt with attention. “Isis lies within every woman, and every woman is Isis, for we each have the potential to experience all of these aspects of ourselves. Isis established the first Mystery Schools in Egypt, which taught that it is the balance between the male and the female that brings us to mastery. If we neglect either side of our natures we cannot achieve it.” The light from the fire danced across her face as we drank in her words.

“For more than 7,000 years Isis was worshipped in temples across the world. And for the past two millennia she has continued to be honored as Mary Magdalene, another widow married to a great world savior.”

A collective gasp echoed through the room. Mary Magdalene? What did she have to do with Isis? “Mary the Magdala, or Mary the Great, was trained as a Priestess of Isis in the temples of Egypt. The knowledge of who she really was, the female equivalent or partner of Christ, was forced to go underground by the patriarchy, although Jesus had called her ‘The Apostle who knew the All.’” The entire room seemed to be holding its breath.

Shasta resumed, “We will speak more of these subjects in the months to come, but tonight we begin our year of study on the Eve of Candlemas, one of the eight High Holy Days of the year.” Shasta passed candles around the circle. “In the Celtic world February 2nd was the Festival of Brigit, a Triple Goddess with three major forms—the maiden, the mother, and the crone. Brigit governed the arts of healing, knowledge, agriculture, and smithcraft, and she was also the patron goddess of writing. Her temples at Kildare in Ireland had clear-running springs and a fire that was constantly maintained in the temples by the priests and priestesses. This fire was dedicated to truth, illumination, and knowledge.”

Shasta lit her candle and then touched the flame to the candle next to her, passing the light around the Circle. “Brigit’s symbols are the sacred flame of illumination and the waters of eternal healing, symbols that were also sacred to Isis. Tonight we light these candles for them—for Brigit, Isis, and Mary Magdalene, the hidden brides whose light must be rekindled in the world.”

I reflected on how Brigit’s holiday fell in the winter season of greatest darkness. She was the bringer of hope and light. Perhaps now, when the world has forgotten the light of the feminine face of God, we could help her return.

Shasta was speaking. “We light candles to Brigit to affirm that despite the seeming darkness we believe light and love and truth will return and that all the people of the Earth will one day awaken from their spiritual slumber.” It seemed to me that our tiny flames symbolized the hope of women everywhere that there would soon come a time when women were not beaten, marginalized, or oppressed, a time when the light would dawn once again for women across the world, and with it healing would come to the Earth.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part One
The Departure

1 A Priestess of Isis

2 The Magic House by the Grove

3 The Feather of Truth

Part Two
The Journey

4 The Great Medicine Circle and the Four Gates of Heaven

5 The Circle Convenes

6 Rewriting Religious History

7 Goddesses in Hebrew History

8 Footprints of the Mother

9 The Four Male and Female Polarities

10 Immanence and Transcendence

11 The Directions of Time and Space

12 The Goddess and the Descent into the Underworld

13 Jesus and the Lost Gospels

14 The Many Faces of Mary the Eternal One

15 The Lost Teachings of Jesus

16 The Teachings That Must Be Suppressed

17 The Divine Daughter and Son

18 Mary Magdalene and the Divine Sophia

19 In the Name of God

Part Three
The Return

20 Calling Down the Goddess

21 The Hero’s Journey

22 The Power of Archetype

23 A Return to the Circle

Glossary of Goddesses and Gods

Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Editorial Reviews

Through this book we find the missing piece of the Divine Feminine that can heal us, awaken us, and transport us to a higher reality. Brilliant!

author of Conversations That Make a Difference Burge Smith-Lyons

This powerful and transformative book is the proverbial cracking of the Cosmic Egg. Incredibly well researched and emotionally moving, this book has the power to bring us all to a new paradigm for world healing.

author of Radical Forgiveness Colin Tipping

This book reveals the unique place of the Isis tradition and the true purpose and significance of Mary Magdalene. Thoroughly researched and very readable, this book draws the reader into the fascination and deep symbolism of this subject: a wonderful book to enjoy and treasure.

coauthor of Power of the Magdalene Stuart Wilson

This book is a revelation for the soul and the missing link to help us end the dark agendas of the patriarchy. It is an incredible and brilliant piece of work. Read this book!

founder of Cosmic Gaia Sophia Seminars Laura Eisenhower

Tricia McCannon’s scholarly approach and stunning discoveries allow us to see in a new light the Divine Sophia’s role in the process of awakening humanity. Truly illuminating.

author of Lost Secret of the Watchers William Henry

Tricia McCannon uses the powerful synthesis of personal revelation and scholarly research to create a gateway for personal contact with the Divine. Simply called, it is the eternal story of the Sacred Feminine.

award-winning author of Pope Annalisa Peter Canova

This book is a journey into the deepest meaning of the Christ story, the lost wisdom teachings of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, and the true meaning of the Path of Mastery. It holds you spellbound from beginning end!

Jennifer Walton

Tricia has done it again. She writes for a new time, and the glorious homecoming of Sophia, the wisdom of the essential feminine essence. Travel with this world renowned teacher to the heart of the mysteries of the quantum field where the great masters dwell and return with newfound knowledge, purpose, clarity and love.

founder of NewRealities.com Alan Steinfeld

A remarkable initiation into the Wisdom Circles of the Divine Feminine. From the first chapter I was hooked. An outstanding contribution to the field of spirituality and personal enlightenment.

author of The Divine Architect Robert Perala

Born with the gift of inner sight and hearing, the author takes us on an initiation into the Sacred Teaching of the Goddess. Full of ancient wisdom, metaphysical teachings, religious history, and mythology, we’re encouraged to open our hearts and minds to the Eternal Mother.

Christine Page

I strongly recommend a close reading of Tricia McCannon’s book. Her personal journey reveals the suppression of the divine feminine aspect within the world’s religions and may well point the way to a more truthful, equitable, and peaceful future.

New York Times best-selling author Jim Marrs

"McCannon details her initiation into the Fellowship of Isis and through her story and in-depth research she takes us on a journey to awaken the creative power of the Divine Feminine within each of us. Equipped with the teachings of the Goddess, we may move into the futures as Homo luminous, or beings of light, and re-establish an age of harmony and balance."

Spring 2016 Watkins Mind Body Spirit

Tricia McCannon writes in the true spirit of the Divine Feminine, which reverberates through every chapter of her entrancing book.To travel through her words is a deep pleasure.

founder/director of the Heart River Center for Int Peter Roth

Masterfully written, this book guides the curious reader gently along the author’s own exciting spiritual journey, from traditional Christianity to the evolution of Homo luminous, our next stage in the course of evolution.

David Ryback