Cathar Treasures and the Magdalenes

As a bit of a departure from my usual blogs, I thought I’d share a personal experience involving the magic and mystery of the Magdalenes while researching Destination New Earth and The Unsuspected Heroes while I was in France.

In 2017, I went to Southern France with a small group. One of the people I traveled with was Shauna Kalicki, the psychic medium involved in Destination New Earth. We visited many areas where Mary Magdalene and the Magdalenes lived after the crucifixion of Jesus (Yeshua).

Who are the Magdalenes?

The Magdalenes were a group of Essenes that included Mary Magdalene, Jesus, Mother Mary, Miriam (Jesus’s cousin), Anna (Jesus’s grandmother), Sar’h (daughter of Jesus and Mary Magdalene), and many others.

One thing noticeable in France’s art is the notion that Jesus survived the crucifixion. We glimpsed many paintings showing Yeshua’s body being removed from the cross with flowing blood (implying his heart was still beating) and a glowing halo (indicating he was still alive). After Yeshua’s crucifixion, the Magdalenes fled to Egypt and later escaped to Southern France, landing in Provence, today called Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.

Rennes-Le-Château

While in France, we visited Rennes-le-Château in the Occitanie region in Southern France. Rennes-Le-Chateau is a small village where Mary Magdalene taught. During the 19th century, Bérenger Saunière, a priest,  discovered treasures in his church that brought him great wealth. Saunière renovated the church for about ten years, ending around 1897.

He dedicated the church to Mary Magdalene; today, it is called the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene. His renovations were a bit unusual. Many believe he left clues to the implications of his discovered treasures that brought him wealth in how he restored the church and area. One of the theories is that Saunière found the Cathars’ secrets of the Magdalenes.

The Lost Cathar Treasures

We hiked up to the Cathar Castle the following day. This was where the Cathars last stood and faced 10000 Roman Catholic crusaders. The legend says that the Cathars agreed to surrender peacefully, and the Templars who protected them were spared. Before the surrender, four Cathars fled the castle down the steep, treacherous terrain with the Cathar treasures. The Cathars surrendered, and at the mountain base, 225 Cathars were burnt at the stake after refusing to renounce their belief in the sacred union between Mary Magdalene and Jesus.

After walking the village of Rennes-le-Château, feeling the area’s energy, analyzing the art in the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene, then walking through the Cathar Castle of Montségur, one evening Shauna and I were back at the La Maison Templiere Hotel. We were on a patio on the bank of the Aude River. Across the river was undeveloped land. Only bushes, trees, and vegetation were in sight. We were alone, sitting at a small table and chatting about the marvels of the area and speculating on what secrets the priest found in Rennes-le-Château that brought great wealth.

Could Saunière have stumbled upon the Cathars’ secrets of the Magdalenes? Or did he find proof of the bloodline between Mary Magdalene and Jesus? Or the Book of Love written by Jesus himself? Or evidence that Jesus survived the crucifixion and made it to France only to later ascend the dimensions?

Magic and Mystery of the Magdalenes

It didn’t get by me that we were staying at a hotel honoring the Templars, the knights who protected the Cathars’ secrets. The truth is, no one knows what Saunière found. But, I can indeed say that there was a presence on the trip wanting the truth to come out.

While Shauna and I were talking, she stopped and pointed across the river. “What’s that?”

“What’s what?” I asked.

“There’s a light across the river.”

I turned around and saw a tiny light across the river on the undeveloped embankment, perhaps 10 feet from the water’s edge. It was after sunset, so I knew it wasn’t a reflection. Why a light was there was a mystery.

I grabbed my camera from the table in front of me, and, using the 300-mm telephoto lens, I focused on the light. I took a few shots and glimpsed them on the camera’s display.

“It looks like an egg-shaped light,” I said, uninterested. I remembered that Mary Magdalene is often depicted holding an egg, sometimes red and sometimes white. Then, I looked at the images differently and said, “Oh my!”

“What is it?” Shauna asked.

I turned the display to Shauna. “Don’t look at the light. Look at the image as if it’s a landscape.”

She gasped, “There’s a face!”

I looked back across the river. The light was gone, and so was the face.

Above is the picture. It is an unedited photo.

What do you see in the photo? You can comment below. I don't want to tell you what I see, I’ll only share that we felt the magic and mystery of the Magdalenes throughout our France trip.

You can learn more about the mystery of Rennes-le-Château and Mary Magdalene in my novel, A Matter of Degrees.

[The featured image of Jesus being removed from the cross was taken by Alex Marcoux in a France church.]