by Lesa Bellevie

Magdalene's Lost Legacy: Symbolic Numbers and the Sacred Union in Christianity, by Margaret Starbird (Inner Traditions, 2003)

Margaret Starbird, author of "The Woman With The Alabaster Jar," "The Goddess In The Gospels," and "The Tarot Trumps and The Holy Grail," has hit the jackpot with her fourth book. While her first two books were very reflective of her personal journey to discover Magdalene as the Bride of Christ, and her third book was a brief exposition on Tarot trumps as a hidden catechism, her latest title reflects a talent for explaining the complicated history of Christianity.

One of the problems with modern Christianity, in my humble opinion, is that it has lost a sense of its own history. "Magdalene's Lost Legacy," while existing to explain how gematria supports Starbird's notion that Magdalene is the hidden Bride, does a superb job of outlining early Christianity for the general reader. It's an excellent primer on the subject, sort of a cliff notes outline of the most important points.

The crux of the book, however, is gematria, a system by which words and phrases are represented by numbers. Unlike Barbara Theiring, Starbird didn't invent this system. Gematria was commonly used at the time of Christ, both in Hebrew and in Greek. What was begun in "The Goddess of the Gospels" is completed in "Magdalene's Lost Legacy;" an examination of the words and phrases in the New Testament Greek showing that Jesus never intended for Christianity to turn out the way that it did.

Could it all be a coincidence? Yes. It is entirely possible that if you look hard enough, you're going to find words and phrases of similar intent that share a numerical value. However, it does seem to me that there is a higher level of connection than would be expected from randomly chosen words, and it's definitely something to consider. If nothing else, the reader will gain much food for meditation and contemplation, and a worthwhile look at the origins of Christianity.