Kerry Jehanne-Guadalupe
What a week to write about myth and the impact it can have!
Today is Friday the 13th, and Monday was Columbus Day, now recognized as Indigenous Peoples’ Day by many. I hope one day soon, Indigenous Peoples’ Day will be observed as a nationwide holiday because not only is it a myth that Columbus discovered what is now the United States, but also because he was far from being a decent person!
I could say it is mind-blowing that a story was fabricated about a person like Columbus, and a national holiday was created around a flat-out lie. Yet, I am not surprised. I mean, Pope Gregory the Great portrayed Mary Magdalene as a prostitute back in the 6th century, and that myth continues to live on for many. In a sermon, Pope Gregory fused three New Testament women into Mary Magdalene: Mary Magdalene with the seven demons; the unnamed sinner who washed Jesus's feet with her hair (Luke); and Mary of Bethany, who anoints Jesus with nard (John). In this one act, Pope Gregory portrayed Mary Magdalene as a prostitute.
The Catholic Church redacted this conclusion in 1969, thirteen hundred years after the Pope's sermon. Though the decree was redacted, many still believe Mary was the sinner that Gregory made her out to be. This legend has held great tenacity regardless of the redaction. It illustrates the power of one Pope to alter the perception of people around the world. His sermon was hundreds of years after Mary lived and had a ripple effect of over thirteen hundred years into the future.
Many people have fueled the story about Mary by writing books about this untruth, as if it were a fact. It is profoundly ironic that Mary's false account of being a prostitute has been used to help and inspire. If Mary can be loved by Jesus, so can we, and if Mary can turn herself around, so can we.
If the story's foundation is a lie, how can it truly bring freedom?
The false accounts of Columbus (a bad guy pictured as good) and Mary (a good woman depicted as bad) are only two of countless examples of history being rewritten.
The Power of Myth and Superstition
Some people understand Friday the 13th to be the day of the Goddess. It is a day to celebrate feminine energy and the cycle of creation, death, and rebirth. The number 13 represents the number of moon cycles women have in a year and has been tied to women's empowerment and strength. Yet, Friday the 13th is considered, by many, to be bad luck.
My understanding was that the bad luck was related to an effort to dampen women's power. I had this vague memory of a story about a man living in the 1400s named Kramer who vilified women healers, demonized feminine energy, and made Friday the 13th an unlucky day. Hiding the power and strength of women under the notion of bad luck is not a new trick, as many
truth-tellers and influential people have been marked as the dark, evil, vile ones throughout history.
I searched for information to understand the link between Kramer and Friday the 13th being bad luck. I could not find a legitimate source related to Kramer making Friday the 13th a day of bad luck, which made me wonder if it is another myth.
While searching, I discovered that Friday the 13th is predominantly related to Judas Iscariot. Judas was considered the 13th guest at the Last Supper, held on Maundy Thursday. The next day was Good Friday, the day of Jesus's crucifixion. The link between 13 people at the Last Supper and the crucifixion being on a Friday feels a bit like religious folklore to me. Somehow, when Friday and 13 coincide, it is linked to the so-called betrayal. Friday got a bad rap not only because Jesus was crucified on a Friday, but Cain killed his brother, Abel, and Eve gave Adam the fateful ‘apple’ from the Tree of Knowledge.
On a side note, related to myth and the power of storytelling, there is no mention of an apple in the book of Genesis. Yet, many have been conditioned to believe so through storytelling.
The unluckiness of 13 has a broader history as well. In ancient Norse lore, Loki, a mischievous god, was the 13th guest at a dinner in Valhalla. Being the 13th upset the balance of the 12 gods already seated and, therefore, introduced evil into the world. Some folklore historians link the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition to the Knights Templar, a large, powerful group of devout Christians formed in the 12thcentury to defend the Holy Land. Hundreds of Knights Templar were arrested and killed on Friday the 13th of October in 1307, at the orders of King Philip IV of France.
Regardless of the origin, the superstition is real to many people. To this day, some consider it unlucky to have 13 people over for dinner because it can lead to a fatal event, while others avoid flying on Friday the 13th or sitting in the 13th row of an airplane. The fears of Friday the 13th and the number 13 are so real to some people that the phobias have been named paraskevidekatriaphobia (Friday the 13th) and triskaidekaphobia (number 13). Due to these phobias, hotels and hospitals often skip the 13th floor, and some airports omit gate 13. Whether a gate or a building floor has been renumbered, the 13th still exists; it is simply hidden in plain sight. The 13th floor of a building still exists when it is numbered the 14th floor.
What fascinates me is that many people are reportedly afraid of Friday the 13th and yet do not know why it is an auspicious day. Is it a handed-down phobia that is easily digested by the next generation? What else are we buying into without knowing why?
Friday the 13th as a Holy Day?
The calendar year is broken into 52 weeks and the four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall. Each season is 13 weeks long. Though there is a seasonal rhythm to the number 13, Friday the 13th does not have such a rhythm. Though Friday the 13th happens more often than any other day and date combination throughout the calendar year, it does not occur in a rhythm like yearly holidays such as New Year's.
There is something magical about this lack of rhythm, to me. I can be in routines and ruts that do not serve me, and sometimes, breaking the pattern entails breaking a rhythm. Wouldn’t it be fun if Friday the 13th became a holiday where we explored any rhythms and habits that need change? I think it would be a blast to make Friday the 13th a Holy Day of Remembrance; a Holy Day that occurs in a non-rhythmic way in our calendar year that helps us break out of nonbeneficial rhythms, as well as cultural myths.
Maybe it is just me! But maybe not! According to numerology philosophy, 13 represents a sense of renewal, passion, motivation, and significant accomplishments. Within the context of numerology, the number 13 is not linked to bad luck; yet it is associated with a new consciousness arising.
The Power of a Story
I am fascinated by the power a story can hold, the stories we have told ourselves, as well as the ones told to us. If a story is used to inspire, it has the ability to infiltrate our being and bring forth change. If an account has been used to persuade, it has the capacity to manipulate us. If we have been lied to and believe the false story, that story can hold us in a state of confinement. If we have heard only one side of a story for our lifetime, the other side might feel impossible to be true.
Yet, even if a false narrative has endured centuries or thousands of years, it can crumble. I believe that we live in a time where many of us are open to hearing authentic stories of ourselves and the cosmos; truths that update the outdated stories that perhaps we needed to believe until we were ready for the truth.
I feel we live in a time where many people are open to considering more than what we have been told through history books or holy scriptures, even if it is the complete opposite perspective we are accustomed to. We can have our minds blown; in fact, many long for that, including myself.
Truth and the Path of Ascension
It has been fascinating to witness how people relate to truth, not only as it pertains to the news but also to the path of ascension. It makes me wonder what can help us navigate our everyday lives during such a complex time; a time where it can be extra challenging to discern what is real, factual, and truthful as it relates to fundamental aspects of our lives. We face many conflicts over truth within our political, educational, and medical realms, to name a few. A crucial area to navigate with truth is the evolution of our souls and the planet.
While some consider that we are experiencing a collective spiritual crisis that will assist in awakening, I feel we are in a very precarious state. I think it is critical we understand how we can believe we have accessed the truth but can be entirely disillusioned simultaneously. It is a time of skillful discerning whether the old is truly being disassembled or just reassembled into another matrix. I feel that we need to be adeptly astute masters of our evolution.
I believe it is vital to heal what is stored in our collective subconscious and our collective hearts to not create from the past. I feel that we are being called to co-create from a new vibration, yet we need to be discerning. Discerning prevents us from being deceived by the darkness as it presents itself as the light. If we circumvent discerning, we may not have the ability to change effectively. If we are not astute, what we are expecting will be our reality of peace and freedom, might be a realization that we have only been trapped by a deception, myth, or superstition leading us astray.
I honor the difficulty in the pursuit of truth as stories can feel so factual that there is no need to question them, such as the stories of Mary and Columbus. If falsities have persuaded us, then when the truth is presented, it can feel like a nonsensical myth that is easy to deny. Understandably, we may reject any evidence of truth because when falsities were presented to us, they were presented to us within the context of the information being true.
When we live in separation from our inner authority, an illusion can be our master, our authority. If someone comes along to show us our illusion, they can be seen as a heretic or insane. I feel that it is not that our ego cannot handle what we believe in is not valid; it is possible that we don't even know to question because the falsity often feels so real. Misconceptions can dampen our pursuit of truth or even prevent us from being on a path to pursue truth because we may have been captivated by the stories we have been told.
With our keen awareness of our hearts, we can feel through anything misleading.
Happy Friday the 13th!
