A Mythopoetic Journey With Magdalene: Into the Heart of an Individuating Trinitarian God-Image

Abstract

This dissertation is a mythopoetic exploration of the Christian Trinity as a relationship of interchangeable, nongendered functions evolving through time. Based in depth psychology and employing the ternary metaphysics of Boehme, Gurdjieff, and Bourgeault, the gendered language of the Trinity is reimagined and translated into interchangeable functions of affirmation, denial, and reconciliation to free this iconic Christian symbol from its rigid personified doctrinal forms to reveal a symbol of profound evolutionary change. The aim is to describe an individuating God-image with the potential to unite spirit and matter, masculine and feminine, in an evolving spiral that coincides and is in dialogue with the development of human consciousness. Viewed as an evolutionary spiral, the Christian Trinity may be the core of that very consciousness. Applying the ancient term, “As above, so below,” I propose that the archetype of the Trinity is simultaneously an image of the individuation process. As a relationship of functions, the Christian Trinity can manifest as personifications relevant to its unique historical period. This is modeled through the archetypal relationship between Magdalene and Christ, reimagined as the personified functions of affirmation, denial, and reconciliation. This relationship reveals itself as a model of the individuation process.