Magdalene Revelation for this Week
Exile and Return: The Radiance Beyond the Eclipse
This week we we are reminded through exile and return that the light we hold never leaves. On September 7th, a Full Moon and Total Lunar Eclipse will cast their shadow and light upon us. In Kabbalah, the Moon is Shekhinah, the feminine presence of the Divine, the mirror of our inner being. During an eclipse, the Moon’s light is concealed. Mystically, this concealment is an image of exile: Shekhinah hidden, the soul feeling distant from its Source.
When I had my first visitation of Mary Magdalene, I felt completely exiled. It was not a season of joy or expansion, but one of uncertainty and solitude. I was in the desert of Oman, after many years of living in the Middle East, preparing to return to Europe without knowing which path I would take.
At the time, I had built a meaningful life in Dubai. I had a company where I taught Dance Movement Therapy to autistic children, and I also performed locally with musicians, weaving sacred music and dance. My work fulfilled me deeply, yet my soul began to whisper — then to call — and her voice grew so strong that I knew I could no longer ignore it.
One night, I dreamed of Mother Mary. She appeared with quiet strength and infinite tenderness, guiding me to move forward in life, to step beyond what was known and secure. When I awoke, I knew with certainty that it was time to leave everything behind. Not because it lacked meaning, but because a new path was waiting, one my soul had already chosen.
So I surrendered. I let it all go. And as I stood in the wilderness, with no clear direction, suspended between what had been and what was yet to come, I felt as though I, too, was wandering in exile. It was into this exile that Mary Magdalene came.
In that exile, something shifted. I surrendered. I allowed myself to feel, to breathe, to open, and in that openness, a quiet joy arose. It was not the joy of circumstances or clarity, but a deeper joy, the joy of knowing I was being filled by something greater, something unknown yet profoundly real. My life still made no sense to me, but my heart was touched by mystery.
And then… She came. Mary Magdalene, a profound Presence, radiant and fierce. She entered my exile with light, and I knew that even in the wilderness, I was not abandoned. In the very place where I felt most lost, the Beloved was revealed.
Each of us carries places of exile within. And the truth is, there are many exiles we experience throughout life — sometimes, even in a single moment, we can feel exiled from several parts of ourselves at once. What I have come to know is that surrender and compassion are the steps that open the way. They are the pathways of return when our exile longs to come home, back to the oneness of our Inner Temple.
Where in your life do you feel exiled? Where are you cut off from your truth, your joy, your essence?
The eclipse we experience on September 7th comes to reveal these hidden corners so that they may be healed and returned.
In the Kabbalistic mystical tradition, the practice of Teshuva, often translated as “repentance”, literally means return. It is the soul turning back toward its origin. Teshuva is not about shame or guilt, but about remembering who we are beneath the veils. The eclipse calls us into Teshuva. The shadow reveals where we are still living in exile, so that we may turn, and return, to the Beloved. The concealment is temporary. The radiance waits to be revealed. The Zohar says: “The Moon shines only when she sees the Sun. When she sees him, she is filled with living waters.” We, too, become radiant when we turn our face toward the Source of Light.
As many of you know, I practice and teach Kabbalistic astrology, so what I share on eclipses and astrological insights is deeply rooted in the ancient.
In this week of shadow and return, we can look to Mother Anna, the mother of Mary, Grandmother of Yeshua, as our guide. In the Protoevangelium of James, Anna laments her barrenness and prays beneath a laurel tree. In her exile of sorrow, she lifts her voice and makes a vow. And God answers, giving her the child who would become the Mother of the Messiah. She speaks to us now:
“When I was barren, I was exiled in sorrow. But I lifted my voice and asked the Holy One for a child. I did not despair. I offered my longing as a vow. And the Lord of Life heard me. Have faith, my beloved ones, as I had faith. What feels barren today is the soil of tomorrow’s miracle. Pray. Offer. Trust. The Living One will fill your well.”
Mary Magdalene also knew exile: in her body, in her soul, in the world. And she too knew return. Her message rises with the eclipse:
“As I was exiled, so are you. As I returned, so shall you. Exile is not the end, but the path that sharpens the memory of Home. I turned my face toward the Light of the Beloved, and in that turning I became luminous. Do not be afraid of the shadow. Beyond it, your radiance waits.”
In the Gospel of Mary we read: “Where the mind is, there is the treasure.” Even in exile, the treasure is within. The return is already planted in the heart.
The Gospel of Philip teaches: “Light and darkness, life and death, right and left, are brothers of one another. They cannot be separated.”
The eclipse itself is a living image of this teaching, shadow and light belong to the same dance.
This week is an invitation to sit with the shadow, to pray like Mother Anna, to return like Magdalene, and to trust the cycle of exile and return, concealment and revelation. On the night of the eclipse, allow silence. Name the places where you feel exiled. Offer your longing as a vow: “Fill me, Living One, with Your waters.” Turn your face back to the Beloved. Even a small turning creates radiance.
The eclipse conceals, but only for a moment. Then the light returns, fuller, deeper, more radiant. May we, like Mother Anna, trust that barren places can bloom with miracles. May we, like Magdalene, turn our face toward the Beloved and shine with His light. May the eclipse remind us that even when the Moon is hidden, she is never diminished. Teshuva is here. Radiance is near.
I have shared a Magdalene Revelation Video if you want to dive deep into Exile, Return and Mother Anna.
Our Magdalene Shabbat for the Month of September is open for registration. CLICK HERE
Let Your Voice Rise: A Frame Drum and Voice Pilgrimage is open for registration. CLICK HERE
With devotion and service,
Ahava,
Ana Otero
