”The Magdalene” Meet Shannon Anderson

Several days ago, seeking shelter from the rain, I sat with author and spiritual mama, Shannon Anderson under the canopy of her dock on the Matanzas River. As I messed with my recorder trying to get the sound just right, the rain intensified.

 

Shannon’s eyes lit up. “You want to see a way to stop the rain?” She stood up and gestured to the North, then the East, the South, and the West and said, “There. The rain should stop soon.”

 

You’ll hear in the interview, that the rain stopped soon after we begin.

 

Aside from being versed in weather magic, Shannon is one of the world’s leading experts on Mary Magdalene and has authored a book titled The Magdalene Awakening and has traveled Europe, leading groups of women to search for what she believes is a hidden spiritual truth behind Mary Magdalene. Shannon also happens to be my next-door neighbor.

 

Seeing that I have been brewing all kinds of questions about the divine feminine lately, it only made sense that I head on over to Shannon’s, turn on the recorder and see what I could learn.

 

Shannon’s big two-story home on the river has offered many spiritual seekers a space of community. On the day I visited, visitors came in and out. I’m never sure who lives there and who is just passing through. I think this is part of the mystique of her large property. With the tall ancient oaks, the magnolias, and the Spanish moss that sways gently in the breeze, the land surrounding Shannon’s home takes on a magical quality. I’m quite sure the fairies are always nearby.

 

Shannon is a bereavement counselor by trade, but also takes the role of teacher, leading workshops from her home on writing, Mary Magdalene, and any other spiritual subjects that her friends are interested in sharing.

 

With her starry eyes and weathered glow, I‘ve always seen Shannon as a community leader, a kind of spiritual rebel in this traditional Christian region of the country in Northeastern Florida. Shannon’s been talking about magic and angels, since before it was cool.

 

Two days after the interview, I was invited to Shannon’s place to walk the labyrinth on her property in celebration of Magdalene's Feast Day. At 11:11, accompanied by a small group of women, I walked the grassy, brick-lined maze, feeling a joyful calm as my feet followed the circular path into the center and then out again. All the while Shannon held up her phone and shared the session live on Facebook for the other “magdalenes” she knows across the world to see.

 

 

It was an honor to step into Shannon’s world these past two days. Apparently, according to Shannon, I too have Magdalene energy. She tells me that it’s the divine feminine manifested, not as passivity, but with strength and force and confidence.

 

Shakti. Tara. Isis. Athena.

 

It's the great feminine energy brought to life in all its many forms in this small, sleepy Florida town.

 

L. Shannon Anderson and the Magdalene Awakening