By Milky Way Maid
Probably
everyone has seen or heard something about da Vinci’s painting of the Last
Supper supposedly providing proof that Mary Magdalene was his wife. While I am
not going to get into that discussion right now, I would like to point out an
unexpected proof that that the fifth Apostle from the left really is Mary
Magdalene, and it involves astrology.
First go
to this web page and copy the image of the painting that appears there: www.LisaShea.com/hobbies/art/images/lastsuppernames.jpg
Keep it handy for reference.
That
image is of the Last Supper with the names of the Apostles above each one, plus
Jesus.
Now, you
may not know that you can read the Zodiac in the painting from left to right,
skipping over Jesus; start with Bartholomew (Aries) on the left and end with Simon Pisces) on the
right.
It is
interesting that some of the saints are associated with, or are in some kind of
pose, that in some way evokes that sign of the zodiac.
The
third Apostle from the left is Andrew, representing Gemini. He is in a pose
with his hands up, palms forward. Gemini rules the hands.
The
fourth Apostle is Judas (going by where the head is, not the body), who
represents Cancer. He holds a bag of silver, and Cancer is associated with
acquisitiveness and saving money.
Fifth is
Peter, as Leo. Leo is often a boss in the office setting, like Peter was boss
of the Apostles after Jesus departed.
Now here’s
the surprise – Sixth is Virgo, which happens to be the only female in the
zodiac. So the Apostle, supposedly John the Beloved, is really Mary Magdalene
after all.
Seventh
is James Major, representing Libra, the Scales. His arms are outstretched to
either side like the arms on a balance.
Eighth
is Thomas, whose finger is pointing up like the stinger on the Scorpion.
Tenth is
Matthew, whose former occupation was as a tax collector. Matthew is the patron
saint of civil servants, among other things, and Capricorn is the sign of
government.
Last is
Simon the Zealot, representing Pisces. Simon is sometimes identified with two
fish. Also one tradition about him says he was martyred by being sawn in half
lengthwise.
This
article is just the result of a quick bit of research after finding a reference
to the apostles representing the signs of the zodiac, and that da Vinci
incorporated that information into his famous painting. Sorry I did not find
specific links between all of the apostles to every sign. But perhaps at the
time it was painted, there were associations between the signs and certain
careers or attributes that have fallen by the wayside. For example, the second
Apostle was James Minor, who had been a fuller before joining up with Jesus. (A
fuller is someone who softens and sometimes dyes cloth.) Perhaps Taurus was
once thought to rule clothing or haberdashers.
Some of
the oldest Christian churches had representations of the zodiac with the
apostles going around a central image of Jesus, with Jesus sometimes
represented as Sol Invictus (the Sun). Very rarely, Jesus as the Sun was
accompanied by Mary Magdalene as the Moon. For the former, see images of the
Beit Alpha church (mistakenly called a synagogue) and the church at Hamat
Tiberius in Galilee. For the latter,
check out images of the central panel in the church of “Our Lady Mary” in
Galilee, Israel.
Tags- Mary
Magdalene, early Christian churches, zodiac, apostles
