
223 | Mary Magdalene and the Stories We Were Never Told with Olivia Magdalena
For many women raised within Christianity, Mary Magdalene exists somewhere in the background of the story: present at the tomb, vaguely associated with sexual sin, but rarely treated as a central figure in Jesus’s ministry. Then you encounter a different version of her… and suddenly, pieces of your own spiritual story begin falling into place. In this episode of Wild & Waking , I’m joined by Magdalene priestess and somatic practitioner Olivia Magdalena for a conversation about the woman hidden in plain sight and the full-body rage, recognition, and remembrance that can come with rediscovering her. Olivia shares how reading Mary Magdalene Revealed altered the course of her life and helped her understand something she had felt, but could not yet name. At the heart of our conversation is a tension many women carry: the institution no longer feels true, but our hunger for the divine hasn’t disappeared. We talk about deconstructing patriarchal religion without dismissing every spiritual experience we’ve ever had, finding our way back to the parts of Jesus and ritual that still feel meaningful, and learning to trust ourselves after being taught that spiritual authority belonged to someone else. This is a conversation about more than recovering Mary Magdalene’s story. It is about recognizing what her erasure reveals about our own, and what becomes possible when women return to their bodies, their inner knowing, and a spirituality that does not require them to disappear. In this episode, we explore: The historical misrepresentation of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute or repentant sinner Mary Magdalene’s role as the “apostle to the apostles” and her importance within Jesus’ ministry How the Roman Empire, patriarchal power, and the formation of biblical canon shaped institutional Christianity The lost Gospel of Mary and its teachings on inner knowing, human divinity, and spiritual authority The Madonna-whore binary created through the stories of Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene The connections between purity culture, religious trauma, and women’s disconnection from their bodies Somatic healing practices for rebuilding intuition and self-trust after religious deconstruction How to begin discerning between intuition, anxiety, trauma responses, and inherited conditioning Why reclaiming spirituality can bring women closer to the mystic Jesus rather than further away The relationship between spirituality, feminism, decolonization, activism, and political power Olivia’s Mary Magdalene pilgrimages to Provence and the sacred caves of Southern France The role of nature, ritual, and embodied experience in reconnecting with the divine feminine Be sure to hit subscribe so you never miss the latest episode! Connect with Olivia: Visit Olivia’s website Experience the free Magdalene Activation Listen to The Walk of the Magdalene podcast Read Olivia’s Substack Follow Olivia on Instagram Follow Olivia on Threads Connect with Emily: Website: www.EmilyReuschel.com Instagram: @emilyreuschel Facebook: Emily Reuschel LinkedIn: Emily Reuschel Join my Book Insiders List: Sign up here! Resources and Links: Sign up here to get the inside scoop to my book writing journey! Book me as a speaker for your next event - email inquiries to emilyreuschel@gmail.com or schedule a call here Wild & Waking – Produced by Jill Carr Podcasting | Learn More










