WOMEN'S STUDIES / CREATION SPIRITUALITY "Margaret Starbird's work is of particular interest to me because it fuses the diverse fields of symbolism, mythology, art, heraldry, psychology, and gospel history. Her research opens doors for each of us to further explore the rich iconography of our own spiritual history." DAN BROWN, author of The Da Vinci Code "Margaret Starbird is a seeker after truth. She seeks to recover the long-suppressed, and not infrequently emotionally opposed, feminine side of the Christian story. Hers is an exciting narrative probing regions of thought long neglected. Magdalen, the Great Mary, emerges with new power."JOHN SHELBY SPONG, Episcopal bishop and author of Born of a Woman "This fascinating and courageous narrative takes a fresh look at the true meaning of the Holy Grail and the defeminization of the early church and comes up with some shocking revelations that may change the way one perceives Christianity forever." Nexus Magazine Margaret Starbird's theological beliefs were profoundly shaken when she read Holy Blood, Holy Grail, a book that dared to suggest that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalen and that their descendants carried on his holy bloodline in Western Europe. Shocked by such heresy, this Roman Catholic scholar set out to refute it, but instead found new and compelling evidence for the existence of the bride of Jesus--the same enigmatic woman who anointed him with precious unguent from her "alabaster jar." In this provocative book, Starbird draws her conclusions from an extensive study of history, heraldry, symbolism, medieval art, mythology, psychology, and the Bible itself. The Woman with the Alabaster Jar is a quest for the forgottenfeminine--in the hope that its return will help restore a healthy balance to planet Earth. MARGARET STARBIRD is the author of The Goddess in the Gospels, Magdalene's Lost Legacy, and Mary Magdalene: Bride in Exile. She lives near Seattle, Washington.