Confidants

Byzantine Hoodoo insists on embracing imagination in image writing while remaining mindful of historical context and honoring the cultural and socio-political environment of the Mediterranean region. Confidants is one such image that truly seeks to capture the imaginary. Some scholars and Marian adherents suggest that Jesus and Mary Magdalene (or a Mary) were more than friends. Byzantine Hoodoo has alluded to this notion as well, seeking to demonstrate with Confidants that, if the two did not have a romantic relationship, they were surely close friends with perhaps genuine feelings for one another.

This is not an image found in traditional iconography; however, the relationship deserves attention and honoring. Non-canonical texts suggest that Jesus saw Mary as a confidant and an intelligent woman with whom he could discuss the mysteries. So this icon is for those who may have loved one another, but either could not act on it in public or chose not to act at all because of the socio-political environment and their commitments to the Gospel. This icon is for those who imagined the Good News would travel, liberating folks from the systems that refused their kind of love–imagining their love could and would flourish somewhere down the line–perhaps in another lifetime, like the one we live today.

Here is to Mary and Jesus and their love being fulfilled through all who choose to embark on healthy romantic relationships. Here’s to me living that out with my chosen one!

* Confidants was written using early photos of my maternal grandparents and paternal great-grandparents; photos that have been included (respectively) following the icon drawing