The Da Vinci Code
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concluded that Mary Magdalene is actually the Holy Grail. Throughout the
novel, Langdon spends much of the time explaining feminine symbols
(especially the chalice) to other characters. He explains, “The Grail’s description
as a chalice is actually an allegory to protect the true nature of the Holy
Grail.. . . the Holy Grail represents the sacred feminine and the goddess” (238).
Langdon here connects the chalice to the female womb, building the case for the
revelation that Mary Magdalene and Jesus had a child.
In the grisly murder scene, Sauniere draws the pentacle on his chest before
he dies as a signal for Langdon. Langdon explains to the police that the symbol
represents “the female half of all things” (36) or the religious concept of the
divine goddess. And he states that in its most specific interpretation, the pentacle
represents Venus, goddess of female sexuality, thus creating an early
foreshadowing of the “secret” to be revealed.
Langdon and other characters discuss pagan goddesses frequently. Langdon
recalls an incident in his college classroom when he referred to Isis, the
Egyptian goddess of fertility, and how he connected her to Da Vinci’s Mona
Lisa for the students. Even Disney pictures are brought into the discussion when
Langdon explains that the Disney films are full of pagan myth and goddess
symbolism—Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty. He describes the Disney
film The Little Mermaid as full of “blatant symbolic references to the sanctity of
Isis, Eve, Pisces the fish goddess, and, repeatedly, Mary Magdalene” (262). The
little mermaid’s flowing red hair, as Langdon explains it, is a clear connection to
Mary Magdalene.
Langdon sees one of the key conspiracy agencies—the Priory of Sion—as a
group with a “reverence for the sacred feminine” and also “guardians of a
secret” (113). The Priory resists the Catholic Church’s modem patriarchal
structure, but protects the secret of Mary Magdalene, which Langdon has
already deduced from evidence he has found. Even poetry strikes Langdon as
representing the sacred feminine. Iambic pentameter, he recalls, has five
stresses, again representing to Langdon at least “the pentacle of Venus and the
sacred feminine” (303).
When Leigh Teabing explains his theory that Mary Magdalene is, in fact,
the Holy Grail, he calls her “the lost sacred feminine” (257). In Teabing’s
version of history, Mary Magdalene was pregnant at the time of the crucifixion,
fled to France, and later gave birth to a daughter, Sarah. This explanation
bolsters the idea of the sacred feminine because the descendants of Jesus come
from the feminine line not the masculine line.
Even common playing cards represent the sacred feminine in the novel.
Langdon wonders whether card players understand that the cards represent the
Holy Grail story: spades are swords (the masculine symbol); diamonds are
pentacles (the female symbol); hearts are cups (the chalice); and clubs are
scepters (the royal line) (391).
And whenever we hear about a rose—and we hear about them frequently—
we are reminded that the rose (anagram: EROS) stands for the Holy Grail on