The Seven Devils Cast Out of Mary Magdalene: A Neville Goddard Interpretation

The Bible tells us that Mary Magdalene had seven devils cast out of her (Luke 8:2; Mark 16:9), but it does not define what those devils were. Tradition has muddied her story with moral judgments, but Neville Goddard encourages us to look deeper. In his teaching, everything in the Bible happens in the mind of man. Devils, then, are not demons to be feared—but destructive states of consciousness we unconsciously assume.

1. The Traditional Misreading of Mary Magdalene
For centuries, Mary Magdalene was widely mischaracterised as a former prostitute. This interpretation, popularised by early Church tradition but not supported by the text, merged her identity with the unnamed sinful woman of Luke 7. Neville’s teachings challenge us to go beyond literal readings and moral assumptions, and instead to view Mary not as a fallen woman, but as a symbolic figure of transformation—someone who had lived under powerful limiting beliefs and rose to new awareness.

2. Consciousness Is the Only Reality
Neville taught that every external condition is produced by inner assumption. If Mary Magdalene had “seven devils,” these were not literal beings inside her, but ingrained assumptions—states of being—that had possessed her awareness. Once she encountered Jesus (the personification of awakened imagination), she was delivered. She shifted states.

3. The Law of Assumption and Identity
The Law of Assumption states that whatever you assume to be true of yourself and the world will become your reality. Each “devil” Mary carried can be seen as a false assumption she lived under:

• I am unworthy.

• I am guilty.

• I am separate from God.

• I am broken.

• I am powerless.

• I am unloved.

• I am bound by my past.

These seven could represent the full spectrum of false identities we wear before awakening. Seven in Scripture represents fullness or completeness—so “seven devils” implies complete immersion in mistaken identity.

4. The Role of Jesus: The Inner ‘I AM’
When Mary meets Jesus, she is not encountering a man outside of her, but the I AM presence within her—imagination personified. Neville often said that Jesus represents the awakened state of consciousness, the moment when man realises: “I and my Father are one.” This meeting symbolises a psychological revolution—she no longer sees herself as the woman of her former assumptions.

5. Assumptions Are Cast Out by Replacing Them
You don’t fight devils; you replace assumptions. Mary’s healing occurred when her self-concept shifted. She assumed a new identity—perhaps “I am beloved,” “I am pure,” or “I am one with God.” This echoes Neville’s instruction: “Dare to assume you are what you want to be and you will compel everyone to play their part.”

6. The Seven Devils and the Seven Tribes: Dispossessing the Old Mind
In Deuteronomy 7:1, Israel is commanded to drive out seven nations greater and mightier than itself before entering the Promised Land. These seven tribes—symbolic of deeply rooted, inherited states of mind—mirror the seven devils cast out of Mary Magdalene. Each tribe, like each devil, represents a false assumption that governs a portion of the subconscious. The land, in biblical symbolism, is the mind; and before it can become the land of promise, the false occupiers must be cast out. Mary’s transformation follows this same symbolic process: an inner cleansing that makes space for a new dominion of being.

7. Mary as the Awakened Receptive State
After her deliverance, Mary becomes the first witness of the resurrection—a profound symbol. She becomes the one who perceives the risen Christ. This is not a reward for good behaviour, but the natural result of clearing the mind of limiting assumptions. Only the pure in heart (clear of false states) see God—see what truly is.

8. The Devotional Aspect of Assumption
Mary Magdalene’s story also symbolises devotion to the new state. She doesn’t just get “cleansed”—she follows the new assumption until it becomes her truth. Like Neville said: “Assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled. Persist in that assumption, and it will harden into fact.”

Conclusion: Casting Out the Seven Devils in Us All
We all, at some point, are Mary Magdalene—living under a cluster of assumptions that no longer serve us. The casting out of devils is symbolic of the internal work of recognising, naming, and releasing false ideas about the self. It is not moral correction, but metaphysical rebirth.

To awaken, we must cast out every belief that contradicts the truth: I AM that I AM.
Only then can we truly see the resurrected imagination—and live from it.