Sacred mountain: Temple for all faiths
The wisdom of Solomon & women breaking down walls with their hips
Women are walking on either side of the separation wall
The men follow at a small distance, carrying the infants and keeping an eye on the children skipping long
The women lead the way
They sing and drum and dance
Breaking down the wall with their hips
They open the doors to the other side
To the heart of the other
Beit Jala sees the tomb of Rachel again
’Hello, old friend.’
The Priestess reclines on the Green Carpet
’Welcome home.’
Beit Jala = a village adjacent to Bethlehem. It means green carpet in Aramaic.
The women break through the wall
They’ve been working their way between the cracks, like weeds
I’ve seen trees grow through stone-
It’s slow, and gentle- We’ll keep doing it
But in dire straits, we might need a hip thrust here and there
The women spiral their way towards the old city
Gliding as one to the noble rock
As a rainbow snake
They circle the stone wall
They dance on the wall itself
Descending the small steps to Baab al-Rahma1
Arriving inside to pray
At the temple
For all peoples and all religions
Not either Muslim or Jewish
But both and - sorry clan - many more…
All.
TEMPLE
It is much older than either of Abe’s sons. The Canannites and Jubisets/اليبوس came first (but who can claim that.) It’s known that every subsequent religion takes on the sacred sites of its predecessors. The mountain has always been a place of pilgrimage – just like the Kaaba (the cube) – waaaaay waaaay back. According to legend - it held the idols of 360 deities; the ancients circled the mother rock as they do today. But back then, they blew horns and drummed… sacrilege!
Powerful energy centers, exchanged by hands, often- if not always by the sword- at least so far (Can we break the cycle?)
Drowning the earth in the blood of killing. Can we restore the damage?
Haram: sacred (place) sacrosanct
Haraam: prohibited/ de-sanctified / sinful
Hurmah: Sanctity
Hurmah: Woman / Hareem: women (plural/collective)
The root: HRM حرم
The navel of the earth, al-sakhra, the (foundation) rock, the place of sacrifice - is totally out of balance… ُThe holy land of strife … the land of potential, where….
A temple that gathers all faiths
A beacon of light
Where all can pray in their own way
There is enough space (you can even set a max capacity if it gets out of hand.)
Not a place of tourism and commerce, or somewhere to ‘visit’ but a place of devotion to the creator, in all His & Her names.
The temple mount… the mount that is a temple.
al-Haram: The sacred place.
Al—Aqsa: The furtherest (point).
Put it all together.
A temple that receives the five daily prayers of the Muslims and their tasaheer, the Sabbat of the Jews and Passover, where Christians kneel on Sundays, where the Bahai, the Druze, the pagan… offer their own prayers at the times sacred to them. The witches dance under the moon between the olive trees surrounding the many masjeds. If two or more rituals coincide, then the more powerful - praying next to the other.
Are you Hindu and want to offer your prayer?
Ahlan wa sahlan: Welcome.
Who says No to prayers!
Can one even suggest such a notion?
Might one consider it?
Is there any other way?
Solomon
Wasn’t this, after all, how Solomon did it? The ideal diplomat.
He erected idols for all his many lovers in the temple, which according to the bible brought the wrath of - you know who - upon him. A Jealous god He is, destroying a model of inclusion and co-existence. Not only between various faiths- the one and the many, but between Sky and Earth, upper and lower, visible and invisible, spirit and the god forsaken flesh.
Suleiman was wise… unlike all his forefathers and those who followed, he did not seek to suppress the feminine, but embraced her. A symbol for the divine marriage between masculine and feminine => gold => alchemy.
سليمان
Suleiman : Solomon: the peaceful.(SLM) - root.
Silm: to be safe, unharmed, undamaged, intact. To be free. Blameless, faultless.
Istislam: To surrender
Islam: to surrender oneself to god
Silm: to reconcile, in good faith
Saleem: Sound and correct, perfect and complete, unimpaired, flawless, uncontested and incontestable, indisputable, incontrovertible.
Musallamun bihi: general knowledge
Silm is Certainty
Sullam: is a ladder on which to rise
Salam is a greeting
Dar al Salam: The house of peace: Paradise.
Suleiman in the Islamic version is a magician
He spoke the language of bird, beast and Jinn
He’s my favourite prophet, especially because of his story with Sheba /both versions/-O, I can say much about that. Next month. I promise. No promises. Those only lead to Catastrophe (you’d think god would know that.)
A temple for all people and all faiths and religions
For the essence is the same…
Love.
It begins with the great Mother
It is not to say the great Father is less important, but he’s been wreaking havoc. It’s time for the mother to step back to her place – restoring the balance - keeping us in balance.
The feminine and masculine together, in a love-filled symphony
In union. Creating.
Moving from war to love should be easy, it’s the same goddess.
“The goddess of love and war, Astarte was worshiped in Egypt and in Canaan, as well as among the Hittites. Her Akkadian counterpart was Ishtar. She is often mentioned in the Bible under the name Ashtaroth; Solomon is said to have worshipped the goddess, and Josiah destroyed the shrines dedicated to her.” Encyclopaedia Britannica
She is Al-Uzaa to the Arabs (goddess of love and victory.)
In Roman myth, the Goddess Venus (love) and God Mars (War) are lovers.
Love and War: It’s the same energy, just directed in the other direction.
But if War is + love is = then we have a problem, for it might mean there is no ‘getting’ rid of war. If-then?!
Keeping balance between the two is walking a tight rope.
But wait… are both ‘natural’?2
Aggression/violence/war are actions. Whereas anger (or fear or love) are natural emotions that have their function. They never ‘disappear,’ they are there – if triggered…. if summoned… they will show their claws (or their healing hands.)
‘We cannot kill our demons, but we can learn to work with them. Keep them appeased, or at bay.’ Being aware of the shadow, looking it in the face, and choosing for another way.
We have to see the shadow inside
But the outside bombards us with shadows it wants us to see – making us lose our sight to the truth ... to what matters.
Who are you praying to?
An appeal to the mothers
because I doubt there is a greater love than that of a mother to her children. She will do anything – even listen to the other and forgive- if it means a good life for her offspring. Even the ‘worst’ of criminals loves her child. It’s her weakest spot – and strongest. A mother would starve to feed her child; she can lift a car if her baby is under it. The power of love is immense. I think that comes from the fact that it is born from her body – it grew in her womb. I cannot imagine anything more beautiful. As for birthing… Wow! (Yes, I know, it could also be difficult, morning sickness, pains, and all that.
I would have loved to experience childbirth, but I didn’t want to deal with the consequences, so I didn’t.
The bond with the womb is like no other.3
Thus said, birthing is an experience in the collective consciousness, an archetype, so everyone should be able to tap into it and feel it to the best of their capabilities. The mother is an archetype. We all know it. It is a part in every-one of us. Women who have not-birthed and men.
Practice connecting to the place of the womb in the body … the seat of mercy, cave of creation. Filling it in with light. With life. With love.
Al-Rahma: The Mercy.
Bismillal al-rahman al-raheem: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Translated as ‘In the name of god the merciful and forgiving (or compassionate) –
But it’s so much more:
Rahm- the root: WOMB رحم
It holds a key.
Women are walking on either side of the separation walls
Breaking down division with their dance and song, with the stomping of their feet
Heralding the day when women, men and children will plants trees where walls once stood. Tending to Mother Earth, together.
The gate opens up with golden light.
Baab al-Rahma: The gate of Mercy (Hebrew & Arabic), aka the Golden gate. It refers to one of the two portals against the Eastward facing wall of the old city of Jerusalem. The other portal is called the Gate of Repentance / in both Hebrew and Arabic. Is there a lesson there?
Are we destined to make war and battle? Is the earth hungry for blood? Can we give her menstrual blood instead? Can every animal slaughter be ritual slaughter?
Is it human nature to enjoy watching people beat each other (up)- literally or figuratively …Is it natural to want to blow things up - hear/see/make explosives (call them fireworks if you like.) We’re been doing it so long. Is it hard wired—Ever heard of pliers?
Ofcourse, there are women who are more ruthless than the most ruthless of men - and there are men that are malleable and gentle. Both become tender when it’s about their kids.
Photo credits on this page: Kristof Persyn.
Love, love, love. Such beautiful, powerful, and patient medicine. Thank you for this. <3
Love and understanding can break down the walls that divide us. Thank you, Bint Ibrahim