mirror, mirror, on the wall

As curious, logical, and straight thinking humans we classify and subdivide existence. We love to organize and label. When we peer into our existence with the telescope or microscope we see strange unexplainable things. Into the far reaches of space we come across unfathomable objects and events we theorize as black holes and what not. It confounds our logic. When we peer through the atomic microscope we encounter an order that curiously breaks down into randomness at the sub atomic level. This destroys our idea of this blind logically functioning universe. What is all this? Is it us? We can't classify without the classifier. Everything is dependent on each other. Are we the universe and the one is all? When you try to peer into yourself it gets kind of fuzzy until it just feeds back on itself. I can only peer into my own eyes through a mirror. I can never completely see myself without the help of an external object. In the same way my ability to look at my greater self, the whole universe, has its limitations. 

I cannot see myself without a looking glass nor can I define who I am without the input and interaction with others. The mere attempt at separation from my surroundings leads ultimately back to dependence. Try as I may to build an idea of myself that is devoid of ego it eventually results in frustration. The ego wants to build up a great persona that stands above the masses but then is entirely dependent on the masses for its status as an individual. Talk about a recipe for neurosis. Curiously though my thoughts inside my head do feel as if I am a distinct individual and it is only through deliberate interaction with others that I become part of a group. But though I feel separate in my head we all long to connect with others to feel whole. I tend to believe it is a limitation of our condition that causes us to perceive that we are separate individuals. The condition would be our souls ensconced in a material body. 

The entrapment would be due to vibrational frequency that does not allow our souls to enter into other dimensions. Before you pronounce my thoughts as deluded take for instance the animal kingdom and its pack/flock/pride behaviour. Animals tend to live in group structures and the observation of flocks of birds lets you see the dynamic of shared consciousness at work when they move as one while darting through the sky. Humans retain the idea of tribe and family due to our animal origins as opposed to the soul of man that is alone and searching. So at the physical base level there is a distinct lack of individuality. I believe, and I have my own empirical evidence that the soul can change frequencies while in this material plane and access different dimensions in its search for home. Through this activity you can connect with a strange world and interact with spirits, ultimately realizing that there is nothing separate and all is one. Communication is instantaneous thought without the baggage of physical gesture to facilitate this exchange. When I experienced this firsthand, external thoughts that were definitely not my own and did not come from my head, populated my intellectual sphere in rapid response complete with visual, auditorial, and olfactory stimuli. This state is what the ancients called visions. The symbolism of the mirror in the ancient world was a gateway to this occult world(s).

As a kid I was often told of the superstition that if you break a mirror it is then seven years bad luck for you. Why the seven years symbolism? The seven brings to mind the seven Hathors. This aspect of the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor foretold the future. They are present at the birth of a child to pronounce its fate. They predict the Nile inundation and consequently the abundance of the grain harvest. They also offer protection against evil spirits.

The Seven Hathors are generally a positive force in magic. They are appealed to in love spells and their red hair-ribbons could be used to bind dangerous spirits.
Magic in Ancient Egypt, Geraldine Pinch, pages 37-38 

The constellation of Taurus houses the group of seven stars known as the Pleiades. Taurus is the great "Bull of the West" and his harem are the seven Hathors as this vignette from the Book of the Dead demonstrates. 

Seven Hathors from Spell 148

The Pleiades are fairly easy to spot in the nighttime sky once you know where to look. My favourite time to observe them is a cold and clear winter's night. Something magical happens when you do experience this. The stars twinkle like diamonds in the light and the shape of the constellation is reminiscent of a mirror as it has a defined handle and a viewing platform. To me when I see this seems like such a profound expression of the Goddess and her jewel encrusted effluence. I don't have any proof of a connection of the Pleiades and a mirror however I wanted to point out the power of individual observation and how it can stimulate your thought processes.

Anyway back to the idea of a mirror and visions. The history of the word should be examined. Here are the entries from the Online Etymological Dictionary:

mirror (v.) 
"to reflect," 1590s, from mirror (n.). Related: Mirrored; mirroring. The Middle English verb mirouren (early 15c.) meant "to be a model" (for conduct, behavior, etc.), while miren (mid-14c., from Old French mirer) meant "to look in a mirror."

mirror (n.) 
early 13c., from Old French mireoir "a reflecting glass, looking glass; observation, model, example," earlier miradoir (11c.), from mirer "look at" (oneself in a mirror), "observe, watch, contemplate," from Vulgar Latin *mirare "to look at," variant of Latin mirari "to wonder at, admire" (see miracle). Figurative usage is attested from c.1300. Used in divination since classical and biblical times; mirrors in modern England are the subject of at least 14 known superstitions, according to folklorists. Belief that breaking one brings bad luck is attested from 1777. The Spanish cognate, mirador (from mirar "to look, look at, behold"), has come to mean "watch tower." Mirror ball attested from 1968.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=mirror&allowed_in_frame=0

One thing that immediately jumps to mind is the 'mir' that begins the word. Whenever I see the 'mr' combination I immediately look for connections to a Goddess. In ancient Egypt a 'mr' is a pyramid. Without going into a grand exposition on the pyramid I will just say that look at them as vehicles for rebirth. Khufu, the pharaoh for whom the Great Pyramid is named after, called his pyramid akhet. Akhet is the magical place in the east, the portal, from whereabouts the sun makes its grand entrance at the break of day. It is fittingly another name for the great goddess Hathor who gives birth to this child, Ihy, in the gold of the morning's light. This 'mr' combination finds its way into feminine names such as Mary and Miriam. These biblical names conceal the presence of the Goddess in the Bible but the secret has been let out. The mount of Moriah plays a prominent role in the Bible as well when Abraham ascends the mountain to sacrifice his son Isaac. We find 'mr' in classical language referring to the sea as well. In Latin the sea is called mare and today we have many of its derivatives such as marina and mermaids. The goddess Aphrodite is said to have sprung up from the sea foam. 

Aphrodite and her sea foam origins

This idea of  the waters and 'mr' is found in the Old Testament as well. It is Miriam who leads the Israelites to the bitter water that is called mar. This is an elaborate connection of Miriam to the bitter tasting and sweet smelling myrrh fragrance that is a huge part of Goddess lore. The Greeks go as far to have a goddess named Myrrha (also known as Smyrna) that is a rival of Aphrodite's in beauty and births Adonis. These tales are linked to the Semitic goddess Ba'alat that is ultimately traced back to the Egyptian goddess Hathor. The ancient Egyptian word for myrrh is the hieroglyphic of a cobra over a papyrus stalk and this hieroglyphic is for the green goddess serpent known as wadjet. Wadjet is the name for Hathor in her snake form and is connected with Lower Egypt. It is through Hathor I will now flood the reader with the connection of the mirror and the Goddess.

First of all among the numerous towns and grottos where Hathor had worship sites I'd like to highlight a place called Meir, which is the necropolis of the Upper Egyptian town of Kusae. Kusae was the capital of the 14th nome of Upper Egypt which emblems were the lower sycamore and viper giving us the connection once again to Hathor.

Much farther north in Middle Egypt, and thus closer to the royal capital at Memphis, was the town of Kusae, where Hathor was the chief deity as Lady of Kusae, at least from the early Middle Kingdom.  The great tombs belonging to local princes at Meir testify to their devotion to this goddess, who was also referred to there by a priestess's text as The Gold. 
The Great Goddesses of Egypt, Barbara S. Lesko, page 96

At festivals, celebrations, and invocations of Hathor mirrors are one of the instruments used.

The sistrum was more than a musical instrument; it became the symbol of the goddess, and her power was believed to emanate from it.  Mirrors were also used in her cult starting in the late Old Kingdom.  They caught the sun's light and thus came to be thought of as one of the implements in which the great goddess was manifest.  Her priestesses danced with mirrors, and mirrors were portrayed on Middle Kingdom coffins (and sometimes deposited in the coffin) along with Hathor's necklace of many rows of beads, which also would have emitted a rustling sound.
The Great Goddesses of Egypt, Barbara S. Lesko, page 100

The use of a reflective surface in ancient Egypt was a major component of ceremonies designed for entering into a state that was induced in order to come into contact with the spirits, Hathor being the conduit for these connections. 

Copper Mirror with Hathor Head

In the book 'Dancing for Hathor' the author Carolyn Graves-Brown gives a fantastic description of such a ceremony and also draws the conclusion that "One might wonder if at times the goddess Hathor was a means by which it was possible to see into ‘other worlds’." I have been quite perplexed as to why more who study the ancient Egyptians do not come to this conclusion when presented with these scenes of ecstasy and veneration of the gods and goddesses of this occult world. The ancient Egyptian world of gods and goddesses and rich descriptions of the netherworld remains for most the superstitious beliefs and fanciful imaginations of a culture obsessed with death and living beyond this world. Based on my own experiences I have no doubt they did see into 'other worlds' and it was through the goddess Hathor that they experienced the divine.

At Dendera, Hathor is ‘mistress of the dance, queen of happiness’. Music, dance and intoxication are not only Hathorian, but occur in many religions in association with breaking down barriers between our world and that of the gods and the deceased. Ecstatic emotion is one means of transcending this world. The association of Hathor, and hence of Hathorian dancers, with breaking down barriers between one world and another appears in a text which describes the movements performed by Hathorian musicians in night-time dances for the goddess: ‘Singers, vital and beautiful, are intoxicated by speedily moving their legs out before them’. Perhaps this was a kind of zikr designed to bring on an altered state of consciousness during the ritual.
One might wonder if at times the goddess Hathor was a means by which it was possible to see into ‘other worlds’. The mirrors associated with the goddess, as well as being linked to her solar and beauty aspects, might be linked with scrything (a means of seeing into other worlds through reflective surfaces), and music (hand clappers and sistra) is also associated with inducing trance-like states. Mirror dances, like other dances, took place for Hathor; mirrors were used in religious rituals, not simply for personal grooming, and were often owned by priestesses. The words ‘for your ka’ are associated both with offering alcohol and with offering mirrors. The phrase ‘for your ka’ might be taken literally, with the mirror being the depository of the soul. Each person has his ka – a part of his soul – and he goes to it when he dies.
Dancing for Hathor, Carolyn Graves-Brown, pages 167-168 

Graves-Brown mentions scrying, which is the use of reflective surfaces to see into other worlds.

scrying
divination of distant or future events based on visions seen in a ball of rock crystal. Divination based on an analysis of reflections in water, on polished metal, or on precious stones was practiced by early humans, who probably interpreted these phenomena as a vision of the spirit world. Scrying became widespread by the 5th century AD and was condemned by the medieval Christian church as the work of the devil. 
scrying. Dictionary.com. © Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scrying (accessed: December 08, 2013).

Such activity incurs the wrath of subsequent religious movements that wish to distance themselves and forcibly stamp out the practicing of the occult from popular pagan worship. It would be quite difficult to promulgate a monotheistic cult if members were in constant contact with spirits that contradict the message you are trying to teach. If it goes against enforced beliefs it is then termed as the work of the devil. Perhaps it is the other way around?  In researching the meaning and origin of the idea of an idol this is made clear as the Greek eidolon is a word describing the art of scrying.

idol (n.) 
mid-13c., "image of a deity as an object of (pagan) worship," from Old French idole "idol, graven image, pagan god," from Late Latin idolum "image (mental or physical), form," used in Church Latin for "false god," from Greek eidolon "appearance, reflection in water or a mirror," later "mental image, apparition, phantom," also "material image, statue," from eidos "form" (see -oid). Figurative sense of "something idolized" is first recorded 1560s (in Middle English the figurative sense was "someone who is false or untrustworthy"). Meaning "a person so adored" is from 1590s.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=idol&allowed_in_frame=0

In ancient Egypt the cross called an ankh that was used to symbolize life and offered in many temple scenes to the Pharaoh by the divine, curiously also can denote a mirror. 

Atum offering Life to Pharaoh

Underlying this association is the idea of the life granted here in the physical plane has a spiritual counterpart if you look into the rounded part of the ankh. The cross is suggestive of a passage between worlds with the upper part of the cross possibly representing the way into seeing into the occult and the lower part of the cross representing the current state of physical manifestation.

To get back to the idea of the Goddess and her association with myrrh I'd like to introduce the history of the word myrrh. It is one of those rare words that institutional scholars will credit with being unquestionably derived from a Semitic source. 

myrrh (n.) 
Old English myrre, from Latin myrrha (also source of Dutch mirre, German Myrrhe, French myrrhe, Italian, Spanish mirra), from Greek myrrha, from a Semitic source (cf. Akkadian murru, Hebrew mor, Arabic murr "myrrh"), from a root meaning "was bitter."
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=myrrh&allowed_in_frame=0

I have mentioned earlier its association to the idea of something that is bitter. If you taste the essential oil of myrrh it has a peculiarly bitter taste. The Hebrew word for myrrh is mor and I conjecture from this that the idea of the Egyptian Goddess Hathor and myrrh was so prevalent during these times and area of the lands of the Levant that were in constant contact and traded extensively with the Egyptians that the fragrant resin of the Goddess was eventually referred to as a word associated with the Goddess and rebirth, that word being transliterated from ancient Egypt as mr.

I touched on earlier the instances in the Bible in which the use of 'mr' in names and places is suggesting the presence of the Goddess. As I have explained, the visionary experience is accessed through the Goddess. The Old Testament has instances where the patriarchs witness frightening visions, are spoken to, and enter into sacred ground that is the domain of the Goddess. I will examine some of these instances now.

The first contact of the original couple of creation, Adam and Eve, with the supernatural occurs in the garden of Eden with a serpent. The serpent was long known in the ancient world as being associated with the Goddess and visions and by this relationship it is connected to wisdom as well. It is the serpent who encourages Eve to partake of fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis 3. Eating the fruit of that tree is giving them knowledge that is reserved for the gods. It is akin to a visionary experience. A common vision for partakers in a hallucinogenic decoction called ayahuasca is the serpent in combination with the great mother goddess archetype. 

Serpents, goddesses, and ayahuasca

Later in the Old Testament Jacob consults the divine for guidance as to whether he should sojourn in Egypt in Genesis 46:

Genesis 46:2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.

At Beersheba Jacob enters into conversation with the gods. Visions is translated from the Hebrew mar'ah, mar'ah being the feminine version of 'to see' from ra'ah which is used in the context of seeing both literally and figuratively. Mar'ah, visions, also carries the meaning of a mirror. The mar part here is connected with the feminine in terms of names such as Miriam and water such in Exodus 15:23 when the journeying Israelites come upon the bitter (mar) waters of a place in the desert called Marah. I connect this to the feminine and the waters to show that the idea of the visions Jacob is having here at Beersheba is done through the feminine. 

In Exodus 3 is the famous scene of Moses approaching divinity appearing in a burning bush:

Exodus 3.3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

Moses turns in order to not look directly upon this vision. Sight in this verse is translated from the Hebrew mar'ah as well. This verse does not spell out again whether Moses is having these visions in a dream or if it is via a psychotropic substance, however the inclusion of the bush does give credence to the idea that access to the divine in these cases is done through visionary plants. The angel appears in a burning bush and the bush is not consumed by fire. The bush has been speculated to be the desert thriving acacia, long known for its visionary properties as well as its association with goddesses such as the ancient Egyptian Hathor. The acacia is similar to a bush common to Africa and Arabia called the Balsamodendron Myrrha giving us once again the connection to myrrh and lending credence to my claim that visionary experiences are accessed through the Goddess. In Genesis 28:12 Jacob had a vision of the ladder at Bethel where he encountered the gods and set up a pillar to commemorate the encounter. This time a mountain is used as a similar device to the pillar with both sharing the ability to house the gods. 

As you can easily connect now, our word for the mirror traces its existence back to the idea of visionary activity and the Goddess. Seeing is believing.

jacob's inner circle

Genesis 49 is about Jacob on his deathbed prophesying about his sons. I compare his sons and daughter Dinah to the twelve constellations in the zodiac. While others have made this connection before, none who I know of have revealed the connections as much as I have here. These are original thoughts. I do owe a debt of gratitude to a book by C.M. Houck called "The Celestial Scriptures, Keys to the Suppressed Wisdom of the Ancients" which allowed me to gain insight into the teachings of the zodiac and how it applies to our soul.

Genesis 49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

Jacob gathers together his twelve sons on his deathbed and shares his prophetic vision for them.

Genesis 49:2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

It is through the great Israel, the master of time, that the future is told. Israel as Orion, spins the great wheel of the zodiac and creates time.

Genesis 49:3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

The constitution of the firstborn detailed throughout Genesis is applied again here to Reuben. He is strong and mighty and well equipped as the life force that ensures survival in the material plane. He is the beginning of the birthright Jacob secured from Esau in exchange for some red lentil soup in Genesis 25:30.

Genesis 49:4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

Reuben, being the first born, is compared to water. As I have previously explained, Aquarius should properly be considered the first constellation of the zodiac. With this identification of Reuben to water and its association with Aquarius, plus his being Jacob's firstborn, it further corroborates my assertion concerning the zodiac and Jacob's twelve sons. The Hebrew word for water, mayim, is a word that has a dual connotation. Figuratively referring to juice, semen, and urine it also denotes a flood. Aquarius pours out wisdom and consciousness - the soul and the life force and it is Reuben who comes forth first. The firstborn is consciousness which is needed by wisdom in order to travel. Jacob complains that Reuben defiled one of his concubines, that being Bilhah, a representation of the material mother. Using what I have just explained as a guide we can now decipher the mythology behind Reuben sleeping with a concubine of Jacob. Reuben as the first son spreads his seed, the life force, over material form, Bilhah, in order to animate it. Jacob is the constellation of Orion and it is as Orion that he lays claims to the mother archetype as his own means of generation. However, it was Reuben's destiny to copulate with her. Though it may seem Jacob is punishing Reuben for this misdeed, he is in reality just revealing what is true of the firstborn - powerful and unstable.

Genesis 49:5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

Since we already know all the brothers are brethren we must assume that by calling Simeon and Levi brethren it was to establish a close relationship between the two. They are cruel and quick to anger. They avenge the rape of Dinah. Though they are not technically twins, as a pair they seem to be an allusion to the Gemini constellation.

Genesis 49:6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.

The translation of this passage is poor. Jacob is warning the nephesh, the life force translated here as soul, to be wary of these two. The men they slain in Shechem were representative of the nephesh. The last line should be translated "and in their delight they hamstrung a bull." The bull is the symbol of the this life force and hamstrung means they made this needed force lame.

Genesis 49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

Because of what the two did, Jacob curses the pair. Jacob says he must separate and scatter them, referring to the descent into matter of the constellation which will separate them.

Genesis 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

Judah is destined to be a ruler. Zodiacal speaking he is representing the constellation of Leo.

Genesis 49:9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

Judah is described as a lion that is in his den and not on the prowl. Leo, as the seventh constellation of the zodiac starting from Aquarius, is to rule but also be true to the number seven. Seven denotes peace and rest.

Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Judah is described as a Moses figure who will give laws and rule until Shiloh (the messiah) comes. The meaning of this verse has been the subject of much commentary due to the mention of the messiah figure. I will be the first to explain its meaning in terms of the progression of the zodiac and the story it tells. The constellation of Leo is the royal kingship constellation and Judah assumes this role and the figure of the lion. He will rule until the next sign in the zodiac comes to rule and that sign is the Virgin, the eighth sign that births the re-born soul in the material plane. The coming of Shiloh will displace Judah as ruler and usher in the new kingdom; the new Jerusalem of Revelation.

Genesis 49:11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

After binding his foal and ass's colt to the vine, figurative language for his essence, Judah will wash his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood of the grape. In other words, a royal purple - the colour of the Lady of Byblos which is a reference to the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor. The lion constellation and Hathor are inseparable as a ruler does not rule without the consent of this Goddess. You will see this Goddess depicted controlling the lion in many depictions of her throughout the levant. I have written about this connection in this blog post and will also post an image of this Goddess controlling the lion.

Levantine forms of the goddess Hathor: Qadesh, Ishtar, and Asherah

Revelation chapter 17 describes this woman who rules over the kings of the earth.

Revelation 17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

If we remember back to Genesis 38, it is a story of how this Goddess got the best of Judah.

Genesis 49:12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

In terms of Judah's relationship to the Goddess and how she gives him the authority to rule, we can make sense of this passage. He will be drunk on her intoxicating power and suckling at her breast for sustenance. Jerusalem gives Judah the power to rule over the world. Revelation chapter 18 reveals this exact scenario with the woman described as Babylon the Great.

Revelation 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

Genesis 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

Zebulun is associated with water, ships, and fishing; the fishing part coming from Zidon, which means to catch fish and was an important city of the coastal maritime trading culture - the Phoenicians. The name Phoenicia is a Greek formulation which describes them as a purple nation. They are the biblical Canaanites. The idea here is that Zebulun is a haven for ships which means his port will house the soul and the life force. It is depicted in the zodiac as Pisces; the pair of fish representing this idea.

Genesis 49:14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
   15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

The name Issachar is from a root meaning "to carry." He is described as a strong ass, in other words a beast of burden. Ass in this case being derived from a Hebrew root meaning to be red and trouble. The connection here is to the Esau and Cain characters who are personifications of the serving life force that carries the soul. As a beast of burden you could equate Issachar with the bull constellation. He is then described as a stall for cattle, a sheepfold, which is an enclosure for sheep, with sheep being the idea of the soul. Verse 15 describes him as being content with serving, saying that rest is good. He is the life force that has been subdued such as in the story of Jacob greatly fearing Esau's approach in Genesis 32:7-11, wrestling all night with this force, and then subsequently being greeted the next day by a welcoming and reverent Esau in Genesis 33:4.

Genesis 49:16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

This passage is referring to Samson, a judge of the Israelites who is a descendant of Dan.

Genesis 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

This verse is describing Dan as a serpent, a force that inflicts a poison on his victim causing them to fall away from the path. It is a warning to stay away from the serpent as the serpent will give you knowledge and cause you suffering as you are no longer blissfully ignorant of reality. In Judges 18, the descendants of Dan do just this as they captured the city of Laish and set up a graven image. In the zodiac the closest symbol would be the biting scorpion. Heel in Hebrew is aqeb, it can mean a lier in wait and is related to the Hebrew word for scorpion which is aqrab.

Genesis 49:18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

In the midst of his prophecy, Jacob exclaims his joy to Yahweh for his salvation. Salvation in this regard means a freeing or deliverance from his material bonds. Salvation is the translation of the Hebrew yeshua, the name for the Christian messiah. It is the feminine passive participle of yasha, a masculine word that means safety and deliverance. It brings to mind questions about why the saviour in Christianity has a feminine ending name. The short answer is the soul, the ruwach that comes from the Elohiym, is feminine and the life force, the nephesh that comes from Yahweh is masculine. So, in this context, Jacob is giving his thanks to Yahweh for freeing him so he can return to the Elohiym.

Genesis 49:19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

The name Gad means a troop. He will be subjected to the dominance of another troop but will eventually in the end win out. This is very obscure and difficult to make sense of. The last word in the verse, last, is from the Hebrew aqeb. Starting with this clue we can connect Gad back to Dan as Dan was said to biteth the horse heels. Because of this proximity to Dan's story, I think it is fair to say Gad is the rider who is bit by the sting of Dan. I have to believe that the idea of a horse means a journeying soul through the zodiac. Gad is a troop of fools that have embarked on this journey not realizing what is in store for them. They (in this regard I mean the soul) are sent to their material death by the sting of the serpent Dan. In Genesis 3:15 the serpent was said to be cursed to bite the heel of the seed of the woman. The woman who is the goddess Eve, is the one who will produce the souls to be bitten. It is the metaphor of acquiring the knowledge from the serpent and because of it you will die as explained in Genesis 3:3. Gad will be dominated by the beasts of the material world. This verse is giving the positive outcome of the journey in that eventually the soul will overcome its affliction. On trying to place Gad in the zodiac it is tempting to connect him to Sagittarius, the half man and half horse. However there is no mention of archery so I would tend to connect Gad to the idea of the sea goat Capricorn because of his journey into the waters and out of them as Capricorn has its feet in both worlds. Being the last sign, it is fitting the verse describes Gad overcoming his predicament in the end.

Genesis 49:20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

The name Asher means happy and comes from a root word that means to lead and go forth. The idea of Asher is describing the rewards of the journey. Along the way, you will be nourished and if you stay on the journey your reward will be akin to royalty. Royal is from the Hebrew word melek which means a king. Interestingly, it is related to malak which is a ruler - king or queen. This in turn reminds us of the Angel who Jacob had bless Joseph's two sons. The angel is from mal'ak which means angel, king, or messenger. In terms of the zodiac, Asher is the sixth sign of the crab which is symbolizing the journey. In ancient Egypt, this idea was present in the scarab which journeyed eastward towards the rising sun so that its offspring would hatch and fly up out of their material bonds, symbolizing a resurrection.

Genesis 49:21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

Naphtali gets a short description, but it contains much meaning. Naphtali means my wrestling and it is directly referencing Jacob's struggle in Genesis 32. Hind is from the Hebrew ayalah. Ayal is the masculine form and is a ram. The ah ending feminizes the word and from this we can gather that Naphtali is a soul, the female ruwach. Goodly is from the Hebrew shepher which means beauty and words is from emer which means word. The ruwach, represented here as Naphtali, is the shining, beautiful word. It is represented in the zodiac as Aries.

Genesis 49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

Joseph's name means to add which corresponds to being fruitful. He is the son of Israel, the resurrected soul, which is possible for all. He is fruitful even by a well, which is alluding to the material plane. The soul can prosper even in conditions that are not favourable to its growth. Branches run over the wall: branches is from the Hebrew bath which means in this instance daughters. Run is from the Hebrew tsa'ad which means to march and wall from the Hebrew shuwr has the meaning of a wall, but with the sense of scaling the wall as this word also means to travel about as a harlot or a merchant. It is essentially describing the soul, the feminine ruwach, as reaching out towards all.

Genesis 49:23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

Great passage here: archers is from ba'al which in this case has the meaning of adversaries. The first "him" in this verse, using a concordance, comes from marar, the Hebrew word for to be bitter and connects back to the Goddess and myrrh. The symbolism here is the trickling out of myrrh when the tree that produces it is injured by an incision in the bark, in other words a strike. I can't help of thinking of Jesus being struck in the side by a roman soldier's sword while on the cross.

Genesis 49:24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

Joseph is described as an archer with strength, giving a meaning of permanence. The soul is emphasized as permanent as opposed to a life force that needs to be regenerated as part of the cyclical laws of the material plane. The power in his arms and hand to stay strong are said to come from the mighty God of Jacob. God is an interpolation here. The passage should read Joseph gets his strength from Jacob. If you remember Israel means he will rule as God then the passage reads as referring to mighty Jacob. The idea of a demigod archer in the zodiac is obviously Sagittarius.

Genesis 49:25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

This verse's opening seems to be referencing two different Gods. The second one referred to is Yahweh as the provider El Shadday whom Jacob bestowed his blessings on Joseph in Genesis 48:15. Joseph will be blessed with blessings from heaven above, above is from the Hebrew al which means the highest. The Hebrew word for up is alah which refers to a journey towards the heavens. The idea here is that El Shadday is the most high God. In Genesis 28:13 when Jacob had his vision of the ladder it was Yahweh who stood upon the highest point of the ladder. This is denoting a recognition and respect for what Joseph has been through. He will be blessed in the heavens, in the deepest cisterns, he will be provided for, and his offspring will be provided for.

Genesis 49:26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

The blessings of Joseph are great and everlasting. Joseph was special from birth and stood out from his brethren immediately. It is Joseph who is the model all souls should try to become. I can't help feeling it is a goal which seemed to be lost on subsequent generations in that they became followers waiting for a messiah to come to deliver them as opposed to becoming one themselves. Christianity has the literal Jesus to rectify this conundrum and Judaism is still following the path of Judah waiting for Shiloh.

Genesis 49:27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

Benjamin - the name means son of the right hand. Think back to Ephraim and Manasseh where Jacob insists on blessing Ephraim with his right hand in Genesis 48. The right hand denotes the soul. You have to look again at this passage to figure out what is referred to by Benjamin being the son of the right hand. It is telling us the right hand, the soul, has a son. When the soul is re-born and enters into a relationship once again with the Goddess in a sacred marriage the result of this relationship is a son. This son will be the impetus that allows the soul to then travel back to the spiritual realm. In ancient Egypt, this is the son of Horus (the born again soul) and the goddess Hathor.

The son of Hathor and Horus

His name is Ihy and he comes forth at dawn like a jackal of light. Benjamin is described as a wolf. He is Orion's Canus Major, Osiris' Ophois, and Joshua's Caleb. Jacob was despondent without his son Joseph, in essence the aspect of himself who is his soul. When he was threatened with the loss of Benjamin, he was adamant that without Benjamin he would surely die in shoal. Benjamin is the aspect of him who is his ticket out of the material plane. This information is revealing Joseph and Benjamin as being the essence of Jacob. The jackal is a well known psychopomp which mediates between the spiritual and material planes. In this verse, it is esoterically coded in the mention of morning and night. At dawn, he delivers the soul into the heavens; in the evening time he takes the soul into the depths of the material plane. He lives on the balance and divides the planes. His sign is the judgment sign of Libra. It's telling that the wolf survived as a symbol of the judge as I explain in this blog post. In the ancient Egyptian judgment scene, the jackal Anubis delivers the aspirant to the scales of justice. Of note is that the on left hand of Orion sits Taurus the bull. Taurus represents the antagonistic life force that is the essence of Cain, Ishmael, Esau, and Manasseh. The right hand of Jacob/Orion is the son of the right hand - Benjamin.

Genesis 49:29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

Jacob implores his sons to return him to the place out of Egypt where his forefathers were buried. Cave is from the Hebrew m'arah which is a dwelling place with a connection to the womb of the Goddess. It is the place where the soul awaits its re-entry into the spiritual plane. In Jacob's case, using the power of Benjamin to deliver him from the womb.

Genesis 49:31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

Do you find it curious that Jacob did not make the effort to bury his much beloved wife Rachel in this family plot? She was buried in Bethlehem. The reason is because Rachel will stay in the material plane as the womb responsible for birthing the born again soul in this world.

Genesis 49:33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

Jacob relinquishes his worldly life force, which we call giving up the ghost, and passed away.

Recap of Genesis 49

Jacob's sons are detailed in this chapter. We learn of their essence and their future. This is the culmination of the birthright that Esau sold to Jacob. The firstborn had control of the zodiac until the clever Jacob, the Orion of the sky, took it away and created the great nation of Israel. Jacob's daughter, Dinah, is not mentioned in this chapter but she completes the zodiac circle as the Virgin. 

charisma

I generally do not read a great deal of fiction but earlier this year I picked up a copy of Paulo Coelho's book "The Alchemist". I forget the reasons I decided to read this book though it must have involved the plot of the book being connected to the Egyptian great pyramids. I can't recommend this book highly enough. The messages within it are very motivating, strike deep into your psyche, and touch on the journey that we are all on called life. 

I think this ability of the author to connect with our yearning souls is what makes his books popular. This book talks about everyone having a Personal Legend and when you are serious about discovering this legend Coelho tells us "when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it". The protagonist goes off on his journey to find his treasure located on the Giza plateau near the great pyramids in Egypt and eventually learns that the greatest treasure is the journey in search of the treasure. It's an idea that is an enduring nugget of wisdom, even Miley Cyrus has a song called "The Climb" which is speaking of the same thing. The title of the book is a great choice as it alludes not only to the alchemist in the story but points us to another understanding of the ancient practice of alchemy. I think those in the middle ages that pursued it as a way to change base metals into gold missed the point of the exercise. Esoterically the practice of alchemy concerns your soul and how the process of material incarnation is designed to change your soul into something greater. It is the ultimate form of magic. Anyway because of my enjoyment of that book I decided to read another of Coelho's books. After doing a little research on the other books he has written I chose "By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept: A Novel of Forgiveness". 

The descriptions of the book left no doubt that it was a book that was greatly influenced by religion and Coelho's Catholic beliefs. The negative reviews of the book were generally people turned off by the religious aspect of it and how it predominated the story. However I thought to myself it might be refreshing and interesting to read about the author's views on religion and how he incorporates it into this story. I have my own strong beliefs but I am tolerant of other views. I thought I knew enough about the Catholic religion but it turns out I should have long looked into what they believe and what practices they follow. I do realize that what Coelho delves into in this book does go further than mainstream Catholicism would ever care to go though I have been curious for a while concerning its deep Mary reverence and worship. The group that Coelho focuses on are called Charismatics. It is a renewal of faith through the Holy Spirit. This Catholic form of Charismatic renewal features faith healing, glossolalia (speaking in tongues), and prophesy. These attributes figure prominently in the story. It wasn't long into this book that I was struck dumbfounded.

Turns out this book is about Goddess acknowledgement and worship. The male lead in the story has received a gift of healing, a grace from the Lady of Graces and he must reconcile his calling against a woman from his childhood whose love he has never forgotten. I'll stop here as I don't want to give away the story. I was dumbfounded because I have met enough Christians in my life that attribute things that happen to them to God; usually they are all positive. I am sure you know the type and might even be one yourself. Well I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe I was drawn to this book because of the Goddess. Normally I wouldn't read a work of fiction that is a love story intermingled with Christianity. Not really my cup of tea. The reverence shown for the Virgin Mary in Catholicism I started to look into. I had done a little bit of research before and had known about their Mariolatry and Martin Luther's polemics against it. Little did I know the Ave Maria, the Rosary, the Assumption, the Festival of the Madonna, Notre Dame etc. were expressions of this deep devotion to her. From the research I did it seems the history of the Roman Church and its related entities - the Eastern Orthodox and Anglican Church share in this Mary worship with it being very predominant in the Eastern Orthodox beliefs. The Anglican Church, while recognizing the role of Mary, play it down to a degree. The reformers that broke away from the Catholic Church and still splinter today all seem to denounce this form of worship as idolatrous. I guess in a way it is if you have systemically eliminated any role of the divine feminine in what you are preaching. If the female is as divine as the male then it stands that it would not be idolatry at all instead it would be honouring the role of the Goddess in this form of worship. However years and years of persecution of the Goddess by paternalistic misogynists have led Christians to believe there is no room for the feminine in the godhead. 

I investigated further the name used for this form of worship, Charismatic, which is describing a revival of faith guided by the Holy Spirit. This confirmed my suspicions. Charismatic comes from the the idea of charisma. A person with charisma is someone who is very compelling and has a gift of being able to persuade and guide another person or group. A successful politician would have this attribute. This word comes from the Greek kharisma which has a meaning of a favour, a divine gift. This is getting pretty close to the idea of the Holy Spirit granting these graces to those asking for favours. The root of kharisma, which is kharis, means grace, beauty, and kindness. Where this gets really interesting from my standpoint is the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite, the Greek iteration of the ancient Egyptian Goddess Hathor, had three attendants called the Kharites who were the most important of the female attendants of Aphrodite and were known as the three goddesses of the graces, graces meaning gifts.   

Three Kharite attendants of Aphrodite

Here is a floor mosaic of Aphrodite, Adonis, and the Kharites from Imperial Roman times found in ruins beneath the Church of the Virgin Mary in Madaba, Jordan.

According to Nonnus, who wrote the ancient epic poem called the Dionysiaca, these Kharites were said to have their home in Byblos:

"The soil of Byblos where the Kharites(Graces) have their home, where Assyrian Kythereia [Aphrodite] dances."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 3. 110 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.)

This Nonnus hails from Akhmim (the Greek Panopolis) in Upper Egypt around the time of the end of the 4th century AD. About this time there was still a great pagan influence in the area and the city had a reputation for being home to the greatest magicians and alchemists in Egypt so suffice to say Nonnus would have grown up around much knowledge of the gods and goddesses. I highlight his mention of Byblos because of the Lady of Byblos, the Phoenician goddess Ba'alat.

Ba'alat Gebal

Byblos, the modern Jebeil in Lebanon, is the city where the body of Osiris, in the coffin Set had prepared for him and nailed him shut in, floated to after Set and his compatriots dumped it in the Mediterranean, giving us an idea of the relationship between the Egyptians and Phoenicians and their gods and goddesses at the time. Ba'alat is also shown on a cylinder seal in Egyptian style with the trademark Hathor hair-do and in one inscription she is said to be "beloved of Hathor".

Okay so it is fair to say there is a connection with the ancient idea of the Greek kharisma, the Greek goddess Aphrodite, the Phoenician goddess Ba'alat, and the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor. Remember it is said that Hathor had her own retinue of followers called the seven Hathors that were announcers of the fate of a child at the time of his birth and protected the child from evil spirits. 

Seven Hathors with the Bull of the West - the Lord of Eternity

Not to step on anyone's religious toes, but I don't see Christianity in its original form as being much different from what was already well known, believed, and worshipped by Pagans. It was repackaged into a new brand that celebrated the divine son and the Goddess while kicking the father upstairs thus minimizing his psychotic tendencies through the intercession of his son. 

This deep reverence of Catholics that is shown to Mary really got me thinking about the roles of the two main Mary characters in the New Testament. There is the mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and also the female companion of Jesus that he loved more than his disciples - that being Mary Magdalene. The first Mary is representing the pure female who in this state of heavenly purity is tasked with giving birth to the saviour of the world. The second Mary, who Jesus loved so very much, has derogatorily been called a whore and a secret lover of Jesus. Among the disciples of Jesus she is among the most prominently mentioned and in the "Gnostic Gospels" a large cache of which was found at Nag Hammadi, Upper Egypt in 1945, there is much revealed about her importance to Jesus and his story that was left out of the accepted canonized gospels. She was present at the crucifixion and was the first to witness the resurrection of Jesus. Also Jesus had driven seven demons out of Mary Magdalene as told in Luke 8:2 and Mark 16:9. She was known as the "Myrrh Bearer". Magdalene comes from the Hebrew Magdala which is a tower and may refer to the town in which she was born but curiously it is a euphemism in the Talmud for braiding/curling women's hair which in those times designated an adulteress. It is claimed that she is one of the same as Mary of Bethany (the sister of Lazarus and Martha). I'd like to address these attributes that I have detailed above about these two Marys. It is pretty much impossible to prove any of the assertions I'll make so take them or leave them with the understanding they are my beliefs and beliefs that are important to me.

The Virgin is the Goddess that births the latent soul of all men into this world. She is our spiritual mother in the material plane that is to give birth to our soul once awakened. In the Old Testament this idea was in the story of the barren Sarah who eventually conceived a miraculous child, as well as in Rachel who eventually conceived from the seed of Jacob and gave birth to Joseph. Joseph was left for dead in Egypt, Egypt being a metaphor for the material plane in the Old Testament, before experiencing a resurrection of sorts and rising to become ruler of Egypt due to the grace of prophesy he had received. This Virgin Goddess gives birth to the archetypal son of man, Jesus. This story being the story of the soul encapsulated in one man in the New Testament. She is not the mother of all but the womb that carries the potentiality of our greater self that is waiting to be impregnated. In ancient Egypt this was Isis. She gives birth to the re-born enlightened soul Horus. Horus battles with Set, the ancient Egyptian god of chaos and destruction bent on destroying him much like Jesus has his epic battle with Satan. Horus eventually subdues Set and rules over all Egypt. Conversely Mary Magdalene is the representative of the mother of all.

Mary Magdalene

She is the Eve of the Old Testament who is the mother of all life. She is the force present in all women that allow them to create new life and care for them as only a mother with her unselfish love can do. Misogynist men, their religion, and the god they worship deride her as a whore because of her ability to share in and create life which threatens their pursuit of dominance and power. They confuse life and fecundity with whoredom. These types of men are the biggest whores walking the planet and judge others by their own foul ways. In Judaism they recognize the Goddess as a whore who disguises herself as a widow as in the story of Tamar in Genesis 38. Judah had to give her his sons and when he did not commit a third son to her she seduced Judah into sleeping with her and impregnating her. When Judah called her out for her adultery and wanted to burn her she had the goods on him and he had to let her be. To this day Rabbis are forbidden to marry a whore or a widow which seems to them to be one in the same. Their cult of monotheism still fears the Goddess. This cult of monotheism they began carried on into Christianity in order to legitimize Christianity against its Pagan competitors and the Goddess was hushed up and hidden away; however you can still find her. The Pagan converts weren't going to let go of the Goddess. Just like the goddess Hathor in ancient Egypt who is present at all instances of birth and death, Mary Magdalene was present at the crucifixion and subsequent resurrection of Jesus. At Jesus' initial birth in Bethlehem the Goddess was represented by the gifts of myrrh, frankincense, and gold that I detailed in this blog post called Scent of a Woman. The aromas of frankincense and myrrh are burning during services at Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches in honour of Mary "the Myrrh Bearer". One of the most important aspects of goddesses in ancient Egypt was their hair and the role it played in mourning and rejuvenation. The hair of Hathor is iconic in its shape and its braids.

Hathor's hair-do

Therefore it is no surprise that Magdala is known in the Talmud as a hairdresser - a braider and curler of hair that is also an euphemism for an adulteress. It is important though to also look at the meaning of magdala as a tower in Genesis 11:1-9. This is the story of the tower of Babel angering the Lord as he was convinced mankind had acquired so much wisdom that nothing they planned would be impossible to accomplish. The idea of the tower connected to Magdalene is the wisdom of the Goddess. Being jealous of this, the Lord scattered people throughout the world and confused their languages. I believe the underlying idea of this passage is that a city with a tower, a migdol, is a place that worships the Goddess thus incurring the wrath of the Lord. Before tackling the seven demons driven out of Mary Magdalene I'd like to mention Magdalene's association with Mary of Bethany who curiously had a brother Lazarus that Jesus raises from the dead as told in John 11:38-44. It is like the mythographer got lazy and decided to coat the tale of Osiris from ancient Egypt being resurrected from the dead in terms of his proper Egyptian name Asar and add the Greek appendage 'us' onto the end of it. It is really quite remarkable. The two Marys in Egypt, Isis and Nephthys (Nephthys being an aspect of Hathor - see this blog post) are present for this raising of the dead of Lazarus. The seven demons driven out of Mary Magdalene by Jesus corresponds to the seven Hathors that follow the Goddess around. It would be considered an act of divination and that's why the story has Jesus purifying her so she would not face condemnation. This cleansing of Mary by Jesus however was conveniently ignored by the writer of the Book of Revelation in his grand polemic against the Goddess in chapters 17 and 18 when he refers to her as the "Whore of Babylon".

The Whore of Babylon

We can see that the idea of Babylon comes from the tower of Babel and the Lord's hatred of mankind acquiring wisdom from the Goddess. The Whore, which can also be translated as idolatress, is described as riding on a beast with seven heads, an allusion to the demons Jesus had already cast out to purify her. This woman is described as being "arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:" which is an obvious allusion to this Goddess. The purple is referring to tyrian purple, the purple made famous by the Phoenicians. 

This fornicator is said to sit upon many waters, waters being a metaphor for humanity. Water is connected to the Goddess; water is the healing property of the healing grace of the Goddess. We grow in the womb of our mother surrounded by her water. To this day, breakaway Protestant churches and other non-catholic churches hurl accusations against the Catholic Church accusing it of being the "Whore of Babylon". Little do they know that this Lady, Mary Magdalene, is the Church and the Bride of Christ. The Book of Revelation condemns the Goddess, calling her a witch and allows the beast to burn her. A substitute "new Jerusalem" takes her place as the bride of Christ. These rantings in the Book of Revelation aren't about subduing the beast; no instead it is misogyny writ large. Its condemning of the Goddess along with sorcerers and magicians is a slap in the face to the life and times of Jesus as told in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Jesus was born of a Goddess, cavorted with a Goddess, and practiced magic and sorcery. The Book of Revelation repudiates and condemns all this behaviour and the life of Jesus that had been told. This book frankly belongs in the Old Testament where it can feel at home frothing at the mouth over women and the serpent.  

Phew. I guess that had to come out of me at some point especially after my previous blogs have explained my cavorting with the Goddess and sorcerers. Immediately following one ayahuasca ceremony I wrote immediately about what occurred describing it as thus:

At times I experienced some amazing visions with my eyes open. I saw the shaman’s assistant José appear with light enveloping him and he had the appearance of a saint. At points in the ceremony it felt like he was being used as a channel for the goddess. He would be speaking quickly in a hushed religious tone much like a scene from the exorcist. It felt like a presence of the Virgin Mary. I totally see why in people who have these visions nothing can ever shake their faith. They have seen this spirit dimension and it is real.

I'm frankly amazed I got that feeling and wrote about it using those terms when I was watching that healing take place. Another thing I have noted is that this folk healing in the Amazon region has this underlying Catholic feel wrapped up in it. The Church authorities know about it and do not actively encourage traditional shamanism in the region but they also don't go out of their way to discourage it. Furthermore in reading biographies of the shamans of the Amazonian region it is quite startling the amount of them that talk in grand reverence about the Virgin Mary and other Catholic saints that they have mixed into their folk healing practices. 

So to get back to the topic of the book "By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept: A Novel of Forgiveness" and the Charismatics, I'd like to explore the place where a great majority of the book takes place and that is the town of Lourdes in the south western Pyrenees region of France. It is where in 1858 young Bernadette Soubrious witnessed multiple manifestations of the Lady known to her as the Immaculate Conception in a grotto (cave) after crossing a small stream to get to it. To this day the Goddess sighting is known as "Our Lady of Lourdes". The waters of the creek have been purported to heal pilgrims to the area, healing being one of Mary's graces. This isn't a one time happening though as in this case she had multiple visions of Mary and if you research the history of these visions you will find them all over the world. This wikipedia entry gives a good overview of the various reported Marian apparitions. This fascinates me because in doing research about the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor it is surprising to find that she appears as the 'Lady of' many of the places in ancient Egypt as well as faraway foreign towns. She was the patron goddess of the mines in the Sinai giving the impression she appeared in the dug out mountainside. She has a huge connection to the mountain in the Valley of the Kings known as Ta Dehent leading me to believe that this area was chosen to bury the dead royalty due to the presence of the Goddess in the area. Here is a list of Hathor's centres of worship:

Atfih (Aphroditopolis)

Abu Simbel

Abydos

el-Ashmunein (Hermopolis Magna, Khnum)

Beni Hasan

Busiris (Abusir)

Busbastis

Byblos (Gubla, Jebeil)

Deir el-Bahari

Deir el-Medina

Dendera (Iunet, Tentyris)

Edfu (Apollinopolis Magna, Djeba, Mesen)

El-Kab (Nekheb)

Faras

Gebelein (Per-Hathor)

Heliopolis (Iunu)

Hiw (Hut-sekhem, Diospolis Parva)

Ihnasya el-Medina (Herakleopolis Magna)

Imet (Nebesha)

Kom Abu Billo (Terenuthis)

Kom el-Hisn (Imu, Momemphis)

Kom Ombo

Medjden (near Assiut)

Medjed (Deir Durunka)

Memphis (Men-nefer) 

Mirgissa

Lower Nubia (Wawat)

Philae

Punt

Qis (Cusae)

The Red Mountain

Rohesa (near Latopolis)

Sais

Serabit el-Kadim (Sinai)

Sinai

el-Sirria (Axwj)

Ta-Djeser (The Land of God)

Terraneh

Thebes (Waset)

Tihna el-Gebel (Tehne, Akoris)

Timna 

Upper Nubia (at Kalabsha)

Obviously I cannot definitely say whether these places became centres of Hathor worship because of a sighting but it is interesting to ponder. 

In conclusion the point I am making in this blog post concerns the role of the feminine divine in our modern forms of spirituality. For all the talk of family values and values promulgated by the institution of the Church in our society it feels empty and incomplete without any role for the feminine: the wife, the mother, the daughter, to play in the divine sphere. A family consisting of just a father and son do not constitute a role model for human relationships and social units. What is passed down in our western traditions are ideas about women that are thinly veiled misogynistic practices by those who fear the power of the Goddess. Her messages of kindness, love, wisdom, healing, and hope were not welcomed by the power hungry. Women in scripture are depicted as being either pure docile virgins or mischievous plotting whores who practice sorcery. Some societies veil them and treat them like second class citizens. Spiritual communities such as medieval Catholics yearned for connection with the Goddess and the laity resorted to worship of Mary that to pious observers was full on idolatry. In response, the connection to the feminine divine by breakaway Church reformers was pretty much severed. At various times in the history of mankind and his beliefs there have been reformations and renewals of beliefs. As it stands now the role of the divine in our lives is nearly empty and for future generations it will be lost. It is time to look at the damage done by the spiritual persecution of women, make amends, and restore in our beliefs the completeness of family we yearn for.