The plural term Elohim

[Guest Matooka]

Here is some more info

 

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/images.jsp?artid=576&letter=H&imgid=979

 

By : Emil G. Hirsch Immanuel Benzinger

 

Caption: Coin of Herod the Great, Showing Helmet with Cheek-Pieces.

Source: (After Madden.)

 

Read more: http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/images.jsp?artid=576&letter=H&imgid=979#ixzz1b4usWhob

[Luke_Wilbur]

Silver dirham (Arab currency) of Saladin with 6 pointed star.

 

Born in Tikrit, Iraq, Saladin, as he is known in the West,was a Kurd; his Arabic name is Salah ad-Din Yusuf. At the age of14 he joined other members of his family (the Ayyubids) in the serviceof the Syrian ruler Nur ad-Din (1118–74).

 

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/cm/s/silver_dirham_of_saladin.aspx

[Guest Soldier of God]

This belongs here as well. Happy Sunday.

 

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p122a3p3.htm

 

Second Edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church - The Mysteries of Christ's Life

 

439 Many Jews and even certain Gentiles who shared their hope recognized in Jesus the fundamental attributes of the messianic "Son of David", promised by God to Israel.38 Jesus accepted his rightful title of Messiah, though with some reserve because it was understood by some of his contemporaries in too human a sense, as essentially political.39

 

528 The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Savior of the world. The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee.212 In the magi, representatives of the neighboring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation. The magi's coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations.213 Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Savior of the world only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament.214 The Epiphany shows that "the full number of the nations" now takes its "place in the family of the patriarchs", and acquires Israelitica dignitas215 (is made "worthy of the heritage of Israel").

 

529 The presentation of Jesus in the temple shows him to be the firstborn Son who belongs to the Lord.216 With Simeon and Anna, all Israel awaits its encounter with the Savior-the name given to this event in the Byzantine tradition. Jesus is recognized as the long-expected Messiah, the "light to the nations" and the "glory of Israel", but also "a sign that is spoken against". The sword of sorrow predicted for Mary announces Christ's perfect and unique oblation on the cross that will impart the salvation God had "prepared in the presence of all peoples".

 

547 Jesus accompanies his words with many "mighty works and wonders and signs", which manifest that the kingdom is present in him and attest that he was the promised Messiah.268

 

Matthew, 1:1 - 2:5

http://codexsinaiticus.org/en/manuscript.aspx?book=33&chapter=2&lid=en&side=r&verse=2&zoomSlider=0

 

1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

 

2 Abraham begot Isaac: Isaac begot Jacob: Jacob begot Judah and his brothers:

 

3 Judah begot Pharez and Zerah of Tamar: Pharez begot Hezron: Hezron begot Ram:

 

4 Ram begot Amminadab: Amminadab begot Nashon: Nashon begot Salmon:

 

5 Salmon begot Boaz of Rahab: Boaz begot Obed of Ruth: Obed begot Jesse:

 

6 Jesse begot David the king. David begot Solomon of the wife of Uriah:

 

7 Solomon begot Rehoboam: Rehoboam begot Abijah: Abijah begot Asa:

 

8 Asa begot Jehosaphat: Jehosaphat begot Jehoram: Jehoram begot Uzziah:

 

9 Uzziah begot Jotham: Jotham begot Ahaz: Ahaz begot Hezekiah:

 

10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh: Manasseh begot Amon: Amon begot Josiah:

 

11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time of the removal to Babylon.

 

12 But after the removal to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel: Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel:

 

13 Zerubbabel begot Abihud: Abihud begot Eliakim: Eliakim begot Azor:

 

14 Azor begot Zadoc: Zadoc begot Achim: Achim begot Eliud:

 

15 Eliud begot Eleazar: Eleazar begot Matthan: Matthan begot Jacob:

 

16 Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

 

17 So all the generations from Abraham till David, are fourteen generations; and from David till the removal to Babylon, are fourteen generations; and from the removal to Babylon till Christ, are fourteen generations.

 

18 But the birth of Jesus Christ was thus: After his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

 

19 And Joseph her husband, being just and not willing to make her an example, intended to put her away privately.

 

20 But while he thought of these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take to thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

 

21 And she shall bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins.

 

22 And all this was done, that it might be fulfilled that was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:

 

23 Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which is, when translated, God with us.

 

24 And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took to him his wife; and knew her not till she had brought forth a son; and he called his name Jesus.

 

2:1 But after Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem,

 

2 saying: Where is he that has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising, and have come to worship him.

 

3 And hearing it, king Herod was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him.

 

4 And he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, and inquired of them where the Christ should be born.

 

5 And they said to him: In Bethlehem of Judea; for thus it is written by the prophet:

 

Numbers 24:17-19;

 

15 And he took up his parable and said,

 

Balaam the son of Beor says, the man who sees truly says, 16 hearing the oracles of God, receiving knowledge from the Most High, and having seen a vision of God in sleep; his eyes were opened. 17 I will point to him, but not now; I bless him, but he draws not near: a star shall rise out of Jacob, a man shall spring out of Israel; and shall crush the princes of Moab, and shall spoil all the sons of Seth. 18 And Edom shall be an inheritance, and Esau his enemy shall be an inheritance of Israel, and Israel wrought valiantly. 19 And one shall arise out of Jacob, and destroy out of the city him that escapes. 20 And having seen Amalec, he took up his parable and said, Amalec is the first of the nations; yet his seed shall perish. 21 And having seen the Kenite, he took up his parable and said, thy dwelling-place is strong; yet though thou shouldest put thy nest in a rock, 22 and though Beor should have a skillfully contrived hiding-place, the Assyrians shall carry thee away captive. 23 And he looked upon Og, and took up his parable and said, Oh, oh, who shall live, when God shall do these things? 24 And one shall come forth from the hands of the Citians, and shall afflict Assur, and shall afflict the Hebrews, and they shall perish together. 25 And Balaam rose up and departed and returned to his place, and Balac went to his own home.

 

Revelation, 22:16

http://codexsinaiticus.org/en/manuscript.aspx?book=59&chapter=22&lid=en&side=r&verse=10&zoomSlider=0

 

16 I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things to you for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.

[Guest Soldier of God]

Silver dirham (Arab currency) of Saladin with 6 pointed star.

 

Born in Tikrit, Iraq, Saladin, as he is known in the West,was a Kurd; his Arabic name is Salah ad-Din Yusuf. At the age of 14 he joined other members of his family (the Ayyubids) in the serviceof the Syrian ruler Nur ad-Din (1118–74).

 

http://www.britishmu...of_saladin.aspx

 

 

 

EQUESTRIAN ORDER OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE OF JERUSALEM

 

A Brief History

 

The origins of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem date back to the First Crusade, when its leader, Godfrey de Bouillon, liberated Jerusalem. As part of his operations to organise the religious, military and public bodies of the territories newly freed from Muslim control, he founded the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre. According to accounts of the Crusades, in 1103 the first King of Jerusalem, Baldwin I, assumed the leadership of this canonical order, and reserved the right for himself and his successors (as agents of the Patriarch of Jerusalem) to appoint Knights to it, should the Patriarch be absent or unable to do so.

 

The Order's members included not only the Regular Canons (Fratres) but also the Secular Canons (Confratres) and the Sergentes. The latter were armed knights chosen from the crusader troops for their qualities of valour and dedication; they vowed to obey Augustinian Rule of poverty and obedience and undertook specifically, under the command of the King of Jerusalem, to defend the Holy Sepulchre and the Holy Places.

 

Very soon after the First Crusade the troops – including the Knights of the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre – began to return to their homelands. This led to the creation of priories all over Europe, which were part of the Order as they came under the jurisdiction of the noble knights or prelates who had been invested on the Holy Sepulchre itself and who, although they were no longer in the direct service of the King of Jerusalem, continued to belong to the Order of Canons.

 

The Order first began to fail as a cohesive military body of knights after Saladin regained Jerusalem in 1182, and completely ceased to exist in that format after the defeat of Acre in 1291. The passing of the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem left the Order without a leader, though it continued to survive in the European priories thanks to the protection of sovereigns, princes, bishops and the Holy See. The priories kept alive the ideals of the Crusader Knights: propagation of the Faith, defence of the weak, charity towards other human beings. With the exception of events in Spain, it was only rarely that the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre ever took part again in military action to defend Christianity.

 

In the 14th century, the Holy See made an extremely high payment to the Egyptian Sultan so that he would grant the right to protect the Christian Sanctuaries to the Franciscan Friars Minor. Throughout the whole period of the Latin Patriarchate's suppression, the right to create new Knights was the prerogative of the representative of the highest Catholic authority in the Holy Land: the Custos.

 

In 1847 the Patriarchate was restored and Pope Pius IX modernised the Order, issuing a new Constitution which placed it under the direct protection of the Holy See and conferred its government to the Latin Patriarch. The Order's fundamental role was also defined: to uphold the works of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, whilst preserving the spiritual duty of propagating the Faith.

 

In 1949, Pius XII decreed that the Grand Master of the Order should be a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and assigned the position of Grand Prior to the Patriarch of Jerusalem. In 1962 Pope John XXIII and, in 1967, Pope Paul VI reorganised and revitalised the Order by adding more specific regulations to the Constitution with the intention of making the Order's activities more co-ordinated and more effective.

 

In February 1996, the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II enhanced the Order's status. Today it is a Public Association of faithful with a legal canonical and public personality, constituted by the Holy See under Canon Law 312, paragraph 1:1.

 

Over and above its historic connotations and its eventful progress in times gone by, the valuable and interesting aspects of the Order today lie in the role assigned to it, which it pursues within the sphere of the Catholic Church and through its administrative structure and its local organisations in various communities.

 

The Order today

 

a) Purposes

 

The Order's aims are:

 

· To strengthen in its members the practice of Christian life, in absolute fidelity to the Supreme Pontiff and according to the teachings of the Church, observing as its foundation the principles of charity which make the Order a fundamental means of assistance to the Holy Land;

 

· To sustain and aid the charitable, cultural and social works and institutions of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, particularly those of and in the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, with which the Order maintains traditional ties;

 

· To support the preservation and propagation of the Faith in those lands, and promote interest in this work not only among Catholics scattered throughout the world, who are united in charity by the symbol of the Order, but also among all other Christians;

 

· To uphold the rights of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land.

 

The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is the only lay institution of the Vatican State charged with the task of providing for the needs of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and of all the activities and initiatives to support the Christian presence in the Holy Land. The contributions made by its members are therefore the Patriarchal institutions' main source of funding.

 

Structure of the Order

 

The Order has a definite hierarchy. At the top is the Cardinal Grand Master who is appointed directly by the Holy Father, to lead and govern the Order. The Grand Master is assisted by a consultative body, the Grand Magisterium, whose task is to identify and agree with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem the programmes and action to be undertaken each year to provide for the Christian institutions and communities in the Holy Land, including the operating methods and timescales.

 

The Presidency of the Grand Magisterium consists of the Governor General, the Vice-Governors General and the Chancellor of the Order: this is the Order's executive "board".

 

The hierarchy then divides into two distinct parts: ecclesiastic and lay. The first, headed by the Chancellor and the Ceremonial Officer, is responsible for the Order's spiritual development; the second, headed by the Governor General, is responsible for managing the Order.

 

The task of the ecclesiastical hierarchy is to define programmes and events to be put in place to develop Members' spirituality. The task of the lay hierarchy is to carry out the Order's social and charitable activities on behalf of the Holy Land.

 

The Order is subdivided into Lieutenancies, which in turn are divided into Sections. If appropriate, the Sections may be further divided into Delegations.

 

The Lieutenant, Section Heads (Presidi in Italy and Sicily) and Delegates (responsible for the Delegations) are accompanied by a parallel ecclesiastical organisation consisting of Section and Delegation Priors.

 

All these roles are functional, involving administrative responsibilities; they are not honorary titles. The term of office is four years, which may be renewed, subject always to the holder carrying out his/her tasks correctly and effectively.

 

Suitable candidates for each post are suggested by the immediate superior and submitted to those in higher positions and the Grand Magisterium for final approval.

 

The Order currently has 52 Lieutenancies: 24 in Europe, 15 in North America and Canada, 5 in Latin America and 6 in Australia and the Far East.

 

At present, the number of active Members is around 23,000. These are the Members who actually practise the life dedicated to service and charity which they promised to uphold when they were admitted to the Order.

 

c) Activities

 

As already indicated, the Order is represented in almost every country in the world where there is a large Catholic community and appropriate conditions for activities that will allow it to achieve its objectives.

 

Together, and individually, each Lieutenancy, Section and Delegation draws up a yearly programme of meetings and events aimed at strengthening the spiritual growth of the Members as well as events to raise awareness of the Order's role and activities in their respective local communities.

 

The donations raised for the Holy Land are administered by the Lieutenancies in accordance with the administrative and fiscal legislation of their country of operation and each Lieutenancy maintains relevant accounts which are reported to the Grand Magisterium. These accounts include the amount of donations, the beneficiaries and the purpose for which they are allocated.

 

The work the Latin Patriarchate and the other Catholic institutions carry out in favour of the Christians in the Holy Land thanks to the Order's support can be summarised as follows:

 

The especially difficult times following the second Intifada, (which put a stop to work and economic activity in a very large part of the Holy Land), caused many Christians to lose their jobs and prompted the Latin Patriarchate, the Apostolic Nunciature and the other Catholic institutions to engage in the distribution of social and humanitarian aid in an operation to provide the families most in need with direct financial support. However, charity in the form of direct subsidies – which some may view as "handouts" – is not part of the Order's normal operating methods. Handouts humiliate the people obliged to accept them and have an adverse effect by encouraging the beneficiaries to live on charity.

 

The Order's policy has been, and still is, to help the Christians in the Holy Land achieve educational and professional standards that will enable them to play an active part in the society of their own country, at a level that will give them equality with people of other faiths.

 

In the latter half of the 20th century, middle-class Christian families leaving the Holy Land to seek a secure future abroad became a real exodus. Today, the number of Christians in different areas of the Holy Land varies from 2% to 4% of the local population and these are very largely craft workers, small tradesmen and those working in the tourist industry that has developed alongside pilgrimages. Such very small minorities can only survive if their skills are high enough to earn them the appreciation and esteem of the society in which they live; and this can only be achieved thanks to better standards of education and training.

 

Since the end of the 19th century, the Order has financed the construction of 40 patriarchal schools in Israel, Palestine and Jordan and it now has a commitment to fund their running costs. Today around 19,000 pupils and students attend these schools, from nursery classes through elementary, middle and upper school, as well as in a number of technical schools. On average, the student breakdown is 60% Christian (Catholics, Orthodox, etc.) and 40% Muslim.

 

The Order's involvement with education helps to deal with a very important problem in the region: how to get people of different races and religions used to living in peace and mutual respect. If these values are encouraged from an early age they may be implanted in children's minds, otherwise there is no hope of doing it at a later stage, for in adolescence young people are easy prey to extremist ideologies.

 

The running costs of the Patriarchate and its 68 parishes, the salaries of the 900 or so teachers and other staff in the educational establishments, the costs of the patriarchal seminary and the orphanages and clinics, as well as those of the Patriarchate's new enterprises and other ongoing projects (including the construction of housing for young Christian families) are enormous and rise continually, putting a heavy burden on our Order. Such costs can only be sustained thanks to the generosity of the active Members of the Order.

 

d) What it means to be a Member of the Order

 

Joining the Order means taking on a commitment for life. The commitment to be a Witness to the Faith, to lead an exemplary Christian life of continuing charity in support of the Christian communities in the Holy Land, to practise the true charitable commitment of a Christian.

 

The purpose of joining the Order is to serve the Catholic Church and to carry out acts of charity to make the operations to maintain the Christian presence in the Holy Land possible. The purpose of joining the Order is not to become a member of a prestigious organisation in order to boast of one's status or acquire personal benefits and advantages.

 

Usually, though not always, a candidate is put forward by an existing Member of the Order. The Delegate and Section Head with jurisdiction over the area in question will assess the candidate at an initial interview. If his/her attributes are generally considered to meet requirements the candidate can begin a period of training of no less than 12 months. If the candidate completes this period successfully, he/she may apply for admission to the Order through the local Lieutenancy.

 

 

 

Gran Magistero dell'O.E.S.S.G.

00120 - Città del Vaticano

Tel. 39 - 06 - 6828121

Fax 39 - 06 - 68802298

[Luke_Wilbur]

I am going to contact this Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Maybe they can shed light on the Star of David's actual origins.

 

LIEUTENANCY

LIEUTENANT: 24-10-2002

H.E. Ronald G. PRECUP, KC*HS

4123 North Richmond Street

ARLINGTON – VA , 22207-4814

USA

 

GRAND PRIOR

H.E. the Most Reverend Edwin Frederick O'BRIEN

Archbishop of Baltimore

408 N. Charles St.

BALTIMORE, MD - 21201

USA

 

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/oessh/index_en.htm

Edited October 30, 2011 by Luke_Wilbur

[Luke_Wilbur]

Victorian Vignettes has an illustration of the coin of Herod.

 

 

Here is the coin of Herod the Great 37 – 4 BC with the six pointed star.

 

Edited October 31, 2011 by Luke_Wilbur

[Guest TheSignsoftheTime]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPFn76lQa0Y

Star of David? Star of Moloch?

Acts 7:42-43

"Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?

Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the STAR of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon."

Amos 5:26-27

"But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the STAR of your god, which ye made to yourselves...

Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts."

[JT Allen]

God gave us the ability to have free will.

The words that you read, the symbols the see and the markings that represent one or another have been translated by man.

We have had the ability to re-interpret..

We have had the ability to make mistakes.

We have had the ability to lie.

Maybe people do not need a symbol. That is all we see..

Maybe people need a hard lesson taught.. GLOBALLY.

What is a symbol mean any way.

Cross for Christianity

Start of David for Judaism

Swastika for Nazi's

Pink ribbons for Breast Cancer

Red ribbons for Aids.

Great.. They are all symbols..

If it makes you a better person.. a healthier person.. Great!

Love life.. Love god.. Love Love Love.. Just don't shove it down my throat.

 

There are probably millions of symbols from days past and will be in the future. One thing I do not understand is "just don't shove it down my throat." Who is shoving what down whose throat?? Just curious.

[Guest Thomas A]

Through copious amounts of research, I will attempt to trace a broad history of the hexagram. To be sure, there is enough information afforded from myriad sources that a Ph.D. Dissertation could be written on its origins all the way through to its many modern day usages, most notably as its use in the national flag of Israel.

It is highly possible that as a simple geometric shape, like for example the triangle, circle, or square, the hexagram has been created by various different peoples with no connection to one another whatsoever.

The hexagram is a mandala symbol called satkona yantra or sadkona yantra found on ancient South Indian Hindu temples. It symbolizes the nara-narayana, or perfect meditative state of balance achieved between Man and God, and if maintained, results in "moksha," or "nirvana" (release from the bounds of the earthly world and its material trappings) and most modern historians have concluded that the hexagram was passed from the Arabian mystics to Spanish Kabbalists to serve as protection from demons.

The earliest evidence of this symbol was found among coins from the excavation of the city of Ujjain in India. The coins have been dated to be 2000 - 3000 years old. The hexagram was a “symbol of the Sacred Marriage.”

Apparently the source of the Star of David is in India and the Himalayas. The six-pointed star (hexagram) which is known also as "a seal of Solomon" or "a star of David,” was widely used in Middle Ages in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Now it is a symbol Judaism though in this religion this symbol was used only since XII century. Its presence on the Samanid coin is the earliest case of use of this symbol in these three religions.

The history of the contemporary Star of David begins in Prague. During the last part of the Thirty Years War, the Swedish army besieged Prague. The town was mostly defended by the citizens' militia, including a Jewish unit. When the Swedes did not succeed in taking the city, German Emperor Ferdinand III wished to assign honor flags and other decorations to all the various units of the citizens' militia. This included the Jews.

The Emperor couldn't decide on what symbol to put on the flag, which was to be assigned to the Jews. Even the emperor's 'court Jews,’ the Openhaimer Family were perplexed on what to do. After some discourse it was decided that the two intersecting triangles, once believed to have been used by King David and also by King Solomon, was adopted.

The Jewish community liked this symbol and it spread to those towns that had ties with Prague, and began to be used in synagogues and during festive occasions. The new symbol became so popular that rumors circulated that it had magical powers. Stories of the power of the Star of David spread as far as Yemen where it was even said that the ancestor of the Rothschild family had succeeded in exorcizing the devil from the emperor's daughter by the power of the Star of David.

However, the origin of hexagram that was connected with Buddhism and India where this symbol for the first time has been fixed in the temples functioned long before new era. In Tantrist schools of the Buddhism and Hnduism, the hexagram is a symbol of the classical mandala personifying the god Naru-Narajana. Corners of the top and bottom triangles making hexagram, personify six faces of the god Shiva and the god Shakti. It is possible to assume that this symbol was borrowed in religions of the Near East from the Buddhism where it had deeper roots. In the modern Buddhism hexagram it is considered as the scheme of achievement of the highest step of Chakra in which a man becomes a part of the Universe. In six ends of this scheme are represented the symbols of all world religions - a swastika, a hexagram, a cross, a half moon, nine-pointed star etc. In the center of this scheme is located a flower of lotus in the form of a swastika, personifying the highest seventh step of Chakra.

 

There is a Silver dirham (Arab currency) coin of Saladin with a 6 pointed star.

Born in Tikrit, Iraq, Saladin, as he is known in the West, was a Kurd; his Arabic name is Salah ad-Din Yusuf. At the age of 14 he joined other members of his family (the Ayyubids) in the serviceof the Syrian ruler Nur ad-Din (1118–74).

The Shield of David (Magen David), the Star of David, and Solomon's Seal, the hexagram is absent from Egyptian temple decoration, but prominently featured in the Indian and Far Eastern symbolism of the geometric diagrams known as yantras and mandalas.

 

The six-pointed star (hexagram) which is known also as "a seal of Solomon" or "a star of David", was widely used in Middle Ages in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Now it is a symbol of Judaism though in this religion this symbol was used only since XII century. Its presence on the Samanid coin is the earliest case of use of this symbol in these three religions. It is possible to assume that its occurrence has been connected with strengthening of the Judaic community existed in X century in Balkh and its areap naturally from these two lines.

 

 

Six pointed stars have also been found in cosmological diagrams in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The reasons behind this symbol's common appearance in Indic religions and the West are lost in the mists of antiquity.

 

The Star of David is also used less prominently by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, chiefly in architecture. It symbolizes the Tribes of Israel and friendship and their affinity towards the Jewish people.

Rastifari - A black star of David is used to identify the black population, in Africa or otherwise, with one of the Tribes of Israel.

 

Freemasonry: The hexagram, one of the world's most ancient symbols, is featured within and on the outside of many Masonic temples as a decoration. It may have been found within the structures of King

Solomon's temple, from which Freemasons are inspired in their philosophies and studies. Like many other symbols in Freemasonry, the deciphering of the hexagram is non-dogmatic and left to the interpretation of the individual.

 

The main runways and taxiways of London’s Heathrow airport were arranged roughly in the shape of a hexagram.

[Guest TheSignsoftheTime]

The Star of David is recognised as the symbol of the Jews after it was adopted by the Zionists at the First Zionist Conference in 1897, and placed on the Zionist flag. But it is the Seal of the Theosophical Society.

 

 

http://www.theosophical.org/

 

The area inside the serpent’s circle represents the whole universe and everything in it. In colored versions of the seal, it is usually blue, passing from a light sky or baby blue at the top to a dark, almost navy blue at the bottom. That blue represents the cosmic sky, not just the physical sky we see, but the whole range of material substance in the universe, from rarefied, subtle matter at the “top” of the universe to gross, dense matter at the “bottom.” This colored background is not really a part of the seal, but it lends its own meaning to the whole symbol, as do the various other colors used in some versions of the seal.

 

Upon that background of the universe are two interlaced triangles, another worldwide symbol. The hexagram or six-pointed star that they form is universal and has many meanings. It is found in Judaism as the Seal of Solomon or the Shield of David (magen david), but the symbol is also found in India, among the Gnostics and alchemists, and elsewhere around the world.

 

The upward-pointing triangle, which is light in color, symbolizes spirit or consciousness. The downward-pointing triangle, which is dark in color, symbolizes matter or substance. The fact that the two triangles are interlaced is a statement of the interdependence of spirit and matter. It is a basic Theosophical concept that every particle of matter has consciousness in it and that every spark of consciousness functions through a material form. Matter and spirit are mutually dependent. Neither can exist without the other.

 

The idea that matter and spirit are the two sides of one coin is reflected also in traditional Christian theology. It holds that at the end of time there will be a “general resurrection,” when all dead bodies will be brought to life and united with the souls from which they were separated at the moment of death. So in eternity, Christian theology says, our souls and bodies will again be conjoined, just as they now are. The inner meaning of the Christian doctrine of the last, general resurrection is the same as the Theosophical teaching of the mutual coexistence of matter and spirit. Reality is a whole, a unity expressing itself as both spirit and matter while remaining essentially One. That fact is expressed by the interlaced triangles, which, although two, form an interrelated whole just as spirit and matter or consciousness and substance do.

 

It is significant that triangles rather than some other geometrical shape are used to symbolize spirit and matter. Spirit and matter are both threefold in their natures. Spirit or consciousness has three aspects: the reality of being, awareness of others, and joyful activity. In Hinduism those are called sat (being), chit (awareness), and ananda (bliss), three terms often run together as sat-chit-ananda to symbolize the unity of these three aspects. In Platonic philosophy they are called the Good, the Beautiful, and the True. In Freemasonry they are called Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty. In Christianity they correspond to the three divine Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and to the three supernatural virtues: faith, hope, and love.

 

Matter likewise has three aspects: stability, activity, and regularity. In Hinduism they are spoken of as three “strands” (gunas) out of which matter is woven: tamas or inertia, rajas or activity, and sattva or harmony. They correspond to the three alchemical elements of salt, mercury, and sulfur, and are represented by the three colors black, red, and white (or dark, bright, and light), which are the basic colors found all over the world.

 

So it is not accidental that triangles are used to represent both spirit and matter. The three sides and three points of the two triangles total twelve, the number of the signs of the Zodiac, the Tribes of Israel, the apostles of Christ, the labors of Hercules, and a lot of other mythological and symbolic dozens. They all refer to the experiences we go through in this world.

 

http://www.theosophical.org/about-us/the-society/the-seal-and-motto

[Guest Thomas A]

What can be deduced from Theosophy’s symbol and its use of the hexagram in other religions and cultures:

 

The hexagram (or as it’s more commonly known in modern times “The Star of David”) carries so many different meanings in so many different cultures over thousands of years they are difficult to keep track of.

 

Consider: In Theosophy’s symbol the “two interlaced triangles” (hexagram) are … “another worldwide symbol.” Interesting to me as I have always been under the assumption the hexagram was just a symbol for Judaism. The article also states “The hexagram or six-pointed star that they form is universal and has many meanings … it is found in Judaism as the Seal of Solomon and the Shield of David … but the symbol is also found in India, among the Gnostics and alchemists, and elsewhere around the world.”

 

Here is the expression of the hexagram as it relates to Christianity: the inner meaning of the last, general resurrection is the same as … reality being a whole, a unity expressing itself as both spirit and matter while remaining essentially One … that fact [is expressed] by the interlaced triangles, which, although two, form an interrelated whole just as spirit and matter or consciousness and substance do.”

 

In Hinduism it is significant that triangles are used rather than some other geometrical shape as the spirit or consciousness has three aspects: the reality of being, awareness of others and joyful awareness.

 

 

In Platonic philosophy the three points are called the Good, the Beautiful, and the true.

 

In Freemasonry they are called Wisdom, Strength and Beauty.

 

In Christianity the three points represent the three divine Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost and to the three supernatural virtues: faith, hope, and love.

 

Also in Hinduism, matter also has three aspects: stability, activity and regularity – they are spoken of as three “strands” (inertia, activity and harmony) out of which matter is woven. These correspond to the three alchemical elements of salt, mercury, and sulfur.

 

The short article concludes with the quote: “So it is not accidental that triangles are used to represent both spirit and matter. The three sides and three points of the two triangles total twelve, the number of the signs of the Zodiac, the Tribes of Israel, the apostles of Christ, the labors of Hercules, and a lot of other mythological and symbolic dozens. They all refer to the experiences we go through in this world.”

 

To think all this time (granted I am no theologian)I thought it was just the Star of David so popular in Jewish tradition and culture.

Now I feel ... "enlightened."

 

/TA

[Guest Thomas]

The Star of David is recognised as the symbol of the Jews after it was adopted by the Zionists at the First Zionist Conference in 1897, and placed on the Zionist flag. But it is the Seal of the Theosophical Society.

 

 

http://www.theosophical.org/

 

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and American Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, along with attorney William Quan Judge

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szt_x1IS-WA

[Guest hEyOka]

The ancient Greeks used the triangle or pyramid to symbolize the letter Delta, one of the most important letters in the Greek alphabet. By interlocking two triangles, or Deltas, this took on a symbolic meaning of the joining of Heaven and Earth, as well as the union of man and woman.

[Luke_Wilbur]

It appears that people of Jewish Faith do not believe in it...

 

It is noteworthy, moreover, that the shield of David is not mentioned in rabbinical literature. The "Magen Dawid," therefore, probably did not originate within Rabbinism, the official and dominant Judaism for more than 2,000 years.

 

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10257-magen-dawid

[Guest Deuteronomy 6.5]

Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord. 5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and all thy strength. 6 And these words, all that I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart and in thy soul. 7 And thou shalt teach them to thy children, and thou shalt speak of them sitting in the house, and walking by the way, and lying down, and rising up. 8 And thou shalt fasten them for a sign upon thy hand, and it shall be immoveable before thine eyes. 9 And ye shall write them on the lintels of your houses and of your gates.

 

http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/septuagint/chapter.asp?book=5&page=6

[Guest Truthseeker]

It appears that people of Jewish Faith do not believe in it...

 

 

The Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram is one of several rituals within "Liber O" written by Aleister Crowley after the techniques of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

 

The Ritual

 

From "Liber O" in Magick, Book 4:

 

This ritual is to be performed after the "Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram".

 

(i) Stand upright, feet together, left arm at side, right across body, holding the wand or other weapon upright in the median line. Then face East and say:

 

(ii) I.N.R.I.

Yod. Nun. Resh. Yod.

Virgo, Isis, Mighty Mother.

Scorpio, Apophis, Destroyer.

Sol, Osiris, Slain and Risen.

Isis, Apophis, Osiris, IAO.

 

( iii ) Extend the arms in the form of a cross, and say: "The Sign of Osiris Slain."

 

( iv ) Raise the right arm to point upwards, keeping the elbow square, and lower the left arm to point downwards, keeping the elbow square, while turning the head over the left shoulder looking down so that the eyes follow the left forearm, and say, "The Sign of the Mourning of Isis."

 

( v ) Raise the arms at an angle of sixty degrees to each other above the head, which is thrown back, and say, "The Sign of Apophis and Typhon."

 

( vi ) Cross the arms on the breast, and bow the head and say, "The Sign of Osiris Risen."

 

( vii ) Extend the arms again as in (iii) and cross them again as in (vi) saying: "L.V.X., Lux, the Light of the Cross".

 

( viii ) With the magical weapon trace the Hexagram of Fire in the East, saying, "ARARITA".

 

This Word consists of the initials of a sentence which means "One is His Beginning: One is His Individuality: His Permutation is One."

 

This hexagram consists of two equilateral triangles, both apices pointed upwards. Begin at the top of the upper triangle and trace it in a dextro-rotary direction. The top of the lower triangle should coincide with the central point of the upper triangle.

 

( ix ) Trace the Hexagram of Earth in the South, saying "ARARITA".

 

This Hexagram has the apex of the lower triangle pointing downwards, and it should be capable of inscription in a circle.

 

( x ) Trace the Hexagram of Air in the West, saying "ARARITA".

 

This Hexagram is like that of Earth; but the bases of the triangles coincide, forming a diamond.

 

( xi ) Trace the hexagram of Water in the North, saying "ARARITA".

 

This hexagram has the lower triangle placed above the upper, so that their apices coincide.

 

( xii ) Repeat ( i-vii )

 

Visualizing the Hexagrams

 

Liber O provides no specifics on the colors of the hexagrams drawn in this ritual.

 

One possibility is to use a set of four colors attributed to the elements (such as red, green, yellow, and blue), assigning each to the appropriate hexagram.

 

Another option is to consistently employ the color scheme called the "Hexagram of Nature," in which the ascending triangle is red, and the descending triangle is blue.

 

Yet another approach would be to use the Hexagram of Magick, specified as the "Holy Hexagram" in chapter 69 of The Book of Lies and Crowley's comment to it. In that hexagram, the upward-pointing triangle is blue, representing the purity of aspiration in the magician. The downward-pointing triangle is red, to symbolize the inspiration from the Genius or Holy Guardian Angel.

 

References

 

Crowley, Aleister. (1997). Magick: Book 4. "Liber O." 2nd ed. York Beach, Me. : S. Weiser.

 

Crowley, Aleister. (1978). The Book of Lies. New York: S. Weiser.

[Guest Truthseeker]

The Greater Ritual of the Hexagram is one of several rituals within "Liber O" written by Aleister Crowley after the techniques of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It is used to invoke or banish the energies of either the Planets or the Signs of the Zodiac.

 

Crowley writes:

 

The hexagram of Earth alone is used. ... Trace the astrological sigil of the Planet in the centre of your Hexagram. For the Zodiac, use the Hexagram of the Planet which rules the Sign you require; but draw the astrological sigil of the Sign, instead of that of the Planet. In all cases use a conjuration first with Ararita, and next with the name of the God corresponding to the planet or sign you are dealing with.

 

Unlike the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram, the Greater Ritual does not come with a step-by-step instruction in Liber O.

 

According to some magicians, the procedure of the ritual is exactly the same as the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram except for the figures that are "drawn" and the addition of a godname. These practitioners interpret the "conjurations" specified by Crowley as simple vibrations of "Ararita" and the name of the God corresponding to the planet or sign.

 

A different and more sophisticated reading dictates that the magician not work in the four quarters, but rather towards the actual position of the planet (or zodiacal sign) in the heavens. (Failing that, work towards the direction of the element associated with the sign or planet.) The "conjurations" in this case are more elaborate invocations, whether extemporized, of original composition, quoting from the Holy Books of Thelema, or otherwise elaborated. In this method of working, the ritual must be carefully tailored to the specific occasion and purpose, although individual magicians may develop a repertoire of planetary conjurations to use within the "Greater Hexagram" mode of operation.

 

For example, to invoke Jupiter, the Magician would face the direction of Jupiter at the place and hour appointed, and sound a battery of four knocks (four being the number of Jupiter). Then he would recite an ARARITA invocation (derived in this case from "Liber DCCCXIII"):

 

O my God! One is Thy Beginning! One is Thy Spirit, and Thy Permutation One! Thou has appeared unto me as a jocund and ruddy God, full of Majesty, a King, a Father in his prime. Thou didst bear the sceptre of the Universe, crowned with the Wheel of the Spirit. ARARITA!

 

Having drawn the proper hexagram, he would proceed to an invocation of Jupiter. This example is modified slightly from Thomas Taylor's translation of the Orphic hymn to "Jove, as the Author of Lightning":

 

Come, O JOVE, on Thee I call! JOVE! JOVE!

I call the mighty, holy splendid light,

Aerial, dreadful-sounding, fiery-bright;

Flaming, aerial-light, with angry voice,

Lightning thro' lucid clouds with horrid noise.

Untam'd, to whom resentments dire belong,

Pure, holy pow'r all-parent, great and strong:

Come, and benevolent these rite attend,

And aid my will to realize its end.

 

Having drawn the sigil of Jupiter, the magician would then declare Jupiter duly invoked.

 

Ritual components

 

 

Planet Signs

 

 

Godnames of the planets

 

Sol—YHVH Eloah Ve-Daath

Mercury—Elohim Tzabaoth

Venus—YHVH Tzabaoth

Luna—Shaddai El Chai

Mars—Elohim Gibor

Jupiter—El

Saturn—YHVH Elohim

 

Zodiac Signs

 

 

Ruling planets of the Zodiac

 

Aries—Mars

Taurus—Venus

Gemini—Mercury

Cancer—Luna

Leo—Sol

Virgo—Mercury

Libra—Venus

Scorpio—Mars

Sagittarius—Jupiter

Capricorn—Saturn

Aquarius—Saturn

Pisces—Jupiter

 

References

 

Crowley, Aleister. (1997). Magick: Book 4. "Liber O." 2nd ed. York Beach, Me. : S. Weiser.

 

Taylor, Thomas. (1981). The Hymns of Orpheus. Los Angeles: Philosophical Research Society.

[Guest Truthseeker]

While the pentagram represents the microcosm, the hexagram can be said to represent the macrocosm. Its six points are accorded to the planetary bodies of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Venus, Mercury, and Luna. These in turn are related to six Sephiroth of the Tree of Life, as can be seen when aligning the Hexagram with the Central Pillar. If the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is elemental magick, then the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram involves planetary magick.

 

Though it's often regarded as macrocosmic, closer inspection reveals that the hexagram is the union of elemental glyphs for Fire and Water and, as such, is also a symbol of the Great Work - the union of opposites. The symbol can be further analyzed to reveal the glyphs of Earth and Air as well, indicating that it's not simply macrocosmic, but includes the microcosm as well. From this it can be seen that the Hexagram is similar to the Rosy Cross.

 

Unicursal Hexagram

 

Aleister Crowley searched for a means to create a hexagram composed of one single, continuous line, as opposed to the dual triangles in the traditional form. His efforts led to the unicursal hexagram, which further codifies the symbolism contained within the hexagram, the rosy cross, and the ankh.

 

[Guest Peace]

Man is a little universe, and the universe, a great man.

Sufi saying.

 

Islamic art, according to Sharia law, may not be representational. Muslims may not draw pictures of human beings, birds, trees, mountains, or anything which is representative of any object in the real world. So, almost by default, Islam has used geometric design as a platform and inspiration in its artwork.

 

The flower of life is a beautiful pattern

 

 

Research Solomon Ibn Gabirol (1020-1058). A Jewish mystic and follower of the great Sufi Muhammad Ibn Masarra (883-931).

[Guest wiki]

Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah b. Masarra b. Najih al-Jabali (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله بن مسرة بن نجيح الجبلي‎ ) was one of the first Sufis as well as one of the first philosophers of Al-Andalus.

 

Al-Andalus (Arabic: الأندلس‎, trans. al-ʼAndalus, Spanish: Al-Ándalus, Portuguese: Al-Andalus), also known as Moorish Iberia, was a medieval Muslim nation and territorial region occupying most of what is today Spain and Portugal, and parts of modern France. The name more generally describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims (given the generic name of Moors), at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries underwent constant changes due to wars with the Christian Kingdoms.

 

Following the Muslim conquest of Hispania, Al-Andalus was divided into five administrative areas roughly corresponding to Andalusia, Galicia and Portugal, Castile and León, Aragon and Catalonia, and Septimania.[4] As a political domain or domains, it successively constituted a province of the Umayyad Caliphate, initiated by the Caliph Al-Walid I (711–750); the Emirate of Córdoba (c. 750–929); the Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031); and the Caliphate of Córdoba's taifa (successor) kingdoms. Rule under these kingdoms saw the rise in cultural exchange and cooperation between Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Under the Caliphate of Córdoba, al-Andalus was a beacon of learning, and the city of Córdoba became one of the leading cultural and economic centres in both the Mediterranean Basin and the Islamic world.

 

In succeeding centuries, Al-Andalus became a province of the Berber Muslim dynasties of the Almoravids and Almohads, subsequently fragmenting into a number of minor states, most notably the Emirate of Granada. With the support of local inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula the Almoravids deposed of the taifa Muslim princes, after helping to repel Christian attacks on the region by Alfonso VI. Rule under the Almoravids and Almohads saw a decline in cultural and social exchange and increased persecution of religious minorities, with a return to more fundamentalist forms of Islam.

[Guest hEyOka]

Solomon was able to communicate with all living beings, especially the birds and the jinn (creatures of smokeless fire whom the king enlisted to build his temple).

 

 

The crested Hoopoe (hudhud in Persian) assisted him in his military conquests as a kind of airborne divining rod, reconnoitering for sources of water. A story in which a mere ant confronts the king with his arrogant dismissal of the powerless of this world describes a moment of spiritual conversion about which Sufi poets comment often.

 

In the Quran in Surah Al-Naml 27:20-22 in the following context "And he [ Solomon ] sought among the birds and said: How is it that I see not the hoopoe, or is he among the absent? I verily will punish him with hard punishment or I verily will slay him, or he verily shall bring me a plain excuse. But he [the Hoopoe] was not long in coming, and he said: I have found out (a thing) that thou apprehendest not, and I come unto thee from Sheba with sure tidings."

 

Hoopoes were seen as a symbol of virtue in Persia. A hoopoe was the leader of the birds in the Persian book of poems The Conference of the Birds.

 

In the Bible, Leviticus 11:13-19, hoopoes were listed among the animals that are detestable and should not be eaten. They are also listed in Deuteronomy (14:18) as not kosher.

 

The Hoopoe was chosen as the national bird of Israel in May 2008

 

 

 

 

The 94th Battalion was established in 1984 as an anti-tank unit. With its establishment, the quality of professional training was higher than regular infantry, the battalion's recruits had all infantry basic training in the Paratroopers training base, antitank warfare, navigation and advanced infantry training.

 

From 1984 to 2006, the battalion soldiers wore red shoes - symbolized the affiliation to the paratroopers - and on the same time, a black beret - as part of an armoured division - with an infantry pin. The unit's flag was similar to the paratroopers' flag - red and white.

 

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/05/29/us-israel-bird-odd-idUSCOO95531320080529

[Guest Mason]

John Clark Ridpath (April 26, 1840–July 31, 1900) was an American educator, historian, and editor. His mother was a descendant of Samuel Matthews, a colonial governor of Virginia.

 

The Cyclopedia of Universal History was an encyclopedia of world history authored by John Clark Ridpath. It was produced, initially in 3 volumes, from 1880-84 and was copiously illustrated in black and white. This was later expanded to 16 volumes. It also became the prototype for his later "History of the World" (8 volumes, 1894) and "Universal History" (16 volumes, 1895)

 

Author: Ridpath, John Clark, 1840-1900

Volume: v.9

Subject: World history; Ethnology; World history

Publisher: Boston : Balch Bros.

Language: English

Call number: 2415773

Digitizing sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

Book contributor: UMass Amherst Libraries

Collection: umass_amherst_libraries; blc; americana

 

On page 279 there is an image of Ashtaroth (assh' tuhrahth)

 

 

http://www.archive.o...ge/279/mode/1up

 

The Ordo Templi Astarte (Order of the Temple of Astarte-OTA), which also operates under the name Church of Hermetic Science, is a ritual magick group begun in 1970 to practice Kabbalistic Magick in the Western tradition. Based upon Jungian psychology, the OTA defined magick as a "system of ritual hypnotic induction (conjuration) that calls upon archetypal forms from the unconscious (evocation) and allows them to be visualized (manifestation) whereupon they can be used for numerous purposes ranging from the frankly psychotherapeutic to the more abstract system research and development."

 

The OTA traces its history to Aleister Crowley through Louis Culling. Culling claims to have a charter from Crowley for an autonomous lodge. This charter was given after Culling left C. F. Russell, who was deviating from Crowley's teachings. Culling turned the charter over to the OTA leadership before his recent death. The group also claims to possess the "secret rituals of the Ordo Templi Orientis in Crowley's original holographs." Though operating with a thelemic charter, the OTA does not consider itself fully thelemic. In describing the order, founder Carroll R. Runyon, Jr. has noted, " We operate a Collegium ad Spiritum Sanctum of the O.T.O. in our Philosophus Grade as a research and study program. In its own context, it is Thelemic; but we do not initiate or operate ceremonially under a Thelemic aegis. We have great respect for the works of Aleister Crowley, but we consider him a Master of the Art in much the same way that Sufis consider Jesus a Great Prophet—without calling themselves Christians."

 

The OTA is centered in a single lodge in Pasadena. During the 1970s there was for several years a second lodge in Pittsburgh. The lodge is headed by Carroll Runyon, also known as Frater Aleyin.

 

http://www.templeofastarte.com/

[Guest Columbia]

Here is more info to speculate on.

 

The Hexagram consists of 6 sides, 6 points and 6 smaller triangles, thus 666. Before Revelations in the Bible was written, 666 stood for the Triple Goddesses as 6 was a sacred number, and still is today in Hinduism and Buddhism. So the story of the Beast 666 in Book of Revelations was a attack on Goddess worship as 666 was also used to represent the Triple Babylonian Goddess Ishtar whom Revelations called, "The Great Whore Of Babylon". Hex is also associated with Witchcraft as it is another name for a Witch's spell and in German a Hexen is a Witch.

 

It is clear in the Old Testament that the priests of the god Jehovah hated the Priestesses of Goddess temples. We know this from the story of Jezebel. She was Queen of Israel but she worshiped the Goddess Astarte. For this, she and her followers were murdered by the followers of Yahweh. Later on her daughter Athaliah also became Queen and she also worshiped Astarte and again she was murdered. In an attempt to slander Priestesses of Goddess the priests of Yahweh referred to them as Temple prostitutes because it was known that in many Goddess Temples they used sexual rituals. Because in Goddess religions sex was seen as a sacred act of creation.

 

The evidence unearthed shows that Goddess worship was commonplace in Israel right up to early Christian times. With large numbers of Goddess statues discovered in the homes of common people. Archaeologists have shown that the Hebrews worshiped the Goddesses Asherah and Astarte as much as the countries around Israel.

 

http://masongoddess.blogspot.com/

[Guest wiki]

The majority of the forty references to Asherah in the Hebrew Bible may derive from the hypothetical Deuteronomist source, always in a hostile framework: the Deuteronomist judges the kings of Israel and Judah according to how rigorously they uphold Yahwism and suppress the worship of Asherah and other deities. King Manasseh, for example is said to have placed an Asherah pole in the Holy Temple, and was therefore one who "did evil in the sight of the LORD" (2 Kings 21:7); but king Hezekiah "removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah", (2 Kings 18.4), and was noted as the most righteous of Judah's kings before the coming of the reformer Josiah, in whose reign the Deuteronomistic history of the kings was composed. In addition to the authors of Exodus, Deuteronomy, Kings, and Judges, the prophets Isaiah (Isaiah 17:8, 27:9), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 17:2), and Micah (Micah 5:14) also condemned worship of Asherah and praised turning from this idolatry to worship Yahweh alone as the true God.

 

The Hebrew Bible uses the term asherah in two senses, as a cult object and as a divine name. As a cult object, the asherah can be "made", "cut down", and "burnt", and Deuteronomy 16:21 prohibits the planting of trees as asherah, implying that a stylized tree or lopped trunk is intended. At other verses a goddess is clearly intended, as, for example, 2 Kings 23:4–7, where items are being made "for Baal and Asherah". The references to asherah in Isaiah 17:8 and 2:8 suggest that there was no distinction in ancient thought between the object and the goddess.

[Guest Newlight]

Like God, Shekhinah is a manifestation cosmic feminine that pervades all religions and extends from Yin as a fundamental cosmic principle of Taoism, through the female dakinis of Buddhism, to Sophia of Christianity, and the Hebrew Shekhinah. Sakina is a manifestation of the Shekhinah quoted by Muhammad from his experience of Jewish folklore in Medina, however the Muslim world has yet to accept its feminine sacred side except in the meditations of some Sufi masters, so here we present three accounts of the Shekhinah form the first hand accounts of women coming to terms of renewal in the face of the patriarchal dominance of Judaism and Christianity.

 

The Shechinah is defined, in traditional Jewish writings, as the "female aspect of God" or the "presence" of the infinite God in the world. She is introduced in the early rabbinical commentaries as the "immanence" or "indwelling" of the living God, whose role as the animating life force of the earth is to balance the transcendent deity.

 

While she does not appear by name in the five books of Moses, the explicators of the Old Testament refer to her in interpreting the text. For example, when Moses encounters the burning bush, he is told to remove his shoes and prepare himself to receive the Shechinah. According to the rabbis, the choice of the simple thorn bush as the vehicle for the revelation was to emphasize the Shechinah's presence, since nothing in nature can exist without her. In Proverbs, we are introduced to the Divine Mother as Chochmah (Wisdom), who was present from the time of creation as the loving consort and coarchitect with the YHVH.