This is another poem that came out of working with a SoulCollage® card. But first, a dream.
There is a circle of beings, sitting on the floor or ground. Somehow, I know that they are gods. One female deity looks up as the door opens and someone enters. She says in surprise, “Yahweh!”
When I woke up, I found the dream hilarious. Our famous monotheistic god coming to join the circle of gods! Well, I really am a pagan despite my Jewish heritage.
A few days later, as usual, I drew a SoulCollage® card for the day. Here it is.
The figure in the front is a replica of a figurine of an ancient Hebrew goddess named Asherah. The other figure is a modern interpretation of an Asherah pole. Years ago, when I was reading everything I could get my hands on about goddesses, I learned about Asherah. The people carved poles representing Her, or made clay figurines like this one. The poles were placed on hilltops or in sacred groves. She was a tree goddess and a mother goddess.
The arrival of this card so soon after my Yahweh dream led to this poem:
Asherah, goddess of ancestors from the deep, deep past, supplanted by Yaweh and the men's insistence on His being the one, right, true and only. But you are the one who nurtured the people, offering the milk of your breasts to feed them, one and all. You, who stood tall among and with the trees, terebinth and mulberry, sycamore and date palm, planted firmly in the earth, rising up on hilltops and in your sacred groves. Asherah, we, your women, your daughters and worshippers, we have neither forgotten nor forsaken you. To you, we raise our hands.
(Well, here’s my first issue with Substack - the poem was centered on the page as I wrote it, but I can’t find a way to keep the formatting.)