No Religion – In the Garden
17 04 2017
More than a few of the conversations I had this weekend were quite lively. I was rather intrigued by one, where it was discussed that opposing sides often considered you on the enemies side, if you were not on their’s. Since some have just celebrated Easter weekend, and others have celebrated Ishtar’s fertility. As someone who has been searching for quite a while, I wanted to take the opportunity to point out the symbolic unification of these supposedly ‘opposite’ forces through the use of some of the worlds most well known symbols.
The Star of David is representative of two forces, equal in strength and brought together in balance. Through direct comparison, it becomes easy to allow one of the triangles to represent the feminine, and one the masculine. Though I have not been a student of the Torah, it is somewhat amusing that the Star of David which has been found to exist as early as the 6th Century B.C.E., is a many faceted symbol representing a faith which is known for שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָֽד – “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.” – Deuteronomy 6:4. Curiously, since most Christian churches refer to the trinity, is their a possibility that Christian ritual is acknowledging the complexity of divinity while not necessarily recognizing the balance?
The Tai Chi, is another symbol which presents duality in one symbol, thus creating a visual understanding of togetherness, oneness, motion and flow. Since these energies must work together to create balance, they are most often pictured with the yin beginning within the yang, and the yang beginning within the end. There are myriad possibilities of interpretation of each of these two designs, yet, by sticking to traditional and visual references, I believe that the recognition of balance is able to be communicated, thus the musical as well, No Religion and In The Garden, each a Van Morrison song, and each insightful into today’s duality.
