THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN

The biblical names of God, Elohim and Yahweh, are both masculine gender.
The masculinity of the chief Deity was assumed by all ancient patriarchal soci
eties, and it followed that He should be accorded female companionship. Heavenl
y consorts included the following:
ASHERAH:
The Great Mother of the Canaanite religion was the wife of the chief god, El. I
n the Hebrew faith, El was replaced by Elohim, and this identity meant that what
had once belonged to El now belonged to Elohim, including his wife. A drawing
from Kuntillet Ajrud shows a bull-headed deity standing near a woman playing a l
yre, and the inscription above them reads: I bless you by Yahweh of Samaria and H
is Asherah. Yahweh, more powerful than El, had stolen his wife.
ELAT:
The Godhead could be defined by Hebrew terms taken from the Canaanite pantheon:
El (Father), Elat (Mother), Shaddai (Son). Just as El means God, so does Elat/Ela
th means Goddess.
ASTARTE-ANATH:
Astarte was the Canaanite Venus, and Anath was the Canaanite Athena. The first
was Baal s cousin, and the second his sister, but both were his lovers. Together
with Asherah they made a divine Triad - combined as the single goddess Ashtoreth
or Atargatis or Qadesh, the Queen of Heaven. Yahweh, more powerful than Baal,
appropriated these goddesses to Himself. A fifth century B.C. garrison of Jewis
h mercenaries in Egypt worshiped two goddesses, Anathbethel and Anathyahu, who w
ere evidently regarded as consorts of Yahu (Yahweh).
SHEKHINA:
God s Dwelling or Presence, given by the feminine word Shekhina, implied a female comp
onent of the Godhead. (God as Shekhina dwelt - shakhan - in the cloud over the
Tabernacle - mishkhan.) The Shekhina took the form of Pharaoh s daughter to draw
the infant Moses out of the Nile. Legend says that her name was Batya (Bath-Yah
: Daughter of God.) At the death of Moses, the Shekhina took his soul by kissin
g him on the mouth.
BINAH-SOPHIA:
Binah is the Hebrew term Reason, and Sophia is the Greek word for Wisdom. Cabalist
ic Judaism and Christian Gnosticism, accepting the Zoroastrian concept of Æons or
Archons, identified Wisdom as the female Companion of Yahweh. According to the
Book of Proverbs, Wisdom was co-creator with Yahweh as well as His Playmate (8:2
2, 30). In medieval times, she was Anima Mundi, the World Soul. The trinitarian
Godhead of mystical Judaism was Adonai (Lord), Messiah (Anointed One), and Binah
or Hokhma (Wisdom). For Christian Gnostics this triad consisted of Kyrios (Lor
d), Christos (Anointed One), and Sophia (Wisdom).

MALKUTH:
In the cabalistic Godhead, Malkuth, Kingdom, is the tenth Sephira (Emanation) and
can be identified as the Shekhina, the personified female Presence of God.
MATRONIT:
The Matron, the Lady, the Queen, the Divine Woman. The chief angel, Metatron, w
as her offspring. God, the King, copulates with Matronit once a week at Friday
midnight. This produces a soul that may enter a child conceived by a pious coup
le at that time. The Talmud advises eating garlic on Sabbath eve, because it ma
kes one happy, arouses love, increases semen, and kills jealousy.
HEY:
The Hebrew letters y (Yod), h (Hey),v (Waw), h (Hey) are the Tetragrammation, YH
WH This is the Divine Name, which defines the Godhead. Y is Father; H is Mother, W
s Son, and H is daughter. In Cabalism Yod is Hokhma (Wisdom), Hey is Bina (Unders
tanding), Waw is Tiferet (Beauty), and Hey is Malkuth (Kingdom).
LILITH:
Adam and Lilith were created at the same time, and Lilith became the man s first w
ife. She refused to be his subordinate, however, and, as an owl-like creature,
flew away. While Adam was created from dust, Lilith was made from filth and sed
iments. She was known as the First Eve and also as Naamah, the Charmer. She temp
ted Solomon without success in the guise of the queen of Sheba. The book of Cab
alism, the Zohar, reads: The Shekhina is at times called the Mother (Matronit), a
t times the Slave-Woman (Lilith), and at times the King s Daughter (Malkuth). Acco
rding to Cabalism, when Matronit was separated from the King, as She followed Is
rael into Exile, Lilith, the Queen of the demons, attached herself to Him.
SABBATH:
Matronit remained closely concerned with her children, the Jews. She took the f
orm of the Bride and joined them each Friday at dusk. In Hebrew liturgy the Sabba
th is called the Virgin, the Bride, and the Queen. She is joyfully welcomed each Fri
ay night into Jewish homes and places of worship with the words, Come, O Bride. S
himeon ben Yohai said that Sabbath asked God why each day had its mate, while sh
e had none. The Master of the Worlds replied, The Community of Israel is your ma
te. Ethiopian Falashas say, The Mediatrix of Christians is Mary; ours is Lady Sab
bath. Cabalists made Her the Wife of God, however. One commentator said that th
e prayer on Friday means, You betrothed the Sabbath to Yourself.
ISRAEL:
The Knesseth Yisrael, Community of Israel, is of feminine gender and is married
to Yahweh. The embodiment of Knesseth Yisrael is Matronit. The marriage state
is beulah, but it has been marred at times by Israel s infidelities with other god
s.

JERUSALEM/ZION:
Zion was the Mother City (hence, the divine Spouse). Her counterpart was the Da
ughter of Zion, who represents Israel, the Bride. The Book of Revelation says, I
saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared
as a Bride adorned for her Husband (21:2).
VIRGIN MARY:
Catholic Mariolatry exalts the Jewish maiden to the status of divinity and even
accords her such titles as Queen of Heaven and Mother of God. St. Peter Damian
said that Mary had such charm and beauty that God sang the Canticles (Song of So
ngs) in her praise. St. Bonaventura did not hesitate to call Mary the Spouse of
the Eternal Father. Also, Islam takes the Christian Trinity to be God, Mary, and
Jesus.
ECCLESIA:
The Church is the Bride of Christ. As New Jerusalem she is adorned in pure garmen
ts to meet the Bridegroom at His coming (Matthew 25:6, Luke 5:34-35, Revelation
21:2,9).
HOLY SPIRIT:
The Holy Spirit is usually called He in the Bible. He hovers over (fertilizes) th
e Cosmic Egg in the primordial waters at the Creation, and he penetrates (impreg
nates) the hearts of believers. As the Third Member of the Trinity, however, th
e Spirit takes on femininity, because the Family consists of Father, Son, and Mo
ther.
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