Temple of the Mother Goddess
In a forgotten corner of Tuscany we created this temple for The Mother Goddess traditionally and to this day named by the Jewish people as The Shekinah and before as Ashterath or Astarte and adorned with many other names wherever humans sought to portray the universal flux of life as a maternal figure.
We enter through a small red foyer which signifies the birth canal, transitional space between the womb-like Temple and the Outer World. As you enter you see the Mother Goddess in a painting based on ancient images by Berber artist F. Belattar. The Mother Goddess holds a Menorah, recalling the Shekinah’s presence in the Temple of Jerusalem for over six centuries. You’ll also notice a Menorah on the altar beneath her, lit during ceremonies.
The altar is divided into two sections: honouring death on the left, and rebirth on the right. In this vision of the world, death is seen as a regenerative force, with the Mother Goddess embracing us when our consciousness dissolves. Next to the altar death is represented by withered branches and an animal skull to symbolize Autumn as the point in the cycle where death enters and we begin the regenerative cycle. On the left we have some greenery and an image of a hare marking Spring as the time of rebirth. The seeds placed here symbolizes the presence of growth in the darkness: reminding us that a period of incubation within the soil is vital for rebirth and that through trusting this process we are awarded a bright new life.
In between death and rebirth, you’ll see our smudging station. You are welcome to use this to purify the space energetically and you may find that the smell of the herbs helps to open your consciousness ahead of reflection. Smudging is believed to lift our thoughts higher with its smoke so that they may be heard more clearly in the heavens. We have placed bunches of Lavender in this section, please feel free to pick flowers from the surrounding land to contribute to our celebration of the feminine aesthetic.
On the periphery of the altar, light spills through a wooden screen, reminding us that there are few solid divisions between our world and the heavens, that the unknown is close by and our engagement with it promises expansion of consciousness. Here we have placed the ceremonial tunic made by Danish seamstress Anna. On the other side of the temple, you will see part of the millenarian rock the site is built on, decked with representations of the four elements. Stones for earth, a shell for water, a candle for fire and a feather for air. There is also a poem by Zola Dubnikova ‘In our souls we are all dancers/healers/singers/and creators’ that was read by Agnieszka Kilian while opening the temple on September 13th 2022, words that beautifully express aspects of our mission. The poem, with its words as waves beyond the physical, also signifies the fifth element or ‘ether’ invisible but ever-present as vibrations and frequencies, thoughts, energy patterns, and dreams within the void.
‘The art of rapture, wonder, natural high, and bliss. Our birthright equals ecstasy.’ – Agnieszka
This space seeks to show the unity of life and death, so that we may be accepted by the Mother Goddess exactly as we are; here you can feel whole in the duality of light and darkness. We hope this space encourages you to accept each other in the way that Mother Goddess accepts you.
This temple was founded and worked on by various people towards the goal of restoring the Mother Goddess as a symbol for the living, thriving world, its soils, rivers, and seas: they alone support and nurture us. We hope the image of the Mother Goddess, gentle, sustaining yet powerful will help us reverse the great crime of humanity – destroying its own and other beings’ habitat in the pursuit of sad adventures of power and greed…
Uniting your idea with the idea of the Mother Goddess we hope you will always rush to her defense, abstain from harming her further and dedicate yourself to the restoration of her green and singing beauty.
‘We need a revolution. It begins with
falling in love with the Earth again.
There is no difference between
healing the Earth and healing
ourselves.’
Thich Nhat Hanh, Love Letter to the Earth
HEAL THE SOIL, HEAL YOURSELVES!
