The inspiration for this piece was elusive, as is the evil portrayed in the Psalm.  I searched my black heart, and there it was.

He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. Psalm 10:8 KJVAAE

He comes to me in a rush of power and I am gripped by fear.  He is cloaked, and forces of malevolence precede him.  Without remorse he besets all.

Dangerous

Uninhibited 

Unafraid

Violent 

Hungry

Cruel

Who is he?  The Patriarchy?  The patriarchy self-destructs by killing its own mother.  The ravaging of Mother Earth for power and profit is evidence of such.  And this culture also presents itself in groups like Incel; in every “honor killing”; and in the practice of female infanticide.  Yet, without women there are no wombs—until the moment comes when parthenogenesis is complete and controlled.

This man seeks to separate all things.  His world is dark and full of terror. Good humans spend lifetime after lifetime at war against this paradigm.  To be evil is to be separate from God.  Is this not so?

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding: for the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.  Proverbs 3:13‭-‬18 KJVAAE

Wisdom is a woman.  I have seen her and felt her touch.  The brilliance of blinding white lights surrounds her.  She comes to me with arms outstretched, smiling, and wrapped in shimmering green.  I reach out for the grace I have been praying for.  She gives freely.

Peaceful

Present 

Nurturing

Devoted

Loving

Compassionate

In her we see abundance and the lush goodness of the Garden, here on Earth.  We run to her when pain comes, and she heals.  Soft and sweet, she teaches us who we are.  She whispers of the infinite library we call DNA, wherein lies the truth of the same parthenogenesis others seek to artificially replicate.  But eons of denial have relegated that information to a place beyond our reach, for now. Human women carry all of life within their bodies.  

The woman weaves a web connecting all things.  Where she is, God is also there.  Thus, in her absence after her final destruction, we have destroyed God.  Is this not so?

Let us consult the Sacred Tarot.  The Major Arcana—Number 20–Judgement.  The evil man and the wise woman appear to us as they do, because we judge.  Conditioning is deeper than we can casually perceive.  Layers of tenacious systems of oppression have all but buried our minds, and our souls.

What if evil exists only because we believe it does?  And what about goodness?   Could it be that each and every response to life is based on judgement that has been installed into our DNA?  What of the agony our body feels when a knife cuts?  Is it a painful experience because we think it is to be so?   The righteous feeling of helping someone in need—is it a predetermined response?  Thus, judging has become an automatic and involuntary function.

Good and evil are two sides of the same coin.  One could debate that there is a paradox at play, one in which there must be opposing paradigms at work, or we lose our way.  This thinking renders judgement, or call it discernment, as a necessary activity.  Without judging, we could become disoriented.  Judgment now becomes justified.  It is different from discernment, as judging comes from a place of distinguishing value in someone or something.  Discernment is useful for making decisions about ourselves—what to eat and where to work, for example. But judging oneself is the act of dividing or separating oneself—we disassociate and judge as if we were assessing another person.  Therein is my humble opinion about judgement versus discernment. But I digress…

The references in Holy Scripture to evil as “he” and wisdom as “she” can be attributed to feminine and masculine assignments to nouns.  It’s language and etymology.  But doesn’t the interpretation seem to ring true?  Isn’t the worldview today very much as described in Psalm 10 and in Proverbs 3?  Judgement would answer “yes”.

“Judge not, that ye be not judged.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭1‬ ‭KJVAAE‬‬

“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”  ‭John‬ ‭7‬:‭24‬ ‭KJVAAE‬‬

Now we see supposedly contradictory edicts.  Even when we apply full context, a grey area remains.  I am not taking a position here, merely asking questions.  I know that judging others is rooted deep within our history.  Striving to question the instinct to judge has helped me forge ahead on a journey that I know I will never finish. I ask, and I work, because that is life to me.  The path of the bodhisattva is the “good” and “right” path.  It feels that way because I am human, and programmed as such.  But what can we do?  I will continue, and tonight while my body rests I will travel back home to the seven sisters and ask why the Eight Great Bodhisattvas are masculine.  If I find an answer, I will write.

But even when there are no answers, humanity must never cease to ask questions. The Earth holds a special place in the heart of our Creator.  This we know.  I, for one, would like to see it continue to show me its majesty.  My humble request to you is this:  for the rest of eternity, examine judgment as it appears in our human places.  Hold it in your hands, look closer, expand your discernment, and widen your perspective,  Search your black heart, and you are invited to search mine.