Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Gül Camii, Istanbul


.
I found this photo on Les Eglises de Constantinople , Jean Ebersolt, Adolphe Thiers. Paris, 1913.
Old St Theodosia Church was built in
 Istanbul in the late eleventh or early twelfth century to honour the memory of Virgin Martyr Theodosia. It is said that when the city was captured on May 29, feast of the Saint, the church was decked by roses, hence its Turkish name Gül Camii meaning "Mosque of the Roses". Another theory is that its turkish name comes from the dervish called Gül Baba burried here.
Gül Camii, Istanbul
CC picture from 
 English Wikipedia entry 
Gul Mosque

St. Theodosia Ceiling

I found this picture of 12th century Hexagram from the Rose Mosque of Istanbul on Les Eglises de Constantinople, Jean Ebersolt, Adolphe Thiers. Paris, 1913.

Church of St. Theodosia

I found this twelfth century Hexagram picture on Les Eglises de Constantinople, Jean Ebersolt, Adolphe Thiers. Paris, 1913
Since the byzantine name of this former church has not been established with certainty, we use the turkish name here. It has been identified with the churches of Saint Euphemia, Saint Theodosia and that of the Euergetis Monastery. The church is a construction of the twelfth century which stands elevated on an artificial terrace and appearently does not replace an old predecessor. It lay partly in ruins after the ottoman conquest and had to be restored heavily when it was rebuilt as a mosque

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Operation Bernhard

During World War II The Germans produced an Anti-semitism propaganda issue (Operation Bernhard) of the then current stamp of King George VI with a Star of David replacing the cross on top of the crown and a (Communist) sickle replacing the "D" in the value tablet.

Theosophical Seal

Picture of Blavatsky’s-Hexagram with Swastika seal is copied from Wikipedia. The Australian Theosophical Society Newsletter explains:

The five prominent symbols in the [Theosophical ] Seal are:
1. The Star of David
2. The Ankh
3. The Swastika
4. The Ouroboros (Serpent swallowing its tail)
5. Aum.
Also known as King Solomon’s seal, in India known as the seal of Vishnu and viewed by Pythagoreans as the symbol of creation. The interlaced triangles signify the polarity of nature and spirit, male and female, light and dark. The six points of the star reach toward the serpent of eternity, changing and evolving through time.

Fire Flower

Picture of Jewish Star design is courtesy of nzdzeni. It shows Wire and tubes fractal made in a computer program.

Wires and Tubes

Picture of Jewish star design is courtesy of nzdzeni who created these "wires and tubes". nzdzeni already contributed one of her works to this blog in August and now she sent me three more.
She creates these stars as fractals with a program called "Apophysis".

Yom Hazikaron 5766

Elegant design for Yom Hazikaron, Israel's National Memorial Day for the Fallen and the Victims of Terror, on the day preceding Israel Independence Day which is celebrated annually, according to the Hebrew calendar, on 5 Iyar.
Picture is courtesy of nzdzeni who published it on Flickr.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Know Thy Enemy

On the website of Stormfront I found the following quote:
In a pamphlet, dated 1836, reprinted in 1888 by the "Theosophical Publishing Society" we read: "The pamphlet purports to have been written by the Wandering Jew, and describes how at the fall of Jerusalem he took the Jewish Talisman, the signet of Solomon (interlaced Traingles) from the Temple, and how by its power he secured the rise of the Jews in all lands throughout history, till by finance they obtained entire control of the Gentile kings and rulers." (Patriot, September 8, 1927)
The Stormfront White Nationalist Community is  listed 4 as a hate site.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Coronation Stamp

Coronation Stamp Solomon’s seal
Ethiopia 1930. Coronation Symbols. Notice the Star of David on the right side of the stamp, as part of the coronation symbols.

Dr. Steven Carol wrote in his article titled
The Lion of Judah and the Land of Judah: Ethiopia and Israel, The Historic and Philatelic Link
Another emblem of the Ethiopian royal house, worn also by the Emperor's Guard, was the Jew­ish Shield of David (Magen David)- the six-pointed star - which was called the "Shield of Sol­omon." The Lion of Judah and the Shield of Solomon both are featured as symbols of the empire on the set of seven stamps issued November 2, 1930 (Scott Nos. 210-216), to commemorate the cor­onation of Haile Selassie as Emperor of Ethiopia.
Thirty-six years later, the Shield of Sol­omon was again visible on a set of three stamps (Scott Nos. 463-465) is-­sued on November 1, 1966, to commem­orate fifty years of Haile Selassie's leader­ship. The basic design depicts a map of Ethiopia, the Emperor seated on his throne, and a curtain from which dangles the Shield of Solomon.

How to Break a Window

Anti-semitism jewish starin 1991 Iranian government issued this postal stamp for WORLD CHILDREN'S DAY. It is hard for me to accept the fact that there are in our world STATES that preach violence to their children so bluntly.
BTW
The boy's clothes are painted with the Palestinian flag colors.

Moshe Dadon Micro-Calligraphy

Picture is courtesy of Moshe Dadon from Safed, Israel, and it shows a Star of David on the background of Micro-Calligraphy of the entire text of Song Of Songs and Ecclesiastes.

Hex Sign

Hex Sign Hexagram
Picture of Hex Sign Hexagram is copied from Wikipedia
Hex signs are  found on Pennsylvania Dutch barns since 1830's
It is important to note that there are many symbols that are called in this name and the six-pointed star is not the dominant
one

See
Hex signs: Pennsylvania Dutch barn symbols & their meaning by  Don Yoder, Thomas E. Graves, 2000

Saturday, February 24, 2007

The Symbol of God Murukan

N.S. Valluvan of Chennai, India wrote an article under the long title
The Hexagram, Symbol of God Murukan, with Tantric, Mantric, Astronomical and Religious potent in Art, Myth, Ritual and Architecture, and its parallel in the Indus Sign denoting Space and Time

Following is an excerpt:
The symbolization of the six-pointed hexagram is a zodiacal representation with the astronomical intent (K.V.Ramakrishna Rao, 2002). The concept of the hexagon is … related to the theory of squaring a circle and circling the square …The number six expresses the fullness of the cosmos. The six directions; North, South, East, West, up, and down are considered to be surrounded by the God’s six faces…The astronomical interpretation of this deity has a powerful association with Indian Tantras, Yantras, Mantras and the five elements (Ether, Wind, Fire, Water, Earth) and God Murukan permeates the sixth, the whole thus the six faces of the deity are represented.
... The hexagram symbolizes the six pilgrimage centers of Murukan… 
The connection between the hexagram and the zodiac appeared also in western civilization and I think it is worth exploring.

An example for future investigation in this direction:
Saturn → Saturday [Saturn- Day], Sun → Sunday, Moon → Monday, [in French moon is lune and thus monday is Lundi] Mars → Tuesday,Mercury → Wednesday, Jupiter → Thursday, Venus → Friday

Prophetic Writing

Jews are convinced that since the destruction of their Second Temple there are no more prophets, but in the last generation there are many Christian Prophets, and there are even Schools of the Prophets where one can learn how to become one.
Linda Newkirk is a controversial Prophet, and here is an excerpt from one of her visions. It deals with the Star of David:

"Little One," Moses says, "Do you remember how I came to you first in 1991. You begged for a teacher and came daily praying at 4:00 AM, rain or shine...
"Why are you here, Moses?"
"To bring you this."
"It is a Star of David, attached to a ribbon."
"Little One, this is no ordinary Star of David, and this ribbon is no ordinary ribbon."
"I look at this, which you have placed around my neck; and I feel a Star of David. It glows with a white fire and sticks to my chest. When I touch The Star, it sticks to my fingers like a cube of frozen ice. Indeed, it is cold to the touch. The ribbon of green, red and white has melted into my shoulders and neck and has disappeared. This Star of David sticks to me and will not come off my chest. It is strange that it feels cold yet radiates such light; but as my fingers rest on it, it gets warmer and warmer, until it is hot to my hands. Steam begins to rise. What is going on? I fear that I shall be burned."

Friday, February 23, 2007

Ujjain Coins, India

Dr. Manoshi Bhattacharya wrote a brilliant “cross-cultural reference” titled The Sacred Bride where he presents the history of the the concept of the Sacred Bride and the Sacred Marriage:
 
The ancient thinking of the Indus Valley Civilization, placed the male and female principles as equals. The male principle, Shiva or D united with the female, Shakti or Ñ to form the Y hexagram or mandala. The hexagram was a symbol of the Sacred Marriage.
The earliest evidence of this symbol was found among coins from the excavation of the city of Ujjain in India. The coins have been dated to be 2000 - 3000 years old. These coins came into the possession of Colonel James Tod, the Political Agent to the Western Rajput States of India in the early 1800s.

I recommend reading this masterpiece till the end…

Lalibela


Inside the 12th century C.E. Beta Maryam church at Lalibela, Ethiopia, on an arch, there is a Hexagram around a Maltese-style cross. 
Picture is courtesy of mszmpkb from Flickr.

Qutub Minar

Hexagrams appear in a  South Delhi, India Muslim stone grid at the 72.5 meters Qutab Minar, which  is the tallest brick minaret in the world. Date: 1193.
Picture is courtesy of "liketearsintherain" from Flickr

Star of David at Qtub Minar

Picture is courtesy of "chaostrophy" from Flickr

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Abbey Gateway Bury St Edmunds Suffolk England

Picture of 14th century stone Hexagrams on Abbey Gateway Bury St Edmunds Suffolk is courtesy of "Running in Suffolk" from Flickr.

The Star of David Is Within You

Star of David Is Within YouStar of David Picture is coutesy of artist Shane Rickman who wrote in the caption:
The Star of David is within you... Use your will to turn a two dimensional star into the vessel of your consciousness. Use your imagination to turn paper into the Milky Way.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Ajax

Ajax Hexagram Picture of one of the Hexagram of Ajax (the Amsterdam soccer team) fans is courtesy of uruandimi who published it on Flickr. He shot it in a shack frequented by youngsters at a holiday park in West-Amsterdam. Ajax fans use Jewish and Israeli symbols even though they are non Jewish. 

St. Agnes' Church, Amsterdam 1892

Picture of Hexagram on St. Agnes' Church, Amsterdam is courtesy of "towncalledfrank" who published it on Flickr.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Islamic State in China

Ivan Sache published on the website of allstates-flag.com that the war lord Cheng-Chi-Tsai established an autonomous province in Xin-Jiang (1933-1942) and designed a yellow flag with a red six-pointed star. He later changed his flag to  a red field with a yellow six-pointed star.

Find The Differences

Hexagram JerichoHexagram Picture from Hisham's palace is courtesy of "markuscuel" who published it on Flickr. Picture of IDF emblem is copied from Wikipedia.
I changed the angle of the hexagram from Hisham's palace in photoshop in order to enable more convenient comparison between the two shapes.

IMHO Muslims who dislike the Star of David may look at it as an ancient Omayyad emblem. The hexagram is an inter-religious symbol. In the course of time it served Muslims, Christians, Jews and Budhists and there's no need to hate it just because it is identified currently with Israel and the Jews.

Jericho

This is a Muslim Six pointed Star from the eighth century C.E. in Hisham palace (Khirbet El-Mafjar) located 3 km north of Jericho. 

Picture is courtesy of "markuscuel" who published it on Flickr. 

This is not the only hexagram in Hisham's Palace:

a. K.A.C Creswell shows in his book (Early Muslim Architecture, Vo. I part 2, Oxford, 1969 p. 558) a window-grille reconstructed from fragments which had been printed red or brownish-gold, drawn on equilateral triangles network. There are several hexagrams and a six petaled rose in each of them.
b. In p.572 there's another photo of a grill from diwan of bath dated to 739-43 C.E.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Most Complexly Emotive of All Jewish Symbols

In The Age Website Chris Evans wrote on May 4, 2004 an article about a controversial artwork on display in Flinders Street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The work shows a large Star of David painted on a wall along with Red text including statistic data concerning Israel's behavior towards the Palestenians.  

David Bernstein wrote on May 6 on the same Website: 
…the use of the Star of David in an indisputably hostile context was deliberately provocative. The Star of David is the most complexly emotive of all Jewish symbols: it has profound, ages-old religious significance as the most ubiquitous and recognisable of such symbols.

Dutch Navy

Mark Sensen wrote on Flags Of The World website about Command and Rank flags in The Dutch Navy since 1815
A Lieutenant-Admiral has four white sixpointed stars in the red stripe near the hoist of the tricolour…
A Vice-Admiral has three …A Rear-Admiral has two (side by side) …A Commodore has one.

He doesn’t explain why the Dutch Navy chose this shape and not any other shape.

Seal from Sidon

My Traffic Meter told me that my blog address appeared today on a Christian Forum. So I clicked the link and saw that "diamondjoust", who is a Junior Member in this Forum, asked:
Why do Jews use the symbol of a hexagram or Magen David?

and "baraqemet", who is a regular member in this Forum, mentioned in his answer the seal from the seventh century B.C.E. found in Sidon and belonging to one Joshua ben Asayahu which is mentioned in Gershom Sholem’s classical article about the Star of David. baraqemet commented:
All we have is a statement by someone [Gershom Sholem], who is into kabbalah, who did not supply any proof to support their theories. 

I don't want the bother of registering to the above-mentioned Forum but I happen to know the missing source:
David Diringer, Le Iscrizioni Antico-ebraiche Palestinesi, Pub; Icazioni Dell'Universita Di Firenze, Facolta' Di Lettere E Filosofia; 3, Firenze: Le Monnier, 1934, P. 187
Check it out!

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Jali

Hexagram surrounded by six hexagons in a grid called Jali (indian term of "mashrabia").
Picture (taken at Humayun Tomb, India) is courtesy of "mattlogelin" who published it on Flickr.

Ten Thousand Years Old Yantra

Yantra HexagramPicture is courtesy of Suzanne Olsson who published it her Website together with an article about THE STAR OF DAVID where she wrote:
The above yantra was carved nearly 10,000 years ago into a rock near Adam's Peak in Sri Lanka. Adam was thought to have visited there, and Noah was believed to have brought the remains of Adam and Eve on the Ark for reburial. If the star was first associated with Hebrews that far back, then Solomon was not the first priest-king to continue it as a family symbol. This leaves several ways the Star symbol was brought into India and became the yantra.

I sent her an email asking for the sources for this photo and she answered me:
I have lost the source that dated the black rocks in Sri Lanka and India...I recall it was the Department of Antiquities in India....it's been about five years since I first came across the information...I wish I had saved the sources...You might be able to recover them eventually through internet searches...

Six Is the Number of Man, Seven Is the Number of God

"Whtstealth" published a very elegant and ORIGINAL graphic explanation for the meaning of the shape of the Star of David on Youtube.
Here are some interesting excerpts from the debate that was developed after he published the clip:
"upsilone" commented (1 month ago)
The Star of David exists for more than 5000 years ago. It existed even before the ancient Hebrew letters were invented…

whtstealth’s Reply (1 month ago):
So what is your point? We do not live in that time now, furthermore 'Do you actually have proof of the origin of the Star of David?' 

I sent the link to this clip to my friend Craciun Lucian and he commented:

That's not a "seven", that's a Gimmel. Plus the two big Daleths ==> 6*3+2*4 = 18+8 = 26, the numerical value of the Tetragrammaton. Also, six Gimmels + six little Daleths = 6*(3+4) = 6*SEVEN = 42. (Six=man; seven=God).
…Arabic numerals, adopted relatively late in human history by Europeans & Middle-Easterners. [The Jews had one numerical system, the Latins another, and the Greeks had equivalents for both -- but something like ten-base Arabic numerals were inexistent (not that there aren't similarities, but these similarities do not account for the number seven having that particular form {"7"}, neither do they permit a summing of the ciphers of the number, since they {Latins, Greeks, Jews} didn't have ciphers, but reserved different letters for -let's say- 6, 60, 600; or 9, 90, 900)].

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Eddie Exodus

Eddie Exodus has a terrific Slam Poetry Video Clip about the Star of David on Youtube. I hope he'll send me the lyrics so I can add them to this posting. The clip is very well done and after playing it few times I noticed that the images delicately fit the meanings.

Beer Glass

What is a six-pointed star emblem doing on a beer glass? The Hexagram was intended to symbolize purity; folklore has it that it  represented the six aspects of brewing: water, hops, grain, malt, yeast, and brewer.
Picture is courtesy of o0karen0o from Flickr.

Treasure of Nimrud

Six pointed Star on a gold seal
Courtesy of Noreen Feeney (c) 2011

I already wrote about a hexagram that was found on the black obelisk in Nimrud in northern Iraq, but it isn't clear if it has six or seven points and it is not made of two equilateral triangles. From the same excavation we have a perfect hexagram in a perfect condition, which nobody can deny, in the Treasure of Nimrud. It is one of 613 items of gold jewelry and precious stones that were dated to the 8th and 9th century B.C. found In 1991 by Iraqi archaeologist Muzahim Mahmu. Its six triangles are made of gold dots and they encircle a ring of gold dots which encircles a gold disc.

Treasure of Nimrud exhibition was supposed to arrive to Washington this month including an amazing  gold hexagram. (See picture number 383 by Noreen Feeney from Iraq Museum International).

P.S.
I read the excavators' book
Hussein, Muzahim Mahmoud Nimrud: a city of golden treasures Al-Huriyah Printing House, 2000

All the items appear there except for our hexagram - Guess why...

Friday, February 16, 2007

Sabra Cactus Another View

Sabra Cactus HexagramPicture is courtesy of "maxnathans" from Flickr.
Readers who want to plant this cuctus in their garden are invited to email me and I'll refer them to maxnathans.

Sabra Cactus From Afar

Sabra Cactus Hexagram Picture is courtesy of "maxnathans" from Flickr who wrote to me:
Sabra Cactus is the name I call this cactus- not the official name. My reasons are:
a. that it shows the Star of David which is the Israeli Sabra national emblem
b. That it grows here, in Kibbutz Metzuva, in the north of Israel.

Palestinian Point of View

The Star of David or Solomon’s seal had been in use by Muslims for generations and they have the right to love it the same as Jews and Christians who also used it a lot during history. But the state of affairs is influenced by politics and not by history or facts. E.g. Mike Odetalla wrote an article in the peoples voice website on 02/13/07 titled Teaching Hatred. Here are some excerpts about the way Palestinians relate to the Star of David:

The first time I was ever exposed to the Star of David was when I saw it painted on the gleaming metallic bodies of the Fantom jet fighters that were flying low overhead as they bombed and strafed the outskirts of our village … during the 1967 war...

The first Jew that I had ever seen in my life was an alien looking figure, who was standing atop a tank, which also had the Star of David painted on it

The Star of David was not a religious symbol to me and other Palestinians. It was symbol of oppression and fear.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

ROSLIN

It seems that somebody uploaded the Da Vinci Code to his website so that now it is very convenient to copy and paste the needed paragraphs. So here is the famous excerpt about the Star of David from the Chapter titled ROSLIN:
The sanctuary was empty except for a handful of visitors listening to a young man giving the day's last tour. He was leading them in a single-file line along a well-known route on the floor-an invisible pathway linking six key architectural points within the sanctuary. Generations of visitors had walked these straight lines, connecting the points, and their countless footsteps had engraved an enormous symbol on the floor.
The Star of David, Langdon thought. No coincidence there. Also known as Solomon's Seal, this hexagram had once been the secret symbol of the stargazing priests and was later adopted by the Israelite kings-David and Solomon.

See: http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=Star+of+David+roslin&m=text

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Sabra Cactus

Picture of Sabra Cactus Hexagram is courtesy of "maxnathans" who published it on Flickr and wrote to me:
The cactus in question belongs to the Cereus family. they grow meters high in my garden .
A few years ago a piece broke of because of stong winds, put the piece on the ground next to my garden and after a while, little plants started to grow and now as you can see they get bigger. The plants you can see are some years old . From the top they look like a Magen David really. When they get bigger they change a bit.

Pottery

Picture is courtesy of "Tobyotter" from Flickr who wrote to me:
MY father is Jewish and My mother was Catholic - So i was raised around both faiths. I always liked the Star of David - in pottery class I had a bit of clay left so I made this - as a reminder of Father.

Magic Stars

There are some kinds of hexagrams that have no religious connotation. One of them is used for mathematical calculations. Mutsumi Suzuki wrote an interesting article titled Magic Stars where he defines them and shows how to use them:
A six-sided magic star is constructed using 12 numbers, where all the edges add up to the same number
Edge A+C+F+H = edge A+D+G+K = edge B+C+D+E = ...

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Healing All Disease

In Manly P. Hall’s book titled THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES, 1928 there's a paragraph about Dr. Sigismund Bacstrom who believed that if a physician could establish harmony among the Four elements, and unite them into the Philosopher's Stone symbolized by the six-pointed star - he would possess the means of healing all disease.  In Alchemy the Philosopher's stone is represented by a dot over the upper right hand point of the hexagram and this point is meant to represent the presence of God 

Beit-Hagefen, Haifa

Beit-Hagefen (House of the Vine)is an Arab Jewish Center that was established in 1963 to promote coexistence issues of Jews and Arabs and Christians in the northern part of Israel.
This picture was taken by me.

Sevilla Cathedral Spain

Sevilla Cathedral Hexagram picture is courtesy of "nirakara" who published it on Flickr and wrote to me:
As for the story on it I don't have too much on it, though if you search for the Cathedral of Sevilla you'll find it easily online. I think it's the largest in spain and like many of the larger churches in the south of spain it used to be a Mosque and was converted when the area was conquered. It gothic in nature and so in that way it uses a lot of visual detail employing all kinds of geometric symbols and wether this particular one was used with meaning is probably anybody's guess.

Building was begun in 1402, with construction continuing into the 16th century.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Car Air Freshener

Magen David, Peace Dove, Car Air Freshener, white and blue as the Israeli flag, and on the bag there is also a Jewish Prayer For The Road- all these for 5 NIS. No wonder I see it on many cars. The Hebrew white on blue letters say: I haven't got another country.

Rock Art Images

Jack H. Doty (Retired Professor, Missoula, Montana) wrote on the ARARA (American Rock
Art Research Association) 2002 Conference Program that he took pictures of Six-Pointed Star of David  in Saudi Arabia which is dated prior to the advent of Islam.

Zeev Raban

In the catalogue of "Zeev Raban Exhibition" that was held in the Tel Aviv Museum, 2002, appears a gate with repeated Magen David design. Zeev Raban came to Palestine in 1912 to help Boris Schatz, founder of the Bezalel School. He frequently used traditional Jewish motifs along with oriental, Classical Greek, and Art Nouveau elements.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

My Blog Report By Category

ART = 40 postings including paintings, poems, architecture
BIBLIOGARPHY = 1 posting
GROUPS- Non-Jewish who use the Star of David = 72 postings
HISTORY = 98 postings
ISRAEL = 20 postings
JEWISH = 82 postings
LOGO = 5 e.g. Customs, Zim
MEANING =123 postings
NAME = 2 postings
ORIGIN = 21 postings e.g. tabernacle menorah, salt, compasses
SHAPE = 58 postings e.g. hex alpha, inside a circle. 3 rhombs
USAGE 145 postings e.g. lampshade, necklace, vase
ZIONISM 21 postings
Total: 682 postings

Finlandian Armorial Banner


In Finland there’s a province called Häme (Tavastia) which has an armorial banner with three six pointed silver stars. Picture is copied from Wikipedia.

Cactus


This cactus Hexagram  is growing in the Botanic Gardens, St. Andrews, Scotland but SecretAgent99 wrote to me that she's actually not sure what this type of cactus is actually called. 
I believe that importing this cactus to Israel might be a prosperous enterprise, because many people would welcome it in their gardens, just to show their neighbors how patriotic they are...
Picture is courtesy of "SecretAgent99" who published it on Flickr

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Nomidia

There's a photo of an interlaced hexagram with round edges in the Catalogue des Mosaiques Romaines et Paleochretiennes du musee du Louvre, Paris, 1978 by Francois Barette p. 32.
This hexagram is inside a medallion which is part of a mosaic pavement of 8X7 meters together with 35 other medallions found in Roman Nomidia.

Tomarkin

Rabin Square, Tel Aviv. General view of Yigal Tomarkin's Statue: triangle on triangle create a Magen David or a Yellow Badge.

David Wakstein

Steven Plaut quoted on his blog a Ben Gurion University professor who wrote about his visit to the Tel-Aviv Museum of Arts where he found himself in an exhibition by David Wakstein called "Explosion". 
While I don't regard myself qualified to judge the artistic quality of the paintings, I would like to give you a few examples of the works of art: A map of the world and on it hands engraved with a Star of David and blood dripping from them. A Star of David combined with a Swastika. Two red canvasses, on one of them two small circles with the Star of David, on the other a small circle with a Swastika. I happen to remember that this masterpiece is called "settlers".

Red and Blue

Migene Gonzalez-Wippler wrote The Complete Book of Amulets & Talismans. I asked her about the origin of the hexagram and here is what she wrote:

The hexagram or Star of David has been used in many historical, religious and occult contexts. Its origins are lost in the sands of time. In Hinduism it is a mandala symbol that has been found in Hindu temples built thousands of years ago. It represents the perfect state of balance between Man and God. But according to well-known scholar Gershom Sholem the Star of David can be traced to Aristotle, who used triangles in different positions to represent basic elements. This theory finds some support in the interesting fact that two of the three Hebrew letters in David's name are Daleth. In ancient times Daleth was written in a form that resembled a triangle. In Greek the letter Delta is also shaped like a triangle. So we have two triangles
(two Daleths or two Deltas) which are interlaced to represent balance out of chaos. That could be the Greek connection found by Professor Sholem. As you probably know the triangle that points upwards represents the fire element (color red) and the male principle in kabbalistic symbolism. The triangle that points downwards represents the water element (color blue) and the feminine principle. You must have seen some Star of David symbols where the upper triangle is red while the lower is blue. Tradition says that by balancing the opposite elements of fire and water in the hexagram David was able to unite the 12 Tribes of Israel. In Kabbalah the hexagram is associated with the sixth sphere of the Tree of Life (Tiphareth) that represents the sun.

Hexagrams have also been found in cosmological diagrams in other religions, such as Buddhism and Jainism. And, surprisingly enough, the hexagram can also be found in mosques and on other Islamic objects. The hexagram also appears in Solomon's fabled seal so that it could presumably have been known to him.

But it is also possible that because it is a simple geometric shape, like the square and the circle, the triangle may have been used in many ways, including the hexagram, by many different peoples across the ages.

Friday, February 09, 2007

House of Ge and the Seasons

Doro Levi in his monumental work titled Antioch Mosaic Pavements, Princeton 1945, pp. 346-7 described the mosaics found on House of Ge and the Seasons. His diagram shows four rooms. In room no. 1 there are five medallions, four of them representing the seasons. The center one representing Ge (Gaia), the Greek earth Goddess. In the second room
In the central panel of corridor 2, the round medallion within square contains a star of David formed by the interlacing triangles, one in cable and the other in guilloche

It is interesting to compare this mosaic to the one found in Villa Romana del Casale

in Sicily, where each season is contained in a hexagram of its own.

In the same book Doro Levi shows a photo of another hexagram from antioch that was found in Cilicia in room no 1. Between each two points there is a rhomb and in it a smaller rhomb. Inside the hexagram there's a hexagon and in it a circle. This hexagram mosic is part of a large pavement with many busts.

Esoteric Palace

Esoteric Palace hexagramRenaissance summerhouse built in the years 1555 – 1556 by Ferdinand I of Tirol, by his own design, in the shape of a hexagram according to cosmological ideas influenced by alchemy. In Europe similar buildings can be found, even though not frequently, only in Italy and France.

Menorah within a Star of David

Researcher Uri Ofir claims that the Magen David is part of the Tabernacle Menorah, but here it looks like the Menorah is part of the Magen David. This is what happens when you go straight ahead on the globe - soon you find out that you are in the opposite direction...
Picture is courtesy of "ibn-i batuta" who published it on Flickr.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Wood Carving

Picture of Wood Carving from a church in Ranworth, Norfolk, England is courtesy of "LeoL30" who published it on Flickr a. Notice that the hexagram is standing on two points. We are used to see it standing on one point. I don't know (yet) if there's a different meaning to each such position.

Islamic Mosaic Discovered in Ramla, Israel


Ramla Mosaic with Solomon’s Seal
CC picture by Anita363 (c) from Flickr (Mosaic Mosaic)
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Myriam Rosen-Ayalon from the Hebrew university in Jerusalem wrote in Israel Exploration Journal, Vo. 26, Jerusalem, Israel; pp. 104-119 about the eighth century mosaic that was found in 1973 in the yard of Mr. Sami Khuri of Tav-Kav-Beth Street in Ramla while he was preparing for canalization. The mosaic has three fragments.
On fragment B which is 3.20 meters wide and 4 meters long there are four hexagrams on a geometric composition complemented by floral motifs and isolated birds. Within each hexagram there is a fruit that looks like a citrus.

I found the references Myriam Rosen-Ayalon made to other Islamic findings very useful for my future research:
The six-pointed star sometimes occurred in pre-Islamic floor mosaics but mainly as an isolated motif. In some mosaics, the star was used as a frame for large compositions, or as a dominant subject, while in others it is just an isolated detail among a great variety of other geometric motifs. Three such examples are found in mosaics uncovered here:
Bethlehem,
Roglit
and el-Makr.

Its ornamental use was continued for a long period, and can be seen on some fragments of stone carving in the synagogue o Capernaum, though probably unconnected to the Jewish symbol adopted in recent times…

it appears on funerary slabs from the second century of the Hijra, either completely isolated , or three in a row, or next to a slightly different motif of crossing squares.

A wood carving from Takrit in Iraq, perhaps a sarcophagus, dated to the
Abbasid period 9th century C.E. has a particularly elaborate decoration including six-pointed star is kept at the Metropolitan Museum 33.41.la.de

 A wood carving from Takrit
From: Maurice Dimard, Ars Islamica, 1937, p. 296 

Another wood carving bearing the star motif is part of the minbar (pulpit) of Kairouan, dated A.D. 786-808 and also said to be from Mesopotemia.

Whithin the Umayyad period this motif is found at Khirbat al-Mafjar.

It exists as an isolated item and also in an overall pattern, as in our mosaic, in a grille decoration of a stucco window…Umayyad carved marble slab from the Grewat Mosque of Damascus.

A wooden panel from the Al Aqsa carvings …(A.D. 780)…http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/33.41.1a-e

Brewer

Brewer Hexagram Picture is courtesy of Matthias Trum who wrote for Technical University Munich a thesis titled
Historical depictions, guild signs and symbols of the brewing and malting handcraft
Matthias' caption for this picture is
oldest depiction of a brewer is Pyprew (old german word for brewer) Herttel from 1425. The text on the picture states: "The 46th brother, who died here, was named Herttel Pyrprew" …One can see the brewing kettle with two rings attached to the sides plus two wooden vats. Above the brewer on a stick the hexagram...



Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Destroying Stars of David in Baghdad

I already wrote about the phenomenon of Arabs mutilating Stars of David, but here is an eye witness, Raed Jarrar, who wrote on his blog:
Speaking about Israel and David stars, Egypt was full of ornaments taking a six-sided-star shape. That reminded me of one of the funny memories about my university days in Baghdad. The municipality asked the Architectural department to send out all the students, and I was one of them, to check the streets of Baghdad for "David Stars". It was so stupid and ridiculous because the six-sided-star is more a middle Eastern symbol than a Jewish one, and neither myself nor the professors in the department thought it's a good idea to go and check for such stars on houses and ask the owners to destroy them. No one liked the idea, but no one dared to say No of course. Everyone said the famous statement "Good morning, Mr President, thank you for everything. Thank you very much for everything. I like you", but in Arabic at that time.


No wonder there are so few ancient Stars of David left in the world...it seems that archaeologists find only those which escaped the mutilators' eyes!

Petroglyph

 scienceviews.com reported about unusual Petroglyphs (rock drawings)  found East of Cedar City, Utah
 In order to make the glyphs more legable, someone traced them with white paint. This should not be done. 

Moghul Art

Hexagram inside a hexagon in a latticework in the Humayun's Tomb
in Delhi, India.
A few days ago I saw a film about the Moghul dynesty which ruled India until 1857 - there were times when they were the richest rulers in the world. These are the guys behind the Taj Mahal...and they loved hexagrams. I hope to find more photos of their superb hexagrams.
Picture is courtesy of "diametrik"  who published it on Flickr 

Monday, February 05, 2007

Baptist Synagogue

Baptist Synagogue jewish starPicture is courtesy of William Lebovich, architectural historian/photographer, who is its copyright holder. It appeared on the Washington Post in an article by Frank Van Riper with the following caption:
Lobby of 19th Street Baptist Church still has mosaic floor from when it was B'nai Israel Congregation. Stained glass window at back now features a praying Jesus.

Quantum Physics

Quantum Physics hexagram
Diagram is courtesy of Dr. Remo Roth who wrote to me:
…[the Star of David] is the symbol of the arrangement of the first three quarks and antiquarks; Thus, the Seal [Seal of Solomon, Star of David] belongs to quantum physics, or even to a deeper region which Carl Jung and Wolfgang Pauli called the psychophysical reality, a reunion of the split between matter and spirit/psyche, outer and inner world, masculine and feminine principle (and especially important for your country: a reunion of Judaism/Christianism with the Islam). It is the symbol of the 21st century, since at the beginning of it we will have to deal with this reunion – or go under in an apocalyptic catastrophe.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Why the Star of David on the Yellow Badge?

Following is my note to the article about the Yellow Badge in Wikipedia
This entry doesn’t explain why the Nazis designed the yellow badge in the shape of a Star of David and not in any other shape. It also doesn’t describe who decided to design the yellow badge, where and when.
To fill these gaps see: “Under the Nazis the term "yellow badge" first appeared in Robert Weltsch's article "Tragt ihn mit Stolz, den gelben Fleck" ("Wear the Yellow Badge with Pride"), published in the Judische Rundschau on April 4, 1933, in reaction to the anti - Jewish boycott of April 1, 1933. At that point no official Jewish sign was in existence and there were no plans to introduce such a sign. Weltsch was apparently referring to the slanderous and abusive inscriptions painted on the windows of Jewish - owned stores and businesses in "Operation Boycott" of April 1, and the relapse to medieval times that it signified.
The proposal to impose a distinctive mark on the Jews was first made by Reinhard Heydrich at a meeting held in the wake of the Kristallnacht pogrom, in November 1938.

Friday, February 02, 2007

David Koresh flag

David Koresh flag hexagramPicture of David Koresh flag is copied from Wikimedia Commons. This flag was flown by the Branch Davidians over the Mount Carmel Center during the 1993 Waco Siege. 



Thursday, February 01, 2007

Ponto

The collections of the Rio Museo de Policia include a cup with ponto, essentially a Latin cross within a Hexagram within a circle decorated with six minor stars.
Source: webarchaeology.com

Grail Seekers

Brian Kannard wrote on his blog:
Tip Site of the Week:
For all of you interested in Jewish Hexagrams, check out the
Star of David blog. These show up in all sorts of places that you might not expect. There’s some nice work and pics on Zeevveez’s blog. He’s also interested in the Templar use of hexagrams, if you have any information or insight on this, email me and I’ll let him know.
So here is what I already collected about this subject:
There are many
hexagrams on the ceiling of the Old Templar church of Garway. 
On the arch "of the ceiling of the rock-hewn church of Saint Mary's in Ethiopia.
In Rodez you will find a cathedral with rose windows with the Hexagram
Steven Sora speaks about the six-pointed star in his book The Lost Colony of the Templars: Verrazano's Secret Mission to America.

Quanzhou, China

The following news article appeared on the English People's Daily on October 29, 2001

An ancient relievo of the Star of David, which Chinese archaeologists believe may date back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279) or Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), has been unearthed recently in east China's port city of Quanzhou.
Carved in a piece of white granite that measures 65 cm in height and 63 cm in width and was obviously a component of a building, the relievo takes the form of a six-pointed star, a symbol of Judaism, which remains part of the national flag of Israel.
Archeologists say the relievo and the original relevant architecture indicate the influence of Judaism in the ancient times in Quanzhou, a port city in Fujian province.
The relievo was unearthed under the Deji gate to its ancient city wall.