This month's full moon altar honours Allat, the pre-Islamic Arabic Divine Feminine. Her name "Allat" means "The Goddess," just as her Divine Masculine counterpart's name "Allah" means "The God." When patriarchal monotheistic Islam arose 1500 years ago, Allah became its one sole divinity and the worship of Allat was suppressed.
Allat is represented on this altar by her extremely ancient symbol called the Hand of Allat. Its more generic name is Hamsa which means "five," being the five fingers of the hand with which the Goddess extends protection, blessings and abundance to her people. Even though Allat was erased from Islam, Moslems were reluctant to give up her powerful symbol, so it was simply renamed in honour of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter and is now called the Hand of Fatima.
This symbol is common throughout the entire Middle East and India as well. It is also found in the Jewish tradition where it is called the Hand of Miriam, the sister of Moses. As befits its roots in the Divine Feminine, the Hamsa is always associated with a revered female of the believers' spiritual tradition.
My Hand of Allat/Hamsa came from West Edmonton Mall and was a gift from My Rare One a number of years ago. The Hand's downward orientation signifies abundance and goodness and its protective function is provided by four blue-and-white glass amulets against the Evil Eye. Ordinarily, this hangs on the wall near my front door in accordance with tradition.
Apart from a sparkly beaded placemat and three gold candles, the altar is adorned with two fresh pink roses -- one to honour the Hamsa's Divine Feminine past and one to honour the Hamsa's continuing feminine symbolism today and in the future.
[Photos © Debra She Who Seeks, July 2022]
