Visitors and Palm Trees
  by William Edelen

For all of you Labor day weekend tourists and visitors, you may have noticed that you are surrounded by thousands of palm trees. Hey, that's why we are called "Palm Springs." And, for all of you reading this column in other cities than Palm Springs, this will give you a new appreciation of a palm tree anytime you see one.

Palm trees have been very special in the history of religions, mythology and cultures.

In the Babylonian myth of the primal garden (the biblical garden of Eden) the Palm tree was the Tree of Life, a dwelling place of the Goddess Astarte. The Hebrew name for her was Tamar, meaning "palm tree." Her male counterpart was Baal-Peor, or Phoenix, the god of Phoenicia, whose name meant the "land of the palm."

As a phallic deity he was symbolized by a palm tree between two large stones. Sexual celebrations honored his union with the Goddess in Phoenicia and also in Israel.

The feminine connotations of the palm tree co-existed with the male phallic symbol. The Goddess was often embodied in a Mother palm giving the food of life in the form of dates and coconut milk.

A biblical myth shows Tamar, the Palm Tree, as the mother of "a slain firstborn of Judah." The Palm tree was still the Great Mother in early Christianity. The early Christians gave the title of Holy Palm (Ta-Mari) to the virgin Mary.

The palm branch was displayed in the sacred processions of Jerusalem. It had been borrowed from the Egyptian celebrations of their "savior" Osiris, who also lived on in eternal life and was the prototype of a resurrected "lord."

The palm branch signified the virility of the god in union with his sister-wife as in the Phoenician religion. The palm tree as the phallic emblem of a virile god was also worshipped in the Jewish tabernacle. The palm that represented this virile god was also used to celebrate another virile "savior" god as described in the gospels. We now call it "Palm Sunday."

The waving of palm branches was also associated with processions in honor of the god Tammuz, united with his bride Ishtar, in the Jerusalem temple when she was still the Hebraic "Queen of Heaven." (Jeremiah 44:17)

In Rome, the palm was awarded to victorious gladiators. So, there you are, all you ever wanted to know about Palm Trees. At your next cocktail party, you can say to someone..."hey...did you know that....?" Now, you can look up at a palm tree and say..."WOW...I never knew how important you are..."

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