Chapter 4 :  The Brazen Laver Mouse Oracle Intervenes
or 
 Achmed amongst the Goddesses
(need to reread?)

The story so far:
Armed with a bagel-wrapped map of an unknown place that is somehow
endangered by shadowy people who intend he knows not what, Achmed Morganstern,
having failed to convince the police of impending danger, is now wandering aimlessly
 with his psychic camel, Manon, because she refuses to follow the Lady in the Bag. 
Just now he has blundered into the walled city of The Holy Handbag.
Confused?  Of course you are, dear Reader.  But that is what the author intended, you see.  
You are supposed to feel the same way Achmed does.  That way you can empathize and
come to realize the value of compassion.  Since that is probably the goal of Achmed's
bizarre oddysee, it can also be yours. 
 Perhaps vicarious enlightenment is enough for you.
Perhaps not.  Do not feel you must rush to judgment, however.  Achmed is taking the 
long way round to his impending blaze of cosmic understanding, so you have plenty of
time to decide for yourself if you want to be satisfied with someone else's vision or 
whether you want to forge one of your own.  If you are beginning to think 
Achmed's Tale is taking on allegorical proportions, you could be right.  
Then again, you could be wrong.

Lady Sheba,  priestess of the Holy Handbag,
current Guardian of the Brazen Laver Mouse Oracle, and
the very same Woman in the Bag whom Achmed has been following,
greets you on your spiritual journey.  

Before Proceeding, the BLMO would like you to consider this:

There just aren't any answers to some questions.

**

Be that as it may,  dazzled by the Lady Sheba's beauty, Achmed
has blundered in to the Walled City of The Holy Handbag. 
In a desperate bid to save his soul,  certain that Lady Sheba
 is tempting Achmed to his doom,  Manon refuses to accompany him any farther.
 "You ignorant bit of camel ordure, she snorted, "I shall go no farther with you!" 
"Then so be it --because a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.  How could I expect a 
mere camel to understand?", Achmed whispered, creeping  up behind the life-sized, ivory statue.  
  Stealthily, he attempted to place the bagel-wrapped map into her handbag as an offering.
At that very moment, the handbag began to gleam and pulsate...  

Although Achmed tries hard to hide the bagel-map  in the Holy Handbag, 
 a strange man grabs it , then disappears  down a dark tunnel.

*

If you look very closely, and are pure of heart and motive,
 you will see a profile of Balquis, Queen of Sheba,
gradually appear in the center of the handbag.

*

As her Handbag pulsates, the Goddess tells all...

It is said that...The night before she  was to return to Ethiopia, Solomon
used his wisdom to seduce the Queen of Sheba who was a virgin up till this time.
The day of departure, Solomon took her aside so that they might be alone
together, and he took off the ring that was upon his little finger and gave
it to the Queen: 
"Take this ring so that thou mayest not forget me, 
and if it happens that I obtain seed from thee, this ring shall
be unto thee a sign that  our son will be a priest of Eshmun-Gaia..."

 Achmed, drawn up into that dark, exotic vision, 
 knows   in a blinding flash  he was  once that very seed, 
 the high priest Bayna-Lehkem, (which means son of the wise man) 
dedicated to the goddess Eshmun-Gaia 
whose regent on earth is  The Queen of Sheba.

The Goddess Eshmun-Gaia officiates at her sacred ritual--circa 10th Century BC

The "Throne of Balqis" (shown above) is 15m (50ft)
high and features a podium, a courtyard, a high wall and an irrigation
canal. According to scholars, the temple was built in the 10th Century BC by
 Balqis, the Queen of Sheba, and access was restricted to wealthy, arrogant
patrons who, upon bathing in the Brazen Laver, gave all their money to the poor.
The poor were much more intelligent than the wealthy, but they were
excluded by decree from any means of changing their situation for the better .
Once the wealthy were poor again, they petitioned the Goddess for alms
which she rightfully refused.  
The newly rich poor became arrogant 
and demanded access to the Throne  of Balquis
 where they bathed in the Brazen Laver (with the usual results).

*

What Happens When Inner Pagan Meets Inner Christian?
Chapter 5
Triumph of The Goddess

***

So, you've gotten this far on the journey, have you?
Well, you deserve a reward.  The Picture below, when used as
desktop wallpaper, is guaranteed to transform your perception of reality.
So be careful--staring into the eyes of a goddess or an oracle or even a
sparrow can have cosmic consequences .

Back SOMEWHERE
(trust me)