Delilah Reclaimed by Janet Maika’i Rudolph

*This post includes a call for stories at the end.

In my previous blogpost, I wrote about the Biblical tale of Samson and Delilah and why it was likely written in a manner to hide older pagan mythos. You can read it here: Delilah Lost. I promised to share my own myth about the story and tell it as best as I can.  Here it is:

Samson was known as one of the strongest forces in the galaxy, a shining light in the sky. Humans would one day recognize his rays of light as his hair. In the infinity of time, his attention was drawn to movement in the star system known as Sorek. Looking more closely, he saw a woman dancing in dazzling motion while draped in star dust and star light. He could hear the slight tinkle of bells as she shimmered. It was as if the heavens themselves were shouting ha-la-hu-ya at her beauty. She noticed his gaze and winked back at him, tempting him with her swirls and her sparkling eyes. He was enthralled.

“Come closer,” he called. She tried but as she approached, the heat grew too strong.

“Your flames scald me,” she cried. “Shield your rays.”

Samson folded in a portion of his rays and she came nearer. He cried, “Who are you? What is your name?”

“I am made of the stars and the coolness of the dark. I am known as deLilah.”

Suddenly, one strand of Samson’s hair broke loose and deLilah was thrown backwards. “You burnt me. Can’t you control your flame?”

“You raise my passions dear deLilah, my fire rages. But you are the coolness of the dark, the promise of the night. We can help each other.  With my heat and your coolness, we must be able to find a way to come together?”

“You burn too brightly, too hot. One slip up and I will be burnt. How can I trust you?”

Samson thought, “What if I give you a small piece of myself to create a new world, someplace where you can be in my presence and I can still be at ease.”

deLilah considered, “I can use my soothing energies, my evening coolness, my star-light sparkle to cool your impassioned core and create a paradise for ourselves.”

At that, Samson broke off a piece of himself. deLilah took this gift and wrapped it in mysteries beyond measure. She danced around the coil of burning energy, combining coolness and heat to create a land, a place for them to be together. She called their creation, Earth, Terra, Gaia.  And they were happy being in each other’s orbits for seasons unmeasured.

But over time deLilah found she needed to recharge her energy by dancing among the stars. She went off more and more frequently to dance while Samson was tethered to his place. He grew jealous, he raged and as he did, the shields they had built could no longer contain his fires.

Molten earth began to erupt over Gaia, at first in small spouts but then in ever increasing explosions. It was as if creatures of all sorts ran rampant with torches tied to their tails to spread the flames. Sand, soil, even water turned into violent conflagrations. All they had built was ablaze.

When deLilah returned from her dancing ready to embrace her lover, she found everything destroyed and cried out aghast. “How could you?  Don’t you love me enough to hold your flames?”

Samson surveyed the destruction and was mournful. “I don’t know how to be anything but what I am and that is fire.”

deLilah’s heart melted at his pain. “Tell me,” she said, “how can we stop your destruction?”

Samson thought. “We need ropes to bind my energy. But normal ropes will not hold. Let us use ropes made from the tails of seven comets that have never been used before.” deLilah gathered the tails from comets, and wove them into ropes to contain him. Samson burned right through them.

“What else, my love, what more can we try?”

“We can make ropes from the coronas of seven new-born stars.” deLilah rushed off to make the cord. Samson burned through them.

“Anything else to try, my love?”

“Make a rope from seven strand of my hair.” DeLilah rushed off to gather seven rays of his hair and wove them into a rope. Samson burned right through them.

They despaired. “There is only one thing left as no ropes will hold my fire. You will need to cut off my rays and then do your dance of night and cover the rest of my flames in darkness. That way Gaia can recover.”

“But my love, your rays are so precious how can I do that to you?”

“Unless you do, I will continue to feed Gaia’s fires.”

And so deLilah cried as she lulled her lover into an enchanted sleep and then danced and danced, covering her precious lover with the night. Gaia felt the welcoming chill as the sun’s rays were withdrawn, and she started to cool.

As the fires came under control, sprouts of greenery began to show through the burnt ground and roots began to grow creating soil. Over time the trees and their leaves created an atmosphere as a garment of protection for Gaia. And that was just in the nick of time because deLilah could not contain Samson forever. His rays began to poke out of her clothing. The strength of her night was overcome, and the Samson’s rays once again reached Gaia in their full force. But Gaia was now protected. And you know this story is true, not because it is well told (although I hope it is) but because you can see for yourselves that sometimes Samson still roars to life and spews his fire. But deLilah is always there to cool the enflamed baby earth which will always begin to sprout anew.  

*Call for Stories:  After my first post on this topic, Delilah Lost, there was some discussion among FAR writers and readers to do a project of re-writing of Biblical stories from our own unique perspectives. This is really just a germ of an idea but I love the concept of finding the nuggets of power and beauty in the stories from all different angles.  The more different perspectives, the better for illuminating and enjoying the teachings behind the words.  I don’t know where this will go but if you are interested in exploring, please contact me through my e-mail at Arteagle5@aol.com

Janet Maika’i Rudolph. “IT’S ALL ABOUT THE QUEST.” I have walked the spirit path for over 25 years traveling to sacred sites around the world including Israel to do an Ulpan (Hebrew language studies while working on a Kibbutz), Eleusis and Delphi in Greece, Avebury and Glastonbury in England, Brodgar in Scotland, Machu Picchu in Peru, Teotihuacan in Mexico, and Giza in Egypt. Within these travels, I have participated in numerous shamanic rites and rituals, attended a mystery school based on the ancient Greek model, and studied with shamans around the world. I am twice initiated. The first as a shaman practitioner of a pathway known as Divine Humanity. The second ordination in 2016 was as an Alaka’i (a Hawaiian spiritual guide with Aloha International). I have written three books: When Moses Was a Shaman, When Eve Was a Goddess, (now available in Spanish, Cuando Eva era una Diosa), and One Gods. In Ardor and Adventure, Janet.now available in Spanish.  Cuando Eva era una Diosa