Astarte Syriaca by Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1877
"Mystery: lo! betwixt the sun and moon
Astarte of the Syrians:
Venus Queen Ere Aphrodite was.
In silver sheen
Her twofold girdle clasps the infinite boon
Of bliss whereof the heaven and earth commune:
And from her neck's inclining flower-stem lean
Love-freighted lips and absolute eyes that wean
The pulse of hearts to the spheres' dominant tune.
Torch-bearing, her sweet ministers compel
All thrones of light beyond the sky and sea
The witnesses of Beauty's face to be:
That face, of Love's all-penetrative spell
Amulet, talisman, and oracle, - Betwixt the sun and moon a mystery.
" Spring is coming and the libations have been made.
The swords have been sharpened. Let the festival begin.
Astarte needs priests if we're going to overthrow patriarchal monotheism.
