The Temple of Sophia
A temple to the Divine Feminine, being built on our land in Bali
“This temple is dedicated to Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa (The One God) in the form of the Divine Mother. We call her by seven names from our Western lineage, but her spirit flows in perfect harmony with the great Shaktis of this land: Saraswati (Wisdom), Sri (Abundance & Landscape), Danu (Primal Source) and Ganga (Purifying Water). It is a living sanctuary for Tri Hita Karana, weaving harmony between the divine, human community and the wild nature of Bali.”
Six pillars and a hidden seventh
Six carved pillars in the Balinese style stand for the Visible Sisters, Anna, Emma, Emilia, Emily, Claire and Magdalene, of action, structure and earthly grace. They hold the open cross-beams and show their beauty to the world.
The seventh pillar stands at the back, in a stepped-down space for water and cleansing. It is built extra thick to carry the whole weight of the roof, the axis of the temple, and its face turns toward the centre rather than outward. This is the Pillar of Peace, and it is Sophia, Holy Wisdom, the hidden support that holds everything up from the shadows.
Six is the number of structure and creation. Seven is the number of rest, completion and divine infusion. In the West she is the unseen support, the reminder that the most vital part of our spiritual structure is often found in the quiet, lower and most private places of our lives. In Bali the low ground at the back belongs to Kelod, the sea and cleansing, and the pillar is a deep root drinking from the underground springs to support the altar above.
Walking the temple
We enter through the Gates of Emily (Action and Welcome, Dewi Ganga).
We walk the Gardens of Emma (Nature and Grounding, Dewi Sri).
We cross the Threshold of Emilia (Community and Warmth, Dewi Parwati).
We stand on the Bedrock of Anna (Ancestry and Stability, Dewi Danu).
We see through the Windows and Mirrors of Claire (Clarity and Light, Dewi Gayatri).
We arrive at the Altar of Magdalene (Love and Transformation, Dewi Ratih).
We are held within the Silence of Sophia (Wisdom and the Infinite, Dewi Saraswati).
Behind the altar a wall stands between the upper deck and the steps down to the water. It is the Veil. In the lineage of the Magdalene the seeker passes through a cave or a tomb to meet the dawn of the Light, and the steps are that descent. Below is the Beji, the holy spring, a place of Melukat, where every act of washing becomes a ritual of shedding the old self before ascending back to the altar. Claire’s veiled mirrors hang there, so we can look into our own eyes and see God’s deepest reflection. It is the coolest, darkest and most grounded part of the temple, Anna’s domain, and a big flat bedrock stone lies before the seventh pillar.
The saints and servants
Sophia · Dewi Saraswati
Holy Wisdom, the Master Builder of Proverbs 8:30, the pre-existent wisdom that conceived the laws of harmony, light and geometry. Dewi Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge, art and the sacred flow of wisdom. She is the hidden seventh pillar, where the mind becomes still and the voice of God is heard.
The Magdalene · Dewi Ratih
The Apostle of Apostles. Dewi Ratih is the goddess of beauty, love and the lunar mystery, and like Magdalene at the tomb in the dark of night she is the Light in the Darkness. Hers is the central altar with the Alabaster Jar and the Red Egg, the place of devotion and the healing of the broken heart. In this temple, the heart is the compass.
St. Anna · Dewi Danu
The grandmother of the lineage, the ancient bedrock. Dewi Danu is the primordial mother of the lake who gives the holy water, Tirta, that sustains all life. Anna is the foundation stone touching the raw earth and the ancestors who hold us from below. As all water in Bali flows from the mountain lakes of the Mother, this temple is rooted in the Source, and home is wherever we stand with intention.
St. Emily de Vialar · Dewi Ganga
The audacious healer who crossed borders to serve. Dewi Ganga is the goddess of the holy river, invoked in Melukat to wash away what no longer belongs. Emily rules the water below, a mercy-well, and keeps the temple from becoming a closed box, carrying its healing water out to a thirsty world.
St. Claire · Dewi Gayatri
The radiant mirror, keeper of Claritas and the inner flame. Dewi Gayatri is the light of the Gayatri mantra, spiritual illumination itself. Claire’s mirrors sit on the upper beams to catch the Balinese sun and carry it down into the back of the temple, so the shadow always meets the light and the temple stays Suci, holy.
St. Emma of Bremen · Dewi Sri
The warden of the land and the giving hand. Dewi Sri is the goddess of the rice fields, sustenance and the green landscape we walk on. Emma is the wild garden around the temple, honouring the land as it actually is rather than how a map says it should be. Beside her stands Princess Kang Ching Wie, Ratu Ayu Subandar, who, tradition holds, brought the Pis Bolong coins to Bali: the abundance of the soil and of the coin.
St. Emilia of Caesarea · Dewi Parwati
The mother of saints, who turned her home into a sanctuary. Dewi Parwati is the householder and mother of the sacred hearth. Emilia lives in the cross-beams that bind the six pillars into one family before the roof is laid, so the temple is a Pura that feels like a Griya, a holy home, where everyone is nurtured like a child of the Divine Mother.
St. Mary, the Madonna · Dewi Kwan Im
The guardian of the Veil. In the West she is the Holy Mother whose womb became the first tabernacle. In Bali she is Dewi Kwan Im, the mother of boundless compassion who hears the cries of the world. She stands at the wall at the top of the steps, and before stepping down into the water we pause with her to release shame and guilt into her vessel of infinite grace.
Her Story
Her story is the one that has been obscured.
Her Story: a guided meditation for the return of the Mother
Sophia