Where was the Second Temple?
Temples in the Near East were of a standard pattern—a womb. They were a long narrow building often oriented toward the sunrise with a fairly narrow door protected by two pillars forming an entrance portico. Canaanitish religion was supposed to have been based on fertility rites and the temple orientation is reminiscent of the tombs in Ireland such as Newgrange and Shanballyemond that catch the rays of the sun at sunrise at significant times of the year. The tomb or temple was an earthly vagina for the fertilizing rays of the sun as they penetrate the darkness. The sun was then seen as fertilizing the earth. For a tomb the hope was for a rebirth, but in fertility cults it was originally to stimulate the land to fruition. Only later did it begin to signify a personal rebirth for individuals. The whole place was holy, but within was a particularly holy place—the inner sanctum. The general orientation of these buildings show that they were pointing east to catch the morning sun and particu
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