12 Signs, 12 Stones, 12 Tribes

The Declarations of YisraEl

Yakov (Jacob) calls his children:
Gather yourselves together
I’ll tell you what will befall you in the end of days
Listen to YisraEl your father:

Let us gather ourselves together and be uplifted together
In this way we experience that we are YisraEl, the oneness
Also the none-ness

Rubin, my first-born, my might and my strength
Excellence of dignity and excellence of power
Rubin is our loving nobility, our concern for all others

Beware of instability like water
Rubin, don’t let your heart “completely” run the show

Shimon and Levi, a kinship with weapons of violence
Avoid such council or you cannot unite with my glory
Beware anger and willfulness that slay men
And cripple animals

Because their sister Dinah was dishonored
Levi and Shimon killed the perpetrator
And all the men of his tribe
And cut the hamstrings of their cattle

Anger is fierce and wrath is cruel
You will be divided and spread through all the tribes

Shimon becomes the personification of our strength
And our wisdom. Levi becomes the priesthood
The musicians and the truth warriors
Even most terrible sinners can rise up to be great saints

Yehudah (Judah) you’ll be praised
Victorious over your enemies. Your relatives will bow
Before your majesty. You’re a lion
Who holds the scepter and the ruler’s staff

You’ve bound yourself to the sacred vine
The most choice wine. You bathe in sacraments
Your ensign is red and white. Teeth white as milk
Eyes red with the intoxication of God

How cruel Yahudah was; how noble has he become
He’s a k’shatriyah, a selfless king
Whose eternal commitment is for the welfare of his people

Zebulon, treasure-finder
You dwell at the shores of the seas
Shipping master, skillful merchant who supports

Issachar solid and strong who sees the resting place
And couches down in there knowing the goodness
The pleasant land. You bow your shoulder and live to serve

What a pair these two Issachar and Zeb
Issachar sees the Sabbath and charts the heavens
Zebulon knows the infinite depths

Dan is the wise and neutral judge for his people
Also the creative energy, a serpent in the way

Who bites the horses’ heel protecting the people
So the enemy rider falls backward

The kundalini (power energy) rises up through the spine
To the crown, illuminating the supreme court
The sentence is always fair. The guidance is always useful
The enemy rider is our selfishness

YisraEl sees a fiery chariot approaching. He raises his hand
O' God, I await your deliverance --
And completes the blessings

Warrior Gad, protector of the innocent, a troop may attack
But you will troop on them and see them scatter and run
A warrior-leader, invincible protector of the innocent

As for Asher – abundance, wisdom and wealth of royalty
The majestic kingdom of the divine presence; we call this Asher

Naphtali runs free in the fields (of consciousness)
He passes on the dharma with words of beauty and victory

The poet, the artist, the story-teller
The puppet and the puppet-master

All these qualities are in us. Each has its own totem
As we choose, we draw on them and bring them forward

Yosuf is a fruitful vine by a spring (the living waters)
Though attacked and tested, his resolve never falters

Empowered by the almighty one, by the shepherd
By the stone of YisraEl, by God of your fathers and mothers

Who blesses you with the heavens and the infinite depths
With the breasts and womb of the goddess
With succor, Eros and progeny who live honorably

To the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills
His arms are strong. Her hands are skillful
You are the crown, the head, the prince of our family

Tamar and Yosuf (Joseph) are male and female personifications
Of our foundation, the illumined sage at our core
The miraculous ability to reproduce, to be reborn
To love each other unconditionally. This is our inheritance

Benjamin’s totem is the victorious wolf
Who devours his prey in the morning and at night
Divides the spoil

Benjamin shares the wealth with all
Benjamin is our generous heart
Our most powerful weapon. We ride in the victor’s chariot

These are the twelve tribes of YisraEl
Twelve aspects of our illumination
As our father declares unto us and blesses us
Each of us according to the cut of our own blessings
From Genesis 49