First of all, I’d like to share with you that my dear husband, Wim Ridder, passed away on January 28, 2026. Therefore, I will be using his archive whenever I wish to include one of his pictures or art works.
Environmental Conferences
Let’s once again join the initiative to reflect on the Earth’s environmental challenges at a worldwide scale. Again? Yes, because every year a major global environmental conference takes place, the Conference of the Parties (COP). This year, representatives from nearly 200 countries will gather in Antalya, Turkey, for COP 31, from 8th – 20th November.
Last year, Ton van der Kroon and Anne Wislez initiated a similar event, Earth Heart 2025, when COP 30 was held in the coastal city of Belém, Brazil (see https://majridder.blog/2025/09/14/53-eng-earth-heart-a-ceremony-for-the-earth/).
In November, Ton and Anne traveled with a group deeper into the inland, to Manaus, where they led a ceremony on the banks of the Amazon river to support the healing of our Earth. Some 800 groups across our planet tuned in to this ceremony through meditation, prayer, singing or dancing.
Sacred Fire
Last year, Earth Heart was defined by the water element, this year, by the element of fire. Last year, the focus was on the Amazon, this year, on the heat and drought in Turkey. Last year, it was celebrated during the full moon, this year, during the new moon.
While the environmental conference takes place in Antalya, a city on the southwestern coast of Turkey, Ton and Anne chose east Turkey to attune to the ancient energy of the region—the area once known as Mesopotamia, or the Land Between the Rivers, the basin of the Euphrates and Tigris.
For this project, they took a deep dive into the history of the Middle East, the region often referred to as the cradle of our civilization. Think of the stories told in the Bible citing well-known names such as Adam and Eve, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham. But either simultaneously or in succession, the region was also home to highly developed civilizations in Sumer, Babylonia, and Persia, with fascinating stories about mythical characters, such as Inanna and Gilgamesh.
Mount Ararat. by Sabri76 – Own work, Public domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3448271
Trip to Turkey
The two main destinations will be Mount Ararat and the “fire temple” Göbekli Tepe.
Mount Ararat is in eastern Turkey, near the border with Armenia. It is a snow-capped, dormant volcano, over 5,000 meters high. It is thought to be the mountain where Noah’s Ark was stranded after the waters began to recede following the great flood.
Much earlier, around 9,500 B.C., not long after the last Ice Age, the mysterious temple of Göbekli Tepe was built in southern Turkey. An ‘anchor point’ was needed—the fire temple—to mark the beginning of the new era they were entering. The temple is located north of Sanliurfa.
The excavations reveal a “floor plan” of the temple complex, with a fireplace in the center and a spacious, womb-shaped area surrounding it. It reveals that fertility was felt and honored as essential to life.
Themes
In that very distant past, fertility cults were connected with an awareness of the sacred feminine and the sacred masculine. Those insights and abilities were lost in subsequent cultures, when men and so-called masculine values became dominant, while women were considered inferior to men.
In our current times, a transformation of life on Earth is taking place, as we move towards an era in which men and women will once again be seen as equal. We will ‘remember’ how to experience sacred masculine and sacred feminine values. Patriarchy will finally come to an end.
Fire Ceremonies All Over the Earth
On November 8th, sacred fires will be lit at many locations around our planet, to ‘burn away’ what has outlived its purpose. We will see a passionate plea for peace flaring up. Our hearts will open to welcome our new era, the Age of Aquarius.
You can celebrate the fire with a single candle at home, or with a large bonfire, surrounded by a large group. If you wish to participate with a group or by inviting people, please reach out and register on the Earth Heart website: www.earthhearttribe.com.
My home will also be open on Sunday morning, November 8th!
