Goddess Ishtar And God Tammuz  

Posted by Unknown

Goddess Ishtar And God Tammuz Cover
Ishtar has a prominent role in the Epic of Gilgamesh. After Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu have killed the demon Humbaba, Ishtar appears to Gilgamesh and asks him to be her husband. Gilgamesh rejects Ishtar’s offer, citing her mistreatment of her former lovers and wondering why he would be any different. In fury, Ishtar asks her father Anu, God of Heaven, to unleash the Bull of Heaven so that it could attack Gilgamesh and avenge her. Anu hesitates, but when Ishtar threatens to raise all the dead from the underworld, he gives in. The Bull is set loose, and after a ferocious battle, Gilgamesh and Enkidu manage to slay it. Ishtar stands on the walls of the city and wails, which prompts Enkidu to throw the bull’s leg at her, threatening to do the same to her if she comes any closer. This is too much for the Gods, who were already upset with Gilgamesh and Enkidu for killing Humbaba. They decide that Enkidu must die, and Gilgamesh learns what it means to reject Ishtar’s advances.

Enkidu’s hostility towards Ishtar has another root. Earlier in the Epic, Enkidu, who is originally a wild man, is “civilized” by a temple prostitute. These prostitutes, called ishtaritu, inhabited the temples of Ishtar, offering themselves to any male worshipper who paid the required contribution. In fact, every Babylonian woman was expected to go to a temple and perform the rite with a stranger at least once in her life. Like Inanna, Ishtar was known as the Goddess of prostitutes, and her alternate names of Har and Hora gave rise to the terms “harlot” and “whore”.

The Goddess Ishtar, in her youth, loved Tammuz, God of the harvest. He returned her love, but he was killed by a boar. Ishtar was devastated by his heath.

When Tammuz died, all vegetation died. The animals would no longer mate, and humans were no longer active sexually, and the Earth, herself, was dying. Ishtar knew that Tammuz was in the Underworld which was ruled by her sister Erishkigal. To reach Erishkigal, Ishtar had to pass the seven gates of the Underworld and at each gate surrender some of her jewelry or a garment until finally she stood before her sister naked, unadorned and completely vulnerable.

Ishtar laments: "Tammuz is dead!"

Ishtar looks up at Sin, the Moon God and asks: "Sin, my father, what shall we do? Without my love Tammuz, the Earth's womb is sterile. The fields well bear no crops and my creatures will bear no young. Help me father!"

Sin replies: What can I do, sister? I am the Moon who lights up the night. I can bring rest, but not fruitfulness; visions, but not deeds; understanding, but not action. Such things belong to Earth. What can I do?"

Ishtar turns to Shamash, and pleads: "Shamash, my brother, what shall I do?"

Shamash replies: "What can I do sister? I am the sun who lights up the day, shining upon your Earth to bring it heat. I can call forth your crops once they are sown...and warm your young once they are born; but I cannot sow the grain, or fertilize the womb. Such things belong to Earth. What can I do?"

Ishtar appeals finally to Ea: "Ea, my brother, help me! You are wisdom, you are magic, you are the air which my creatures breathe. Help me!"

Ea does not reply for a moment; then he stands up, as Sin and Shamash also do when he commands them. "Be upstanding, my brothers. Despair and resignation will not help our sister, nor bring Tammuz to life. What is wisdom and what is magic? Wisdom is knowledge of the laws of the universe, which are greater than each of us alone. And magic is the courage to call upon them. So let us call! It is a low of being, that death follows life, and rebirth follows death. Tammuz may seem to die, but his rebirth must follow as the great wheel turns. We call upon the laws of being – we clal upon the wheel of rebirth!"

Sin and Shamash also threw up their arms. Ishtar takes Tammuz's hand and all three take up the cry: "We call upon the wheel of rebirth!"

Tammuz opens his eyes and sits up. Ishtar stands and pull him to his feet, saying: "Great Tammuz is reborn, the fruits of the Earth are ours once more. Bring them forth, let us enjoy them!"

Further reading (free e-books):

Aleister Crowley - The Star And The Garter
Aleister Crowley - One Star In Sight
Francesca De Grandis - Goddess Initiation

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Turkish Fire God  

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Turkish Fire God Cover
Fire was a grandson of Tengri and the Sun. His brother was Lightning. The Turks associated Fire with birth, growth, development, and life in general. N. Katanov states, "In the perception of the Tatars, the spirit of Fire grows and warms beings. As soon as the spirit of Fire departs from the being, it dies. The body unites with the land, and the soul joins the multitudes of spirits, soaring above the Earth." A red cow, red bull, or rooster represented Fire. In other representations, Fire was Ut-Ana (Mother Fire). Ut-Ana was believed to be the mother of mankind. When Fire whistled in the hearth, they bowed to the flame and invocated: "Fire, you are our Mother with 30 teeth, you are our mother-in-law with 40 teeth." Fire was deemed to be like the Sun (Heavenly Fire) and the hearth in the centre of a yurt was purposely made round. Warmth, emanated from both Sun and Fire, as did light and colour. Sun and Fire were linked to Woman, who bore and guarded the descendants. The Hearth was protected and kept clean, a careless attitude could result in the Fire God becoming angry and leaving the yurt. Fire was associated with the clan, but each family also maintained a family Fire, which was united with that of other families. However, borrowing Fire from neighbours was considered impious.

Desecration of Fire was forbidden. This included throwing rubbish, leftovers or foul smelling substances onto it; stoking coals with a sharp implement; stepping over it or stepping on ashes. Ashes from the hearth were taken to a secluded place, where neither people, nor animals would go. To spit on a flame meant that one’s lips would become blistered. It was prohibited to deviate from the daily ritual of tending the Fire and offering it food and beverages. If these rules were violated, the Fire would punish the inhabitants by burning possessions or the dwelling itself, or depriving the inhabitants of the Fire God's protection against malicious, illness-causing spirits. A burnt object was seen as a terrible sign of Fire’s anger and a special prayer with sacrifices had to be made. If it occurred whilst on a hunt, the hunters abandoned their forays. When the burning wood in the hearth crackled or whistled, it meant that Ut-Ana was happy and the master of the house expected good news and visitors.

Once a year family prayers to Ut-Ana were organised. Their purpose was to ask for the family’s health and fortune. A Kam conducted the household prayer to Ut-Ana. A white ram with a black face was often given as a sacrifice. Before the sacrifice, simmering milk was poured upon the ram and it was decorated with coloured ribbons, before being released back into the herd. In this way it was devoted to Ut-Ana, before being slaughtered. The right front part of the carcass and heart were burnt and the remaining parts given to the Kam. A required component of all the Kam’s ceremonies was birch, which symbolised the link between the upper and lower worlds. Birch branches (sis) decorated with chalama (ribbons of blue, red and white) were placed on the floor around the hearth. After a sacrifice to the Fire God, the Kam threw pieces of fatty meat into the flames, which would then intensify. In invocations to Ut-Ana, the Kam usually said: “You, Fire, Mother of ours. You have 40 teeth. You are covered with red silk, and have a white silk bed. I did not step on white ashes. Small children and dogs did not touch you. I sacrificed the white ram, I gave the white lamb, I bow to you, Fire, grant us an easier life.”8 The sacrificial food for deities and spirits was prepared on flames. People ate the meat, and the Deities and Spirits fed on the smell of the roasted meat.

Fire had a cleansing quality. A desecrated object was held above the flames for cleansing. Ambassadors visiting a Khagan were always led between two fires. Leaving the winter quarters, the Horde also passed fires. Before a man give a public oath he had to be purified by flames. For this purpose fires were set in two places and he had to pass between them.

“Fire was a patron of dwellings and a home’s sanctuary. A bride on arriving at her husband’s household had to bow to the Fire on entering the dwelling, so that her family would be as happy as the ancestors. Women led the bride entering a new family to the yurt of her father-in-law. When inside, she usually knelt… She then poured fat onto the flames and bowed a few times, invoking, ‘Mother-Fire and Mother-Fat, award me with your favor!...’”9 The Kam, stretched his hands over the flames, calling: "Lady Hearth Ut-Ana! By your will this flame is born. So let this flame protect the dwelling against malicious spirits and act as a barrier against human treachery. May the goodness warm without burning and may evil be eliminated. Let Fire last a thousands years! Bless this hearth, Ut-Ana!" After that, the Kam declared the bride to be a wife and a mistress of the hearth and the groom a husband and master of the yurt.

Fire was applied for the treatment of various diseases. If a child or adult had facial lesions, sparks were made over them using flint. The Kam, addressed the lesions, "Why does not a single branch move? Why do you wander here and there? May all the crusts together with the fiery sparks fall from this face... Do not build your yurt here any more… Do not return." With the help of Fire, the Kam treated a child from 'milk disease' (sic), a disease of the oral mucous membrane. The treatment consisted of the Kam laying the child on its back and burning a piece of a birch bark on its chest, leaving a small mark. The same procedure was conducted for the treatment of excessive salivation. The diseases which could be cured by flames included rheumatism, which in the opinion of the ancient Turks, was caused by carelessly walking into old encampments. The Mongols believed the same, as they had a legend that the Khonkirat people suffered leg-pains because they descended from the Yergena-Kun valley and had trampled on the land of other peoples.10 It was believed that ashes also had medicinal properties. So, a bleeding wound was covered with hot ashes, which accelerated healing. Hot ashes smeared across the belly with one’s right hand were a cure for abdominal pain.

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Nabu  

Posted by Unknown

Nabu Cover
Nabu (in Biblical Hebrew Nebo ) is the Babylonian god of wisdom and writing, worshipped by Babylonians as the son of Marduk and his consort, Sarpanitum, and as the grandson of Ea. Nabu's consort was Tashmetum. Originally, Nabu was a West Semitic deity introduced by the Amorites into Mesopotamia, probably at the same time as Marduk. While Marduk became Babylon's main deity, Nabu resided in nearby Borsippa in his temple E-zida. He was first called the "scribe and minister of Marduk", later assimilated as Marduk's beloved son from Sarpanitum. During the Babylonian New Year Festival, the cult statue of Nabu was transported from Borsippa to Babylon in order to commune with his father Marduk. Nabu is accorded the office of patron of the scribes, taking over from the Sumerian goddess Nisaba. His symbols are the clay writing tablet with the writing stylus. He wears a horned cap, and stands with hands clasped, in the ancient gesture of priesthood. He rides on a winged dragon (mushussu, also known as Sirrush) that is initially Marduk's.

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Ohoyamatsumi  

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Ohoyamatsumi Cover
Ohoyamatsumi ( Oyamatsumi-no-Mikoto; also Ohoyama) is in Japanese mythology an elder brother of Amaterasu, and an important god who rules mountain, sea, and war. He is also the father of Konohanasakuya-hime, the kami of Mount Fuji. His most important shrine, Ohoyamazumi Shrine, is located in the island Ohomishima.

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