MESOPOTAMIAN MAGIC in TEXT and PERFORMANCE Sam Mirelman
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Plants, Animals, and Bodies of Water the Significance of Color Terminology in the Nature Omens of the Omen Series Šumma Ālu Ina Mēlê Šakin
CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO Plants, Animals, and Bodies of Water The significance of color terminology in the nature omens of the omen series Šumma ālu ina mēlê šakin Joonas Hirvonen Pro gradu -tutkielma Helsingin yliopisto Maailman kulttuurien laitos Assyriologia 1.9.2014 Tiivistelmä Pro gradu -tutkielmani käsittelee väriterminologian käyttöä ennesarjassa Šumma ālu ina mēlê šakin (”Jos kaupunki on asetettu korkealle”). Työ on tekstitutkimus ja se keskittyy ennesarjan hermeneuttisiin pääpiirteisiin. Ennesarja on kirjoitettu akkadin kielellä ja se on koottu kuningas Assurbanipalin hallintoaikana (669–627 eaa.), mutta sen vanhimmat osat ajoittuvat jo toiselle vuosituhannelle ennen ajan laskun alkua. Tutkielma sisältää analyysin taulujen 1-40 eläin-, kasvi, ja vesienteistä ja työ pohjautuu Sally Freedmanin vuosina 1998 ja 2006 julkaisemiin käännöksiin ja translitteraatioihin. Tutkimukseni osoittaa, että Mesopotamian oppineilla oli systemaattinen tapa yhdistää tietty väritermi joko negatiiviseen tai positiiviseen enteeseen. Luonnon värimuutoksia tarkkailemalla he kykenivät nopeasti tulkitsemaan, oliko kyseinen enne luonteeltaan positiivinen vai negatiivinen ja tarvitsiko tämän pohjalta suorittaa rituaali (namburbû), joka kumoaisi mahdollisen negatiivisen enteen. Mesopotamialaiset uskoivat jumalten kommunikoivan ihmisille asettamalla enteitä kaikkialle kosmokseen. Oppineet ymmärsivät tämän kommunikaation toimivan nuolenpääkirjoituksen tavoin -
Burn Your Way to Success Studies in the Mesopotamian Ritual And
Burn your way to success Studies in the Mesopotamian Ritual and Incantation Series Šurpu by Francis James Michael Simons A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham March 2017 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract The ritual and incantation series Šurpu ‘Burning’ is one of the most important sources for understanding religious and magical practice in the ancient Near East. The purpose of the ritual was to rid a sufferer of a divine curse which had been inflicted due to personal misconduct. The series is composed chiefly of the text of the incantations recited during the ceremony. These are supplemented by brief ritual instructions as well as a ritual tablet which details the ceremony in full. This thesis offers a comprehensive and radical reconstruction of the entire text, demonstrating the existence of a large, and previously unsuspected, lacuna in the published version. In addition, a single tablet, tablet IX, from the ten which comprise the series is fully edited, with partitur transliteration, eclectic and normalised text, translation, and a detailed line by line commentary. -
The Lost Book of Enki.Pdf
L0ST BOOK °f6NK1 ZECHARIA SITCHIN author of The 12th Planet • . FICTION/MYTHOLOGY $24.00 TH6 LOST BOOK OF 6NK! Will the past become our future? Is humankind destined to repeat the events that occurred on another planet, far away from Earth? Zecharia Sitchin’s bestselling series, The Earth Chronicles, provided humanity’s side of the story—as recorded on ancient clay tablets and other Sumerian artifacts—concerning our origins at the hands of the Anunnaki, “those who from heaven to earth came.” In The Lost Book of Enki, we can view this saga from a dif- ferent perspective through this richly con- ceived autobiographical account of Lord Enki, an Anunnaki god, who tells the story of these extraterrestrials’ arrival on Earth from the 12th planet, Nibiru. The object of their colonization: gold to replenish the dying atmosphere of their home planet. Finding this precious metal results in the Anunnaki creation of homo sapiens—the human race—to mine this important resource. In his previous works, Sitchin com- piled the complete story of the Anunnaki ’s impact on human civilization in peacetime and in war from the frag- ments scattered throughout Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Hittite, Egyptian, Canaanite, and Hebrew sources- —the “myths” of all ancient peoples in the old world as well as the new. Missing from these accounts, however, was the perspective of the Anunnaki themselves What was life like on their own planet? What motives propelled them to settle on Earth—and what drove them from their new home? Convinced of the existence of a now lost book that formed the basis of THE lost book of ENKI MFMOHCS XND PKjOPHeCieS OF XN eXTfCXUfCWJTWXL COD 2.6CHXPJA SITCHIN Bear & Company Rochester, Vermont — Bear & Company One Park Street Rochester, Vermont 05767 www.InnerTraditions.com Copyright © 2002 by Zecharia Sitchin All rights reserved. -
Virginity in Ancient Mesopotamia*
COOPER VIRGINITY IN ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA JERROLD S. COOPER Baltimore Virginity in Ancient Mesopotamia* 1. Virginity, Ours and Theirs “ virgin body has the freshness of would be an older adolescent girl. But in secret springs, the morning sheen actual Akkadian usage, ardatu is confined Aof an unopened flower, the orient to literary texts, whereas batultu, attested luster of a pearl on which the sun has never only after the Old Babylonian period, is the shone. Grotto, temple, sanctuary, secret word that would be used for adolescent girls garden – man, like the child, is fascinated in royal enumerations of booty, and in per- by enclosed and shadowy places not yet sonnel lists and legal texts.5 The Sumerian animated by any consciousness, which wait terms are restricted entirely to literary texts; to be given a soul: what he alone is to take the only case where a girl seems to progress and to penetrate seems to be in truth created from ki-sikil-tur to ki-sikil is in Enlil by him.”1 What a pity that neither Sumerian and Ninlil, where Ninlil first appears as ki- nor Akkadian has a proper word for a young sikil-tur (1. 11) alongside Enlil as guruš- woman whose flesh is capable of inspiring tur, but subsequently is called ki-sikil.6 such marvel! At least since the foundational In western languages, too, there is no word articles of Finkelstein and Landsberger,2 that originally designated virgin. Parthenos,7 Assyriologists have recognized that Sume- virgo, Jungfrau – all designate nubile girls rian ki-sikil-tur and ki-sikil,3 Akkadian before marriage, -
Strength Symbols
Ancient Japanese kanji symbol for Spiritual Strength Ancient Japanese symbol for Good Fortune. Ancient Japanese symbol for Black Sheep Ancient Japanese symbol for Supernatural Power. Strength Symbols The Bear-An ancient Heraldic symbol which signifies Strength. The Bull- Symbolized strenght in Egypt and other countries. Japanese Kanji Symbol for Strength Tabono - the 'paddles'. Ancient African Symbol- Symbol represents strength and perseverence. Celtic Boar symbol for Strength Chinese Symbol for Strength Good Luck Symbols Four Leaf Horseshoe-The horseshoe Clover-is a renown is considered very lucky symbol that means good and used to be hung in luck to the person who many homes to protect and finds one. What do the attract good fortune for the leaves symbolize? family residing inside. One leaf is for FAITH...The second for Horseshoes were also considered lucky HOPE... The third for LOVE... And the because they were made by fourth for LUCK! In Irish tradition the blacksmiths, which is also considered a Shamrock or Three-leaf Clover very lucky trade. Because they worked represents the Holy Trinity: one leaf for with elemental fire and magical iron, the Father, one for the Son and one for they were thought to have special the Holy Spirit. When a Shamrock is powers. found with the fourth leaf, it represents God's Grace. Lucky Rabbit's foot- Rabbits and hares were considered very lucky animals as they were associated with spring and the return of flowers and other plants. Spring was also a time of fertility and so rabbits were considered good luck to be seen running through the fields. -
Surviving and Thriving in a Hostile Religious Culture Michelle Mitchell Florida International University, [email protected]
Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 11-14-2014 Surviving and Thriving in a Hostile Religious Culture Michelle Mitchell Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI14110747 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the New Religious Movements Commons Recommended Citation Mitchell, Michelle, "Surviving and Thriving in a Hostile Religious Culture" (2014). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1639. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/1639 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida SURVIVING AND THRIVING IN A HOSTILE RELIGIOUS CULTURE: CASE STUDY OF A GARDNERIAN WICCAN COMMUNITY A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in RELIGIOUS STUDIES by Michelle Irene Mitchell 2014 To: Interim Dean Michael R. Heithaus College of Arts and Sciences This thesis, written by Michelle Irene Mitchell, and entitled Surviving and Thriving in a Hostile Religious Culture: Case Study of a Gardnerian Wiccan Community, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this thesis and recommend that it be approved. _______________________________________ Lesley Northup _______________________________________ Dennis Wiedman _______________________________________ Whitney A. Bauman, Major Professor Date of Defense: November 14, 2014 The thesis of Michelle Irene Mitchell is approved. -
Kabbalah, Magic & the Great Work of Self Transformation
KABBALAH, MAGIC AHD THE GREAT WORK Of SELf-TRAHSfORMATIOH A COMPL€T€ COURS€ LYAM THOMAS CHRISTOPHER Llewellyn Publications Woodbury, Minnesota Contents Acknowledgments Vl1 one Though Only a Few Will Rise 1 two The First Steps 15 three The Secret Lineage 35 four Neophyte 57 five That Darkly Splendid World 89 SIX The Mind Born of Matter 129 seven The Liquid Intelligence 175 eight Fuel for the Fire 227 ntne The Portal 267 ten The Work of the Adept 315 Appendix A: The Consecration ofthe Adeptus Wand 331 Appendix B: Suggested Forms ofExercise 345 Endnotes 353 Works Cited 359 Index 363 Acknowledgments The first challenge to appear before the new student of magic is the overwhehning amount of published material from which he must prepare a road map of self-initiation. Without guidance, this is usually impossible. Therefore, lowe my biggest thanks to Peter and Laura Yorke of Ra Horakhty Temple, who provided my first exposure to self-initiation techniques in the Golden Dawn. Their years of expe rience with the Golden Dawn material yielded a structure of carefully selected ex ercises, which their students still use today to bring about a gradual transformation. WIthout such well-prescribed use of the Golden Dawn's techniques, it would have been difficult to make progress in its grade system. The basic structure of the course in this book is built on a foundation of the Golden Dawn's elemental grade system as my teachers passed it on. In particular, it develops further their choice to use the color correspondences of the Four Worlds, a piece of the original Golden Dawn system that very few occultists have recognized as an ini tiatory tool. -
Fall Magic Auction
Public Auction #027 Fall Magic Auction Featuring Personal Artifacts and Memorabilia From The Career of Channing Pollock and The Library of James B. Alfredson Complemented by a Selection of Collectible Magicana Auction Saturday, November 1, 2014 v 10:00 Am Exhibition October 29 - 31 v 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Inquiries [email protected] Phone: 773-472-1442 Potter & Potter Auctions, Inc. 3759 N. Ravenswood Ave. -Suite 121- Chicago, IL 60613 Channing Pollock Channing West Pollock (1926 – 2006) was one of the most Snow-white birds materialized from the hands of the tall, dark, sophisticated, professional, accomplished—and imitated— and handsome magician. Then they vanished, along with the magicians of his generation. cage that held them. He began studying magic at the age of 21. Upon Pollock’s popularity was not only derived from his sleight of graduation from the Chavez College of Manual Dexterity hand technique, however. Often billed as “the most handsome and Prestidigitation in 1952, he was regarded as its most man in the world,” his appeal to general audiences led him into accomplished pupil and soon held a teaching position at starring roles in European films such as Judex and Rocambole, the school, but quickly moved on to a storied career in show and to regular appearances in American television on a number business. In 1954, he appeared on Ed Sullivan’s famous of popular programs. television variety show. Soon thereafter, Pollock went on to Although Pollock retired from show business completely conquer American stages, and then set his sights abroad to in 1969, he never lost his love for magic. -
Religion and the Return of Magic: Wicca As Esoteric Spirituality
RELIGION AND THE RETURN OF MAGIC: WICCA AS ESOTERIC SPIRITUALITY A thesis submitted for the degree of PhD March 2000 Joanne Elizabeth Pearson, B.A. (Hons.) ProQuest Number: 11003543 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11003543 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 AUTHOR’S DECLARATION The thesis presented is entirely my own work, and has not been previously presented for the award of a higher degree elsewhere. The views expressed here are those of the author and not of Lancaster University. Joanne Elizabeth Pearson. RELIGION AND THE RETURN OF MAGIC: WICCA AS ESOTERIC SPIRITUALITY CONTENTS DIAGRAMS AND ILLUSTRATIONS viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix ABSTRACT xi INTRODUCTION: RELIGION AND THE RETURN OF MAGIC 1 CATEGORISING WICCA 1 The Sociology of the Occult 3 The New Age Movement 5 New Religious Movements and ‘Revived’ Religion 6 Nature Religion 8 MAGIC AND RELIGION 9 A Brief Outline of the Debate 9 Religion and the Decline o f Magic? 12 ESOTERICISM 16 Academic Understandings of -
ANE Deities Compared Genesis 1-11 the Babylonians and Akkadians Adopted the Sumerian Pantheon with Little Changes
ANE Deities Compared Genesis 1-11 The Babylonians and Akkadians adopted the Sumerian pantheon with little changes. Gods were often renamed but their role and status in the pantheon generally remained the same. The dominance of Babylon, however, also led to the ascendancy of the god of Babylon: Marduk assumed power over An, Enlil, and Enki. Sumerian Aspect of Deity Babylonian/Akkadian An God of the heavens Anu Enlil God of the earth and air Enlil / Ellil Enki God of water; Ea god of wisdom and magic Ninhursag (Nimmah, Nintu, Ki) Mother-goddess Aruru Nanna-Sin Moon god Sin Utu Sun God; Shamash god of justice Ereshkigal Goddess of the underworld Nergal Ishkur Storm god Marduk (Adad, Ashur, Bel) Abzu Primordial sweet-water ocean Apsu (Enki’s abode) Nanshe The salt-water ocean Tiamat1 Dumuzi God of vegetation; god of the Tammuz underworld; shepherd god Inanna Fertility goddess; Ishtar goddess of love and war Ashnan God of grain Dagan Nidaba, Nisaba God of scribes, literacy, Nabu and wisdom Anunnaki2 Lesser gods, workers Anunnaki, Igigi2 Blue = the supreme gods (highest of the seven primary gods) Red = additional members of the seven primary gods Green = other important gods 1 Enuma Elish tells the story of Marduk’s victory over the sea monster Tiamat. 2 Anunnaki and Igigi are both collective terms for a group of otherwise nameless gods. It is uncertain whether or not they stand for the same group of gods. The Anunnaki seem to hold a higher position. Chart inspired by G. Herbert Livingston, The Pentateuch and Its Cultural Environment (pp. -
Akkadian Healing Therapies in the Babylonian Talmud
MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE Max Planck Institute for the History of Science 2004 PREPRINT 259 M. J. Geller Akkadian Healing Therapies in the Babylonian Talmud Part II of the article will appear in a conference volume entitled, Magic and the Classical Tradition, edited by W. Ryan and C. Burnett (Warburg Institute, London) AKKADIAN HEALING THERAPIES IN THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD M. J. Geller Abstttracttt The Babylonian Talmud preserves some of the very latest traditions from Babylonia from the period when cuneiform script was still legible, and one of the last uses of cuneiform tablets was to consult the ancient 'sciences' of astronomy (including astrology), mathematics, omens, and healing (medicine including magic). The present study will argue that throughout the third century CE rabbis in Babylonia continued to acquire technical information from Babylonian scholars who could read cuneiform, and some of this information was translated into Aramaic and was recorded haphazardly in the academic discussions of the Talmud. The nature of the Talmudic sources and the final redaction of the complex work meant that traditions from Graeco-Roman Palestine were mixed in with local traditions from Babylonia, and the dichotomy is particularly evident in fields of medicine and magic, in which clear distinctions can be made between Greek and Akkadian approaches to healing. The present work, in two parts, is an attempt to sort out the source material according to whether it originates from Babylonia or not, and to focus on Akkadian parallels -
Copyright by Ryan Conrad Davis 2016
Copyright By Ryan Conrad Davis 2016 The Dissertation Committee for Ryan Conrad Davis certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Relating with Gods: Investigating Human-Divine Relationships in the Prayers of Israel and Mesopotamia Using a Performance Approach to Ritual Committee: ____________________________________ John Huehnergard, Supervisor ____________________________________ Jo Ann Hackett ____________________________________ Jonathan Kaplan ____________________________________ Christopher Frechette ____________________________________ Alan Lenzi Relating with Gods: Investigating Human-Divine Relationships in the Prayers of Israel and Mesopotamia Using a Performance Approach to Ritual by Ryan Conrad Davis, B.A., M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2016 To Mary, Maggie, and Camille ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is a culminating effort to my formal education that has extended far longer and been far more enriching than I had anticipated. I wish to acknowledge the influence of each of the faculty members of the Hebrew Bible / Ancient Near East program at The University of Texas at Austin. Jo Ann, John, Na'ama, and Jonathan have all spent enormous amounts of time and energy to help me put my research endeavors on firmer footing. I am very grateful to John for taking time to meet with me over Skype while I worked on my dissertation hundreds of miles away. His patience on a subject that was not his specialty was greatly appreciated. I also owe much to my outside reviewers, Alan Lenzi and Christopher Frechette; both of these scholars were asked to sign a awkward document explaining to them that they would not be reimbursed for their efforts.