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artemis-potnia-theron · 9 months

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How I perceive different deities' energies: (pt. 2)

(based on personal experiences)

Bast 🐈‍⬛: Velvet. Roses. Incense. Aloe vera. Coconut milk. An enchanted vapor that fills the room like a fog, and suddenly its like I've known you for centuries. Light footsteps against wood floor. The humid steam of a sauna. Hot rocks against skin. An abundance of flowers; bouquets from the soul. Black mirrors and purple cystals.

Skadi 🗻: Breathing in winter air. Sharp and crisp within my lungs. Goose bumps. Cloud puffs of breath on a frigid morning. Wolves calling to each other. Dandelions. The whirl of an arrow loosed from its bow. Freshly fallen snow. Thick boots. Leather.

Fenrir 🐺: Righteous fury. Red behind the eyes. A pounding in my chest. An ancient drumb beat. Raw, red meat. Satiated hunger. An ache in my legs like I've been sprinting for a lifetime. Bone shards. The rage of the wronged. A long-fought battle. Bittersweet victory.

Freyja 🏵: My aunt's house. Plush fabric. A banquet. Cherry wine. Waves of gold. A concealed dagger. Calla lilies. Tough love and long embraces. Embroidered silk tapestries. A jewel encrusted mirror. Rosemary. Sun-catchers. Lace.

Kybele 🦁: Mountain mist. Echoing laughter. A voice that sings from somewhere just over the horizon. Dawn breaking. Roasted meat. Whiskey. Frenized dance at dusk. Breathing hard, almost panting. A sting. A balm. Cornflower. Daisies. Queen Anne's lace.

Inanna 🌟: A blue, purple light somewhere in the night. The brightest star in the sky. A river that flows between her and I and you and waves of souls that came before us. A beckoning song and a voice that comes from the heavens. An rare orchid.

Demeter 🌾: Divine rage and divine love. Wind through fields of wheat. Sun-dried tomatoes. Corn boiling in the pot. Hot summer wind. Dried grass. Being carried to my room as a child while I fell asleep. A sweet ache. A mother's touch. Trust, and a torrent of fury when that trust is broken.

Ereshkigal 🦉: Damp earth. Echoes. Owl talons. Quiet as a tomb and breathless whispers. A fluttering of wings in pitch black. Something dancing at the corner of my eye. Strength. Peace. Sterness. Beauty like the cosmos. She demands respect from every tounge.

Persephone 🥀: A funeral shroud. Bioluminescent fungi. Sweet, overripe fruit. Flowers growing from a corpse. Bones in bird nests. A hand clasping mine in the night. The smell of rain. Learning to live with my grief. A fate I no longer run from.

Cailleach Bheur ❄️: Fennel tea. Blizzard air. A lit cabin hearth while the storm rages outside. An heirloom quilt over my shoulders. Quiet. Contemplative. Resolutely austere. She knows all the answers, but she will have her silence. Burning coals. Shepherd's pie. Baked nuts. Glowing silver.

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daughter-of-magick-and-flames · 9 months

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My gods with me:

Nyx: I swear you and your boyfriend share the same sleep schedule, and I WATCH OVER BOTH OF YOU!! WHY CANT YOU BOTH HAVE A DECENT SLEEP SCHEDULE.

Sobek: drink more water, take care of your body and health.

Morrigan: Time to practice some divination. Perhaps your friend can also use a spell bottle.

Arawn: ...I'm going to pet your dog, and I'll be on my way. Also, don't forget to upkeep your wards. Go out sometime. You both need the sunlight.

Ereshkigal: Don't forget to grieve properly for those you lost. They are always there no matter what.

Kali: Stop tiptoeing and start doing Shadowwork. You can't ignore it.

Mictlantecuhtli: honor and remember your ancestors. Know your mother is beside you.

Loki: Don't forget to start some chaos while you are it. *chuckles* You've survived worse child, don't forget you're unbreakable and nothing can hold you back.

#paganism #sobek #witchcraft #deity worship #deity work #the morrigan #loki #ereshkigal #mictlantecuhtli #some advices my gods have given me #goddess kali #arawn #goddess nyx

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sag-dab-sar · 5 months

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Ereškigal in Ancient Literature

*How to use the Internet Archive

🥀 Main Character 🥀

Earlier version of The Myth of Nergal & Ereškigal is available in the paper: New Readings in the Amarna Versions of Adapa and Nergal and Ereshkigal by Shlomo Izre'el.

The later version of the Myth of Nergal & Ereškigal, as well as a version of Ištar's Descent Into The Netherworld are both available in The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures edited by James A. Pritchard. Internet Archive full book.

Inanna's Descent into the Netherworld on the ETCSL.

Ištar's Descent into the Netherworld an audio of the myth spoken in Akkadian with an English text translation from 2005 and the most literal translation on the CDLI click "text"

🥀Other Mentions🥀

[Cut in case I need to add more if I find them]

Ningishzida's Journey to the Netherworld on the ETCSL ends with 'Great holy one, Ereškigal, praising you is sweet.'

The Underworld Visions of an Assyrian Prince available via Oracc Line 30 mentions Allatu (a Goddess Ereškigal was equated with). In line 35 Ereškigal tells a man in a dream that she saw his offering and he should pray to her so she would fufill his desires. In line 38 the man prays to Ereškigal and cries in front of Nergal described as King. In line r32 the man praises Nergal and Ereškigal to "peoples of Assyria"

Gligamesh Enkidu and the Netherworld on the ETCSL, in lines 1-26 & lines 91-113 Ereškigal is "given" the netherworld as a gift to rule or as a dowry depending on the academic you ask. In lines 199-204 she has an unflattering description given of her that is similar to a description of her in Inana's Descent▪️...Some personal thoughts: The description in Inana's Descent seems to have been written because she is lamenting. At the beginning of the myth she is sitting on a throne and not described unflatteringly in line 165-172; but later on in lines 226-235 & lines 254-262 she is described unflatteringly as laying down and lamenting the death of her unnamed children— "The mother who gave birth, Erec-ki-gala , because of her children, was lying there." In addition lines 236-245 & lines 263-272 she's described as troubled with a painful heart & liver. She appreciates the gala-tura lamenting with her. Recently found Diana Katz describing Ereshkigal as a "mourning mother," so I feel validated in my original assumption. Why the unflattering description is used in this myth I don't know, shes pulling out her hair which is a sign of lamenting but it seems out of place here? Unless the author is just saying shes ugly.

Death of Gilgamesh on the ETCSL, the Nibru version line 8 Gilgamash gives his first gifts to Ereškigal, in the Me-Turan version segment K the story closes with 'Ereškigal, mother of Ninazu, sweet is your praise'

The Death of Ur-Namma on the ETCSL. In the Nippur Version, in lines 92-96 Ereškigal is mentioned as loving weapons, In lines 97-101 she is given gifts from Ur-Namma. In lines 132-144 Ereshkigal's commands certain people "all the soldiers who had been killed by weapons and all the men who had been found guilty" to be given to the king Ur-Namma as his sits on a throne in the netherworld. In the Susa version she is also given gifts in line 29-92 and also at her command she hands over certain men in lines 64-72.

-Dyslexic not audio proof read-

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seleniangnosis · 2 years

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Deity Aesthetic: Ereshkigal

Mesopotamian goddess of death and Queen of the Mesopotamian Underworld , Kur. One of the most ancient gods of death.

Some of her titles:

Queen of the Great Below

Lady of the Great Earth

The Great Lady under Earth

#deities #mesopotamian mythology #mesopotamian polytheism #ereshkigal #mesopotamia #deity mood board #deity worship #deity moodboard #mesopotamian paganism #paganism #deity work #deity aesthetic #mythologyedit #mythology memes

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royal-wren · 1 year

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Cease all lovely sounds made by deft fingers, your music playing ever so softly --- it maddens me with an ever-turning mind, burning me with the heat building internally all from a flustered heart that knows no calm under a charming and wicked will that stirs every thought of mine, trapped I find myself in the palm of your hand

#my writing #I call this one secretly 'oh god there's two of them'#after the return of a certain deity from my conscious mind but actually here in person for the first time in a blatant way that's both #burning me up from being flustered and giving me chills at the same time #just goes to show that meeting deities can definitely be like the growing presence of electricity that leaves me tripping over myself #mentally but feeling so good before during and after from the visit #happened this way with Hermes and Aphrodite - Inanna and Ereshkigal - and the unexpected Irish trio suddenly here #because apparently it's a good time now h'oh boy I am flushed #dorian's polytheism diary #just because of the tags that spiraled to this

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greenwitchcrafts · 11 months

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August 2023 witch guide

Full moon: August 1st in Aquarius

New Moon: August 16th

Blue moon: August 30th Aquarius into Pisces

Sabbats: Lughnasadh August 1st

August Sturgeon Moon

Also known as: Corn moon, harvest moon, ricing moon, barley moon, dog moon, fruit moon, grain moon, herb moon, red moon & wyrt moon

Element: Fire

Zodiac: Leo & Virgo

Animal spirts: Dryads

Deities: Diana, Ganesha, Hathor, Hecate, Mars, Nemesis, Thot & Vulcan

Animals: Dragon, lion, phoenix & sphinx

Birds: Crane, eagle & falcon

Trees: Alder cedar & hazel

Herbs/plants: Basil, bay, chamomile, fennel, orange, rosemary, rue & St. John's wort,

Flowers: Angelica, marigold, sunflower

Scents: Frankincense & heliotrope

Stones: Carnelian, cats/tiger's eye, fire agate, garnet, red jasper & red agate

Colors: Gold, orange, red & yellow

Energy: Authority, appreciation, courage, entertainment, finding your voice, friendship, gathering, harvesting energy, health, love, pleasures, power &vitality

Sturgeon moon gets it's name from the high numbers that are caught at the Great Lakes & Lake Champlain in North America during this time of year. The names come from a number of places including Native Americans, Colonial Americans & European sources.

Lughnasadh

Also known as: Lammas, August eve & Feast of bread

Season: Summer

Symbols: Scythes, corn, grain dollies & shafts of grain

Colors: Gold, green, yellow, red, orange, light brown & purple

Oils/incense: Aloe, apple, corn, eucalyptus, safflower, rose & sandalwood

Animals: Cattle & chickens

Stones: Aventurine, carnelian, citrine, peridot, sardonyx & yellow diamond

Foods: Apples, grains, barley cakes, wild berries, cider, honey, potatoes, rice, sun shaped cookies, blackberry, corn, nuts, breads, blueberry. berry pies & grapes

Herbs/Plants: Alfalfa, aloe, all grains, blackberry, corn, corn stalk, crab apple, fenugreek, frankincense, ginseng, goldenseal, grapes, myrtle, oak leaves, pear, rye, blackthorn &wheat

Flowers: Sunflower, cyclamen, heather, hollyhock & medowsweet

Goddesses: Aine, Alphito, Bracacia, Carmen, Ceres, Damina, Demeter, Freya, Grain goddesses, Ishtar, Kait, Kore, Mother Goddess, Sul, Sun Goddesses, Taillte, Zaramama, Ereshkigal & Ianna

Gods: Athar, Bes, Bran, Dagon, Ebisu, Dumuzi, Ghanan, Grain Gods, Howtu, Liber, Lono, Lugh, Neper, Odin, Sun Gods & Xochipilli

Issues, Intentions & Power: Agriculture, changes, divination, endings, fertility, life, light, manifestation, power, purpose, strength, success & unity

Spellwork: Sun magick, rituals of thanks/offerings, bounty, abundance & fire magick

Activities:

Bake fresh bread

Weave wheat

Take walks along bodies of water

Craft a corn doll

Watch the sunrise

Eat outside with family/friends/coven members

Donate to your local foodbank

Prepare a feast with your garden harvest

Give thanks to the Earth

Decorate your altar with symbols of the season

Clean up a space in nature

Plant saved seeds

This cross-quarter fire festival is celebrated on August 1st or the first full moon of Leo & the seventh sabbat of the year. It represents the first harvest when the Earth's bounty is given for the abundance received.

Some believe this is the time where the God has weakened & is losing his strength as seen in the waning of the day's light. The Goddess is pregnant with the young God who will be born on Yule.

In some traditions, this day honors the Celt god Lugh, the god of craftsmanship; He is skilled in many things including wheel making, blacksmithing & fighting. Though there is some discrepancy as to why Lugh is honored on this day. Some tales say it's because he held a harvest faire in honor of his adoptive mother, Tailtiu.

Sources;

Farmersalmanac .com

Boston Public Library- The Origins & Practices of Lammas/Lughnasadh by Dhruti Bhagat

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines

A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs

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yamayuandadu · 3 days

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Sorry If i am bothering you but i want to know what role did the wilderness and its animals play in Mesopotamian mythology?

I like answering questions about Mesopotamia which indicate genuine interest, so no need to worry.

The most straightforward answer would be that the wilderness was generally perceived negatively (see ex. Wiggermann’s Scenes From the Shadow Side). The steppe in particular was usually portrayed as a place where one can get robbed at best and as the dwelling of ghosts, demons and the like - or just straight up the underworld - at worst. The mountains were frequently viewed as a site of confrontations between gods and their opponents but more neutral or even positive portrayals pop up in literature too. It’s also important to note that the marshlands were viewed pretty firmly positively. As for wild animals: by far the best overview of Mesopotamian zoology is offered by Jeremiah Peterson in his dissertation A Study of Sumerian Faunal Conception with a Focus on the Terms Pertaining to the Order Testudines. Niek Veldhuis’ Religion, Literature, and Scholarship: the Sumerian Composition Nanše and the Birds, with a Catalogue of Sumerian Bird Names is really good too. There’s also quite recent Entomological Knowledge in Ancient Mesopotamia by Vazrick Nazari but you should bear in mind the author is an entomologist, not an assyriologist, so some sections are… less than reliable and sources as old as from the 19th century, and as questionable as Paropola’s phantasmagoric visions, are employed once the focus shifts away from identification of insects.

More under the cut.

Animals were generally seen as an essential part of the world outside human dwellings. Positive comparisons to certain taxa - wild and domestic cattle and lions - are very common in myths, royal hymns, and other genres. The bovine analogies are so popular in Mesopotamian texts that even scorpions could be metaphorically described as a sort of bull.

Demonic traits could be attributed to some animals viewed as dangerous: snakes, scorpions and dogs in particular. Additionally, omen texts indicate that ants were seen as messengers of Ereshkigal, presumably because their burrowing lifestyle made the Mesopotamians assume they could move all the way down to the underground land of the dead. Finding ants while digging foundations for a new building was therefore an ill omen; seeing flying red ants above a house, meanwhile, was a sign the owner is at the risk of being killed. Due to such risks, behavior of ants was sometimes observed by religious specialists, and some of the namburbi protective rituals specifically deal with them. Locusts were a bad omen too, but that’s a given. On the other hand, moths were viewed as bringers of good omens.

Some deities were associated with the wilderness, and broadly with animals dwelling there. Most notable examples are Ninkilim (addressed as “lord of the creatures”; his name was at times confused with ninka, “mongoose”, leading to the development of the idea that he was a deified mongoose himself), Sumugan (though he was associated with domestic animals too) and to a smaller degree Numushda, arguably. Ennugi, a minor courtier of Enlil, could be addressed as the creator of grubs, though a similar role is also attested for the mythical king Alulim; attestations are limited to incantations against field pests, though. For more context see here.

A special case is Nanshe. Two of the major literary texts focused on her focus on interactions between her and animals - Nanshe and the Birds and Home of the Fish. These belong to the subgenre called “enumeration literature”: while there is an actual plot, and deities are involved, the goal is mostly to fit as many terms from a single category into a single composition. As a result, Nanshe sounds… unusually passionate (fixated, even) on the core topics. I think it makes for really unique characterization but alas, as a major Mesopotamian deity who fits neither into questionable Bible takes nor into the madonna-whore complex she’s not getting anywhere in popculture. Something that’s generally missing from the Mesopotamian repertoire are myths involving anyone turning into an animal. There are two notable exceptions, Enlil and Namzitarra, which involves Enlil turning into a raven to test a devotee, and Dumuzi’s Dream, in which Dumuzi asks Utu to turn him into a gazelle to escape underworld gendarmes pursuing him.

Major gods were not theriomorphic, and with some small exceptions (Tishpak, whose skin is in one case described as green and scaly; Ishtaran, who might have been depicted with the lower body of a snake) didn’t even have any animal body parts. However, deified animals are nonetheless also attested - multiple examples of divine bulls are the main example, obviously (for instance Indagara, Buru, the borrowed Hurrian Sheri and Hurri, possibly Magiru, “obedient”), as expected divine lions also pop up every now then, but that’s not all.

There’s a number of deified birds, though most of them occur only in Early Dynastic sources which do not provide any real insights about their character. One example that comes to mind is the deity Kiki or Ninkiki (“lady of the kiki); we have no clue what sort of bird the kiki was though, other than that it was loud enough to be compared to the storm. Nirah is a deified snake.

Deified invertebrates are much less common but it’s still worth bringing up Eḫ, a member of the court of Nungal whose name is pretty semantically similar to English “bug” (though it might also specifically refer to a louse. There is also an either divine or demonic centipede, Ḫallulaya. Among the numerous ancestors of Enlil there is a pair named Engiriš and Ningiriš, “lord butterfly” and “lady butterfly”. It is often claimed that Uttu, the goddess of weaving, was portrayed as a deified spider, but the evidence is at best limited, see here and here for details. Peterson doesn’t list her among deified animals.

A mythical creature listed in enumerations of Ninurta’s enemies, kulianna (“friend of heaven”), might be a supernatural dragonfly, though it’s also possible it was imagined as something else altogether and the link to dragonflies is just the result of homophony with Akkadian kulīlu, “dragonfly”. For more detail see here, p. 89. In art there’s a fair number of depictions of animals behaving like humans, but the full context of such works remains poorly known. There’s a brief overview here from p. 237 onward.

Especially in Assyria wild animals were customarily hunted by kings, and trophies acquired this way served as a way of showing off the extent of their dominion. It has been suggested that they could eventually acquire apotropaic qualities, as evidenced by the preparation of protective statues of the apsasîtu, the burḫiš and the nāḫiru, sometimes interpreted as water buffalo, yak and whale. However, the meaning of these three terms remains uncertain, for some recent considerations see here.

#mesopotamian miscellanea

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jinxstrology · 11 months

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💫Mythical Astrology💫

A collection of gods and goddesses associated with each sign~ Before you say something, yes! I AM aware that some of these deities are the same entity with different names. I wanted to include all names so readers could recognize the ones they knew :) Talk to me niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice

Aries

Amun (Egyptian), Anat (Mesopotamian/Ugaritic/Egyptian), Ares (Greek), Badb (Irish), Belenus (Celtic), Cybele (Anatolian), Durga (Hindu), Hecate (Greek), Hestia (Greek), Indra (Hindu), Ishtar (Mesopotamian), Khnum (Egyptian), Macha (Irish), Marduk (Babylonian), Mars (Roman), Minerva (Roman), The Morrigan (Irish Celtic), Nergal (Mesopotamian), Ra (Egyptian), Sekhmet (Egyptian), Tiamat (Babylonian)

Taurus

Aphrodite (Greek), Asherah (Semitic), Astarte (Middle Eastern), Ba'al (Canaanite), Bacchus (Greco-Roman), Bast (Egyptian), Cernunnos (Celtic), Dionysus (Greek), Flora (Roman), Frigg (Norse), Gaia (Greek), Hathor (Egyptian), Horus (Egyptian), Indra (Hindu), Ishtar (Mesopotamian), Isis (Egyptian), Jupiter (Roman), Krishna (Hindu), Lakshmi (Hindu), Maia (Greek), Marduk (Babylonian), Mithra (Iranian), Osiris (Egyptian), Poseidon (Greek), Ptah (Egyptian), Venus (Roman), Zeus (Greek)

Gemini

Apollo (Greek), Artemis (Greek), Dumuzid (Sumerian), Enki (Sumerian), Hermes (Greek), Inanna (Mesopotamian), Janus (Roman), Krishna (Hindu), Mercury (Roman), Odin (Norse), Seshat (Egyptian), Thoth (Egyptian)

Cancer

Artemis (Greek), Ceres (Roman), Demeter (Greek), Diana (Roman), Isis (Egyptian), Juno (Roman), Kuan Yin (Chinese/Buddhist), Luna (Roman), Mercury (Roman)

Leo

Amun (Egyptian), Anat (Mesopotamian/Ugaritic/Egyptian), Bast (Egyptian), Cybele (Anatolian), Devi (Hindu), Diana (Roman), Durga (Hindu), Freyja (Norse), Hathor (Egyptian), Helios (Greek), Hera (Greek), Inanna (Mesopotamian), Ishtar (Mesopotamian), Juno (Roman), Mithra (Iranian), Nanna (Mesopotamian), Nergal (Mesopotamian), Ra (Egyptian), Sekhmet (Egyptian), Vishnu (Hindu)

Virgo

Anat (Mesopotamian/Ugaritic/Egyptian), Artemis (Greek), Demeter (Greek), Diana (Roman), Hestia (Greek), Inanna (Mesopotamian), Iris (Greek), Ishtar (Mesopotamian), Isis (Egyptian), Kore (Greek), Nanna (Mesopotamian), Odin (Norse), Persephone (Greek), Vesta (Roman)

Libra

Aphrodite (Greek), Athena (Greek), Cernunnos (Celtic), Frigg (Norse), Hephaestus (Greek), Isis (Egyptian), Justitia (Roman), Ma'at (Egyptian), Minerva (Roman), Mithra (Iranian), Nemesis (Greek), Njord (Norse), Shiva (Hindu), Thoth (Egyptian), Venus (Roman), Vishnu (Hindu)

Scorpio

Anubis (Egyptian), Ereshkigal (Mesopotamian), Hecate (Greek), Hel (Norse), Isis (Egyptian), Mars (Roman), Njord (Norse), Osiris (Egyptian), Persephone (Greek), Pluto (Roman), Set (Egyptian)

Sagittarius

Anat (Mesopotamian/Ugaritic/Egyptian), Artemis (Greek), Athena (Greek), Diana (Roman), Epona (Gallo-Roman), Hades (Greek), Isis (Egyptian), Jupiter (Roman), Mars (Roman), Nergal (Mesopotamian), Rhiannon (Welsh), Thor (Norse)

Capricorn

Agni (Hindu), Aphrodite (Greek), Ba'al (Canaanite), Dionysus (Greek), Ea (Babylonian), Enki (Sumerian), Faunus (Roman), Freyja (Norse), Freyr (Norse), Gaia (Greek), Hecate (Greek), Juno (Roman), Loki (Norse), Pan (Greek), Perun (Slavic), Saturn (Roman), Thor (Norse)

Aquarius

Astarte (Middle Eastern), Ea (Babylonian), Ishtar (Mesopotamian), Isis (Egyptian), Juno (Roman), Nut (Egyptian)

Pisces

Aegir (Norse), Aphrodite (Greek), Cupid (Roman), Diana (Roman), Ea (Babylonian), Enki (Sumerian), Eros (Greek), Neptune (Roman), Poseidon (Greek), Sedna (Inuit), Venus (Roman), Vishnu (Hindu)

#mythology #astrology #deities #gods #goddesses #associations #correspondences #egyptian #mesopotamian #greek #roman #celtic #norse #hindu

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genshinarchives · 2 years

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𝐆𝐎𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐇. 𝟎

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄 : 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 : Although you had refused the Dendro Archon’s request, you knew that deep inside, you didn’t want to leave the humans under her rule completely defenceless against the threats of the Abyss.

𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐒 : Al-Haitham, Kaveh; hints of Cyno x reader

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄 : Romance, adventure, isekai

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 : N/A

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 : N/A

𝐍𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

In the middle of a perpetual desert proudly stood an ancient palace sparkling with the monarch's wealth. The archway behind the throne allowed the light of Teyvat to filter inside, crowning the king's seat with a pair of parhelions. The god that had requested an audience with the ruling deity of the desert's treasure promptly lowered herself on one knee as she bowed her head.

"High King Ea, please grant Sumeru your protection," she implored.

"I refuse."

Rukkhadevata flinched at your curt answer. While she did step into Gilgamesh Palace expecting your rejection, the fact that you had answered her without a moment's hesitation still took her by surprise. Daring herself to lift her head, she met your condescending gaze as you sat upon your gold throne that was built from your bloody reign, with your trusted guards - Shamash and Ereshkigal - flanking your sides.

Shamash immediately assumed a battle stance with his staff. "How impudent! You dare to raise your head-"

"Shamash, do not make any unnecessary comments!" you bellowed, effectively pacifying him. He quickly bowed in your direction.

"Forgive me, Your Highness!"

"(Y/n)," Rukkhadevata began, calling you by your real name this time, "even with the bountiful treasures that I have offered to you and me kneeling, you still won't accept my only request? Do I have to go as far as making my forehead touch your feet?"

You tapped your fingers on the armrest as you hummed pensively. "What exactly will I gain from defending a territory that is not my own?" When the Dendro Archon didn't give you an answer fast enough, you leaned forward with your elbows atop your knees. "Have you forgotten that I am High King Ea, Guardian of Ka-dingirra? It is my eternal duty to defend this land."

"I-"

You cut her off with a dismissive wave of your hand.

"Enough. This is a complete waste of time," you murmured, holding your hand out towards Ereshkigal who then handed you a clay tablet, "Shamash, escort Greater Lord Rukkhadevata to Ishtar Gate."

"I will do as you say," Shamash said. As your guard escorted the dispirited Dendro Archon out of the palace, you subtly beckoned to Ereshkigal and lifted the clay tablet slightly to cover your face. When she leaned towards you, you tilted your head in her direction.

"Infiltrate Sumeru's military and pose as one of their soldiers. If the city is in danger, report back to me immediately," you ordered in a hushed whisper. She looked surprised upon hearing your words.

"If I may be so bold to inquire, are you actually going to step in as regent when the Dendro Archon disappears?" she questioned, knitting her eyebrows together.

"The God of Woods is destined to perish during the Cataclysm, and her death will act as a catalyst for the new god's birth. She'll be too young to lead a nation that has lost its god in the upcoming catastrophe," you solemnly replied, "and will subsequently live a life of seclusion until another shooting star illuminates the sky."

Ereshkigal took a step back and then knelt down before you with one arm crossed over her chest.

"You have bestowed esoteric knowledge upon the people of Ka-dingirra, and your visions have shaped the reality we are witnessing today. This servant has received your orders and will see them through," she said, raising her head with a confident smile, "If it is truly your wish, then I will watch over Sumeru's safety for you."

You nodded at her whilst lowering the clay tablet on your lap. "Wonderful, as expected of my guard. Now go. We don't know when exactly Rukkhadevata will disappear, and we must be prepared to fight against the forces of the Abyss."

"I'll get ready immediately."

As Ereshkigal left Gilgamesh Palace to make the necessary preparations for her undercover mission, your courtier, Enki, stepped towards you with another clay tablet for you to review. With a muted sigh, you took it from his hands and tried to read what was written on it, only for your expression to turn completely blank. The tablet Enki had given you was a report about some materials, but you didn't understand much of it.

It's been roughly a year since the establishment of Ka-dingirra. You lack the knowledge to lead a governing body, and it's quite impossible for a university student like you to run an entire country - even though Enki is always there to help you. You would have asked him or your ministers for more guidance if they weren't so obsessed with the delusion that you're some supreme being with unfathomable wisdom, and their intelligence only made it harder for you to be honest with them.

Enki noticed the way your eyebrows furrowed and worriedly asked, "Is something the matter, Your Highness?"

"N-no, it's nothing," you quickly replied, "I was just preoccupied with something else."

"Is it concerning the Sumerians?"

You didn't answer him.

Although the Sumerians are not your people, you didn't have the heart to leave them defenceless as you too, were once human like them.

...

Before you came to Teyvat and were forced to establish your own territory to survive the Archon War, you were an ordinary human back in your world.

As the hands of time rotated in a full circle, the God of Woods perished during the Cataclysm - and as you had predicted, a new god was born to replace her.

The God of Wisdom, also known as the Lesser Lord Kusanali.

Her gnosis was promptly taken away by the arrogant scholars who deemed her unfit to be the Dendro Archon, and she was instead made the nominal leader of Sumeru. Those same scholars then came knocking on Ishtar Gate, imploring that you protect Sumeru from the darkness of the Abyss in exchange for the new Dendro Archon's gnosis.

Enki urged you to accept the deal as it would mean that you'll gain more power at the same time Ereshkigal returned with the report that a large group of unknown enemies are approaching Sumeru quickly. With the sands of time descending upon you, you decided to set the deal aside for later consideration and declared Sumeru as Ka-dingirra's vassal state; at least, until the darkness that had spewed forth as a result of Khaenri'ah's destruction has been quelled.

You stood on top of the protective walls you had summoned around Sumeru with a multitude of portals glowing above you in the firmament, ready to rain countless chains upon the malevolent invaders. When the first wave came into view, you immediately extended a hand, prompting golden spearheads attached to chains to emerge from the portals.

As your eyes glowed, you exclaimed, "Nergal, let us restrain misfortune's fury!"

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐈 : 𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐎𝐃𝐒 ; 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 : @flowwerpot / @myevergarden /

#✍️ : alice writes #genshin #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #nahida #cyno #alhaitham #alhaitham x reader #kaveh #kaveh x reader #fem reader #god of heroes

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lunar-serpentinite · 5 months

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wait til you hear abt my master of death harry au where hes the only unspeakable working in the death room not bc he wanted to but bc he was "the only one who cld do it" (basically got guilted into doing it bc once a weapon, always a weapon amirite ?) and then he gets acquainted w diff deities and entities of death who treat him anywhere from a nice coworker they just got (thanatos) to their new favourite mortal (ereshkigal)

#harry potter #harry james potter #harry potter au #master of death!harry #this is not meant to represent the actual deities btw this is for fun times headcanon purposes only #unspeakable!harry

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golvio · 1 year

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The best things to come out of TotK for me, so far:

The Depths

Ganon’s bioluminescent prehensile tentacle hair

Ganon starting off as this circa-Mesopotamian (in terms of relative history) mage-adept who eventually became this Ereshkigal/Nergal-like chthonic deity who reigns over the vast, lightless expanse of the Depths and frequently threatens to hold the doors to the Underworld open to let all kinds of monstrosities out if people break his house rules/don’t give him what he wants

Literally everything with the Gloom

Ganon not being a dum-dum and actually making smart choices, even if he’s also frequently waylaid by his own feelings and self-centeredness, like most interesting characters in myth

The sheer potential for mythic high fantasy worldbuilding once you jettison all the Imperialist Japan Creation Myth baggage

There’s actually stuff from the Valiant comics I could reimagine to make it way cooler now that Ganon is varying degrees of eldritch as opposed to an asshole wizard squatting in some underground ruins (which he still technically sort of is, but in a less pathetic, goofy way)

The Yiga Clan and various enemy factions trying to eke out a living in the Underworld, with varying degrees of success/direct aid from its resident demigod

#legend of zelda #totk #totk spoilers #tears of the kingdom spoilers #totk thoughts #ganondorf #I don’t wanna progress the plot. i just wanna spelunk in the depths all day.

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artemis-potnia-theron · 9 months

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sag-dab-sar · 9 days

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"According to a text from Šubat-Enlil [1] there were special observances to Bēlet-apim [2] and Nergal on the 14th of the month Abum: i-nu-ma o-no (d)NIN-a-bt i (d)Ne-erin-gal LUGAL iq-qú-qú. Šubat-Enlil/Šebna was the capital of an area called māt apim [3], whose goddess was Bēlet-apim. Bēlet-apim might have been considered another form of the queen of the netherworld, Nergal's spouse, Ereškigal. This may have derived from a play upon the name of the locality referred to as māt apim and the ab/pum-festival. The wordplay and the identification of Bēlet-apim with Ereškigal may have been based upon a perceived parallel construction of the names of the two goddesses, i.e., ab/pum paralleled ki-gal [4]. The term ki-gal connoted both a raised area for cultic purposes and the netherworld." — The Cultic Calendars of the Ancient Near East by Mark Cohen page 260 (link)

[1] Šubat-Enlil meaning "Residence of the God Enlil" (Akkadian). A abandoned settlement, named Shehna (Šebna in quote), revived and re-named by Amorite warrior Shamshi-Addu (Šamši-Adad) for the capital of his Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia circa 1809bce - 1776bce. It remained the capital for the succeeding Kingdom of Apum circa 1776bce -1728bce. (Source all Wikipedia, seems credible to me, no red flags— done with middle chronology)

[2] Bēlet-Apim is a Goddess name meaning "Lady of Apum" the city's tutelary Goddess. (Freyne p 56)

[3] Māt Apim would mean "Country/region of Apim" based on what I could find out about māt in Akkadian (Link)

[4] Ki = earth/place 𒆠 (Link), Gal = big/great 𒃲 (Link)

..... HOW IS "apim/apum/abum" & "Kigal" a play on words 😭??? Cue my dumbass monolingual self not being able to figure out the Sumerian / Akkadian play on words no matter how long I researched. Don't even know what the cuneiform of Apum is to see if it matches KI or GAL. Or even the origin of the name "Apum" or its meaning. I did try I swear. This book is extremely academically thick 😵‍💫

It interests me that two big mentions of Ereškigal come from upper Mesopotamia (Akkad / Assyria). Ereškigal as potentially Bēlet-Apim in Apum a northern Amorite kingdom. And her Kizzu festival in Emar a northern Amorite city.

Seems I still have much to learn about My Queen *stares at masssssssive book about Mesopotamian netherworld by Diana Katz* ........eventually... maybe... who knows.

#polytheism #paganism #landof2rivers #ereshkigal #ereškigal #god #deity #akkadian #sumerian #this book is so academically thick #IM ON PAGE 201 GUYS I BROKE THE 200 PAGE MARK #YALL DONT UNDERSTAND HOW INSANE OF AN ACCOMPLISHMENT THAT IS #michibooks #mark cohen #quote pile

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coinandcandle · 2 years

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Persephone Deity Guide

Who is Persephone?

Known as Prosperina to the Romans, Persephone is a Greek goddess of spring and the queen of the underworld, ruling alongside Hades. Due to her mythology, in antiquity, she is closely related to all aspects of womanhood and female initiation, including girlhood, marriage, and childbearing. (This is an ancient view of what womanhood means and does not reflect my personal views on the topic).

Parents and Siblings

Persephone’s parentage varies depending on who you ask

Demeter (her mother in the most popular variation)

Zeus (father in the most popular variation)

other variations include:

Styx (and Zeus)

Rhea (and Zeus)

Posiden (and Demeter)

She has no full blood siblings, but has plenty of half-siblings from both Demeter and Zeus, most notably:

Arion (brother)

Corybas (brother)

Plutus (brother)

all from Demeter, and

Apollo

Artemis

Athena

Dionysus

Heracles

Perseus

and many more from Zeus.

Lovers or Partners

Hades

Adonis (in some tales, in others he is more of an adoptive son to her; in some tales, he’s both. Greek gods, am I right?)

Children

In Orphic myth her children are

Melinoe

Zagreus (later turned Dionysus)

The Erinyes

Epithets

Kore, Kora, or Cora - the maiden

Nestis - the fasting one

Despoina (literally "the mistress of the house") in Arcadia.

Hagne, "pure", originally a goddess of the springs in Messenia.

Melindia or Melinoia (meli, "honey"), as the consort of Hades, in Hermione.

Malivina

Melitodes

Aristi cthonia, "the best chthonic".

Praxidike, "subterranean queen. The Eumenides' source [mother], fair-haired, whose frame proceeds from Zeus' ineffable and secret seeds."

Agauē, “venerable”

Arrētos, “she who must not be named”

As a vegetation goddess, she was called:

Kore Soteira, "the savior maiden", in Megalopolis.

Neotera, "the younger", in Eleusis.

Kore of Demeter Hagne in the Homeric hymn.

Kore memagmeni, "the mixed daughter" (bread).

Demeter and her daughter Persephone together were usually called:

The goddesses, are often distinguished as "the older" and "the younger" in Eleusis.

Demeters, in Rhodes and Sparta

The thesmophoroi, "the legislators" in the Thesmophoria.

The Great Goddesses, in Arcadia.

The mistresses in Arcadia.

Karpophoroi, "the bringers of fruit", in Tegea of Arcadia.

Notes

Persephone’s most popular story, the abduction of Persephone, is possibly derived from the ancient Sumeria myth of Ereshkigal, goddess of the underworld who was abducted by Kur, the primeval dragon of Sumerian mythology, who forced her to become ruler of the underworld against her will. Keep in mind that there are many versions and interpretations of this myth.

Another story about Persephone involves her interaction with a Nymph named Minthe, who used to be one of Hades’ lovers. Minthe boasted that she was more beautiful than Persephone and would win Hades back. Persephone didn’t take kindly to this boasting and stomped Minthe into the ground, turning her into a mint plant.

Other popular stories are Adonis and Persephone, one creation myth, as well as many more.

It’s possible that Persphone is an old Cthonic local deity of agricultural communities that was absorbed into Greek mythos.

Persephone played a part in many different festivals and rituals in the Greek and Roman world. Many festivals were held in which people would reenact her abduction and her being found again by Demeter. In Syracuse, there would be an annual sacrifice of small animals and a public drowning of bulls.

Among the cults dedicated to Persephone, the largest one was located in Sicily and Southern Italy.

For her connection to the Underworld, Persephone is often mentioned in curse tablets and on gold leaves that were buried with people who had how to act in the afterlife inscribed on them.

Modern Deity Work

Correspondences

Due to being a popular deity that was widely worshiped, the ancient correspondences of Persphone vary. Some symbols and attributes were more popular than others, and some were localized or cult-specific. Regardless, any traditional or historic correspondences will be marked with a (T).

Rocks/Stone/Crystals

Ruby

Quartz

Pink Tourmaline

Herbs/Plants

Poppies

Pomegranates

Corn

Grain

Asphodels

Willow

Animals

Pigs

Roosters

Symbols

Scepter

Torch

Festivals and Rituals

Thesmophoria is a three-day festival celebrated by most of the Greek world; though the female cult of Demeter and Persephone were known to celebrate it more. This festival was probably celebrated around October-November. In some places, this festival or certain aspects of it were exclusive to women.

Chthonia, where four old women would be chosen to sacrifice four heifers with sickles. This festival honored Demeter in connection to Persephone.

Offerings

Honey (T)

Art (statues, pinakes, etc) (T)

Pomegranate (full fruit, the seeds, or juice)

Flowers, especially wild spring flowers!

Floral scents or like perfumes, oils, or incense

Any of the items or depictions of the items listed above

Wine

Bones

Chocolate (some say specifically dark chocolate)

Acts of Devotion

Dancing to a song that reminds you of her (T)

Creating any art that reminds you of her (T)

Tend to wildflowers or your garden if you have one, or even houseplants.

Celebrate the festivals/holidays mentioned above

As always, your personal correspondences when interacting with a deity will mean much more than anything you find online, but this isn’t a bad place to start!

References and Further Reading

Persephone - Mythopedia (they also have a pretty huge reference list so please go take a peak!)

Persephone and the Seasons - Hellenic.org.au

Hymn for Persephone by Sappho (vis Sacredtexts)

Persephone - Theoi Project

Persophone - World History

(please message me if you are a follower or devotee of Persephone and would like to be added as a resource that someone could reach out to in regards to her!)

#deity deep dive #Persephone #Persephone deity #deity work #deity guide #witchcraft #hellenic #hellenic pagansim #pagan #witchblr

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probablyfunrpgideas · 4 months

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Monsters of Tephra

Hellhounds and other Lawful Evil outsiders serve the gods, almost universally working for Sekolah. So "hound" is not quite the right word - the majority of these beasts have heads like moray eels and fins burning along their spines. However, several Neutral Evil deities have similar servitors, and planar scholars combine them under the same name. The Moon's hellhounds are lupine with silver flames, and Vecna has hollow jackal-beasts to hunt his prey. There is one hellhound who has acquired a certain level of fame in the world. Found in the city of Kirohyne, she is almost like an actual hound, a huge mastiff with crackling flames in her fur. The Dread Lord named her Nedjem in his dead language, and his subjects disagree on where she came from. The more religiously inclined believe that the lich bargained with Ereshkigal for a beast to guard him from the ghosts of the past. Others claim that Nedjem is actually an elemental flame spirit living in a constructed body.

#idea #tabletop rpgs #d&d #d&d 3.5 #worldbuilding #tephra

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yamayuandadu · 4 days

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@mystenjiru-blog I cannot locate a translation of this text and sadly in the article I relied on no tablet number is provided, best I can offer is another of Schwemer's publications, Cultural Constructions of Ambiguous, Unsanctioned, or Illegitimate Ritual, which provides some more detail on how witchcraft was performed. Regarding the other questions: Kanisurra has nothing to do with Ereshkigal. She typically appears alongside Nanaya (single best attested option), Gazbaba, Inanna, Ishara, Usur-amassu, and the like. In other words, her typical associations reflect her role as a deity linked to love and eroticism, and her origin in the pantheon of Uruk. The selection of deities associated with Ereshkigal is actually fairly small. Furthermore, I'm unsure what do you mean by similarity to Hecate. Kanisurra is primarily attested in straightforwardly erotic context (for a good overview see Gioele Zisa's The Loss of Male Sexual Desire in Ancient Mesopotamia), something Hecate had nothing to do with. She lacks any associations with dogs, city gates, the broader domestic sphere... The underworld connection is limited to the possible origin of her name, and to presence in a royal funerary ritual from the Ur III period. I get the witchcraft part though the attestations are much more limited than in the case of Hecate, and as I said, it is difficult to tell what being a "lady of the witches" entailed exactly. Ultimately I'm not really sure if any Mesopotamian deity is particularly Hecate-like, tbh - most deities tied to the spheres of magic and exorcism like Asalluhi or Ningirimma were basically divine counterparts of specialists involved in them, which doesn't offer a good parallel to her.

I assume the questionable takes you've mentioned were the result of someone misreading something genuine - sporadic associations between Hecate and Ereshkigal are actually attested in Greek magical papyri, though they indicate very limited understanding of the latter:

You can find the full article here, it's a great read. One of my all time favorites, honestly.

There are multiple theories about Hecate's origin, but none really link her with Mesopotamia. It's basically just a series of back and forth arguments over whether she originated in Anatolia and spread westwards or whether she originally arose in Greece and then spread to colonies in Anatolia. The closest I can think of to Ereshkigal coming up in this context is Mary Bachvarova's theory that Hecate was originally a figure similar to or outright analogous to the Hittite "sun goddess of the earth" whose name could be represented logographically in cuneiform by Ereshkigal's, but this is very niche and hardly direct.

#mesopotamian miscellanea #anatolian miscellanea

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