--- On Tue, 8/24/10, Nadia Linder <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Utu/Šamaš is placed in front of me (lit. 'in front of my
> eye'), Nanna(r)/Su'en/Sîn is placed behind me (lit. 'in my
> back').
>
> Nergal (is) to my right hand.
>
> Ninurta (is) to my left hand.
>
> (pp.15ff in Thompson 1903)
>
> For those who don't have the associations of the
> Mesopotamian deities in their head: Utu/Šamaš is the deity
> of the sun and justice; Nanna(r)/Su'en resp. Sîn is the
> moon deity, Nergal the lord of the netherworld and
> originally a war god, and Ninurta (sum. Ninĝirsu) is the
> classical 'young hero'-type of deity. Correspondence ideas,
> anyone?
I think it is strictly a coincidence, but it is interesting to note how this invocation aligns perfectly with the later LBRP
Shamash is placed in front of me / Before me Raphael: Shamash is the God of the Sun, and in GD correspondences Raphael is the Archangel of the solar sphere of Tiphareth.
Nanna is placed behind me / Behind me Gabriel: Nanna is the God of the Moon, and Gabriel is traditionally the Archangel of the Moon.
Nergal to my right hand / To my right hand Michael: Nergal is the God of War and Pestilence. My understanding is that he may be one and the same (via migration) with the Canaanite War God Reshef. One of Reshef's epithets was "Mikal", which may very well be the origin of the Hebrew Archangel Michael.
Ninurta to my left hand / To my left hand Auriel: In GD correspondences, Auriel is the Archangel of Earth. IIRC, Ninurta has some association as an Earth or Saturn deity - but I may have to stand corrected on that one. It's been a while since I studied the Babylonian materials.
Oh - and for the record: I agree that much of what passes for modern Babylonian magick has it's source right there in R.C. Thompson's "Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia...". :) In fact, anything by him or Mark S. Smith is worth reading in that regard.
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Aaron
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