Providing a comprehensive examination of the traits and areas of authority Ancient Babylonians attributed to their healing goddess, this book draws on a wide range of Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform sources, including god lists, literary compositions, lexical lists, prognostic texts, incantations, and prescriptions. Analysing the use of selected metaphors associated with the goddess, a new perspective is offered on the explanation for disease as well as the motivation for particular treatments. Special chapters deal with the cuneiform handbook on prognosis and diagnosis of diseases, medical incantations appealing to the healing goddess, and the medicinal plants attributed to her. For the first time a body of evidence for the use of simple drugs is brought together, elaborating on specific plant profiles. The result is a volume that challenges many long-held assumptions concerning the specialized cuneiform medical literature and takes a fresh look on the nature of Ancient Babylonian healing.
Providing a comprehensive study of the ancient Babylonian healing goddess, this book employs a range of Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform sources. The resulting volume challenges many long-held assumptions concerning the specialised medical literature and addresses the nature of healing in ancient Mesopotamia.
This book presents the first in-depth analysis of Mesopotamian healing goddesses and their relationship to asûs, “healers”. Through this, Sibbing-Plantholt provides unprecedented insight into the diverse Mesopotamian medical marketplace and how professional healers operating within it legitimized themselves.
• Explores beliefs and myths from Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, and around the Mediterranean, revealing how ancient goddesses were powerful Queens of the Heavens and Guardians of the Underworld, not passive fertility symbols • Looks at creator goddesses, sun goddesses, lunar goddesses, warrior maiden goddesses, and night goddesses, including Hathor, Asherah, Inanna, Hekate, Athena, Astarte, and Gula-Bau • Includes modern adaptations of ancient goddess magic rituals and instructions for creating divine amulets, figurines, and stones blessed with the goddesses’ powers In the most ancient cultures of our world, goddesses were seen not as passive fertility symbols but as powerful, active Queens of the Heavens who protected cities, guided the dead and dying, and oversaw all forms of rebirth and transformation. Sharing her years of research and personal exploration into ancient goddess mythology, evolution, and ritual, Vanessa Lavallée explores the animistic beliefs of our long-forgotten ancestors, especially in Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, and around the Mediterranean, and shows how the Queens of the Heavens still have a vital role to play in modern spirituality. She looks at sun goddesses who were often viewed as the mothers of the gods and shows how to spiritually and magically work with the Great Mothers of the Sky. Examining maiden warrior goddesses such as Athena, Circe the sorceress, Britomartis, Dyktinna, and Aphaia from the island of Aegina, the author explains their connections to the Eagle constellation and eagle lore and reveals how to work with the Warrior goddess archetype. Looking at night goddesses, the author describes their connection to the Goat Star, the Milky Way, Death, and the Underworld and explores their star magic and healing powers, including working with Vega, Sirius, Inanna, Hekate, and Gula-Bau. Exploring lunar goddesses, their role as protectors, and their connections to the Swan and the Cygnus constellation, she looks at how to work with guardian goddesses such as Astarte, Aphrodite, and Tanit. Offering modern adaptations of ancient goddess magic rituals and tools, the author explains how to perform rituals for healing, protection, and purification and how to create divine amulets, figurines, and stones blessed with the goddesses’ powers. She also reveals how to practice astral bathing for spiritual help and guidance. Presenting initiation practices throughout to help you connect with each Queen of the Heavens, this guide to the myth, magic, and history of ancient goddesses reveals that their legacy is still spiritually alive.
Cutting edge reflections on biblical text formation Empirical models based on ancient Near Eastern literature and variations between different textual traditions have been used to lend credibility to the identification of the sources behind biblical literature and the different editorial layers. In this volume, empirical models are used to critique the exaggerated results of identifying sources and editorial layers by demonstrating that, even though much of ancient literature had such complex literary histories, our methods are often inadequate for the task of precisely identifying sources and editorial layers. The contributors are Maxine L. Grossman, Bénédicte Lemmelijn, Alan Lenzi, Sara J. Milstein, Raymond F. Person Jr., Robert Rezetko, Stefan Schorch, Julio Trebolle Barrera, Ian Young, and Joseph A. Weaks. Features: Evidence that many ancient texts are composite texts with complex literary histories Ten essays and an introduction cover texts from Mesopotamia, the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Dead Sea Scrolls
Mesopotamian Medicine and Magic. Studies in Honour of Markham J. Geller offers 34 brand-new text editions and analytical studies concerned with diverse healing traditions and practices in Ancient Western Asia.
From the tragic young Adonis to Zašhapuna, first among goddesses, this handbook provides the most complete information available on deities from the cultures and religions of the ancient Near East, including Anatolia, Syria, Israel, Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, and Elam. The result of nearly fifteen years of research, this handbook is more expansive and covers a wider range of sources and civilizations than any previous reference works on the topic. Arranged alphabetically, the entries range from multiple pages of information to a single line—sometimes all that we know about a given deity. Where possible, each record discusses the deity’s symbolism and imagery, connecting it to the myths, rituals, and festivals described in ancient sources. Many of the entries are accompanied by illustrations that aid in understanding the iconography, and they all include references to texts in which the god or goddess is mentioned. Appropriate for both trained scholars and nonacademic readers, this book collects centuries of Near Eastern mythology into one volume. It will be an especially valuable resource for anyone interested in Assyriology, ancient religion, and the ancient Near East.
Utilizing a great variety of previously unknown cuneiform tablets, Ancient Babylonian Medicine: Theory and Practice examines the way medicine was practiced by various Babylonian professionals of the 2nd and 1st millennium B.C. Represents the first overview of Babylonian medicine utilizing cuneiform sources, including archives of court letters, medical recipes, and commentaries written by ancient scholars Attempts to reconcile the ways in which medicine and magic were related Assigns authorship to various types of medical literature that were previously considered anonymous Rejects the approach of other scholars that have attempted to apply modern diagnostic methods to ancient illnesses
Dark Metropolis: Planetsong is the story about the planet Celesta. She is dying and she sings to her sister planets to save her children. One of her sisters, Gaia takes one of Celesta's children called Cha'Lan to help her fight a war between her children "The Olympians" and the "Ancient Old Ones" in a city called Dark Metropolis.
From spiritual teacher Tammy Mastroberte comes an indispensable guide for supercharging your manifestation practice with guidance from the Universe. If you’re struggling to see the changes you desire in life no matter how hard you try to manifest them, it may be time to put down this stressful burden and try something new. There is an easier way to create positive change, and it starts with no longer trying to do it alone. Instead, you can ask the Universe for help and place it in charge to guide you. In The Higher Help Method, award-winning author Tammy Mastroberte affirms the Universe will support you to create what you want—or something even more incredible when you ask it to partner with you and harness its energy. To access the full potential of manifestation, we must learn to invoke the aid and wisdom of the Divine with confidence, receptivity, and trust. Here she shares her tried-and-true system for: • Framing your intentions with clarity—express what you want, why you want it, and how it will make you feel • Calling in specialized higher help—including angels, guides, saints, and loved ones • Shifting your energy—attune to and maintain a higher vibration that magnetizes positive change • Receiving and acting on guidance—recognize how the Universe answers and guides you, and follow its lead You’ll learn how to dive deeper into your practice with specific tools such as custom prayers, exercises, crystals, and rituals for manifesting in seven key areas: money and abundance, health, emotional well-being, relationships, career, parenting, and spiritual connection. “The Universe always responds when you ask for help,” says Mastroberte. “When you learn to trust it as a partner, creating positive change becomes easier, more effective, and much more fun.” With this indispensable guide, you’ll soon become an effective cocreator of your reality, supported by Divine forces to consciously create a life you love.
