Enki

Enki was considered a god of life and replenishment, and was often depicted with two streams of water flowing into his shoulders, one the Tigris, the other the Euphrates. Alongside him were trees symbolising the female and male aspects of nature, each holding the female and male aspects of the ‘Life Essence’, which he, as apparent alchemist of the gods, would masterfully mix to create several beings that would live upon the face of the earth.

According to Sumerian mythology, Enki also assisted humanity to survive the Deluge designed to kill them. Nintinugga was a Babylonian goddess of healing, the consort of Ninurta. She is identical with the goddess of Akkadian mythology, known as Bau or Baba, though it would seem that the two were originally independent. The name Bau is more common in the oldest period and gives way to Gula after the First Babylonian Dynasty.

Other names borne by this goddess are Nin-Karrak, Nin Ezen, Ga-tum-dug and Nm-din-dug, the latter signifying “the lady who restores to life”, or the Goddess of Healing. After the Great Flood, she helped “breathe life” back into mankind.

Ninurta appears in a double capacity in the epithets bestowed on him, and in the hymns and incantations addressed to him. On the one hand he is a farmer and a healing god who releases humans from sickness and the power of demons; on the other he is the god of the South Wind as the son of Enlil, displacing his mother Ninlil who was earlier held to be the goddess of the South Wind. Enlil’s brother, Enki, was portrayed as Ninurta’s mentor from whom Ninurta was entrusted several powerful Mes, including the Deluge.

In the astral-theological system Ninurta was associated with the planet Saturn, or perhaps as offspring or an aspect of Saturn. In his capacity as a farmer-god, there are similarities between Ninurta and the Greek Titan Kronos, whom the Romans in turn identified with their Titan Saturn.

Aquarius is identified as GU.LA “The Great One” in the Babylonian star catalogues and represents the god Enki himself. His symbols included a goat and a fish, which later combined into a single beast, the goat Capricorn, recognised as the Zodiacal constellation Capricornus. He was accompanied by an attendant Isimud. He was also associated with the planet Mercury in the Sumerian astrological system.

Aquarius contained the winter solstice in the Early Bronze Age. In Old Babylonian astronomy, Enki was the ruler of the southernmost quarter of the Sun’s path, the “Way of Enki”, corresponding to the period of 45 days on either side of winter solstice.

Despite its faintness, Capricornus has one of the oldest mythological associations, having been consistently represented as a hybrid of a goat and a fish since the Middle Bronze Age. First attested in depictions on a cylinder-seal from around the 21st century BC, it was explicitly recorded in the Babylonian star catalogues as MULSUḪUR.MAŠ “The Goat-Fish” before 1000 BC. The constellation was a symbol of the god Ea and in the Early Bronze Age marked the winter solstice.

Due to the precession of the equinoxes the December solstice no longer takes place while the sun is in the constellation Capricornus, as it did until 130 BCE, but the astrological sign called Capricorn begins with the solstice. The solstice now takes place when the Sun is in the constellation (not the sign) of Sagittarius.

The sun’s most southerly position, which is attained at the northern hemisphere’s winter solstice, is now called the Tropic of Capricorn, a term which also applies to the line on the Earth at which the sun is directly overhead at noon on that solstice. The Sun is now in Capricorn from late January through mid-February.

The Flood

Ziusudra (also Zi-ud-sura and Zin-Suddu; Hellenized Xisuthros: “found long life” or “life of long days”) of Shuruppak is listed in the WB-62 Sumerian king list recension as the last king of Sumer prior to the deluge.

Ziusudra being a king from Shuruppak is supported by the Gilgamesh XI tablet (see below) making reference to Utnapishtim (Akkadian translation of the Sumerian name Ziusudra) with the epithet “man of Shuruppak” at line 23.

In the WB-62 Sumerian king list recension, Ziusudra, or Zin-Suddu of Shuruppak is recorded as having reigned as both king and gudug priest for 10 sars, or periods of 3,600, although this was probably a copy error for 10 years.

In this version, Ziusudra inherited rulership from his father Šuruppak (written SU.KUR.LAM) who ruled for 10 sars. The line following Ziusudra in WB-62 reads: Then the flood swept over. The next line reads: After the flood swept over, kingship descended from heaven; the kingship was in Kish.

The city of Kish flourished in the Early Dynastic period soon after an archaeologically attested river flood in Shuruppak (modern Tell Fara, Iraq) and various other Sumerian cities. This flood has been radiocarbon dated to ca. 2900 BC.

The significance of Ziusudra’s name appearing on the WB-62 king list is that it links the flood mentioned in the three surviving Babylonian deluge epics of Ziusudra (Eridu Genesis), Utnapishtim (Epic of Gilgamesh), and Atrahasis (Epic of Atrahasis) to river flood sediments in Shuruppak, Uruk, Kish et al. that have been radiocarbon dated to ca. 2900 BC.

This has led some scholars to conclude that the flood hero was king of Shuruppak at the end of the Jemdet Nasr period (ca. 3000–2900) which ended with the river flood of 2900 BC.

Polychrome pottery from the Jemdet Nasr period, an archaeological culture in southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) that is generally dated to 3100–2900 BCE., was discovered immediately below the Shuruppak flood stratum, and the Jemdet Nasr period immediately preceded the Early Dynastic I period.

The culture of the proto-historical Jemdet Nasr period is a local development out of the preceding Uruk period and continues into the Early Dynastic I period. he Jemdet Nasr period in south–central Iraq is contemporary with the early Ninevite V period in Upper Mesopotamia and the Proto-Elamite stage in western Iran and shares with these periods characteristics such as an emerging bureaucracy and inequality.

He is subsequently recorded as the hero of the Sumerian flood epic. He is also mentioned in other ancient literature, including The Death of Gilgamesh and The Poem of Early Rulers, and a late version of The Instructions of Shuruppak refers to Ziusudra. Akkadian Atrahasis (“extremely wise”) and Utnapishtim (“he found life”), as well as biblical Noah (“rest” or “comfort”) are similar heroes of flood legends of the ancient Near East.

Although each version of the flood myth has distinctive story elements, there are numerous story elements that are common to two, three, or four versions. The earliest version of the flood myth is preserved fragmentarily in the Eridu Genesis, written in Sumerian cuneiform and dating to the 17th century BC, during the 1st Dynasty of Babylon when the language of writing and administration was still Sumerian. Strong parallels are notable with other Near Eastern flood legends, such as the biblical account of Noah.

Aquarius – Sagittarius

Nintinugga was a Babylonian goddess of healing. She was the daughter of An and the consort of Ninurta, who appears in a double capacity in the epithets bestowed on him, and in the hymns and incantations addressed to him.

On the one hand he is a farmer and a healing god who releases humans from sickness and the power of demons; on the other he is the god of the South Wind as the son of Enlil, displacing his mother Ninlil who was earlier held to be the goddess of the South Wind.

Enlil’s brother, Enki, was portrayed as Ninurta’s mentor from whom Ninurta was entrusted several powerful Mes, including the Deluge. In the astral-theological system Ninurta was associated with the planet Saturn, or perhaps as offspring or an aspect of Saturn. In his capacity as a farmer-god, there are similarities between Ninurta and the Greek Titan Kronos, whom the Romans in turn identified with their Titan Saturn.

She had seven daughters, including Hegir-Nuna (Gangir). She was known as a patron deity of Lagash, where Gudea built her a temple. After the Great Flood, she helped “breathe life” back into mankind.

She is identical with the goddess of Akkadian mythology, known as Bau or Baba, though it would seem that the two were originally independent. The name Bau is more common in the oldest period and gives way to Gula after the First Babylonian Dynasty.

Since it is probable that Ninurta has absorbed the cults of minor sun-deities, the two names may represent consorts of different gods. However this may be, the qualities of both are alike, and the two occur as synonymous designations of Ninurta’s female consort.

Other names borne by this goddess are Nin-Karrak, Nin Ezen, Ga-tum-dug and Nm-din-dug, the latter signifying “the lady who restores to life”, or the Goddess of Healing. The designation well emphasizes the chief trait of Bau-Gula which is that of healer. She is often spoken of as “the great physician,” and accordingly plays a specially prominent role in incantations and incantation rituals intended to relieve those suffering from disease.

She is, however, also invoked to curse those who trample upon the rights of rulers or those who do wrong with poisonous potions. As in the case of Ninib, the cult of Bau-Gula is prominent in Shirgulla and in Nippur. While generally in close association with her consort, she is also invoked alone, giving her more dominance than most of the goddesses of Babylonia and Assyria.

She appears in a prominent position on the designs accompanying the Kudurrus boundary-stone monuments of Babylonia, being represented by a portrait, when other gods and goddesses are merely pictured by their shrines, by sacred animals or by weapons.

In neo-Babylonian days her cult continues to occupy a prominent position, and Nebuchadrezzar II speaks of no less than three chapels or shrines within the sacred precincts of E-Zida in the city of Borsippa, besides a temple in her honour at Babylon.

In Sumerian mythology, Ninsun or Ninsuna (“lady wild cow”) is a goddess, best known as the mother of the legendary hero Gilgamesh, and as the tutelary goddess of Gudea of Lagash. Ninsun was originally named Nininsina, according to Pabilsag’s journey to Nibru. She was called Gula in Sumerian Mythology until the name was later changed to Ninisina. Gula in the latter became a Babylonian goddess. Her parents are the deities Anu and Uras.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Ninsun is depicted as a human queen who lives in Uruk with her son as king. Since the father of Gilgamesh was former king Lugalbanda, it stands to reason that Ninsun procreated with Lugalbanda to give birth.

Also in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Ninsun is summoned by Gilgamesh and Enkidu to help pray to the god Utu to help the two on their journey to the Country of the Living to battle Humbaba.

Ninsun is called “Rimat-Ninsun”, the “August cow”, the “Wild Cow of the Enclosure”, and “The Great Queen”. In the Tello relief (the ancient Lagash, 2150 BC) her name is written with the cuneiform glyphs as: DINGIR.NIN.GUL where the glyph for GUL is the same for SUN. The meaning of SUN is attested as “cow”.

According to the ancient Babylonian text, Nininsina wedded Pabilsag, a tutelary god of the city of Isin, and identified with the lost city of Larak, near a riverbank. By Pabilsag she bore Damu.

The text Pabilsag’s journey to Nibru describes Pabilsag as journeying to Nippur and presenting the god Enlil with gifts. He was given the epithet of “the wild bull with multicoloured legs”. He is represented in the constellation Sagittarius.

Sagittarius is the ninth astrological sign, which is associated with the constellation Sagittarius and spans 240–270th degrees of the zodiac. In tropical astrology, the Sun is considered to be in the sign Sagittarius from 22 November to 21 December, and in sidereal astrology, from 16 December to 14 January.

Jupiter is the ruling planet of Sagittarius and Pisces, and it is exalted in Cancer. The detriment to Sagittarius is Gemini. Along with Aries and Leo, Sagittarius is a part of the Fire Trigon.

The symbol of the zodiac sign is a Centaur armed with arrows following an old tradition coming from the Ancient Greece and from other cultures of the past. The image of the sign says a lot about his features, he’s able to be incredibly violent or wise, brave or mild.

Sagittarius, half human and half horse, is the centaur of mythology, the learned healer whose higher intelligence forms a bridge between Earth and Heaven. Also known as the Archer, Sagittarius is represented by the symbol of a bow and arrow.

The symbol of the archer is based on the centaur Chiron, who mentored Achilles, a Greek hero of the Trojan War, in archery. In Greek mythology, Sagittarius is usually identified as a centaur: half human, half horse. However, perhaps due to the Greek’s adoption of the Sumerian constellation, some confusion surrounds the identity of the archer.

Some identify Sagittarius as the centaur Chiron, the son of Philyra and Saturn and tutor to Jason, who was said to have changed himself into a horse to escape his jealous wife, Rhea. However, some identify Chiron with the constellation Centaurus, the other heavenly centaur.

An alternative tradition is that Chiron merely invented the constellation Sagittarius to help in guiding the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece. A competing mythological tradition, as espoused by Eratosthenes, identified the Archer not as a centaur but as the satyr Crotus, son of Pan, who Greeks credited with the invention of archery.

According to myth, Crotus often went hunting on horseback and lived among the Muses, who requested that Zeus place him in the sky, where he is seen demonstrating archery.

The arrow of this constellation points towards the star Antares, the “heart of the scorpion,” and Sagittarius stands poised to attack should Scorpius ever attack the nearby Hercules, or to avenge Scorpius’s slaying of Orion.

In Roman mythology, Jupiter is the ruler of the gods and their guardian and protector, and his symbol is the thunderbolt. The Romans believed that Jupiter granted them supremacy because they had honored him more than any other people had. Jupiter is usually the fourth-brightest object in the sky (after the Sun, the Moon and Venus).

Jupiter was “the fount of the auspices upon which the relationship of the city with the gods rested.” He personified the divine authority of Rome’s highest offices, internal organization, and external relations. His image in the Republican and Imperial Capitol bore regalia associated with Rome’s ancient kings and the highest consular and Imperial honours.

In the same way, the planet Jupiter is the king of the other planets, a giant in size with spectacular, brightly colored clouds and intense storms. Some astronomers believe that it plays an important protecting role in using its massive gravity to capture or expel from the solar system many comets and asteroids that would otherwise threaten Earth and the inner planets.

Astrologically speaking, Jupiter is associated with the principles of growth, expansion, prosperity, and good fortune. Jupiter governs long distance and foreign travel, big business and wealth, higher education, religion, and the law. It is also associated with the urge for freedom and exploration, humanitarian and protecting roles, and with gambling and merrymaking.

Aquarius is one of the oldest of the recognized constellations along the zodiac (the sun’s apparent path). Despite this prominence, the Age of Aquarius will not dawn until the year 2597, as an astrological age does not begin until the Sun is in a particular constellation on the vernal equinox.

As of 2002, the Sun appears in the constellation Aquarius from 16 February to 11 March. In tropical astrology, the Sun is considered to be in the sign Aquarius from 20 January to 19 February, and in sidereal astrology, from 15 February to 14 March.

Aquarius is a constellation of the zodiac, situated between Capricornus and Pisces. Its name is Latin for “water-carrier” or “cup-carrier”, and its symbol is a representation of water. It is found in a region often called the Sea due to its profusion of constellations with watery associations such as Cetus the whale, Pisces the fish, and Eridanus the river.

Aquarius is identified as GU.LA “The Great One” in the Babylonian star catalogues and represents the god Enki himself, who is commonly depicted holding an overflowing vase. The Babylonian star-figure appears on entitlement stones and cylinder seals from the second millennium. It contained the winter solstice in the Early Bronze Age.

In Old Babylonian astronomy, Enki was the ruler of the southernmost quarter of the Sun’s path, the “Way of Enki”, corresponding to the period of 45 days on either side of winter solstice. Aquarius was also associated with the destructive floods that the Babylonians regularly experienced, and thus was negatively connoted. In Ancient Egypt, Aquarius was associated with the annual flood of the Nile; the banks were said to flood when Aquarius put his jar into the river, beginning spring.

In the Greek tradition, the constellation became represented as simply a single vase from which a stream poured down to Piscis Austrinus. The name in the Hindu zodiac is likewise kumbha “water-pitcher”, showing that the zodiac reached India via Greek intermediaries.

In Greek mythology, Aquarius is sometimes associated with Deucalion, the son of Prometheus who built a ship with his wife Pyrrha to survive an imminent flood. They sailed for nine days before washing ashore on Mount Parnassus. Aquarius is also sometimes identified with beautiful Ganymede, a youth in Greek mythology and the son of Trojan king Tros, who was taken to Mount Olympus by Zeus to act as cup-carrier to the gods.

Neighboring Aquila represents the eagle, under Zeus’ command, that snatched the young boy; some versions of the myth indicate that the eagle was in fact Zeus transformed.

Creation myth

Sumerian creation myth

Jemdet Nasr period

Flood myth

Gilgamesh flood myth

Ziusudra

Utnapishtim

Atra-Hasis

Noah

Noah’s Ark

Deucalion

isuthros

Du har Janus (Capricorn) og Juni (Cancer) men også Mars (Aries) og Venus (Libra) – og i gamle dager begynte året med Mars, men gikk deretter over til å bli med Janus – dette utgjør vinter- og sommersolverv kontra vår- og høstjevndøgn – med andre ord de fire årstider. De fire kardinal tegnene er med andre ord Væren, Krepsen, Vekten og Stenbukken.

There is no myth in any of the known religions which, as regards its importance, can be compared with the so-called Dumuzi-Ninanna myth of the early Sumerians.

Sumerian Hymns and Prayers to God Dumu-Zi

In it are rooted not only the later conceptions which the Egyptians, Phoenioians, Greeks and Latins entertained with regard to the death and resurrection of their Osiris, Esmun, Adonis, but and this we may now confidently assert – it forms also the prototype of our Christian Lenten season and of the death and resurrection of Christ. It explains why the Lenten season terminates the winter, the time of darkness and death, and why it precedes the Easter festival which celebrates the resurrection of nature and of Christ.

In order to understand, from this point of view, the Dumuzi-Ninanna myth more accurately and thus be put into a position to appreciate its later developments more thoroughly, I shall try to give here in mere outlines its essential features, leaving its details and later accretions for future discussion.

The religion of the Sumerians, together with their conception of the macro-cosmos, is but a reflex of their human institutions as given on hand by their micro-cosmos or kalam, in which they lived.

As this kalam or “Babylonia” proper developed, so the ” world” was thought to have developed. This gives us the maxims: Human society = divine society; micro-cosmos or the kalam of the Sumerians = macro-cosmos or world.

The kalam, originally one whole, presided over by god An, the “king of the kalam”, very soon came to be looked upon, at a period which is still pre-historic for us, as consisting of two parts: a “northern” or “lower” and a “southern” or “upper” part. The latter was represented by the city of Erech with the temple of An: Ean; the former by the city of Nippur with the temple of Enlil: Ekur.

At an other and later period the south was centered in the city of Eridu with the north in A-HA or HA-A, i. e., in “northern Mesopotamia”. At still other times the north was either the city of Girsu or Kutha or Akkad or the Armenian mountains or the so-called “Westland” or even Elam.

At the time of the kings of the II dynasty of Ur – the time from which a large portion of the Nippur Temple Library dates -Babylonia as a whole was designated by Ki-en-gi-ki-Uri (= BUR-BUR) which the Semites translated by “Shumer and Akkad”, the former being the “southern” or “upper” and the latter the “northern” or “lower” part – a designation clearly showing that the physical condition of Babylonia played absolutely no role whatever in the selection of these names, or else the northern mountaineous regions of Babylonia as, e. g., the Armenian mountains, Elam, the Westland, would much rather have deserved the name “highland” or “upper” part of Babylonia.

The “southern” part was the region of the “Father” and the “northern” that of the “Son”; and as the “north” was also the “great abode” (iri-gal) of the Babylonian gods, was, in fact, the “netherworld”, the “Son” came to be looked upon as the “lord of the netherworld”. The first and oldest “lord of the netherworld” was Enlil.

The displacing of An by Enlil necessitated, of course, a shifting of the “southern” center from Erech to Nippur, i. e., Nippur, during the Enlil period, became what Erech was during that of An: the “southern” or “upper” part of Babylonia, with Girsu or Kutha, etc. as the “northern” or “lower” part. Hence, the gods of Girsu (dNin-Girsu), Kutha (dNergal), etc. had necessanly to become not only the “Sons” of Enlil, but also and especially the “lords of the netherworld”.

Similar to the micro-cosmos was the development of the Babylonian macro-cosmos, which, though it originally formed but one whole (the An), was later on made to conform with its micro-cosmic pattern, becoming an an-ki, a “heaven” or “upper” and an “earth” or “lower” part.

But the Sumerians were apparently not satisfied with this, they subdivided the “heaven” as well as the “earth” into two other parts: the “upper” or “southern” heaven, i. e., the heaven as it appears during the “summer” half of the year, and the “lower” or “northern” heaven, i. e., the heaven as it appears during the “winter” half of the year. This latter division applied to the “earth” gives us the “upper” earth as it appears to man, or the “earth” in opposition to the “heaven”, and the “lower” earth or “netherworld”. Even the very “netherworld” seems to have been subdivided into an “upper” and a “lower” netherworld: an-din ki-din.

At a still later time the boundaries of Babylonia were so far extended as to include not only the Euphrates and the Tigris, but even the “sea of the going down of the sun” and the “sea of the rising of the sun”, in other words, the kalam at this time was a “world” which was on all sides surrounded by water.

Also this conception was transferred to both the macro-cosmos with its “heavenly” and “terrestrial” ocean and to the netherworld with its Sahan, which was a river consisting, like the Euphrates and Tigris, of two arms, one in the west and one in the east. When entering or leaving the netherworld this Sahan had to be crossed, becoming in this wise the prototype of the later “Styx” among the Greeks.

The conveyance in ships of the Babylonian gods from one temple to the other, at the time of the Sumerian Akiti of “New Year’s” festival, i. e., at the time, of the vernal equinox, is nothing but a symbolic action indicating that the gods have crossed the Sahan and, by doing so, have left the netherworld, the region of the north, the cold, the winter – a conception revealed in the heavens by the sun crossing the muruban or equator.

Another division of the Babylonian macro- and micro-cosmos, of the heavens and the netherworld is into “seven parts”, which seven parts were again modeled after the “seven UB” or “DA”, i. e., “compartments, divisions, spheres” of Erech.

The god of the Babylonian kalam was An of Erech, “the god of the totality of heaven and earth”. At some as yet undefined period of the Sumerian religion An was differentiated into a husband and wife: An + An – a differentiation still betraying the fact that the wife of a god shared with her husband the same name, functions, attributes, and even gender. The wife of An, therefore, was not only the “queen” or “goddess of the totality of heaven and earth”, but also the “lord of heaven and the mistress of earth”.

This is apparent from Zimmern, S. K., p. 32, no. 28: 7a, where Innanna, i. e., Ninanna, the wife of An, speaks of herself: an-na u-mu-un-bi me-en ki-a ga-sha-an-bi me-en, “of the heaven his lord I am; of the earth her lady I am”, a passage showing that Ishtar – and for that matter any other god or goddess – is both male and female, and that the “heaven” and the “earth”, the two parts of the Babylonian macro-cosmos, stand in the relation of “male” and “female”, or “husband” (umun = en) and “wife” (gashan = nin), thus forming the prototype of the Greek Uranus and Gaia, where Gashan-anna tells us that she has received into her hands the E-an-na E-ki-a, “the house of heaven and earth”, identifying herself with Enlil and Ninlil, the “lord” and “lady” of heaven and earth during the Enlil period of the Sumerian religion.

This “heaven” and “earth”: an + an, or an + ki, or differentiated into En (Umun) – an + Nin (Gashan)-an and translated into Semitic by An-um – Antum were the first divine pair, the first “father-mother” (ama-a-a) or parents, the begetters and creators of everything. They had a “Son” (dumu): the god Lil, later on differentiated into Enlil and Ninlil, the well-known gods of Nippur. This son was the original, only and “true son” (Dumu-zi) – thus called to distinguish him from the later sons of An who usurped the role of Enlil, such as dIM, dMAR-TU, dEn-zu, etc.

Enlil was, as his name indicates, the “god of the powers of nature”, i. e., of thunder, lightning, storm, clouds, rain, and thus necessarily the “god of the fertility of the ground”. An, the heaven, as “Father”, Enlil, the god of the powers of nature, as “Son”, and Nin (Gashan)-a*, the earth, as “Mother”, constitute the members of the fist and oldest trinity in the religion of the Sumerians – a trinity, without which an accurate understanding of the so-called Dumuzi-Ninanna myth is evidently impossible.

The origin of this myth is to be sought in the city of Erech (Iriki), signifying in Sumerian merely “city”, “abode”. Here was the temple of An, called &-an, which was the “sphere of influence” of both An and Nin (Gashan)-an, the latter being, thereforc, very often called Nin ashan an)-A-anna, “the mistress of the house of An”. This name, together with that of Nin (Gashan)-anna, are the two foremost ones, in the texts here published, by which the later Ishtar is known.

The significance of, this myth does not offer any difficulties, provided we accept the above offered explanation with regard to Dumu-zi, “the true ‘Son’ “, as the god of the ” powers of nature”, and Gashan-an, the “Mother”, as the goddess of the “earth”. The Dumuzi-Ninanna myth, then, treats of the relation of the “Mother”, or “earth”, to the “Son”, as the god of the “fertility of the ground”.

This Nin-anna appears in our texts soon as “virgin” (ki-el), and soon as “mother” (ama), “sister” (SAL-KU = ahat),’ or “bride” (dam) of Dumuzi, while the latter is termed either the “youthful one” kal-tur), or “brother” (ses), “son” (dumu), and “husband” (mu-tan-na) of Nin-anna.

These very names, it would seem, should suffice for a correct understanding of this myth. Nin-anna is the “Mother”, because she bore, as the wife of An, Dumuzi. But she is, or may become, the “wife” also of her own beloved “Son”, i. e., she as “earth” enters every year, at the time of the early spring, into wedlock with the god of “rain” or of the “fertility of the ground”, in consequence of which she becomes pregnant and produces the “vegetation” or the “new life of nature”.

This production of the new life of nature is described partly as a “resurrection” and partly as a “giving of birth”. Though the actual wedlock took place in the “netherworld”, i. e., in the “north” where there is the “mountain of the gods”, it was celebrated or re-enacted upon “earth” in the various temples, and revealed in the “heavens”.

Up to the time of the vernal equinox Nin-anna was a “virgin”, appearing in the heavens as “virgo”; with the occurrence of the equinox this virgin becomes the “Mother”, the “creatrix and bearer of everything”, revealing herself in the heavens as the “sublime lady” (Win-mah), who holds a “babe” in her arms which she nourishes. Who or what this babe is, is not difficult to explain: it is the personified vegetation (spica), the new-born creation, the “resurrected” and hence “new-born god of vegetation”.

No wonder, then, that before the IV century A. D., some Christian sects believed that Christ was born at the end of March, and that, though this belief was later on discarded in favor of the 26. of December, the Christian Church saw fit to compromise on this question by naming the first sunday after Easter quasi modo geniti, “like the new-born babes”.

The two-fold idea of Nin-anna’s being a “virgin” and “mother” we still find in our modern “virgin soil” and “mother earth”. The remaining peculiarity according to which Nin-anna was also the “sister” of Dumuzi, is due mainly to the fact that the Sumerians considered the husband and wife to be “one”. From this it follows that Nin-anna had to become, as “bride” of Dumuzi, the “daughter” of An, just as Dumuzi himself was the “son” of An. Dumuzi and Ninanna, then, as husband and wife, are the “son” and “daughter” of An, and hence “brother” and “sister”.

Later on, when the myth of Dumuzi and Nin-anna was transferred to the “Son” and “Mother” of the various other Sumerian trinities, it came to pass that Nin-anna or Ishtar as well as Dumuzi or Tamuz were looked upon as the “son” and “daughter” of each and every god who happened to play, in a particular city, the role of the “Father”. This is the reason for the various and manifold genealogies of both Ishtar and Tamuz which make them the “daughter” and “son” of An, Enlil, Enzu, Enki (ahzu), Ningishzida, etc., etc., and for their being identified with practically each and every “Mother” and “Son” of the Sumerian trinities.

The above mentioned wedlock of Dumuzi and Nin-anna is, however, only one of, the two relations in which they stand. The texts published in this volume do not refer to this marriage at all. On the contrary, we find that the “mother”, “bride” and “sister” of Dumuzi is pictured in them as being on her way to or through the “netherworld” in search for her “beloved”, who is described as being “dead”, having taken up his abode in the Sumerian hades – a locality or state referred to by extremely interesting and highly descriptive names.

While on her way to the “abode of Dumuzi”, Nin-anna passes the so-called “street full of wailing” (sil a-si-ga) continually crying out a, or a-a, or u-a, or wa-wa, i. e., “alas”, or “how long still”, or “when at last”, sc., “shall I be joined to my beloved?” Numerous and difficult are the obstacles which Nin-anna has to overcome until she at last is permitted to find her “beloved”, with whom she enters the “bridal chamber”.

The meaning of this episode in the myth is plain. Dumuzi, the god of the “fertility of the ground”, is “dead” (dig) or “powerless” (u-la) during the winter, at which time he was thought to have descended into the netherworld, situated in the north.

The necessary consequence of this impotency on the part of the “god of the fertility of the ground” was the barrenness of the earth or mother. The earth is barren during the winter season and, as the winter corresponds to the north, Nin-anna likewise is said to be in the north, where there is the netherworld, hoping, longing and praying to be united with her “beloved” in holy wedlock and thus be able to produce the new verdure, the new life of nature.

These observations alone would justify us in maintaining that the so-called “wailings of Nin-anna for Dumuzi”, which are the subject of the tablets here published, must have taken place some time during the winter season. Elsewhere I have shown that the 6th month of a year beginning with the autumnal equinox was the month of the “wailings for Dumuzi”.

This 6th month corresponded to our February-March and was called Ululu, from which we have the Latin ulul-are (howl or cry) frequently used in connection with the wailings of Aphrodite for Adonis. Now, as the resurrection of Dumuzi falls at the time of the vernal equinox, and as the wailings for Dumuzi take place in the month immediately preceding it, we may confidently assert, that these two features of the Dumuzi-Ninanna myth constitute the prototype of the Christian Lenten and Resurrection festivals. Both have for their basis the annual barrenness of nature and its resurrection to new life, and both are nature and spring festivals.

But each and every festival, though primarily given on hand by the immutable laws of nature, was at one time or another connected with actual, historical facts. The Christian lenten and resurrection festivals were connected with the actual and historical death and resurrection of Christ. The same is true of the Sumerian lenten and resurrection festivals. Again and again Nin-anna complains about the “enemies” and “dogs” who have invaded Babylonia, defiled and destroyed its cities and temples, asking and praying that these her cities and temples “be again restored”.

Thanks to the tablets of the Nippur Library, we know now who these “enemies” and “dogs” were and whence they came. They were the “hords” from the north of Babylonia: the Guti, Lulubi, Elamites etc., etc.

The macro-cosmic barrenness of the earth during the winter corresponds exactly to the destruction of Babylonia as micro-cosmos – a destruction which is wrought by the people from the north, the region of the winter and of the netherworld. To overcome this enemy, Dumuzi, like the later Nin-ib of the Nippur trinity, has to go to the north and smite this foe of Babylonia. And he does. As soon as this northern enemy is overcome, the rebuilding and dedication of the Babylonian cities and temples may and does take place.

The destruction of the temples and cities represents the historical micro-cosmic lent; the dedication of the temples the historical micro-cosmic resurrection, while the “wailings” of Nin-anna, from this point of view, are nothing but the appeal of her “lamentation men” and “women” to the generosity and liberality of the Babylonian kings and faithful ones to open their purses and make a most liberal offering at “Easter (Ishtar) time”. This having been complied with, the gods, more particularly the “Son” and “Bride”, can again take up their abode in the restored and dedicated temples, be re-united, and enter into holy wedlock.

This conception, it is needless to say, introduced into the Dumuzi-Ninanna myth quite a new feature: – a fight between the “enemy from the north” and the “god of the powers of nature”. And seeing that the north was also the region of the netherworld, this fight of Dnmuzi acquired very soon a mythological significance – it was looked upon as a fight between the “powers of nature” and the “powers of darkness” (Humbaba): the winter, the cold, mythologically pictured as a serpent (sahan).

It became a fight between the winter and spring, between darkness and light, between death and life – a fight such as took place not only at the “beginning of the world”, when Marduk overcame Tiamat, or when Jahveh conquered Rahab-Liviathan, but a fight which is repeated every year, month (Enzu as Dumuzi) and day (Utu as Dumuzi) until the end of the world.

The outcome of this fight is well-known: the enemy from the north as well as the mythological foe is overcome; Dumuzi the god of the powers of nature remains victorious. Also this victory is revealed in the heavens by the appearance, at the time of the Sumerian resurrection festival, i. e., at the time of the vernal equinox, of the star En-te-na MASH (BAR)-SIG (LUM), informing the faithful upon earth that now the dragon, the winter, the cold (en-te-nu) has been conquered, that its rulership has come to an end and that, in consequence of this victory, the new life, the new creation, the resurrection has not only been made possible but has become an actual fact.

Dumuzi having overcome the foes of Babylonia – both historical and mythological – receives as a reward the power to “judge” the universe, its living and its dead. The vernal equinox with the sign libra tells us that this his judgment is one of absolute justice and equity: it is as evenly balanced as is the day and night as this time.

Mitt stjernetegn Libra / Vekten blir symbolisert med en vekt, “T”. Dets motsatte stjernetegn er Væren / Aries. Personer som er født i perioden 23. september – 21. oktober regnes som «vekt» ifølge astrologien.

Hver planet hersker over et tegn i dyrekretsen. Venus er den herskende planeten i Taurus og Vekten. Siden alle tegn korresponderer med et spesielt hus, kan også husene knyttes til tegnets hersker. Venus er hersker i det andre og det syvende hus. Planetens innflytelse blir som regel ekstra strek dersom den ved fødselsøyeblikket befinner seg i sitt ”eget” tegn eller hus.

Venus er den nest mest lyseste objektet på nattehimmelen, mens månen er den lyseste. Den blir vanligvis ansett som Jordas tvillingplanet. Fredag har blitt oppkalt etter Venus. I germansk religion blir planeten Venus assosiert med Freyja / Frigg.

Planter som befinner seg midt i mot sitt herskende tegn, blir tvert om svakere. Eksempel; Mars blir altså svakere i Vekten, men ”sterkere” i sitt eget tegn, Væren. Oppstillingen under gir en indikasjon over plantenes astrologiske betydning, og viser forbindelsen mellom tegn og hus.

De kardinale tegnene er ett fra hvert element: Væren, Krepsen, Vekten og Steinbukken. Felles for dem er at de vil styre og ha kontroll, og trives best når de kan bestemme hvor skapet skal stå.

Ved et jevndøgn står solen i ett av to motsatte punkter på himmelkulen der himmelekvator (det vil si deklinasjon 0) og ekliptikken skjærer hverandre. Disse skjæringspunktene kalles jevndøgnspunktene: vårjevndøgnspunktet eller vårpunktet (Væren) og høstjevndøgnspunktet eller høstpunktet (Vekten).

Stjernetegnet Vekten er tilknyttet guden Tyr, samt guder som Nergal (Sumer), Shiva (India), Aries (Hellas), Mars (Roma) osv. Disse er tilknyttet planeten Mars, som er den herskende planeten i Væren og Skorpionen. Mars og Venus er med andre ord forbundet på samme måte som Væren og Vekten, samt Taurus og Skorpionen, er det.

Mars var krigsguden i romersk mytologi. Han har gitt navn til planeten Mars og måneden mars, samt til stjernetegnet Væren (Aries). Han tilsvarer i gresk mytologi krigsguden Ares. Hovedtempelet til Mars lå på Kapitolhøyden i Roma og var delt med Jupiter og Quirinus.

I likhet med Ares, som var sønn av Zeus og Hera, var han sønn av Juno og Jupiter. I en versjon gitt av Ovid er han kun sønn av Juno. Dette ettersom Jupiter hadde tilranet seg morens funksjon da han ga fødsel til Minerva direkte fra sitt pannen, eller tanken.

For å gjenopprette balansen søkte Juno råd fra gudinnen Flora, som ga henne en magisk blomst. Det latinske ordet flos, flertall flores, er et maskulint ord. Hun gjorde Juno gravid. Juno dro deretter til Trakia og Marmara kysten for å føde.

Dette kan forklare hvorfor Matronalia, en festival feiret av gifte kvinner til ære for Juno som gudinnen for barnefødsler, ble avholdt den første dagen i mars, som også er fødselsdagen til Mars. Mars var den første måneden og guden ble født med det nye året. Dette utgjør overgangen mellom Fisken (Pisces) til Væren (Aries).

Mars var gift med Nerio, eller Nerine (“mot”). Nerio representerer den vitale styrken (vis), makt (potentia) og majestet (maiestas) til Mars. Hennes navn vle ansett som sabinsk i sin opprinnelse og er likestilt med det latinske virtus (“mannlig dyd”; fra vir, “mann”). Mars og Nerine ble feiret på en festival holdt den 23. mars. Ting tatt fra fienden i en krig ble dedikert til Nerio.

Nerine, som senere kom til å bli identifisert med Minerva, ble identifisert med krigsgudinnen Bellona. Hennes hovedkjennemerke er en militærhjelm; hun holder ofte et sverd, spyd eller skjold, og vifter med en lykt eller eller pisker mens hun rider i kamp i en vogn trukket av fire hester. Hun ble assosiert med Virtus, personifiseringen av mot. Hennes tempel lå i Campus Martius (“Mars’ åker”), et offentlig eid område i det gamle Roma.

Mars representerte militærmakt som en måte å sikre fred, og var far (pater) til det romerske folk. I opphavsgeneologien til det romerske folk og grunnleggermyten til Roma var Mars far til Romulus og Remus med Rhea Silvia. Ettersom han ble sett som den legendariske far til Romas grunnlegger Romulus ble det likeledes antatt at alle romere nedstammet fra Mars.

Hans kjærlighetsaffære med Venus forsonet de to ulike tradisjonene av Romas grunnleggelse; Venus var den guddommelige moren til helten Aeneas, som ble feiret som den trojanske flyktningen som grunnla Roma flere generasjoner før Romulus bygget ut bymurene.

Mars’ festivaler ble holdt i måneden mars (Væren) og i oktober (Vekten). Ettersom navnet Mars ikke har noen indoeuropeisk utledning er det mest sannsynlig en latinsk form for etruskernes jordbruksgud Maris, og opprinnelig synes Mars å ha vært en jordbruksgud, knyttet til grøderikdom og fruktbarhet, beskytter av krøtter, markene og landegrensene mellom bøndene.

Ettersom romerne var hovedsakelig bønder fryktet de pest og sykdom ville ødelegge deres avlinger. Insekter, skadelige smådyr, platesykdommer var fiender som «invaderte» deres land, og Mars ble guden som beskytter dem mot invasjonene.

Tyr eller Ty er i den norrøne mytologien krigsguden – han som rår over hvem som skal vinne i strid. Han er guden for lov, rettferdighet, himmelen, krig og heroisk ære. Tyr og Tor kan også være det tvillingparet som opptrer med store økser på danske helleristninger og som i fellesskap het Øl.

Tiw ble ansett som Mars i interpretatio germanica. Tirsdag blir kalt Tīw’s Day, også Zischtig fra zîes tag, oversatt fra dies Martis. Det nordiske gudenavnet Tyr stammer kanskje opprinnelig fra det indoeuropeiske ordet *deyewos, som er relatert til den indoeuropeiske himmelguds navn *Dyews, og er det samme ordet som ordet Dyaus i Sanskrit og det greske Zevs.

Zevs er det eneste gudenavnet i gresk mytologi vi vet med sikkerhet har en indoeuropeisk rot, nemlig *Dyews, også *Dyews pHter, som kan sammenliknes med Dyaus Pitar på sanskrit, og Jup(p)iter, opprinnelig Deus Pater, «Himmelfaren» eller «Gudefaren» på latin.

Tyr het Týr på norrønt, og navnet kom fra det germanske Tiwaz. Tyr er det eneste norrøne gudenavnet som representerer et opprinnelig indoeuropeisk grunnord som kan bety «gud», «dag» eller «himmel». Tyr er derfor sannsynligvis en yngre variant av indoeuropeisk himmelgud, selv om mange av hans funksjoner og betydning ble overtatt av Tor (Þórr), som tordengud, og Odin, som fryktinngytende krigsgud, i jernalderen.

I Snorres Edda leser vi at da æsene skulle binde Fenrisulven, krevde ulven at noen la hånden sin i munnen dens. Kun Tyr hadde mot til dette. Han la høyre hånden i ulvens gap. Men lenken holdt, og æsene nektet å slippe ham fri, og Tyr var etter dette enhendt. Tyr var også kjent for å være den eneste som torde å mate Fenrisulven fordi den var så stor og sterk.

Tyr representerer sammen med Heimdall (verdenstreet – Yggdrasil), som utgjør Vannmannen (Aquarius), hovedguden i germansk mytologi. T står for Dyeus, gud, og formet som en pil viser den oppover mot himmelen. Det islandske týr (i flertall tívar) brukes også som fellesnavn for «gudevesen», altså æser.

Mannus var en figur i skapelsesmyten til de germanske stammene. Tacitus skrev at Mannus var sønnen til Tuisto og forfaren til de tre germanske stammene ingaevoner, herminoner og istvaeoner. Navnene Mannus og Tuisto/Tuisco synes å ha en relasjon til proto-germansk Mannaz, “mann / menneske” og Tiwaz, “Tyr, guden”.

Pilen er den samme som symboliserer krigsguden Mars. Symbolet for Mars ble under middelalderen merke for grunnstoffet jern, planeten mars og hankjønn. Det er i dag vanlig utbredt som generelt maskuline kjønnssymbol. Piktogrammet kan tolkes som krigsgudens skjold og spyd.

Mens æsene bodde i Åsgard bodde vanene i Vanheim (eller Vanaland). Denne verden er aldri gitt noen beskrivelse i de norrøne kildene, men ble betraktet som en av de ni verdener. Alle kilder beskriver guddommene Njord (norrønt Njǫrðr, muligens fra urnordiske Nerthuz, oldgermansk *Nerþuz, således beslektet med navnet Njord), Frøy og Frøya som medlemmer av vanene.

Nerthus er en urnordisk eller gammelgermansk jord- og fruktbarhetsgudinne, samt gudinne for fred og velstand. Njorun er i norrøn mytologi en av de mest perifere gudinner. Hun kan representere jorda. En mulig etymologisk forbindelse til Nerthus / Njord og den romerske gudinnen Nerio har vært foreslått.

Opprinnelsen til ordet vane er usikker, og det er gitt flere forslag. Ordet stammer muligens fra den indoeuropeiske ordroten wen-, “strebe etter” eller “vinne”. En alternativ rot kan være wenos i betydning “å begjære”. Den urgermanske rot er Wanizaz som er beslektet med angelsaksiske wynn (“glede”, “lykke”).

Forskeren Raymond Ian Page har sagt at det mangler ikke på etymologiske forslag, men det er fristende å forbinde det med norrøne ordet vinr, «venn». I og med at vanene assosieres med fruktbarhet har det også vært foreslått å se en forbindelse med latinske Venus, romersk gudinne for fysisk kjærlighet.

Risset man inn runen Tîwaz på sitt våpen ville man dedikere det til Týr. Tiwas, også kjent som Tijaz, eller Istanu (Ištanu; fra hattitisk Estan, “Solgud”), var en tidligere anatolisk solgud. Han var guden for rettferdighet og ble avbildet med en bevinget sol på sin krone eller hodeplagg og en kurvet stav. Solen sto tidligere for rettferdighet, slik stjernetegnet mitt, Libra / Vekten, står for nå. Den franske revolusjon og frihetsgudinnen er begge symboler på dette.

Solen er den herskende planeten over Leo. I gresk mytologi ble solen representert av titanene Hyperion og Helios (romersk Sol, og senere av Apollo, lysets gud). Sola hersker over det femte huset. En av de første nedtegnede referensene til soldyrking er fra Mesopotamia og beskrevet i det episke verket om Gilgamesh, som i seg selv nedstammer fra sola. Det ble vanlig å legitimere sin makt som etterkommere av solguden.

Solen er stjernen i sentrum av vårt solsystem, som Jorda og de andre planetene sirkulerer rundt. Solen bidrar med varme og lys. Lysbuen soler reiser i hvert år, stiger og setter på et litt annet sted hver dag, er derfor i realiteten en refleksjon av jordas egen bane rundt sola. Denne buen er større jo lenger nord eller sør fra ekvator, noe som gir en mer ekstrem forskjell mellom dag og natt og mellom årstidene i løpet av året.

Solen reiser gjennom de tolv tegnene i dyrekretsen på sin årlige reise, tilbringer omtrent en måned i hver. Solens posisjon på en persons fødselsdag bestemmer derfor det som gjerne kalles hans eller hennes “sol” tegn. Imidlertid varierer soltegns tildeling mellom vestlig astrologi, hvor tegnet endrer seg rundt 22-23 i hver måned, og hinduistisk astrologi, hvor endringen skjer rundt 14-15 i hver måned. dette på grunn av ulike systemer for planetenes beregninger, etter de tropiske og sideriske definisjoner.

Solen representerer det bevisste ego, selvet og dets uttrykk, personlig makt, stolthet og autoritet, lederskapskvaliteter og kreativitet, spontanitet, helse og vitalitet, som til sammen det som har blitt kjent som livsstyrke. I kinesisk astrologi representerer sola Yang, det aktive, maskuline livsprinsippet.

Hetittene og luwierne har beholdt elementer av rekonstruert urindoeuropeisk religion. For eksempel ligner ordenguden Tarhunt og hans konflikt med slangen Illuyanka på konflikten mellom Indra og den kosmiske slangen Vritra i vedisk mytologi, samt på kampen mellom Tor og Midgardsormen i norrøn mytologi. Hans hustru er den hattiske solguden. Dette guddommelige paret ble antagelig dyrket i tvillingkammeret i det største templet i hovedstaden Hattusa.

Mens luwierne opprinnelig dyrket den gamle proto-indoeuropeiske solguden Tiwaz så er solgudinnen av Arinna en ledende gudinne og kone av værguden Tarḫunna i hettittisk mytologi. Hun beskyttet det hetittiske riket og ble kalt “Dronning av alle land”. Hennes kultsenter var den hellige byen Arinna. Ørnen fungert som hennes budbringer. Det ser ut til at var det ikke var noen mannlig solgud i den nordlige kulturelle sfære av hetittene.

I tillegg til solgudinnen av Arinna tilba hetittene også Solgudinnen av jorda og Solguden av himmelen. Det å skille de ulike solguddommene fra hverandre er vanskelig siden de fleste er skrevet med sumerogrammet D.UTU (solgud). Som et resultat er tolkningen av solgudene fortsatt gjenstand for debatt.

I mytene spiller solgudinnen av Arinna en mindre rolle. Hun var opprinnelig fra hattisk opprinnelse og ble tilbedt som Estan. Et av hennes tilnavn var Wurunšemu (“Landsmoren”). Det hattiske navnet ble av hettittene oversatt som Ištanu og Urunzimu. De har også påkalt henne som Arinitti. Tilnavnet “Arinna / Arinitti” opptrer kun i løpet av det hetittiske mellomrike. Dette for å skille solgudinnen fra den mannlige solguden av himmelen, som hadde blitt adoptert av hetittene fra interaksjon med hurrierne.

Navnet Ištanu er den hetittiske formen av det hattitiske navnet Estan og refererer til solgudinnen Arinna. Tidligere forsto man Ištanu som navnet på den mannlige solguden av himmelen, men nyere forskning hevder at navnet brukes kun for å referere til solgudinnen Arinna. Enkelte forskere skiller dog fortsatt mellom en mannlig Ištanu som representerer dag-stjernen og en kvinnelig Wurunšemu som er solgudinnen Arinna og tilbringer nettene i underverdenen.

Solgudinnen Arinna og værguden Tarhunna dannet et par, og sammen de okkuperte de den høyeste posisjonen i den hetittiske statens pantheon. Fra det hetittiske gamleriket er hun kjent som den herskende gudinnen av den hettitiske staten. Gudenes by, Arinna, var stedet for kroningen av de første hettittiske kongene og en av rikets tre hellige byer. Parets datter er Mezulla, som ga dem barnebarnet Zintuhi. Deres andre barn var værguden Nerik, værguden Zippalanda og kornguden Telipinu.

Under det hetittiske nyriket ble hun identifisert med den hurrisk-syriske gudinnen Ḫepat, og den hetittiske dronningen Puduhepa nevner henne i hennes bønner hvor hun bruker begge navnene: Solgudinne Arinna, frue, dronningen av alle land! I hattitenes land er du kjent som solgudinnen av Arinna, men i det land du har gjort landet av sedertre har du tatt navnet Ḫepat.

I det hetittiske gamleriket legitimerer solgudinnen av Arinna sammen med værguden Tarḫunna kongens makt. Landet tilhørte de to gudene og den etablerte kongen, som henviste til solgudinnen som “Mor”.

Under det hetittiske nyriket ble det antatt at solgudinnen våke over kongen og hans rike, med kongen som hennes prest og dronningen som hennes prestinne. Hetittenes konge tilba solgudinnen med daglige bønner ved solnedgang. De hettittiske tekstene bevarte mange bønner til solgudinnen av Arinna: den eldste er fra Arnuwanda I.

Shamash var solguden i den gamle semittiske religionen, og tilsvarte den sumeriske guden Utu. Shamash var også guden for rettferdighet i Babylonia og Assyria. Akkadisk samas “sol” er beslektet til syrisk: šemša, hebraisk: ֶֶׁׁsemes og arabisk: sams.

Ifølge 1911-utgaven av Encyclopedia Britannica førte de dominerende Shamash kultene i Sippar og Larsa til at de lokale solguddommene andre steder ble overskygget og ble absorbert. De ulike mindre solgudene ble sider av den dominerende solguden. Slik ble Bunene omtalt som vognføreren og hans koner Atgi-makh, Kettu (“rettferdighet”) og Mesharu (“rett”) ble deretter innført som ledsagere av Shamash.

Andre solguddommer som Ninurta og Nergal, ledende guddommer av andre viktige sentre, beholdt sine uavhengige eksistenser som visse faser av solen, med Ninurta som solgud av formiddagen og våren og Nergal solguden av middag og sommersolverv. I kjølvannet av en slik synkretisme ble Shamash vanligvis sett på som den generelle solguden.

Sammen med måneguden Nannar-Sin og krigs- og kjærlighetsgudinnen Ishtar utgjorde solguden Shamash en triade ved siden av Anu, Enlil og Ea. De tre kreftene Sin, Shamash og Ishtar symboliserte de tre store naturkreftene: henholdsvis månen, solen og jorden.

Til tider i stedet for Ishtar finner vi stormguden Adad forbundet med måneguden Sin og solguden Shamash, og det kan være at disse to sett av triader representerer læresetningene til to ulike skoler av teologiske tanker i Babylonia som senere ble harmonisert gjennom anerkjennelsen av en gruppe bestående av alle de fire gudene.

Shamash er ofte forbundet med løven, både i mytologi og kunstneriske skildringer. I den gamle kanaaneisk religion er en sønn av Baal Shamash kjent for å ha drept en løve (sønnen er muligens et aspekt av guden), og Shamash selv er avbildet som en løve i religiøs ikonografi.

Konen til Shamash var kjent som Aya i akkadisk mytologi. Hun er imidlertid sjelden nevnt i inskripsjoner bortsett fra i kombinasjon med Shamash. Hun var en modergudinne og er attestert i inskripsjoner fra pre-sargonisk tid, noe som gjør henne blant de eldste semittiske guddommer kjent i regionen.

Aya er et akkadisk navn og blir funnet i personnavn så tidlig som i pre-sargonisk tid (før c.2400 f.Kr.). Aya var en spesielt populær gudinne under den gamle babylonske perioden (c.2000-1595 f.Kr.). I den gamle babylonske byen Sippar var Aya et vanlig guddommelig element i personnavn på kvinnelige slaver som ble eid av prestinner (nadītu).

Hun utviklet fra den sumeriske gudinnen Sherida, konen til solguden Utu. Når de semittiske akkadierne flyttet inn i Mesopotamia ble deres guder synkretisert med de sumeriske. Inanna ble til Ishtar, Nanna til Sin, Utu til Shamash osv. Den mindre mesopotamiske solgudinnen Aya ble synkretisert inn i Sherida under denne prosessen.

Gudinnen Aya i dette aspektet ser ut til å ha vært populær blant semittiske folkeslag. Aya var en sumerisk gudinne for lys og konen til Utu / Shamas, som ble tilbedt i byene Sippar og Larsa, hvor av begge ble kalt E-Babbar (“Lysets hus”). I Ugarit ble Aya likestilt med en guddom som delte samme navn som henne. I sumerisk litterær komposisjon Nanna-Suen reise til Nibru er Šerida forbundet med hennes kult i byen Larsa.

Ayas rolle som Shamas kone er eksemplifisert ved sin presentasjon i Standard babylonske versjonen av Epic av Gilgameš, hvor Aya kalles “den store brud”. Babylonerne noen ganger referert til henne som kallatu (bruden), og som sådan ble hun kjent som kona til Shamash. Faktisk ble hun dyrket som en del av en egen-men-festet kult i Shamash e-Babbar templer i Larsa og Sippar.

I gamle babylonske administrative dokumenter synes Aya også å dele sin mann Shamas rolle når det kommer til rettferdighet. Aya er akkadisk for “dawn”, og av den akkadiske perioden var hun forbundet med den stigende solen og med seksuell kjærlighet og ungdom.

I den neo-babylonske perioden senest (og muligens mye tidligere) ble Shamash og Aya assosiert med en praksis kalt hasadu, som løst oversatt betyr “hellig ekteskap.” Et rom ble satt til side med en seng og ved enkelte anledninger tempel statuer av Shamash og Aya ville bli brakt sammen og lagt på sengen til seremonielt fornye sine løfter. Denne seremonien ble også praktisert av kulter av Marduk med Sarpanitum, Nabu med tashmetu, og Anu med ÄNTU.

Dingir (usually transliterated diĝir, pronounced /diŋir/) is a Sumerian word for “god.” Its cuneiform sign is most commonly employed as the determinative for “deity” although it has related meanings as well. As a determinative, it is not pronounced, and is conventionally transliterated as a superscript “D” as in e.g. DInanna. Generically, dingir can be translated as “god” or “goddess”.

The sign in Sumerian cuneiform by itself represents the Sumerian word an (“sky” or “heaven”), the ideogram for An or the word diĝir (“god”), the supreme deity of the Sumerian pantheon. In Assyrian cuneiform, it (AN, DIĜIR, B010ellst.png) could be either an ideogram for “deity” (ilum) or a syllabogram for an, or ìl-. In Hittite orthography, the syllabic value of the sign was again an.

The concept of “divinity” in Sumerian is closely associated with the heavens, as is evident from the fact that the cuneiform sign doubles as the ideogram for “sky”, and that its original shape is the picture of a star. The original association of “divinity” is thus with “bright” or “shining” hierophanies in the sky.

The term comes from the Old English dæg, with its cognates such as dagur in Icelandic, Tag in German, and dag in Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Dutch. All of them from the Indo-European root dyau which explains the similarity with Latin dies though the word is known to come from the Germanic branch.

Dyēus is believed to have been the chief deity in the religious traditions of the prehistoric Proto-Indo-European societies. Part of a larger pantheon, he was the god of the daylight sky, and his position may have mirrored the position of the patriarch or monarch in society. In his aspect as a father god, his consort would have been Pltwih Méhter, “earth mother”.

This deity is not directly attested; rather, scholars have reconstructed this deity from the languages and cultures of later Indo-European peoples such as the Greeks, Latins, and Indo-Aryans. According to this scholarly reconstruction, Dyeus was addressed as Dyeu Phter, literally “sky father” or “shining father”, as reflected in Latin Iūpiter, Diēspiter, possibly Dis Pater and deus pater, Greek Zeu pater, Sanskrit Dyàuṣpítaḥ.

As the pantheons of the individual mythologies related to the Proto-Indo-European religion evolved, attributes of Dyeus seem to have been redistributed to other deities. In Greek and Roman mythology, Dyeus remained the chief god; however, in Vedic mythology, the etymological continuant of Dyeus became a very abstract god, and his original attributes and dominance over other gods appear to have been transferred to gods such as Agni or Indra.

Later figures etymologically connected with Dyeus is Zeus in Greek mythology, Iūpiter (from *Iou-pater), and Dis Pater, and possibly Dis Pater (although he is more connected with the Greco-Roman Pluto theologically) in Roman mythology, Dyauṣ Pitār in Historical Vedic religion, and Dionysus, especially with the Thracians and Sabines.

Rooted in the related but distinct Indo-European word *deiwos is the Latin word for deity, deus. The Latin word is also continued in English divine, “deity”, and the original Germanic word remains visible in “Tuesday” (“Day of Tīwaz”) and Old Norse tívar, which may be continued in the toponym Tiveden (“Wood of the Gods”, or of Týr).

The following names derive from the related *deiwos: Germanic Tīwaz (known as Týr in Old Norse), Latin Deus (originally used to address Jupiter, but later adopted as the name of God), Indo-Aryan deva: Vedic/Puranic deva, Buddhist deva, Iranic daeva, daiva, diw, etc., Baltic Dievas, Celtic e.g. Gaulish Dēuos, Gaelic dia, Welsh duw, Slavic div (genitive divese; “miracle”), Estonian Tharapita bears similarity to Dyaus Pita in name, although it has been interpreted as being related to the god Thor.

Although some of the more iconic reflexes of Dyeus are storm deities, such as Zeus and Jupiter, this is thought to be a late development exclusive to mediterranean traditions, probably derived from syncretism with canaanite deities and Perkwunos.

The deity’s original domain was over the daylit sky, and indeed reflexes emphasise this connection to light: Istanu (Tiyaz) is a solar deity, Helios is often referred to as the “eye of Zeus”, in Romanian paganism the Sun is similarly called “God’s eye” and in Indo-Iranian tradition Surya/Hvare-khshaeta is similarly associated with Ahura Mazda. Even in Roman tradition, Jupiter often is only associated with diurnal lightning at most, while Summanus is a deity responsible for nocturnal lightning or storms as a whole.

Dyēus’s name also likely means “the daytime sky”. In Sanskrit as div- (nominative singular dyāus with vrddhi), its singular means “the sky” and its plural means “days”. Its accusative form *dyēm became Latin diem “day”, which later gave rise to a new nominative diēs. The original nominative survives as diūs in a few fixed expressions.

Finnish taivas, Estonian taevas, Livonian tōvaz etc. (from Proto-Finnic *taivas), meaning “heaven” or “sky,” are likely rooted in the Indo-European word. The neighboring Baltic Dievas or Germanic Tiwaz are possible sources, but the Indo-Iranian *daivas accords better in both form and meaning. Similar origin has been proposed for the word family represented by Finnish toivoa “to hope” (originally “to pray from gods”).

Deus is Latin for “god” or “deity”. Latin deus and dīvus “divine”, are descended from Proto-Indo-European *deiwos, “celestial” or “shining”, from the same root as *Dyēus, the reconstructed chief god of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon. Latin dies (“day”) is considered to have derived from the same PIE root that originated deus. This is to say that a celestial shining body, the Sun, gives material form to the words for “day” in the Romance Languages.

In Classical Latin, deus (feminine dea) was a general noun referring to a deity, while in technical usage a divus or diva was a figure who had become divine, such as a divinized emperor. In Late Latin, Deus came to be used mostly for the Christian God. It was inherited by the Romance languages in French Dieu, Spanish Dios, Portuguese and Galician Deus, Italian Dio, etc., and by the Celtic languages in Welsh Duw and Irish Dia.

In Norse mythology, Dellingr (Old Norse possibly “the dayspring” or “shining one”) is a god. Dellingr is described as the father of Dagr, the personified day. Depending on manuscript variation, he is either the third husband of Nótt, the personified night, or the husband of Jörð, the personified earth. Scholars have proposed that Dellingr is the personified dawn.

In Norse mythology, Nótt (Old Norse “night”) is grandmother of Thor, who is listed as the son of the god Odin and the personified earth, Jörð. Nótt is listed as the daughter of the jötunn Nörfi or Narfi (with variant spellings) and is associated with the horse Hrímfaxi.

The form Nörr has been related to narouua, which occurs in the fragmentary Old Saxon Genesis poem in the phrase narouua naht. This and hence the giant’s name, as first suggested by Adolf Noreen, may be a synonym for “night” or, perhaps more likely, an adjective related to Old English nearwe, “narrow”, meaning “closed-in” and thus “oppressive”.

Thor is the origin of the weekday name Thursday. By employing a practice known as interpretatio germanica during the Roman Empire period, the Germanic peoples adopted the Roman weekly calendar, and replaced the names of Roman gods with their own. Latin dies Iovis (‘day of Jupiter’) was converted into Proto-Germanic *Þonares dagaz (“Thor’s day”), from which stems modern English “Thursday” and all other Germanic weekday cognates.

The earliest records of the Germanic peoples were recorded by the Romans, and in these works Thor is frequently referred to – via a process known as interpretatio romana (where characteristics perceived to be similar by Romans result in identification of a non-Roman god as a Roman deity)—as either the Roman god Jupiter (also known as Jove) or the Greco-Roman god Hercules.

In Norse mythology, Dagr (Old Norse “day”) is day personified. Dagr is stated to be the son of the god Dellingr and is associated with the bright-maned horse Skinfaxi, who “draw[s] day to mankind”. Dagr is either Dellingr’s son by Nótt, the personified night, or Jörð, the personified Earth. Otherwise, Dagr appears as a common noun simply meaning “day” throughout Old Norse works.

The t-rune ᛏ is named after Týr, and was identified with this god. The reconstructed Proto-Germanic name is *Tîwaz or *Teiwaz. The d rune (ᛞ) is called dæg “day” in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem. The corresponding letter of the Gothic alphabet d is called dags. This rune is also part of the Elder Futhark, with a reconstructed Proto-Germanic name *dagaz.

Tinia (also Tin, Tinh, Tins or Tina) was the god of the sky and the highest god in Etruscan mythology, equivalent to the Roman Jupiter and the Greek Zeus. He was the husband of Thalna or Uni and the father of Hercle.

The Etruscans believed in Nine Great Gods, who had the power of hurling thunderbolts; they were called Novensiles by the Romans. Of thunderbolts there were eleven sorts, of which Tinia, as the supreme thunder-god, wielded three.

Tinia was also part of the powerful “trinity” that included Menrva and Uni and had temples in every city of Etruria. Tinia was sometimes represented as seated and with a beard or sometimes standing and beardless.

In terms of symbolism, Tinia has the thunderbolt and the rod of power, and is generally accompanied by the eagle and sometimes has a wreath of ivy round his head, in addition to the other insignia of Jove.

Some of Tinia’s possible epithets are detailed on the Piacenza Liver, a bronze model of a liver used for haruspicy. These inscriptions have been transcribed as Tin Cilens, Tin Θuf and Tinś Θne. There have been a number of suggestions as to their meaning, but the Etruscan language is poorly understood and there is no scholarly consensus for the translation.

Tiān is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and religion. During the Shang Dynasty (17–11th centuries BCE), the Chinese referred to their supreme god as Shàngdì (“Lord on High”) or Dì (“Lord”). During the following Zhou Dynasty, Tiān became synonymous with this figure. Heaven worship was, before the 20th century, an orthodox state religion of China.

In Taoism and Confucianism, Tiān is often translated as “Heaven” and is mentioned in relationship to its complementary aspect of Dì, which is most often translated as “Earth”. These two aspects of Daoist cosmology are representative of the dualistic nature of Taoism. They are thought to maintain the two poles of the Three Realms of reality, with the middle realm occupied by Humanity (Rén), and the lower world occupied by Demons (Mó) and Ghosts (Guǐ).

The sinologist Herrlee Creel, who wrote a comprehensive study on “The Origin of the Deity T’ien”, gives this overview. For three thousand years it has been believed that from time immemorial all Chinese revered T’ien, “Heaven,” as the highest deity, and that this same deity was also known as Ti or Shang Ti. But the new materials that have become available in the present century, and especially the Shang inscriptions, make it evident that this was not the case. It appears rather that T’ien is not named at all in the Shang inscriptions, which instead refer with great frequency to Ti or Shang Ti. T’ien appears only with the Chou, and was apparently a Chou deity. After the conquest the Chou considered T’ien to be identical with the Shang deity Ti (or Shang Ti), much as the Romans identified the Greek Zeus with their Jupiter.

Another possibility is that Tian may be related to Tengri and possibly was a loan word from a prehistoric Central Asian language. For the etymology of tiān, Schuessler links it with the Mongolian word tengri “sky, heaven, heavenly deity” or the Tibeto-Burman words taleŋ (Adi) and tǎ-lyaŋ (Lepcha), both meaning “sky”. Schuessler also suggests a likely connection between Chinese tiān, diān “summit, mountaintop”, and diān “summit, top of the head, forehead”, which have cognates such as Naga tiŋ “sky”.

Jesus (Pisces) – Mars (Aries) / Tammuz (Aries)

Mary (Virgo) – Venus (Libra) / Inanna-Ishtar (Pisces)

Inanna is mother and consort of Tammuz 

Pisces is the last sign in the Zodiac – Aries the first

Mary is mother and consort of Jesus

Virgo is detrimental to Pisces

Aries is detrimental to Libra

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Aries – Pisces – Aquarius

The point where the sun crosses the celestial equator northwards is called the First Point of Aries. However, due to the precession of the equinoxes, this point is no longer in the constellation Aries, but rather in Pisces, due south of ω Psc, and, due to precession, slowly drifting below the western fish towards Aquarius.

Scorpio – Libra – Virgo

Scorpius is one of the constellations of the zodiac. The Babylonians called this constellation MUL.GIR.TAB – the ‘Scorpion’, the signs can be literally read as ‘the (creature with) a burning sting’. In some old descriptions the constellation of Libra is treated as the Scorpion’s claws.

The star once designated γ Sco (despite being well within the boundaries of Libra) is today known as σ Lib. Moreover, the entire constellation of Libra was considered to be claws of Scorpius (Chelae Scorpionis) in Ancient Greek times, with a set of scales held aloft by Astraea (represented by adjacent Virgo) being formed from these western-most stars during later Greek times. The division into Libra was formalised during Roman times.

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One of the most important goddesses of reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion is the personification of dawn as a beautiful young woman. Her name is reconstructed as Hausōs or Ausōs (PIE *hewsṓs- or *hausōs-, an s-stem), besides numerous epithets.

Derivatives of *h₂ewsṓs in the historical mythologies of Indo-European peoples include Indian Uṣas, Greek Ēōs, Latin Aurōra, and Baltic Aušra (“dawn”, c.f. Lithuanian Aušrinė). Germanic *Austrōn- is from an extended stem *hews-tro-.

The name *hewsṓs is derived from a root *h₂wes / *au̯es “to shine”, thus translating to “the shining one”. Both the English word east and the Latin auster “south” are from a root cognate adjective *aws-t(e)ro-. Also cognate is aurum “gold”, from *awso-.

Besides the name most amenable to reconstruction, *h₂ewsṓs, a number of epithets of the dawn goddess may be reconstructed with some certainty. Among these is *wenos- (also an s-stem), whence Sanskrit vanas “loveliness; desire”, used of Uṣas in the Rigveda, and the Latin name Venus and the Norse Vanir. The name indicates that the goddess was imagined as a beautiful nubile woman, who also had aspects of a love goddess.

The love goddess aspect was separated from the personification of dawn in a number of traditions, including Roman Venus vs. Aurora, and Greek Aphrodite vs. Eos. The name of Aphrodite may still preserve her role as a dawn goddess, etymologized as “she who shines from the foam [ocean]” (from aphros “foam” and deato “to shine”).

J.P. Mallory and Douglas Q. Adams (1997) have also proposed an etymology based on the connection with the Indo-European dawn goddess, from *abhor- “very” and *dhei “to shine”. Other epithets include Ἠριγόνη Erigone “early-born” in Greek.

The Italic goddess Mater Matuta “Mother Morning” has been connected to Aurora by Roman authors (Lucretius, Priscianus). Her festival, the Matralia, fell on 11 June, beginning at dawn.

The name for “spring season”, *wes-r- is also from the same root. The dawn goddess was also the goddess of spring, involved in the mythology of the Indo-European new year, where the dawn goddess is liberated from imprisonment by a god (reflected in the Rigveda as Indra, in Greek mythology as Dionysus and Cronus).

The abduction and imprisonment of the dawn goddess, and her liberation by a heroic god slaying the dragon who imprisons her, is a central myth of Indo-European religion, reflected in numerous traditions. Most notably, it is the central myth of the Rigveda, a collection of hymns surrounding the Soma rituals dedicated to Indra in the new year celebrations of the early Indo-Aryans.

Ishara (išḫara) is an ancient deity of unknown origin from northern modern Syria. Ishara is a pre-Hurrian and perhaps pre-Semitic deities, later incorporated into the Hurrian pantheon. In Hurrian and Semitic traditions, Išḫara is a love goddess, often identified with Ishtar.

From the Hurrian Pantheon, Ishara entered the Hittite pantheon and had her main shrine in Kizzuwatna. Ishara is the Hittite word for “treaty, binding promise”, also personified as a goddess of the oath.

The etymology of Ishara is unknown. Variants of the name appear as Ašḫara (in a treaty of Naram-Sin of Akkad with Hita of Elam) and Ušḫara (in Ugarite texts). In Ebla, there were various logographic spellings involving the sign AMA “mother”. In Alalah, her name was written with the Akkadogram IŠTAR plus a phonetic complement -ra, as IŠTAR-ra.

Her main epithet was belet rame, lady of love, which was also applied to Ishtar. In the Epic of Gilgamesh (Tablet II, col. v.28) it says: ‘For Ishara the bed is made’ and in Atra-hasis (I 301-304) she is called upon to bless the couple on the honeymoon.”

She was associated with the underworld. Her astrological embodiment is the constellation Scorpio and she is called the mother of the Sebitti (the Seven Stars). While she was considered to belong to the entourage of Ishtar, she was invoked to heal the sick (Lebrun).

As a goddess, Ishara could inflict severe bodily penalties to oathbreakers, in particular ascites. In this context, she came to be seen as a “goddess of medicine” whose pity was invoked in case of illness. There was even a verb, isharis- “to be afflicted by the illness of Ishara”.

Inanna was the Sumerian goddess of love, beauty, sexual desire, fertility, knowledge, wisdom, war, and combat. She was also the patron goddess of the E-Anna temple at the city of Uruk, which was her main cult center. She was one of the most widely venerated deities in the ancient Sumerian pantheon. Her Akkadian and Babylonian equivalent was the goddess Ishtar.

Inanna’s symbol is an eight-pointed star or a rosette. She was associated with lions – even then a symbol of power – and was frequently depicted standing on the backs of two lionesses. Her cuneiform ideogram was a hook-shaped twisted knot of reeds, representing the doorpost of the storehouse (and thus fertility and plenty).

Along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were many shrines and temples dedicated to Inanna. The House of Heaven (Sumerian: e-anna; Cuneiform: E.AN) temple in Uruk.

According to Leick 1994 persons of asexual or hermaphroditic bodies and feminine men were particularly involved in the worship and ritual practices of Inanna’s temples. The deity of this fourth-millennium city was probably originally An. After its dedication to Inanna the temple seems to have housed priestesses of the goddess.

The high priestess would choose for her bed a young man who represented the shepherd Dumuzid, consort of Inanna, in a hieros gamos or sacred marriage, celebrated during the annual Akitu (New Year) ceremony, at the spring Equinox.

According to Samuel Noah Kramer in The Sacred Marriage Rite, in late Sumerian history (end of the third millennium) kings established their legitimacy by taking the place of Dumuzi in the temple for one night on the tenth day of the New Year festival.

A Sacred Marriage to Inanna may have conferred legitimacy on a number of rulers of Uruk. Gilgamesh is reputed to have refused marriage to Inanna, on the grounds of her misalliance with such kings as Lugalbanda and Damuzi.

Inanna was associated with the planet Venus, which at that time was regarded as two stars, the “morning star” and the “evening star.” There are hymns to Inanna as her astral manifestation. Inanna’s Descent to the Underworld explains how Inanna is able to, unlike any other deity, descend into the netherworld and return to the heavens. The planet Venus appears to make a similar descent, setting in the West and then rising again in the East.

Inanna was associated with the eastern fish of the last of the zodiacal constellations, Pisces. Her consort Tammuz (Sumerian: Dumuzid (DUMU.ZI(D), “faithful or true son”), a Sumerian god of food and vegetation, also worshiped in the later Mesopotamian states of Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia, was associated with the contiguous first constellation, Aries.

Pisces is a constellation of the zodiac. Its name is the Latin plural for fish. It lies between Aquarius to the west and Aries to the east. The ecliptic and the celestial equator intersect within this constellation and in Virgo. Virgo is detrimental to Pisces. Aries is detrimental to Libra.

Libra is the seventh astrological sign in the Zodiac. It spans the 180–210th degree of the zodiac, between 180 and 207.25 degree of celestial longitude. According to the Tropical system of astrology, the Sun enters the sign of Libra when it reaches the southern vernal equinox, which occurs around September 22.

Under the tropical zodiac, Sun transits this area on average between (northern autumnal equinox) September 23 and October 22, and under the sidereal zodiac, the sun currently transits the constellation of Libra from approximately October 16 to November 17.

The symbol of the scales is based on the Scales of Justice held by Themis, the Greek personification of divine law and custom. She became the inspiration for modern depictions of Lady Justice. The ruling planet of Libra is Venus. Libra is the only constellation in the sky represented by an inanimate object. The other eleven signs are represented either as an animal or mythological characters throughout history.

Libra is one of the three zodiac air signs, the others being Gemini and Aquarius. The sign of Libra is symbolized by the gryphon, a mythological creature with the head, wings and talons of an eagle and hind legs of a lion.

According to the Romans in the First Century, Libra was a constellation they idolized. The moon was said to be in Libra when Rome was founded. Everything was balanced under this righteous sign. The Roman writer Manilius once said that Libra was the sign “in which the seasons are balanced”. Both the hours of the day and the hours of the night match each other. Thus why the Romans put so much trust in the “balanced sign”.

Going back to ancient Greek times, Libra the constellation between Virgo and Scorpio used to be over ruled by the constellation of Scorpio. They called the area the Latin word “chelae”, which translated to “the claws” which can help identify the individual stars that make up the full constellation of Libra, since it was so closely identified with the Scorpion constellation in the sky.

Mercury is the ruling planet of Gemini and Virgo and is exalted in Virgo or Aquarius. Venus is the ruling planet of Taurus and Libra and is exalted in Pisces. Mars is the ruling planet of Aries and Scorpio and is exalted in Capricorn. Jupiter is the ruling planet of Sagittarius and Pisces, and it is exalted in Cancer.

In old opinion, Ceres is the ruling planet of Virgo. But, on new astrologers opinion, Ceres are ruling Taurus. In new opinion, Virgo is ruled by Chiron, held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren. Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology for his youth-nurturing nature. His personal skills tend to match those of Apollo, his foster father (sometimes along with Artemis): medicine, music, archery, hunting, prophecy. His parents were Cronus and Philyra.

Astrologers have focused on the theory that in time, all twelve signs of the zodiac will each have their own ruler, so that another two planets have yet to be discovered; namely the “true” rulers of Taurus and Virgo. The names of the planets mentioned in this regard by some are Vulcan (ruler of Virgo) and Apollo, the Roman god of the Sun (ruler of Taurus).

In mythology, Ceres is the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Demeter, and is the goddess of agriculture. The goddess (and metaphorically the planet) is also associated with the reproductive issues of an adult woman, as well as pregnancy and other major transitions in a woman’s life, including the nine months of gestation time, family bonds and relationships.

Although a mother, Ceres is also the archetype of a virgin goddess. Ceres epitomizes independent women who are often unmarried (since, according to myth, Ceres is an unmarried goddess who chose to become a mother without a husband or partner.) While the moon represents our ideal of “motherhood”, Ceres would represent how our real and nature motherhood should be.

Virgo is the sixth astrological sign in the Zodiac. Virgo is the second-largest constellation. It spans the 150-180th degree of the zodiac. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun transits this area on average between August 22 and September 22, and under the sidereal zodiac, the sun transits the constellation of Virgo from September 17 to October 17.

The symbol of the maiden is based on Astraea. In Greek mythology, she was the last immortal to abandon Earth at the end of the Silver Age, when the gods fled to Olympus – hence the sign’s association with Earth.

The constellation Virgo has lots of different origins depending on which mythology is being studied. Most myths generally view Virgo as a virgin maiden with heavy association with wheat.

The Greeks and Romans associated Virgo with their goddess of wheat/agriculture, Demeter-Ceres, who is the mother of Persephone-Proserpina. Alternatively, she was sometimes identified as the virgin goddess Iustitia or Astraea, holding the scales of justice in her hand as the constellation Libra.

In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal (EREŠ.KI.GAL, lit. “Queen of the Great Earth”) was the goddess of Irkalla, the land of the dead or underworld. Sometimes her name is given as Irkalla, similar to the way the name Hades was used in Greek mythology for both the underworld and its ruler, and sometimes it is given as Ninkigal, lit. “Great Lady of the Earth” or “Lady of the Great Earth”.

Inanna and Ereshkigal represent polar opposites. Inanna is the Queen of Heaven, but Ereshkigal is the queen of Irkalla. Ereshkigal was the only one who could pass judgment and give laws in her kingdom. In the ancient Sumerian poem, “Inanna’s Descent to the Underworld,” by far the most well-known myth involving Ereshkigal, Ereshkigal is described as Inanna’s older sister.

Nergal was a deity worshipped throughout Mesopotamia (Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia). He is a son of Enlil and Ninlil, along with Nanna and Ninurta. He seems to be in part a solar deity, sometimes identified with Shamash, but only representative of a certain phase of the sun.

Portrayed in hymns and myths as a god of war and pestilence, Nergal seems to represent the sun of noontime and of the summer solstice that brings destruction, high summer being the dead season in the Mesopotamian annual cycle. He has also been called “the king of sunset”.

Over time Nergal developed from a war god to a god of the underworld. In the mythology, this occurred when Enlil and Ninlil gave him the underworld. In this capacity he has associated with him a goddess Allatu or Ereshkigal, though at one time Allatu may have functioned as the sole mistress of Aralu, ruling in her own person. In some texts the god Ninazu is the son of Nergal and Allatu/Ereshkigal.

In the late Babylonian astral-theological system Nergal is related to the planet Mars. As a fiery god of destruction and war, Nergal doubtless seemed an appropriate choice for the red planet, and he was equated by the Greeks to the war-god Ares (Latin Mars)—hence the current name of the planet.

Amongst the Hurrians and later Hittites Nergal was known as Aplu, a name derived from the Akkadian Apal Enlil, (Apal being the construct state of Aplu) meaning “the son of Enlil”. Aplu may be related with Apaliunas who is considered to be the Hittite reflex of *Apeljōn, an early form of the name Apollo.

Týr is a Germanic god associated with law and heroic glory in Norse mythology, portrayed as one-handed. Corresponding names in other Germanic languages are Gothic Teiws, Old English Tīw and Old High German Ziu and Cyo, all from Proto-Germanic *Tīwaz. The Latinised name is rendered as Tius or Tio and also formally as Mars Thincsus.

Istanu (Ištanu; from Hattic Estan, “Sun-god”) was the Hittite and Hattic god of the sun. In Luwian he was known as Tiwaz or Tijaz. He was a god of judgement, and was depicted bearing a winged sun on his crown or head-dress, and a crooked staff.

In the late Icelandic Eddas, Týr is portrayed, alternately, as the son of Odin (Prose Edda) or of Hymir (Poetic Edda). It is assumed that Tîwaz was overtaken in popularity and in authority by both Odin and Thor at some point during the Migration Age, as Odin shares his role as God of war.

While the origins of his name and his possible relationship to Tuisto suggest he was once considered the father of the gods and head of the pantheon, since his name is ultimately cognate to that of *Dyeus (cf. Dyaus), the reconstructed chief deity in Indo-European religion.

If a warrior carved the rune Tîwaz on his weapon he would be dedicating it to Týr and strengthen the outcome of a battle to be in his favor. Tiw was equated with Mars in the interpretatio germanica. Tuesday is in fact “Tīw’s Day” (also in Alemannic Zischtig from zîes tag), translating dies Martis.

In the Egyptian myths, when the constellation Virgo was in the sun was when the start of the wheat harvest again thus connecting Virgo back to the wheat grain. She also has various connections with the India goddess Kanya, and even the Virgin Mary.

Pisces is the twelfth astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the Pisces constellation. It spans the 330° to 360° of the zodiac, between 332.75° and 360° of celestial longitude. Under the tropical zodiac the sun transits this area on average between February 19 and March 20, and under the sidereal zodiac, the sun transits this area between approximately March 13 and April 13.

The March equinox or Northward equinox is the equinox on the Earth when the Sun appears to leave the southern hemisphere and cross the celestial equator, heading northward as seen from earth. In the Northern Hemisphere the March equinox is known as the vernal equinox, and in the Southern Hemisphere as the autumnal equinox.

The point where the sun crosses the celestial equator northwards is called the First Point of Aries. However, due to the precession of the equinoxes, this point is no longer in the constellation Aries, but rather in Pisces, due south of ω Psc, and, due to precession, slowly drifting below the western fish towards Aquarius.

By the year 2600 it will be in Aquarius. According to some tropical astrologers, the current astrological age is the Age of Pisces, while others maintain that it is the Age of Aquarius.

The age of Pisces began c. 1 AD and will end c. 2150 AD. With the story of the birth of Christ coinciding with this date, many Christian symbols for Christ use the astrological symbol for Pisces, the fishes.

The figure Christ himself bears many of the temperaments and personality traits of a Pisces, and is thus considered an archetype of the Piscean. Moreover, the twelve apostles were called the “fishers of men,” early Christians called themselves “little fishes,” and a code word for Jesus was the Greek word for fish, “Ikhthus.”

With this, the start of the age, or the “Great Month of Pisces” is regarded as the beginning of the Christian religion. Saint Peter is recognized as the apostle of the Piscean sign.

Pisces has been called the “dying god,” where its sign opposite in the night sky is Virgo, or, the Virgin Mary. When Jesus was asked by his disciples where the next Passover would be, he replied to them: Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water… follow him into the house where he entereth in. — Jesus, Luke 22:10

This coincides with the changing of the ages, into the Age of Aquarius, as the personification of the constellation of Aquarius is a man carrying a pitcher of water.

A planet’s domicile is the zodiac sign over which it has rulership, and the rulers of Pisces, or those associated with Pisceans, are Jupiter, Neptune, and the moon.

In esoteric astrology, Venus was considered the ruler of Pisces, and prior to the discovery of Neptune in 1846, Jupiter was said to rule Pisces primarily. Neptune is mostly considered the secondary ruling planet of Pisces today because of the association with the Roman god of water and the sea, Neptune.

The detriment, or the sign “opposite” to that which is deemed the ruling planet, is Mercury. Venus is exalted in Pisces, while Mercury also falls into Pisces.

The Babylonian calendar began with the first full moon after the vernal equinox, the day after the Sumerian goddess Inanna’s return from the underworld (later known as Ishtar), in the Akitu ceremony, with parades through the Ishtar Gate to the Eanna temple, and the ritual re-enactment of the marriage to Tammuz, or Sumerian Dummuzi.

Akitu or Akitum (Sumerian: ezen á.ki.tum, akiti-šekinku, á.ki.ti.še.gur₁₀.ku₅, lit. “the barley-cutting”, akiti-šununum, lit. “barley-sowing”; Akkadian: akitu or rêš-šattim, “head of the year”) was a spring festival in ancient Mesopotamia.

The Babylonian Akitu festival has played a pivotal role in the development of theories of religion, myth and ritual, yet the purpose of the festival remains a point of contention among both historians of religion and Assyriologists.

The name is from the Sumerian for “barley”, originally marking two festivals celebrating the beginning of each of the two half-years of the Sumerian calendar, marking the sowing of barley in autumn and the cutting of barley in spring. In Babylonian religion it came to be dedicated to Marduk’s victory over Tiamat.

In Mesopotamian religion (Sumerian, Assyrian, Akkadian and Babylonian), Tiamat is a primordial goddess of the ocean, mating with Abzû (the god of fresh water) to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creation. Depicted as a woman, she represents the beauty of the feminine, depicted as the glistening one. Some sources identify her with images of a sea serpent or dragon.

It is suggested that there are two parts to the Tiamat mythos, the first in which Tiamat is a creator goddess, through a “Sacred marriage” between salt and fresh water, peacefully creating the cosmos through successive generations. In the second “Chaoskampf” Tiamat is considered the monstrous embodiment of primordial chaos.

In the Enûma Elish, the Babylonian epic of creation, she gives birth to the first generation of deities; her husband, Apsu, correctly assuming they are planning to kill him and usurp his throne, later makes war upon them and is killed. Enraged, she, too, wars upon her husband’s murderers, taking on the form of a massive sea dragon, she is then slain by Enki’s son, the storm-god Marduk, but not before she had brought forth the monsters of the Mesopotamian pantheon, including the first dragons, whose bodies she filled with “poison instead of blood”. Marduk then forms heavens and the earth from her divided body.

Tiamat was later known as Thalattē (as a variant of thalassa, the Greek word for “sea”) in the Hellenistic Babylonian writer Berossus’ first volume of universal history. It is thought that the name of Tiamat was dropped in secondary translations of the original religious texts (written in the East Semitic Akkadian language) because some Akkadian copyists of Enûma Elish substituted the ordinary word for “sea” for Tiamat, since the two names had become essentially the same due to association.

Puruli was a Hattian spring festival, held at Nerik, dedicated to the earth goddess Hannahanna, who is married to a new king. The central ritual of the Puruli festival is dedicated to the destruction of the dragon Illuyanka by the storm god Teshub. The corresponding Assyrian festival is the Akitu of the Enuma Elish. Also compared are the Canaanite Poem of Baal and Psalms 93 and 29.

In Babylonia, the month Tammuz was established in honor of the eponymous god Tammuz, who originated as a Sumerian shepherd-god, Dumuzid or Dumuzi, the consort of Inanna and, in his Akkadian form, the parallel consort of Ishtar. The Levantine (“lord”) Adonis, who was drawn into the Greek pantheon, was considered by Joseph Campbell among others to be another counterpart of Tammuz.

Beginning with the summer solstice came a time of mourning in the Ancient Near East, as in the Aegean: the Babylonians marked the decline in daylight hours and the onset of killing summer heat and drought with a six-day “funeral” for the god. In cult practice, the dead Tammuz was widely mourned in the Ancient Near East.

Recent discoveries reconfirm him as an annual life-death-rebirth deity: tablets discovered in 1963 show that Dumuzi was in fact consigned to the Underworld himself, in order to secure Inanna’s release, though the recovered final line reveals that he is to revive for six months of each year.

Aries (meaning “ram”) is the first astrological sign in the zodiac, spanning the first 30 degrees of celestial longitude (0°≤ λ <30°). Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun transits this sign mostly between March 21 and April 20 each year. Under the sidereal zodiac, the sun currently transits Aries from April 15 to May 14. The symbol of the ram is based on the Chrysomallus, the flying ram that provided the Golden Fleece. The fleece is a symbol of authority and kingship.

Mary, also known by various titles, styles and honorifics, was a 1st-century Galilean Jewish woman of Nazareth and the mother of Jesus, according to the New Testament and the Quran.

The gospels of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament and the Quran describe Mary as a virgin and Christians believe that she conceived her son while a virgin by the Holy Spirit.

The miraculous birth took place when she was already betrothed to Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony. She married Joseph and accompanied him to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.

The Gospel of Luke begins its account of Mary’s life with the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced her divine selection to be the mother of Jesus.

According to canonical gospel accounts, Mary was present at the crucifixion and is depicted as a member of the early Christian community in Jerusalem. According to the Catholic and Orthodox teaching, at the end of her earthly life her body was assumed to have been taken directly into Heaven; this is known in the West as the Assumption.

Mary has been venerated since Early Christianity, and is considered by millions to be the most meritorious saint of the religion. She is claimed to have miraculously appeared to believers many times over the centuries. The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches believe that Mary, as mother of Jesus, is the Mother of God (Greek: Theotokos, lit. ‘God-bearer’).

There is significant diversity in the Marian beliefs and devotional practices of major Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church holds distinctive Marian dogmas, namely her status as the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her perpetual virginity, and her Assumption into heaven. Many Protestants minimize Mary’s role within Christianity, based on the argued brevity of biblical references. Mary also has a revered position in Islam, where one of the larger chapters of the Quran is devoted to her.

Mary Magdalene is a figure in Christianity who, according to the Bible, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers. She is said to have witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Within the four Gospels she is named at least 12 times, more than most of the apostles. Based on texts of the early Christian era in the third century, it seems that her status as an “apostle” rivals even Peter’s.

Mary Magdalene is considered to be a saint by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches—with a feast day of July 22. Other Protestant churches honor her as a heroine of the faith. The Eastern Orthodox churches also commemorate her on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers, the Orthodox equivalent of one of the Western Three Marys traditions.

During the Middle Ages, Mary Magdalene was regarded in Western Christianity as a repentant prostitute or promiscuous woman, accusations not found in any of the four canonical gospels.

In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse for “(the) Lady”) is a goddess associated with love, sex, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death. Various plants in Scandinavia once bore her name, but it was replaced with the name of the Virgin Mary during the process of Christianization.

Scholars have theorized about whether Freyja and the goddess Frigg ultimately stem from a single goddess common among the Germanic peoples.

In Norse mythology, Nanna Nepsdóttir or simply Nanna is a goddess associated with the god Baldr (“lord, prince, king”). She is the wife of Baldr and the couple produced a son, the god Forseti (Old Norse “the presiding one,” actually “president” in Modern Icelandic and Faroese), an Æsir god of justice and reconciliation.

After Baldr’s death, Nanna dies of grief. Nanna is placed on Baldr’s ship with his corpse and the two are set aflame and pushed out to sea. In Hel, Baldr and Nanna are united again.

Astrology has used the concept of classical elements from antiquity up until the present. In Western astrology and Indian astrology four elements are used, namely Fire, Earth, Air and Water. Along with Scorpio and Pisces, Cancer forms the Water Trigon. The Water Trigon is one of four elemental trigons, fire, earth, air, and water. When a trigon is influential, it affects changes on earth.

Fire: Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius

Earth: Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn

Air: Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius

Water: Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces

Astrology and the classical elements

Ecliptic: An (Tammuz / Nergal)

Nothern Star: Enlil

Capricorn: Enki

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Capricorn – Enki / Enlil – Saturn

Capricorn (the Sea Goat) is a combination of

Pisces (the last zodiac sign) and Aries (ram) (the first zodiac sign)

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Saturn is the ruling planet of Capricorn and Aquarius and is exalted in Libra

Uranus is the ruling planet of Aquarius and is exalted in Scorpio

Capricorn (Saturn) is detriment to the Cancer (Moon)

The Moon is the ruling planet of Cancer and is exalted in Taurus

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Saturn (Enlil)

In Roman mythology, Saturn is the god of agriculture, leader of the titans, founder of civilizations, social order, and conformity. The glyph is shaped like a scythe, but it is known as the “crescent below the cross”, whereas Jupiter’s glyph is the “crescent above the cross”.

In ancient Roman mythology, the god Saturnus, from which the planet takes its name, was the god of agriculture. The Romans considered Saturnus the equivalent of the Greek god Cronus. The Greeks had made the outermost planet sacred to Cronus, and the Romans followed suit.

Saturn is a god in ancient Roman religion, and a character in myth. The Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum housed the state treasury. In December, he was celebrated at what is perhaps the most famous of the Roman festivals, the Saturnalia, a time of feasting, role reversals, free speech, gift-giving and revelry. Saturn the planet and Saturday are both named after the god.

He was the first god of the Capitol, known since the most ancient times as Saturnius Mons, and was seen as a god of generation, dissolution, plenty, wealth, agriculture, periodic renewal and liberation. In later developments he came to be also a god of time. His reign was depicted as a Golden Age of plenty and peace.

Capricorn (Enki)

Capricorn is the tenth astrological sign in the zodiac, originating from the constellation of Capricornus. It spans the 270–300th degree of the zodiac, corresponding to celestial longitude. Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this area from December 22 to January 19 each year, and under the sidereal zodiac, the sun transits the constellation of Capricorn from approximately January 16 to February 16.

In astrology, Capricorn is the third and last of the earth signs in the zodiac, the other two being Taurus and Virgo. It is considered a negative sign, and one of the four cardinal signs. It is said to be ruled by the planet Saturn. However, its symbol is based on the Sumerians’ primordial god of wisdom and waters, Enki with the head and upper body of a mountain goat, and the lower body and tail of a fish.

The mountain goat part of the symbol depicts ambition, resolute, intelligence, curiosity, but also steadiness, and ability to thrive in inhospitable environments while the fish represents passion, spirituality, intuition, and connection with the soul.

Moon (Enlil / Nanna)

Gugalanna (Sumerian gu.gal.an.na, “the Great Bull of Heaven”), better known as the Bull of Heaven (Sumerian: gu.an.na), was a deity in ancient Mesopotamian religion originating in Sumer as well as the constellation known today as Taurus, one of the twelve signs of the Zodiac.

Gugalanna was sent by the gods to take retribution upon Gilgamesh for rejecting the sexual advances of the goddess Inanna. Gugalanna, whose feet made the earth shake, was slain and dismembered by Gilgamesh and his companion Enkidu.

Inanna looked down from the city walls and Enkidu shook the haunches of the bull at her, threatening to do the same if he ever caught her. He is later killed for this impiety.

Gugalanna was the first husband of Ereshkigal, ruler of the Underworld, a gloomy place devoid of light. It was to share the sorrow with her sister that Inanna later descends to the Underworld.

Taurus was the constellation of the Northern Hemisphere’s March equinox from about 3200 BC. The equinox was considered the Sumerian New Year, Akitu, an important event in their religion.

The story of the death of Gugalanna has been considered to represent the sun’s obscuring of the constellation as it rose on the morning of the equinox.

Moreover by analogy, the horned moon, lord of the rhythm of the womb and of the rains and dews, was equated with the bull; so that the animal became a cosmological symbol, uniting the fields and the laws of sky and earth.

Nanna (Sumerian: DŠEŠ.KI, DNANNA) is a Sumerian deity, who became identified with Semitic Sin (Akkadian: Su’en, Sîn). He is the son of Enlil and Ninlil. It was the god of the moon in the Mesopotamian mythology of Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia.

Sin had a beard made of lapis lazuli and rode on a winged bull. The bull was one of his symbols, through his father, Enlil, “Bull of Heaven”, along with the crescent and the tripod (which may be a lamp-stand). On cylinder seals, he is represented as an old man with a flowing beard and the crescent symbol.

Cancer

Cancer is the fourth astrological sign, which is associated with the constellation Cancer. It spans the 90-120th degree of the zodiac, between 90 and 120 degrees of celestial longitude. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun transits this area on average between June 22 and July 22, and under the sidereal zodiac, the Sun transits this area between approximately July 15 and August 15.

The sign of Cancer is said to be associated with the characteristics: water, phlegmatic, cardinal, northern, nocturnal, tenacious, intuitive, and fruitful. Cancer is a northern sign and its opposite southern sign is Capricorn. Cancer is a cardinal sign. It begins the summer in the northern hemisphere, and winter in the southern hemisphere.

Ninurta: Heracles / Thor (Chaoskampf and Sacred Mariage)

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Nergal: Mars / Tyr – Great father / Pater

Nergal: Apollo / Helios – The sun / Mars – Aries

March (month), Aries (sign), Nerio (consort), Venus (lover)

Tyr: Nerthus (consort), Hel (lover)

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Tammuz: Dionysus / Bacchus

Balder: Frigg / Freyja (consort), Nanna (lover)

Vanir (spring triangle) – Æsir (summer triangle)

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Thursday is in most Romance languages named after the Roman god Jupiter, who was the god of sky and thunder. Since the Roman god Jupiter was identified with Thunor (Norse Thor in northern Europe), most Germanic languages name the day after this god.

Tuesday is derived from Old English Tiwesdæg and Middle English Tewesday, meaning “Tīw’s Day”, the day of Tiw or Týr, the god of single combat, victory and heroic glory in Norse mythology. Tiw was equated with Mars in the interpretatio germanica, and the name of the day is a translation of Latin dies Martis.

Rooted in the related but distinct Indo-European word *deiwos is the Latin word for deity, deus. The Latin word is also continued in English divine, “deity”, and the original Germanic word remains visible in “Tuesday” (“Day of Tīwaz”) and Old Norse tívar, which may be continued in the toponym Tiveden (“Wood of the Gods”, or of Týr).

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Although some of the more iconic reflexes of Dyeus are storm deities, such as Zeus and Jupiter, this is thought to be a late development exclusive to mediterranean traditions, probably derived from syncretism with canaanite deities and Perkwunos. Even in Roman tradition, Jupiter often is only associated with diurnal lightning at most, while Summanus is a deity responsible for nocturnal lightning or storms as a whole.

The deity’s original domain was over the daylit sky, and indeed reflexes emphasise this connection to light: Istanu (Tiyaz) is a solar deity, Helios is often referred to as the “eye of Zeus”, in Romanian paganism the Sun is similarly called “God’s eye” and in Indo-Iranian tradition Surya/Hvare-khshaeta is similarly associated with Ahura Mazda.

Istanu (Ištanu; from Hattic Estan, “Sun-god”) was the Hittite and Hattic god of the sun. In Luwian he was known as Tiwaz or Tijaz. He was a god of judgement, and was depicted bearing a winged sun on his crown or head-dress, and a crooked staff.

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In Mesopotamian religion (Sumerian, Assyrian, Akkadian and Babylonian), Tiamat is a primordial goddess of the ocean, mating with Abzû (the god of fresh water) to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creation. Depicted as a woman, she represents the beauty of the feminine, depicted as the glistening one.

Tiamat was the “shining” personification of salt water who roared and smote in the chaos of original creation. She and Apsu filled the cosmic abyss with the primeval waters. She is “Ummu-Hubur who formed all things”.

The Babylonian epic Enuma Elish is named for its incipit: “When above” the heavens did not yet exist nor the earth below, Apsu the freshwater ocean was there, “the first, the begetter”, and Tiamat, the saltwater sea, “she who bore them all”; they were “mixing their waters”.

It is thought that female deities are older than male ones in Mesopotamia and Tiamat may have begun as part of the cult of Nammu, a female principle of a watery creative force, with equally strong connections to the underworld, which predates the appearance of Ea-Enki.

It is suggested that there are two parts to the Tiamat mythos, the first in which Tiamat is a creator goddess, through a “Sacred marriage” between salt and fresh water, peacefully creating the cosmos through successive generations. In the second “Chaoskampf” Tiamat is considered the monstrous embodiment of primordial chaos. Some sources identify her with images of a sea serpent or dragon.

Tiamat possessed the Tablet of Destinies and in the primordial battle she gave them to Kingu, the deity she had chosen as her lover and the leader of her host, and who was also one of her children. The deities gathered in terror, but Anu, (replaced later, first by Enlil and, in the late version that has survived after the First Dynasty of Babylon, by Marduk, the son of Ea), first extracting a promise that he would be revered as “king of the gods”, overcame her, armed with the arrows of the winds, a net, a club, and an invincible spear.

In the Enûma Elish, the Babylonian epic of creation, she gives birth to the first generation of deities; her husband, Apsu, correctly assuming they are planning to kill him and usurp his throne, later makes war upon them and is killed.

Considered the master shaper of the world, god of wisdom and of all magic, Enki was characterized as the lord of the Abzu (Apsu in Akkadian), the freshwater sea or groundwater located within the earth. In the later Babylonian epic Enûma Eliš, Abzu, the “begetter of the gods”, is inert and sleepy but finds his peace disturbed by the younger gods, so sets out to destroy them.

His grandson Enki, chosen to represent the younger gods, puts a spell on Abzu “casting him into a deep sleep”, thereby confining him deep underground. Enki subsequently sets up his home “in the depths of the Abzu.” Enki thus takes on all of the functions of the Abzu, including his fertilising powers as lord of the waters and lord of semen.

Enraged, Tiamat, too, wars upon her husband’s murderers, taking on the form of a massive sea dragon, she is then slain by Enki’s son, the storm-god Marduk, but not before she had brought forth the monsters of the Mesopotamian pantheon, including the first dragons, whose bodies she filled with “poison instead of blood”. Marduk then forms heavens and the earth from her divided body.

Slicing Tiamat in half, he made from her ribs the vault of heaven and earth. Her weeping eyes became the source of the Tigris and the Euphrates, her tail became the Milky Way. With the approval of the elder deities, he took from Kingu the Tablet of Destinies, installing himself as the head of the Babylonian pantheon. Kingu was captured and later was slain: his red blood mixed with the red clay of the Earth would make the body of humankind, created to act as the servant of the younger Igigi deities.

Ninurta slays each of the monsters later known as the “Slain Heroes”. Eventually, Anzû is killed by Ninurta who delivers the Tablet of Destiny to his father, Enlil. There are many parallels with both and the story of Marduk (son of Enki) who slew Tiamat and delivered the Tablets of Destiny from Kingu to his father, Enki.

According to the 1911 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica the Shamash cults at Sippar and Larsa so overshadowed local Sun-deities elsewhere as to lead to an absorption of the minor deities by the predominating one, in the systematized pantheon these minor Sun-gods become attendants that do his service.

Such are Bunene, spoken of as his chariot driver and whose consort is Atgi-makh, Kettu (“justice”) and Mesharu (“right”), who were then introduced as attendants of Shamash. Other Sun-deities such as Ninurta and Nergal, the patron deities of other important centers, retained their independent existences as certain phases of the Sun, with Ninurta becoming the Sun-god of the morning and spring time and Nergal the Sun-god of the noon and the summer solstice. In the wake of such syncretism Shamash was usually viewed as the Sun-god in general.

Both in early and in late inscriptions Shamash is designated as the “offspring of Nannar”; i.e. of the Moon-god, and since, in an enumeration of the pantheon, Sin generally takes precedence of Shamash. It is in relationship, presumably, to the Moon-god that the Sun-god appears as the dependent power. Such a supposition would accord with the prominence acquired by the Moon in the calendar and in astrological calculations.

In the late neo-Babylonian and early Persian period, syncretism seems to have fused Ninurta’s character with that of Nergal. The two gods were often invoked together, and spoken of as if they were one divinity. In Assyro-Babylonian ecclesiastical art the great lion-headed colossi serving as guardians to the temples and palaces seem to symbolise Nergal, just as the bull-headed colossi probably typify Ninurta.

Nergal seems to be in part a solar deity, sometimes identified with Shamash, but only representative of a certain phase of the sun. Portrayed in hymns and myths as a god of war and pestilence, Nergal seems to represent the sun of noontime and of the summer solstice that brings destruction, high summer being the dead season in the Mesopotamian annual cycle. He has also been called “the king of sunset”. Over time Nergal developed from a war god to a god of the underworld. In the mythology, this occurred when Enlil and Ninlil gave him the underworld.

In the late Babylonian astral-theological system Nergal is related to the planet Mars. As a fiery god of destruction and war, Nergal doubtless seemed an appropriate choice for the red planet, and he was equated by the Greeks to the war-god Ares (Latin Mars)—hence the current name of the planet.

In Babylonian astronomy, the stars Castor and Pollux were known as the Great Twins (MUL.MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL). The Twins were regarded as minor gods and were called Meshlamtaea and Lugalirra, meaning respectively ‘The One who has arisen from the Underworld’ and the ‘Mighty King’. Both names can be understood as titles of Nergal, the major Babylonian god of plague and pestilence, who was king of the Underworld.

Nergal’s chief temple at Cuthah bore the name Meslam, from which the god receives the designation of Meslamtaeda or Meslamtaea, “the one that rises up from Meslam”. The name Meslamtaea indeed is found as early as the list of gods from Fara while the name Nergal only begins to appear in the Akkadian period.

Amongst the Hurrians and later Hittites Nergal was known as Aplu, a name derived from the Akkadian Apal Enlil, (Apal being the construct state of Aplu) meaning “the son of Enlil”. Aplu may be related with Apaliunas who is considered to be the Hittite reflex of *Apeljōn, an early form of the name Apollo.

When Enlil rose to equal or surpass An in authority, the functions of the two deities came to some extent to overlap. An was also sometimes equated with Amurru, and, in Seleucid Uruk, with Enmešara and Dumuzi.

Enmesarra, or Enmešarra, in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology is an underworld god of the law. Described as a Sun god, protector of flocks and vegetation, and therefore he has been equated with Nergal. On the other hand, he has been described as an ancestor of Enlil, and it has been claimed that Enlil slew him.

Nergal (Sun – Leo / Mars – Solstice) – Mars (Mars – Aries) / Apollo (Sun – Leo) – Tyr (Sun – Leo / Venus – Libra)

Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Some scholars believe that the name, and indeed the goddess herself, was originally pre-Greek. The Arcadians believed she was the daughter of Demeter. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: «Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals».

Inara, in Hittite–Hurrian mythology, was the goddess of the wild animals of the steppe and daughter of the Storm-god Teshub/Tarhunt. She corresponds to the «potnia theron» of Greek mythology, better known as Artemis. Inara’s mother is probably Hebat and her brother is Sarruma, a Hurrian mountain god, who was also worshipped by the Hittites and Luwians.

In the classical period of Greek mythology, Artemis was often described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo, who has been variously recognized as a god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry, and more.

Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. The ideal of the kouros (a beardless, athletic youth), Apollo Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis.

Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu. Amongst the Hurrians and later Hittites Nergal was known as Aplu, a name derived from the Akkadian Apal Enlil, (Apal being the construct state of Aplu) meaning «the son of Enlil». Aplu may be related with Apaliunas who is considered to be the Hittite reflex of *Apeljōn, an early form of the name Apollo.

In the late Babylonian astral-theological system Nergal is related to the planet Mars. As a fiery god of destruction and war, Nergal doubtless seemed an appropriate choice for the red planet, and he was equated by the Greeks to the war-god Ares (Latin Mars)—hence the current name of the planet.

Nergal seems to be in part a solar deity, sometimes identified with Shamash, but only representative of a certain phase of the sun. Portrayed in hymns and myths as a god of war and pestilence, Nergal seems to represent the sun of noontime and of the summer solstice that brings destruction, high summer being the dead season in the Mesopotamian annual cycle. He has also been called «the king of sunset».

Over time Nergal developed from a war god to a god of the underworld. In the mythology, this occurred when Enlil and Ninlil gave him the underworld. He presides over the netherworld, and stands at the head of the special pantheon assigned to the government of the dead (supposed to be gathered in a large subterranean cave known as Aralu or Irkalla).

In this capacity he has associated with him a goddess Allatu or Ereshkigal (EREŠ.KI.GAL, lit. «Queen of the Great Earth»), though at one time Allatu may have functioned as the sole mistress of Aralu, ruling in her own person. In some texts the god Ninazu is the son of Nergal and Allatu/Ereshkigal. Ereshkigal was the only one who could pass judgment and give laws in her kingdom.

In Greek mythology, Selene (‘moon’) is the goddess of the moon. She is the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and sister of the sun-god Helios, and Eos, goddess of the dawn. She drives her moon chariot across the heavens. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus, Pan, and the mortal Endymion.

In classical times, Selene was often identified with Artemis, much as her brother, Helios, was identified with Apollo. Both Selene and Artemis were also associated with Hecate, and all three were regarded as lunar goddesses, although only Selene was regarded as the personification of the moon itself. Her Roman equivalent is Luna.

Selene was also called Mene. The word men (feminine mene), meant the moon, and the lunar month. It was also the name of the Phrygian moon-god Men («month; Moon», presumably influenced by Avestan måŋha), a lunar god worshipped in the western interior parts of Anatolia. Mēn may be incluenced by the (feminine) Zoroastrian lunar divinity Mah, but his male sex is apparently due to the Mesopotamian moon god Sin.

Ma was a local goddess at Comana in Hellenistic Cappadocia. Her temple in Comana is described at length by Strabo. She has been interpreted as a «mother» goddess and compared to Cybele, but has also been compared to Syrian Enyo, a goddess of war in Greek mythology, the companion of the war god Ares. However, the name Enyalius or Enyalios can also be used as a title for Ares himself.

In ancient Roman religion and myth, Nerio was an ancient war goddess and the personification of valor. She was the partner of Mars in ancient cult practices, and was sometimes identified with the goddess Bellona, and occasionally with the goddess Minerva. Spoils taken from enemies were sometimes dedicated to Nerio by the Romans.

Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She was born with weapons from the head of Jupiter. After impregnating the titaness Metis, Jupiter recalled a prophecy that his own child would overthrow him.

She was the virgin goddess of music, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, and magic. She is often depicted with her sacred creature, an owl usually named as the «owl of Minerva», which symbolised her association with wisdom and knowledge. From the 2nd century BC onwards, the Romans equated her with the Greek goddess Athena.

Athena is the goddess of knowledge, purity, arts, crafts, learning, justice and wisdom. She led battles as the disciplined, strategic side of war, in contrast to her brother Ares, the patron of violence, bloodlust and slaughter—»the raw force of war». Although Ares was viewed primarily as a destructive and destabilizing force, Mars represented military power as a way to secure peace, and was a father (pater) of the Roman people.

Týr is a Germanic god associated with law and heroic glory in Norse mythology. If a warrior carved the rune Tîwaz on his weapon he would be dedicating it to Týr and strengthen the outcome of a battle to be in his favor. Tiw was equated with Mars in the interpretatio germanica. Tuesday is in fact «Tīw’s Day» (also in Alemannic Zischtig from zîes tag), translating dies Martis.

There is sketchy evidence of a consort, in German named Zisa. The name Zisa could be derived from Ziu etymologically. This Zisa would be the female consort of Ziu, as Dione was of Zeus. Dione is translated as «Goddess», and given the same etymological derivation as the names Zeus, Diana, et al.

In Norse mythology, Hel is a being who presides over a realm of the same name, where she receives a portion of the dead. Hel is referred to as a daughter of Loki, and to «go to Hel» is to die. In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, Hel is described as having been appointed by the god Odin as ruler of a realm of the same name, located in Niflheim.

In the same source, her appearance is described as half blue and half flesh-coloured and further as having a gloomy, downcast appearance. The Prose Edda details that Hel rules over vast mansions with many servants in her underworld realm and plays a key role in the attempted resurrection of the god Baldr.

Scholarly theories have been proposed thet Hel may have been considered a goddess with potential Indo-European parallels in Bhavani, Kali, and Mahakali or that Hel may have become a being only as a late personification of the location of the same name.

Istanu (from Hattic Estan, «Sun-god») was the Hittite and Hattic god of the sun. In Luwian he was known as Tiwaz or Tijaz. He was a god of judgement, and was depicted bearing a winged sun on his crown or head-dress, and a crooked staff.

In Germanic paganism, Nerthus is a goddess associated with fertility. The name Nerthus is generally held to be a Latinized form of Proto-Germanic *Nerþuz, a direct precursor to the Old Norse deity name Njörðr. While scholars have noted numerous parallels between the descriptions of the two figures, Njörðr is attested as a male deity.

In Norse mythology, Njörun (Old Norse Njǫrun, sometimes modernly anglicized as Niorun) is a goddess attested in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and various kennings (including once in the Poetic Edda).

Scholarly theories concerning her name and function in the pantheon include etymological connections to the Norse god Njörðr and the Roman goddess Nerio, and suggestions that she may represent the earth and/or be the unnamed sister-wife of Njörðr.

Several scholars have suggested that the stem syllable in her name, Njǫr-, may represent the element *ner- as in Tacitus’ earth-goddess Nerthus (*Ner-þuz), whose name is etymologically identical with that of the Norse god Njǫrðr, and that Njörun may therefore be a name for the earth. Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon additionally suggests a connection with the Roman goddess Nerio.

Máni (Old Norse «moon») is the personification of the moon in Norse mythology. Máni, personified, is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson.

Both sources state that he is the brother of the personified sun, Sól (Old Norse «Sun») or Sunna (Old High German, and existing as an Old Norse and Icelandic synonym sunna, «Sun»), and the son of Mundilfari (Old Norse, possibly «the one moving according to particular times»), while the Prose Edda adds that he is followed by the children Hjúki and Bil through the heavens. As a proper noun, Máni appears throughout Old Norse literature.

Artemis was the Hellenic goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and protector of young girls, bringing and relieving disease in women; she often was depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrows. The deer and the cypress were sacred to her. In later Hellenistic times, she even assumed the ancient role of Eileithyia in aiding childbirth.

Her Roman equivalent is Diana, the goddess of the hunt, the moon, and nature being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. Oak groves were especially sacred to her as were deer.

Diana was worshipped in ancient Roman religion and is revered in Roman Neopaganism and Stregheria. Diana was known to be the virgin goddess of childbirth and women. She was one of the three maiden goddesses, along with Minerva and Vesta, who swore never to Marry.

According to mythology (in common with the Greek religion and their deity Artemis), Diana was born with her twin brother, Apollo, on the island of Delos, daughter of Jupiter and Latona. She made up a triad with two other Roman deities: Egeria the water nymph, her servant and assistant midwife; and Virbius, the woodland god.

As a goddess of hunting, Diana often wears a short tunic and hunting boots. She is often portrayed holding a bow, and carrying a quiver on her shoulder, accompanied by a deer or hunting dogs. Like Venus, she was portrayed as beautiful and youthful. The crescent moon, sometimes worn as a diadem, is a major attribute of the goddess.

Diana was one of the triple goddess, the same goddess being called Luna in heaven, Diana on earth, and Proserpina in hell. Michael Drayton praises the Triple Diana in poem The Man in the Moone (1606): «So these great three most powerful of the rest, Phoebe, Diana, Hecate, do tell. Her sovereignty in Heaven, in Earth and Hell».

Scorpius is one of the constellations of the zodiac. The Babylonians called this constellation MUL.GIR.TAB – the ‘Scorpion’, the signs can be literally read as ‘the (creature with) a burning sting’. In some old descriptions the constellation of Libra is treated as the Scorpion’s claws. Libra was known as the Claws of the Scorpion in Babylonian zibānītu (compare Arabic zubānā).

In Greek mythology, the myths associated with Scorpio almost invariably also contain a reference to Orion. According to one of these myths it is written that Orion boasted to goddess Artemis and her mother, Leto, that he would kill every animal on the Earth.

Although Artemis was known to be a hunter herself she offered protection to all creatures. Artemis and her mother Leto sent a scorpion to deal with Orion. The pair battled and the scorpion killed Orion. However, the contest was apparently a lively one that caught the attention of the king of the gods Zeus, who later raised the scorpion to heaven and afterwards, at the request of Artemis, did the same for Orion to serve as a reminder for mortals to curb their excessive pride.

There is also a version that Orion was better than the goddess Artemis but said that Artemis was better than he and so Artemis took a liking to Orion. The god Apollo, Artemis’s twin brother, grew angry and sent a scorpion to attack Orion. After Orion was killed, Artemis asked Zeus to put Orion up in the sky. So every winter Orion hunts in the sky, but every summer he flees as the constellation of the scorpion comes.

In art, lamassu were depicted as hybrids, either winged bulls or lions with the head of a human male. The motif of a winged animal with a human head is common to the Near East, first recorded in Ebla around 3000 BCE. The first distinct lamassu motif appeared in Assyria during the reign of Tiglath-Pileser II as a symbol of power.

Assyrian sculpture typically placed prominent pairs of lamassu at entrances in palaces, facing the street and also internal courtyards. They were “double-aspect” figures on corners, in high relief. From the front they appear to stand, and from the side, walk, and in earlier versions have five legs, as is apparent when viewed obliquely. Lamassu do not generally appear as large figures in the low-relief schemes running round palace rooms, where winged genie figures are common, but they sometimes appear within narrative reliefs, apparently protecting the Assyrians.

The colossal entrance way figures were often followed by a hero grasping a wriggling lion, also colossal and in high relief. In the palace of Sargon II at Khorsabad, a group of at least seven lamassu and two such heros with lions surrounded the entrance to the “throne room”, “a concentration of figures which produced an overwhelming impression of power.” They also appear on cylinder seals.

Notable examples include those at the Gate of All Nations at Persepolis in Iran, the British Museum in London, the Musée du Louvre in Paris, the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Oriental Institute, Chicago. Several examples left in situ in northern Iraq have been destroyed in the 2010’s by ISIS when they occupied the area.

Hattusa (Ḫa-at-tu-ša, read “Ḫattuša”) was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of the Kızılırmak River (Hittite: Marashantiya; Greek: Halys). Hattusa was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1986. 

Before 2000 BC, a settlement of the apparently indigenous Hatti people was established on sites that had been occupied even earlier and referred to the site as Hattush. The earliest traces of settlement on the site are from the sixth millennium BC. There were several other settlements in the vicinity, such as the rock shrine at Yazılıkaya and the town at Alacahöyük. 

The Tetramorph; The Sumerian Origins of a Christian Symbol

Lamassu and Shedu

The ancient Jewish people were influenced by the iconography of Assyrian culture. The prophet Ezekiel wrote about a fantastic being made up of aspects of a human being, a lion, an eagle and a bull. Later, in the early Christian period, the four Gospels were ascribed to each of these components. When it was depicted in art, this image was called the Tetramorph.

Haia and Nisaba

In Sumerian mythology, Haya is a god associated with both the scribal arts and door-keepers. He may also have had an association with grain. Haya is also characterised, beyond being the spouse of Nidaba/Nissaba, as an “agrig”-official of the god Enlil. The god-list designates him as “the Nissaba of wealth”, as opposed to his wife, who is the “Nissaba of Wisdom”.

Haia is the spouse of Nidaba/Nissaba (also Nanibgal, the Sumerian goddess of writing, learning, and the harvest. On a depiction found in Lagash, she appears with flowing hair, crowned with horned tiara bearing supporting ears of grain and a crescent moon.

She is the chief scribe of Nanshe. On the first day of the new year, she and Nanshe work together to settle disputes between mortals and give aid to those in need. Nisaba keeps a record of the visitors seeking aid and then arranges them into a line to stand before Nanshe, who will then judge them.

In the Babylonian period, she was replaced by the god Nabu, who took over her functions. In some instances, Nisaba was his instructor or wife before he replaced her. Nabu is the patron god of scribes, wisdom and literature, being worshipped by the Assyrian and Babylonian people. He was identified as the son of the great god Marduk by the Babylonians and as the son of Ashur by the Assyrians.

Isimud

Enki is a god in Sumerian mythology, later known as Ea in Akkadian and Babylonian mythology. He was originally patron god of the city of Eridu, but later the influence of his cult spread throughout Mesopotamia and to the Canaanites, Hittites and Hurrians.

His symbols included a goat and a fish, which later combined into a single beast, the goat Capricorn, recognised as the Zodiacal constellation Capricornus. He was accompanied by an attendant Isimud (also Isinu; Usmû), a minor god, the messenger of the god, Enki, in Sumerian mythology.

In ancient Sumerian artwork, Isimud is easily identifiable due to the fact that he is always depicted with two faces facing in opposite directions in a way that is similar to the ancient Roman god, Janus.

Janus and Diana (Artimes) / Apollo

The sun and the moon

The beginning and the end

In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, doorways, passages, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past.

It is conventionally thought that the month of January is named for Janus (Ianuarius), but according to ancient Roman farmers’ almanacs Juno was the tutelary deity of the month. Numa in his regulation of the Roman calendar called the first month Januarius after Janus, according to tradition considered the highest divinity at the time.

While the fundamental nature of Janus is debated, in most modern scholars’ view the god’s functions may be seen as being organized around a single principle: presiding over all beginnings and transitions, whether abstract or concrete, sacred or profane.

Interpretations concerning the god’s fundamental nature either limit it to this general function or emphasize a concrete or particular aspect of it (identifying him with light the sun, the moon, time, movement, the year, doorways, bridges etc.) or else see in the god a sort of cosmological principle, interpreting him as a uranic deity. Almost all of these modern explanations were originally formulated by the ancients.

Janus presided over the beginning and ending of conflict, and hence war and peace. The doors of his temple were open in time of war, and closed to mark the peace. As a god of transitions, he had functions pertaining to birth and to journeys and exchange, and in his association with Portunus, a similar harbor and gateway god, he was concerned with travelling, trading and shipping.

Janus had no flamen or specialised priest (sacerdos) assigned to him, but the King of the Sacred Rites (rex sacrorum) himself carried out his ceremonies. Janus had a ubiquitous presence in religious ceremonies throughout the year, and was ritually invoked at the beginning of each one, regardless of the main deity honored on any particular occasion.

Three etymologies were proposed by ancient erudites, each of them bearing implications about the nature of the god. The first one is based on the definition of Chaos given by Paul the Deacon: hiantem, hiare, be open, from which word Ianus would derive by loss of the initial aspirate. In this etymology the notion of Chaos would define the primordial nature of the god.

Another etymology proposed by Nigidius Figulus is related by Macrobius: Ianus would be Apollo and Diana Iana, by the addition of a D for the sake of euphony. This explanation has been accepted by A. B. Cook and J. G. Frazer. It supports all the assimilations of Janus to the bright sky, the sun and the moon. It supposes a former *Dianus, formed on *dia- < *dy-eð2 from Indo-European root *dey- shine represented in Latin by dies day, Diovis and Iuppiter. However the form Dianus postulated by Nigidius is not attested.

The interpretation of Janus as the god of beginnings and transitions is based on a third etymology indicated by Cicero, Ovid and Macrobius, which explains the name as Latin, deriving it from the verb ire (“to go”).

Modern scholars have conjectured that it derives from the Indo-European root meaning transitional movement (cf. Sanskrit “yana-” or Avestan “yah-“, likewise with Latin “i-” and Greek “ei-“). Iānus would then be an action name expressing the idea of going, passing, formed on the root *yā- < *y-eð2- theme II of the root *ey- go from which eō, ειμι. Other modern scholars object to an Indo-European etymology either from Dianus or from root *yā-. From Ianus derived ianua (“door”), and hence the English word “janitor” (Latin, ianitor).

According to Macrobius who cites Nigidius Figulus and Cicero, Janus and Jana (Diana) are a pair of divinities, worshipped as Apollo or the sun and moon, whence Janus received sacrifices before all the others, because through him is apparent the way of access to the desired deity.

A similar solar interpretation has been offered by A. Audin who interprets the god as the issue of a long process of development, starting with the Sumeric cultures, from the two solar pillars located on the eastern side of temples, each of them marking the direction of the rising sun at the dates of the two solstices: the southeastern corresponding to the Winter and the northeastern to the Summer solstice.

These two pillars would be at the origin of the theology of the divine twins, one of whom is mortal (related to the NE pillar, as confining with the region where the sun does not shine) and the other is immortal (related to the SE pillar and the region where the sun always shines). Later these iconographic models evolved in the Middle East and Egypt into a single column representing two torsos and finally a single body with two heads looking at opposite directions.

Lamassu

A lamassu (AN.KAL) is an Assyrian protective deity, often depicted as having a human’s head, a body of an ox or a lion, and bird’s wings. In some writings, it is portrayed to represent a female deity. A less frequently used name is shedu (AN.KAL×BAD) which refers to the male counterpart of a lamassu.

The Lammasu or Lumasi represent the zodiacs, parent-stars or constellations. The Akkadians associated the god Papsukkal with lamassu and the god Išum with shedu.

Papsukkal is the messenger god in the Akkadian pantheon. He is identified in late Akkadian texts and is known chiefly from the Hellenistic period. His consort is Amasagnul, and he acts as both messenger and gatekeeper for the rest of the pantheon. A sanctuary, the E-akkil is identified from the Mesopotamian site of Mkish. He becomes syncretised from Ninshubur.

Ishum is a minor god in Akkadian mythology, the brother of Shamash and an attendant of Erra. He may have been a god of fire and, according to texts, led the gods in war as a herald but was nonetheless generally regarded as benevolent. Ishum is known particularly from the Babylonian legend of Erra and Ishum. He developed from the Sumerian figure of Endursaga, the herald god in the Sumerian mythology, who leads the pantheon, particularly in times of conflict.

The lamassu is a celestial being from ancient Mesopotamian religion bearing a human head, bull’s body, sometimes with the horns and the ears of a bull, and wings. It appears frequently in Mesopotamian art. The lamassu and shedu were household protective spirits of the common Babylonian people, becoming associated later as royal protectors, were placed as sentinels at the entrances.

To protect houses, the lamassu were engraved in clay tablets, which were then buried under the door’s threshold. They were often placed as a pair at the entrance of palaces. At the entrance of cities, they were sculpted in colossal size, and placed as a pair, one at each side of the door of the city, that generally had doors in the surrounding wall, each one looking towards one of the cardinal points.

The city of Arbil

The name Erbil was mentioned in Sumerian holy writings of third millennium BC as Urbilum, Urbelum or Urbillum, which appears to originate from Arbilum in the language of the Hurrians who inhabited the area. Later, the Akkadians and Assyrians by a folk etymology rendered the name as arba’ū ilū to mean four gods. The city became a centre for the worship of the Assyro-Babylonian goddess Ishtar.

In classical times the city became known as Arbela. In Old Persian the city was called Arbairā. Today, the modern Kurdish name of the city, Hewlêr, appears to be a corruption of the name Arbel by a series of metatheses of consonants.

Erbil is located approximately 350 kilometres (220 miles) north of Baghdad. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in history. Human settlement at Erbil can be dated back to possibly 5000 BC, and it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited areas in the world. The earliest historical reference to the region dates to the Ur III dynasty of Sumer, when king Shulgi mentioned the city of Urbilum, the ancient Assyrian name of modern-day Arbil.

The region in which Erbil lies was largely under Sumerian domination from c.3000 BC, and from perhaps the 25th century BC, under the control of pastoralist Akkadian speaking Assyrian kings, until the rise of the Akkadian Empire (2335–2154 BC) which united all of the Akkadian Semites and Sumerians of Mesopotamia under one rule. Today Assyrians are one of the Iraqi minorities, their population is estimated to be 1.5million.

The first mention of Erbil in literary sources’ comes from the archives of the east Semitic speaking kingdom of Ebla. They record two journeys to Erbil (Irbilum) by a messenger from Ebla around 2300 BC. Later, Erridupizir, king of the language isolate speaking kingdom of Gutium, captured the city in 2150 BC.

Erbil became an integral part of Assyria by at least the 21st century BC, and it was known variously as Urbilim, Arbela and Arba-ilu. Erbil was an integral part of Assyria from around 2050 BC. The Neo-Sumerian ruler of Ur, Amar-Sin, sacked Urbilum in his second year, c. 1975 BC.

It then became a relatively important city during the Old Assyrian Empire (1975–1750 BC), Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1050 BC) and the Neo Assyrian Empire (935–605 BC), until the last of these empires fell between 612–599 BC, and it remained part of Assyria under Persian, Greek, Parthian, Roman and Sassanid rule.

It was part of the geopolitical province of Assyria, under several regional powers in turn, including the Median Empire, the Achaemenid Empire (Achaemenid Assyria), Macedonian Empire, Seleucid Syria, Parthian Empire (Athura), Assyria (Roman province) and Sassanid Empire (Assuristan).

Under the Median Empire, Cyaxares might have settled a number of people from the Ancient Iranian tribe of Sagartians in the Assyrian cities of Arbela and Arrapha (modern Kirkuk), probably as a reward for their help in the capture of Nineveh. The Persian emperor Cyrus the Great occupied Assyria in 547 BC, and established it as an Achaemenid satrapy called in Old Persian Aθurā (Athura), with Arbela as the capital.

The Battle of Gaugamela, in which Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia in 331 BC, took place approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of Erbil. After the battle, Darius managed to flee to the city, and, somewhat inaccurately, the confrontation is sometimes known as the “Battle of Arbela”. Subsequently, Arbela was part of Alexander’s Empire. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, Arbela became part of the Hellenistic Seleucid Kingdom.

Erbil became part of the region disputed between Rome and Persia under the Sasanids. The ancient Assyrian kingdom of Adiabene (the Greek form of Ḥadyab) had its center at Erbil, and the town and kingdom are known in Jewish Middle Eastern history for the conversion of the royal family to Judaism. During the Parthian era to early Sassanid era, Erbil became the capital of the Assyrian state of Adiabene.

Its populace then gradually converted from the Mesopotamian Religion between the 1st and 4th centuries to the Assyrian Church of the East Christianity, with Pkidha traditionally becoming its first bishop around 104 AD, although the ancient Assyrian religion did not die out entirely until the 5th century AD. The metropolitanate of Ḥadyab in Arbela became a centre of eastern Syriac Christianity until late in the Middle Ages.

Following the Arab Muslim conquest of Persia, the Arabs dissolved Assyria (then known as Assuristan/Athura) as a geo-political entity in the mid-7th century AD, and during medieval times the city came to be ruled by the Seljuk and Ottoman Turks. During the Middle Ages Erbil became a major trading centre on the route between Baghdad and Mosul, a role which it still plays today with important road links to the outside world.

The modern town of Erbil stands on a tell topped by an Ottoman fort. At the heart of the city is the ancient Citadel of Arbil. It is the capital city of Erbil Governorate and of Iraqi Kurdistan. Its governorate has a permanent population of approximately 1.61 million as of 2011.

Erbil’s archaeological museum houses a large collection of pre-Islamic artifacts, and is a center for archaeological projects in the area. The city was designated as Arab Tourism Capital 2014 by the Arab Council of Tourism. In July 2014, Erbil Citadel was inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Today, Erbil is both multi-ethnic and multi-religious. The city has an ethnically diverse population with the Kurds forming the largest ethnic group, and with smaller numbers of Assyrians, Arabs, Armenians, Turcomans, Yezidis, Shabakis, Circassians, Kawliyah and Mandeans. It is equally religiously diverse, with believers of Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, Christianity, Sufism, Yezidism, Yarsan, Shabakism and Mandeanism extant in and around Erbil.

Connections:

Sun (Leo) – Moon (Cancer)

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Sun (Leo) – Uranus (Aquarius)

Moon (Cancer) – Saturn (Capricorn)

Mercury (Gemini) – Jupiter (Sagittarius)

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Pluto (Scorpius) – Venus (Taurus / Libra)

Venus (Taurus / Libra) – Mars (Aries) 

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Uranus is also associated with Wednesday, alongside Mercury

Pluto is also associated with Tuesday, alongside Mars

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Aries – Libra 

Venus – Mars 

Mars – Aries

Venus – Libra

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Venus – Earth

Mars – Sun

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Venus is the second-brightest object in the night sky, the Moon being the brightest. It is usually beheld as a twin planet to Earth. Venus is the ruling planet of Taurus and Libra and is exalted in Pisces. Libra is detrimental to Aries. Mars is the ruling planet of Aries and Scorpio and is exalted in Capricorn.

The Sun is the ruling planet of Leo and is exalted in Aries. The Sun is the star at the center of our solar system, around which the Earth and other planets revolve and provides us with heat and light. The Sun travels through the twelve signs of the zodiac on its annual journey, spending about a month in each.

The arc that the Sun travels in every year, rising and setting in a slightly different place each day, is therefore in reality a reflection of the Earth’s own orbit around the Sun. This arc is larger the farther north or south from the equator latitude, giving a more extreme difference between day and night and between seasons during the year.

Astrologically speaking, the Sun is usually thought to represent the conscious ego, the self and its expression, personal power, pride and authority, leadership qualities and the principles of creativity, spontaneity, health and vitality, the sum of which is named the “life force”.

In Chinese astrology, the Sun represents Yang, the active, assertive masculine life principle. In Chinese astrology, the Moon represents Yin, the passive and receptive feminine life principle.

Standard iconography pictured Nergal as a lion, and boundary-stone monuments symbolise him with a mace surmounted by the head of a lion. Amongst the Hurrians and later Hittites Nergal was known as Aplu, a name derived from the Akkadian Apal Enlil, (Apal being the construct state of Aplu) meaning “the son of Enlil”.

Aplu may be related with Apaliunas who is considered to be the Hittite reflex of *Apeljōn, an early form of the name Apollo. In Greek mythology, the Sun was represented by the Titans Hyperion and Helios (Roman Sol, and later by Apollo, the god of light).

In the late Babylonian astral-theological system Nergal is related to the planet Mars. As a fiery god of destruction and war, Nergal doubtless seemed an appropriate choice for the red planet, and he was equated by the Greeks to the war-god Ares (Latin Mars)—hence the current name of the planet.

The name of March comes from Latin Martius, the first month of the earliest Roman calendar. It was named for Mars, the Roman god of war who was also regarded as a guardian of agriculture and an ancestor of the Roman people through his sons Romulus and Remus.

His month Martius was the beginning of the season for both farming and warfare, and the festivals held in his honor during the month were mirrored by others in October, when the season for these activities came to a close. The zodiac signs for the month of March are Pisces (until March 20) and Aries (March 21 onwards).

The Excerptum ex Gallica Historia of Ursberg (ca. 1135) records a dea Ciza as the patron goddess of Augsburg. This Zisa would be the female consort of Ziu, as Dione was of Zeus. The Moon is the ruling planet of Cancer and is exalted in Taurus. In Roman mythology, the Moon was Luna, at times identified with Diana.

Týr is a Germanic god associated with law and heroic glory in Norse mythology, portrayed as one-handed. Corresponding names in other Germanic languages are Gothic Teiws, Old English Tīw and Old High German Ziu and Cyo, all from Proto-Germanic *Tīwaz. The Latinised name is rendered as Tius or Tio and also formally as Mars Thincsus. Tuesday is in fact “Tīw’s Day” (also in Alemannic Zischtig from zîes tag), translating dies Martis.

Pluto is also associated with Tuesday, alongside Mars. Pluto is the ruling planet of Scorpio and is possibly exalted in Leo. In Roman mythology, Pluto is the god of the underworld and of wealth. The alchemy symbol was given to Pluto on its discovery, three centuries after Alchemy practices had all but disappeared. The alchemy symbol can therefore be read as spirit over mind, transcending matter. The symbols were chosen given the close association with Mars which has a similar symbol.

In ancient Roman religion and myth, Nerio was an ancient war goddess and the personification of valor. She was the partner of Mars in ancient cult practices, and was sometimes identified with the goddess Bellona, and occasionally with the goddess Minerva. Spoils taken from enemies were sometimes dedicated to Nerio by the Romans. Nerio was later supplanted by mythologized deities appropriated and adapted from other religions.

In Germanic paganism, Nerthus is a goddess associated with fertility. The name Nerthus is generally held to be a Latinized form of Proto-Germanic *Nerþuz, a direct precursor to the Old Norse deity name Njörðr. While scholars have noted numerous parallels between the descriptions of the two figures, Njörðr is attested as a male deity.

Leo is detrimental to Aquarius. Saturn is the ruling planet of Capricorn and Aquarius and is exalted in Libra. Before the discovery of Uranus, Saturn was regarded as the ruling planet of Aquarius alongside Capricorn of course, which is the preceding sign. Many traditional types of astrologers prefer Saturn as the planetary ruler for both Capricorn and Aquarius. Uranus is the ruling planet of Aquarius and is exalted in Scorpio.

Tyr, the hanged god

Jesus, the crusified god

God proclaimed Himself as “the Alpha and the Omega”

“I am the Alaph and the Taw” (Aramaic)

Dyeus – Tyr / Deus

Dingir (Sumerian) – An

The so-called “Chrismon of Saint Ambrose” (Chrismon Sancti Ambrosii), on display on the eastern wall of Milan Cathedral, a Chi-Rho combined with Alpha and Omega in a circle. According to Landulf of Milan (12th century), it was used by Saint Ambrose to introduce the catechumens to the mysteries of the Christian faith (whence it was called “oracle” or chresmos of St. Ambrose, written by Landulf as crismon, whence the later New Latin term for the Chi-Rho symbol).

In Plato’s Timaeus, it is explained that the two bands that form the soul of the world cross each other like the letter Χ. Plato’s analogy, along with several other examples of chi as a symbol occur in Thomas Browne’s discourse The Garden of Cyrus (1658). Chi or X is often used to abbreviate the name Christ, as in the holiday Christmas (Xmas). When fused within a single typespace with the Greek letter Rho, it is called the labarum and used to represent the person of Jesus Christ.

The Chi Rho (also known as chrismon) is one of the earliest forms of christogram, and is used by some Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ “Christ” in such a way that the vertical stroke of the rho intersects the center of the chi. The Chi-Rho thus symbolises specifically the status of Jesus as the risen Christ (Messiah).

An early visual representation of the connection between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his triumphal resurrection, seen in the 4th century sarcophagus of Domitilla in Rome, the use of a wreath around the Chi-Rho symbolizes the victory of the Resurrection over death.

The Chi-Rho is also known as the labarum, which is based on the Latin word laureum, “military standard.” The Chi-Rho symbol was used by the Roman emperor Constantine I (r. 306–337) as part of a military standard (vexillum).

According to Lactantius, a Latin historian of North African origins saved from poverty by the Emperor Constantine I, who made him tutor to his son Crispus, Constantine had dreamt of being ordered to put a “heavenly divine symbol” on the shields of his soldiers. The description of the actual symbol chosen by Emperor Constantine the next morning, as reported by Lactantius, is not very clear: it closely resembles a Chi-Rho or a staurogram, a similar Christian symbol. That very day Constantine’s army fought the forces of Maxentius and won the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312), outside Rome.

Libra – Justice

LIFE / LAW

The Ancient picture is a type of “mark,” probably of two sticks crossed to mark a place, similar to the Egyptian hieroglyph , a picture of two crossed sticks. This letter has the meanings of “mark,” “sign” and “signature.” Taw is believed to be derived from the Egyptian hieroglyph meaning “mark”.

Taw, tav, or taf is the twenty-second and last letter of the Semitic abjads. Its original sound value is /t/. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek tau (Τ), Latin T, and Cyrillic Т. In ancient times, tau was used as a symbol for life or resurrection, whereas the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet, theta, was considered the symbol of death.

God proclaimed Himself as “the Alpha and the Omega” (Revelation1:8,21:6,22:13) which is the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet. Jesus spoke Aramaic. The first and last letters of the Aramaic and Hebrew language. “I am the Alaph and the Taw” (Aramaic) or “I am the Aleph and the Tav” (Hebrew).

The tau was also considered a symbol of salvation due to the identification of the tau with the sign which in Ezekiel 9:4 was marked on the forehead of the saved ones, or due to the tau-shaped outstretched hands of Moses in Exodus 17:11: “And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.”

In Biblical times, the taw was put on men to distinguish those who lamented sin, although newer versions of the Bible have replaced the ancient term taw with mark (Ezekiel 9:4) or signature (Job 31:35).

The symbolism of the cross was connected not only to the letter chi but also to tau, the equivalent of the last letter in the Phoenician and Old Hebrew alphabets, and which was originally cruciform in shape.

The Tau Cross is a form of the Christian cross symbol, named after the Greek letter it resembles. It is also variously St. Anthony’s Cross, Old Testament Cross, Anticipatory Cross, Cross Commissee, Egyptian Cross, Advent Cross, Croce taumata, Saint Francis’s Cross, Crux Commissa. The shape of the letter tau or T was interpreted as representing a crucifix from antiquity.

The ancient pictorial lettering of the Alaph/Aleph is a picture of a head of an ox and symbolizes “God, first, strong, power and leader.” The Taw/Tav is a picture of two crossed sticks and symbolizes “a covenant, monument mark and a sign.” “From aleph to taf” describes something from beginning to end, the Hebrew equivalent of the English “From A to Z.”

The Alaph/Aleph ox head is like the animal sacrificial system under the Old Covenant. The Taw/Tav crossed sticks is like a symbol of the crucifixion under the New Covenant. Put together, it represents God as the First Leader with strong power and the sign of New Covenant of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

According to the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, at one stage the gods decided to shackle the Fenris wolf (Fenrir), but the beast broke every chain they put upon him. Eventually they had the dwarves make them a magical ribbon called Gleipnir. It appeared to be only a silken ribbon. Fenrir sensed the gods’ deceit and refused to be bound with it unless one of them put his hand in the wolf’s mouth.

Týr, known for his great wisdom and courage, agreed, and the other gods bound the wolf. After Fenrir had been bound by the gods, he struggled to try to break the rope. Fenrir could not break the ribbon and, enraged, bit Týr’s right hand off. When the gods saw that Fenrir was bound they all rejoiced, except Týr.

Fenrir would remain bound until the day of Ragnarök. As a result of this deed, Týr is called the “Leavings of the Wolf”; which is to be understood as a poetic kenning for glory. As a consequence, however, his name is also associated with perjury. According to the Prose version of Ragnarök, Týr is destined to kill and be killed by Garm, the guard dog of Hel. However, in the two poetic versions of Ragnarök, he goes unmentioned; unless one believes that he is the “Mighty One”.

Sigrdrífumál teaches runemagic and advises one to twice name Týr and carve “victory runes” on the sword hilt, presumably referring to the t rune. If a warrior carved the rune Tîwaz on his weapon he would be dedicating it to Týr and strengthen the outcome of a battle to be in his favor. The reconstructed Proto-Germanic name is *Tîwaz or *Teiwaz.

Tiw was equated with Mars in the interpretatio germanica. Tuesday is in fact “Tīw’s Day” (also in Alemannic Zischtig from zîes tag), translating dies Martis. The t-rune ᛏ is named after Týr, and was identified with this god. Týr in origin was a generic noun meaning “god”, e.g. Hangatyr, literally, the “god of the hanged”, as one of Odin’s names, which was probably inherited from Týr in his role as god of justice.

During the battle at Ragnarök, Fenrir swallows Odin whole. In Norse mythology, Víðarr (Old Norse, possibly “wide ruler”) is a god among the Æsir associated with vengeance. Víðarr is described as the son of Odin and the jötunn Gríðr, and is foretold to avenge his father’s death by killing the wolf Fenrir at Ragnarök, a conflict which he is described as surviving.

The mid-11th century Gosforth Cross, located in Cumbria, England, has been described as depicting a combination of scenes from the Christian Judgement Day and the pagan Ragnarök. The cross features various figures depicted in Borre style, including a man with a spear facing a monstrous head, one of whose feet is thrust into the beast’s forked tongue and on its lower jaw, while a hand is placed against its upper jaw, a scene interpreted as Víðarr fighting Fenrir. The depiction has also been theorized as a metaphor for Jesus’s defeat of Satan.

Georges Dumézil theorized that Víðarr represents a cosmic figure from an archetype derived from the Proto-Indo-Europeans. Dumézil stated that he was aligned with both vertical space, due to his placement of his foot on the wolf’s lower jaw and his hand on the wolf’s upper jaw, and horizontal space, due to his wide step and strong shoe, and that, by killing the wolf, Víðarr keeps the wolf from destroying the cosmos, and the cosmos can thereafter be restored after the destruction resulting from Ragnarök.

Day – Night 

Summer – Winter

Sky – Underworld 

World of the – Underworld

An equinox is an astronomical event in which the plane of Earth’s equator passes through the center of the Sun, which occurs twice each year, around 20 March and 23 September. The equinoxes are the only times when the solar terminator (the “edge” between night and day) is perpendicular to the equator. As a result, the northern and southern hemispheres are equally illuminated. The word comes from Latin equi or “equal” and nox meaning “night”.

The equinoxes, along with solstices, are directly related to the seasons of the year. In the northern hemisphere, the vernal equinox (March) conventionally marks the beginning of spring in most cultures, while the autumnal equinox (September) marks the beginning of autumn. In the southern hemisphere, the vernal equinox occurs in September and the autumnal equinox in March.

The ecliptic is the apparent path of the Sun on the celestial sphere, and is the basis for the ecliptic coordinate system. It also refers to the plane of this path, which is coplanar with the orbit of Earth around the Sun (and hence the apparent orbit of the Sun around Earth). The path of the Sun is not normally noticeable from Earth’s surface because Earth rotates, carrying the observer through the cycles of sunrise and sunset, obscuring the apparent motion of the Sun with respect to the stars.

An – Ecliptic – The Sun – The sky god

Anu (in Akkadian; Sumerian: An, from 𒀭An “sky, heaven”) is the earliest attested Sky Father deity. In Sumerian religion, he was also “King of the Gods”, “Lord of the Constellations, Spirits and Demons”, and “Supreme Ruler of the Kingdom of Heaven”, where Anu himself wandered the highest Heavenly Regions. He was believed to have the power to judge those who had committed crimes, and to have created the stars as soldiers to destroy the wicked. His attribute was the Royal Tiara.

Enlil  (Cancer) – Moon – North – Winter – Sky

Enki (Capricorn) – Saturn – South – Summer – Underworld

In the astral theology of Babylonia and Assyria, Anu, Enlil, and Ea became the three zones of the ecliptic, the northern, middle and southern zone respectively.

Inanna – Ereshkigal

Inanna and Ereshkigal represent polar opposites. Inanna is the Queen of Heaven, but Ereshkigal is the queen of Irkalla.

Masculine – Feminine

The cosmogenic myth common in Sumer was that of the hieros gamos, a sacred marriage where divine principles in the form of dualistic opposites came together as male and female to give birth to the cosmos.

The holy trinity

Pluto is also associated with Tuesday, alongside Mars

Uranus is also associated with Wednesday, alongside Mercury

Neptune also represents the day of Friday, alongside Venus

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In Greek cosmogony, the god received the rule of the underworld in a three-way division of sovereignty over the world with Zeus ruling the Sky, Poseidon the Sea, and Pluto the Underworld

Neptune was the god of freshwater and the sea in Roman religion. He is the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Neptune was the brother of Jupiter and Pluto; the brothers presided over the realms of Heaven, the earthly world, and the Underworld.

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The astrological sign of the planet Mercury, ☿, represents Wednesday—Dies Mercurii to the Romans, it had similar names in Latin-derived languages, such as the Italian mercoledì (dì means “day”), the French mercredi, and the Spanish miércoles. In English, this became “Woden’s Day”, since the Roman god Mercury was identified by Woden in Northern Europe and it is especially aligned by the astrological signs of Gemini and Virgo. Wednesday is one of the 3 only days aside from Neptune and Pluto to be associated by another planet, which is Uranus.

Orphic and philosophical systems

Pluto was the ruler of the underworld in classical mythology. The earlier name for the god was Hades, which became more common as the name of the underworld itself. In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Pluto represents a more positive concept of the god who presides over the afterlife. Ploutōn was frequently conflated with Ploutos (Plutus), a god of wealth, because mineral wealth was found underground, and because as a chthonic god Pluto ruled the deep earth that contained the seeds necessary for a bountiful harvest.

The name Ploutōn came into widespread usage with the Eleusinian Mysteries, in which Pluto was venerated as a stern ruler but the loving husband of Persephone. The couple received souls in the afterlife, and are invoked together in religious inscriptions. Hades by contrast had few temples and religious practices associated with him, and is portrayed as the dark and violent abductor of Persephone.

Pluto and Hades differ in character, but they are not distinct figures and share their two major myths. In Greek cosmogony, the god received the rule of the underworld in a three-way division of sovereignty over the world, with his brothers Zeus ruling the Sky and Poseidon the Sea. His central narrative is the abduction of Persephone to be his wife and the queen of his realm.

Plouton as the name of the ruler of the underworld first appears in Greek literature of the Classical period, in the works of the Athenian playwrights and of the philosopher Plato, who is the major Greek source on its significance. Under the name Pluto, the god appears in other myths in a secondary role, mostly as the possessor of a quest-object, and especially in the descent of Orpheus or other heroes to the underworld.

Plūtō is the Latinized form of the Greek Plouton. Pluto’s Roman equivalent is Dis Pater, whose name is most often taken to mean “Rich Father” and is perhaps a direct translation of Plouton. Pluto was also identified with the obscure Roman Orcus, like Hades the name of both a god of the underworld and the underworld as a place. The borrowed Greek name Pluto is sometimes used for the ruler of the dead in Latin literature, leading some mythology handbooks to assert misleadingly that Pluto was the Roman counterpart of Hades.

Sky Father – Earth Mother

Aries – Libra

Mars – Venus

Spring (Venus) – Autumn

Ninti is the Sumerian goddess of life. Ninti is also one of the eight goddesses of healing who was created by Ninhursag to heal Enki’s body. Her specific healing area was the rib (sumerian Ti means rib and to live). Enki had eaten forbidden flowers and was then cursed by Ninhursaga, who was later persuaded by the other gods to heal him. Some scholars suggest that this served as the basis for the story of Eve created from Adam’s rib in the Book of Genesis.

The Sumerian word NIN (from the Akkadian pronunciation of the sign EREŠ) was used to denote a queen or a priestess, and is often translated as “lady”. Other translations include “queen”, “mistress”, “proprietress”, and “lord”. Many goddesses are called NIN, such as DNIN.GAL (“great lady”), DÉ.NIN.GAL (“lady of the great temple”), DEREŠ.KI.GAL, and DNIN.TI. The compound form NIN.DINGIR (“divine lady” or “lady of [a] god”), from the Akkadian entu, denotes a priestess.

Dingir (usually transliterated diĝir, pronounced /diŋir/) is a Sumerian word for “god.” Its cuneiform sign is most commonly employed as the determinative for “deity” although it has related meanings as well. As a determinative, it is not pronounced, and is conventionally transliterated as a superscript “D” as in e.g. DInanna. Generically, dingir can be translated as “god” or “goddess”.

The sign in Sumerian cuneiform by itself represents the Sumerian word an (“sky” or “heaven”), the ideogram for An or the word diĝir (“god”), the supreme deity of the Sumerian pantheon. In Assyrian cuneiform, it (AN, DIĜIR, B010ellst.png) could be either an ideogram for “deity” (ilum) or a syllabogram for an, or ìl-. In Hittite orthography, the syllabic value of the sign was again an.

The concept of “divinity” in Sumerian is closely associated with the heavens, as is evident from the fact that the cuneiform sign doubles as the ideogram for “sky”, and that its original shape is the picture of a star. The original association of “divinity” is thus with “bright” or “shining” hierophanies in the sky. A possible loan relation of Sumerian dingir with Turkic Tengri “sky, sky god” has been suggested.

Dyēus (also *Dyēus Ph₂tḗr, alternatively spelled dyēws) is believed to have been the chief deity in the religious traditions of the prehistoric Proto-Indo-European societies. Part of a larger pantheon, he was the god of the daylight sky, and his position may have mirrored the position of the patriarch or monarch in society. In his aspect as a father god, his consort would have been Pltwih Méhter, “earth mother”.

This deity is not directly attested; rather, scholars have reconstructed this deity from the languages and cultures of later Indo-European peoples such as the Greeks, Latins, and Indo-Aryans. According to this scholarly reconstruction, Dyeus was addressed as Dyeu Phter, literally “sky father” or “shining father”, as reflected in Latin Iūpiter, Diēspiter, possibly Dis Pater and deus pater, Greek Zeu pater, Sanskrit Dyàuṣpítaḥ.

As the pantheons of the individual mythologies related to the Proto-Indo-European religion evolved, attributes of Dyeus seem to have been redistributed to other deities. In Greek and Roman mythology, Dyeus remained the chief god; however, in Vedic mythology, the etymological continuant of Dyeus became a very abstract god, and his original attributes and dominance over other gods appear to have been transferred to gods such as Agni or Indra.

Tyr (pronounced like the English word “tear”; Od Norse Týr, Old English Tiw, Old High German *Ziu, Gothic Tyz, Proto-Germanic *Tiwaz, “god”) is a Norse war god, but also the god who, more than any other, presides over matters of law and justice. The Latinised name is rendered as Tius or Tio and also formally as Mars Thincsus.

Týr is a Germanic god associated with law and heroic glory in Norse mythology, portrayed as one-handed. Týr in origin was a generic noun meaning “god”, e.g. Hangatyr, literally, the “god of the hanged”, as one of Odin’s names, which was probably inherited from Týr in his role as god of justice.

If a warrior carved the rune Tîwaz on his weapon he would be dedicating it to Týr and strengthen the outcome of a battle to be in his favor. Tiw was equated with Mars in the interpretatio germanica. Tuesday is in fact “Tīw’s Day” (also in Alemannic Zischtig from zîes tag), translating dies Martis.

Istanu (Ištanu; from Hattic Estan, “Sun-god”) was the Hittite and Hattic god of the sun. In Luwian he was known as Tiwaz or Tijaz. He was a god of judgement, and was depicted bearing a winged sun on his crown or head-dress, and a crooked staff.

In ancient Roman religion and myth, Mars was the god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter and he was the most prominent of the military gods in the religion of the Roman army. Most of his festivals were held in March, the month named for him (Latin Martius), and in October, which began the season for military campaigning and ended the season for farming.

Mars represented military power as a way to secure peace, and was a father (pater) of the Roman people. In the mythic genealogy and founding myths of Rome, Mars was the father of Romulus and Remus with Rhea Silvia. His love affair with Venus symbolically reconciled the two different traditions of Rome’s founding; Venus was the divine mother of the hero Aeneas, celebrated as the Trojan refugee who “founded” Rome several generations before Romulus laid out the city walls.

In Sumerian mythology, Ninhursag was a mother goddess of the mountains, and one of the seven great deities of Sumer. She is principally a fertility goddess. Temple hymn sources identify her as the ‘true and great lady of heaven’ (possibly in relation to her standing on the mountain) and kings of Sumer were ‘nourished by Ninhursag’s milk’.

Her hair is sometimes depicted in an omega shape, and she at times wears a horned head-dress and tiered skirt, often with bow cases at her shoulders, and not infrequently carries a mace or baton surmounted by an omega motif or a derivation, sometimes accompanied by a lion cub on a leash. She is the tutelary deity to several Sumerian leaders.

Her symbol, resembling the Greek letter omega Ω, has been depicted in art from around 3000 BC, though more generally from the early second millennium BC. It appears on some boundary stones — on the upper tier, indicating her importance. The omega symbol is associated with the Egyptian cow goddess Hathor, and may represent a stylized womb. Hathor is at times depicted on a mountain, so it may be that the two goddesses are connected.

Omega (capital: Ω, lowercase: ω) is the 24th and last letter of the Greek alphabet. The word literally means “great O” (ō mega, mega meaning “great”), as opposed to omicron, which means “little O” (o mikron, micron meaning “little”). As the last letter of the Greek alphabet, Omega is often used to denote the last, the end, or the ultimate limit of a set, in contrast to alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet.

Omega is also used in Christianity, as a part of the Alpha and Omega metaphor. The term Alpha and Omega comes from the phrase “I am the alpha and the omega”, an appellation of Jesus in the Book of Revelation (verses 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13). The first part of this phrase (“I am the Alpha and Omega”) is first found in Chapter 1 verse 8 (“1v8”), and is found in every manuscript of Revelation that has 1v8.

Ama-gi is a Sumerian word written ama-gi or ama-ar-gi. It has been translated as “freedom”, as well as “manumission”, “exemption from debts or obligations”, and “the restoration of persons and property to their original status” including the remission of debts. Other interpretations include a “reversion to a previous state” and release from debt, slavery, taxation or punishment.

The word originates from the noun ama “mother” (sometimes with the enclitic dative case marker ar), and the present participle gi “return, restore, put back”, thus literally meaning “returning to mother”.

Assyriologist Samuel Noah Kramer has identified it as the first known written reference to the concept of freedom. Referring to its literal meaning “return to the mother”, he wrote in 1963 that “we still do not know why this figure of speech came to be used for “freedom.””

The earliest known usage of the word was in the reforms of Urukagina. By the Third Dynasty of Ur, it was used as a legal term for the manumission of individuals. It is related to the Akkadian word anduraāru(m), meaning “freedom”, “exemption” and “release from (debt) slavery”.

Ishara (išḫara) is an ancient deity of unknown origin from northern modern Syria. Ishara is a pre-Hurrian and perhaps pre-Semitic deities, later incorporated into the Hurrian pantheon. From the Hurrian Pantheon, Ishara entered the Hittite pantheon and had her main shrine in Kizzuwatna.

She first appeared in Ebla and was incorporated to the Hurrian pantheon from which she found her way to the Hittite pantheon. The etymology of Ishara is unknown. Ishara is the Hittite word for “treaty, binding promise”, also personified as a goddess of the oath.

In Hurrian and Semitic traditions, Išḫara is a love goddess, often identified with Ishtar. Variants of the name appear as Ašḫara (in a treaty of Naram-Sin of Akkad with Hita of Elam) and Ušḫara (in Ugarite texts). In Ebla, there were various logographic spellings involving the sign AMA “mother”. In Alalah, her name was written with the Akkadogram IŠTAR plus a phonetic complement -ra, as IŠTAR-ra.

Her main epithet was belet rame, lady of love, which was also applied to Ishtar. In the Epic of Gilgamesh it says: ‘For Ishara the bed is made’ and in Atra-hasis she is called upon to bless the couple on the honeymoon.”

She was associated with the underworld. Her astrological embodiment is the constellation Scorpio and she is called the mother of the Sebitti (the Seven Stars).While she was considered to belong to the entourage of Ishtar, she was invoked to heal the sick (Lebrun).

As a goddess, Ishara could inflict severe bodily penalties to oathbreakers, in particular ascites (see Hittite military oath). In this context, she came to be seen as a “goddess of medicine” whose pity was invoked in case of illness. There was even a verb, isharis- “to be afflicted by the illness of Ishara”.

Ishtar is the Mesopotamian East Semitic (Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian) goddess of fertility, love, war, sex, and power. She is the counterpart to the earlier attested Sumerian Inanna, and the cognate for the later attested Northwest Semitic Aramean goddess Astarte, and the Armenian goddess Astghik. In the Babylonian pantheon, she “was the divine personification of the planet Venus”.

The “star of Ishtar” is a star design, often found alongside the crescent (for Sin) and the rayed solar disk (for Shamash) in Babylonian iconography (boundary stones, cylinder seals, etc.). Besides the lions on her gate, her symbol is an eight-pointed star. The star of Ishtar is most often an eight-pointed star, but it could also have differing numbers of rays.

There is very important documentation referring to the description of the constellation Virgo, which has its origin in the ancient Assyrian-Babylonian culture. This constellation has always been female and has been especially associated with the tension between fertility and beauty. The Babylonians associated this constellation with the goddess Ishtar, also well-known under the name of Ashtoreth or Astarte.

Like Ishtar, the Greek Aphrodite and the Aramean Northwestern Semitic Astarte were love goddesses. Donald A. Mackenzie, an early popularizer of mythology, draws a parallel between the love goddess Aphrodite and her “dying god” lover Adonis on one hand, and the love goddess Ishtar and her “dying god” lover Tammuz on the other.

Joseph Campbell, a more recent scholar of comparative mythology, equates Ishtar, Inanna, and Aphrodite, and he draws a parallel between the Egyptian goddess Isis who nurses Horus, and the Assyrian-Babylonian goddess Ishtar who nurses the god Tammuz.

Inanna’s symbol is an eight-pointed star or a rosette. She was associated with lions – even then a symbol of power – and was frequently depicted standing on the backs of two lionesses. Her cuneiform ideogram was a hook-shaped twisted knot of reeds, representing the doorpost of the storehouse (and thus fertility and plenty).

Maat or Ma’at was both an ancient Egyptian goddess and the personification of the concept of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Pharaohs are often depicted with the emblems of Maat to emphasise their role in upholding the laws of the Creator.

Maat was the goddess of harmony, justice, and truth represented as a young woman, sitting or standing, holding a was scepter, the symbol of power, in one hand and an ankh, the symbol of eternal life, in the other.

The ankh, also known as crux ansata (the Latin for “cross with a handle”) is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic ideograph with the meaning “life”. The Egyptian gods are often portrayed carrying it by its loop, or bearing one in each hand, arms crossed over their chest. The ankh appears in hand or in proximity of almost every deity in the Egyptian pantheon (including Pharaohs). To this day, the ankh is also used to represent the planet Venus.

Maat was also personified as a goddess regulating the stars, seasons, and the actions of both mortals and the deities, who set the order of the universe from chaos at the moment of creation. Her ostrich feather represents truth.

The significance of Maat developed to the point that it embraced all aspects of existence, including the basic equilibrium of the universe, the relationship between constituent parts, the cycle of the seasons, heavenly movements, religious observations and fair dealings, honesty and truthfulness in social interactions.

To the Egyptian mind, Maat bound all things together in an indestructible unity: the universe, the natural world, the state, and the individual were all seen as parts of the wider order generated by Maat.

As a goddess in other traditions of the Egyptian pantheon, where most goddesses were paired with a male aspect, her masculine counterpart was Thoth, as their attributes are similar.

In other accounts, Thoth was paired off with Seshat, the Ancient Egyptian goddess of wisdom, knowledge, and writing. She was seen as a scribe and record keeper, and her name means she who scrivens (i.e. she who is the scribe), and is credited with inventing writing. She also became identified as the goddess of architecture, astronomy, astrology, building, mathematics, and surveying.

Her ideological counterpart was Isfet. In opposition to the right order expressed in the concept of Maat is the concept of Isfet or Asfet (meaning “injustice”, “chaos”, or “violence”; as a verb, “to do evil”) is an ancient Egyptian term from Egyptian mythology used in philosophy, which was built on a religious, social and political affected dualism.

After her role in creation and continuously preventing the universe from returning to chaos, her primary role in Egyptian mythology dealt with the weighing of souls (also called the weighing of the heart) that took place in the underworld, Duat. Her feather was the measure that determined whether the souls (considered to reside in the heart) of the departed would reach the paradise of afterlife successfully.

In the Duat, the Egyptian underworld, the hearts of the dead were said to be weighed against her single “Feather of Ma’at”, symbolically representing the concept of Maat, in the Hall of Two Truths. This is why hearts were left in Egyptian mummies while their other organs were removed, as the heart (called “ib”) was seen as part of the Egyptian soul.

If the heart was found to be lighter or equal in weight to the feather of Maat, the deceased had led a virtuous life and would go on to Aaru. Osiris came to be seen as the guardian of the gates of Aaru after he became part of the Egyptian pantheon and displaced Anubis in the Ogdoad tradition. A heart which was unworthy was devoured by the goddess Ammit and its owner condemned to remain in the Duat.

The weighing of the heart, pictured on papyrus in the Book of the Dead typically, or in tomb scenes, shows Anubis overseeing the weighing and the lioness Ammit seated awaiting the results so she could consume those who failed.

The image would be the vertical heart on one flat surface of the balance scale and the vertical Shu-feather standing on the other balance scale surface. Other traditions hold that Anubis brought the soul before the posthumous Osiris who performed the weighing. While the heart was weighed the deceased recited the 42 Negative Confessions as the Assessors of Maat looked on.

Cybele (Phrygian: Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya “Kubeleyan Mother”, perhaps “Mountain Mother”) is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible precursor in the earliest neolithic at Çatalhöyük, where statues of obese women, sometimes sitting, have been found in excavations dated to the 6th millennium BCE.

She is Phrygia’s only known goddess, and was probably its state deity. Her Phrygian cult was adopted and adapted by Greek colonists of Asia Minor and spread to mainland Greece and its more distant western colonies around the 6th century BCE.

In Greece, Cybele met with a mixed reception. She was partially assimilated to aspects of the Earth-goddess Gaia, her Minoan equivalent Rhea, and the Harvest-Mother goddess Demeter.

Many of her Greek cults included rites to a divine Phrygian castrate shepherd-consort Attis. In Greece, Cybele is associated with mountains, town and city walls, fertile nature, and wild animals, especially lions.

In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of the harvest and agriculture, who presided over grains and the fertility of the earth. Her cult titles include Sito, “she of the Grain”, as the giver of food or grain, and Thesmophoros (thesmos: divine order, unwritten law; phoros: bringer, bearer), “Law-Bringer,” as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society. Though Demeter is often described simply as the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the sacred law, and the cycle of life and death.

Her Roman equivalent is Ceres, a goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships. The goddess (and metaphorically the planet) is also associated with the reproductive issues of an adult woman, as well as pregnancy and other major transitions in a woman’s life, including the nine months of gestation time, family bonds and relationships. In old opinion, Ceres is the ruling planet of Virgo.

Although a mother, Ceres is also the archetype of a virgin goddess. Ceres epitomizes independent women who are often unmarried (since, according to myth, Ceres is an unmarried goddess who chose to become a mother without a husband or partner.) While the moon represents our ideal of “motherhood”, Ceres would represent how our real and nature motherhood should be.

Ceres, as the Goddess who has control over nature’s resources and cycles, may astrologically be considered the planet of the Environment. Returning to mythology, an early environmental villain is the figure of Erysichthon, the tearer up of the earth, who cut down trees in a grove sacred to Ceres-Demeter, for which he was punished by the goddess with fearful hunger.

In this sense Ceres became an emerging archetype in the awareness of recent climate change, and is entering our collective consciousness as a need to take care of our natural and irreplaceable resources in the 21st century. Ceres represents a leap towards a future of ecological responsibility and knowledge. As an indicator for environmental or community activism, Ceres would represent for some astrologers the wave of the future.

She was originally the central deity in Rome’s so-called plebeian or Aventine Triad, then was paired with her daughter Proserpina in what Romans described as “the Greek rites of Ceres”.

Her seven-day April festival of Cerealia included the popular Ludi Ceriales (Ceres’ games). She was also honoured in the May lustratio of the fields at the Ambarvalia festival, at harvest-time, and during Roman marriages and funeral rites.

In Rome, Cybele was known as Magna Mater (“Great Mother”). The Roman State adopted and developed a particular form of her cult after the Sibylline oracle recommended her conscription as a key religious component in Rome’s second war against Carthage. Roman mythographers reinvented her as a Trojan goddess, and thus an ancestral goddess of the Roman people by way of the Trojan prince Aeneas.

With Rome’s eventual hegemony over the Mediterranean world, Romanised forms of Cybele’s cults spread throughout the Roman Empire. The meaning and morality of her cults and priesthoods were topics of debate and dispute in Greek and Roman literature, and remain so in modern scholarship.

Asha is the Avestan language term (corresponding to Vedic language ṛta) for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. Its Old Persian equivalent is arta-. The significance of the term is complex, with a highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of ‘truth’ and ‘right(eousness)’, ‘order’ and ‘right working’.

In Middle Iranian languages the term appears as ard-. In the moral sphere, aša/arta represents what has been called “the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism.” The word is also the proper name of the divinity Asha, the Amesha Spenta that is the hypostasis or “genius” of “Truth” or “Righteousness”. The opposite of Avestan aša is druj, “lie.”

In the Younger Avesta, this figure is more commonly referred to as Asha Vahishta (Aša Vahišta, Arta Vahišta), “Best Truth”. The Middle Persian descendant is Ashawahist or Ardwahisht; New Persian Ardibehesht or Ordibehesht.

In the Gathas, the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and thought to have been composed by the prophet himself, it is seldom possible to distinguish between moral principle and the divinity. Later texts consistently use the ‘Best’ epithet when speaking of the Amesha Spenta, only once in the Gathas is ‘best’ an adjective of aša/arta.

In the Vedic religion, Ṛta (Sanskrit ऋतं ṛtaṃ “that which is properly/excellently joined; order, rule; truth”) is the principle of natural order which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and everything within it. In the hymns of the Vedas, Ṛta is described as that which is ultimately responsible for the proper functioning of the natural, moral and sacrificial orders.

Conceptually, it is closely allied to the injunctions and ordinances thought to uphold it, collectively referred to as Dharma, and the action of the individual in relation to those ordinances, referred to as Karma – two terms which eventually eclipsed Ṛta in importance as signifying natural, religious and moral order in later Hinduism.

Sanskrit scholar Maurice Bloomfield referred to Ṛta as “one of the most important religious conceptions of the Rig Veda”, going on to note that, “from the point of view of the history of religious ideas we may, in fact we must, begin the history of Hindu religion at least with the history of this conception”.

Ṛta is derived from the Sanskrit verb root ṛ- “to go, move, rise, tend upwards”, and the derivative noun ṛtam is defined as “fixed or settled order, rule, divine law or truth”. As Mahony (1998) notes, however, the term can just as easily be translated literally as “that which has moved in a fitting manner”, abstractly as “universal law” or “cosmic order”, or simply as “truth”. The latter meaning dominates in the Avestan cognate to Ṛta, aša.

The term appears in Vedic texts and in post-Vedic texts, both as Ṛta and derivatives of the term. For example, in the 2nd-century BCE text Mahabhasya of Patanjali, he explains Ṛtaka to be the grammatically correct form of name for a son, where then the name would mean “truthling”.

Oldenberg surmised that the concept of Ṛta originally arose in the Indo-Aryan period from a consideration of the natural order of the world and of the occurrences taking place within it as doing so with a kind of causal necessity.

Both Vedic Ṛta and Avestan aša were conceived of as having a tripartite function which manifested itself in the physical, ethical and ritual domains. In the context of Vedic religion, those features of nature which either remain constant or which occur on a regular basis were seen to be a manifestation of the power of Ṛta in the physical cosmos.

In the human sphere, Ṛta was understood to manifest itself as the imperative force behind both the moral order of society as well as the correct performance of Vedic rituals. The notion of a universal principle of natural order is by no means unique to the Vedas, and Ṛta has been compared to similar ideas in other cultures, such as Ma’at in Ancient Egyptian religion, Moira and the Logos in Greek paganism, and the Tao.

Images of the Zodiac: Contemplating Libra

Tyr – Justice / Libra – and Hel – the “veil of ignorance” / Scorpio-Libra-Virgo

The “veil of ignorance” is a method of determining the morality of political issues proposed in 1971 by American philosopher John Rawls in his “original position” political philosophy.

The Libra / Scorpio

The first step towards liberation

The concept of the veil of ignorance has been in use by other names for centuries by philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and Immanuel Kant whose work discussed the concept of the social contract. John Harsanyi helped to formalize the concept in economics. The modern usage was developed by John Rawls in his 1971 book A Theory of Justice.

It is based upon the following thought experiment: people making political decisions imagine that they know nothing about the particular talents, abilities, tastes, social class, and positions they will have within a social order.

When such parties are selecting the principles for distribution of rights, positions, and resources in the society in which they will live, this “veil of ignorance” prevents them from knowing who will receive a given distribution of rights, positions, and resources in that society.

For example, for a proposed society in which 50% of the population is kept in slavery, it follows that on entering the new society there is a 50% likelihood that the participant would be a slave.

The idea is that parties subject to the veil of ignorance will make choices based upon moral considerations, since they will not be able to make choices based on their own self- or class-interest.

As Rawls put it, “no one knows his place in society, his class position or social status; nor does he know his fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, his intelligence and strength, and the like.”

The idea of the thought experiment is to render obsolete those personal considerations that are morally irrelevant to the justice or injustice of principles meant to allocate the benefits of social cooperation.

The veil of ignorance is part of a long tradition of thinking in terms of a social contract that includes the writings of Immanuel Kant, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Thomas Jefferson.

One of the most important goddesses of reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion is the personification of dawn as a beautiful young woman. Her name is reconstructed as Hausōs or Ausōs (PIE *h₂ewsṓs- or *h₂ausōs-, an s-stem), besides numerous epithets.

The name *h₂ewsṓs is derived from a root *h₂wes / *au̯es “to shine”, thus translating to “the shining one”. Derivatives of *h₂ewsṓs in the historical mythologies of Indo-European peoples include Indian Uṣas, Greek Ēōs, Latin Aurōra, and Baltic Aušra (“dawn”, c.f. Lithuanian Aušrinė). Germanic *Austrōn- is from an extended stem *h₂ews-tro-.

Ēostre or Ostara (Old English: Ēastre [æːɑstre], Northumbrian dialect Ēostre [eːostre]; Old High German: *Ôstara (reconstructed form)) is a Germanic goddess who, by way of the Germanic month bearing her name (Northumbrian: Ēosturmōnaþ; West Saxon: Ēastermōnaþ; Old High German: Ôstarmânoth ), is the namesake of the festival of Easter in some languages.

Both the English word east and the Latin auster “south” are from a root cognate adjective *aws-t(e)ro-. Also cognate is aurum “gold”, from *awso-. Besides the name most amenable to reconstruction, *h₂ewsṓs, a number of epithets of the dawn goddess may be reconstructed with some certainty. Among these is *wenos- (also an s-stem), whence Sanskrit vanas “loveliness; desire”, used of Uṣas in the Rigveda, and the Latin name Venus and the Norse Vanir.

The name for “spring season”, *wes-r- is also from the same root. The dawn goddess was also the goddess of spring, involved in the mythology of the Indo-European new year, where the dawn goddess is liberated from imprisonment by a god (reflected in the Rigveda as Indra, in Greek mythology as Dionysus and Cronus).

The abduction and imprisonment of the dawn goddess, and her liberation by a heroic god slaying the dragon who imprisons her, is a central myth of Indo-European religion, reflected in numerous traditions. Most notably, it is the central myth of the Rigveda, a collection of hymns surrounding the Soma rituals dedicated to Indra in the new year celebrations of the early Indo-Aryans.

Ushas, Sanskrit for “dawn”, is a Vedic deity, and consequently a Hindu deity as well. Sanskrit uṣas is an s-stem, i.e. the genitive case is uṣásas. It is from PIE *h₂ausos-, cognate to Greek Eos and Latin Aurora.

Ushas is an exalted goddess in the Rig Veda but less prominent in post-Rigvedic texts. She is often spoken of in the plural, “the Dawns.” She is portrayed as warding off evil spirits of the night, and as a beautifully adorned young woman riding in a golden chariot on her path across the sky. Due to her color she is often identified with the reddish cows, and both are released by Indra from the Vala cave at the beginning of time.

Vala (valá-), meaning “enclosure” in Vedic Sanskrit, is a demon of the Rigveda and the Atharvaveda, the brother of Vrtra. Historically, it has the same origin as the Vrtra story, being derived from the same root, and from the same root also as Varuna, *val-/var- (PIE *wel-) “to cover, to enclose” (perhaps cognate to veil).

Parallel to Vrtra “the blocker”, a stone serpent slain by Indra to liberate the rivers, Vala is a stone cave, split by Indra (intoxicated and strengthened by Soma, identified) to liberate the cows and Ushas, hidden there by the Panis.

In one recent Hindu interpretation, Sri Aurobindo in his Secret of the Veda, described Ushas as “the medium of the awakening, the activity and the growth of the other gods; she is the first condition of the Vedic realisation. By her increasing illumination the whole nature of man is clarified; through her [mankind] arrives at the Truth, through her he enjoys [Truth’s] beatitude.”

Ishara (išḫara) is an ancient deity of unknown origin from northern modern Syria. Ishara is a pre-Hurrian and perhaps pre-Semitic deities, later incorporated into the Hurrian pantheon. From the Hurrian Pantheon, Ishara entered the Hittite pantheon and had her main shrine in Kizzuwatna.

She first appeared in Ebla and was incorporated to the Hurrian pantheon from which she found her way to the Hittite pantheon. The etymology of Ishara is unknown. Ishara is the Hittite word for “treaty, binding promise”, also personified as a goddess of the oath.

In Hurrian and Semitic traditions, Išḫara is a love goddess, often identified with Ishtar. Variants of the name appear as Ašḫara (in a treaty of Naram-Sin of Akkad with Hita of Elam) and Ušḫara (in Ugarite texts). In Ebla, there were various logographic spellings involving the sign AMA “mother”. In Alalah, her name was written with the Akkadogram IŠTAR plus a phonetic complement -ra, as IŠTAR-ra.

Her main epithet was belet rame, lady of love, which was also applied to Ishtar. In the Epic of Gilgamesh it says: ‘For Ishara the bed is made’ and in Atra-hasis she is called upon to bless the couple on the honeymoon.”

She was associated with the underworld. Her astrological embodiment is the constellation Scorpio and she is called the mother of the Sebitti (the Seven Stars).While she was considered to belong to the entourage of Ishtar, she was invoked to heal the sick (Lebrun).

As a goddess, Ishara could inflict severe bodily penalties to oathbreakers, in particular ascites (see Hittite military oath). In this context, she came to be seen as a “goddess of medicine” whose pity was invoked in case of illness. There was even a verb, isharis- “to be afflicted by the illness of Ishara”.

Ama-gi is a Sumerian word written ama-gi or ama-ar-gi. It has been translated as “freedom”, as well as “manumission”, “exemption from debts or obligations”, and “the restoration of persons and property to their original status” including the remission of debts. Other interpretations include a “reversion to a previous state” and release from debt, slavery, taxation or punishment.

The word originates from the noun ama “mother” (sometimes with the enclitic dative case marker ar), and the present participle gi “return, restore, put back”, thus literally meaning “returning to mother”.

Assyriologist Samuel Noah Kramer has identified it as the first known written reference to the concept of freedom. Referring to its literal meaning “return to the mother”, he wrote in 1963 that “we still do not know why this figure of speech came to be used for “freedom.””

The earliest known usage of the word was in the reforms of Urukagina. By the Third Dynasty of Ur, it was used as a legal term for the manumission of individuals. It is related to the Akkadian word anduraāru(m), meaning “freedom”, “exemption” and “release from (debt) slavery”.

Aya (Akkadian for “dawn”) in Akkadian mythology was a mother goddess, consort of the sun god Shamash. She developed from the Sumerian goddess Sherida, consort of Utu. Sherida is one of the oldest Mesopotamian gods, attested in inscriptions from pre-Sargonic times, her name (as “Aya”) was a popular personal name during the Ur III period (21st-20th century BCE), making her among the oldest Semitic deities known in the region.

As the Sumerian pantheon formalized, Utu became the primary sun god, and Sherida was syncretized into a subordinate role as an aspect of the sun alongside other less powerful solar deities (c.f. Ninurta) and took on the role of Utu’s consort.

When the Semitic Akkadians moved into Mesopotamia, their pantheon became syncretized to the Sumerian. Inanna to Ishtar, Nanna to Sin, Utu to Shamash, etc. The minor Mesopotamian sun goddess Aya became syncretized into Sherida during this process.

By the Akkadian period she was firmly associated with the rising sun and with sexual love and youth. The Babylonians sometimes referred to her as kallatu (the bride), and as such she was known as the wife of Shamash.

By the Neo-Babylonian period at the latest (and possibly much earlier), Shamash and Aya were associated with a practice known as Hasadu, which is loosely translated as a “sacred marriage.”

A room would be set aside with a bed, and on certain occasions the temple statues of Shamash and Aya would be brought together and laid on the bed to ceremonially renew their vows. This ceremony was also practiced by the cults of Marduk with Sarpanitum, Nabu with Tashmetum, and Anu with Antu.

The attribute most commonly associated with Shamash is justice. Just as the Sun disperses darkness, so Shamash brings wrong and injustice to light.

Hammurabi attributes to Shamash the inspiration that led him to gather the existing laws and legal procedures into code, and in the design accompanying the code the king represents himself in an attitude of adoration before Shamash as the embodiment of the idea of justice.

Several centuries before Hammurabi, Ur-Engur of the Ur dynasty (c. 2600 BC) declared that he rendered decisions “according to the just laws of Shamash.”

It was a logical consequence of this conception of the Sun-god that he was regarded also as the one who released the sufferer from the grasp of the demons.

The sick man, therefore, appeals to Shamash as the god who can be depended upon to help those who are suffering unjustly. This aspect of the Sun-god is vividly brought out in the hymns addressed to him, which are, therefore, among the finest productions in the entire realm of Babylonian literature.

Astraea or Astrea (“star-maiden”), in ancient Greek religion, was a daughter of Astraeus and Eos. She was the virgin goddess of innocence and purity and is always associated with the Greek goddess of justice, Dike (daughter of Zeus and Themis and the personification of just judgement).

Astraea, the celestial virgin, was the last of the immortals to live with humans during the Golden Age, one of the old Greek religion’s five deteriorating Ages of Man.

According to Ovid, Astraea abandoned the earth during the Iron Age. Fleeing from the new wickedness of humanity, she ascended to heaven to become the constellation Virgo.

The nearby constellation Libra reflected her symbolic association with Dike, who in Latin culture as Justitia is said to preside over the constellation. In the Tarot, the 8th card, Justice, with a figure of Justitia, can thus be considered related to the figure of Astraea on historical iconographic grounds.

According to legend, Astraea will one day come back to Earth, bringing with her the return of the utopian Golden Age of which she was the ambassador.

Libra was known in Babylonian astronomy as MUL Zibanu (the “scales” or “balance”), or alternatively as the Claws of the Scorpion. The scales were held sacred to the sun god Shamash, who was also the patron of truth and justice. It was also seen as the Scorpion’s Claws in ancient Greece.

Since these times, Libra has been associated with law, fairness and civility. In Arabic zubānā means “scorpion’s claws”, and likely similarly in other Semitic languages: this resemblance of words may be why the Scorpion’s claws became the Scales. It has also been suggested that the scales are an allusion to the fact that when the sun entered this part of the ecliptic at the autumnal equinox, the days and nights are equal.

Libra’s status as the location of the equinox earned the equinox the name “First Point of Libra”, though this location ceased to coincide with the constellation in 730 because of the precession of the equinoxes. It only became a constellation in ancient Rome, when it began to represent the scales held by Astraea, the goddess of justice, associated with Virgo.