I
THE MAGAN
TEXT
Hearken, and Remember!
In the Name of ANU, Remember!
In the Name of ENLIL, Remember!
In the Name of ENKI, Remember!
When on High the Heavens had not been named,
The Earth had not been named,
And Naught existed but the Seas of ABSU,
The Ancient One,
And MUMMU TIAMAT, the Ancient One
Who bore them all,
Their Waters as One Water.
At this time, before the ELDER GODS had been brought
forth,
Uncalled by Name,
Their destinies unknown and undetermined,
Then it was that the Gods were formed within the Ancient
Ones.
LLMU and LLAAMU were brought forth and called by Name,
And for Ages they grew in age and bearing.
ANSHAR and KISHAR were brought forth,
And brought forth ANU
Who begat NUDIMMUD, Our Master ENKI,
Who has no rival among the Gods.
Remember!
The Elder Ones came together
They disturbed TIAMAT, the Ancient One, as they surged
back and forth.
Yea, they troubled the belly of TIAMAT
By their Rebellion in the abode of Heaven.
ABSU could not lessen their clamour
TIAMAT was speechless at their ways.
Their doings were loathsome unto the Ancient Ones.
ABSU rose up to slay the Elder Gods by stealth.
With magick charm and spell ABSU fought,
But was slain by the sorcery of the Elder Gods.
And it was their first victory.
His body was lain in an empty Space
In a crevice of the heavens
Hid
He was lain,
But his blood cried out to the Abode of Heaven.
TIAMAT
Enraged
Filled with an Evil Motion
Said
Let us make Monsters
That they may go out and do battle
Against these Sons of Iniquity
The murderous offspring who have destroyed
A God.
HUBUR arose, She who fashioneth all things,
And possessor of Magick like unto Our Master.
She added matchless weapons to the arsenals of the
Ancient Ones,
She bore Monster-Serpents
Sharp of tooth, long of fang,
She filled their bodies with venom for blood
Roaring dragons she has clothed with Terror
Has crowned them with Halos, making them as Gods,
So that he who beholds them shall perish
And, that, with their bodies reared up
None might turn them back.
She summoned the Viper, the Dragon, and the Winged Bull,
The Great Lion, the Mad-God, and the Scorpion-Man.
Mighty rabid Demons, Feathered-Serpents, the Horse-Man,
Bearing weapons that spare no
Fearless in Battle,
Charmed with the spells of ancient sorcery,
. . . withal Eleven of this kind she brought forth
With KINGU as Leader of the Minions.
Remember!
ENKI
Our Master
Fearing defeat, summoned his Son
MARDUK
Summoned his Son
The Son of Magick
Told him the Secret Name
The Secret Number
The Secret Shape
Whereby he might do battle
With the Ancient Horde
And be victorious.
MARDUK KURIOS!
Brightest Star among the Stars
Strongest God among the Gods
Son of Magick and the Sword
Child of Wisdom and the Word
Knower of the Secret Name
Knower of the Secret Number
Knower of the Secret Shape
He armed himself with the Disc of Power
In chariots of Fire he went forth
With a shouting Voice he called the Spell
With a Blazing Flame he filled his Body
Dragons, Vipers, all fell down
Lions, Horse-Men, all were slain.
The Mighty creatures of HUBUR were slain
The Spells, the Charms, the Sorcery were broken.
Naught but TIAMAT remained.
The Great Serpent, the Enormous Worm
The Snake with iron teeth
The Snake with sharpened claw
The Snake with Eyes of Death,
She lunged at MARDUK
With a roar
With a curse
She lunged.
MARDUK struck with the Disc of Power
Blinded TIAMAT's Eyes of Death
The Monster heaved and raised its back
Struck forth in all directions
Spitting ancient words of Power
Screamed the ancient incantations
MARDUK struck again and blew
An Evil Wind into her body
Which filled the raging, wicked Serpent
MARDUK shot between her jaws
The Charmed arrow of ENKI's Magick
MARDUK struck again and severed
The head of TIAMAT from its body.
And all was silent.
Remember!
MARDUK
Victor
Took the Tablets of Destiny
Unbidden
Hung them around his neck.
Acclaimed of the Elder Gods was he.
First among the Elder Ones was he.
He split the sundered TIAMAT in twain
And fashioned the heavens and the earth,
With a Gate to keep the Ancient Ones Without.
With a Gate whose Key is hid forever
Save to the Sons of MARDUK
Save to the Followers of Our Master
ENKI
First in Magick among the Gods.
From the Blood of KINGU he fashioned Man.
He constructed Watchtowers for the Elder Gods
Fixing their astral bodies as constellations
That they may watch the Gate of ABSU
The Gate of TIAMAT they watch
The Gate of KINGU they oversee
The Gate whose Guardian is IAK SAKKAK they bind.
All the Elder Powers resist
The Force of Ancient Artistry
The Magick Spell of the Oldest Ones
The Incantation of the Primal Power
The Mountain KUR, the Serpent God
The Mountain MASHU, that of Magick
The Dead KUTULU, Dead but Dreaming
TIAMAT, Dead but Dreaming
ABSU, KINGU, Dead but Dreaming
And shall their generation come again?
WE ARE THE LOST ONES
From a Time before Time
From a Land beyond the Stars
From the Age when ANU walked the earth
In company of Bright Angels.
We have survived the first War
Between the Powers of the Gods
And have seen the wrath of the Ancient Ones
Dark Angels
Vent upon the Earth
WE ARE FROM A RACE BEYOND THE WANDERERS OF NIGHT.
We have survived the Age when ABSU ruled the Earth
And the Power destroyed out generations.
We have survived on tops of mountains
And beneath the feet of mountains
And have spoken with the Scorpions
In allegiance and were betrayed.
And TIAMAT has promised us nevermore to attack
With water and with wind.
But the Gods are forgetful.
Beneath the Seas of NAR MATTARU
Beneath the Seas of the Earth, NAR MATTARU
Beneath the World lays sleeping
The God of Anger, Dead but Dreaming
The God of CUTHALU, Dead but Dreaming!
The Lord of KUR, calm but thunderous!
The One-Eyes Sword, cold but burning!
He who awakens Him calls the ancient
Vengeance of the Elder Ones
The Seven Glorious Gods
of the Seven Glorious Cities
Upon himself and upon the World
And old vengeance . . .
Know that our years are the years of War
And our days are measured as battles
And every hour is a Life
Lost to the Outside
Those from Without
Have builded up charnel houses
To nourish the fiends of TIAMAT
And the Blood of the weakest here
Is libation unto TIAMAT
Queen of the Ghouls
Wreaker of Pain
And to invoke her
The Red Water of Life
Need be split on a stone
The stone struck with a sword
That hath slain eleven men
Sacrifices to HUBUR
So that the Strike ringeth out
And call TIAMAT from Her slumber
From her sleep in the Caverns
Of the Earth.
And none may dare entreat further
For to invoke Death is to utter
The final prayer.
II
Of the
Generations of the Ancient Ones
UTUKK XUL
The account of the generations
Of the Ancient Ones here rendered
Of the generations of the Ancient Ones
Here remembered.
Cold and Rain that erode all things
They are the Evil Spirits
In the creation of ANU spawned
Plague Gods
PAZUZU
And the Beloved Sons of ENG
The Offspring of NINNKIGAL
Rending in pieces on high Bringing destruction below
They are Children of the Underworld
Loudly roaring on high
Gibbering loathsomely below
They are the bitter venom of the Gods.
The great storms directed from heaven
Those are they
The Owl, Messenger of UGGI
Lord of Death
Those they are
THEY ARE THE CHILDREN
BORN OF EARTH
THAT IN THE CREATION
OF ANU WERE SPAWNED.
The highest walls
The thickest walls
The strongest walls
Like a flood they pass
From house to house
They ravage
No door can shut them out
No bolt can turn them back
Through the door like snakes they slide
Through the bolts like winds they blow
Pulling the wife from the embrace of the husband
Snatching the child from the loins of man
Banishing the man from his home, his land
THEY ARE THE BURNING PAIN
THAT PRESSETH ITSELF ON THE BACK OF MAN.
THEY ARE GHOULS
The spirit of the harlot that hath died in the streets
The spirit of the woman that hath died in childbirth
The spirit of the woman that hath dies, weeping with a
babe at the breast
The spirit of an evil man
One that haunteth the streets
Or one that haunteth the bed.
They are Seven!
Seven are they!
Those Seven were born in the Mountains of MASHU
Called Magick
They dwell within the Caverns of the Earth
Amid the desolate places of the Earth they live
Amid the places between
The Places
Unknown in heaven and in earth
They are arrayed in terror
Among the Elder Gods there is no knowledge of them
They have no name
Not in heaven
Nor on earth
They ride over the Mountain of Sunset
And on the Mountain of Dawn they cry
Through the Caverns of the Earth they creep
Amid the desolate places of the Earth they lie
Nowhere are they known
Not in heaven
Nor in the Earth
Are they discovered
For their place is outside our place
And between the angles of the Earth
They lie in wait
Crouching for the Sacrifice
THEY ARE THEY CHILDREN OF THE UNDERWORLD.
Falling like rain from the sky
Issuing like mist from the earth
Doors do not stop them
Bolts do not stop them
They glide in at the doors like serpents
They enter by the windows like the wind
IDPA they are, entering by the head
NAMTAR they are, entering by the heart
UTUK they are, entering by the brow
ALAL they are, entering by the chest
GIGIM they are, seizing the bowels
TELAL they are, grasping the hand
URUKU they are, giant Larvae, feeding on the Blood
They are Seven!
Seven are They!
They seize all the towers
From UR to NIPPUR
Yet UR knows them not
Yet NIPPUR does not know them
They have brought down the mighty
Of all the mighty Cities of man
Yet man knows them not
Yes the Cities do not know them
They have struck down the forests of the East
And have flooded the Lands of the West
Yet the East knows them not
Yet the West does not know them
They are a hand grasping at the neck
Yet the neck does not know them
And man knows them not.
Their words are Unwritten
Their numbers are Unknown
Their shapes are all Shapes
Their habitations
The desolate places where their Rites are performed
Their habitations
The haunts of man where a sacrifice has been offered
Their habitations
The lands here
And cities here
And the lands between the lands
The cities between the cities
In spaces no man has ever walked
In KURNUDE
The country from whence no traveller returns
At EKURBAD
In the altar of the Temple of the Dead
And at GI UMUNA
At their Mother's breast
At the Foundations of CHAOS
In the ARALIYA of MUMMU-TIAMAT
And at the Gates
Of IAK SAKKAK!
SPIRIT OF THE AIR, REMEMBER!
SPIRIT OF THE EARTH, REMEMBER!
III
Of the
Forgotten Generations of Man
And was not Man created from the blood of KINGU
Commander of the hordes of the Ancient Ones?
Does not man possess in his spirit
The sees of rebellion against the Elder Gods?
And the blood of Man is the Blood of Vengeance
And the blood of Man is the Spirit of Vengeance
And the Power of Man is the Power of the Ancient Ones
And this is the Covenant
For, lo! The Elder Gods possess the Sign
By which the Powers of the Ancient Ones are turned back
But Man possesses the Sign
And the Number
And the Shape
To summon the Blood of his Parents.
And this is the Covenant
Created by the Elder Gods
From the Blood of the Ancient Ones
Man is the Key by which
The Gate if IAK SAKKAK may be flung wide
By which the Ancient Ones
Seek their Vengeance
Upon the face of the Earth
Against the Offspring of MARDUK.
For what is new
Came from that which is old
And what is old
Shall replace that which is new
And once again the Ancient Ones
Shall rule upon the face of the Earth!
And this is too the Covenant!
IV
Of the
Sleep of ISHTAR
Yet ISHTAR
Queen of Heaven
Bright Light of Nights
Mistress of the Gods
Set her mind in that direction
From Above she set her mind,
To Below she set her mind
From the Heavens she set forth
To the Abyss
Out of the Gates of the Living
To enter the Gates of Death
Out of the Lands we know
Into the Lands we know not
To the Land of No Return
To the Land of Queen ERESHKIGAL
ISHTAR, Queen of Heavens, she set her mind
ISHTAR, Daughter of SIN, she set forth
To the Black Earth, the Land of CUTHA
She set forth
To the House of No Return she set her foot
Upon the Road whence None Return
She set her foot
To the Cave, forever unlit
Where bowls of clay are heaped upon the alter
Where bowls of dust are the food
Of residents clothed only in wings
To ABSU ISHTAR set forth.
Where sleeps the dread CUTHALU
ISHTAR set forth.
The Watcher
Stood fast.
The Watcher
NINNGHIZHIDDA
Stood fast.
And ISHTAR spoke unto him
NINNGHIZHIDDA! Serpent of the Deep!
NINNGHIZHIDDA! Horned Serpent of the Deep!
NINNGHIZHIDDA! Plumed Serpent of the Deep!
Open!
Open the Door that I may enter!
NINNGHIZHIDDA, Spirit of the Deep, Watcher of the Gate,
Remember!
In the Name of our Father before the Flight, ENKI, Lord
and Master of Magicians
Open the Door that I may enter!
Open
Lest I attack the Door
Lest I break apart its bars
Lest I attack the Barrier
Lest I take its walls by force
Open the Door
Open Wide the Gate
Lest I cause the Dead to rise!
I will raise up the Dead!
I will cause the Dead to rise and devour the living!
Open the Door
Lest I cause the Dead to outnumber the Living!
NINNGHIZHIDDA, Spirit of the Deep, Watcher of the Gate,
Open!
NINNGHIZHIDDA
The Great Serpent
Coiled back on itself
And answered
ISHTAR
Lady
Queen among the Gods
I go before my Mistress
ERESHKIGAL
Before the Queen of Death
I will announce Thee.
And NINNGHIZHIDDA
Horned Serpent
Approached the Lady ERESHKIGAL
And said:
Behold, ISHTAR, Thy Sister
Queen among the Gods
Stands before the Gate!
Daughter of SIN, Mistress of ENKI
She waits.
And ERESHKIGAL was pale with fear.
The Dark Waters stirred.
Go, Watcher of the Gate.
Go, NINNGHIZHIDDA, Watcher of the Gate,
Open the Door to ISHTAR
And treat Her as it is written
In the Ancient Covenant.
And NINNGHIZHIDDA loosed the bolt from the hatch
And Darkness fell upon ISHTAR
The Dark Waters rose and carried the Goddess of Light
To the Realms of the Night.
And the Serpent spoke:
Enter
Queen of Heaven of the Great Above
That KUR may rejoice
That CUTHA may give praise
That KUTU may smile.
Enter
That KUTULU may be pleased at Thy presence
And ISHTAR entered.
And there are Seven gates and Seven Decrees.
At the First Gate
NINGHIZHIDDA removed the Crown
The Great Crown of Her head he took away
And ISHTAR asked
Why, Serpent, has thou removed my First Jewel?
And the Serpent answered
Thus is, the Covenant of Old, set down before Time,
The Rules of the Lady of KUTU.
Enter the First Gate.
And the Second Gate
NINNGHIZHIDDA removed the Wand
The Wand of Lapis Lazuli he took away
And ISHTAR asked
Why, NETI, has thou removed my Second Jewel?
And NETI answered
Thus it is, the Covenant of Old, set down before Time
The Decrees of the Lady of KUTU.
Enter the Second Gate.
At the Third Gate
NINNGHIZHIDDA removed the Jewels
The Jewels around her neck he took away
And ISHTAR asked
Why, Gatekeeper, has thou removed my Third Jewel?
And the Gatekeeper answered
Thus it is, the Covenant of Old, set down before Time,
The Decrees of the Lady of KUTU
Enter the Third Gate.
At the Fourth Gate
NINGHIZHIDDA removed the Jewels
The Jewels on her breast he took away
And ISHTAR asked
Why, Guardian of the Outer, has thou removed my Fourth
Jewel?
And the Guardian answered
Thus it is, the Covenant of Old, set down before Time,
The Rules of the Lady of KUTU.
Enter the Fourth Gate.
At the Fifth Gate
NINNGHIZHIDDA removed the Jewels
The Belt of Jewels around her hips he took away
And ISHTAR asked
Why,
Watcher of the Forbidden Entrance, hast thou
removed my Fifth Jewel?
And the Watcher answered
Thus it is, the Covenant of Old, set down before Time,
The Rules of the Lady of KUTUK.
Enter the Fifth Gate.
At the Sixth Gate
NINNGHIZHIDDA removed the Jewels
The Jewels around her wrists
And the Jewels around her ankles he took away.
And ISHTAR asked
Why, NINNKIGAL, hast thou removed my Sixth Jewel?
And NINKIGAL answered
Thus it is, the ancient Covenant, set down before Time,
The Decrees of Lady of KUTU.
Enter the Sixth Gate.
At the Seventh Gate
NINNGHIZHIDDA removed the Jewels
The Jewelled Robes of ISHTAR he took away.
ISHTAR, without protection, without safety,
ISHTAR, without talisman or amulet, asked
Why, Messenger of the Ancient Ones, hast thou removed my
Seventh Jewel?
And the Messenger of the Ancient Ones replied
Thus it is, the Covenant of Old, set down before Time,
The Rules of the Lady of KUTU.
Enter the Seventh Gate and behold the Nether World.
ISHTAR had descended to the Land of KUR
To the Depths of CUTHA she went down.
Having lost her Seven Talisman of the Upper Worlds
Having lost her Seven Powers of the Land of the Living
Without Food of Life or Water of Life
She appeared before ERESHKIGAL, Mistress of Death.
ERESHKIGAL screamed at Her presence.
ISHTAR raised up Her arm.
ERESHKIGAL summoned NAMMTAR
The Magician NAMMTAR
Saying these words she spoke to him
Go! Imprison her!
Bind her in Darkness!
Chain her in the Sea below the Seas!
Release against her the Seven ANUNNAKI!
Release against her the Sixty Demons!
Against her eyes, the demons of the eyes!
Against her sides, the demons of the sides!
Against her heart, the demons of the heart!
Against her feet, the demons of the feet!
Against her head, the demons of the head!
Against her entire body, the demons the KUR!
And the demons tore at her, from every side.
And
the
ANUNNAKI, Dread Judges
Seven Lords of the Underworld
Drew Around Her
Faceless Gods of ABSU
They stared
Fixed her with the Eye of Death
Withe the Glance of Death
They killed her
And hung her like a corpse from a stake
The sixty demons tearing her limbs from her sides
Her eyes from her head
Her ears from her skull.
ERESHKIGAL rejoiced.
Blind AZAG-THOTH rejoiced
IAK SAKKAK rejoiced
ISHNIGGARRAB rejoiced
KUTULU rejoiced
The MASKIM gave praise to the Queen of Death
The GIGIM gave praise to ERESHKIGAL, Queen of Death.
And the Elder Ones were rent with fear.
Our Father ENKI
Lord of Magick
Receiving word by NINSHUBUR
ISHTAR's servant NINSHUBUR
He hears of ISHTAR's Sleep
In the House of Death
He hears how GANZIR has been
Opened
How the Face of Abyss
Opened wide its mouth
And swallowed the Queen of Heaven
Queen of the Rising of the Sun.
And ENKI summoned forth clay
And ENKI summoned forth wind
And from the clay and from the wind
ANKI fashioned two Elementals
He fashioned the KURGARRU, spirit of the Earth,
He fashioned the KALATURRU, spirit of the Seas,
To the KURGARRU he gave the Food of Life
To the KALATURRU he gave the Water of Life
And to these images he spoke aloud
Arise, KALATURRU, Spirit of the Seas
Arise, and set thy feet to that Gate GANZIR
To the Gate of the Underworld
The Land of No Return
Set thine eyes
The Seven Gates shall open for thee
No spell shall keep thee out
For my Number is upon you.
Take the bag of the Food of Life
Take the bag of the Water of Life
And ERESHKIGAL shall not raise her arm against you
ERESHKIGAL SHALL HAVE NO POWER OVER YOU.
Find the corpse of INANNA
Find the corpse of ISHTAR our Queen
And sprinkle the Food of Life, Sixty Times
And sprinkle the Water of Life, Sixty Times
Sixty Times the Food of Life and the Water of Life
Sprinkle upon her body
And truly
ISHTAR will rise.
With giant wings
And scales like serpents
The two elementals flew to that Gate
Invisible
NINNGHIZHIDDA saw them not
Invisible
They passes the Seven Watchers
With haste they entered the Palace of Death
And they beheld several terrible sights.
The demons of all the Abyss lay there
Dead but Dreaming, they clung to the walls
Of the House of Death
Faceless and terrible
The
ANUNNAKI stared out
Blind and Mad AZAG-THOTH reared up
The Eye on the Throne opened
The Dark Waters stirred
The Gates of Lapis Lazuli glistened
In the darkness
Unseen Monsters
Spawned at the Dawn of Ages
Spawned in the Battle of MARDUK and TIAMAT
Spawned in HUBUR
With the Sign of HUBUR
Lead by KINGU . . .
With haste they fled
Through the Palace of Death
Stopping only at the corpse of ISHTAR
The Beautiful Queen
Mistress of the Gods
Lady of all the Harlots of UR
Bright Shining One of the Heavens
Beloved of ENKI
Lay hung and bleeding
From a thousand fatal wounds.
ERESHKIGAL
Sensing their presence
Cried out.
KUGAARU
Armed with Fire
Looked upon the Queen of Corpses
with the Ray of Fire
KALATURRU
Armed with Flame
Looked upon the Queen of the Graves
With the Rays of Flame.
And ERESHKIGAL
Mighty in CUTHA
Turned her face
Upon the corpse of INANNA
Sixty times they sprinkled
The Water of Life of ENKI
Upon the corpse of ISHTAR
Sixty times they sprinkled
The Food of Life of ENKI
Upon the corpse
Hung from a stake
They directed the Spirit of Life
INANNA AROSE.
The Dark Waters trembled and roiled.
AZAG-THOTH screamed upon his throne
CUTHALU lurched forth from his sleep
ISHNIGARRAB fled the Palace of Death
IAK SAKKAK trembled in fear and hate
The ANUNNAKI fled their thrones
The Eye upon the Throne took flight
ERESHKIGAL roared and summoned NAMMTAR
The Magician NAMMRAR she called
But not for pursuit
But for protection.
INANNA ascended from the Underworld.
With the winged elementals she fled the Gates
Of GANZIR and NETI she fled
And verily
The Dead fled ahead of her.
When through the First Gate they fled
ISHTAR took back her jewelled robes.
When through the Second Gate they fled
ISHTAR took back her jewelled bracelets.
When through the Third Gate they fled
ISHTAR took back her jewelled belt.
When through the Fourth Gate they fled
ISHTAR took back her jewelled necklace.
When through the Fifth Gate they fled
ISHTAR took back her Belt of Jewels.
When through the Sixth Gate they fled
ISHTAR took back her Wand of Lapis
When through the Seventh Gate they fled
ISHTAR took back her jewelled crown.
And the Demons rose
And the Spirits of the Dead
And went with her out of the Gates
Looking neither right nor left
Walking in front and behind
They went with ISHTAR from the Gate of GANZIR
Out of the Netherworld they accompanied her
And ERESHKIGAL
Scorned Queen of the Abyss Wherein All Are Drowned
Pronounced a Curse
Solemn and Powerful
Against the Queen of the Rising of the Sun
And NAMMTAR gave it form.
When the Lover of ISHTAR
Beloved of the Queen of Heaven
Goes down before me
Goes through the Gate of GANZIR
To the House of Death
When with him the wailing people come
The weeping woman and the wailing man
When DUMUZI is slain and buried
MAY THE DEAD RISE AND SMELL THE INCENSE!
V
Stoop not down, therefore,
Unto the Darkly Shining World
Where the ABSU lies in Dark Waters
And CUTHALU sleeps and dreams
Stoop not down, therefore,
For an Abyss lies beneath the World
Reached by a descending Ladder
That hath Seven Steps
Reached by a descending Pathway
That hath Seven Gates
And therein is established
The Throne
Of an Evil and Fatal Force.
For from the Cavities of the World
Leaps forth the Evil Demon
The Evil God
The Evil Genius
The Evil Ensnarer
The Evil Phantom
The Evil Devil
The Evil Larvae
Showing no true Signs
Unto mortal Man.
AND THE DEAD WILL RISE AND SMELL THE INCENSE!