Ishtar

Moon. The earth’s satellite has figured very largely as an emblem in the religions of antiquity; and most commonly has been represented as Female, but this is not universal, for in the myths of the Teutons and Arabs, as well as in the conception of the Rajpoots of India (see Tod, Hist.), and in Tartary the moon was male. Latin authors speak of Luna. and also of Lunus, but with extreme rarity. The Greek name is Selene, the Hebrew Lebanah and also Yarcah. In Egypt the moon was associated with Isis, in Phenicia with Astarte and in Babylon with Ishtar. From certain points of view the ancients regarded the moon also as Androgyne. The astrologers allot an Influence to the moon over the several parts of a man, according to the several Zodiacal signs she traverses; as well as a special influence produced by the house she occupies in a figure.

The division of the Zodiac into the 28 mansions of the moon appears to be older than that into 12 signs: the Copts, Egyptians, Arabs, Persians and Hindoos used the division into 28 parts centuries ago, and the Chinese use it still.

The Hermetists said the moon gave man an astral form, while Theosophy teaches that the Lunar Pitris were the creators of our human bodies and lower principles. (See Secret Doctrine 1. 386.)

(See also: Moon , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Eggs (Easter). Eggs were symbolical from an early time. There was the "Mundane Egg", in which Brahma gestated, with the Hindus the Hiranya-Gharba, and the Mundane Egg of the Egyptians, which proceeds from the mouth of the "unmade and eternal deity", Kneph, and which is the emblem of generative power.

Then the Egg of Babylon, which hatched Ishtar, and was said to have fallen from heaven into the Euphrates. Therefore coloured eggs were used yearly during spring in almost every country, and in Egypt were exchanged as sacred symbols in the spring-time, which was, is, and ever will be, the emblem of birth or rebirth, cosmic and human, celestial and terrestrial.

They were hung up in Egyptian temples and are so suspended to this day in Mahometan mosques.

(See also: Eggs , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Kayanim (Hebrew, Jewish). Also written Cunim; the name of certain mystic cakes offered to Ishtar, the Babylonian Venus. Jeremiah speaks of these Cunim offered to the "Queen of Heaven", vii. 18. Nowadays we do not offer the buns, but eat them at Easter.

(See also: Kayanim , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Nabu (Chald.). Nebu or Nebo, generally; the Chaldean god of Secret Wisdom, from which name the Biblical, Hebrew term Nabiim (prophets) was derived. This son of Anu and Ishtar was worshipped chiefly at Borsippa; but he had also his temple at Babylon, above that of Bel, devoted to the seven planets.

(See " Nazarenes" and " Nebo".)

(See also: Nabu , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Humanity?s path towards retrieving the Mayan calendar system really started with the Harmonic Convergence, August 16-17, 1987, when large numbers of people in the West turned out for a spiritual celebration. Although, it was not recognized at the time, this celebration had the distinction of falling on the first two days of a traditional Mayan tzolkin (260-day) round.

Read more here: » Mayan Calendar: Mayan Calendar and the Cycles of the Goddess

Ark (from Latin arca chest)

A chest, covered basket, or other closed receptacle; the womb of nature, wherein are preserved the seeds of preceding ages which at a later date inaugurate and unfold into a new system of evolutionary development. Thus reappears after its periodic rest a new universe, solar system, planet, or being such as man; each such entity being the reimbodiment of a previously living entity. The connection with sishtas is apparent.

The ark or argha was used by the high priests in ceremonials connected with nature goddesses such as Ishtar or Astarte: at such times the representative emblem or ark was shaped as an oblong vessel, and occasionally fish-shaped, the most familiar instance being the Ark of the Covenant. Oftentimes a mystical flame representing reproducing life was associated with the ark, which thus became a distinctly phallic emblem of maternal reproduction, and also referred to the spiritually and intellectually generative power of the upper triad working in and through the lower quaternary of the septenary principles of either nature or man.

The crescent moon, because of its curved form, either represented the mystic ark itself or was conjoined with it in various manners, for the moon in archaic teaching was the fecund yet presently dead mother of our earth, the latter being its reimbodiment. Thus the moon stood as an emblem of the cosmic matrix or ark floating in and on the watery abyss of space -- just as the ark in the Jewish form of this cosmogonic legend was associated with the flood waters as the bearer of all the seeds of lives. In the view of the later rather materialistic Hebrew rabbis the human womb became the maqom or ark, the place representative on earth of what the moon was in the cosmic sphere.

It was natural in time to connect the ark with a ship, as in the symbolism of the ancient Egyptian boat, on which the chest or typical ark was so prominently placed as the repository or womb of the seeds of lives.

Thus the ark has both a cosmic and a human significance. In one sense it is man himself who is the ark; for, having appeared at the beginning of sentient life, man (as he then was) became the living and animal unit, whose cast-off clothes determined the shape of every life and animal in this round. In its widest sense the symbolism refers to the first cosmic flood, the primary creation, and so the ark also is Mother Nature; but it likewise refers to terrestrial deluges where its application is twofold, for it means the saving of mankind through physical generation, and also cyclic deluges, especially the Atlantean one.

The ark is argha in Chaldean, vara in Persian, and is referred to in the stories about Noah, Deucalion, Xisuthrus, Yima, etc. The ark in which the infant Moses is saved is an instance of many similar legends conveying the same root idea. The ark, therefore, is the receptive aspect of the principle of reproduction and regeneration, ranging from the most fundamental Mother Nature to her every correspondence on the various planes.

(See also: Ark , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Happy Fields. The name given by the Assyrio-Chaldeans to their Elysian Fields, which were intermingled with their Hades. As Mr. Boscawen tells his readers -

"The Kingdom of the underworld was the realm of the god Hea, and the Hades of the Assyrian legends was placed in the underworld, and was ruled over by a goddess, Nin-Kigal, or ‘the Lady of the Great Land’.

She is also called Allat." A translated inscription states: - "After the gifts of these present days, in the feasts of the land of the silver sky, the resplendent courts, the abode of blessedness, and in the light of the Happy Fields, may he dwell in life eternal, holy, in the presence of the gods who inhabit Assyria".

This is worthy of a Christian tumulary inscription. Ishtar, the beautiful goddess, descended into Hades after her beloved Tammuz, and found that this dark place of the shades had seven spheres and seven gates, at each of which she had to leave something belonging to her.

(See also: Happy Fields , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Tamti, Tamtu (Assyrian) The personified sea, whether of the cosmic space of our solar system, or of a sea of earth; hence primordial humidity, personified as a goddess equivalent to Belit, the Nature Mother, worshiped particularly at Erech, the great Chaldean necropolis. Tamti also typified turbulent chaos or matter, hence called the great dragon. In planetology, Tamti is theogonically equivalent to Ishtar, Astoreth, or Venus.

See also THALLATH; TIAMAT

(See also: Tamti, Tamtu , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

MESOPOTAMIAN MAGIC

The Qabalah owes its origin to prior Assyrian origins. The usual attributions to the Etz Chaim are:

In which Ishtar is Venus, Marduk is Jupiter, Nergal is Mars, Nabu  is Mercury, Ninurtu is Saturn, Shamash the Sun and Sin the Moon. However, this is confusing, because there are only 28 paths on the Assyrian tree, not 32. Moreover, the Assyrian syllabary has 30 signs, not 22 letters as in the Hebrew alphabet. The 8-rayed star, symbol of divinity, may be taken as the eight atus missing from the conventional Tarot. Moreover, Ninurtu, "Saturn" is missing from the above diagram and the Gods (corresponding to the planets) are placed differently. The Babylonian system, being much older than the Hebrew version, must be taken as more correct, but the details have not been completely worked out. It's clear that they used a 60-based numerological system and that they practiced an early form of gematria.

Notice in the Assyrian Tree of Life that each branch has 7 leaves ("for the healing of nations") which are repetitions of the 7 large leaves near the top. These leaves represent the planets. Therefore the historical attributions of the sephiroth must not be quite correct. They may be zodiacal representations.

(See also: MESOPOTAMIAN MAGIC , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

Istar, Ister. See ISHTAR

(See also: Istar, Ister , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Inanna

(Sumerian, "Mistress of Heaven") The Sumerian goddess of love and war, identified with the Akkadian Eshtar (Ishtar). Her name reflects her identity as Venus, both morning and evening star; her father is either the sky god or the moon god, her brother the sun god.

Her main cult center was Uruk (biblical Erech), but her worship, as a hymn proclaims, was universal. Her character was complex: bloodthirsty warrior (battle was her dance), willful girl, fickle lover. She is married but also the harlot, and her cult seems to have been in part orgiastic, staffed by eunuchs, transvestites, and homosexuals.

(See also: Inanna , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Dove Bird symbols play a prominent part in cosmogonic systems. In the Biblical deluge, as a blend of cosmic and precosmic allegories, Noah sends out first a raven, symbolizing darkness which was regarded as prior to light; and then a dove.

In the Chaldean version, Noah is represented by Ishtar or Ashtoreth -- a lunar goddess corresponding in some respects to Artemis and in others to Venus -- and the dove is a symbol of Venus, which is also found in Greek mythology. In several nations the dove also symbolizes the soul.

In Christianity, the dove is a symbol of the Holy Ghost, who appears in that form to Jesus at his baptism. It is also often one of the four sacred animals which denote four important human principles along with the bull, the eagle, and the lion.

These four animals in Greek mystic mythology are symbols respectively of the planets Venus, the Moon, Mercury (or Jupiter), and the Sun; but it is more properly here a seraph or cherub, the fiery-winged serpent or Agathodaimon. As a symbol of gentleness and love it is frequent in the Hebrew scriptures.

(See also: Dove , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Water of Life The Book of Dzyan says that light is cold flame, flame is fire, and fire produces heat, which yields the water of life in the great mother; Blavatsky explained that all these are, on our plane, the progeny of electricity -- which is perhaps the most important physical manifestation of the cosmic jiva or life, emanating from fohat, or vice versa.

Also a synonym for Chaos, the great cosmic deep, as in the opening verses of Genesis, when the soul of the 'Elohim or hierarchy of dhyani-chohans moved through and over the waters.

Again, in myth and folktales, a magic liquid that cures all illnesses, brings the dead to life, or gives immortality. For example, in the Babylonian myth of Ishtar and Tammuz, the goddess descends to the underworld seeking the water of life to restore Tammuz to life.

See also AB-E-HAYAT

(See also: Water of Life , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Happy Fields A name for the afterdeath state among the ancient Chaldeans, Babylonians, and Assyrians. These regions were reached after passing through the place of purgation (in a restricted sense therefore equivalent to the Greek Hades) which was ruled over by the Lady of the Great Land, called Nin-Kigal by the Assyrians and Allatu by the Babylonians. The entrance to this place was by means of the cave of Aralu.

The whole underworld was said to be ruled over by Nergal, god of wisdom, and was divided into seven spheres or regions, each under the guardianship of a watcher stationed at a massive portal. The deceased is represented as a traveler who must surrender a portion of his vestments (his sheaths of consciousness) to each one of the seven guardians in turn.

See also ISHTAR

(See also: Happy Fields , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Irkalla (Chaldean) The netherworld or underworld of the Babylonians, also known as Aralu, its entrance approached by a deep cavern. It was ruled over by the goddess Allatu, or Ereshkigal (lady of the netherworld), sister or alter ego of Ishtar, the great nature goddess. The same idea is present in the Egyptian conception of Isis and Nephthys. Irkalla was ruled conjointly by Allatu and Nergal, who was also considered the god of the dead.

(See also: Irkalla , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Golden Calf In the Old Testament, an object (Hebrew agel, egel, calf or globe) made in the wilderness by Aaron at the request of the Israelites when Moses had not returned from Mt. Sinai (BCW 3:130). Upon his return, Moses destroyed the idol by burning it, grinding it to powder, strewing it on water, and making the Israelites drink it (Ex 32:20) -- which Blavatsky holds has an alchemical significance (BCW 11:44). In one sense the golden calf stands for the secret knowledge the Jews took from the Egyptians. In another sense it is "the sacred heifer, the symbol of the 'Great Mother,' first the planet Venus, and then the moon . . . as says G. Massey . . .:

'This (the Golden Calf) being of either sex, it supplied a twin type for Venus, as Hathor or Ishtar (Astoreth), the double Star, that was male at rising and female at sunset, and therefore the Twin-Stars of the "First Day" ' " (BCW 8:308-9).

The calf is synonymous symbolically with the cherub and the globe, all meaning strength and creative or generative power. ()

(See also: Golden Ass , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Happy Fields A name for the afterdeath state among the ancient Chaldeans, Babylonians, and Assyrians. These regions were reached after passing through the place of purgation (in a restricted sense therefore equivalent to the Greek Hades) which was ruled over by the Lady of the Great Land, called Nin-Kigal by the Assyrians and Allatu by the Babylonians. The entrance to this place was by means of the cave of Aralu.

The whole underworld was said to be ruled over by Nergal, god of wisdom, and was divided into seven spheres or regions, each under the guardianship of a watcher stationed at a massive portal. The deceased is represented as a traveler who must surrender a portion of his vestments (his sheaths of consciousness) to each one of the seven guardians in turn.

See also ISHTAR

(See also: Hap, Hapi , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

MOTHER GODDESS -

1. natural mother of all things or mistress and governess of all the elements, the initial progeny of worlds, chief of the powers divine, the principle of them that dwell in heaven, manifested alone and under one form of all the gods and goddesses, at whose will the planets of the sky, the wholesome winds of the seas and the lamentable silences of hell are dispersed. (Isis)

2. archetypal feminine aspect of the Godhead.

3. mediatrix, creator of forms, the celestial energy that gives birth to the world and all beings.

4. Mother Earth, Mother Nature.

5. space, the void field of consciousness.

6. time, who devours all her children.

7. Tao, way of gentle turning back (Lao-Tzu).

• Ala - Ibo Amaterasu-ami-kami-Shinto Anoba-Gaelic
• Aphrodite-Cypriot Asasa Ya-Yoruba  Astarte-Phoenician
• Athena-Greek Bellona-Roman  Benten-Japanese
• Brigid-Celtic Ceres-Eleusinian Ceridwain-Celtic
• Coatlicue-Nahuatl Chicomecoatl-Nahuatl Chom Lhari-Bhutanese
• Cybele-Phrygian Danu-Druidic  Demeter-Greek
• Devi Sri-Balance Diana-Cretan  Estanalehi-Navajo
• Fortuna-Roman Freya-Scandinavian Frigg-Scandinavian
• Gaia-Greek Hathor-Egyptian  Hecate-Greek
• Hel-Norse Illamatecuhtli-Aztec Isis-Egyptian
• Ishtar-Babylonian Ixchel-Mayan  Jord-Norse
• Juno-Roman Kali-Indian  Kuan Yin-Chinese
• Lakshmi-Indian Lilith-Hebrew  Luna-Roman
• Magan Mater-Latin Mary-Christian  Mawu-Dahomean
• Mayahuel-Nahuatl Minerva-Greek  Morgan Le Fay-Irish
• Nut-Egyptian Ostara-Germanic  Pachamama-Incan
• Persephone-Greek Pi-hsia Yuan-chun-Taoist Rangda-Balinese
• Saraswati-Indian Sagarmathe-Himalayain Sophua-Gnostic
• Tara-Tibetan Venus of Menten-Neolithic Venus of Lespugue-Neolithic
• White Goddess-Druidic

(See also: MOTHER GODDESS , Wiccan Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

Astarte (Greek) Greek form of the Syro-Phoenician goddess Ashtoreth, female counterpart of Baal. The goddess of love and fruitfulness, she was essentially a lunar goddess of productiveness or fertility.

The Assyrian and Babylonian form was Ishtar, in Syria Atargates, in Phrygia Cybele, in the Bible Ashtoreth, and in North Africa Tanith or Dido. She was intimately connected in the Chaldean form of her worship with the planet Venus. She corresponds to the Egyptian Isis or Hathor, Greek Aphrodite, and Norse Freya. The Virgin Mary represented on the crescent moon weeping, is taken from similar images of Astarte (BCW 11:96-7).

See also ASTORETH.

(See also: Astarte , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Assur (Chaldean or Assyrian) (from a-shir leader)

Also Asur, Ashur. Originally the titular deity of an ancient Assyrian city of learning on the Tigris, but with the rise of the Assyrian Empire his prominence was extended so that he became one of the foremost gods of the Assyrian pantheon. The title Asir was also given to other important deities such as Marduk and Nebo.

Like Marduk, Assur was first recognized as a solar deity and represented in symbol with the adjunct of the winged disk; but later he became a god of war, so that the winged disk took a minor place under the figure of a man with a bow. Assur remained the chief deity even when the Assyrian capital was moved to Nineveh about the 8th century BC, although he was obliged to share this honor with Ishtar, then regarded as his consort, until the fall of the Assyrian Empire (606 BC).

(See also: Assur , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Belit, Belita (Bab, Chald, Assyr) Chief lady; a title applicable to any important goddess in the pantheon, applied especially to Nin-lil, consort of Bel (or En-lil) at Nippur, where she was known as mother of the gods, ruler of heaven and earth. The title was likewise later applied to Ishtar (Greek Beltis).

Bel-Belit was the combined occult powers of this representation of the godhead as both male and female, called by the Greeks and the Romans Bel-Belitanus.

(See also: Belit, Belita , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)