High Priestess Tehilah Firewind

7 August 2017

The constellation Capricorn carries with it a great sense of practicality and ambition. This is the working sign, and when applied to the energy of the full moon, that of receptivity and the push and pull of our subconscious, intuitive, emotional inner selves. To capture the practicality of this rune, the Sumerian Goddess Ninlil will be invoked. Ninlil is a goddess in many forms, giving life as well as taking life away. She is mother of the gods, queen of the harvest, and lady of the southern winds, those which brought deadly storms of dust and sand in their wake.

Ancient Sumer was a particular place, where rituals had very specific wording, poetic and powerful. Mighty and wise spiritual leaders would bring the divine down into their modest halls of worship according to specific and mystical traditions passed down orally through generations.

Ninlil is worshipped under many names as the great mother goddess of the ancient mesopotamian region. Here there is a revivalist ritual to her, using actual wording from a compilation of different Ancient Sumerian texts. The translations were performed largely by Stephen Langdon. The ritual here is about moving energy and meditative control, with little use of music, gesture, or tools of any form. Each stage should be taken slowly in its own time.

For an offering, use banana nut or corn muffins and mint tea.

1. Casting the Circle
1. Stay in one place, standing perfectly still
2. Close your eyes or keep them fixed on one point
3. Align your energy internally, and then use a bubble casting technique to create a circle around you
4. The light of the circle should be yellow, and the energy should come from the stomach
2. Invocation of Ninlil
1. Light a yellow candle (optional)
2. Loudly and confidently, state the following (in Sumerian, though the English is provided for context):


1. Ama Nin-lil a-a Mu-ul-lil
   Mother Ninlil and father Enlil


2. Nin-lil lag-tsag-zu na-an-ga-tum-da
   Ninlil, may thy pure heart desire


3. Ni-dagal-dagal-la ni-pets-pets-a me-en
   She that makes plentiful, makes prolific art thou


4. Ambar-ra ambar-ana-gim si-di-e me-en
   She that causes the city’s pools to function like the pools of heaven art thou


5. Nig-tsag-ghul-ghul-e-de nin-zi-zi bi me-en
   She who commands peace, makes glad the hearts art thou


6. A-dug-ga tsag-ga gar-ra me-en
   She that causes fresh waters to return in floods art thou


7. U-tu-da tsag-ga a pets-pets a me-en
   She who makes floods, water abundant art thou


8. Ama dumu-ni kenag sum-sum-mu-de
   That the mother bestow love upon her son


9. Tsukum dingir-gal-gal me-en
   She that accepts the bread offerings to the great gods art thou


10. Dingir-gal-gal-e-ne ka-bi gal-kid me-en
    Of the great gods, the opener of mouths*, art thou


11. Ama Nin-lil te-am te! Ama Nin-lil te-am te!
    Mother Ninlil, come nigh, come nigh. Mother Ninlil, come nigh


*the opener of mouths in terms of encouraging praise and giving, which is part of what Ninlil represented to ancient Sumer.

3. Drawing Down the Moon as Ninlil
1. Lay out the food offerings in crystalware
2. Affirm in your mind that this food is for the gods
3. Wordlessly, have one bite of the muffin, then crumble the rest and strew it about the ground around your circle
4. Still wordless, drink some of the tea, pouring the rest around the circle as well
5. Align your inner energies, and chant the following words repeatedly to invoke the awareness of Ninlil (MUST chant in Sumerian)
1. a è-ne al-dib a è-ne al-dib
2. Translated: The risen waters seized away; the risen waters seized away
6. When the divine energy is manifest within you, allow the following words to flow out as if Ninlil herself is speaking
1. Nin-lil-là nin eri gar-gar-ra nin gu-zul si-di mèn
   Ninlil, queen that builds cities, queen that ensures happiness, am I


2. Nin-urú-ma ama-gal nin-lil-là mèn
   Queen of city and house, great mother Ninlil am I


3. Sizkur-zu dug-dug ga-ga-de
   Prayers be recited


4. Tul-tul-la-bi sur-sur-ri-de
   Divine names be chanted grandly!


5. Ama Nin-lil dumu-ni kenag sum-sum-mu-de
   Mother Ninlil bestows love upon her child!


4. Ground and Center, and Close Circle
1. Sit and feel the soft light glow of the sacred space you have made
2. When you feel ready, pull your energy back in towards you, then, allow it to burst out and away
3. The light of your energy will continue out into the universe, bringing some level of divine awareness back to you to persist with you in your every day life. So mote it be