The Seven Names of Lamastu by Jan Fries
THE SEVEN NAMES OF LAMASTU A Journey through Mesopotamian Magick and Beyond By Jan Fries The Seven Names of Lamastu is an exploration of the religions and mysteries of the cradle of civilisation, Mesopotamia by Jan Fries, author of Kali Kaula and Dragon Bones. The Sumerians developed the first functional script (3500-3200 BC), the priests wrote god lists, dictionaries, catalogues, recorded spells, myth and poetry – and committed the first known medical prescriptions and rituals into writing. In the centre of their faith lurks the lustful animal-headed goddess DIM.ME/Lamaštu , exiled from Heaven for her forbidden desires, and charged by the council of Gods with a fearsome task: to cull the vulnerable and keep the human population within manageable limits. For all but a few, her name conjured terror in the hearts of Mesopotamians. Jan Fries seeks to redress the balance, by showing that this rebellious goddess, so demonized by superstitious folk and modern academics, is an essential expression of the divine. Lamastu’s numerous, but rarely discussed, positive attributes bring her into focus. She is a victorious goddess, who listens to prayers, haunts both swamps and the mountain forests she loves, banishes lethal spirits, helps with the birth of wild animals and adopts stray piglets and puppies. She is a sacred woman, a priestess and a midwife to her brothers, the gods. This is a modern translation of the famous Lamastu Series, with commentary, which can be used as a dictionary and travel companion through the earliest form of religion and sorcery. It is a journey that takes us through the rise and fall of empires, the changing status of women, Sacred Marriage, everyday rituals, sacrifice, divination, ritual training, conjuration, banishment, vengeful magic, spells and counterspells, dream-magic, the dawn of science, medicine and ritual music – with teachings on how to build your own civilisation using only rivers, reeds and clay. Lamastu takes us from a lion-headed Stone-Age statuette in Central Europe all the way to China. Identified with the goddesses Lilitu and Ardat Lili by the end of the second millennia, she emerges in medieval Spain as the modern Lilith. In the Arabian desert her counterpart is the dreaded Ḳarīna, in ancient Greece, she becomes the Lamia. She inspired the artwork of the Gorgo Medusa, connects with hundreds of terrifying and deadly “mothers” in India, and becomes the dreaded Albasti/Lobasta in Turkey and China. In China, she is closely related to the tiger-fanged Daoist goddess Xiwangmu, the goddess Guimu (Mother of Ghosts) and the Buddhist deity Harirī. The book concludes with the mysteries, meditations and practical rituals of Siṁhamukhā, the Lion-headed Goddess of Hindu and Buddhist Tantra, and a set of innovative, syncretistic meditations and trances based on the Seven Names of Lamaštu. Child of Heaven. Watchful One of the Gods of the Streets. Decapitator. Fire-Starter. Wild-Countenance. Trusted. Oathbound, Free to Fly. Seven names of an ancient goddess. Seven names to remember. 2017, 580 pages. Hardback laminate, paperback & Kindle editions available. ISBN 978-1-910191-04-0 B&W 8.5 x 11 in or 280 x 216 mm Perfect Bound on White w/Gloss Lam ISBN 978-1-910191-05-7 B&W 8.5 x 11 in or 280 x 216 mm Case Laminate on White w/Gloss Lam
Table of Contents
Rites of thanksgiving Introduction Time and space Swampland mysteries Marvels of irrigation City people Inventing cuneiform Early Sumerian religion: fertility cults, dying gods, sacred marriage or what? God lists Theodiversity The nature of the gods Religious specialists A fast journey through Mesopotamian history The Lamaštu series This compilation: sources, scholars and the problem of evil Face values and hidden meanings First part of the Lamaštu series Second part of the Lamaštu series Third part of the Lamaštu series Supplement to ls iii, 105 Lamaštu: origins Dim.me: what’s in her name? A cluster of Dimme’s Lamaštu: iconography Pigs and dogs Anu’s daughter Lamaštu and sorcery Diagnosis by bubbles, flames and dreams Medical textbooks Diagnosis and treatment Placebo medicine Meet the conjurers The training of a conjurer Lamaštu diseases Heat and shuddering: a magical interpretation The hands of the gods Inseminating yourself Waters from Eridu Knot magic Maths, star-gazing, and sacred numerology God numbers A sacred calendar Sacred music Lamaštu: diaspora In the wake of the winds Inventing a goddess The making of a myth Appeal for Ištar Goddesses, with and without feathers. In the hands of Ereškigal Close cousins Living in a tree Riders of the gale Lilû diseases Holidays in Edom The amulet of Arslan Tash Lilith in Talmud and Midrash Incantation bowls from Nippur Lilith reloaded Lilith the seducer Sisters of Lilith Child slayer Family affairs Our lady of crisis Names of Lilith Ḳarīna From Lamaštu to Lamia Medusa Tiger goddesses of China Albasti and āl: across Asia Indian mothers The lion-faced goddess The seven names of Lamaštu: innovative trances and meditations Meditations, trance and magick Short glossary: priestly offices, temples and cities Bibliography Index
About the Author
The author of Kali Kaula, Dragon Bones, Manasa and Neta, and The Seven Names of Lamastu, Jan Fries is one of the leading magickal authors of the 21st century. Jan is known for his exciting and practical works, and the breadth of scholarship with which he infuses them.
He lives and works in Germany.
