Shamash is a Babylonian deity. He is a Sun god; son of Sin (Moon god) and Ningal. His consort is Aya a mother goddess.

The Babylonian Sun god rises from the mountains in the morning with rays extending from his shoulders. At the end of the day he enters the underworld by passing through a set of mountain gates guarded by scorpion-people.

Shamash is a lawful deity and is a champion of justice and truth. In one myth the serpent and eagle swore to obay Shamash’s rules. The eagle, however, broke the pact by eating the serpent’s eggs. Shamash showed the serpent how to get justice and so the eagle was lured to a pit. Despite begging for mercy the eagle had his its wings cut off and was left to die. Shamash refused to answer the eagle’s prayers but worked a deal with Etana so that the King of Kish himself went to rescue the bird and teach it to fly again.

In the epic tale of Gilgamesh bot Enkidu and Gilgamesh pray to Shamash while they travelled across the country to find and fight Humbaba.

Sin, Shamash and Ishtar are a trilogy of deities; together representing the moon, the sun and life energies of Earth. On occassion the storm deity Adad is also assoicated with the collection.

In Pure Spirit

How much of the Babylonian mythology do you know? Why does it seem that Egyptian, Roman and Greek deities are more recognised than these older ones?

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1. Five female deities with some masculine traits

Channelling deities, asking for their guidance, support or blessing is common. Whenever you attempt to involve a deity in a blessing or ritual it is important to know exactly with whom you are dealing with. Deities have their own personalities, preferences and traits. Further more, these aspects of the deity can begin to have an effect on you as well as your rituals. Sometimes rituals and blessings should be done in conjunction with a female deity but would also benefit from not being overwhelmingly feminine.

We’re certainly not suggesting that any of these deities are butch, far from it. Instead the following five deities each have an aspect or two which is also commonly found in male deities.

Artemis (Greek)

Artemis shows her masculine aspects through her hunting and use of bow and arrows. She is twinned with Apollo. If you do channel Artemis with her masculine side in mind then it also equally important to remember she is a virgin and does also represent fertility.

Ma’at (Egyptian)

Ma’at, also sometimes known as Mayet, is a deity of balance, justice and truth. She is a very magical deity and a powerful one. Some Egyptian traditions equated Ma’at with the male deity Thoth.

Frejya (Norse)

Frejya is one of the two main female deities from the Norse tradition. While she is a deity of love, beauty and fertility who would assist in childbirths she is also associated with war, battle, death and wealth.

Ninsar (Babylonian)

There are few significant female Babylonian deities to choose from other than Tiamat and channelling any aspect of Tiamat is not recommended. Ninsar is the daughter of Ninhursag the mother-goddess. Whereas Ninhursag is one of the seven greater deities from Sumer Ninsar is a much smaller entity. She is the Green Lady and a goddess of plants.

Oya (Voodoo)

Oya is a deity of the winds, of the marketplace and cemeteries. Oya is channelled when a change is needed; particularly a business change. In the Yoruba tradition Oya is also a warrior-goddess responsible for hurricanes and tornadoes.

In Pure Spirit

Who would you recommend a female deity appropriate for channelling and who might bring some suggestion of masculinity diversity?

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1. Shamash: The harsh but just deity

Image by Katiya Rhode via Flickr

Female ghosts are often described as being a White Lady. Margaret Radclyffe may be the white lady at Ordsall Hall and Elinir Cavendish may be the white lady at Newton House, for example. White ladies are not restricted to haunting buildings but can also be seen in valleys, especially at bridges, and roaming along roads.

White ladies tend to have tragedy in common. A white lady is often the creation of a broken heart.

It is considered bad luck to see a white lady. Many believe that the sighting of a white lady is an indication that someone in the family will die.

Some spiritualists trace the source of white ladies to Holda, the Germanic goddess. Holda is a deity of children, maidens and virgin youths and would care for their souls.

Jacob Grimm presented Holda as the matron of the Wild Hunt, winter, witches, domestic animals and spinning.

In Nordic legends Frau Holda is the equivalent of Huldra.

In Pure Spirit

Have you seen a white lady or know someone who has?

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Archaeologists in Macedonia have uncovered the earliest known samples of the old Macedonian language. The clay artifact is so rare that the Macedonian government are keeping the location secret in order to deter potential treasure hunters and artifact poachers.

Macedonia, once a Yugoslavian state, is bordered by Serbia to the north and Greece to the South. It is most famous for being the home of Alexander the Great (son of Philip II of Macedon).

The paleolingusitic professor Dr Dushko Aleksovksi told Macedonia Online;

“This is a very rare artifact, the name of the Goddess Vesta is written on it. However, the first written name is Bsefa, which later became Vesta. This is the oldest artifact written in the old Macedonian language discovered on our territory.”

Vesta

Vesta was the goddess of the family and of hearth and home in Roman mythology. The sacred fire burning in her temples was lit by the Vestales, her priestesses, and was a representation of her. These fires burned until 391 when Theodosius I banned pagan worship.

Vesta was of particular importance to women and was often in the very centre of a Roman home’s atrium. Meals were often eaten near her scared household flame. Food would be burnt in the holy fire and the burning interpreted for omens.

In Pure Spirit

Do you think the Macedonian government is right to keep the location of the archaeological dig a secret? Did they have any choice?

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The Moon has an elliptical orbit around the Earth and this means it sometimes passes close to the planet and sometimes further away than normal. In astronomy these two phases are known as apogee (furthest) and perigee (closest).

The Moon’s orbit isn’t simply elliptical; it’s also eccentric – to put it another way, it is slightly wobbly! As a result the distance between the Earth and the Moon varies. Tonight, Friday the 12th of December 2008, the Moon will not only be in perigee but will be closer to Earth than it has been in 15 years.

It is also worth noting that the perigee and the full moon do not often coincide. Tonight’s full moon perigee is unusual.

If the weather allows then witnesses will see the brightest and biggest full moon of the year. In fact it will appear to be about 14% larger and 30% brighter. Tides will also be affected.

In Pure Spirit

Are you excited by tonight’s unusual perigee?  Tonight seems like a fantastic time for any rituals or spells which reflect the moon’s beauty and strength. Deities associated with the moon are likely to be influential tonight as well.

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