A TREASURE FILE OF ANCIENT LOVE SPELLS

Stone Tablet showing Lovers

By Lishtar


Perhaps one of the most ill understood and belittled types of Everyday/Mundane Magic is exactly Love Magic, that is, the Magic one makes use of to attract Love, Sex and Emotions to one's life. I myself cannot understand why so many sneer at it. Frankly, I find the act of casting a spell and making Magic to attract one's Heart Desire and Soul Counterpart one of the most serious and divine acts of worshipping the gods in a human being. Just recall a time when you were deeply in love and you will remember how human it felt and yet so close to god(dess)head. It felt like this both ways too, because the keyword for eternity as far as love is concerned is reciprocation. To be truly in love is an act of complementarity that transcends all dualities, it is the Pursuit of Pleasure, a joyous and willing surrender of selves in a Battle where both partners are winners, it is sharing, intimacy and play. Who teaches whom, it is impossible to say. Lover and Beloved become united in the Explosion of Senses, Tastes, Textures and Colors, in the Adventure of Lovemaking, physical and emotional to experience then the Divine manifest within and without themselves. Have you ever thought that the Universe is always making love to itself, ever changing, and that this is also called Evolution?

Therefore, as far as my experience goes, love and lovemaking within the context of Mesopotamia was and still should be seen first and foremost as a religious experience. One cannot forget the fact that the Sacred Marriage Rite was at the core of Mesopotamian Religion, and it was the celebration of the Bond of Heaven and Earth between Lover and Beloved represented by the union of the king and shepherd of the land and his heavenly consort, the High Priestess of Inanna/Ishtar, the Great Goddess of Love and War, and shared by all Mesopotamians in the privacy of their homes in sacred dates. For when the right stars shone in the skies especially to announce the return of springtime, in the first New Moon of the season it was the sacred duty of the king to wed the High Priestess of Inanna/Ishtar in the Holies of Holies of the sacred man-made mountain, the ziggurat, to ensure fertility for the land and the people in all levels and spheres. Indeed, if we study carefully Mesopotamian love poetry of the Third Dynasty of Ur, especially the Bridal Songs and The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi (the forerunner of the Song of Songs), we may perhaps find some reasons to propose a proto-Tantra centered in the prototypal couple Inanna/Ishtar and Dumuzi/Tammuz.

In what follows, love spells as quoted in the literature will be presented for your joy and delight. Please note how spontaneous and uninhibited are the male and female voices that long for the Beloved and the Lover united as One. These spells are indeed more than 3,000 years old, and it is clear to me that Mesopotamians were a much jollier lot than us as far as love and singing the Beloved was concerned. I will be adding up incantations little by little, so make sure to come back visiting every now and then. Why so? Because I want to prolong my own delight in uploading little by little this material for you.

Before I start, just a couple of words of caution:

1. Thread carefully never to hurt but to Honor the coming and/or return of love into your life. This means you should await for the coming of the Lover and the Beloved with the same quiet certainty that you know of the coming of dawn every morning, the Magic of twilight, the never-ending flow and reflow of the sea waves, the glorious brightness of Nanna/Sin in this Full Moon explendour every month. Every time we love, we love with the whole of who we were and are. The past won't repeat itself if one learns to wait in joyous stillness. The greatest Lover is ever within and is always eager to manifest without, if we only listen to his/her urgings! And happy hunches and pushes!

2. Consider the importance and responsibility implied in Love Magic. You are responsible for those you captivate, never to manipulate or play power-over games with.

3. Donīt lose any opportunity to say that you care about people in your life. You never know how long for you are going to be in this life, and they in yours. Cherish the moment that was, the people you were with. In the end, if your love turned into ashes, I sincerely hope the fire was joyous and high while it lasted!

4. It is a strong sense of self within that makes the Magic of love manifest vibrant and free without. You donīt become someone only because somebody loves you. You are already yourself, you deserve love as much as to be loved.

5. Be practical. Allow a reasonable amount of time for the courtship of the unaware Beloved (2/3 months perhaps?) to develop if you are working a spell. At the end of your chosen deadline, if you get unsatisfactory signs (the keyword here is reciprocation), be gracious and MOVE ON to the next Real Thing. Many times it is necessary to lapidate your rough diamond (or human being in question).

6. My rule-of-thumb: if someone makes me angry or impatient, I move on. Sexual tension has a degree of expectation THAT IS NOT ANXIETY OR FRUSTRATION. In modern jargon, get results that please you and show potential.

7. Fight for your Beloved-To-Be and yet allow yourself to be grabbed. Think of Enlil and Ninlil, She who descended to the Underworld for him, who made then her his queen. Think of Ereshkigal, who demanded Nergal to get back to her and become her consort in the Underworld, rejoice at Nanna and Ningal, and the Eternal Return of Dumuzi to Inanna... who demanded him first to meet her standards! Romeos and Juliets died before they could build forever afters. Forever afters need everyday practice. Happy practice one makes be in all levels!

8. Most of all, ask the gods to send your ways who you need and not who you might think you want. This is what I mean about waiting in perfect stillness for something the universe will bring your ways for sure if you keep wishing and witching in perfect love and perfect trust and timing to assess your goals and the godsī designs for you.

9. Love for me is a tie that binds in freedom to be together for as long as the bond lasts. And I see no reason why the bond wonīt be everlasting if both partners willingly work towards such goal.

10. And, if s/he makes you feel at ease and not much concerned about showing your WORSE, as well as little vulnerabilities, be alchemical and LET THE PROCESS BE THE GOAL. Because if in doing the simple, everyday details of your lives together you can make things extraordinary, think of what the extraordinary will be when the occasion arises! When you do nothing together (i.e. when anything and everything goes - a favorite expression where I come from) and it is fun, the Lady and Lord will be smiling upon you, and Love Everlasting will be yours to make be and come true.

Take these words into account before you put into practice these spells of olden days to bring the lover and the beloved to your ways.

By the Wings of my Desire, by the god and goddess who my heart, mind, body and soul inspire, may the Lover and the Beloved be One within and without yourselves in all worlds you dare to fare!

 


 

Source: Benjamin R. Foster, From Distant Days: myths, tales and poetry of Ancient Mesopotamia (1995), CDL Press, Maryland, 339 pp.

1 - GET UP! The magician takes control of the woman. Her clothes are to turn into an impromptu bower, her bed a covered spot for a tryst, and , if she is asleep when the spell is wrought, her own couch will unceremoniously awaken her to send her off to the embrace of her admirer

I have seized you, I have seized you, I will not let you go!
As pitch holds fast to boat,
As Sin to Ur, as Shamash to Larsa,
As Ishtar to Ekur hold fast,
I have seized you and I will not let you free!
May the clothes you are wearing be your bower,
May the bed you sleep on be a tent,
May the bed dump you on the ground!
May the ground say to you "Get up!"
[At the command] spoken by the Capable Lady, Ishtar

 

2- I HAVE MADE A BED - this is a womanīs voice for sure trying to conquer the beloved.

Potency, potency, potency! I have made a bed for potency!
What Ishtar does for Dumuzi,
What Nannay does for her lover,
What Ishara does for her mate,
Let me do for my lover!
Let the flesh of so-and-so, son of so-and-so, tingle,
Let his penis stand erect,
May his ardor not flat, night or day!
By command of the Capable Lady, Ishtar, Nannay, Gazbaba, Ishara.

3- BECOMING MORE EXPLICIT - a spell done on behalf on an entu-priestess, who is in love with a man called Erra-bani. Probably the magician addressing the two lovers-to-be to empower his incantation.

Be restless at night, find no peace during the day,
Do not sit peacefully at night
Darling! Darling!
May your thighs be moving, Erra-bani,
May your hips be in motion, [manīs]
May your sinews be following [man]
May your heart rejoice [womanīs]
May your liver be joyful!
Let me swell up like a dog
Like a rope are your [woman]... may you [woman] not pour it out for me

4- SEATED ON HER THIGHS - the purpose of this love charm is to enable a man to win a womanīs favor by a magical procedure.

Ea loves the love charm,
The love charm, son of Ishtar,
Seated on her thighs, in the sapflow of the incense-tree
... you two beautiful maidents
You are come into bloom, you went down to the garden,
To the garden you went down
You cut the sapflow of the incense-tree.
I have seized your mouth for saliva!
I have seized your lustrous eyes!
I have seized your vulva for urine!
I climbed into the garden of the moon,
I cut through the poplar to her
Seek for me among the boxwood,
As the shepherd seeks for the sheep,
The goat her kid,
The ewe her lamb,
The jenny her foal
"His arms are two garlands of fruit
His lips are oil and ... plant
A cruse of oil (is) his hand
A cruse of cedar oil on his shoulder"
So the love charms have bespoken her,
Then driven her to ecstasy!
I have seized your mouth for love-making!
By Ishtar and Isharra I conjure you!
May you find no release from me
Till your neck and his neck lie close beside!

5- MAY I NOT MISS MY PREY! - a determined lover indeed.

Wind come, mountain quake
Clouds gather, droplets fall!
Let the penis of the ass become stiff, let him mount the jenny, let him mount the she-goat ... time after time!
At the head of my bed a he-goat is tied,
At the foot of my bed a ram is tied.
You at the head of my bed, have an erection, make love to me!
You at the foot of my bed, have an erection, caress me!
My vagina is a bitchīs vagina, his penis is a dogīs penis,
As the bitchīs vagina holds tight the dogīs penis,
So may my vagina hold tight his penis!
May your penis grow long as a warclub!
Iīm sitting on a web of seduction,
May I not miss my prey!

6- AGAINST AROUSAL - when I first read this spell, I was puzzled. What did it mean a spell against arousal in a chapter on love spells? Meditating on it, it came to me that too much passion may cause anger and anxiety in the person who is working the spell, or an unbalanced sexual desire may prevent the sorcerer(ess) from winning over the belovedīs heart. Will is at the root of magic, but many times we jeopardize our chances chances by cultivating an unconscious fear of achieving our goals. The image that came to me is that when one works a love spell, one should keep unbalanced sexual desire, impatience and anger at bay as much as possible. It is necessary to keep the flame of love burning steady, happy and free instead of fearful of success or failure. I was astonished at this realization, but think it rings very true.

Arousal is coming upon me like a wild bull,
It keeps springing at me like a dog,
Like a lion it is fierce in the coming.
Like a wolf it is full of fury.
Stay! I pass over you like a threshold,
I walk right through you like a flimsy door,
I span you like a doorway.
I turn back your approach like a hobble,
I drive out the fieriness of your heart.

There is a Greek myth on the birth of Eros I would like to quote now (Kerényi, Karl. Hermes the Guide of Souls, Spring Publications, Dallas, Texas, 1992):

"Need came begging at the door [where the banquet took place]. Resource was there, and she lied by his side and in time brought to life Eros. As the son of Resource and Need, it has been his fate to be always needy; nor is he delicate and lovely as most of us believe, but harsh and arid, barefoot and homeless, sleeping on the naked streets, in doorways, or in the very streets beneath the stars of heaven, and always partaking of his motherīs poverty. But, secondly, he brings his fatherīs resourcefulness to his designs upon the beautiful and good, for he is gallant, impetuous and energetic, a mighty hunter, and a master of device and artifice - at once desirous and full of wisdom, a lifelong seeker after truth, an adept in sorcery, enchantment and seduction".

The healing for anxiety quoted the spell against arousal and the almost masochist version of the birth of Eros above lies very much in holding on to Inannaīs girdle, She of Joy and Sex Appeal, who never tires to bring delight to the whole of humankind. When making a love spell, fight anxiety, impatience and unrealistic desire, and wait in perfect love and perfect trust for results to come up, true to the Spirit of the Goddess that blesses and goes beyond all love sorceries, because She is herSelf the Beloved and the Lover united as One, Pure Enchantment and Seduction.

7- THE HARPSTRING - a wonderful positive follow-up for the spell against arousal/anxiety introduced above, where the spellcaster discipline himself to keep his potency (Sex appeal? Desire, etc.) to be steady as running river water. I would urge women to behave and do likewise when casting their own spells.

Wind blow, orchard shake,
Clouds gather, droplets fall!
Let my potency be (steady as) running river water,
Let my penis be a (taut) harpstring,

Let it not slip out of her!

 8- HORNS OF GOLD - love to last cannot be based on power over someone or competition. Indeed, it is the surrendering of selves to the Magic of two individuals that dive into the essence of each other that brings the alchemy inner and outer to all levels of awareness. This spell is based on power over someone, the lady the spellcaster wants to attract. He clearly states that he wants all other men who court the beloved disappear of her life, and that some kind of ill happens to them. Now, I sincerely find that oneīs happiness cannot be built upon the unhappiness of someone else. Work instead with the Powers of Balance and Complementarity to bring your ways the Sure Thing. Thus, donīt invest your time and energy in someone who has been taken by someone else. Donīt ill wish, and build your future relationship upon a solid foundation. This is the Goddessītrue bidding, the key to reach out from human to sacred, mystical union with the Beloved in all levels and worlds you two dare to fare!

Love charm, love charm!
Its horns are of gold,
Its tail of pure lapis
It is placed on Ishtarīs heart.
I called to her, but she did not come back to me
I whistled at her, but she did not look at me
If she is consecrated, may her lover fall
If she has been taken, may her accuser fall.
May the marriageable girl, the free born young lady
Fall at my clamor, at my shout.
May the dough fall from her hands
May the little boy at her side... to her.

9- THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY OR THE SACRALIZATION OF SEXUALITY: POEMS OF DIVINE LOVE - The spells introduced above were centered on the search for the belovedīs attention starting from the physical to the emotional planes. For many, the emotional and physical bonds are enough to keep the flame of love burning for a lifetime. But for those of us who live our lives especially inflamed by the Light of Mesopotamian Tradition and Religion there is more to lovemaking. What there is is Union of the Great Above with the Great Below, or the Mating of Heaven and Earth represented by man and woman who in special dates become representatives of the Divine Masculine and Feminine, High Priestess (Woman becoming the vessel of the Goddess) and King (Man embodying the Divine Masculine). These glimpses of wholeness and holiness can be gathered mainly in the Songs of Divine Love. Thus, from the spells above which started very much concerned with things temporal now we approach the emotional and physical expression of lovemaking, being and staying in love as a joyous religious experience. Religion, from its Latin roots, means to link, and this link refers to the more subtle spheres of consciousness, to the Ineffable, the Source whence we all came from. Sexuality in Mesopotamia was first and foremost a gift of the Divine to humankind because it reflected the Nerverending Cycle of Creation. Perhaps of all cultures of Antiquity, it was in Mesopotamia that this truth was more apparent. Mesopotamian gods and goddesses and the human women and men who related to Them became therefore the main characters of poems that reflect the ecstasy of the experience of melting in each othersīarms, minds, hearts and souls. The Divine Feminine and Masculine were gateways to endless delights, and a passionate, sensual and rich literary production expressed the fundamental truth that sexuality was sacred, spontaneous, a gift to be cherished.

The archetypal Lover and Beloved were/are Inanna/Ishtar and Dumuzi/Tammuz. Nevertheless, it is important to stress the point that almost all Mesopotamian gods and goddesses have partners in long-standing relationships, ex. Enlil and Ninlil, Nanna and Ningal, Ereshkigal and Nergal, that there there are many poems and love lyrics exalting the Divine Coupleīs love and most of all, that there is no philandering in Mesopotamian mythology as compared, for example, with Greek mythology.

Before I start writing of poems which expressed love raised to the sphere of the divine, I will turn to the sacralization of sexuality, which involves the process of searching consciously and seeing the Divinity of and in the Beloved. To achieve this stage, nevertheless, it is first and foremost necessary to understand things temporal, and I would like to introduce a quotation from H. Benmann, "The Broken Goddess". Read it as Broken God/dess please:

"I saw the hopes and fears hidden in the depths of your eyes, the scars and wounds suffered by the person who is you, the injuries of which I knew nothing about, and looking at you I saw all your marvellous imperfections, the many imperfections that make people in general and you in particular need love as much as you merit it, and so make you unique. Only then I understood the wrong I would have done to see your face as that of the perfect goddess. And I understood the wrong I would have done myself too."

The reason for including this quotation is exactly to reverse its denial. I cannot help cringing at the sadness of this quotation, because True Love is about seeing the Body of Light in the Belovedīs face, the image of wholeness that is not perfection, but that reflects the realization in flesh of our soulīs deepest dreams and heartīs desires. I will gleefully rephrase and summarize the quotation above saying that true love is knowing so much the Beloved that his/her great qualities stand out if compared with his/her little imperfections. His/her Body of Light, the Divinity Within, is perceived as an Otherness that is not strange, that completes and makes whole, because it belongs to the sphere of the Special and Unforgetable. Indeed, what I am saying is that it is the contemplation of the Sacredness of Matter that creates the precondition for Sacred Sexuality and Inner and Outer Alchemy, or the Marriage of the Heights Above with the Depths Below. To make love sacred one needs to embrace the full essence of our humanity and then transcend it to become one with the god and goddess within and without.

Thus, stop searching for perfection and trade it for wholeness. Ask yourself: Does s/he complete me? Do I feel whole by his/her side? Comparing pros and cons, would you still choose the same person nevertheless? (Take your partnerīs standpoint too and see how comfortable you are answering these questions as if you were her or him). This is the first step to love despite... so that the feeling can transcend the human boundaries of mind, heart and body to reach out for the spiritual planes of mating.

Turn to the most passionate myths of Mesopotamian mythology and you will see how true this statement is. Ereshkigal and Nergal, Ninlil and Enlil, Ningal and Nanna, Inanna and Dumuzi, all had to prove themselves worthy of their partnerīs expectations and vice-versa. Indeed, in Mesopotamia we have passionate goddesses and very human gods, mirrors of wholeness and holiness we should base our own love stories upon simply because their myths show the glory of lovemaking in all levels and spheres. One of the deepest lessons one can take from these stories is that at the very human level, one should try and see the the God/dess in the Beloved, despite his/her little weaknesses, and keep the flame of Everlastingness burning. This is the daily realization of the Marriage of Heaven and Earth. Remember: the greatest of all love stories is not lived by proxy, BECAUSE IT IS YOUR OWN STORY. It is oneīs own experience of the Mystery of Two Selves that Open Up to Each Other in all levels, worlds and spheres. It is most of all the Never-ending Work of Creation in the Physical and Emotional Spheres of the individuals involved. Hard work that feels light if conducted with Imagination, Creativity, Sensuality, Intimacy and Play.

This mystery is also at the core of the understanding of the One Who Is Reborn, Inanna/Ishtar, the archetypal Lover and Beloved, who resurrected in the Third Day. She HerSelf is the Great Goddess of Love and War, the Vision of Triumphant Humanity that Transcends all Deaths, the Vibrant and Sensual Feminine that belongs to the whole of humankind independent on sexual preferences.

The first sacred love song introduced here is probably the first love poem translated into English from Sumerian this century by the eminent Sumerologist Samuel Noah Kramer (from History Begins at Sumer, 1981, The University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelfia). He says of it:

" I soon realized that I was reading a poem, divided into a number of stanzas, which celebrated beauty and love, a joyous bride and a king named Shu-Sin (who ruled over the land of Sumer close to four thousand years ago). ... What I held in my hand was one of the oldest love songs written down by the hand of man.

It soon became clear that this was not a secular poem, not a song of love between just "a man and a maid". It involved a king and his selected bride, and was no doubt intended to be recited in the course of the most hallowed of the ancient rites, the Rite of the Sacred Marriage... The poem was in all probability recited by the chosen bride [the high priestess of Inanna as seen in the last line of the poem - my comment] of King Shu-Sin in the course of one of the New Yearīs celebrations." (pg. 245-246). This poem is as follows:

a) Characters: The King-High Priest and High Priestess-Queen
Bridegroom, dear to my heart,
Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet,
Lion, dear to my heart,
Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet.
You have captivated me, let me stand tremblingly before you,
Bridegroom, I would be taken by you to the bedchamber,
You have captivated me, let me stand tremblingly before you,
Lion, I would be taken by you to the bedchamber.
Bridegroom, let me caress you,
My precious caress is more savory than honey,
In the bedchamber, honey filled,
Let us enjoy your goodly beauty,
Liun, let me caress you,
My precious caress is more savory than honey.
 Bridegroom, you have taken your pleasure of me,
Tell my mother, she will give you delicacies,
My father, he will give you gifts.
Your spirit, I know where to cheer your spirit,
Bridegroom, sleep in our house until dawn,
Your heart, I know where to gladden your heart,
Lion, sleep in our house until dawn.
You, because you love me,
Give me pray of your caresses,
My lord god, my lord protector,
My Shu-Sin who gladdens Enlilīs heart,
Give me pray of your caresses.
Your place goodly as honey, pray lay (your) hand on it,
Bring your hand over it like a gisbban-garment,
Cup (your) hand over it like a gisbban-sikin-garment.
It is a balbale-song of Inanna

As Jacobsen pointed out in "The Harps that Once..." (Jacobsen, Thorkild, Yale University Press, New Haven and London): "Most of the songs have a rubric marking them as belonging to the cult of , or dealing with, the goddess Inanna. ... They were certainly meant for the queen, for the queen was indeed Inanna, as she embodied Her yearly in the rite of Sacred Marriage" (page 87). Feel the power, visualize the scene, become one with the two main. Wouldnīt it be wonderful if we could still express ourselves along these lines?

b) Love lyrics of Nabu and Tashmetu - the loverīs talk between Nabu and Tashmetu in the occasion of their marriage rite:

(Singers:) Let whom will thrust where he trusts,
As for us, our trust is in Nabu,
We give ourselves over to Tashmetu.
What is ours is ours: Nabu is our lord,
Tashmetu is the mountain we trust in.
Singers to Tashmetu: Say to her, to her to her of the wall, to Tashmetu,
..., take your place in the sanctuary,
May the scent of holy juniper fill the dais.
(Tashmetu?): Shade of cedar, shade of cedar, shade of cedar,
... is come for the kingīs shelter,
Shad of cypress is (for) his great ones,
The shade of a juniper branch is shelter for my Nabu, for my play.
(Singers:) Tashmetu dangles a gold garment in my Nabuīs lap,
"My lord, put an earring on me,
'That I may give you pleasure in my garden,
īNabu, my darling, put an earring on me,
īThat I may make you happy in the [ ]'.
(Nabu) My Tashmetu, I put on you bracelets of carnelian,
[ ] you bracelets of carnelian
I will open.......... [gap]
O Tashmetu, whose thighs are a gazelle in the steppe,
O Tashmetu, whose ankles are a springtime apple,
O Tashmetu, whose heels are obsidian stone,
O Tashmetu, whose whole self is a tablet of lapis!
(Singers:) Tashmetu, looking voluptuous entered the bedroom
She locked her door, sending home the lapis bolt.
She washes herself, she climbs into bed.
From one lapis cup, from the other lapis cup, her tears flow,
He wipes away her tears with a tuft of read wool,
There, ask (her), ask (her), find out, find out!
'Why, why are you so adorned, my Tashmetu?'
īSo I can go to the garden with you, my Nabu.'
īLet me go to the garden, to the garden and [ ]
īLet me go again to the exquisite garden,
īThey would not have me take my place among the wise folk.'
(Singers:) I would see with my own eyes the plucking of your fruit,
I would hear with my own ears your birdsong.
(Nabu:) There, bind fast, hitch up, bind your days to the garden and to the Lord,
Bind your nights to the exquisite garden,Let my Tashmetu come with me to the garden,
Among the wise folk her place be foremost.
īMay she she with her own eyes the plucking of my fruit,
May she hear with her own ears my birdsong,
May she see with her own eyes, may she hear with her own ears!

 b) The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi (Wolkstein and Kramer, Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, 1983, Harper and Row, New York) - the most passionate love story of Antiquity, the forerunner of "The Song of Songs" of King Solomon to Sheba.

The brother spoke to this younger sister
The Sun God, Utu, spoke to Inanna, saying:
'Young Lady, the flax in its fullness is lovely,
Inanna, the grain is glistening in the furrow.
I will hoe it for you, I will bring it to you
A piece of linen, big or small, is always needed.
Inanna, I will bring it to you.'
'Brother, after you've brought me the flax, who will comb it for me?
Sister, I will bring it to you combed.'
'Utu, after you've brought it to me combed, who will spin it for me?
'Sister, I will bring it to you spun.'
'Brother, after you've brought the flax to me spun, who will braid it for me?
'Sister, I will bring it to you braided.'
'Utu, after you've brought it to me braided, who will warp it for me?'
'Inanna, I will bring it to you warped.'
'Brother, after you've brought the flax to me warped, who will weave it for me?'
'Sister, I will bring it to you woven.'
'Utu, after you've brought it to me woven, who will bleach it for me?'
'Inanna, I will bring it to you bleached.'
'Brother, after you've brought my bridal sheet to me,
Who will go to bed with me?
Utu, who will go to bed with me?'
'Sister, your bridegroom will go to be with you
He who was born from a fertile womb,
He who was conceived on the sacred marriage throne
Dumuzi, the shepherd! He will go to bed with you.'
Inanna bathed and anointed herself with scented oil.
She covered her body with the royal robe
She arranged her precious lapis beads around her neck
She took the royal seal in her hand
Dumuzi waited expectantly
Inanna opened the door for him
Inside the house she shone before him
Like the light of the moon
Dumuzi looked at her joyously
He pressed his neck close against hers
He kissed her
'Let the bed that rejoices the heart be prepared!
Let the bed that sweetens the loins be prepared!
Let the bed of kingship be prepared!
Let the bed of queenship be prepared!
Let the royal bed be prepared!'
'The bed is ready!'
'The bed is waiting!'
'What I tell you, let the singer weave into song
What I tell you, let it flow from ear to mouth
Let it pass from old to young.
'My vulva, the horn, the Boat of Heaven,
Is full of eagerness like the young moon
As for me, Inanna, who will plow my vulva?
Who will plow my high field?
Who will plow my wet ground?
As for me, the young woman, who will plow my vulva?
'Great Lady, the king will plow your vulva.
I, Dumuzi, the King, will plow your vulva!'
'Then plow my vulva, man of my heart!
Plow my vulva!'
'O Lady, your breast is your field
Inanna, your breast is your field.
Your broad field pours out plants
Your broad field pours out grain.
Water flows from on high for your servant
Bread flows from on high for your servant
Pour it out for me, Inanna,
I will drink all you offer!
'I bathed for the wild bull
I bathed for the shepherd Dumuzi
Now I will caress my high priest on the bed
I will caress the faithful shepherd Dumuzi
I will decree a sweet fate for him!'
The Queen of Heaven who was presented the Sacred Measures by Enki
Inanna, the first daughter of the moon, decreed the fate of Dumuzi.
'In battle, I am your leader
In combat, I am your armor-bearer
In the assembly, I am your advocate
On the campaign, I am your inspiration
You, the chosen shepherd of the holy shrine
You, the king, the faithful provider of Uruk,
You, the light of An's great shrine
In all ways you are fit
To hold your head high on the lofty dais
To sit on the lapis lazuli throne
To cover your head with the holy crown
To wear long clothes on your body
To bind yourself with the garment of kingship
To race on the road with the holy sceptre in your hand
And the holy sandals on you feet
You, the sprinter, the chosen shepherd
In all ways I find you fit
May your heart enjoy long days.
That which An determined for you - may it not be altered
That which Enlil has granted - may it not be altered
You are the favorite of Ningal
Inanna holds you dear.'
Ninshubur, the faithful servant of the holy shrine of Uruk
Led Dumuzi to the sweet thighs of Inanna and spoke:
'My queen, here is the choice of your heart
The king, your beloved bridegroom
May he spend long days in the sweetness of your holy loins
Give him a favorable and glorious reign!
O my Queen of Heaven and Earth
Queen of all the Universe
May he enjoy long days in the sweetness of your holy loins!'
The king went with lifted head on the holy loins
Dumuzi went with lifted head to the loins of Inanna
He went to the Queen with lifted head
He opened his arms to the holy Priestess of Heaven

 

10 - THE EMPTY-HANDED LOVE SPELL - The mark of the one who is an adept, i.e. skilled, at love magic is the EMPTY-HANDED LOVE SPELL, which is the act of making love magic by not using any physical props, formalized settings, resounding words or complicated rituals, because the Living Spirit of Love, Laughter, Sensuality and Play will be his or hers generously to share. To reach this stage one needs discipline and many years of training, self-analysis, generosity and a sense of self that is not inflated, i.e. a state of being that is childlike and yet full of wisdom. This person will probably be very successful in her/his spells to help others, and use love magic very little for her/himself. Secrecy will be his/her trademark because of the deep respect and reverence s/he will certainly have for the mystery of the people involved in the magical working realized. The chances are that s/he will be very selective on what and who s/he chooses to enchant. S/He will have learnt to serve Love, not to want love to serve her/him first thing, and will purposefully practice love magic as a selfless day-to-day task to bring love and laughter as much as s/he can in the physical world, and be very discreet when doing so.

Why then, you may be asking yourself, to work so hard and become so skilled at a magical art and then not to use it? Because magic, and love magic in special, is like a being a martial arts expert. One reaches the black belt level and beyond never to use violence, to become an instrument of peace and order, a True Spiritual Warrior and Peace Keeper. You wonīt need to use love magic when you come to understand that the Greatest Lover in the World lives within and just needs a happy push to manifest without.

This is the reason why I am finishing this Treasure File of Ancient Love Spells at this point. There is a point when one stops reading about magic and start living the experience of making magic be to the fullest.

Great Lover and Beloved who is reading me right now, and yes, I am talking to you, Reader of Mine, start making love be in your life NOW, open up the doors of your mind, heart, body and soul to Seduction and Allure. Indeed, I am inciting you to be practical: if your partner is around, blow him/her a kiss, treat him/her with something thoughtful. If he is away, there are so many forms to communicate these days. Use them then! If you donīt have a partner, treat yourself then! Waiting for the Beloved to come your ways must be a magical time. Bride or Bridegroom of the Perfect, Sacred Marriage of your Dreams, this is who you are. Value yourself. You are everything you need to start, continue and live happily ever after with your prospective Beloved. Did I make myself clear?

Most of all, wish and witch and wait for results to come your way. Keep the flame of desire alight, wait in perfect love and perfect trust, in stillness that is not idle and get results that do show potential. Be creative too. The Sure Thing is Happy Expectation and Delight, not anger, power-over or frustration. Remember this and embrace the future now, at this very moment.

May Joy, Laughter and Creativity, the Sources of Inspiration for Love Everlasting that you also make be in the physical world be yours to share in all spheres!

To Inanna and Enki, in love and laughter, trust, humor and dare, as it was, is and will always be.

 

Back To 'Essays'