In this month’s (March 2012) issue of “
New Babylon Rising: Anunnaki, Alien Gods & Spiritual Traditions“, the featured article is excerpted from the ceremonial text that may be found in either “
Mardukite Wizards of the Wastelands” (
WoW) or “
Beyond the Ishtar Gate” (
Liber C) as well as the Liber-E+M+C anthology, released as both “
Mesopotamian Magic” and “
Necronomicon
Workbook” edited by Joshua Free. Join us in celebrating the
2012 Akiti/Akitu Spring Equinox “New Year” festival to officially commemorate the fourth active year of the Mardukite Chamberlains using the suggestions from this account of the original ceremonial observance.
NEW YEARS FESTIVAL OF BABYLON
“A central religio-political “
Mardukite”
event marked the beginning of the
annual cycle – A New Year festival,
marked by the spring (equinox)
observation of
Akitu (or
Akiti) when the
sun enters
Aries, the zodiacal sign of
Marduk. The festival symbolized not only
the fertility and renewal of the land on
earth, but also a renewal or national
solidification of
Marduk‘s position in the
universe.” (Found in
New Babylon Rising Issue #3)
“The name of the festival;
Akiti or
Akitu,
translates roughly to “
On Earth, Life” or
“
On Earth, Bring (or build) Life.” Most
scholars recognize only the ‘agricultural’
and not necessarily the ‘political’ and
‘mystical’ purpose of the observation,
which begins twelve days before crops
begin to be planted, apparently the
fourth day of the month named
Nissanu.
Others suggest that the month itself
began with the festival, or that the
observation was astronomical, matching
the exact time the sun enters
Aries, which
would differ from year to year given
precession. Traditional astrology does
not take this into account and is plotted
based on the ‘snapshot’ taken of the
heavens during the Age of Aries.” (Available in “
New Babylon Rising Issue #3” and the “
Necronomicon Workbook” edited by Joshua Free.)
THE FESTIVAL DAYS
“Each of the twelve festival days begins at
dawn. The ‘high priest’ of the
Temple of
Marduk, goes and prepares the temple
and ceremonial areas prior to dawn, then
makes a ‘general invocation’ to
Marduk
at dawn, before the image of the god in
his shrine. The morning invocation to
Marduk is as
follows…” (From “
New Babylon Rising March 2012 Issue“)
PRAYER TO MARDUK
MARDUK, Almighty, Powerful One of ASURA,
Exalted, Noble-Blood, Firstborn of ENKI,
Almighty MARDUK, Who causes the ITURA
to rejoice,
Lord of the ESAGILA,
Aid to BABYLON, Lover of the IZIDA of NABU,
Preserver of Life,
Prince of IMAHTILLA, Renewer of Life,
Shadow over the Land,
Protector of Foreign Lands, forever is
MARDUK the Sovereign of Shrines,
Forever is MARDUK the Name in the mouth
of the people.
Almighty LORD MARDUK,
At your command the Earthborn remain
alive,
At your command let me live, let me be
perfect,
Let me behold your divinity.
What I will to be, let me obtain my wishes.
MARDUK, cause righteousness to come from
my mouth,
MARDUK, cause mercy to dwell in my heart,
Return to the Earth; re-establish the
ANUNNAKI and command mercy.
May my God stand at my right hand.
May my Goddess stand at my left hand.
May my Lord who is favorable to the stars,
stand firmly at my side,
To speak the Word of Command, to hear my
prayer and
Show favor, When I speak, let the words be
powerful.
Almighty Lord MARDUK, come and
command life.
BEL’s Fires go with you, ENKI smile upon us
all.
May the Elder Gods delight in your mercy.
May the Earth Deities be favorable to thee
and me.
AKITI FESTIVAL CEREMONY PERFORMANCE INSTRUCTIONS
“On the first day of the festival
(presumably the fourth of
Nissanu), after
the morning services have been carried
out by the priests, the King accompanies
a procession around the city of
Babylon
to show that he carries the official
(‘royal’) regalia of his position – the
Crown of Anu, the
Scepter, etc. The purpose
of this is to secure the symbolism of
‘material reign’ in the consciousness of
the population, showing the physical
evidence for ‘divine right to rule’ are
present. Portions of the
Enuma Elis are
read to prove that
Marduk is authorized
to dispense this ‘
divine right‘.” (The Akiti/Akitu Babylonian New Year Spring Equinox Festival Ceremony is also found in “
Mardukite Wizards of the Wastelands” edited by Joshua Free)
“The second day, the ‘high priest’ is charged
to ritually cleanse the temple with
consecrated waters from the rivers of
Babylon. Fragrances of juniper and cypress
fill the air. The physical statue of
Nabu is brought from
Borsippa and left
just outside the
Babylonian city at the
“Uras Gate.” The sacred symbols of
‘material reign’ are removed from the
King by the high priest, and a procession
ensures to the
Temple of Marduk, where
the symbols are placed before the feet of
the god. In essence, these symbols are
being ‘returned’ to
Marduk so that the
Anunnaki King may dispense them ‘ceremonially’
to the Earthly King who rules
Babylon and the nation in the name of
Marduk. The King makes an appeal before
the image/statue of
Marduk, which
is brought outside from the Esagila.” (“
New Babylon Rising, Issue #3, March 2012“)
THE KING’S PRAYER TO MARDUK
I have not sinned, Marduk, King of all the
Lands.
I have not neglected to observe your divinity.
I have caused no destruction of your city,
Babylon.
I have caused no dissolution of your sacred
systems.
I have not destroyed the Esagila.
I have not broken down the walls of your city.
Let me reign. Let me be pure in your divinity.
In the Name of the Sacred Covenant between
thee and me,
Grant me Divine Right to Rule in your grace.
“The items of power are returned to the
King by the ‘high priest’ and a procession
ensues showing the people that the King
has been granted the ‘
Divine Right‘ by
Marduk.”
“Day three requires a re-enactment of the
Enuma Elis, followed by a procession of
the image of Nabu on a pathway of reeds.
The
Nabu statue is brought before the
Temple of Ninurta where he is to ‘defeat’
two enemies (‘evil gods’) in the name of
Marduk‘s reign. A dramatization is
performed by destroying two statues
before his image.
Nabu‘s image is left at
the
Temple of Ninurta until the sixth day.” (Also available in alternate version to “
Necronomicon Workbook“, titled “
Mesopotamian Magic“.)
“On the fourth day, after the statues have
been ritually ‘cleansed’ by the ‘high
priest’, the image of
Marduk is returned
to the
Esagila, where
Marduk is presumed
to be ‘imprisoned within the mountain’
(or ‘pyramid’). In one account, he is
trapped is by ‘two evil gods’, possibly the
same one’s that
Nabu defeats, but a more
accurate explanation in accordance with
the tradition is an imprisonment as political
punishment for the death of
Dumuzi
(or Tammuz), the consort of
Inanna-
Ishtar.
Marduk remains ‘buried alive’,
‘dead but dreaming’ for three days. The
epic cycle of
Inanna-Ishtar known as the
“Descent” is recited (or dramatized) on
the fifth day and
Nabu enters the city
again on the sixth.”
The ceremonial applications of the seventh
day are representative of the wisdom
series known as the
Book of Nabu-Tutu (which is disclosed in Issue #3 of
New Babylon Rising and its original appearance in the Year-1 Mardukite Chamberlains anthology “
Necronomicon Anunnaki Bible” edited by Joshua Free.) where the young prophet-son deity,
Nabu,
approaches the ‘voice’ of the ‘unseen
god’,
Marduk (as
Amon-Ra) who is entrapped
in the “pyramid.” It is there that
Nabu, or the statue of
Nabu, is presented
before the imprisoned “
Marduk” to receive
the mysteries of the “unseen god.”
CEREMONY COMPLETION
“Nabu then frees the imprisoned Marduk
(image) from the Esagila “Pyramid” in
Babylon city where the two are reunited,
followed by a celebration in “Destiny
Hall” on the eighth day. A victory procession
of Marduk and Nabu commences
on the ninth day and the statues of these
as well as their consorts, Sarpanit
and Teshmet (Tasmit),
are cleaned on the tenth day
before being given a fallen
grand procession on the eleventh
day. The priests conduct
final ‘consecrations’ at dawn
on the twelfth day before the
statues (images) are retired and Babylonian
work-a-day life returns to normal.” (Get the printed-bound version of this rite with many other fascinating related articles in this month’s (March 2012) issue of
New Babylon Rising.)
New Babylon Rising: Anunnaki, Alien Gods & Spiritual Traditions
A Modern Mardukite Monthly Magazine Book Literary Journal: Issue #3, March 2012
Authored by Joshua Free
Contributions by Sortileges
Managing editor Ace
Prepared for publication by Mardukite Chamberlains
Producer M.C. Clarke
Director Khem Juergen
Just some of what’s inside:
* The Akiti Festival – Babylonian New Year at Spring Equinox
* The true story of Inanna-Ishtar – the Goddess of the Stars
* Sumerian Cuneiform Tablet Records reveal the alien nature of Anunnaki gods
* Merlyn Stone’s School of Magick, Witchcraft & Wizardry continues with Lesson 3!
